End of the Year

It is hard to believe that 2008 is almost over! I thought I would wrap up the year and try my hardest to start out 2009 with a fresh start.

Jarrek and I have quickly learned that Weston is NOTHING like the other two kids. We never had to baby proof anything for Tatum and Keaton, they just didn't get into things. They were content playing with their own toys and staying out of trouble (as babies). Weston on the other hand has gotten into everything that he is not suppose to and he is only 7 months old! Lord help us! He is starting to pull up so that posses a whole new set of issues. He will crawl over to the TV stand and pull all of the PS3 and Wii cords off the shelf. He just crawled over to the shelf and turned off the movie we were watching. He is constantly attacking the cat, but surprisingly she doesn't mind. He has checked out every visible outlet in the living room area (don't worry they are all covered). I'm going to say that by the time he is 9 months old he will be walking!
Tonight I put him in his bed...he seemed tired. Well, I was wrong. Jarrek heard a funny noise on the monitor and went in to check on him. Weston was standing in the corner of his bed banging the monitor against his crib railing.

Tatum is now 6! I cant believe that my little girl is not a little girl anymore. We are having her party on Jan. 10. She wanted a sleep over, but I wasn't sure about having a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds sleeping over. I really didn't want to have to take anyone home at 1:00 in the morning. So, we are having a Pajama party. We will do all the sleepover activities and then when it is time to go to sleep...mommies and daddies come pick them up.
For her birthday, Jarrek and I got her a digital Dictaphone to record all her songs and stories. She has already recorded 20 songs/stories. We had to have a talk about what she could and couldn't record.

Keaton is very anxious for school to start back. I told him he could have a playdate with some of his friends. He has already come up with their activity...Nerf gun fight. They are all going to get a Nerf gun and run around and shoot each other. He has enough guns to arm a small army. Here is the run down (most of these he got for Christmas): a semi-automatic Nerf gun, a Star Wars dart gun, a dart gun shot gun, a Nerf gun rifle, and a Nerf gun pistol. Needless to say...Keaton likes Nerf guns.

Santa brought me a sewing machine that does embroidery! I am so excited to enter this new phase of my life ;-). I have already made a poodle skirt and matching purse for Tatum. Jarrek helped me embroider it. I also made her a bow to match.

Ok, now for the New Year's resolutions:
* Lose Weight!!! 20-30 pounds
* Stay organized (once I get organized)
* Write at least every other day

Things I've learned in 2008:
* It doesn't matter how big the baby is, I get fat when I'm pregnant
* Jarrek and I make pretty darn cute babies (there will be NO more)
* Keaton is a pretty awesome kid and knows alot more than he lets you know he knows
* Tatum is still an enthusiastic learner and is a great friend to those who are 'different'
* 1 baby is easier than 3
* Being a stay at home mom is hard work
* watching 4 and 5 year olds play an organized game of soccer is the best way to spend a Saturday morning
* Jarrek is an awesome husband (this was just reinforced this year...I already knew that)
* It's great to have great friends!

See yall in 2009!

Christmas!

We have had three Christmas and it's not over yet! A few weeks ago we had Xmas with Jarrek's sister and her family, Jarrek's mom and grandparents. The kids had a great time and loved getting to see Meme and cousin Brody.
We had our Christmas with the kids on Christmas morning...it was great! As you know Tatum asked for rocks from Santa...she got two bags of polished rocks and a box of 'learning' rocks. Jarrek and I got her a Geode. She was totally thrilled! Santa also brought her the My Little Pony Ponyville Roller coaster...another hit. Keaton got his dart gun...a massive, semi automatic dart gun. He also got a talking parrot that "passes gas". What was Santa thinking? Weston got a little music center which everyone enjoys. Jarrek got a remote helicopter and I got a sewing machine...we are both still learning how to use them.
On Christmas night we went to Houston and had Christmas with my family. It was kinda chaotic...4 babies under 7 months. Everyone had a good time and we got an awesome telescope from my Grandmother. The kids are so excited to look at the stars. Mom and Dad have to figure it our first.

Tomorrow is Tatum's birthday. I cant believe she is going to be 6!!!

That's all for now.

Vacuum Cleaner love

Weston is now extremely mobile. He army crawls all over the place. Most of the time it is in search of a tiny speck of dirt or grass. Other times he is in search of his first true love, the vacuum. Weston will stop the most ear piercing screaming when you turn on the vacuum. He just sits there and watches it go back and forth, back and forth. You can just leave it turned on, sitting there and he will stare at it. If he can hear it, but cant see it, he gets upset. Twice today I had to move him away from the vacuum...he had crawled over to it and was laying there holding on to the cord. Oh, my baby's in love!

This past weekend, Tatum's dance class did a little recital at Central Park. It was to the song "I ain't getting nothing for Christmas". She did a great job. She is such a pro.
We also had Breakfast with Santa at our church. Santa asked them if they ever fought with each other...they were honest and said yes. He then asked who started the fights and they both pointed at each other and laughed.

In the car today, Tatum asked Jarrek and I "How do you get a boyfriend?" What?! We asked her why she wanted to know and she said she was just curious. There was alot of conversation about what a boyfriend means when you are 6 and what it means when you are 16. I was hoping I had another 5 or 6 years before I got asked those kinds of questions.

WOW

I haven't posted in so long! Right now I feel like POOP...I hate allergies. So, this will be short and sweet. More to come later

Keaton's class had a Thanksgiving feast that Weston and I attended. The class made Stone Soup and decorated the tables with handmade Thanksgiving items. It was really cute and Keaton thought it was cool that Mommy and Weston got to spend time with him and his friends.

For Thanksgiving we went to Marc's house. It was much easier for everyone to go to them than pack up stuff for three babies. Anyway, we all had a good time. Turkey was fried, food was eaten and lots of pictures were taken. Oh, and babies cried...what do you expect when there are 4 babies under 6 months old! Tatum and Keaton had a great time playing war in Uncle Marc and Aunt Stacy's backyard. I am sure the neighbors were wondering what was going on. The kids had made guns out of sticks and were running around the yard yelling "POW POW POW" at each other and anyone else who ventured out into the 'battlefield'.

One of our annual trips to Santa's Wonderland was made on Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was cold, but everyone had a great time. They got to see Santa and make their official requests. Neither list has changed! Although when Santa asked Keaton what he wanted he just looked at him and shrugged his shoulders. Then as Keaton was getting off Santa's lap he said very loudly and very quickly "a big dart gun". Mind you, he has been rehearsing what to say for about a month now. Santa just looked at him and smiled.

We have begun to decorate for Christmas! It is so much fun to see how excited the kids get when we bring out something new. Yesterday we were out front adding some items to the yard and the kids were helping (Weston helped by napping). If you have seen our yard you know that we have two of the saddest looking Magnolia trees EVER. One got knocked down and the other is just barely holden on. Well, Tatum and Keaton love to pull branches off and play with them. While Jarrek and I were decorating they pulled branches off and hammered them in random places all over the front yard. Why you might ask. I am not real sure! Maybe they thought it looked pretty. Now along with our festive lights we have Magnolia branches randomly sticking out of the ground all over the yard.

Weston is now crawling! AHHHH! He gets into everything. That little bugger is fast. It doesnt help that when ever he crawls under something, Tatum and Keaton just stand there and laugh. Weston thinks its funny.

Santa wishes

The other day I asked the kids what they were going to ask Santa to bring them for Christmas...Santa has to get shopping. Keaton's request I already knew...a new Nerf gun that shoots lots of darts, a Star Wars dart gun, a Light Saber, and a Dinosaur village. 

Tatum's on the other hand was a little unexpected...for my family to be safe, and for something from far away like Hawaii and not from College Station. What? How is 'Santa' suppose to fill that list? I told her she could ask for a toy like the Ponyville Roller coaster she wanted. Her response, "I already added that to my list online. I guess if I get another one I can tape pictures to one of them so they don't look the same. I know, I could ask Santa for rocks for my collection. He travels all over the world, like to Hawaii and Africa. He could bring me rocks from all over the world. That's what I want." OK. Now 'Santa' has to figure out how to get rocks from Hawaii and Africa.  

Shrieks and nails

I haven't 'blogged' in many days, not because nothing has happened (are you kidding me, have you meet my kids) but because I haven't had time. Sometimes I wonder where the time goes. Do I live in one of those Science Fiction Worm holes where time goes faster than the rest of the world? Are my clocks broken and making the time go faster? Did I pass out or lose conscientiousness for hours?

Anyho,Tatum and Keaton just crack me up some times. The other day Tatum was wearing a shirt with a cheetah print on it. Her and Keaton wanted to play super heroes so logically she was the all powerful "Kitty Girl". Keaton was wearing a blue shirt so he became the mighty "Water boy". They figured out rather quickly that "Kitty Girl" and "Water Boy" were no match for the bad guys. So their names were changed to "Cheetah Girl" and since Keaton likes to be just like his sister, "Cheetah Boy". They ran around the room with cheetah speed and clawed the bad guys with their 'claws of steel'. Weston was fascinated with their playing and would squeal when they were by him. Squeal...well actually it is more of a shriek. Weston started just a few days ago, belting out these ear piercing, goose bump giving shrieks. He is not in pain or upset, just shrieking. The first few times we laughed hysterically. Then we just giggled, now we hold our ears and beg for him to stop. Keaton tells Weston he is being annoying. Tatum looks at him sternly and says 'no'. Weston just shrieks louder, thrilled that they are paying attention to him. I try to tell them to ignore him, but they can only take so much. It does draw some eyes at restaurants, the grocery store and at school. I think it's cute, Jarrek thinks he sounds like a girl. Hopefully it's just a phase and he will 'talk' normal soon (insert fingers crossed).

Today the kids went to my parents for the weekend so I picked Tatum up early from school. She has been asking for days if she could paint her finger nails. Since she doesn't have school tomorrow, I said sure. Picture it...a 5 year old with three colors of nail polish and a great imagination. She finished her masterpiece and looked at me with those big brown eyes..."Mom can I paint yours?" YIKES! I now have very interesting fingernails and toenails and no nail polish remover. Good thing I'm going to the salon tomorrow. Meanwhile, Keaton is fixing my hair. He has manged to put every single clipy and bow Tatum has in my hair. I was instructed to leave it forever or until Ma and Pa get here. I'll take the latter. So, Ma and Pa get here and admire my hair and nails. I helped them out to the car and caught a glimpse of myself in the window...SCARY! The whole time I was putting the kids in the car, I wished no one I knew would drive by and see my hair. I manged to escape public viewing!

Things

Whew I haven't posted in a few days! So here it goes...catchin up!

Weston is now extremely mobile. He rolls all over the place! He has gotten himself stuck under the couch a few times. He has also started pushing up on his hands and knees. Not much happens, except some rocking, but it's a start. He is also sitting up without support, a little wobbly, but still pretty good. I'll post some pictures of these accomplishments.

Everyday Keaton surprises me with some witty comment. He has developed such a great sense of humor. I really think that his teachers have helped him grow so much! Keaton is really learning a lot and I am so proud of how much he is growing.
He has gotten in the habit of wanting to take 'sumpthin' everywhere we go. Usually it is a Ninja Turtle or a toy car, but every now and then he surprises us by choosing something like a stuffed hamster.


Friday, Tatum's school had a 50's sing-a-long. All the kids dressed in their 50's attire and the parents went to watch them sing the classics - "How much is that doggy in the window", "Yakity Yak" etc. She had so much fun learning the songs and getting to dress up.
We got her report card on Friday. She is doing Great! Her reading is really improving and she is on her way to being a 'reader'.
Whenever she is asking how to spell a word, Keaton asks "How come Tatum knows how to read and spell everything?" This is really the first time he has shown any interest in learning to read. They are always asking how to spell things or 'spelling' words then asking "What did that spell?" Usually Keaton's word is just a random chain of letters, but sometimes he will actually spell a real word and he gets to excited.

Last night, Mom and Dad took Tatum and Keaton to watch the Brenham Cubs play at Kyle field. The kids were so excited! They made posters to hold up at the game. Keaton was excited to go the Kyle Field. When they got home last night, they were exhausted and cold...the wind was blowing really hard.

Snackin' on the Mayflower

On Sunday, Keaton and I went to Kroger to get a few things. He was very worried when he saw that all the trees had nets on them and that the birds could not get to the tree to eat. I showed him that there were other trees near by that the birds could get to. Relived he began pointing out all the 'free' trees that the birds could use. As we pulled on to the feeder headed home he looked out the window and exclaimed, "Look at all the free trees! The birds can eat from those. And when all the trees are used up in this state and in Africa, the birds can come to College Station to use our trees. WE got a lot of them." So let the birds know!

They are talking about Thanksgiving at Keaton's school and when I picked him up he told me all about the Mayflower and how the people sailed a long way. To show me how far they sailed he held up his hands and spread them really far apart..."They sailed like this long mom!" He then asked if he could eat the Mayflower for snack when we got home. I'm not real sure how well he was paying attention.

New Slide Show

I just added a new slide show! I added some old photos of Tatum and Keaton for your enjoyment. Take a look and tell me if you think Weston and Keaton look alike :-).

Do you wanna be a turkey?

On the ride home from school yesterday, Keaton announced....

"I don't wanna be a turkey, they stuff you and bake you. I don't wanna be a turkey, they stuff you and bake you."

The ride home only takes maybe 10 minutes. Those 10 minutes can seem like and hour when your 4 year old is singing these words over and over and over again. I kept asking him, "is there another part of the song? Are there more words to the song than that?", but the only response I got was, "I don't wanna be a turkey, they stuff you and bake you." I guess the answer is NO. Weston enjoyed the song. When ever there was a momentary break, he would squeal for more. Keaton was thrilled that Weston was enjoying himself which was probably the driving force for the repetition. I, on the other hand, now have this little ditty stuck in my head and annoy myself with it! Well at least it's better than the FreeCreditReport.com song.



Tatum had dance and we had errands to run. So, we decided to drop her off and come back and get her when dance was over. I had to reassure her multiple times that we would not leave her sitting there waiting for us at the end of dance. There were many kisses blown and "I love you's" before I walked out the door. I think it was good for her though. Tatum realized that she could go the whole dance class with out me sitting in the waiting room. I think she was actually proud of herself!

Jarrek wants Tatum to take a Hip Hop class next semester. So, right now she is trying decide between soccer and a hip hop/drill class. I'm not sure what her little brain is thinking, but she has until next week to make a decision. We think she would really like the hip hop class, but arent sure about dance two days a week. I dont want to become one of 'those' parents.

Her dance class will be performing at the Central park Christmas celebration on Friday, Dec. 5 around 7:00. She would be thrilled to have a private cheering section (wink wink). So, if you're available come out and join in the fun.

Election

At Tatum's school they have been talking about the election and even held a mock-election. She would come home from school and tell us that we were going to be voting for the President and it was very important. As she left for school this morning, she marched out the door chanting, "McCain for President, McCain for President."

This evening as we were watching the voting results, she very sadly said, "Well, it looks like Bearik Obama is going to win" and then sighed. (Yes I know how to spell his name, that is what she called him). I put her to bed and again she said, "Mom, it looks like Obama's gonna win the President." I told her we would know for sure when she got up in the morning and a little light of hope sparked in her eyes!



As we were watching the results, Keaton was sitting on my lap. He kept saying, "George Bush, George Bush." He's a little late for that one!



Weston has started pushing up on his hands and knees! It was exciting, but also a little scary. Tatum and Keaton aren't ready for a crawler yet. Weston does roll around the living room, but doesn't move very fast.



The Weekend

This past Sunday we went to Houston to see the triplets...Celia, Annalee and Wyatt. Tatum and Keaton were very excited to meet them all and hold their cousins. It's amazing how quickly babies grow. Annalee now weighs 7 lbs. 1 oz (what Weston weighed when he was born), Celia weighs 8 lbs. 13 oz (Keaton weighed 8 lbs. 13.5 oz when he was born) and Wyatt weighs 8 lbs. 5 oz. When I held them, it was so hard to remember my kids being so tiny, but they were. I can't wait until Christmas when Weston is 7 months old and they are 3 months old. Oh, what about next Christmas when Weston is 18 months old and the triplets are 15 months old! Oh, boy that is going to be FUN.

A day

Today (saturday) was a pretty uneventful day. The usual...soccer, then resting. Although this morning both kids games were at 9:00. So, I stayed and watched Keaton and Jarrek coached Tatum's team. Just imagine this...6 five year olds at 9:00 in the morning, the morning after Halloween trying to focus on playing soccer. Do you think there may have been a few issues? Well, there were! They were all coming down off their sugar highs. It was a pretty good game though.



Tatum was worried that she was going to get her tooth knocked out at her game. See, last night she was playing with one of Keaton's Batman toys and for some reason she bite it. I heard a scream and then she just sat there saying "mom come quick, mom, mom, mom". As you know she can be a little bit dramatic so I didn't jump right up and run to her. I finally went to see what the problem was and she told me she had moved her tooth. Well, it is now loose. The tears dried up real quick when I told her she had her first loose tooth (although it isn't really suppose to be loose). She was so excited! Tatum has wanted to loose her teeth since she was 4. I'm not really sure why, but now she feels more 'grown up'.

I am happy to report that after the game her tooth was still intact.



Keaton is still a little freaked out from Halloween. He refuses to go into a room if it is dark and won't go anywhere unless someone goes with him. He is even scared of the our Halloween grave yard that he helped put up!

Is it over?

WOW, this has been a busy day!

The first thing Keaton said when he woke up this morning..."Is it Halloween? When do we Trick or Treat?" That was at 6:45 in the morning! I heard it about a million times after that.

Tatum's school had their Pumpkin Celebration today. I went up to help and was assigned cookie decorating. Each class came in, got some icing and sprinkles for their pumpkin cookie, decorated it and then ate it. There were sprinkles all over the floor and my hands smelled like sugar when it was all done. I had a great time! It really made me miss being in the classroom :-(.
When Tatum and I got home, Weston was very fussy. Jarrek said the whole time I was up at the school he cried. The minute I walked in and he saw me, he stopped. What a mamma's boy! So I was thinking...I'm home, he will be all better now. Wrong. Anytime I was out of sight he cried. It was sweet for a little while then got kinda disturbing. I had to vacuum so I did what I always said I would never do and what I kinda made fun of other people for doing (sorry if you do this)...I vacuumed with Weston strapped to me in his Baby Bjorn . Let me tell you, it is not easy to vacuum with an extra 16 pounds strapped to your chest. I was sweating by the time I was finished!
While Jarrek and I were picking up, Tatum and Keaton were in the back yard spraying silly string. Once it was all gone, they balled it all up and made 'food' using the string, pool water and dirt. They worked on their culinary masterpiece for about an hour.

So, the house was clean and Ma, Pa and Mamaw were on their way over. They came to see the kids and pass out candy while we Trick or Treated. The kids were super excited to see them. We got dressed and headed off to get some candy. Keaton was surprisingly scared of the people in masks. He would tighten his grip on my finger when someone with a mask walked by. One house we went to "scared the beejesus" out of Tatum and Keaton (those were Keaton's words). There was a boy dressed up as a scary clown (really, aren't all clowns scary?) and was sitting on the porch like a decoration. When the kids walked up he moved and screamed. I saw it coming, apparently the kids didn't. Tatum screamed like a girl and Keaton just ran and tried not to cry.

We headed home so they could pass out candy which they enjoy almost more than getting their own candy.

All in all it was a pretty good Halloween. Weston made it the whole time with out fussing. Of course, he was again strapped to my in the Baby Bjorn.

I like Halloween, but am glad it's over.

Pumpkin patch pics

Here are a few pumpkin patch pictures...

Tatum practicing her poses...
Keaton being cute...

Cute kids...

What is that big orange thing...

Happy family...

What are you looking at...

Weaton chillin with the pumpkins...

Trunk or treat or is it trick or treat

Today at Keaton's school they had Trunk or treat and no that is not a typo. They line up cars in the parking lot and they decorate their trunks and fill them with candy. He was so excited to get to show his friends his Power Ranger costume. I was very surprised to not see any other Power Rangers. I was sure there was going to be an army of them. Anyway, Keaton was so excited to get his first candy of Halloween. He was even more excited about the rather large bouncy ball he got at one of the trunks. When Tatum got home he told her all about his Trunk or Treating. Tatum kept correcting him..."It's Trick or Treat". Keaton kindly restated "Trunk or Treat" and went on with his story. Finally Tatum asked why he kept saying Trunk or Treat and I explained the situation and all she said was "OHHH".

Jarrek went up to Tatum's school today to help them carve pumpkins in her class. She was so excited when they got home cause their groups was "the bestest" looking pumpkin. They also got to help scrape out the goop from inside which was really exciting.

After school we went to our church's little pumpkin patch to take pictures. Earlier in the week I made the mistake of teaching Keaton the old Trick or Treat song..."Trick or Treat, smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. If you dont, I dont care. I'll pull down your underwear." I really didnt think he would remember it...I was wrong. Tatum and Keaton sang it all the way to church and all the way to soccer practice. We had to explain why that was not nice to say to people. I dont think they really got it. The funny part is Keaton kept saying "I'll pull down my underwear." No matter how many times Tatum corrected him, he just kept saying it. He thought it was really funny. So, we got our pictures and got our pumpkins ( the two previous pumpkins we carved rotted into piles of mush on the porch). Keaton found a little tiny pumpkin and would not leave with out it...it cost a whopping 50 cents.

After soccer practice we 'carved' the pumpkins. Actually they poked them with these little pegs...kinda like a Light Bright. I'll post pictures after tomorrow night after we lite them up.

Heaven and substitutes

Keaton was sitting in the car and I asked him about his day. He told me about his job for today...the Weather guy. This is not the most excited job, I could tell by his expression. I asked who he played with on the playground...
Keaton: I didn't play with no body.
Me: Why? Did you ask Molly to play? What about Lauren or Carter?
Keaton: Nope.
Me: Why?
Keaton: I missed my Tatum
Me: (awww) You missed Tatum? Did you play with Caleb?
Keaton: Nope. I just sat in the rocks and thought about Tatum. Well, actually I played with him for a little bit, but then I started missing Tatum.

He then told me that he was swinging. He leaned back and closed and his eyes and it felt like he was flying in heaven. Wow, that must have been cool!

Wednesday = Subway. Tatum wanted to know why they call it subway. So I explained about the sub sandwich. Then our conversation turned extremely intellectual...
Tatum: Is that like a substitute. A sub with a toot.
Me: Um, no
Tatum: Then why do they call it a substitute?
Me: Well, a substitute takes the place of your teacher. That is what substitute means, it takes the place of something else. Like at dance you don't have jazz shoes so you substitute your ballet shoes for jazz shoes.
Tatum: Let me try, a dead leaf substitutes a live one.
Me: Kind of. What if you don't have an orange crayon?
Tatum: I can substitute a red and yellow.

Our substitute this for that continued until we got to Subway...about 15 minutes.

Dinosaur bones

The kids were digging in the yard this afternoon and came running into the house yelping. They had found dinosaurs bones! Of course I had to go see this. They had a kid shovel, a kid rake, a wooden stake and a paint brush and were 'digging for bones'. They used each tool to show me the "bone" like they were paleontologists. The "bone" they found belongs to a common dinosaur named Cementasaurs.

We were sitting in the living room, watching TV and Keaton said a 'pray'..."ABC, 123, Thank you God for Feeding me." Simple and sweet.

That's it for today...I must be tired. I have put a new slide show up with pictures from the Halloween party we went to at Bomo's friend's and from Tatum's school Fall Festival. If you click on the slide show the pictures get bigger.

Gorilla hands

Today (Saturday) was the Fall Festival at Tatum's school. The kids go to play games, make crafts and see their friends. Tatum played a game where they tie a donut to a string and hang it from a pole. The object is to eat as much of the donut as you can without using your hands...we have great photos!

Keaton wanted to make sand art and was very excited. Then we found out it wasn't sand, but colored sugar. Oh my goodness, their eyes just about popped out their heads and they 'just had' to make one. So, now we have two plastic bottles filled with pure sugar. I think I might 'spill' them tonight while they are sleeping ;-)



After the festival we went to Huntsville for a little Halloween party at a friend of Bomo's house. The kids got to wear their costumes and had a great time. They decorated pumpkins, sprayed silly string for the first time, roast hot dogs and marshmallows and played in the dark with glow bracelets. Weston discovered how amazing glow bracelets look when you wave them in the air and I discovered how painful it is to get whacked in the face with one. Each kid got a Halloween treat basket to take home. On the ride home Keaton examined every item in his basket asking questions to clarify what each item was and if it was real or not. There was a small bat toy and he wanted to know if there were really bats and if they came out at night. He also was worried that one of them would fly into his window. There was also a pair of plastic gloves that look like gorilla hands. He wanted to wear them all night and this morning (Sunday) he wanted to wear them to church. We opted to take the small plastic rat instead.

There's a new country!

Friday
This morning it was 45 degrees when we left to Tatum to school. Under Keaton's instruction, Weston wore socks on his hands which he sucked on the whole way to school. Wet socks don't really keep your hands that warm.

After we took Tatum to school, Keaton was looking at a big book he has about dragons and dinosaurs. This is conversation -

K: Are there still dinosaurs? Where do they live?

M: All the dinosaurs are dead

K: Where are they?

M: Their bones are in the ground all over the world in different countries

K: Different countries like New Mexico? What about Texas and the United States of America?

M: Yes, but New Mexico and Texas are states

K: What about Fortwhichitstan?

M: What? I don't know where that is.

K: Fortwhichitstan, like in the poem they said at Tatum's school. Where is that?

M: What? (Then the light bulb clicked) For which is stands?

K: Yeah, where is that?

I just kinda gave up after that. I tried to explain that it was not a place, but just words and he didn't want to believe me. I was laughing to hard to try anymore.


Tatum decided she was going to walk home even though I had the golf cart. So, she took off walking and insisted that she was going to go all the way home..."I know the way mom. Let me do it by myself!" So, of course Keaton wanted to walk with her. I went ahead and they slowly followed me. I would stop every now and then so there was not too much space between us and Tatum would stop walking, waiting for me to go. Keaton would get very upset at her, yelling that I was going to leave her and it wasn't safe and she better hurry up. This lasted for about 20 minutes and by that time I was tired of sitting in the sun waiting and Weston was getting pretty impatient as well. So, I made Tatum and Keaton get on the golf cart so we could get home. Tatum said, "Why do I always have to ride on the golf cart, all the other kids get to walk or ride their bikes." I guess we will be trying that again. Yeah!

Sara, Trevor's wife, and Olivia, their little girl, came over to visit. Olivia is 7 weeks older than Weston. Keaton did his 'I'm shy, but rowdy' act, hiding behind the sofa and then running around the living room. They brought out almost every toy they have to show Sara and Olivia.

We had a sitter tonight...it was date night for mommy and daddy. Of course as the sitter is walking in, Weston is screaming his head off. Jarrek tried to get him to calm down and so did I. I handed him to the sitter and he stopped crying. She must be magical. I called on her about 9:30 just to check on everyone and they were all in bed and asleep and had been for a little while...she's coming over every night!

Michael and Sara

Thie morning we all bundled up to take Tatum to school. Weston in his pjs, jacket and hat. Keaton in his sweatpants, jacket and crocs. Tatum in her soccer jersey, leggings and jacket. I tried to tell Keaton that his toes were going to get cold, but he's 4 and he knows best. Well, half way to school Keaton was holding his feet and complaining that his toes were cold and why did I let him wear his crocs. I guess he has to learn the hard way.
Weston's little hands were so cold and I asked Keaton what we could do to keep his hands warm. The solution was...Socks. So, tomorrow morning Keaton is going to put socks on Weston's hands.

The kids got to use their chore money today to buy what they wanted. I dread taking them to the store and letting them buy something but putting a price limit. Tatum had $9 and Keaton had $7 to spend...this brought up an argument as to why Tatum had more than Keaton. I had to remind him that every time he said, "I'll do my chores tomorrow", he didn't get a token. Hopefully he will remember that tomorrow. Anyway, we went to Target because they have the dollar section and Tatum said she could get more things with her money if we went to the dollar section. Tatum chose a journal and pens right away. Keaton opted to save all his money for the 'real' toys. We headed to the toy section and the 'testing' began. Tatum had to look at all the little dolls and their accessories. She finally decided on a Little Bratz doll which she was extremely surprised I allowed her to get. Now, it was Keaton's turn. We moved on to the boy toys and he just about when crazy. Every toy that had a button he had to push it. He looked at EVERY toy with hope in his eyes. I would tell him they were too expensive and he would say "I know, I'm just looking." This went on for about 30 minutes. He finally got a truck with a trailer and four wheeler. They couldn't wait to play with their toys and started opening them in the car...but you know how toys are these days you need an engineering degree to open them. Once they were open they played like they had never had a new toy before. Keaton named his four-wheeler Michael and Tatum named her Bratz Sara. Keaton was playing with his four-wheeler like it was a real person, calling it by name, asking it questions.

It was time for showers and since it's just me and the kids, we all got in the shower. I quickly bathed Tatum and Keaton while Weston sat in his Bumbo sucking his toes. While I was bathing Weston, the kids were getting dressed. They both came running into the bath with looks of panic on their faces. Someone rang the doorbell and they swore it was a bad guy trying to get in. I don't think bad guys ring doorbells. Tatum reasoned that it must have been a delivery. She just kept saying, "Yeah, it was a package. It must have been a late delivery." She was right.

Weston, Tatum, Keaton, Micheal and Sara all went to bed after reading books and are sleeping soundly.

Randomness

I went and got a color and cut today. I have been mistaken for someone else (the same person) one too many times!



This week is Red Ribbon week at Tatum's school and everyday they have a different theme of clothing to wear. Today was Pajama day. Tatum was very excited to wear her Hannah Montana PJs. On the way to school she asked why they call them pajamas. Does anyone know?



Jarrek and I got a new camera today. Merry Christmas to us! We got a Digital SLR and have spent much of the day taking trial and error pictures. Wow, there are a lot of buttons and doo-hickeys on that camera! The manual is like a mini novel. We will have to post some of the pictures...I keep saying that and need to just do it.



Weston tried Sweet Peas today. By the look on his face, they were not very sweet. He doesn't really like baby food. I think he would much rather eat what we are eating. When he is sitting with us and we are eating he opens his mouth like a little bird and leans in 'begging' for your food. He loves to drink water from a straw...dropped into his mouth like a bird. He is growing so fast and learning something new everyday.

Tomorrow is picture day at Keaton's school. He has decided he wants to grow his hair out. I don't know how long he is willing to go, but he hates to get his hair cut so it might get pretty long. Jarrek trimmed it up this evening so he wouldn't look like a homeless child for his pictures. You would have thought Jarrek was trying to cut his head off. Every time the scissors got near his hair he winced and pulled away. He told Jarrek that it hurt his hair to cut it. Since when does hair have feelings? Jarrek finally got it trimmed so it looks half way decent.
When I asked him what he wanted to wear for his pictures he told me 'a handsome shirt'. Translation...a shirt with buttons and a collar that hangs in the closet. Oh, and you cant forget the boots. You only wear handsome shirts with boots.

The Mondays and prunes

It's Monday. I assume other people's Monday's are like ours...fighting to get out of bed, arguing over what's for breakfast, arguing over what to take for lunch, arguing over what to wear, crying about going to school, then laughing when you get there. I think that just about covers it. Even the baby gets the Mondays.



Today at school Keaton got upset cause he wanted to play with one of his friends, Molly, but she decided to play with another little girl. Keaton wanted Molly to play Power Rangers. I tried to explain to him that sometimes little girls like to play girl things with other little girls. He said, "but I like to play with the girls". Nice! He did play with the other little girl and they played dogs. He told me they picked up sticks and were pretending to eat them like dog treats and one of the sticks got stuck in his finger. He then proceeded to show me the tiniest little bo-bo you have ever seen..."look mom, you see it, that little hole"

There is a little boy that comes with his mom to pick up his sister that Keaton has dubbed 'my friend'. Everyday when we go to get Tatum, Keaton waits to play with is friend. They play cars, motorcycles, or just play with sticks. The little boy chases us as we leave, yelling after 'Kenon' (that is what he calls Keaton) bye, bye, bye. Keaton yells back until we can't see him anymore. It is quiet funny and slightly annoying.

Tatum has taken on the role of 'class mom'. She tells me how she helps kids make good choices, how she helps kids feel better. Today we were talking about her day and she told me about how Isaac was making fun of Mason. Tatum stepped in to handle the situation...she asked Isaac to stop teasing Mason and that it didn't make Mason feel good. She said that she took care of Mason....when he feels bad, or when he is upset. She told me, "if we cant be nice to each other and work to be a class family, how are we suppose to be happy."
At rest time, Tatum was reading a book, 'Hop on Pop'. She was so excited because she was actually reading it! I could hear her in her room, sounding out the words and getting so excited. She brought the book out to me and read it to me. I was so proud of her for working so hard.

I usually try to get the kids to rest after I pick Tatum up from school, but today I wasn't feeling well so I didn't try real hard. About 4 I was tired and needed them to rest in their rooms. Most of the time they just go in their rooms and play quietly or lay down and look at books. Today, Keaton feel asleep and stayed asleep until 7:30! I woke him up after dinner and he went and laid on the couch and went right back to sleep. He finally woke up, ate dinner and tired to go back to bed. Right now it is 10:15 and he is still awake in our bed.


Weston ate prunes for the first time today. He has gotten in a bad habit of sucking on his hands, so every time he takes a bite of food he sticks his hand in his mouth. So today, while he was eating his prunes he looked like he had smeared poop all over his face. Keaton saw and said "Oh gross, what did he eat?" Weston thought it was so funny to rub his food all over his face!

A taste of the crazyness

Here is a picture to give you a taste of what fun the kids had dressing up...

Pumpkin fun

Keaton saw a commercial for Disney world and was so excited. He asked me "When can we go to Disney Channel World?"
************************************
Jarrek got all the Halloween decorations and costume stuff down today. Keaton had a blast trying on all the masks and wigs and playing with all the decorations. He couldn't wait to show Tatum. So when Tatum got home from school Keaton raced to the garage to show her everything. They tried on all the wigs and masks and paraded through the house. I laughed, I cried, I screamed. There are great pictures...I will post them tomorrow.

This afternoon the kids and I went to the pumpkin patch at our church. We went to pick out two medium sized pumpkins for carving and two small pumpkins for painting. Tatum and Keaton critiqued each pumpkin like world class pumpkin judges. Finally we found two 'beautiful' ones and were ready to pick out their little pumpkins. They both wanted 'nice round ones'. Keaton gave a little more description of his ideal pumpkin..."round like and orange, the color of an orange and no stem like an orange" Basically Keaton wanted an orange. We found two that were great and went off to dinner. The kids were worried about leaving their pumpkins in the car while we were eating...they thought they were going to melt. They were very excited to see that the pumpkins were still pumpkins when we got back in the car.

When we got home the kids decorated their little pumpkins with sharpies. Tatum took her time picking just the right colors and planning her design. Keaton grabbed markers and began his worked. He drew a face, ears and hair. Then he turned the pumpkin around and drew it's hiney...really just a hiney hole. It is really funny looking. Tatum's is a little more thought out and appropriate. Again, pictures will be posted soon.

Jarrek got home, we started working on carving the pumpkins. Tatum and Keaton picked out their designs. Tatum picked a vampire, Keaton picked a silly weird face. I think they had more fun directing mom and dad on how to use the knife and how to make the carving look good.

Tomorrow is Jarrek's 10 year reunion...I'll let yall know how it goes!

Diaper Bag Drama

This morning we were watching the news while Tatum ate breakfast. They were talking about Madonna and Guy's divorce...really, who cares. Anyway, Tatum asked us "why when you're famous do you get a fancy husband?" Good question.



After dropping off Keaton, Jarrek and I went to run some errands. We stopped to get breakfast tacos first and Weston starting fussing so I got in the back seat to feed him and realized we forgot the diaper bag. Should we go all the way back home to get it or just go buy what we need? We decided to go buy what we needed. Off to Target we go. So, we were at Target in the bottle aisle tyring to find a bottle that is not expensive, but will work for his formula. We ended up getting him a starter sippy cup. Next we needed formula. We decided to try to switch him off his AR so we bought a small can of AR and a big can of regular formula. Then we needed diapers and wipes. What to put all this in? So, I got a new diaper bag. As we were unloading the basket at the checkout we both just starting laughing. We looked like those people who just went to the mall and got a new puppy then headed to the store to get all the 'new puppy essentials'. It was quiet funny!

Our next stop was Kohl's. I needed something for Jarrek's reunion that made me look 'good'...well as good as I can get right now. Jarrek took Weston out of his carrier and he was soaked! We didn't have an extra outfit...that wasn't on the new puppy list, so we headed to the baby section to get him a dry one. Next we went to the dressing room. Jarrek changed Weston while I tried on clothes. He put Weston on the bench in the dressing room and when I bent over to take off my shoe I leaned on the benched and it almost sent Weston rolling onto the floor. Jarrek put on the new dry clothes for Weston and he just giggled the whole time. He was probably thinking "what is wrong with these people?" We took the tag off so it wouldn't bother him and put it on the stroller so we wouldn't forget to pay for it when we checked out. After finding just the right ensemble, we payed and gathered our things to leave the store. What was that one the stroller? OOPS...it was the tag for Weston's outfit. We almost needed a little help from our good friend Kara the Lawyer :-). I headed back to the register and placed the tag on the counter. The checker-outer girl (the same one we just went to 5 minutes ago) looked at me funny so I explained the situation to her.
You would have thought Jarrek and I had never had a child or had never taken our children out in public before.

Tonight when Jarrek got Keaton undressed to take a shower, he realized Keaton had on two pair of underwear. Why you might ask? Jarrek figured it out...when Keaton got home he went to the restroom and took off his pants and underwear which is customary, he left them in the restroom then went to his room to take a nap, needing underwear he put on a new pair, when nap time was over we were getting ready to leave so Jarrek told Keaton to go get his pants and put them on, he put on his pants and the underwear that were with his pants. What is really funny is Keaton didn't even realize he had been wearing two pair of underwear!

Let me just say, and I don't think I am being biased, but Weston has the cutest, most contagious laugh! You will just have to see for yourself.

Banana Barf

Weston has been eating 'food' now for a couple of weeks. So far, he has liked what we have given him...applesauce, pears, carrots and squash. Last night it was time to introduce a new food so I thought, "what about bananas?" Both Tatum and Keaton loved the bananas so maybe Weston would too... WRONG. He made horrible faces as he was eating them and only ate about 1 oz. before he gave up. As soon as he stopped eating, he made another horrible face, gaged and then threw up. I thought that maybe he just choked...wrong again. Later in the night he threw up several more times, once on his little car bouncer which we found out is not that easy to clean. So needless to say, we are going to forgo the bananas from now on.



I picked Keaton up from school and when he got in the car he starting singing a song. I asked him to sing it so I could hear it and this is what it was:

"Hush little children don't say a word

we're leaving the room and shouldn't be heard

with our hands behind our backs we do not talk

we stay in line as we start to walk" (sung to "hush little baby dont say a word")

How cute is that? They sing it before they leave the room. I'm guessing Keaton just now figured out all the words cause he has sung it since I picked him up. Of course each time he sings it he uses a different 'voice'...an old lady, a pirate, a baby, an English man (don't know where he has heard this one before), a big burly man, but he has never used his own 'voice'. Weston likes it too. I guess Weston will know how to line up and walk quietly before he even knows how to crawl.

Keaton has a new infatuation with "webons" (weapons). He gathers up all his guns and swords and thinks of some game to play...cops, pirates, bear hunting. Today, he brought all his weapons to me and held up a sword and asked me what it was. When I answered he said "no, pretend you dont know". So, I played dumb as he held up each weapon, asked me what it was and then explained it to me with great pride. I really dont like that he plays with all these weapons, but he is a boy and it doesn't matter what he is playing with, it turns into some type of weapon...a doll, a car, a paper towel tube.

Tatum continues to enjoy her writing. She is constantly writing in or on something. She is also really getting excited about reading and loves to learn new words. She has a bag of words that are from her phonics books. She pulled them out today and wanted to practice them. Most of them she sounded out to read, but there were some that she just knew! When she got to the word no she very proudly said "no". She looked at me and said with her little 'smart' voice "I know that one cause I know that N-O spells No!"

Pictures for you enjoyment

Tatum watching Keaton's game, waiting for her game. How bout that jersey? Do you think it is bright enough?

Keaton checking to make sure I was watching him.

Weston's new 'ride'! Don't you just love that smile?

**Look for more pictures in the future**

Eye boogers, astronauts and hickeys

Last night Keaton came into our room not feeling well. While Jarrek was getting the thermometer Keaton was sniffing and told me "I have eye boogers in my nose". He took on BIG sniff and got upset, "I can't get the eye boogers back up to my eyes". Where do they come up with these things? Anyway, he had fever so he slept with us. He put his feet on me and it felt like they were on fire! He told me that his feet felt like hot fire on his skin. Poor baby.



Both kids had a 'holiday' today. Tatum's school had conferences so I went up to meet with her teacher about her progress. Her teacher had nothing but great things to say. She showed me some of the assessments that they use and I was very excited to see Tatum scored higher than the expectations (she actually surpassed the expectations for the middle of the year)! I also got to see her writing journal, which was very interesting.



On the way home from church (I go to a yoga/pilates class on Mon. nights) Tatum noticed the moon. It wasn't dark yet, but you could see the moon already and it was full. She gazed up at the moon and spoke..."Oh, mom it is so beautiful! I love how it shines, but not too bright and how it is white." I told them when it got dark we would go out and looked at the full moon. So, at dark Jarrek got out our telescope and showed the kids the moon. They were amazed at how cool it looked. Tatum again thought it was beautiful. Keaton thought it was neat and in case you didn't know, there are astronauts on the moon. Keaton saw them. What a great imagination!

Jarrek then moved the telescope to look at another star. It was too far away and our telescope doesn't zoom in very well so it just looked like a big shiny ball. You could see the colors of the rainbow and Keaton thought it was so cool that he saw a 'rainbow star'.



As we were getting ready for bed, I felt Keaton's head to see if he had fever:

Keaton: Do I have fever?

Me: No, you feel funny. (I was thinking clammy, but he wouldn't know what that was)

Keaton: Maybe I am turning into a creature.

Me: Maybe.

Ok, so my child is strange!



Weston has gotten into a bad habit of sucking on his hands. I have tried to give him a pacie, but he gags and makes the most horrible face. When he is totally wiped out he will suck on it long enough to calm down and then starts to gag. So now he sucks on his hands and has given himself two hickeys! What is up with my kids?

"I want dead fish"

Today was a very lazy day. We all slept in, even Weston. The kids felt kinda yucky this morning so we all just kinda lied around. I love to see how Tatum and Keaton interact with each other. Sometime I think they are Bipolar...best buds one minute then mortal enemies the next! Tatum will hurt herself and Keaton will go out of his way to make her feel better, next thing I know Tatum is crying cause Keaton hit her. I think I will try to ignore the fighting times...I might need some help from a 'friend'...Zoloft, Prozac! ;-)

As we were contemplating what to eat for dinner (or where to go for dinner), we asked the kids what they wanted. Tatum wanted fish, Keaton didn't want anything. So, Jarrek and I decided to go to Fish Daddy's. Keaton was asked again what he would want to eat, his response..."Dead ploctomopus and dead naked shrimp". Translation: fried calamari and grilled shrimp. For some reason whenever you ask Keaton what he wants to eat it is almost always "dead" something. He has never been forced to eat anything that is alive so I am not sure where he gets the making sure it's dead thing. It sure does get strange looks when he asked for it at a restaurant!

Weston has gotten very interested in whatever we are eating or drinking. He reaches out his hands trying to grasp what I have. At the restaurant, he was very upset that he had to sit in his carrier. I guess we are moving to a highchair now. I took him out and he sat in my lap grabbing at my food and glass of water. He loves to drink water from a straw and apparently he also loves baked potato!

Rolly Polly

So it's 11:15 and I should be asleep...but Weston has a different opinion. He has started waking up more at night. The reason...he rolls over! Weston has ALWAYS been a tummy sleeper. I think since he was just a few weeks old he has slept on his tummy and loved it and hated sleeping on his back. The only time he sleeps on his back is in a stroller and even then he doesn't sleep very long that way. Well, now that he rolls over he wakes up every time he ends up on his back! He hasn't figured out how to roll back to his tummy yet. I am just hoping that he figures it out soon...I'm tired. When I go into roll him over and pat him, he just looks up at me and smiles...my silly little rolly polly

Play thru the pain

Last night the kids, Jarrek and I went to watch the A&M soccer game. It was so much fun! Keaton said it best, "This is what a REAL soccer game looks like!" Tatum cheered like she was best friends with the players, calling them by name and screaming words of encouragement. Well, the game didn't start until 7:30 so by the time we got there we were all starving. We got hot dogs and drinks and found our seats. We later enjoyed some popcorn as well...what is it about sporting events that brings on massive hunger? Tatum began complaining about her stomach hurting. HELLO...she ate her hot dog, some of my hamburger, popcorn and had a Sprite. We chalked it up to "stuffing your face". When we got home and finally got into bed (around 10:30) she was still complaining. I told her to try to sleep and call if she needed me. At 12:45 she called...she had thrown up in bed. So, at 12:45 in the morning I cleaned her bed, gave her a shower and got her into our room for the rest of the night. There were no more problems so at 7:00 this morning we started to get ready for soccer. She doesn't play until 11 and by that time her stomach was hurting again. She choose to play anyway...to help her team. Tatum went out there and played her little heart out, although a little slower than most days. Every now and then she would complain, sit out for a few minutes and then get right back in the game. I was so proud of her, she even scored a few goals.

Keaton's game
You wouldn't even recognize Keaton's team! They have gone from the kids that just stood there while the other team scored to kicking major boo-ta! The whole team has really improved in their skills and stamina...they can actually play the whole 2 minutes with out 'wondering'. Keaton has become a 'real' soccer player. I think he made 2 goals today! When the game was over he was so proud of himself.

Aunt Shawna and Brody came to watch the kids play soccer. Brody wanted to get out there and kick the ball with the big kids.

Boys will be boys

Fridays are always intersting. Keaton doesnt have school so he is at home ALL day with only grownups and baby Weston to keep him entertained. Well, this morning I had to fold clothes and Keaton very excitedly asked if he could help. Of course, any help with laundry is welcomed! I brought the basket of clothes to be folded to the living room and he immediatly started digging through them. I asked what he was looking for and he said "i like to fold daddy's underwear". There were no 'daddy's underwear' in this load so my helper was gone and I was left to fold clothes by myself...waaa.

Keaton was bored now and wanted to play cops and pirates. I was chatting on line with a friend of mine and told him when I was done we would play. He ran over to the frig and got our timer and said "i'm going to set the time, when it goes off, the computer goes away and you play cops with me...got it". I wonder where he heard that? His next statment..."how do I work this thing?" I couldn't help but laugh and then set the timer for myself. So we played cops and pirates for awhile, but I got tired of shooting imaginary bad guys. So Keaton was left to entertain himself, again. What boys find to do have fun. He is found our spray bottle used for ironing and went outside to play with the water. I can only guess he is spraying imaginary monsters.

We all (Keaton, Weston and me) went to pick up Tatum from school which always intersting. If you want to see something funny, come watch us all on the golf cart coming home from school.

Soccer stars

Last night the kids had soccer practice with the A&M Soccer team. The host a clinic every year for the local soccer kids. It was great! The players do drills and play games with the kids to help them learn soccer skills. When they are done, the hand out autographs and free tickets to a game. You would have thought the A&M players were the biggest stars in the world! Tatum very patiently waited to get all their signatures. Keaton just did his little smile. He only had the endurance to get one or two girls to sign his paper. Tatum was so excited to see 'real' soccer players and they were girls!

When we got home Jarrek and Keaton took a shower while Tatum and I had talked about school. They are learning about community helpers. She has a very broad view of what a community helper is.
Tatum: Did you know that there are a lot of community helpers?
Mom: Like what?
Tatum: Football players.
Mom: How do they help our community?
Tatum: They make lots of money so if you need some they can give you some. Also, people have to pay to go see them so they get more money and people have to work to help the people that come see them
Mom: Ok. Tell me about some other community helpers.
Tatum: Well, there's nurses that help you deal with it if you get cancer. They talk to you about it and make you feel better. Docotors do the same thing as nurses but are called doctors. They also tell you how you are growing and if you have cancer. Chefs make you food. Without them we couldn't eat and would probably get cancer and die. Teachers teach all those people how to do their job.
Mom: Wow you learned alot about community helpers.
Tatum: Yeah, I listen to my teacher better than the other kids

I am not real sure where are the cancer talk came from. I think it was when they had Childhood Cancer prevention day at school.

I think she sees herself as a little teacher in class. She tells me all the time how she helps this one little boy remember what kind of choices he is suppose to be making during center time. She tells me when I pick her how proud she is of him if he makes good choices. So, yesterday I asked her what this little boy looked like. Her response..."well, he has black hair, black eyes, he is littler than me and his skin is brown. I don't know why the call him black, he's not, he is brown. Maybe they should call him brown. I call him by his name."

Check up

Today Weston went for his 4month check up. Stats: 14 lbs. 6 oz., 25.75 inches. That puts him in the 75th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight. He also got 5 shots and an oral immunization! Poor baby cried so hard he stopped breathing and his little bottom lip was quivering. He looked at me like "what the hell are you letting her do to me!" I hate check ups.

As you know Tatum is going to be Hannah Montana for Halloween. She has been working on her songs so she can truly become H.M. She has a little radio that plays nothing but Hannah Montana songs...what joy. Well, tonight Tatum and Keaton were swinging and singing H.M. Tatum had clipped the radio to the chain on her swing and they were singing along with it. I am sure the neighbors were super excited to hear H.M. with Tatum and Keaton as back up singers!

Jarrek has a '77 Vette that he has been working on for the past few weeks. Keaton is all about helping daddy work on his car. He gets his little giraffe gloves (they are actually gardening gloves) and goes out to get his hands dirty with dad. Tonight he came in with a huge smile on his face and his hands in the air. He was so proud of his dirty hands from working with Jarrek. He told me "daddy gave me all the dirty things to hold" and then walked back outside get dirtier.

Tatum and Keaton are now sitting outside hammer nails into some scrap wood. This is something that they will sit and do for hours or until someone smashes their finger or someone else's finger.

Soccer mania!

Saturday = Soccer mania...Keaton @ 9, Tatum @ 11. If you remember my post from last Saturday, you may be wondering if Keaton's team has improved. The answer is a big YES! This morning they were actually dribbling the ball and running to get it from the other team. I actually think we might have won...tsk, tsk...we dont keep score as to not hurt any feelings. Keaton did great and scored several goals, one of which was in the other teams goal. All the parents were very excited and impressed that there was movement on the field this time. The kids were also excited that they actually were playing soccer!

Tatum's team did great as well. Their opponents looked like giants compared to them, but Green Lighting kept up and scored a few goals. Tatum played like a pro, throwing in some sneaky little feet maneuvers. We tell her she has sneaky feet, because she works them in their and usually gets the ball away from the other player.

MeMe and Bomo came today to watch both kids play and were amazed at how aggressive Keaton and Tatum were on the soccer field.

Our neighborhood has a Fall festival every year. The kids get to ride ponies, get their faces painted and play games for candy. We ventured down to the park toady for some fall fun! At the petting zoo they had a huge turtle. The kids and I were fascinated by the turtle.

Emotional

I was leaving to go out of town on Thursday night and was going to be coming back on Friday evening. I told both kids and we talked about it and talked about what I was going to be doing. Well, Thurs. after soccer practice, I came home, got Tatum and Keaton bathed and all the kids put to bed, when Tatum gets EMOTIONAL. I don't mean "oh mommy I will miss you" or "I will be thinking of you mommy when you're gone". It was a full blown emotional meltdown. She was crying huge tears and saying things like "I cant do it with out", "I don't know if I will make it at school without you", "My heart will hurt while you are gone". OK, I am not some weird mom who sits outside my kids class to make sure she is alright. So, we went through all her activities and talked about how she does those things by herself (dance, soccer, school, church). During this conversation is became apparent that there are not many times when she is away from me that I am not in the same building or right next door. At soccer, I am there watching her. At dance, I am out in the lobby watching her. At Church, I can get to her in less than 5 minutes. The only real time she is 'away' from me is at school. So, I have decided that starting with dance, I am going to drop her off and then leave for a little while. Hopefully she will begin to see that she can 'make it' without me there.

I went on my trip and she was perfectly fine. I had given her one of my necklaces that is a heart and let her wear it to school so she would have 'mommies heart' with her.

When I got home, Tatum and Keaton acted as if I had been gone for a week! It was kinda nice to see that they missed me. They had done a good job, so Jarrek went to get them ice cream. While he was gone, Keaton pinched/smashed his finger in a big spotlight flashlight we have. You would have thought his finger was cut off. He screamed like I have never heard him scream before. It took him probably a 1/2 hour before he even let either of us look at it. It doesn't look bad, but he was obviously hurting. He sat on the couch and held his finger and cried for probably an hour. Tatum felt sorry for him so she sat next to him and spoon feed him his ice cream. Sometimes they can be so sweet to each other! Finally, he calmed down. I looked over at the couch and he was asleep. Then, boom, he wakes up crying "my finger, my finger". So, Keaton is sleeping with mom and dad tonight.

Tomorrow is our second soccer game. Hopefully Keaton's team picked up on some skills at practice this week. I will keep you posted!

That's what I'm a-doin today

When I picked Keaton up, the first thing he said after buckling himself in his seat? I love you mom! No. I missed you mom! No. I am so glad to see you mom! No again. The correct answer..."I'm sittin on a bar stool, acting like a durn fool, that's what I'm doin today". He sang it about 10 times before asking me to sing the rest. I dont know if I should be happy that my 4 yr old likes Kevin Fowler or worried that my 4 yr old likes Kevin Fowler? After we finished the song, Keaton wanted to know if 'durn fool' was a bad word. My response was, no, but it is a not nice word and is something you should not say except when singing a song. I had visions of him going to school (which is at our church) and calling everyone a durn fool.



For those of you that dont know, we ride a golf cart to school to drop off and pick up Tatum. Our neighborhood has a walking path that leads right to the school. Very nice! Kinda lazy, but with all three kids going on most days it's the easiest. Anyway, the ride home today took a lot longer than normal due to the fact that there were flowers along the path. Everytime we say the 'pretty' white flowers we had to stop so the kids could grab them. So, now we have two bouquets of white, dead flowers. How lovely!

Wednesday = Dance. At the dance studio they have a bucket full of Polly Pocket dolls, which are quiet fun. Well, today while Tatum was dancing Keaton asked me to play 'barbie' with him. Should I be worried? I didnt get to play as long as he wanted so when we got home he asked if we could play with Tatum's. It was late, so the answer was no. Well, that brought on a crying fit. Again, should I be worried? Hopefully this is just a phase.

Crazy, crazy kids

Weston is 4 months old today! Wow, it seems like only yesterday I was peeing on a baby stick...got that from Baby Mama :) Tonight Tatum asked Jarrek to video tape her singing and dancing. While we were watching the video, Tatum and Keaton were laughing hysterically and Weston was squealing right along with them. His personality is really starting to come out.

So, I often write about the kids adventures in their playhouse, well tonight I write again. This time they were not engineering anything, tonight they were decorators. They were playing so nicely and enjoying each other, we really didn't bother them too much, until we noticed they were coming in and out of the house quiet often. I decided I should go check and see what they were up to when Tatum asked for hand sanitizer, chap stick, toothburshes and lotion for the tree house. When I walked outside, I saw they had turned their playhouse into a 3 star hotel room. Mind you this playhouse is up off the ground, so they can see into the neighbors yard and the neighbors can see into the tree house. The kids had taken out pillows, blankets, books, color books, toy guns and various other toys. Tatum asked if I liked it and said that I should come up and look at the lovely view they had (a view into our neighbors yard). Keaton was peeking out the window with one of the guns, I can only guess waiting for some wild animal or bad guy to come sneaking up. They crack me up everyday with the crazy things they do.

Update on the cousins...all three babies are at home!

Where do they get these ideas?

Right now as I am typing (as I was typing...there were a few interruptions), Tatum and Keaton are outside 'building' an apple tree. So, they went outside to play which usually turns into some outrageous project. Next thing I know Tatum is carrying one of Jarrek's shovels to the back yard. I asked her what she was doing and was told building. A vision of someones toes or fingers being chopped off popped into my mind (I know...paranoid). So, she was asked to get Keaton's shovel, which is much smaller. Then she comes in, climbs up on the counter and gets an apple. She then instructs Keaton that they have to eat the apple to get the seeds so they can build their apple tree. Mom offers some assistance with this since it usually takes them about an hour to eat a whole apple. Seeds extracted, off they go to plant them. Tatum informs me that each day the tree will grow and we then we will have an awesome apple tree, which will help the world. Keaton was the worker horse and did exactly as he was 'told' by Tatum. So, if 5-10 years we will have a nice apple tree growing right in the middle of our yard.

Today was the first day of our new chore chart. Tatum did a great job and eagerly completed all her chores. Keaton on the other hand was a typical 4 year old boy...didn't really care!

Mom: Keaton do you want to finish your nighttime chores?
Keaton: Na
Mom: That means you wont get your tokens to trade for money. You can use that money to buy yourself a prize
Keaton: Na
Mom: Tatum is going to get all her tokens and get to buy herself something. Are you going to get upset?
Keaton: Na, you can do my chores.

I think he might still need some work on this whole chore thing. We will see how it goes on 'buy yourself something' day.

Weston is growing everyday. Can you believe he will be 4 months old tomorrow! He has some teeth coming in somewhere in that little mouth and attaches anything that comes near his mouth and I mean anything. I think, and you could say I am biased, but I think he is one of the three cutest babies I have ever seen!

Boobie trap

Today was kids Sunday at church so all the kids watched a puppet show during Sunday School. I asked Tatum and Keaton how the show as and their response was "AWESOME"! I asked for more details....
Mom: What was the show about?
Tatum: Oh just Bible stuff.
Keaton: Yeah
Mom: So, it was cool?
Tatum: Yeah, there were like 2 or 5 characters.
Keaton: Yeah
Tatum: She didnt even move her lips!
Keaton: Yeah. I drew you some pictures

Not to revealing. I am sure there was a story and a Bible lesson in there, but apparently my kids didnt get it.

My Little 'Engineers'

Tatum and Keaton were playing in Tatum's room and it was pretty quiet so I thought I would go check on them. Quiet usually equals destruction. That was partial true this time. They had made a "boobie trap" for the exterior door and were working on the other door. This boobie trap was basically anything that was movable in her room relocated and strategical stacked in front of the door so that if a bad guy tired to get in it would fall on them (their description). They could tell you why they choose the items they did and what would happen if each was moved. I hope they put their boobie trapping/engineering skills to good use in the future. I am scared that Weston might get suckered into being the bad guy so they can actually see their masterpieces in work.

We are starting a new chore chart system tomorrow. They both seemed very excited at the prospect of receiving 'treats' for completing their chores. We will see how long that last. Prayers that we can all keep up with it and that we all benefit from it.

Soccer

Today was Tatum and Keaton's first soccer games and boy are we exhausted!  Jarrek is coaching both teams and we were at the soccer fields from 8:30-12:00.  So, how did the games go?

Keaton

This is the first year that any of these kids can play so they have never been on soccer field or played and organized game of soccer.  The opposing team however looked like little Beckhams...their coach is a little more competitive than we are.  So the game starts with our three players standing there and giggling with excitement.  The other team kicked off first, took the ball and ran all the way to make a goal.  Our team stood there!  Ok so they didn't really get the point yet.  Next, we kick off.  One of the players kicked the ball and then just stood there.  Again the other team took the ball all the way down the field and scored another goal.  Three new players came on the field so we are all thinking...."they have been watching so they will know to follow the ball".  Wrong.  It took our team a good 10 minutes till they actually looked like they were playing soccer.  I guess this weeks practice will be to FOLLOW THE BALL!

All the parents did get a good laugh and some awesome photos.  We could win $10,000!

Tatum

Tatum's team is alittle different than Keaton's...there is only one player who has not played before.  Kids actually followed the ball and made goals!  When our opponents got there we realized that both teams had the same colored jersey.  Confusing.  So our team had to turn ours inside out.  Tatum's team is called Green lighting and the opponents were the Highlighters...our jersey are an obnoxious fluorescent yellow/green color.  Tatum did really well.  I think she made a few goals.  

Weston does not like soccer!  He was very unhappy most of the time we were there so I missed  some of each game.  Hopefully next week I will get some good photos to post.

We are going to Houston this evening to eat with the family.  Uncle Russell, Aunt Jill, Jeff and his girlfriend came to visit and see the new babies.  We are all excited because Celia came home yesterday!  If you want to check them out, Marc and Stacy have a website: www.thehugheszoo.com

What happend to the week

WOW...I dont know what happened to this week, but I haven't posted since Tuesday. :-( So what that means is there were some cute/silly things that happened that my mind has now forgotten. Oh well, life goes on.

So the triplets now all have names...Wyatt Alan, Celia Mae, Annalee Cora. Tatum and Keaton are super excited to get to meet their new cousins. Weston has already started 'acting' out, knowing he is no longer the baby in the family.


Wednesday

Tatum found a little notebook of mine that I dont use anymore and converted it into her secret notepad. Every time I look at her she is writing something in it and wont share. I might have to sneak in and read it while she is sleeping. At dance tonight while all the other girls were changing shoes, getting water and using the restroom Tatum was writing in on her note pad. Maybe she's working on new lyrics for her songs.

She is doing so good at dance and really loves her dance teachers. It is harder work than she expected. When she gets home she tells me her legs hurt from all the work.

We usually take Jarrek's Vette home from dance (he meets us there after school and takes the boys home). As we were leaving today, we had a little audience watching to see whose car it was. When we got in the car, Tatum asked why all those people were staring at her. Sadly I had to tell her they were staring at the car not her. She then told me "we are not taking daddy's car anymore to dance, I dont like all those people staring at my car". Watch out daddy, she has already laid claim to the Vette.

Keaton took his Power Ranger mask for show and tell today and was convinced that when he put it on, the other kids wouldn't know it was him .

Weston is now teething so his fingers have become his best friend. He is constantly sucking on his fingers and then wiping his slobbery hands on Tatum or Keaton.

Thursday

Tatum and Keaton had soccer practice today. Wow, a bunch of 4-6 year olds running around kicking balls. I asked Keaton if he was excited about his first game on Saturday. His response...Oh yeah, I'm gonna make a bunch of goals. He then started complaining that someone took his ball so I told him at the game there would only be one ball to play with. He didnt like that...how was he going to make his goals if someone kept trying to take his ball. We'll see how that goes on Saturday.

Keaton got to watch Stars Wars: Revenge of the Sith. He is obsessed with Darth Vader and keep constantly asking when was Darth Vader coming. I dont really think he even watched the movie until Darth Vader showed up.

Friday

On Friday's Keaton doesnt have school so we have to keep him entertained all day...not an easy task. Jarrek took him to the mall to get somethings from the Aggie store and then to get new shoes. He only wanted the 'air' shoes or shoes that make him jump high.

Tatum was the queen of the day today! We have been waiting for this day 'all year'. The king was a little boy in her class, Thomas. Mom asked her about him and her response was "he's a fat little boy". What? She also told me she was so proud of him (Thomas) cause he wrote his name all by himself today and she said it with such joy.

Weston has become extremely vocal. He 'yells' at the fan, squeals at the kids, and talks to his toy elephant. He is really starting to show his personality.

Jarrek and I went to David Gardner's tonight for JL Charity Ball preview party. SO much fun! I got to try on pretty expensive, jewelry.

Whew! I will remember to write every night. See I told you my memory is going ;-(

Halloween shopping

Today we took the kids to get their Halloween costumes. Jarrek and I tried our hardest to get them to choose the unconventional costumes...skeleton rocker girl, mysterious phantom etc. We let them try on all the scary and silly masks, showed them all the cool costumes and picked out several cool and unusual costumes. Sadly we came home with the two most commercialized costumes in existence...Hannah Montana and a Power Ranger. I wonder what their reactions will be on Halloween night when they see billions of Hannahs and Power Rangers?

Tatum has already started practicing her songs so she can truly become Hannah Montana for one night. Keaton has perfected the Power Ranger moves and is constantly looking for bad guys to try them on. Weston wanted nothing to do with the whole Halloween costume thing. We tired one costume on him and he screamed at the top of his lungs...I guess he will be going as a baby.


Show and Tell
Tomorrow Keaton has show and tell at his school. I always love to hear what he would like to take...tonight it was 'rain'. He also informed me that one of his friends brought their eyeball for show and tell. The minds of 4 year olds...silly, silly.

Sunday happenings

Today was the first annual CUMC Family picnic and Olympic games. Fancy title for hamburgers with friends and a softball game :). Any-who the day started as most Sundays do...Keaton asking if we were going to 'play church', Tatum arguing about everything and Weston fussing as we pull out of our driveway.
Tatum announced on the short drive to the church that she wants to go to college to write and sing songs. She does 'write' some very interesting songs, but I don't think they really have much mass appeal. Some of her song topics include football (a song describing step by step what a football game looks like), baseball (same content as football only with baseball), friends (just a random song about how to make friends and who hers are)...not really top 10 hits. Jarrek and I are planning on getting her a Dictaphone for Christmas so that others may partake in the beauty of a 5 year old's song writing ability.

Jarrek and I started a new study in Sunday school...How to Raise Rock solid kids in a Pleasure Driven World. I am ready to soak it all in.

Next we were on to the picnic. Pretty unadventurous...the kids played and the adults talked. Keaton did fall flat on his back from a zip-line and got the wind knocked out of him. Tatum and Keaton were both very confused as to how the 'wind got knocked out' of him.

When we finally got home everyone was exhausted, except of course Weston who had a nap at the picnic. We all relaxed and then it was back to normal. Tatum and Keaton were playing with a flag and whack, Tatum was hit. She now has a lovely little bumped on her head which is hidden by her hair, but you know Tatum...she simply can't go to school with a 'huge' bump on her head, what will people think.

What about yesterday...Keaton wanted to know why the bears on the movie "Country Bears" were not trying to eat the people on the movie. I had to explain that they were just people dressed up as bears, but I am not sure he is convinced.
Tatum has now decided to write her name in "cursciv" so that all the letters are attached and surprisingly, it looks pretty good.

OH...we have a name for one of the Triplets...Wyatt Alan. Still waiting on the girls names.

Worker bees

I think Tatum and Keaton are going to build a ship and sail away one day. They are constantly wanting wood and "hammer nails" to build some important contraption. We have one of those wooden crappy play sets in the yard. When we cut down the trees we moved it and it hasn't been completely rebuilt yet. Today the kids decided they wanted to get in the look-out house, but there was not ladder for them to climb. Tatum asked for nails and a hammer so they could get up. They had work out a plan...attach a rope to the top with nails and climb up the rope. When that plan was halted they began to search for wood so they could build their own ladder. Jarrek has promised a trip to the hardware store to buy them their own wood and supplies so they can build what they want. I will keep yall posted on their work. Who knows what they will create.

Tatum is lovin school. There are days when she dreads going, but only because (her words) "she can't make it with out me". Made my heart melt when she told me that.

Keaton is also lovin his school. His teachers are awesome! He calls it 'church Kindergarten'. My hope is this will get him ready for real Kindergarten next year. The only problem he has had is the shovels on the playground. I have not seen these shovels, but they must be pretty special. He tells me everyday whether he got to play with the shovel or not.

Weston is growing like a weed...he is already 3 1/2 months old. He is constantly chewing on his hands and talking to the ceiling fan, his best friend. Yesterday he talked to fan for about half an hour.
Today we gave him some rice cereal and he ate it like a pro. He attached the spoon anytime it came near his mouth.
He now recognizes Tatum and Keaton's voices and gets very excited when they get home from school.

Everyday is filled with surprises and new adventures.

New family members

Marc and Stacy had their babies today...2 girls, 1 boy.  We are STILL waiting on the names.  They better be good ;-).  Tatum and Keaton are super excited to have new cousins.  Tatum is extra happy that she is not longer the only girl.  I'm not sure how long the excitement will last...probably until she realizes that she will no longer be in the spotlight.  Keaton is happy that there is another boy to play with.  I hope the baby is tough, cousin Keaton can be rough.  Weston is sad he is no longer the 'baby', but will be happy in a few years when he has three other kids to blame.  

Why I did this

I decided today that I should start a blog/journal.  Why you might ask.  Well, I have come to realize that I have the WORST memory in the world.  I guess I am just getting old.  Maybe I should start taking Gingko or something, but then I probably wouldnt remember to take it...no good.  With three kids there are things that I would love to share with my family and friends, but when I finally get to talk to an adult I usually cant remember the funny things that happened so here is where my 'memory' will be...this blog.  Hopefully I will remember to write something everyday :)