ALWAYS the Reliable One....

Braden is such a big helper and a people pleaser. He loves to help us with anything and does so without complaint! He will clean up after the girls and ask what he can do to help:). Even at preschool he is just so well behaved and helpful to everyone! I have a four year old girl in my class who is SO sweet but has difficulty getting her thoughts out and a hard time with talking loud. Braden came over and said, "Mommy, Ashton needs help with opening her milk." He is just a thoughtful and loving boy who aims to please....he's going to make an awesome husband one day!

What did you see?

Two cute things Cailey said this week:

Driving in the car she said, "Look at the stalk of birds!" Close...but I think she meant flock of birds:)

She brought a friend, Zackary to Awana this week in order to earn her last green jewel. When they asked her what his last name was she said,"His name is Zackary Sheree." (Sheree is Zackary's mom...the same Sheree I work with.) That just proves my point about using last names (I like for them to be formal and say Mrs. Johnston instead of Miss Sheree)...she doesn't know the difference and therefore doesn't feel more comfortable using first names. It was cute and most of all showed me that we're doing what's right for our family:)

A Busy Friday Night...

This week we had a ton of people come for FnF and it was SO nice to hang out and catch up with them. The men immediately took over the living room with the role of kicking back and talking about politics, sports, and more. The play room was taken over by the babies and mommies. It was so cute to see the babies interacting with each other! Upstairs was filled with all the kids 2 and up....all in Cailey's room! (That room had to be at least 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the house!) I usually lock the other rooms so the entire upstairs doesn't get destroyed....it's been MUCH easier to clean up afterwards without also having to sort which room things belong in-not to mention Braden's beloved train tracks have stayed in one piece! This week Kinsey did something that I remember Cailey doing when she was the same age...she went in our bathroom and ate some of my deoderant! Cailey used to feed deoderant and toothpaste to Rebecca!! Just now I found Kinsey covered in bandaids! I'm SO glad that we don't keep medicine, etc. in the bathroom for her to get to. The Hileman's were the last ones left and Kellen, Addie, and Cailey put on a concert for all of us with Cailey's microphone...it was very cute! Brian, the kids, and I love having everyone over and hope it contiues to be successful!

This looks bad...but Cailey ane Kellen are
only covering their ears because the
microphone was loud...NOT because of
Addie's singing!

I'm Proud to be a Miracle!!

We were talking with Cailey today about bible stories she knows. She has to be able to tell the leaders at Awana tonight so she can get another jewel (like patches in the girl scout world). She kept focusing on Jesus dying on the cross...which yes...is a fabulous thing for her to know! However, they are looking more for a story that she's learned there in the last few weeks. We were trying to give her clues by reminding her about Noah's Ark and Adam and Eve and then moved on to miracles. She said, "Yes, we talked about Jesus raising the miracles....raising the miracle flag!" We both just cracked up laughing because we realized she was talking about the American flag...again...has she really called it the miracle flag all this time? I'm SOOO glad that I have this blog so I can look back and remember these funny stories:)!!

Mommies Can Have Playdates Too!

Almost every week I get to spend time with my good friend, Laura. She comes around 9:00 and stays until 4:00. Rebecca gets to play with Braden while Cailey is in school and then when Cailey gets home they have about an hour to spend together. Lately it seems like they want to hang around us more than with each other while the other kids/babies are sleeping. Laura and I finally started telling them that this is our playdate too so they need to go play with each other. Cailey thinks it's so funny and keeps saying, "Mommies can't have playdates!"

Reading Games and ABC Play With Me

My computer died and it was driving me crazy! Talk about addiction....I seem to want to be on the computer daily, so when it crashed it really threw me for a loop! Fortunately my techy husband replaced the hard drive and all is well now.

Cailey and Braden have been going to classes at Storybook Safari since I've worked there, mainly when I was teaching. This fall Cailey started a class called Reading Games and Braden started a class called ABC Play With Me and they love it! Sheree (my boss, nanny, and friend) teaches them both on different days and I can't believe how far they've come! Braden has learned some sight words (he get's so excited when he sees the words: you, stop, thank, big, and a few others) and Cailey's getting more out of it than school (or so it seems). I am SO thankful that they can take these classes because they enjoy them so much! Not to mention it gives me more time to spend with them individually because the classes are on different days. It's also been neat to have that extra time with Kinsey:)!!

Ms. Sheree with the Kiddos

Uncle Dentist?

Our very close friends, Laura and Dennis (parents of Rebecca, Hannah, Samuel, and Isaac) are referred to as Aunt Laura and Uncle Dennis by the kiddos. On the way home from school yesterday Cailey said, "Mommy.....is Rebecca's daddy a dentist?" I said, "No Cailey, why would you think that?" C-"Because his name is Uncle Dentist." It was a very cute moment...and a teachable one! We talked about what Dennis and dentist have in common as well as their differences:). The funniest thing to me is that it has taken her this long to ask...which means she's been calling him Uncle Dentist for years!!!:)!!!

Cailey Anne and Auntie Anne

On Monday Anne took Cailey ice skating and they had a blast! Cailey was very excited to tell us that she went around the circle eight times and had an icecream bar (Strawberry Shortcake to be exact.) Cailey hasn't been ice skating other than taking lessons in a long time. Now that she's done with the lessons I was curious to see if she could still skate. Anne said she did awesome and really enjoyed herself. They had to rest a few times but then they would just go back out for more:). Afterwards Braden, Kinsey and I met up with them at the mall and ate lunch together. Anne left yesterday evening and is already missed! Oh...and the highlight of Cailey's morning was that Anne put braids in her hair so they could be 'twins'.

Let it Snow...well, kinda

This weekend we were supposed to get 4 inches of snow. Knowing that the weather forecaster is ALWAYS wrong I didn't tell the kids about it so they wouldn't be disappointed. They saw it snowing Saturday evening and woke up Sunday to a dusting (pretty typical no matter what state I live in). They went outside in the morning to 'make' snowballs, snowmen, and eat snow. Kinsey was SO cute!! I hope it snows a lot soon so she can really play in it! Cailey wanted to eat it..but sadly there wasn't much for her. She ended up taking it off of the cars and eating it:). Braden played outside for a little while but didn't like the cold. Afterwards they all came in for hot cocoa and marshmallows:).

We always have to make a snowman...even
if it's little!

cutie patootie!

Prima Ballerinas

Friday night we had another time of Fellowship with friends and Cailey really enjoyed dressing up with Sarah! Someone gave us all of the dress up clothes and honestly I just took the bag and put it in the girl's room...I had never even seen most of the stuff they put on! (Cailey doesn't really ever play dress up other than putting on jewelry unless there is a friend over). It was pretty funny to see some of the stuff Cailey came down in- it was definitely NOT a Kodak moment...most of it was either WAY too small or way too big...but this was cute so I decided to post it:). The kids also enjoyed playing with Lindsey, Austin and Reese- and had a great game of hide and seek going for a while! Cailey has bonded with Janet and wants her to be her new teacher (as do I)!! We had a relaxing time and I am so glad we started doing this...it's such a great way to get to know each other better:)

Our MLK day tradition....

Every year over MLK weekend Auntie Anne comes to visit! (She's a teacher and has a three day weekend.) The kids get SUPER excited because when she comes at other times of the year she usually only stays one night...but for this one weekend she is able to stay until Monday evening!!:)!! It's fun for all of us when she comes and the time is filled with laughter, reading, running, playing, hanging out, and eating....of course!

HAMburger....

The other day I was craving a burger...probably due to all this working out and wanting protein:). Anyway, on the way home from the gym I told Braden that we should ask daddy to make us some hamburgers for dinner. Later on Brian came upstairs laughing and couldn't wait to tell me about something Braden said while 'helping' him make burgers. Brian was on his way outside to put them on the grill when Braden said, "Daddy, don't forget to put on the ham." At first Brian didn't get it and said, "I know they need cheese on them but first they have to cook." Braden said, "No daddy, mommy said she wants HAM burgers:)!!! SO CUTE!!!

Gotta Love this Face!!!

8/2006

1/2008

Toothless or not...I can't get over these pictures! I might be biased, but really, how can you not smile when you see these?? When she did this the other day it reminded me of the beach pic so I just had to post it for all to see:)!

First Class Project!

On Monday Cailey brought home a paper saying that their 100th day of school was on Wednesday so they needed to do a project with 100 objects. It's a cute concept that we didn't do when I was in school (a LONG LONG time ago) and is a great way to work on math skills. This week has been busy for me so I was concerned with what we were going to do....I thought about Skittles, M&M's, and pennies but remembered candy does NOT do well glued on poster board-SO my friend (and boss, Sheree) suggested we use do-a-dots! I thought it was a brilliant idea...and free, which really made me happy! So today when Cailey got home she decided she wanted to make a rainbow using 100 dots. It was a cute idea and she did a great job! I must say that I am not a fan of these last minute projects though!

Little Mama

Kinsey has turned into quite the little mama lately! She's always been into jewelry, shoes, and babies...another words, she's girly:)! Last time Laura came she wanted to hold Isaac-how cute is that?? She only held him for a minute before getting down and walking away. At first we were confused but then she came back...with a book! She wanted to read him a story!!! I just thought it was so precious to watch:). She's also very "helpful" with Hannah and Samuel and likes to help them drink their bottles, find their pacifiers and bring them toys.

A Day with Daddy

Yesterday the Sunday school men took the kids out for a day of bowling. Cailey chose to go to a birthday party instead and I also had Kinsey so Brian was able to have some boy time with Braden. He bowled one game then decided that bowling was not for him...so he watched everyone else play the rest of the time:). I'm sure the heavy 6 lb ball had something to do with it!! Afterwards they went to get haircuts and then came home. On the way home he told Brian that it was fun to do things with just the boys:). I was impressed that Brian brought the camera but wish he had gotten a picture of them together...baby steps:)!!

Little Faces of FnF

Sarah Meredith.............................Ellary

Cailey and Kellen.....................Kinsey and Sarah


Addie................................................ Caroline

Caden............................................. Jack

Last night we had our first "Friday night Fellowship" with friends from our Sunday school class. Brian and I decided to make our house available on Friday nights so the kids can play together and the adults can have some fellowship time. We had a great time hanging out and catching up! The kids did great playing together and can't wait until next Friday night (neither can Brian or I:). I didn't get pics of all the kids...but here's what I have.

Belly's, Armpits and Hair??

GUESS WHO?

DEEP IN THOUGHT

YOU GUESSED IT, THE 'HAIR'

It's been pretty cloudy here the past couple days but I was still trying to get some pictures for a photography class I've been taking with my friend, Laura. These did NOT turn out the way I wanted them to...and the lack of light didn't help either. When I took a picture of the bicycle up close Cailey said, "Mommy, why are you taking a picture of my bike's hair?

Oh...and tonight I gave Cailey "The Cat In the Hat" to read for a few minutes before she had to go to sleep. She whined and said, "Mommy, I don't want this book because it doesn't have detailed colorful pictures." Wow... rejecting Dr.Seuss is pretty serious:)!

Caden and Braden

Since I am now only working Tuesday and Thursday mornings (YAY!!!) I have more time to get together with friends and set up playdates for Braden and Kinsey. This week Braden played with Rebecca on Monday and Caden on Wednesday. He's going to play with him tomorrow too:). They had a blast playing upstairs with the trains and playing outside in the backyard. I am really loving this small workload and I know the kids are too!

All about Me by Braden

My name is Braden. I am 3 and a half years old. I like gum. I like playing games with mommy. My favorite game is Hi Ho Cherry-O. I like to read lots of books. I like to play tickle with daddy.

Lap tart?

Tuckered out after a jam session at Kellen's party


Having a snack in the sun during nap time

Cailey had a big weekend full of parties and lots of playing outside with the neighbor kids. At one point on Sunday I asked Cailey what Brian was doing and she said, "He's on his lap tart again." I didn't know what she meant at first but quickly figured out she meant to say lap top:) So cute!!

Gotta Love Public School

I've struggled with what to do about the schooling option for a long time but finally decided to send Cailey to a public school. There's been ups and downs...I can see that's she's grown in some areas (fine motor) but many of the things they do are way below her skill set. I'm still debating pulling her out next year and homeschooling her...or maybe switching schools-who knows what will happen. We are trying to get her into a great charter school but the chances are slim to none that she'll get in. Anyway, for some background on this story, Cailey's been out of school for Christmas break and just went back this past Wednesday. Let me just say that this week was useless! She had a blast and loves it (and I know that's very important and agree that she needs to have fun) but educationally there wasn't much meat. She came home on Friday with this on her head. When I asked her what she did she told me her friend Suzy had a birthday party and they had a clown, got tattoos, ate cupcakes and ice cream sandwiches watched a movie and had free centers. Really, I mean why did I send her away for seven hours when she basically partied all day? The whole week before they got out for Christmas was the same way...those of you who are doing the public school thing feel free to send the encouraging words. I just keep telling myself that Brian and I went to public school and turned out ok!

Past Tense Problems

Brian asked me a couple weeks ago when Braden would learn how to use past tense words correctly. I didn't really know what he was talking about so I started paying attention more closely. Braden said, "I putted the bowl away" right after that. OH...I get it. So I told Brian it was cute and he'd get it eventually as long as we modeled the correct way to say things. Two weeks later it's driving me BONKERS!!!! Everything he says is in the wrong form! I really don't remember Cailey doing this and neither does Brian. So samples of Braden's past tense problems are: goed, putted, getted, stopded, swimmed, singed, takeded, rided, losed, seeed, catched, sitted, eated, gotted, founded, fixeded, takeded, swinged...really I could go on and on and on! I wish now that Brian didn't point it out because apparently I was oblivious before and it didn't bother me!! I know in the future this will be a cute memory....one that I'm sure I'll wish I could get back:) My favorite parenting quote (and I have no idea who said it first) "The days are long but the years are short" So true!

Young and Old Together

I remember when I was younger we went to a nursing home with the girl scouts. We had an 'adopted' grandparent that we would go back and visit every time. Mine was a sweet lady..whose name I don't remember but I do remember enjoying the time I spent there. Several people from our Sunday school class have been going to a local nursing home the first Friday of every month for a while but we weren't able to go until today. We went and the kids made a craft and talked to the elderly. Braden latched on to a man named Jack and talked and high fived him a lot! After the craft we went into another room for the kids to run around and play...with balloons:). I really enjoyed the time and the kids did too! Hopefully we'll be able to do it again next month.

Hide and Seek...and Chili

On Tuesday I took Braden and Cailey to Laura's and Brian hung out with Kinsey (while watching football) at home. It was a beautiful day and not too cold so the kiddos spent most of the day playing outside. It was a bit muddy from all the rain on Sunday but they didn't mind at all:). Their favorite thing to play is hide and seek so I tried to grab some pics in between the hiding.

When I got home we had our traditional New Year's Day meal of Chili and Kinsey was a riot with it! She kept saying, "mmmmmmm" the whole time and wanted to get every last bit...then wanted more..and even a third bowl! She was a mess afterwards, but she sure did enjoy herself! And for those of you wondering, yes, we do encourage eating with utensils...she ate most of it with a spoon but wanted every last bit!