Morning Snuggles

Sometimes, before the kids wake up for school, I like to sneak in and lie down with them. I try not to wake them, and sometimes I don't. But they are only little for so long, and right now all the kids still like me, so I will snuggle while I still can.

This morning I made my way to all three kids, and managed to wake up all three kids. Kevin was in his room. He is so sweet, and didn't mind at all. Colin was in Gwyn's bed, and he didn't seem to move, but was awake when I left. Gwyn was on the floor in her room and pushed me away immediately. It may seem strange but she doesn't always like snuggling. I had to tell her that grunting and pushing are not a good way to comminucate, so she said "I don't want you to touch me." Much better. So I left. But SHOCKINGLY she was the only one in my bed when I got out of the shower. And then she was very ready for snuggling.

(It is kind of a crap shoot on how many kids will be in our beds as we get out of showers. Sometimes the kids make it in there while Kevin is in the shower and I am still in bed. Sometimes Colin scares the crap out of me when I get out of the shower when he jumps out around the corners.)

Saturday Bubbles

 Featuring her new cape and mask from the kids' trip to Silver Dollar City with Pappy and Grandma!

She caught one!

Bus Stop Memories

I was at the bus stop this afternoon, standing in a light drizzle, thinking about how this could be my last year waiting at a bus stop. (Kindergartners are required to have an adult get them off the bus.) I started remembering things and wanted to blog.

I remember when I was waiting with a baby Gwyn for Kevin to get off the bus one October afternoon. Colin didn't want to come out to the bus stop with me. A minute before the bus arrived, I see a little Hulk walking towards me. He had put on his Halloween costume. It was so much fun. He was smiling, I was laughing. And he was still so little.

I remember waiting with Gwyneth for the boys to get off the bus in the winter. I would grab the thickest blanket in my house (usually the quilt made by Aunt Kelly for our wedding) wrap it around us, and try to sing to her to distract her from the cold. Sometimes I also had to hold an umbrella, but I almost always had her in my arms when it was cold. When it was warm, she ran around in our neighbors yard.

I remember all the kids walking up from the corner to our house, crunching the leaves along the side of the street as we walk. (One of my favorite things about fall.)

I remember when the boys were given a key, and left to get into the house by themselves after school. I got a phone call from a neighbor saying they were locked out. I asked Kevin about the key I had just attached to his backpack. He told me he forgot about it. So Colin was given the key, and has gotten the boys into the house after school every time since. (That did not play out the way I expected it to.)

I remember how the boys explained to Gwyn over and over how the bus works, and that she will have to sit in the front with other Kindergartners. But she shouldn't worry, because they will be in the back of the bus. They also told her they would put her on the bus, and they would make sure she got off the bus at the correct stop. And then on the first day of school, both boys walked over to Gwyn when the bus arrived, and Kevin had his arm around her to get her on the bus.

But now I remember Gwyn bouncing off the bus, every single day, yelling "Mommy!" and jumping into my arms. (I have to be ready. That girl jumps and lifts her feet up every time without checking to see if someone is catching her.) The boys say hello and then all three start to talk to me as we stop on leaves and walk to the house.

(I won't mention the minor chaos that homework time is. Two kids doing spelling lists. All three bringing folders and work and permission slips home. All three talking at one time. Someone has someone else spelling notebook. Someone didn't turn forms into their teacher (cough cough Colin). It is not awful but it is stressful.)

Gwyn Writing

I love kindergarten. The kids all start to write and put down thoughts. I kept all the daily writing the from the boys, and have been looking forward to Gwyn's. Here is something she brought home a few weeks ago. She is such a different reader and writer from the boys. She sounds out words more, and she is writing more. Here is one of the first sentences that she has ever written!

Although it looks like murder, she actually wrote "I am a writer." And her book says "This is my book."

Funny conversation: last night Gwyn asked my why her name was not spelled Gwen. I told her that her name was actually pronounced like an i, not and e. So she asked why letter the y is stealing from. (As Gwyn explains it: "The letter y steals from the letter i and e. So make sure when you say "my" you say the letter i put write the letter y.")<- about="" all="" and="" because="" being="" br="" confused="" cute.="" extra="" gwen.="" gwyn="" have="" her="" i="" if="" incorrectly.="" is="" it="" just="" kind="" me="" name="" not="" of="" others="" pretty="" say="" she="" spell="" talk="" that.="" the="" think="" told="" was="" wondered="" would="">

Gwyn lost a tooth!

She lost it last week. There are two other wiggly teeth on the bottom, and one of those will soon come out. She was so excited that she hid the tooth from the tooth fairy, wanting the money but keeping the tooth. The next night her brothers talked her into leaving the tooth. Of course Colin has a little contraption to hold the tooth. She woke up with money the next morning, and has been showing everyone she can the money, which she keeps in a little wooden treasure box.

She rarely smile where you acn see the gap, and the gap is so tiny it is difficult to notice anyway. She lost the bottom right (if you are looking at her) tooth.

Memories

I love watching my children grow up. They are so much fun. I keep thinking about random memories that I want to write down, and remember later. So you will occasionally see a post that is just something I want to remember.

Here is my first one:

Kevin is finally over sleeping in a bed with his brother. It has been coming for months, and I have talked to Colin about it. But Colin is used to sleeping with a person next to him. So he moved Gwyn in to his bed. So Gwyn and Colin are usually in the bottom bunk, and Kevin is supposed to be in the top bunk. But it is summer, and hot, and the top bunk is miserable. (I remember those days when I was a kid.) So, Kevin has been sleeping on the floor. And there are a few times he has been resentful, and slept in the bottom bunk, and Gwyn ended up at the foot of the bed. For those who are still following, that is all 3 kids in the bed, and Gwyn is too long, so her legs hung off the edge. (It was super adorable. As soon as I get things working, I will upload the pictures.)

But the reality is that Kevin needs a bed. Gwyn has been told she needs to stay in her own room, a rule that I allow her to break when she says she will sleep on the floor. Basically, bed time is a revolving, wonderful mess in our house!

Kevin Turned 10!

Kevin turned 10. I have a 10 year old. All my kids are in school and one of them is 10. This thought weighed so much on me for days that I thought I would freak out on his birthday. I ended up being so giddy all day because I was so happy for Kevin!

Kevin had 2 parties, which is what we have done the past few years. One party was for friends, the other was for family. His friend party was Friday night, and he chose to go to Kokomo Joes. It is like Dave and Busters, but for children. We got the boys unlimited lazer tag, and then a couple cards loaded with money to split with the other rides and games. They rode go-carts, (The boys who were tall enough got to drive, but Kevin and I had to drive two friends.) mini-golf, arcade games, photo booth, and jumped on inflatables. Including all that and pizza dinner, they were there about 2 hours. I am so happy that Kevin had so much fun, and that Colin was also there and had fun. The boys know each others' friends pretty well, since they often both play with whatever friend happens to be over.

I asked Kevin what he wants to remember and he said, "It was awesome. I had a great time with my friends, and I won mini-golf by a point. Go-carting was fun and I loved unlimited lazer tag."

(Cute story - there was a girl from their school there with her friends. She was hiding from the boys and her friends would shout her name. It all starts so young.)

I asked for a group picture. I got the dab. This is the one with Gwyn.

The only picture in the strip of 4 that was actually of non-blurred faces.

After Kokomo Joes, cookie cake, this is the pose Kevin gave as his friends sang to him.

The family party was on Sunday evening. Most of our families come, and we usually play strange games after dinner. (This year it was Happy Salmon.) We had ice cream cake for the first time at one of our birthday parties. My brother Jake was there, who I greeted with "Hello Colin in 8 years." (Colin looks a lot like him, and he even moves like him. I see Jake when I watch Colin run.) My brother Tony brought his wife Hannah, who found out they are having a BOY the day after the party! I enjoy having our families over for parties. It is crowded, but fun.

Saturday Mornings

As much as I already love the weekends, I have been given a reason to love them more.

This girl.

Gwyn's new thing is to wake me up on the weekends. She does this by climbing into bed and snuggling with me. I feel a little hand pick up my arm. She puts her head on my shoulder. And then she just curls in. I love it. It is one of those things I will miss immensely years from now.