Spotlight on Kaitlyn

So Kaitlyn had a special kind of day mid November. On the same day she was recognized at an early morning school assembly as a "Marvelous Maverick" and then had her very first Piano Recital! Woo-hoo!

(she's the one in the hot pink in the middle)

(don't mind Sam--he was in a mood!)
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Then later that night, after only 6 weeks of lessons, she participated in her first ever piano recital. She was so proud of herself for learning her pieces and memorizing them. She did great!

We were actually quite surprised she didn't act more nervous because we would expect a bit of anxiety from her because new things are overwhelming for her but she didn't show any signs of nerves at all......until the car ride home when she threw up! Yup! in the car, it was awful and smelled even worse. Then my husband--wonderful man, cleaned most of it while I got the other kids in bed and cleaned her up. It was a memorable event, to say the least! But we are very proud of her performance....at the recital that is.

Lindsey's Day!

The Day after Halloween is Lindsey's Birthday! That's how she explained it to everyone and true enough it dawned and it was HER day!

Her FABULOUS Nursery leader had made her a Birthday Crown (which she wore for a few days) and it got her lots of attention as she explained to anyone who would listen that it was her birthday and then she'd proudly display 3 fingers!

Sam was at preschool that day so she and I were able to spend some special time together. Our friend Dee Dee (Divinidee Cakes) has a cake shop and I was such a cool mom to take her to get a cupcake but they were "closed" but luckily Dee Dee was there and she had some little cake bites just her size AND a purple balloon and that was even better than a cupcake! Then we drove through McDonalds and ate a picnic lunch in the living room (because it's one of her favorite things to do).
She helped make her birthday cake, white cake with the confetti sprinkles and purple frosting (do you sense a favorite color here?)

And then that evening Grandma and Grandpa Lewis came to help celebrate and open presents. She got new pajamas, some play food and from my parents: a new suitcase (for our cruise in the spring). She was so excited with the suitcase she exclaimed, "This is the best suitcase EVER!" It was priceless!

Happy Birthday to a girl who brings so much laughter and happiness to my life. She is her daddy's buddy, my wild child who always surprises me with things she says and does--we just love her to pieces and are so grateful she's part of our family!

Here are some great shots of her over this past year:

Trick or Treat

So Halloween fell on a Sunday this year so that meant that the Halloween festivities took place around here on Saturday in the form of a 2 ward (LDS Congregation) Trunk-or-Treat--and believe me we got all the candy we needed and threw away half of it!

For Halloween we had a Princess:
She was going to be a cow (a perfect companion to Sam's costume) but at the last minute decided to be Cinderella.

A Howdy-Dowdy Cowboy:
And here he is with a little friend from church who was "Jessie" from Toy Story:And Kaitlyn was going to be a butterfly fairy but that morphed into the story book character "Fancy Nancy" who is just an over-accessorized little girl who uses big words--fairy wings are required part of the Fancy Nancy outfit!:And Matthew used the obligatory "First Halloween" costume that Sam, & Lindsey both used:
Hooray for Trunk or Treats! I seriously passed out over 300 pieces of candy/pencils & erasers! There were a ton of kids there!

And someone decided that Matthew had to have his first ever piece of candy--he was teething so he enjoyed it even before he could taste it--but once he did WOW was he LOVING it!!

Fieldtrip & Pumpkins

Happy Halloween!! Oh wait, yes it's December and I'm THAT far behind in updating the blog, so here's to a week of catch-up! Woo-hoo!

Sam's preschool went to a little farm (Owen's Farm) with a petting zoo that morphs into a pumpkin farm for the season. Lindsey and Matthew and I tagged along for the fun of it.

Lindsey is quite brave! My older two are a little hesitant to try new things (Sam mostly is because he watches follows Kaitlyn's cues) but Lindsey is so confident and independant and LOVES animals so I wasn't suprised at all to find her doing this:


We also took a hay ride, saw other farm animals, and picked our own pumpkins to take home.

Then THAT night we had grandma and grandpa Lewis come over and help us carve pumpkins--this is really the ideal way to do this because this way each kid has an adult to work with and it goes pretty smoothly, enjoy some photos:

Sam the Soccer Stud!

Sam was the "Breakaway King" this last Saturday at his soccer game!

At the kick-off to start the game, he booted it and it rolled all the way into the goal!(unfortunately that one didn't count) But the OTHER 3 GOALS he scored DID count! He got it in his head that he could run faster than everyone else if he tried (because"Dragons" are faster than "Jets"), and he kept getting the ball and running it all the way down the field and scoring! His smiles were priceless! GO SAMMERS!!

Pumpkins

This past Saturday we went on our annual Pumpkin Patch outing.Usually we go to an actual patch where we pick our own pumpkin, but this year we went to Fall Festival at the Dallas Arboretum It was REALLY COOL! And we even had a special guest along--well a few:
These are some friends of Stephen's from Texas A&M, the one in the middle, Charite is one of his closest friends, she lives in So. Cal and was in Dallas for a Conference, so this was our chance to spend some time with her.

And now, enjoy some fun shots of the kids:

Sam is an engineer in training!

My 4 year old Sam made this:
Mostly by himself at pre-school last week.

We send our "creative trash" to school all the time and the kids get a chance to create things. He decided to make a BOAT! I love the sail and the masts. His teachers helped him tie the string, but we tried it out in the bathtub and it even floats! He was so happy.

The Difference ONE can make

Kaitlyn was challenged at school last week to see what a difference "ONE" can make.

So she did some chores around the house to earn $1:

She helped her dad install the screen door, and folded baby Matthew's laundry.

Then it was her idea to use her dollar to buy a brownie mix, and make brownies for our local firefighters. (isn't that a GREAT IDEA?!?!)

She made a THANK YOU CARD:We made the brownies:

(and service has it's rewards)
And delivered them to the firestation. They were excited to get an unexpected treat, and Kaitlyn grinned from ear to ear! Doesn't it feel good to do something kind? That is the difference ONE can make!

October is AWESOME in TEXAS

We've just been enjoying the most beautiful weather lately, we've spent LOTS of time outside on the play set and riding bikes and coloring with chalk! I LOVE playing outside with my kids and now that it's not so hot or humid, we do it a lot! It's really one of the best times of the year in TEXAS!! We've had picnic lunches under the trees in the front and then read books, we've thrown balls over our fence into our neighbors yard.....we've just had fun:So if you try and reach us, and we don't answer, we're probably just outside enjoying the day!

Sometimes I'm just feisty like that

So, those who know me well would agree that I have a fairly strong personality. Often I say things the wrong way and offend people, I can be intimidating, and when I feel passionately about something WATCH OUT!

So I've had a "CAUSE" lately that has been taking a lot of my attention (thus the lack of blogging).

THE KINDERGARTEN ROTATION

This year our district piloted a program in a handful of elementary schools where the kindergarten students would not be assigned a teacher until 2nd week of school. During which time they would rotate from classroom to classroom for different subjects while the teachers assess them and try and place them in order to create balanced classrooms.

I think it's awful for the kids who get held in limbo and have to deal with constant change in a very transitional period in life. It creates chaos when they need structure to feel safe and thrive. Most child development specialists agree with me.

I am all for assessing kids and trying to get balance in the classroom but it needs to be done prior to school starting so that they can have structure and routine from day one!

So I did some research, (thanks Mom McKneely!!) and drafted a beautiful letter, encouraged my friends to do the same--(and even some strangers too), and then spoke at the open forum at the recent School Board Meeting.

It went well, I don't know if we've made a difference, it seems the district wants to make teachers happier than they want to make kids feel safe and thrive. But we'll see, at least I've tried.

AND I've used my strong personality for good this time!=)

Matthew at 6 months!

Happy 6 months buddy!!
How I love this little guy! a SUPER EASY BABY! (a tender mercy for sure) because he has to mesh into this.......
Good grief! Sometimes I just take a step back and cannot believe that this is my life! Part of me understands the stares and comments perfect strangers say all the time about my "hands being full" but mostly I am just grateful that these 4 beautiful, wonderful, special children are MINE and I get to be their MOM first and foremost!!

Lindsey has her own style!

This is a photo taken just this morning on our walk to take Kaitlyn to school--she's so lucky to be young enough to pull this off!
I think her boots are on the wrong feet--but I just love it!

And this one seems to say: "GOOD MORNING WORLD, Here ME AM!!"
Then there was this day last week when I had a "sweedish cowgirl" for a companion!! Gotta love her for sure!