Express Yourself

Recently we watched the movie "Racing Stripes", one of Roman's newfound favs. In this movie there is a rather crude and disgusting fly character and at one point the fly falls into a guy's espresso and begins to fart to which he tells the other fly "I'm just putting some express in this espresso!" Roman found this to be the highlight of the entire movie! What is it with my kids and bodily noises? So last night he's in the bath and begins laughing so hard that James yells in to find out what's going on to which we are greeted in an ever so sweet voice "I'm just expressing in this espresso, Dad!"

The Christmas Show

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year at grandma & grandaddy's with all the aunts and uncles. The kids were in heaven as it has been quite some time since we were up there. On Friday after Thanksgiving, Roman, Hope and I drove up to Aunt Philly's while James stayed behind with Bethany who got spoiled rotten "I'm rotten, rotten, rotten!" as she would say. At Aunt Philly's we met up with mom, Aunt Peggy, Carlee, and Leia for lunch, then proceded further north to Lancaster, PA to see a Christmas Show. Roman and Hope had never been to anything quite like this before. It wasn't a play, just a live show with different acts of singing, dancing, and silly little skits. They were both in awe, and despite Roman's determination to have a horrible time, he quickly melted and was laughing himself silly in no time. The performers were great! About half way through the first half they asked for volunteers to come up on stage. Mom leaned forward and told Hope and Roman to raise their hands. With great enthusiasm they did. They were sitting on the 5th row and the guy spotted them immediately and told Roman to come on up. Hope latched on to the back of his shirt and followed him up there too. About halfway up the stairs as they realized they were going to be standing in front of hundreds of people, they both looked back, turned white as ghosts, with a momentary panic look. Still, they proceded and much to my surprise when asked their names they each told them without hestitation. The skit they were joining was about this crazy elf named, Stanley, who was in charge of wrapping presents at this gift wrapping stand. Roman was handed a box and they were told to stand in line to have their gift wrapped. Stanley then turned into "rapper" Stanley instead of gift "wrapper" Stanley and broke out into this big rap and dance number on top of the table in front of Roman and Hope. The hysterical part is Roman did not flinch, did not show any sign of emotion or recongnition what-so-ever, just stood there staring at him while Hope would watch, then turn back towards the audience and shrug with this look like "What is this guy on?" LOL After he finished his rap it was time to wrap the present. First he had Roman stand to face the side and hold out the box with both hands. Then he moved Hope to face him and told her to hold the box, which she did... with one hand. He grabbed her other arm and she'd jerk it back. He'd grab it again and she'd jerk it back. Then he said "I think you're hiding something from Stanley, what do you have in that hand?" At this time, with the cheesiest grin ever she proudly held up her hand complete with a smuggled, half-eaten Sugar Daddy! Stanley nearly lost it, then proceded to pretend to lick her lollipop before placing her hand back on the box. Next he began to wrap the box, with the kids hands still attached, then he brought out a bigger piece of paper and completely wrapped up both of them together as one big present. As he was finishing up he cleared Hope's head saying he was scared she couldn't breathe in there and stuck an enormous bow on her instead. Finally, he went to present them to the audience and attempted to turn them. He was behind Hope and leading her shoulders attempted to move her and she'd force him back, and again, until he got so tickled he declared he must have glued her feet to the floor! It was hysterical! Roman said he didn't like being wrapped like a present, but his smile and twinkle in his eyes said otherwise. Hope on the other hand was in all her glory, especially when several people approached her for her autograph after the show!

Another Tooth Missing

Roman lost his 3rd tooth last night. It was very loose and driving him crazy, so James volunteered to pull it. Much to my shock Roman allowed it, and using a baby wipe for a little friction James easily popped it out. It bled like crazy, but Roman was so proud to have another tooth out that he didn't even peep. Not at all like my typical blood-squirmish boy. The first thing out of his mouth after that.... "I can't wait to get to school tomorrow to show Ms. Neal!" He really does love his teacher. Heck, I'd say she ranks above the ToothFairy right now, and for a 5 year old, that's HUGE! He almost forgot to put his tooth under his pillow, but quickly came running out panicked, looking for it shortly after we put him to bed. He got another dollar and some gum. Not quite as excited about the gum as last time, he instead became quite "knowledgeable" and excited about all the American symbols on a dollar bill.

Hair can't be TOO long....

Hope Elizabeth is a total and complete girly-girl. She loves all things "girl". She is infatuated with long hair. Recently we were having a discussion about hair after one of our many battles to rid her of tangles. So I asked her "How long are we going to let this mess get anyway? To you butt? To you feet?" To which she replied, "Just above my 'un-wear-wears'" "Why stop there?" And this is what she had to say, "I don't want my hair all the way down to my butt, cause then I would fart of it, and everyone would know I farted on it cause it would go 'thloop'" as she demonstrated with her hand by flicking it forward. To make matters worse, Bethany got so tickled I think she actually did pee her pants and started running around the house declaring she was going to grow her hair all the way to her butt!

Mommies Know Everything

Ever since Roman could talk and ask"how do you know that" I have told him that "mom's just know everything". Today he concluded that mom's only know everything because they went to school, and now that he's in school he knows everything too!

Owl Madness

Sometime recently Roman apparently learned about owls at school. EVERYTHING you could ever hope to know about owls. ALL types of owls. And of course the noises they make. Roman has it in his head that he can hunt owls by attracting them with *hoots*. Very, very loud, obnoxious hoots! The first day we received a lecture on all the different types of owls, their habitats and various other facts about them. He was especially excited about the burrowing owl. "Did you know there's an owl that lives underground?" He spent the better part of an hour stomping around the yard looking for burrowing owls. Then it was to the trees where he'd stand and *hoot* at the bottom of every tree in the yard. We have a lot of trees in the yard! Over the following days he has frequently stuck his head out of the window of the car and *hooted* into the sky in search of a real owl. We can only hope that Ms. Neal teaches something more quieter next time! LOL

Parent/Teacher conference

I was a little nervous going into the Parent/Teacher conference. This was our FIRST ever parent/teacher conference and the first real feedback we've gotten since the nightmare of Kindergarten registration testing where we were told Roman "failed", even though it was not supposed to be a pass-fail test. We had been so strongly encouraged, felt more like pressured, into sending him to pre-K summer school, and our decision not to do so, of course, it hard not to question if that was the best course of action for him. All of the papers Roman has brought up have been positive, he is always on "green", and the brief interactions we've had with his teacher have been positive, but to hear that he is doing amazingly well in Kindergarten was sheer relief! We were thrilled with his progress thus far. And so incredibly proud of our little man. We thank God daily for his wonderful teacher knowing many of our friend's children have not been so lucky. She seems so loving and kind, always smiling and in high spirits and appears to genuinely care of the children in her class. Plus, the changes we've seen educationally in Roman over the last few months has been astronomical! He's always been a smart kid, but seems to really be 'getting it' and putting things together now. Ms. Neal even recommended he try a reading class. Of course we're thrilled to hear this and I know once Roman starts reading, he'll just love it. We couldn't have asked for a more positive first Parent/Teacher conference and look forward to working with Ms. Neal, and of course Roman, for the remainder of the year. Go Roman!!!

btw... Ms. Neal did not say "SO" when we addressed his eating issues from last week!

Hopey's first Campaign

We have always made a point of bringing the kids with us to the polls while explaining and letting them be a part of the process. This year I did some campaigning for the Kilgore for Governor campaign. Today I volunteered to take the morning shift to hand out Republican sample ballots and was told they were short staffed to cover the evening shift, so of course I volunteered to pitch in again. Hopey wasn't so thrilled with that ideal and was very clingy since I had disappeared the evening before to attend a campaign rally with President Bush - which was AWESOME! So, instead of fighting my beloved 3 year old, I loaded her up and headed to the polls. She was so excited to be getting some 1 on 1 time with mommy and was too cute handing out sample ballots. I always said since she has inherited my love of gab that she would someday go into politics. Just grooming her at an early age!

Humpback Rocks

As gorgeous as this weather has been how could we not spend a day enjoying the great outdoors? James has been excessively whiney and not feeling well. Not up to really going out or doing much of anything right now. Poor guy! So I got in touch with Angie Sammon, the mom of a little girl, Madison, in Roman's class. Madison has an older brother, Josh who is 7. So we loaded up in the van and with all 5 kids in tow... a 2 year old, 3 year old, 5, 6 (well, close enough), and 7 year old we headed to the mountains. Humpback Rocks has always been a favorite hiking spot of mine and it has been years since I've really been in the mountains. We have been talking of going for the last 3 years, but had yet to make it. The kids had the best time! They claimed cabins at the foot of the hill as their personal clubhouse and I think would have played for days if we'd have let them. They wrestled in the leaves and attempted to climb a tree. They ran, they laughed, everyone just had a really great time. We did attempt the hike up to humpback rocks, but not much past the first stretch we bailed. Bethany was determined to hike it herself and was becoming quite crabby from all the hard playing they had already done. We let them run around for awhile in the big field then came back down to play in their "clubhouse" some more. The kids were just great together and we had no incidences. I can't even begin to say how pleased and relaxing this was, especially with Angie's great company!

Ms. Neal says "SO!"

Roman did not eat his lunch, nor his snack this past week. He came home everyday with a full lunch box, and an empty stomach as he devours everything in sight. We assumed the first few days he just really wasn't hungry and still feeling bad from the flu-bug he's been battling, but by Friday it was just getting a bit ridiculous! When discussing this with him he really wouldn't talk about it, so I told him I would be asking his teacher about it at parent/teacher conferences next week. He says, "Go ahead, Ms. Neal will just say 'So!'" LOL We'll just see if that's what Ms. Neal has to say on Tuesday!

Halloween 2005

Roman's new buddy, Matthew Jennsch, from soccer and his mom, Kary, met us at our house for trick-or-treating this year. The kids had a blast and boy did they rack in some loot this year!

Bethany 2 year Stats

Bethany had her well-baby checkup today. She is 25 lbs (25% - woohoo! First time above the 15% since birth!) and 33 1/2 inches long (50%). She is "perfect" to quote the doctor! She found Bethany to be very well spoken for her age and advanced in nearly all areas. Of course we've always known this! She even commented on how well she can hold a tune as she broke out into her rendition of "Old MacFarmer" in the middle of the checkup. We discussed the hair pulling and she does not feel it is a problem, just a stage, but we will continue to keep close watch over her. She has been eating us out of house and home, so I suspect we're in for, yet another growth spurt this coming month. She has already maxed the 18 and 24 month pants in length and is wearing 2T's now with a few 3T's even. Her foot size is up to a 7 1/2, but quickly approaching 8's. Boy, is she taking after her brother with those feet! Roman also has shot up drastically on us and is maxing length in the size 6's we just bought him at the beginning of the school year - 2 months ago - and will be needing all new clothes again before winter even arrives!

Bethany's Birthday Party

Bethany's party was Saturday and we had a blast! It was so much fun! We went to the pumpkin patch at Chesterfield Berry Farm. Jon, Alicia, Steven and Garrett; Kari, Kermit, Abigail, and Megan; and Barbara all met us there. Hadn't been there in 2 years and boy has it grown! We started off with a barrel tractor pull ride that the kids just loved. Then to the bounce house. It was so cute watching her in the bounce house with all her friends and family. Her chicken legs kept sliding down and she'd just fall over and lay there being bounced around. Such a little goof! Then it was onto the haywagon ride out to the fields to pick out our pumpkins. We got some good pictures in the pumpkin patch. Finally a stop in the corn pit - literally a pit filled with feed corn nearly knee deep on me. The kids LOVED this. And ended with a quick run through "Pirates Cove" a cheesy kid-friendly haunted house. Then it was back to our house for some yummy chili and grub - I made an entire, large crock pot full of chili and I barely had enough left to cover 2 chili dogs, so someone must of have liked it! LOL Jon and Alicia couldn't make it back to the house for dinner as they already had plans, but Mike, Adrienned and Joshua were able to make it over for dinner, so that was fun. A round of pin the tail on the donkey then cake/ice cream and presents. It was a wonderful time! Bethany looked adorable in her chicken costume! Check out all the pics:

Bethany's Birthday Cake

Bethany's Birthday Cake

I saw this cake (okay, similar) on the Wilton website and just loved it. Of course they had icing animals and a silo and everything, I simplified it, but still, the results came out great! My first attempt at cake decorated started with Bethany's 1st birthday last year. Let's just say I've come a long way in the last 12 months!

(in case you can't tell, her party theme for this year was Fisher Price Little People Farm.)

More party details to come....

Roman's 1st Real Play Date

Roman had his first play-date today with Matthew Jennsch. Matthew is a little boy from his Fall soccer team. James and I like his mother, Kary, a lot and felt comfortable enough for Roman to go over to their house for an afternoon of fun. He ended up staying for dinner and I think would have spent the night if we'd let him. Baby steps... mommy's still catching up with this letting go stuff!

Balding B Update 2 - We Chopped it Off!

Bethany's hair is GONE! We took her tonight to chop it off. They actually left more than I had expected, but the hairstylist was one of their best and said it should start filling in fine from there as long as she stays off it. I've busted her twice trying to pull on it since then and it's only been 3 hours! ARGH!!! Hopefully she will not find enough left to really bother and will soon give up. That's the plan at least. Actually it looks so much cuter than I ever imagined!

Balding B Update

Bethany continues to lose hair by the fistful. We correct her when we catch her, but come on, she's a very active toddler, we can not possible keep our eyes glued on her hands 24x7! I also have been sticking a glove on her hand when I notice her getting sleepy-eyed. That seems to be when it's at it's worse. I just don't know what else to do! She sucks on 2 fingers on her left hand, so it's only her right hand causing problems... which makes it all the worse imo. She has always carried a Barbie or My Little Pony, or some other baby doll with realish hair texture and has pulled out several wads of hair there, but I don't mind that, she can have ruin all the toys in the world if she'd just leave her own hair alone! So frustrating!

Multi-Lingual Kids

Roman starts a multi-lingual after school class today. I completely forgot all about it, but fortunately James remembered so I called the school at lunch to confirm it starts today and told them to make sure Roman's teacher knows he's not catching the bus home since we didn't tell him about it - since I completely forgot we even signed him up for it. LOL It's supposed to be casual vocabulary in 4 different languages... Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. He can already count to at least 10 pretty fluently in Spanish and knows some of the numbers in all four and a variety of Spanish and German words and phrases already. I personally hated French, so other than counting have steered clear of that one at home. I don't remember too much Japanese, but after years of karate, just couldn't get the counting out of my head. LOL Hopey is speaking more and more Spanish everyday thanks to Dora and LeapFrog. Fortunately it's Latin-based and similar enough to French for me to keep up with her. I keep telling James we're going to have to find a Spanish class soon or we won't be able to communicate with her. LOL I'm not complaining, I think it's important for all the kids to comfortably speak at least one other language.

A Balding B

My little Bmonster not only sucks her fingers and bites her nails, but has recently tossed her matted hair Barbie's and My Little Ponies for hair twirling. Hair twirling in itself isn't bad, Roman does this too and has since he was a baby, but Bethany twirls her hair then yanks it out by the handful! I noticed Friday she seemed thin on one side and thought it was just a bad hair day. Then we dug 2 hairballs out of the child's mouth wrapped tightly around her fingers and I started paying closer attention. Sure enough she's literally pulling all her hair out! She looks like she has a one-sided mullet! It's really short, spikey and you can see the scalp on the side she's pulling on. She's beginning to look like a shaggy haired dog with mange. It's HORRIBLE!!!

Madison Sammon's Birthday Present

Roman was invited to a birthday party this weekend for a little girl in his class named Madison. This is really the first of the "unknown" friends ever. Meaning, every other birthday party we've been to we've known the birthday child and known what he/she likes and whatnot. This time we have NO IDEA. So, what do you buy a 5 year old girl that you don't even know for her birthday? Roman said he'll take care of it... that was a scary thought! But, I took him to Target and he picked out a Barbie Veternarian that was pretty cute. He tells me "This is IT! Madison likes animals I think, and I've never met a girl yet who didn't love Barbies!"