whobody caught the most fish?

Well....as you can tell by the tally that Keaton kept...he caught the most fish. He made sure to let everyone know that too. By "caught" he means "reeled in".  We won't discuss the fact that Jason actually hooked 1/2 of them and then offered the pole to Lola, who refused it...and then offered the pole to Keaton to reel in.  Keaton is our child who LOVES to fish.  Luckily we have Grandpa Tractor's beautiful pond to go fishing in. 

(keaton)

When we go fishing, Keaton is a champ. He loves to cast, loves to sit and watch the bobber, and LOVES to reel in the fish. He will even touch the fish and sometimes hold it after it is caught. This is a big step for the kid who once jumped up crying onto a table at preschool because he was scared of the baby kitties that someone brought to show.

(nash)

Our other son, Nash, will not be going fishing again for awhile. The whole "family fishing trip" idea was really not a great one.  As far as we can tell, Nash is actually thinking that he should jump in the water and catch the fish by hand. (for real)  He really runs toward the water and tries to get in. (Notice the life jacket.)  We gave him a pole to hold...thinking he might try to be like Keaton....he just kept whipping it down into the water...getting the top of the pole muddy and mossy. I brought along a couple balls and a bat for him to play with while we fished...he threw those into the water.  Ummm....the two of us just ended up going on walks for most of the evening.

(lola)

Lola likes the idea of going fishing...but in reality...she is more interested in heading up to grandpa's cabin to get a treat or chips or water or go to the bathroom.....  She likes errands.  I think that once she learns to cast, she will enjoy fishing more, but for now....she just likes to be a spectator.  She also might be a little afraid of the fish. She has no problem touching them or holding them, but is always afraid of reeling them in.  On this night, she had to "go pee" soon after we got there. I was already halfway around the pond with Nash and Jason was helping Keaton get a fish off of his hook....So I hollered for her to squat behind the car. I tried to also holler instructions, but she couldn't hear me. (This was her first time 'squatting'.)  By the time Jason got there to help...it was already too late. :)  Luckily I had a change of pants in the car. I guess we will have to work on that outdoor skill a little more this summer....just in case of 'emergencies'. Below is a picture I took right after she finished saying "mom, take my picture!"

Lola actually fished a little...but as you can see, doesn't pay very close attention to her bobber...

Keaton and Dad were hard at work...

Keaton wanted to have a picture of one of the Bluegills that he caught...

And yes, by the end of the evening, I had Nash confined in the 'playpen' a.k.a. the car. I had the keys out and was standing there the whole time. This was actually where we was the happiest...I only let him hang out of the window for a little bit.  Funny. It seems like once Nash started honking the horn, we really didn't catch very many more fish......



whobody lost their FIRST tooth?

That is right! Keaton is now a "man" (or so Lola says)....he lost his first tooth.  He is very excited about it!  It happened on Monday night (1 week ago)....he had been talking about how it was loose for quite some time, so I strategically made corn on the cob...and it happened on his first bite! He didn't know what happened at first, he just wondered why there was blood on his corn on the cob... :) *sorry if that grosses you out.... but then Jason helped him find his tooth (on the table, thank goodness) and then it was all fun and games from there! Any time I bring it up to anyone in front of Keaton, he kind of puffs his chest out and gets a VERY proud look on his face. My little guy is growing up!!!

<from new tooth....>
(I should point out that this is Keaton when he was 1)

 <to no tooth.....>

It really happens pretty fast! I guess this is just another one of those times that

I realize how fast the kiddos are growing up.

On another note....I am feeling "normal" again! Yay! I haven't really felt sick for almost a week now...which is very refreshing. I am still a little tired (as can be expected), but I feel like I can function as a normal citizen of society...oh yeah, and function as a Mom again! That being said, I need to get off of the computer and get out to the garden. I need to hunt for my vegetables and then pull the weeds around them so that I can find them more easily next time!

whobody is a first grader?

 from this...

to this!

Today was Keaton's last day of Kindergarten...and BOY was he ready! He has been ready for weeks now...so I am glad it is finally here. He will miss school, but I think that he is just getting exhausted and needs a break! All day kindergarten, 5 days a week....was just too much for this little guy.  Emotions were always running high by Thursday afternoon.  I guess we just keep him a little too busy... :)  Well, the first picture, in the red shirt, is Keaton on the first day of school this year....the second picture, in the blue shirt, is today.  It is a little hard to compare the 2 :) because of the silly face I am getting...but I couldn't get him to give me a real smile...he kept giving me this one...

I'm not sure where this smile came from, but that was all he could give me this morning. He was very busy working on drawings for his teachers and wanted to get them done before the bus came....my photo shoot was interrupting his work!!!

He has grown up so much since he started kindergarten....he is a much braver little boy than before. He used to be deathly afraid of any animal (except bugs or worms) and wouldn't ever go near them. Now he is open to petting almost any animal! I am also amazed at how well he is already reading as a kindergartner! I am loving seeing him grow, but I sure hate to lose my little boy!  I have this saying hanging above my purse/coat rack.  "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." by Dr. Seuss.  I need to repeat that to myself daily because I have always been bad with things changing! 

At kindergarten graduation the other night he even got the "Best Handwriting" award! He was very proud. It was a super cute program, the teacher gave each kid a special award.  They all loved it  (but my pictures did not turn out well...so none on here).

Well...I WILL say that I am very much looking forward to the official summer starting. Not so many schedules and routines...more free for all fun! (Although...summer IS always exhaustingly busy.)  I guess Jason and I need to work on our 'bucket list' for the summer. Phew....blog posts done, for now. Hopefully I can be a little more regular about posting soon!

By the way...baby's heartbeat on Tuesday was 155bpm. I just love to hear that quick little heartbeat! :)

whobody went on a field trip?

Keaton's kindergarten class went on a field trip to a nature center in Elgin.  Luckily, I was able to be a chaperon (along with like 10 other moms, thank goodness).  We had a blast, but, boy, was it tiring! The day started out with each "mom" getting assigned 2 or 3 kids. I, of course, got Keaton and 2 other sweet boys (in the background here).  When we got to the nature center, our class got to start out by going fishing! They gave us poles for each kid, 2 worms, and a scissors (that did not cut, by the way)...oh and a hand towel.   I guess the hand towel was to wipe the worm guts off of our hands (at least that is what I used it for).

 I spent about 45 minutes putting worms on hooks and taking fish off of hooks.  The boys were catching fish left and right! They really had a great time. Here is a picture of Keaton with his fish! He was very proud...

 Next we got to go to the "petting zoo" which had goats, sheep, and pot bellied pigs. Keaton's favorite was the sheep.  I had to take a picture, because a year ago he would have been too afraid to go into the pen! He has come a long ways! (By the way, now he wants to get a sheep for a house pet because it was so soft he wanted to sleep with it!)

 We then looked at the chickens and turkeys...and more.

...And then we went on a HIKE....and when I say hike, I mean hike. It was fun, but even the kids were exhausted when we were done! It was really a great day. I love to see Keaton in his 'school mode' and I also love being able to put faces and personalities to names that he comes home talking about.  He really has a great kindergarten class...and teacher!

We both had a GREAT field trip!

whobody graduated from "little" preschool?

Well...Lola is a very proud 4 year old. She is done with preschool...for the year.  She attended preschool at the Daycare Center here in town. She LOVES it there (as did Keaton) and it has been a wonderful introduction into to school for my sheltered, stay at home mom, children. :) Lisa is the teacher and she is so great with the kiddos!  Lola had a great time at preschool and made new friends...but mostly kept her oldest and bestest friend, Colton. She was lucky to get to go to school with him this year...they are such good friends. Here are some pictures from the end of the year program that they had for parents and grandparents:  First, is a picture of Lola in her seat before the program began...

Next is a picture of Lola during the performance...they are singing a song about all of the kids' names in the class and clapping out the syllables. If you look closely :) her neighbor wasn't quite cooperating. The rest of the class was standing up and clapping just like Lola. (By the way, this boy was very entertaining the whole time :)

 At the end of the program Lola picked Grandma Tractor to come up and do a dance with her.  Lola just loved showing us all of the songs and rhymes that she had learned throughout the year. I think that she is really going to miss preschool this summer (so. am. I.)

Next year Lola will be moving onto "big" preschool (we call this one "little" preschool)...our school district has a 4 year old preschool that Lola will get to go to. She is excited to be getting closer to kindergarten, but a little nervous about the change....I am sure that Keaton will prepare her well this summer. Today was the last day of school, and he was already sitting her down on his bed and going through his "sound" book with her to help get her ready for kindergarten. 

whobody should NOT have checked facebook?

So after visiting grandpa the other night, I decided to stop at the Burger Barn to get some ice cream for the kids. They have been really great about spending so much time going to the nursing home and they really show a lot of love towards grandpa while we are there visiting...so I told them I was going to reward them with some ice cream!

We brought it home, I split it up between the three of them, I made them take their shirts off (Zanzibar chocolate is hard to get out of clothes), I sat them all down at the table and they started to enjoy their treat.  I decided I should run over to the computer quick and check facebook and my email.... this is what I came back to:

I will say it WAS worse than it looks in the picture...he got his chair and the floor too! Thank goodness it was bath time! :) Next time, I think I will stay at the table...

whobody is a gymnastics star?

Okay. So I am a little behind on the blogging thing. I apologize.  I hate to be the one to play the "I'm pregnant" card, but hey, I'm pregnant. :) I have been utterly and totally exhausted (and pretty nauseous) and so if something isn't top priority, it hasn't been getting done around here. 

Things that have been getting done: kids fed, kids bathed, kids clothed, kids loved, laundry washed and dried (not put away),  and tee ball played. We have also spent a lot of time visiting Grandpa Firetruck at the nursing home...which totally triggers my nausea because he is sad, which makes me sad...which makes me sick AND the place totally smells like urine...which also makes me sick. :(  Other that that we have just been living life around here!

So about a month ago, Keaton and Lola had their gymnastics recital... they have gymnastics practice throughout the school year every Wednesday for 1/2 hour. It is amazing what they learn...and how flexible kids can be! Here are some action shots:

Here the kids are lined up at the end of their program to take their bows...

 and Keaton and Lola with the flowers that Grandma Piano gave them.  They had a blast...and I would write more about it....except, instead I am just going do some more posts.  Looking through my pictures I am thinking I better catch up! Summer is here!