Valentines all around

We had a fun Valentines day this year. Sam has officially outgrown parties, but he did take his Phineas box and angry bird valentines for his friends. It was free dress day, so he took care to look good.

Because it was free dress, Kate's teacher took advantage and combined the Val-day celebration with 100th day of school, and asked all the kids to dress like they were 100. I was a morning volunteer and it was so fun to see all of the kids and walk around as they visited rooms. They did centers all day, so it was super fun for Kate.

The kids were blessed with valentines from family and friends from home too. And Stuart took us all to dinner at Metro Pizza to top off the day.

Leprechaun Trap

Sam came home the other day saying he wanted to make a leprechaun trap. When I asked for an explanation, he said he thought we could build a home that a leprechaun would want to live in, and then the leprechaun would make it his home. Think Gingerbread Baby.

I agreed to the plan, quite honestly thinking that it was some book or school craft activity he'd done and that it would likely never come up again.

This afternoon, he was true to his word, and recruited his sister and her friend to help build the home/trap. They worked hard for a long time, and designed the home below. I love a good holiday craft that requires absolutely no involvement from me.

Christmas pics

Christmas morning

Maddie scored several presents this year, including Greenies

Christmas morning memories

Cousins Kate, Sam, Callie and Kori dressed up for Weeks family Christmas

Phil and Molly's annual picture on the loveseat, 2010

Sam doing the happy dance

Kate's new coat and scarf match!

Sam playing Christmas songs with aid of new piano lamp

Papaw's funnys on Molly's Wii Fit Plus box

Plentiful is an excellent word to describe the breadth of Christmas presents received by our family and the numerous family celebrations we attended as well. Rather than give a blow-by-blow, I'm including some of the better pictures to describe.

Christmas Eve

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is one we glommed on to from someone else. Our friends the Whortons and the Wilkersons were getting together after Christmas Eve services for years, and a few years ago, we tagged along and have never let up since. It's one of my favorite times-- a casual Christmas celebration with friends, so enjoyable. We always cram some of our kiddie traditions in that night too.

We hosted this year and had the Whortons and the Lunsfords over after service. The kids opened their Christmas Eve pjs (adopted Wilkerson tradition) and blew out candles on Jesus' birthday cake (we've done this since they were little but the Whorton's use an ice cream cake-- yum!) Then we play games. Now that the kids are older, they were able to join in some and it was a really great time. Nanny was there for a bit, but left before we ate to rest up for her company tomorrow.



Nanny gave the kids new bikes for Christmas




Kids help Nanny open her presents




Serious gaming



Learning a new game with Doug and Luke



Adella reaches for a new piece




Non-game-players



Sweet Sam (I'm sure I have a dozen posts labeled this!)

Last week Sam came home from school excitedly telling me about some snowmen that are in his music teacher's class. I admit, I probably wasn't giving him my full attention, though I get so little info from school you'd think I'd perk up. The conclusion of his verbal dialogue was, "So she still needs two more and I was thinking we could get her one for Christmas!" Now I'm listening.

"Get her what, did you say?" I ask.

Sigh. "Get her one of the snowmen she needs in her room."

I explained that I was going to need a few more details about said snowmen-- what do they look like, how big are they, and more importantly, do you know where she got them? He said he didn't, but he knew Mrs. Barnard (last year's teacher) had given her one and so he'd ask. And by golly, he did.

The next day, he came home with a written piece of paper that said, "Hallmark Snowman Drummer." (I'm positive it wasn't spelled correctly, but I can't remember exactly and didn't want to misquote him.) Of course, this was Thursday, when I was ready to fly out of town for the weekend before Christmas, so I had to put his idea on hold in classic mom fashion: "Okay, Sam, thanks for finding out the details. That's great, but I'll have to see what I can do next week when I get back." He was a little deflated, but satisfied with my response. I even made a note on the noteboard, so he'd know I remembered.

I went yesterday to purchase said drummer, and fortunately for me, the sales clerk knew exactly which snowmen I wanted. Unfortunately, no drummer existed, nor was there ever a drummer. I chose one of the 4 and came home. Sam knew that the one I'd purchased was one she had, plus she'd gotten another just yesterday, so now only one remained. We hurried to the closest Hallmark and purchased the remaining snowman. (The sales clerk there asked who it was for and knew another student had purchased her the same one earlier that night! Ugh!) Sam wrapped it up and took it into school today. He even made a card declaring her the best music teacher ever.

I admit, I was a bit of a Scrooge when it came to this errand. I purchase teacher's gifts throughout the year so I'm ready in December, and admittedly do not include every teacher at school on my list. I was thinking, now are we starting a precedent of gifting to the music teacher? Do we have to gift to PE and art too? Who else? One more thing to get last minute. Ugh!

But really, isn't it sweet that Sam noticed something his teacher liked and wanted to meet her need with a gift? Isn't that the very behavior I should be encouraging in my child? I am really proud of him for thinking of her, and I know she'll appreciate being appreciated too. What a sweet Sam.

Easter Pictures

Yes, we celebrated Easter. The Easter bunny came and everything. We took a few pictures-- be sure to note the really cute red dress, because I had to take it back afterwards. According to Kate, "Mommy sold my dress back to the store." Mommy did that because the dress ripped (strap and hem) on the first wear and then the red bled all over the white ribbon during the first wash. The dress went back. I'm just glad they took it. It was cute for the day though!

Nature or Nurture?

Apparently, my ambivalance for V-Day has passed on to the next generation. Kate did her valentines for school on Tuesday with Megan (during which she made a very funny comment about her friend Lincoln being "beautiful"). So we talked Tuesday, yesterday, and again this morning about whether or not she wanted to take valentines for her friends at Jo's. Her reply was always a very firm no. Until we got to Jo's, of course, when Riley kept saying "I brought valentines! I brought valentines!" After a few minutes, Kate starts to frown and says, "I want to bring valentines too!" Oh dear. Well, I guess we'll be bringing Valentines next week. It's the holiday that keeps on giving.

Our Tenth Anniversary

Friday was our 10th wedding anniversary. With a December anniversary and small children, big celebrations do not frequently occur. So, we had a family celebration.

The day of our wedding, Stuart and I went through the drive-thru at Winstead's in Independence (no longer there), and it's always been a favorite memory from that day. So, we decided to take the kids to Winstead's on the Plaza and then drive through the lights. They really enjoyed Winstead's, having never been there, and were more excited about the lights than I really expected them to be.

On the short drive to the Plaza (like 2 blocks), we pulled up alongside horse-drawn carriages making their way to the Plaza. The kids went crazy about the horses, begging us to let them ride. I had no plan to let them do so, but when we parked and looked at the lights, I guess we just got caught up in the excitement and Stuart said, "Let's go!" They were thrilled. It was cold that night, and of course I hadn't brought gloves or hats, but the wool blanket they provided kept us warm. We had a slow horse, Governor, and so we had a long ride around the Plaza. It was beautiful and the kids had so much fun. The driver told us that the horse liked Christmas carols, so we sang Jingle Bells and Rudolph at the top of our lungs (if that was you passing by on the street, sorry.) She also told us that the carriage was a replica of Abraham Lincoln's carriage, so Sam was pretty excited about that too.

When we got home, I surprised Stuart with a cake that was supposed to be like our wedding cake, and was close enough to make the point. All in all, it was a great anniversary.

December pics

Actually, this happened Thanksgiving weekend too, but the kids went to visit Santa at a pancake breakfast fundraiser at the clubhouse. They had lots of time with Santa, but I couldn't help but laugh at the poor volunteers ill-fitting beard. Really, we'd have great pictures if it weren't for the double-mustached Santa.

I mentioned our snow day. We had a great time making cookies. Kate cut and Sam sprinkled. Taking the picture was more of a chore, though, and Sam's decided he doesn't want Kate putting her arm around him when they take pictures anymore. You'll notice our other pictures this month have him standing behind. Very intentional.

This is a picture of the two kids looking at picture albums while we're trying to put up Christmas decorations. I just think they look cute sitting there together, like they like each other.

I took this picture Sunday morning before church to show off the kids in some of their Christmas finest. I'm notorious for having multiple Christmas dresses, sweaters, etc, so we have to take lots of pictures.

Thanksgiving 2009

This year, we treked to the Lake of the Ozarks for Thanksgiving. Kate and Sam got to play with their second cousins, Kori and Callie, which was a lot of fun. At some point, Sam was overwhelmed by girl time and retreated to the TV, but he did a pretty good job coping. Neither of them really enjoyed the feast-- I think Sam ate 3 rolls and Kate liked the green beans and pumpkin pie.

We stayed overnight at a hotel across from the Osage Beach outlet malls. The kids loved getting to swim, and we had the whole pool to ourselves. By whole pool, it sounds massive, but it was in fact about the size of my living room. They loved it. I went outlet shopping on Black Friday with my parents, which was semi-productive. I'm down to 3 people on my list now, so that's pretty good.

We took them to see Santa at a local fundraising breakfast. We had Chris Cakes first and then they sat on santa's lap. The picture is great of the two of them, but I can't help but look at Santa's mustache, which was showing underneath the fake beard/mustache he was wearing. Odd. Oh well. They loved it anyway. Sam kept going over to the Chris Cakes pancake guy and talking his ear off. I'm not sure what he was talking about, but that conversation went on and on. I guess we can safely say he has my gift of gab. Sam asked Santa for Han Solo's lego ship (the Millenium Falcon for those who aren't up to speed), and Kate asked for a "princess dress with a crown." Both pretty good requests. I'm thrilled that my kids are able to narrow the list down to one thing for Santa-- it seems so much less greedy, even if in their hearts they want one of everything.

They really play so well together and had a great time over the long weekend. On Thanksgiving and every day, I can say we're truly blessed.

Sam's 6th

Yesterday, my sweet Sam turned 6. I've always thought of him as my sweet Sam, because he is so good-natured. I have a feeling I'll be kissing not only the moniker, but the attitude good-bye when school starts this week. I just keep praying that they don't crush his spirit.

We had a good birthday. He woke up and opened presents (little ones) from Kate and me. I got him a card that sings, because he really wanted one like that, so they fought over that for a while. "Shake Your Groove Thing" was the song and the card told him to "Shake what your mama gave you," to which I added: "God and your mama gave you good stuff!" I thought it was funny, but probably underappreciated.

We had the Summer of Fun tour of the chocolate factory and lunch at Fritz's train restaurant today. He had a good time. He looks so much older now than at this time last year. I guess he is!

Then, as the final topper on the cake, I took him for a surprise trip to Chuck E Cheese. I always feel like mid-week birthdays are hard for my kids, because the party usually isn't until the weekend, and Dad isn't even home. So, CEC is generally on the agenda. I can only stand to go about once a year, so never say I didn't sacrifice for my children. Beth Scholes told me that she hopes she can go without ever having to take her kids-- yeah right.

So, all in all it was a good day. Several friends and family members called to wish him happy birthday, and I think that means a lot to him. Party comes this weekend, so that will be interesting and blog-worthy I'm sure.

Christmas Pics

I'll just say this: We did a sad job of taking pictures over Christmas this year. Sad. Not one picture of my brother with the kiddos, only one or two of Christmas morning. Sad. Here's what I came up with to share:


Sam and Kate waiting to take the dog gate (i.e. chair) down from the stairs to see what Santa left!

Kate checking out Baby Cinderella. Note Star Wars ship in the background. BIG ship.

Kate on her new princess tricycle. It was from Mamaw and Papaw. I need a picture of her in the beautiful (and machine washable) princess dress that Grandma made and gave her too, but alas, no picture of that.


Sam and Kate enjoying some foaming bath soap after Christmas. Unfortunately, the top got messed up on this, their first use, and so the entire canister of bath foam was dispensed within about 10 minutes. Needless to say, it was a mess. I think there is still foam in there...

Christmas Recap

What a crazy December we had! It seemed like we were constantly running from event to event. (My dishwasher never stopped running either!) We had a really nice holiday, and I'm sure I won't remember all of the exciting details, but some of my favorite moments with the kids are documented below. You know, for posterity.

Sam had a laundry list of items he wanted for Christmas, but Santa chose to bring MarioKart AND a Star Wars LEGO spaceship. Between that and all of his other loot, he was pretty well satisfied. Stuart showed him how to track Santa's flight on Christmas Eve, so despite my attempts to keep up with our other traditions—Jesus' birthday cake and happy birthday song, Christmas pjs, reading of our favorite Christmas book—Sam was really just concerned with getting on the laptop to see where Santa was. He even made Dad bring the laptop to his bedroom to check one last time before going to sleep.

When he woke up the next morning, he snuck into our room and whispered, "Santa came, mommy, and he brought me just what I wanted!" "How do you know that?" I asked. "I looked! Santa didn't wrap his presents like on TV!" "That's because Santa didn't think that you would peek!" I said. So I guess next year, Santa's wrapping presents. Sam waited a full hour before we let him wake up Kate and head downstairs. He was so excited about the whole thing that he was jumping up and down and cheering, so Kate did too.

Kate had asked for Dora and a baby doll. So, Santa brought her a Dora doll and a baby Cinderella doll that crawls and giggles. She was very pleased. He also brought her a toy doctor's kit, which she now refers to as her 'doctor purse.' It was a big hit. In fact, I couldn't now tell you, two weeks later, where the Dora doll ended up, but she plays with the doctor's kit and calls herself Dr. Kate.

We had lots of time with family and friends over the holidays, including a visit from my brother and his wife. The kids really enjoyed that. We all went to movies, played putt putt inside the mall, and played MarioKart. One night we went to see Bedtime Stories, minus Sam and Stuart, and when the credits came on at the beginning—with the big Disney castle logo and such—Kate started yelling, "It's Cinderella's Castle! I see it. You see it mommy? That's Cinderella's Castle!!!" Fortunately, I think it was more amusing and less annoying for the full theater of people. At least I hope so. Philip thought it was hilarious.

While we were at the movie, Sam went to a birthday party at CocoKey (indoor water park) for one of his classmates. You know how Sam has a way with the ladies, but apparently he was quite a hit and had a great time at the party. Stuart went as our official lifeguard/chaperone. Apparently his idea of chaperoning is a little different than mine, because Sam came home and, after prompting from Stuart, told us that he got kissed by the birthday girl in the HOT TUB. I'm not sure at what age I thought hot tub kissing would start, but I really don't think I anticipated 5.

All in all, it was a pretty great Christmas. I sure am glad to have it over with though!

Crown Center

Sam has this thing about Crown Center. We saw two santas earlier this week, but he wanted to go see Santa again at Crown Center this weekend. After a 90 minute wait (UGH!), we finally saw Santa again. They asked for basically the same things. Kate was funny.. when he asked her if she'd been a good girl she responded, 'Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm." I thought 'isn't that the truth!'

We really went to see the trains at Union Station, but we ended up back at Crown Center.

Santa Visits

We had a snow day at our house yesterday. That doesn't mean too much with a preschooler and toddler at home, but I thought it would be fun to have a completely free day with nothing to do. We'll just run a couple of errands. Right.

The kids wanted to go see Santa, and frankly I thought that might entice Kate to stop crying about gymnastics class being cancelled, so off we went. After a couple of quick stops, I figured out Sam thought we were going to see Santa at Crown Center. I explained that I meant to see Santa at Independence Center—which was all very confusing, the idea of santa being at both places and all. I'm not a convincing liar I'm afraid. I mean, imaginer—not liar.

We made it to Santa at the Independence Center and he was just fine. He asked the kids what they wanted and even helped when needed. That was good, because Kate's response to his inquiry about what she wanted for Christmas went something like this: "Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm……" He suggested a baby doll and she said yes (I thought – HA!). And he clarified, "Like a Dora?" "Yes! Dora!" she said. Perfect.

For Sam, he said he wanted a Star Wars ship. "A lego one?" Santa asked. "Yes," Sam replied. Great.

While at lunch, we got a call from Sam's train buddy Bill informing us about the Santa Train visiting downtown Blue Springs. I flew into high gear and got Kate down for a nap, wrapped presents, and got to Blue Springs by 4 pm to meet Bill and see the Christmas Train. I hadn't planned on the 45 minutes outside waiting in line for the train, but the kids were super and played in the snow and ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate. Would you know that neither one of them complained once? It's a standard I had trouble living up to myself. This Santa was friendly, but pretty busy, so no new lists were created.

October Picture Update

Okay, big events. Lots of pictures. Here we go...

These are a couple of cowboy pics from our day at the pumpkin patch...

Now a picture of the infamous storm trooper pumpkin...

And Kate the birthday girl, on her actual birthday. We celebrated with a trip to (where else) McDonalds. She loved it. At her checkup she was 35.5 inches (90%) and 32 pounds (95%). I really thought she would be taller than that! Doesn't she look super fly in her cute birthday outfit?!

Now for halloween. Spooky halloween. Kate was Cinderella (pronounced: sin-dee-REL-ah) and Sam was a jedi, which Kate readily told people.

And here's a picture of what Kate thinks is beautiful (like Cinderella):

And Kate's birthday party, a Dora-filled family celebration:

Our friend Doug (known to kate as "My Dougie") spent some quality time coloring with the birthday girl. She also received a phone call from our celebrity friend, Lindsay. (or she's at least celebrity status to Kate)

We also had two soccer games this weekend. Here's Mr. Soccer in action. Or not.

Top off the weekend with a sick day for mom, a sick day for Kate, and small group, and you've got a good picture of our very busy Halloweekend.