Costume Parade at Ditto

Every year the elementary where Cooper and Natalie go has a costume parade. It is so cute to see every kid in the school walk across the stage in some of the most creative costumes. Each grade has a specific place to sit and watch the parade as it winds through the school. The first graders were in the library, while the second graders were in the cafeteria. I have pretty much given up on trying to 'catch' a picture of Cooper or Natalie crossing the stage because not only are they walking ridiculously fast, but my camera just does not want to cooperate. I have learned to get my picture when they first get to school and consider it a bonus if I catch them any other time!

I was assigned to take pictures of the 1st grade classes. I totally took this job seriously. I went into every classroom and took random small group pictures, then took the class pictures after the parade. Some of the most creative and/or fun costumes:

*albino peacock

*Junie B. Jones

*Elvis (he even included the dancing on the stage)

*old man, complete with a walker and small stutter steps

*an iPhone

*Holy ghost (a sheet with holes in it)

*Pink Supergirl

*Wonderwoman

*Mario Brothers

*tourist

*nerd

*bride

*a gangsta

*a beauty queen

*the Tin Man

*a candy corn

*an elf

*a Texas Ranger catcher (with a big ol belly)

It is always so fun to see how creative these kids (or moms) get with costumes. I would love to say that I have 'made' a costume before. Nope. I do not have that talent. I do have a talent for getting them off of Ebay months beforehand though. Cooper, Natalie and Luke seem OK with that. Thank goodness.

Playing at the Park

I kept Grayson and Michaela today as a double playdate for Luke. We met Paige at the Kennedale Town Park to let the kiddos play and burn off some energy. Such fun to see how they all interact. Luke is such a gentleman and so sweet with Michaeala. He tries to help her get up on one of the rocking toys, spins her on the merry go round and slides down the slide with her. He would even include her when he was playing a game with the boys. I love seeing him treat her so kind.

After 2 hours of active play, we decided it was time for lunch. We headed home for some mac and cheese and a nap for the younger ones. Claire caught a quick nap in the sling at the park, but was quite happy to get to lie down and stretch out for her afternoon nap.

Drool Central

Claire has the most amazing ability to drool. I'm not talking minor league drool, I am talking MAJOR league. So much drool, that she will completely soak a bib before noon. We go through 2-3, sometimes 4 bibs a day. I really do not like covering up her cute clothes with bibs, but I also do not like the whole front of her outfit to be wet. I know that I would not want to be wearing a wet shirt, so I assume she does not either.
She started this 'super-drool' at about 2 months, so I have been on the look out for some little teeth to be growing in. Everyday, I think 'maybe I will get to see some white buds today'. Nope. Just tons of drool. Oh well, I'll keep my tooth vigil up!

Mary's Halloween Party

My friend, Mary, has a Halloween Party every year. It isn't necessarily on Halloween per se, but somewhere in the month of October, within a week or two. It is always a lot of fun, because she goes ALL OUT. She doesn't just invite people over and throw some chips on the table. Oh no, she not only has 'themed' food and decorations galore, but she gets 1-2 bounce houses, has crafts for the kids, games for the kids, trick-or-treating throughout the house and much, much more. The other fun part is that MOST people dress up. Like serious dress up. I don't know why I think it is so funny to see adults dressed up, but it is. Things Mary has been: little Bo sheep (Scout was the sheep), a Travelocity gnome, a Wal-Mart greeter, Juno (from the movie). Our family has so much fun there. The kids start asking abut it at the beginning of October. :>)

First Grader Walking to School?

This week there was a first grade girl who was killed while she was walking to school. A first grader?!? I have a first grade girl and I can NOT imagine letting her walk over a mile to school, along 2 very busy streets. (Park Springs and Arkansas). I know that there are probably circumstances that I am not privy to, but still, couldn't the mom have at least walked her across the street. After that, the girl would not have to cross any street until she got to the school.

2 days after the accident, on a school day, I ran by where the accident occurred. I wanted to see how busy the traffic was. All I can say is that, as a runner, I would not run across where she had her daughter cross. It was about 50 yards past the crest of a hill. Even if the gentleman who hit her had been going 30 mph, he still would have had a hard time stopping in time. (The mom is advocating changing the speed limit from 40mph to 30 mph.)

I think it is a tragic accident, not only for the little girl and her parents, but also the gentleman who hit her. His life will be ruined as well. Hopefully, there will be something good that comes out of this most unfortunate event.

Reserve Judgment

It is not always what it seems. There are always 3 sides to a story: what one side says, what the other side says and somewhere in the middle is what really happened. It is SO easy to judge. To look at a situation from afar and draw your own conclusion. Then you find out a little of the back story and realize how wrong you really were.

Example that always comes to my mind:

A man is in the airport with his 3 children. It is late at night, and they are waiting for a connecting flight. The man looks tired, while his children are running around and rough-housing. It appears as if he does not even notice what a spectacle his children are. Everyone around them seemed to be getting bothered and annoyed with the children's antics. Finally, a lady approaches the man and asks if there is anything he can do to control his children. He looks at her with sad eyes and says, "I buried their mother yesterday. I am trying to get them home to start over." The woman took a deep breath before she apologized with all her heart and asked how she could help him.

How easy it is to pass judgement. Rarely, does a person who is not involved in a situation, know the whole story. The person may know some or even most of the story and think that they have it all figured out. Yet they are missing a key piece of information. A piece of information that would lead them to a completely different conclusion. I really try to refrain from passing judgement. And if I do, I really try not to verbalize my feelings. "Judge lest not you be judged" rings in my head all too often.

Throwing stones from my glass house is never a good idea.

Reading to 2nd Graders

I read to Cooper's home room class, Mrs. Boggs class every Thursday at 3pm. Usually there is a Geronimo Stilton book sitting there for me to tackle. I try to make it interesting and fun, using different voices and really exclaiming when there is an exclamation point. I'm sure in years to come this will not be acceptable in the eyes of Cooper, but for now he thinks it is great. There is just something about doing something so small and minute, yet has such an impact on not only Cooper, but his 21 other classmates.

14 miles in the RAIN

Yes, this is one of my long runs in getting ready for the marathon. Tony texted me asking if we were still on for running even though it had rained all night. I replied back that as long as it was barely coming down, we might as well head out and get it over with.

Well, we were running along, with this barely sprinkling shower. It did not let up, it was just steady coming down...no big deal. Once we got 6.5 miles out, all the way to Park Row, it was like the sky opened up. Down came the rain in diagonal sheets of rain. Wow. Since we were almost to the halfway point, we decided to finish the run (vs. calling John or Julie to come pick us up). It continued to rain with quite an intensity for the duration of our run. By the last 2 miles, we were literally running in 1-2 inches of water. There was no avoiding puddles. My shoes were completely under water a few times.

The saving grace? The temperature. If there was a perfect temperature for running in the rain, it would have been this temperature. It was not hot and I was not freezing. That was the only pleasant part of the run.

Two words to describe the run: PRUNED FEET.

Happy 8th birthday COOPER!!

Cooper is 8 years old now. WOW! Now, this is something I have a hard time grasping. It sounds so weird to say that I have an 8 year old!

He is getting so tall. I am quite sure that I will be looking him in the eye in the next few years. After that, I will need to stand in a chair to talk to him!

Cooper is so smart. I had always hoped that my children would be intelligent, but Cooper exceeds that. He is in a high math class and a high language arts class. He reading chapter books regularly and enjoying them. He routinely gets 100's on his spelling tests, without even studying. I think he is so SMART. The only think that holds him back from his full potential is that he rushes through his work and leaves some of the questions blank. I am trying to teach him to double-check his work, but that is a hard skill to master, I guess.

The best thing about being 8? NO CAR SEAT! Cooper has officially graduated OUT of a car seat. Now he can sit anywhere in the car, but the front passenger seat. This is such a huge thing, after having to have 4 car seats in my car all the time.

One of the sweetest things about Cooper? How he treats Claire. He just loves her. He lets her pull his hair and slobber on him (though is does gross him out). He will feed her and talk this sweet, quiet voice to her. She responds to him with a wide open smile. I think she admires him as much as he adores her. I hope they grow up with a special relationship like this.

Claire is ALREADY 6 Months Old!!

It seems that time is going by fast, but then it isn't. Pretty ambiguous statement, but it is true. In a way I cannot believe that she is already 6 months, but on the other hand, I feel like I have soaked up and enjoyed every day of this 6 months.

A few things about Claire:

• She is a slobberbox! I mean that is the most affectionate way possible. She can completely soak a bib in 2-3 hours. I have to change her clothes 3-4 times a day, because the front of her outfit will be so wet that it is sticking to her skin. Also, all that slobber has lead to a little rash/redness below her chin. I got some Nystatin from the pediatrician to treat it.
• She is such a happy baby. She loves life. She smiles and giggles so much. She is so loved by us (me and John) and all 3 of her siblings. Cooper is so incredibly sweet to her, it warms my heart. Natalie loves and adores Claire and will frequently sing to her or entertain her in her crib until I can get there. Luke will feed her her 8 o'clock bottle every morning while they watch Wordworld together. It is so cute to see her in her pink Boppy bouncer and Luke right beside her in his little chair, holding the bottle and feeding her. I wish there was a way that she could remember these sweet experiences.
• She is working on sitting up, but not quite there. I try to sit her up with a boppy behind her, but inevitably, she will fall back and just be sitting there waiting for a little assistance.
• She can SCOOT! It is the cutest thing, seeing her on her tummy, looking at something she wants that is just out of reach. She reaches for it, stretches out her arms, then pulls them in under her with her elbows digging in the carpet and all of a sudden, using her deltoids, moves forward and pushes with her toes. It is SO CUTE! Hopefully, she will learn to crawl on her hands and knees, but for now the scooting is getting her where she needs to be.
• I try to nap Claire in her crib at least once or twice a day. It is so hard to be home when she needs to nap, everyday. Most of the time, she will catch a nap in her car seat when she is exhausted. Between driving to 2 different schools and volunteering, there is not a lot of time for us to be at home.
• We have tried eating (cereal), but she is not quite ready for that. She still spits it right back out, so I am going to wait another month. I know now that there really is not a rush to get her eating baby food. She will get there in due time. Maybe we will try snacky-snacks next...

Well, that is what Claire is up to at 6 months. She is 14.6 lbs (10th percentile) and in the 17th percentile in height. I think she is perfect!

Really, Over a Month??

Really, has it REALLY been over a month since I have written? That is ridiculous and sad all at the same time. To say I am busy would be truthful, but truth be known, I am always busy. The only excuse is just me not making time. It kills me because I think about writing, what to write and more, then I get home and completely forget to log in to actually put the words into text.

Well, I am going to play catch-up a bit. I need to cover Claire's 6 month ~birthday and Cooper's birthday. Plus other stuff too, but those are the important ones that I must tackle first.