{week 42}

It's fall, y'all! We headed into Week 42 with a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with some friends. Nothing says fall like hot apple cider, photo ops with tractors, hay rides & choosing just the right pumpkin. Or two. Or four. The week was surprisingly calm and aside from a moustached stranger showing up for dinner one night, we just ambled through the week. Kalea had her 4 year old well child check on Wednesday. She grew 4 inches & gained 5 pounds in the past year - apparently twice as much as average! After three shots & a finger prick she was worn out, got a fever & had to stay home from school the next day. She never does well with the day after vaccinations & this time around was no different, but she recovered after 24 hours and is now taunting her sister with her upcoming well child check shots! We celebrated her wellness with homemade apple tart & caramel sauce. It tasted like fall to me & both recipes were ridiculously easy. You should try them. Really!

At the end of the week we headed down to see Gran in Macon & spent Saturday with her at The Rock Ranch, a 1,500 acre ranch located about an hour south of Atlanta. They host special events throughout the year & we enjoyed lots of their fall activities including hay rides, bounce houses, pumpkin chucking & fishing during their Family Fall Days. It was such a fun time that we'll definitely go back next year or before, during their Christmas celebrations! We ended the day with Cade's family birthday dinner. He was spoiled with Mickey Mouse cupcakes & great toys from his cousins, aunts & uncles.

Fall sure does keep us busy but we love it!

{the training wheels are off}

The other weekend Cassidy decided to just GO for it & try riding her bike without training wheels. Michael was the brave soul who had the honor of running around behind a wobbly girl for the half hour or so that this lesson lasted. What a good daddy!

While I had the pleasure of chasing these two silly kids up & down the sidewalk. Aren't they too cute for words?

 

She ended up with a flat back tire somehow so the lesson came to a halt, but it was a good start. We're so proud of our almost six year old girl!!

{happy 4th birthday, captain kalea}

Happy 4th Birthday to our sweet Kalea Lynn!

We started the day with some gifts from us, Grandma & Grandpa. She was tickled to get a bunch of Jake & the Neverland Pirates accessories & outfit, among a couple books & clothing. Cassidy, of course, had to help!

Then it was on to soccer practice while Mommy set up for the Jake & the Neverland Pirates Party.

Once friends arrived, it was a flurry of pirate & princess dress-up, making pirate bandanas, pizza, pirate booty & making spy glasses for the treasure hunt. Which was a bit of a crazy mess, but what party isn't, right?

We ended with singing Happy Birthday, loaded the kids up on sugary frosting & sent most of them home! :) It was a beautiful & fun day celebrating our sweet girl. It's so hard to believe that she's grown up so much into the kind, thoughtful, silly & loving big girl that she is today. 

{week 32}

What a week!!! Thanks to our friend Julie for loaning me her real camera (since I left mine in Macon!!!) for Cassidy's first week of kindergarten. But, of course, I snapped plenty of iPhone pictures too! We started the week lazily with a pajama day crafting & watching movies in anticipation of the long week ahead. And also, my girls love anything bead/glue/glitter/mess related, so it was a win. Tuesday was the practice bus ride, meet & greet and then the big girl & I had a mommy-daughter date shopping for a first day of school outfit, a couple books - we got "The Kissing Hand" & "Llama, Llama Misses Mama" among other {tearjerkers}, and went out for lunch. Wednesday was the first day of school. Cassidy had a wonderful day and was all smiles getting on & off of the bus. The early morning totally wore everyone in the family out though. Cade took a monster nap in the afternoon and Kalea was asleep in her bed by 6:30 that night!!! 

So, we're adjusting. I'm making bigger pots of coffee in the morning, bedtime is earlier and, thankfully, easier for the most part. Kalea and Cade are getting to spend some quality sibling time together. (And I laugh, because JUST as I typed this, they started fighting. Yep, quality.) It hasn't been without a couple bumps in the road. Cassidy, on the surface, is doing amazingly well with such a big transition. However she's had her moments of complete meltdowns that seem completely unrelated - I'm sure due to being over tired and not quite used to everything. We're back to packing lunches, meal planning (that yummy salmon is this recipe. one pot, super easy, 25 minutes from start to finish) and seeing the sun peak over the trees in the morning. And blessed through all of it. 

{kindergarten}

The post also known as "{should have bought stock in kleenex}".

No, it's actually been a lot better than I imagined, but I do admit to a few tears and little anxiety. And that's just me! Cassidy has handled the transition really well. She did mention multiple times in the last few weeks that she wasn't "ready for kindergarten yet, mama." but in the end she hopped on the bus with barely a backward glance. 

My type A self was relied heavily on friends who have had kids at our elementary school and her 4K angel of a teacher to figure out what was going on the past couple weeks. We shopped for supplies, got mostly the right items, figured out the bus schedule and then waited. Apparently there is a lot less hand holding {for the parents!!!} from the administration compared to preschool. {cue anxious tears} But yesterday at the Meet and Greet, most of the missing pieces fell into place. 

Cassidy & I rode the bus together from her stop to school. Her driver's name is Mrs. B. Mrs. B drives Bus B. How convenient. Then we swung by the class lists, which didn't get posted until that morning because almost 60 students registered the prior day. Poor administrators & teachers!!!! After that it was off to Mrs. Musselwhite's classroom. What a fun place! Cassidy made fast friends with some boys - who we found out live in our neighborhood - playing blocks, then play-doh and exploring the classroom. We did a practice walk from the bus area to her classroom, snapped a picture with her sweet new teacher and then headed to the cafeteria to sign daddy up for PTSA. Hmm, I wonder if he'll catch that! Since we live in the neighborhood right next to school, we decided to just walk home instead of waiting for the bus. She looked too big just walking ahead of me, as if she'd done this a thousand times before. {cue tears}

Today she bounded out of bed, ok, let's be real, she got out of bed with no fussing and was clearly excited. Last night we read Llama, Llama Misses Mama and The Kissing Hand to prepare {me} for her first long day away from home. {cue tears} This morning she opened a first day of kindergarten gift of a heart shaped locket with pictures of Mommy & Daddy inside. We told her that it was her special kissing hand gift and that she could squeeze it if she missed us during school. {cue tears...are you getting the kleenex reference yet?!?} Then it was a quick breakfast, some obligatory pictures - the sign says, "1st day of kindergarten, I want to be an artist, singer & dancer when I grow up!" - & the whole family to the bus stop. {cue tears} We're so proud of our little girl!

{week 19}

Despite Week 19 being a busy week, I didn't manage to capture many pictures! We had a fun start to the week hanging out with some friends who put sponge rollers in Cassidy's hair for the first time which was beyond thrilling to her. The girls had preschool field day & Cassidy had her 4K graduation (I do have pictures, but they're all on the "real" camera. I'll get to those...sometime!!!) She was super excited to get a couple cards & gifts in the mail from family. She's been doing her "homework" almost every day since without us even prompting her!. In the midst of that, I caught strep & was completely out of commission for a day and recovering for another one. No joke, that strep!!! Thankfully nobody else got it though, especially since Michael had to head out of state for work! Cade stepped it up on the exercise front & has begun adding marching to our routine in addition to the "sitting on Mommy's stomach" crunches. Kalea continues to emulate her Aunt "Messy" Jessie on a daily basis - I swear I've never known a messier child...especially when chocolate is involved!!! Good thing she has that silly smile!

{week 18}

Week 18, which feels like a long time ago, kept us busy. We enjoyed the Kentucky Derby with mint juleps & fancy hats, had final soccer games & practices for the season, went to Cade's 18 month well child check (24.6#, 33" tall & just perfect!), the kids exercised with me - Cade sat on my stomach during crunches, Kalea passed out on the couch but Cassidy managed to do many of the moves! 

Cassidy & I attended her Kindergarten orientation mid-week where she got to see her new school, meet some of the teachers, check out a kindergarten classroom and get a little more comfortable with a new place. We tried a couple new recipes, including a seared tuna with avocado salsa that was in the latest Cooking Light. It.was.delicious! And then May snuck up on us and started during all that! 

{week 16}

During the past week it was reaffirmed that I have some of the cutest kids on the planet. Just in case you were wondering. Although Cade went on a sleeping strike two nights out of seven, he still managed to steal my heart one day insisting on snuggling chest to chest on the swings instead of being a big boy & doing it himself like usual. Cassidy's preschool "graduation" pictures came back from the school photographer & I suddenly flashed twelve years in the future. And promptly decided that she isn't allowed to grow up any more. The girls crafted with fruit loop necklaces along with the daily coloring, writing & reading routine every afternoon, we caught a renegade squirrel stealing sunflower seeds from our bird feeder & headed to the Big Shanty Festival on Saturday afternoon with some friends - which wore out everyone & led to dinnertime snoozes for the girls which is practically unheard of at our house. We're getting used to the spring weather & counting down the days until summer vacation and our trip to Pennsylvania!

{week 5}

the girls evaded the camera this week for the most part. 

good thing I can still capture my silly husband & the baby boy. 

(shush, he is too still a baby.)

cade has his 15 month wcc this week & is on track with everything.

his stats: height - 32" (79%), weight - 22.5 lbs (50%), head circumference - 19" (87%)

we must have lineage from mary poppins as he is practically perfect in every way.

{walky walky walky}

Cade has his 15 month well check today. He's 32" tall (79%), weighs 22.5 lbs (50%), his head circumference is 19" (87%) & is totally cute! And, did we mention that he's walking! Within the week he's started walking as equally as crawling &a does so without us bribing or helping. I'm not sure I'm ready for this!!!

{baby steps}

Last night after the girls went to bed, Cade was wide awake due to a long, late nap. He was playing happily in our room making "bam" sounds with a couple rolls of unopened wrapping paper. After getting bored with that he found my slippers, brought them over to Michael & insisted on wearing them. And then he took a step! Just one, but a step for sure. His very first on his own!

During the last week he's really been starting to keep his balance, stand on his own & let go of the furniture he's cruising around. Both Cassidy & Kalea walked "for real" for the first time at Grandma & Grandpa's house in PA over Christmas & we're wondering if Cade is going to make it three for three! How fun would that be!

{count on it}

Grinning because she counted to 100 for the first time!!! So proud of her!

{five}

Happy Birthday to our sweet, caring, curious, creative daughter. We love you!

{one}

Hard to believe but our baby boy is one! He's our sunshine, smiling babe who makes our family complete. At 22 lbs, he's growing & thriving, crawling & cruising, playing & chasing the cats & his ball. He eats like its going out of style & constantly thinks he's just one of the big kids while watching his sisters. What a joy!

{motivation}

Cade's been looking longingly at the stairs for a few weeks. He climbs up on stair, slides back down, rinse, repeat. If I sit up a step or two he just looks at me like, "Pick me up, woman!" Today though, he noticed Kalea climbing up on hands & knees. I'm not sure I'm ready for this, but it may have been the motivation he needed to learn the stairs!

{tree climber}

What a big girl!

{1st tooth}

Over the weekend Cade's first tooth popped through on the bottom front of his mouth. I can see it's match under the gum, so I predict it won't be long until a few more come in as well. I tried to get a picture of this momentous milestone, but, really, what baby will actually let you take a picture of the inside of his mouth? I did get a few extreme closeups & cute pictures of the little guy though. 

He'll be 11 months on Friday (Kalea's birthday!). He's standing & cruising from one place to the next holding on to whatever is available - mommy or daddy's fingers, his sister's little stools, the Dora house, a cat, whatever! He weighs about 20 lbs & is well into 12 month clothing. That said, he is a great eater - still nursing a number of time during the day on top of three meals of baby food + whatever we're having to eat. Last night he chowed down on curried mushrooms, quinoa & Gran's peas. I honestly think he ate as much as Kalea! 

{ahhhhhh-vocado}

Did you know that when you feed a baby solids, it is darn near impossible to keep your mouth closed? Try it. Say, "Open your mouth! Ahhhhh!" Your mouth hangs open like an airport hanger yet the baby looks at you like you've got three eyes. Or, if he manages to open his mouth & keep it open long enough to jab that spoon in with the contents of smashed-something-or-another, he'll spit it out in slow motion then smear it all over his head. And the wall six feet away. 

Well, we have entered the solids portion of babyfeeding. Yes, breastfeeding is still in full swing morning, mid-morning, lunch, before naps, bedtime, in the middle of the night, so on & so forth. But, he was also clearly interested in real people food. We could tell by the grunting, drooling, reaching, grabbing & general hysteria when we'd sit at the table. So, on Cade's 6 month birthday we ventured into the world of food. And there's been no going back because he loves to eat. 

first food. avocado. despite the look, he loves it.  

Baby food/purees were not nearly as successful when we introduced them to Cassidy (think screaming, thrashing, general tantrum throwing...much like 10 minutes ago, honestly!) at 4 months. In hindsight, I honestly think we tried it too early & she just wasn't ready. If you know Cassidy, you know that she is a great learner but when she's not ready, she's just not ready. And when she is ready, she's ready right now & does a fantastic job - like potty training when she woke up & said to Michael, "No piaper on." OK then. We learned from our mistake & didn't introduce solids to Kalea until after 6 months. It went better, but she still had to learn to like them. We had peas on the walls more times than I care to admit from those helicopter arms as Michael or I gingerly navigated spoon to mouth. Cade, however, was born to eat. Again, learning from one child to the next, I decided to skip purees altogether & go with what is called baby-led weaning. Essentially, it's skipping purees & heading straight for mushy enough solids that the child an grasp for her/himself. I guess it's hip right now, but to be honest I just didn't want butternut squash on my ceiling. 


So we started with ripe avocado, followed by almost every other food we ate for dinner that was mushy enough. He's a mess, but doing great. A few weeks ago, I was running through store & found squeezable baby food pouches. What a fantastic idea! For a baby who is a good sucker & likes food & has a mom with spinach on the stairs issues, this is perfect! So we've added a pouch for lunch & dinner since then, supplemented by whatever else we're eating.

The food seems to be agreeing with him. Last weigh in, earlier this week, at 7 & a half months: 19.6 lb!

{oh sit!}

He's rolling as a mode of transportation these days & sitting up!!!!



- Posted from my iPhone

{noodling}

Thanks to a craft exchange at MOPS, we're keeping busy today with noodle necklaces.

It is interesting to see the difference in fine motor skills b/t the two & four year old. They're both having fun though!

- Posted from my iPhone