Little big man

Patrick pretty much thinks he is in charge these days. And, well, sometimes he is. You can see how he has his siblings wrapped around his finger.

He's got her right where he wants her.

I love the sprinkler pics - his first time in the sprinkler, and he loved it!

Sunburn, bug bites, and blisters

Ahhh, yes, the days of summer. We had an awesome 4-day holiday weekend over 4th of July. It was O family Christmas and this year's gathering did not disappoint. Sadly, I have hardly any pictures (can someone share, please?). Some weekend highlights:

My little cousins are now the 'big kids" for my kids. So fun to see!

• Royals game on the 4th - we won! And got to see a grand slam! (By "see" I mean it happened. We were in line at little K and heard the crowd roar.) Ellie Kate got drenched by the fountains and all enjoyed cooling off with her wet hugs.
• Ice cream and neighborhood fireworks with the kids. P slept sounds. E & W were in awe. EK even created a new fireworks dance to show her appreciation of an especially good spark.
• Swimming at GoGo and Grampy's. Will can touch all the way across the pool - yay! Kids discovered the joys of water guns - thanks, Gramps.
• Yard games and beer go hand in hand - delightful summer afternoon.
• No O Christmas is complete without a $5 game/gift. Thanks to Patty for hauling boxes and wrapping paper all the way from OK!
• The mini golf tournament (on the course set up in the back yard) was a hit. When I realized the worst we could do was double bogey, my score instantly improved. Will made $4.55 as the beer cart kid and earned his first blister from playing golf. Gotta get him a glove.
• Learned new games, spent time with my awesome cousins, watched my kids play and play and play until they passed out on the way home. 

Can't wait til next year - a wedding and a 90th birthday celebration are on tap. Already looking forward to it.

chilling out after we got home

Perfect summer weekend

After swim lessons on Friday we all headed to the K for a Royals game. We had great seats and a parking pass and made it about 5 innings. I consider that a success for Patrick's first game and a 7:05 first pitch!

Saturday morning we got to ride in the Old Shawnee days parade. Patrick did not enjoy this at all. He was whiny and restless pretty much the whole time. Ellie Kate and Will both told me their arms got tired from waving. We had beautiful weather and a great crowd. After the parade, we headed to the Old Shawnee Days carnival. I caught a glimpse of my children's differing personalities. Eleanor rode ride after ride. She and Justin went on the big Ferris wheel. She loved every bit of it. After one ride, Will opted for the carnival games. He came home with countless treasures. Thankfully, Patrick finally fell asleep. He looked so uncomfortable, but I was glad he finally slept.

While the kids napped Saturday afternoon, I enjoyed sun time on the deck. As I told J, it is my happiest place. After naps, we played in the water table.

After our usual Sunday chores and baseball practice, we went to our neighborhood pool. This was Patrick's first trip. I have no pictures from this - it took all hands for children! But, we had a great time.

Now, we are all a bit sun kissed, swimsuits are drying around the house, kids are pooped, and I'm enjoying a glass of wine. All in all, a glorious summer weekend.

Weekend with Mom

In the last three days I've been a paramedic, pharmacist, mediator, exterminator, cheerleader, chauffeur, beauty salon victim er...customer, and so much more. While J has been enjoying a guys' trip in Vegas, we have had a mommy weekend at home. We haven't done anything major. The weather has been gross, so it has mostly been inside play.

Except for Patrick's cut lip, Will's bloody nose, and my stabbed hand (why do they make kids' puzzle boxes so hard to get open?!) we came through the weekend unscathed. We did the usual laundry, church, grocery store, but I also even got some ironing in, put away Patrick's bottles (which he hasn't used in months) and did a little work.

It's been nice to have good time with the kids while everyone is relatively healthy and happy. And, I've gotten some good "me" time, which is nice.

helping change the sheets

Cousins

My kids are so blessed to have such fun cousins on both sides of the family. As I was looking through my Easter photos, I was reminded of this. Prior to giving Justin a black eye (unintentionally, of course), John was so good with the little kids. He noticed the giant pile of eggs in EK's basket and the not so giant pile in Will's. He called Will into another room where he had hidden all the eggs from his own basket for Will to find. What a great kid! Of course, now that he's driving and almost in high school, he would probably be mortified if he knew I was posting all this. Great to see that kids don't lose their sweetness as they grow up, though. Good job, Sar (AKA Summer Fun-killer)!

Shades of Patrick

So happy in his swing! He loves it and thankfully the weather has been ok recently.

Sitting in Will's bookshelf.

Big kid getting ready for bed.

Ambition

On the way home from school today, Ellie Kate says, "when I grow up, I'm going to be a princess. And a fairy. A real-life fairy so I can fly around for real. And I'm going to be a mom, and a teacher, and a helper like you when I grow up, mom. And, mom, do you want to be an artist with me when I grow up?"

Me: "Sure, I'll be an artist with you. And wow! You have a lot of choices for what you can be when you grow up! You can be a princess or a fairy or a mom or a teacher or a helper or an artist."

EK: "no, mom, I'm going to be all of them."

I smile. Of course she is.

Me: "Will, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

W: "a football player."

No "ands" from Will.

Insert social commentary here.

This really struck me. Of course, Ellie has a list of things she wants to be and fully thinks she can be them all. She sees it every day. I believe that Will, like most men, will develop and operate in multiple roles. But it is really fascinating to me how this develops. Is it natural for EK to see herself with multiple "jobs"? Will has expressed an interest in being other things when he grows up, but his process involves "ors" not "ands" or are sequential (I'll be a football player, then an author, etc.). I know I'm reading a lot into this small interaction. But I see it in other ways they play. Nature or nurture, I don't know. It is certainly fascinating.

In related news, reading Lean In is on my to-do list. Unfortunately, being a mom, assistant dean, mentor, wife, homeowner, and friend have kept me too busy to do so. Hopefully I can be a reader again soon.

Eleanor-isms

On the eve of her 4th birthday, I thought I'd take a moment to document some of our favorite recent Ellie comments.

E: "Mommy, we played with doggie balls today!"
Me: "you did what?!"
E: "yea, see those balls out there?" (Pointing to the Bocce ball set)
Oohhh, I got it now! Our dog is Botchie. Hence, Bocce ball became doggie ball.


(Playing "the letter game" in the van)
Me: "I'm thinking of a food that starts with B"
W: "banana!"
E: "botato, botato,"

(Yesterday before her birthday party)
J: "no, Elle, Mom's in the shower, let's leave her alone"
E: "no, Daddy, it's my birthday, so I can do whatever I want"

(Deciding on her birthday dinner)
E: "how about pancakes and cheese dip with chips"
Me: "well, honey, those two things really don't go together"
E: "oh, ok, I don't have to put the cheese dip on top"
(Ewwwww! We settled on pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage)

(Yesterday evening after her party. She is dressed in her princess gown and riding her new scooter through the kitchen - see below)
Me: "excuse me, Eleanor"
E: willfully ignoring
Me: "excuse me, Eleanor"
E: "you mean Princess Eleanor?"

Poor baby

We have a poor sick Eleanor. She has hardly left the air mattress this weekend. I think she's slept 12 of the last 14 hours. Headed to the doctor tomorrow. Through all of this misery she is still the most delightful little sick person I've ever known.
"How do you feel, Elle?"
"Good." (And she pukes a few minutes later.)

Will's plan for the future

Yesterday Will outlined his top 3 career choices.

1. Play 7 seasons at KU (in different sports). [We didn't discuss the NCAA's insistence on amateur status meaning this isn't really a job. Or the unlikelihood of playing several different college sports. Or really even one sport. He has backup plans, no need to burst the bubble right now.]

2. Be a SportsCenter reporter.

3. Work for KU like you, Mom.

Snow

I'm home with a "sick" little girl today. So, while she watches Tinkerbell for the 80th time, I thought I'd take this opportunity to update the blog.

We had some hefty snow storms a couple weeks ago. It resulted in 4 snow days for local schools. Will was already scheduled off for conferences on the first two. KU closed both days. Day cares closed 1 day so J & I got some work done from home on the second day.
Then, early the next week we got more snow. Will's school was cancelled 2 days. Day cares and KU closed 1 day. It was a lot of time cooped up in the house and I was definitely ready to get out!

The older kids played for awhile and enjoyed hot cocoa and snow ice cream. But, Will did say he was ready to go to school instead of "another boring home day".

Firsts

Yesterday was Patrick's first birthday. Today we celebrated with our family. He seemed to enjoy it all - the attention, the chaos, the tissue paper, and especially the cupcakes.  He is such a sweet, happy little guy. He's ornery and daring. He keeps us on our toes for sure. He's a great eater, not a great sleeper, and is currently in a Mama's boy phase. His favorite tricks right now include climbing through the doggy door and dumping Botchie's water dish. (Amazingly, B is so patient with him!) Patrick has started sharing his feelings a little more - mostly when we close the doggy door or stop him from climbing on something. He says several words: uh-oh, bye-bye, mama, dada, and occasionally dog and ball ( ok, it's really more like bah, it we know what he means).

For me, this is the first time I really struggled with one of my kids turning one. I'm not a mom who wishes for my kids to stay eternally young or who longs for the newborn days. Quite the opposite actually. I truly enjoy every stage and find wonderful things about each age. But I will be happy when we have 3 kids who sleep thru the night, are done with bottles and diapers, and can have "real" conversations, play games, etc. So when I was rocking Patrick the night before his first birthday and found myself crying as I reminisced about the first year, I was a little surprised. But for whatever reason, this one's a little hard for me. This past year has been full of change for us - Patrick, jobs, kindergarten. The year seems to have flown by in some ways. But when I think of how different things were then, it seems like so long ago.

I love my sweet baby boy. His blue eyes will forever melt my heart. I am excited to see what his next year brings. Undoubtedly we will add to his list of firsts. There may even be a few more moments that bring me to tears.

A few photos of my favorite one year old...