What one will do for chocolate...

Sam walked into my room with a chocolate Little Debbie snack asking me to open it and I noticed he already had chocolate around his mouth so this was how our conversation went,

Me: It looks like you already ate something.

Sam, putting both hands on his cheek and resting his elbows on the bed:

Keegan made me, Keegan made me get cookies.

Me: He made you? (thinking not too sure if this is exacly how it went)

Sam: Yeah, I told him you get in trouble Keegs.

Me: How many did you have?

Sam holds up one finger: One.

Too cute to get in trouble. Chocolate makes me do crazy things too. (of course we talked about having your own choice in what you do and how people don't make us do things)

S'more Goodness!

We have been having a quiet weekend. I have to stop and remind myself to enjoy it and not feel like I need to be on the go. We have had busy weekends since April. We kicked back around the fire pit with some neighbors, roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. We are lucky to have such good neighbors. The kids had so much fun charring the marshmallows by lighting them on fire and then blowing out the flame. We went through an entire bag of marshmallows. Keegan said s'mores and fireworks are his favorite part of the summer. I just love everything about summer. The boys just showered and washed off the stickyness and bonfire smell and are falling asleep. Ahhhh!

Livi and Beau with Sam, Keegan and Josh

Busy assembling...

Perfectly burnt...

Want s'more of this?

Sam and Hilary

Sticky and oh so yummy!

Our Foxy Loxy

Keegan has been going to the Coterie Theater drama camp each morning this week. We enrolled him because the few times he has had a chance to be on stage he is VERY animated and confident. They read and acted out many well-known folktales. Today was the culmination so they invited the parents to come watch a little bit of what they had been doing all week. Here is Keegan making his debut as Foxy Loxy in the story Henny Penny.



Think he is ready for the big screen?

I should back up by saying that last Sunday night there were a few tears about going to a new place and not knowing what to expect. So Josh gave him a nice pep talk before bed. He told him how it is normal to feel that way when you are about to start something new. Josh let him know that he felt like that starting his new job but now he likes it. To ease Keegan's mind we let him take Josh's cell phone so he could call me if he was feeling uneasy. I told him that if he felt like he needed to call me to do it while he was on a bathroom break.

I walked him in on Monday morning at 9. He was a little shy but not too aprehensive. Sure enough at about 10 my cell phone rings and it's Keegan! Oh no I thought.

Me: Hello

Keegan: Hi

Me: How are you?

Keegan: Good, it's fun here.

Me: (sigh of relief) Great!

Keegan: (whispering) I gotta go. Everyone is leaving the bathroom. Love you. See you at 12.

Me: Bye. Love you.

And like that he had done the reassuring. Yes mom, you pushed me just the right amount. I'm okay. That's what's tough about parenting, knowing when to push, when to pull, when to ease up and when to toughen up. Don't think I'll ever have it figured out.

The short, hushed conversations on the cell phone from the bathroom lasted until Wednesday, until Keegan announced. "I think I'm going to try it with out the cell phone tomorrow." Josh got to take his cell phone to work with him on Thursday and Friday.

Sam's Real Birthday Celebration

Sam's birthday breakfast and new Star Wars shirt.



Happy Birthday, yes you look bigger and older!
Sam, Keegan, and friends Noah, Grace and Lauren went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Sam's birthday. Noah is Sam's friend from Miss Laura's house, where Sam goes on the days I work during the school year. They call each other buddy ol' pals! Grace is Noah's sister. Grace is Keegan's age. Fun was had by all. If that isn't the place where a kid can be a kid than I don't know where is?! :) They were all very worn out by the end, me included. Thankfully, Josh and my friend Melissa met me there to help herd the cattle.

And That's What the Game is all About...

Tonight was Keegan's second to last game of baseball for the season, however the head coach will not be able to be at the last game so he called all the parents over and gave a little speech thanking the parents and saying what a great team we had. We've been very pleased with Coach Hamlin. He gives specific instruction and has a playful but strict demeanor with the kids. At the beginning of the season he let all the players know that if they did not finish their homework before practice they would not be playing. School is their job and baseball is for fun. So back to tonight, as the parents were walking away Coach called Josh over and said quietly to him, "It's kids like your son that are the reason I love coaching baseball. He is so happy and tries hard and he cheers on the other kids. Just little tips on fundamentals and technique and he thrives." Josh told him that Keegan responded really well to him and that we loved watching them play. And that is what it is all about, Keegan, being happy, giving your all and cheering others on. You make us proud everyday. It's nice when other people like your coach take the time to say a little something that goes a long way.

How old are you today, Sam?

I'M FOUR!

I know it sounds cliche but it does not seem like four years ago today that our little Sammy was born! I can remember the three months of bed rest plain as day! I sometimes think of my life as B.B. and A.B. (before bed rest and after bed rest). I am forever indebted to all the support and help that our friends and family provided during that time. I would do it again in a heartbeat to have the final result! (Woah, maybe I need to refresh my memory...lying on my side day after day, blood glucose level readings, painful c-section, being apart from Keegan and Josh...) Big brother Keegan paved the way so that Sam had the chance to go full term. One of my first questions when I woke up out of my morphene state after the c-section was how much he weighed, Josh said 8lbs 2 oz. I about passed out again. Keegan-2lbs 10 oz. to Sam- 8 lbs. 2 oz!

I remember thinking a couple of weeks before Sam was born, this overwhelming since of guilt because Keegan wasn't going to be the center of our world anymore, we were bringing another baby into our family. Like my mom told me it is so natural and it was. Sam just fit into our family and the amount of love you have for one just pours out into loving two! Keegan started calling him "Silly Sammy" to try to get him to stop crying when he was just a day old as we were pushing his crib around the Mother/Baby unit. That nickname couldn't be more fitting. Happy Birthday Sambo! We love you so much!

I think we have a Ben Hogan on our hands...

Skip has collected golf clubs for Keegan. He has his own bag and clubs just his size. He loves to go out to the golf course with Skip. My dad has always taken Keegan putt-putting and he had a good game even when he was 2! I can see a "golf addiction" forming. As Sam and some neighborhood friends were swimming and having a grand ol' time, Keegan was working on his swing (with whiffle balls). Skip was nice enough to leave a spare set of clubs with Josh so he can have a little fun too. I don't know if Josh knows it yet but Keegan already has plans for them to go to the putting green or the driving range TONIGHT. Papa Skip and Papa Mark will be proud (and so would our distant relative Ben Hogan)!

A Very Merry Un-Birthday to You!

Sam kept calling his pre-birthday his pretend birthday. "I'm going to wear these shoes for my pretend birthday? And these for my real birthday." he said. Grandma Yvonne and Papa Skip came down to help him celebrate. Thanks for his gifts and making the trip! We went to eat at Red Robin where he ordered a "big bowl of mac and cheese" and was ecstatic about his ice cream sundae. On Sunday we went downtown Kansas City to the City Market/Farmer's Market. It was nice to get some culture and some fresh summer produce.
















What do you want for your birthday dinner?

Back Talk

As I was rubbing Keegan's back tonight before bed I was reminded of something that he did a couple of months ago. Something my mom and I did when I was little before I would fall asleep was to trace letters onto each others backs to spell out a message. It really is a good game for letter recognition, handwriting, spelling and reading. Who knew, right? I only thought it was a relaxing, bonding routine. Since Keegan can do all these skills now, I showed him the game. I went first by tracing out the letters, H-A-P-P-Y E-A-R-T-H D-A-Y. Then Keegan went. He traced out, Y-O-U - A-R-E - A - G-O-O-D - M-O-M - F-O-R - M-E-. I thought this was the sweetest thing, it made me get very teary. He tells me he loves me and thanks me for buying him things etc. but this was the first time he had expressed something like this with out any prompts. When your kids are infants, toddlers and preschoolers, they take, take, take because their brain development is very ego-centric. Don't get me wrong, I love these years, but I'm also looking forward to what's ahead. After I got his message, I wrote back, Y-O-U- A-R-E - A - G-O-O-D- S-O-N - F-O-R - M-E-.

Now this is summer!

It definitely felt like summer today. We met our Morse gang at one of their subdivision pools. There were fourteen of our kids their. Hopefully their was not a guest limit. We stayed all afternoon!

From top to bottom, left to right:
Tyler -1, Addison-3, Brogan-3 (behind), Ava- 1(crying), Cole-8, Alex -10, Keegan-7, Lauren-9, Sam-3, Kaley-9, Sydney-6, Maclain-6, Dylan-1, Mia-6

Alex was teaching Keegan to dive. Keegan didn't master it today but he is going to try next time.

My little monkeys.

Crown Center and Kaleidoscope

On Tuesday we went with our friends, Christine, Luke and Benjamin to Crown Center fountains and the art center at the Hallmark Visitors Center. This is our second or third summer meeting to do this. Again a great free day and with the price of gas we are hopping on anything to do that is free! Christine is my good friend that I met because she was Keegan's primary nurse when he was in the NICU at KU Med Center. She probably enjoys being my friend since I put her on a pedestal for caring for our preemie!

All the boys getting soaked

Just some simple cups from Panera busied the boys for quite some time in a sand pile they found. It was like we were at the beach in the middle of the city.

Kaleidoscope is a wonderfully creative place. Crayola and Hallmark art materials are available for kids to use in any way they would like.

King Keegan and Samuel sporting their crowns they made.

Don't You Wish We Had a Football Field?

This afternoon I took the boys to the Pleasant Hill High School track and football field so I could jog some laps and the boys could get some energy out. Sam often asks when we are are on a car trip, "Can we stop and get some energy out?". Today did not fail to be a day that my little puppies (strikeout) boys needed to get some energy out. As the boys are long jumping, running on the track and doing somersaults on the mats, I am thinking to myself, why is this the first time I have brought them to this open area that is enclosed by a fence? It was really cute, as I was jogging the boys were sitting up in the bleachers chanting, "Go Mommy Go!". How is that for motivation? As we were leaving, all hot and sweaty and energy released, Keegan says "I wish we had a football field." and I respond, "As do I my son."

Sidenote: And yes if you haven't noticed from the picture, the Pleasant Hill mascots are the Roosters and the Chicks. Thus the reason we will be moving before the children enter middle school!

10 Things My Life Consists Of: (modeled after Clara's post)

http://walkingthenationalmall.blogspot.com/2008/06/10-things-my-life-consists-of.html

10. Mealtimes and Snacktimes - I feel like a full time chef at times. Making and providing 3 meals a day plus at least 2 snacks. Constantly considering: How can I make it more nutritious?What is the most economical meal choice? Should I pack a lunch or should we grab something on the go? How do I please 4 different palates? How do I make something quick and non-messy?
Just when I've cleaned up one meal it's time to start thinking about the next!

9. Random pieces - Whether it be looking for a sippy cup lid that fits or finding a home for tiny toy parts (ninja turtle weapons, Legos, parts that I have no idea what they do) there always seems to be unidentified pieces. They are in every room of the house, in the van and in my purse. I know other moms can relate! Luckily Keegan and Sam can tell you every detail about any piece when asked. "Oh that? That goes to the top of the right wing of the Clonetrooper ship." Okay then!


8. Hygiene practices - assisting in hand washing, bottom wiping, bathing, teeth brushing, nail clipping, applying band-aids, face wiping and lots of antibacterial gels and spray.

7. Answering Questions - I love Jerry Seinfeld's interpretation of being asked questions. He feels some days he should just have a podium to stand at and answer all his wife's questions. As do I, with my kids. Bless these little children's minds for wanting to inquire and learn more. These days are full of a consecutive string of questions. "Why does everyone live in different houses?" "Where are we going now?" "How do airplanes fly?" "Can I make my breakfast by myself?" "What does vitamin B6 do for your body?"

6. Carseats and Seatbelts - My kids are almost to the age where they can use the restraining devices themselves, however Sam not quite yet, which makes for going places a bit time consuming. Keegan usually will be so kind as to help Sam.

5. Wrestling, Roughhousing and Outdoor Play - Boy oh boy, boys sure need a lot of physical contact and gross motor activity! At any moment an innocent wrestling match can break out with incessant laughing.


4. Emails, Phonecalls and Text Messages - Coordinating play dates, making appointments, trying to make contact with the outside world. :) Mom, Clara, Traci and Jeni are usual long distance contacts.
3. Oprah, The View and Regis and Kelly - These are my daily recorded shows. Luckily with DVR I can scan all of them in less than an hour. Every once in a while, like today when Michelle Obama co hosted The View, I will watch it in its entirety. Fastfowarding through commercials of course
2. Blankies, Pillows, Stories and Kisses - So if I am not doing one of the other #'s 10-3. We are trying to calm down and get the boys to sleep for the night or Sam down for a nap. The infamous blankies and pillows are required for sleepytime. Keegan has his moon blanky and plaid pillow. Sam has his airplane blanky and doggy pillow. Sleep is an essential ingredient in our house, for better mood and health! Yes I use to be among the "nap Nazis" but as the boys are older now I can be more like a "sleep cheerleader". (I will have to note that I do not do these things by myself - I have the help of my wonderful husband. Who does these things well and just as often as myself, especially considering the percentage of time he is home compared to me!)

1. Unexpected smiles and hugs - This just makes it all worth it! When one of the boys gives you their irresistible smile and leans into you so you can squeeze their little bodies.