Markers

Case is ObseSsEd with markers! He carries them everywhere and asks for them often. He uses markers to dig, point, practice saying color words, drum, roll, stack, sword fight, and other various activities! BUT, he never uses them for their intended purpose. I'm not even sure he knows their intended purpose. In fact, on the RARE occasion that he accidentally opens a marker (maybe twice a month), be immediately brings it to me to 'fix.' Well, a few weeks ago, two little girls at church wanted to play with Case's markers. It was so funny how quickly their mommas looked at me, with horrified faces and said, "No, she can't have that. She'll write all over herself." Girls! They always want to look pretty, but my boy just wants a tool. ha! Well, don't worry, Stephanie and Kasey, we have switched all of Case's markers out for Color Wonder markers. :-)

A Duck in a Closet

Do you see these yellow pieces of paper? I know, I know. You’re wondering what they are—garbage? No, they’re special memories. Kennedy pulled them out the other day during a day of dress up with one of her besties, and I just started crying.

At the end of Kennedy’s kindergarten year, she wanted to make a duck mask. The backstory is that she had the MOST AMAZING kindergarten teacher who encouraged Kennedy’s creativity. Kennedy was constantly drawing beautiful pictures, writing stories with fun phonetic spellings, and making projects. Her teacher was the epitome is what a kindergarten teacher should be. And no, Kennedy did not leave kindergarten reading on a 3^rd grade level, but she did leave kindergarten reading sight words and sounding out words. She was more than ready to read in 1^st grade, and yes, she did leave 1^st grade reading on a 3^rd grade level. A lot of that success is thanks to her kindergarten teacher! So, it was the end of her kindergarten year, and all I wanted to do was get everything ready for the close of the school year. But, Kennedy had a vision, and when she has a vision, she will start on it with or without your help. And if she messes up, she will NOT be happy! That day she wanted to make a duck mask, so I put my school stuff aside, and I helped her to make the cutest kindergartener-made duck mask in the history of the world. She played with it for a bit, and we put it in the top of her closet. It had been there for a little over a year when she pulled it out a few weeks ago. When I saw it, I thought of her little five year old hands making each piece of the mask. I thought of how much she has grown up in a year’s time. And I thought of how happy I am that I took the time with her to make the duck mask because we had fun doing it. We have been best friends since the day she was born, and I will do whatever it takes for us to remain best friends. I can’t believe my baby girl is in 2^nd grade now. After her orientation a few weeks ago, I was in my classroom crying about her being on the verge of adulthood, and our new principal walked in. Just my luck! Well, at least he knows I have a heart for children!

Kennedy's First Day of 2nd Grade

Caes's 2nd Birthday

WOW!!!! Today is Case’s 2^nd Birthday!!!!! What a blessing he is to our family! He is so much fun and loves to wrestle with Matt and Kennedy. He also likes to kiss his own boo boos. We often call him our little terror because he wants his way all of the time and SCREAMS when he doesn’t get his way. But, he is precious and he is acting a little more civilized each day. J

Case is currently in love with Mickey Mouse, colors, numbers, shapes, trains, and blocks. We had a Mickey Mouse themed birthday party with family. We ate lasagna, salad, and breadsticks. A friend at church made him the cutest Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake. We had a delightful evening, and today we are taking Case out to eat. I think Case’s favorite part of the party was seeing Pawpaw! Case was saying everyone’s name at the party. He is such an entertainer!

It wasn’t so long ago that our sweet baby boy was born. After having Kennedy, we so wanted another child. When we felt the time was right we began praying for the Lord’s will. I knew that Matt wanted to have a little boy so badly. When we found out that we expecting a baby, Matt began praying for a boy. He would have been utterly ecstatic to have another girl, but Matt has a bunch of toys to share with a boy, and we don’t want those to go to waste! When we found out that the baby was a boy, Matt was speechless!!! We bought him an outfit and bib that day. The bib said, “Handsome like my daddy.” We wrapped the outfit and bib and invited our parents over for dinner. After dinner we let them open the gift and they saw the baby boy blue! It was a precious moment!

Summer's End

We have had such a FUN summer. I know I haven’t posted much, but I’ve just been enjoying time with Matt and the kids—mostly the kids since Matt is at work during the day. I’ve been up late at night preparing things for school. I can’t believe the kids start back next week , and I start back tomorrow! Kennedy is starting 2nd grade! YIKES!!! We have all had head colds this week, so at least that is almost gone before school starts. My baby boy goes back to daycare tomorrow, and I am so very sad. But, there are many moms who do not get two and a half months off with their babies, so I am thankful that I get to be with them 24/7 in the summer. I don’t regret a single thing about my decision to work. I actually think it makes me a better mother. I feel as though I appreciate my time with the kids more than I would if I were at home all day. Everyone is different, though, so if you stay at home, that is a BIG job, and if you’re happy, I’m happy for you. I just have to do what helps me to remain sane. J God bless you all as you prepare for back to school fun!!!!