Wedding

We were lucky to all be a part of Justin's sister's wedding last weekend! Of course, I was a horrible photographer and took very few photos. That's what professionals are for, right?


Will was a ring bearer, Ellie Kate was a flower girl, Justin was a groomsman, and I was a bridesmaid. In hindsight, it would have been good for me to have someone take a picture of the 4 of us together. In reality, I'm not sure the 4 of us were ever all happy and in the same place at the same time!

Both kids made it down the aisle just fine. Well, Elle was crying when Justin went down without her, regained her composure, then lost it again when I went down without her. Thankfully my niece dragged her out when it was time to go. Once E saw me, she was happy to walk down the aisle toward me. Will did great coming down the aisle, and looked so handsome in his tux. The grand plan was for the kids to sit with my mom during the ceremony. That lasted all of about 2 seconds. EK was quickly up with me, where I held her for much of the ceremony. (Warm weather, outside wedding, holding a little girl in a poufy dress = awesome wrinkles and sweat marks on a bridesmaid's dress.) EK babbled (though not terribly loud all the time) throughout the ceremony -- even saying "CHEESE" for the photographer trying to capture the bride & groom. At one point, she got down and threw the flower petals from her basket (since she didn't do it on the way down the aisle). When she realized her basket was empty, she just threw it too. It's a wonder anyone was able to pay attention to the ceremony! She was such a distraction!!

Will has grown quite fond of his sister and has a great sense of comfort when he's with her. So, when she came up with me, his anxiety level rose dramatically. Combine this with no nap, being overwhelmed by walking down the aisle in front of all these strangers, and you get a very emotional little boy who ended up standing next to his dad through the ceremony. Periodically, I would hear him trying to stifle sobs. I was waiting for Jenny to ask us to leave. I felt like we were such distractions! Thankfully, she did not ask us to leave, and actually still thinks our kids are great. I guess that's what aunts are for, right?!

Once the wedding was over, both kids were happy campers - running all over and entertaining plenty. They couldn't stay as late as the dance, so they just had their own - on the dance floor, with no music, while others ate dinner. What a proud mother I was. Blessedly, my mom took them home about 8 and J&I were able to enjoy a lovely evening without much more embarrassment.

Will claims he had a great time at Aunt Jenny's wedding, which I guess is all that matters. He even told my mom that he was going to wear his tuxedo the next weekend, too....to Jason & Kathy's wedding. Welcome back, imaginary friends!

No pics - just updates

It's been awhile since I've updated on milestones and highlights. So, here it goes.
Will is great. He is learning more every day. We're reading Charlotte's Web chapter by chapter before bed each night. I'm not sure how much he's getting, but it's fun. Tonight as a I finished, he said, "Now, Mom, when you see a circle you stop. And when you see one of these [pointed to a comma], you pause for a just a moment." I swear I did not learn punctuation as a 4-year-old! He's delightful and happy most of the time. He wants to be outgrowing his nap, but we aren't so sure that's a good idea

Eleanor is growing up so fast! Her vocabulary has been booming the last couple months. She says so many things including many multi-word phrases. She has perfected the teenage "mooo-ooom"whine. All her teeth (minus the 2 year molars) are in, she's 26 lbs. 11 oz as of a couple weeks ago. We're working on keeping the pacifier and blankie bed only. (For what it's worth - I'd take a thumb-sucker over a binky-kid any day!!)
Ellie Kate is playful and daring - often trying to climb into her own high chair. Pretty much anything her big brother can do, she can do, too. She loves bath time. Watching the two of them splash at each other is a blast! I tend to get very wet, but it's so fun to watch them be so happy and have fun together. Elle loves babies. I don't know if this is intrinsic or what. I've purposely tried not to totally genderize my kids' toys. They both play with all kinds of things. And we are definitely not into princesses yet. But, I tell ya, that girl LOVES babies! She loves her baby friend and day care. She always has to give her hugs and kisses and say goodbye before we leave. She loves looking at babies' pictures in magazines or books. She's not huge into dolls, but occasionally she plays with them. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. Will was always so much more interested in adults and people older than him. (As evidenced by his imaginary friend whose age varies, but is always older. I learned his "big name" tonight: Jason William Best. I thought that was cute.

Enough for tonight. Just wanted to try to provide a little snapshot so I could remember later on.

Will is 4!

Happy 4th birthday, William!

Will had a very fun birthday party with his friends at school on Monday. He chose pancakes for dinner at home on his birthday. (More specifically - a chocolate chip pancake with peanut butter and blueberries on top.) We spent most of the evening enjoying all his new things. We gave him a new bike for his birthday.

He seemed to like it and quickly announced: "A new big boy bike! Now I can ride it to Jason's house!" 

Hard to believe it's been 4 years...a friend told me I'd graduated from kid college. It doesn't quite feel like that. Oddly, these 4 years seem much quicker than the 4 years of college. I think I've grown about as much, maybe more. I suppose that's how life continues to go.  Here's looking forward to the next 4 and more!

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend featured two exciting events for our family. On Saturday we had the first KU football game of the season. The kids did great! Will is getting more interested in the actual game. It helped that Jason (his imaginary friend) was on the field playing for the Jayhawks. Ellie Kate waved to the Jayhawk (across the field) and blew him kisses. Otherwise, she was keeping busy with snacks. Unfortunately, the game did not turn out so well for the 'Hawks. After the game Will said, "Mommy, I am sad the Jayhawks did not win." It's a good lesson to learn at an early age, right? We don't always win.

I couldn't get a great pic of EK in her game day attire.


Daddy is teaching her to wave the wheat in preparation for the game.


Will and Aunt Casie - what a pair!


On Sunday we went to visit my grandma in small town KS for their Labor Day picnic. We went almost every year as kids and I have such fond memories. This was my kids' first trip. They had a blast playing at the city park across the street from grandma's house and at the picnic itself. At the park, Will learned of the joys of "underdoggies" on the swings - thanks, GoGo! Subsequently, we all got a chance to try -- and we are not a short family, so he got going pretty high! At the picnic, we played games, won candy and prizes, and certainly most exciting for Will he got a "big boy sword" from Aunt Casie. This was an item Will had already put on his birthday list, but Aunt C "won" it at the picnic and shared with Will. Will & his sword are now virtually inseparable.

My other job

My "real" job includes working with a great group of college students. I hosted our end of summer dinner last weekend - so fun!


Then I enjoyed 4 days off work this week, including our 8 year anniversary. I didn't get a whole lot accomplished, but I definitely enjoyed some down time. And J & I had a great anniversary together. The 4 of us went to the pool early that evening and had a blast! Both of the kids really enjoyed the water and we had the whole pool to ourselves for awhile so it was awesome! We were too busy having fun to take pictures, though.

Eleanor is turning into a very ornery little girl! She is so sweet and turning into a ham for the camera or new faces, but she knows exactly what she's not supposed to do and tries to do it without getting caught. Luckily, she's not very stealthy at this age! She has 8 teeth in and I think she's working on the molars. She's been grinding her teeth (one of my biggest pet peeves!) and drooling like mad.




The 4 of us went to a Royals game Friday night and had a great time! Both the kids loved the carousel ride! Ellie Kate sat in her seat like a big girl eating her pretzel and cheering whenever the rest of the crowd did. Will's friend Jason (imaginary) was also there playing baseball. Turns out he's a pitcher for the Royals - who knew?!

This is just a cute picture of both the kids in new outfits - thanks, Grandma!

Finger food

Last night Eleanor finally decided that finger food wasn't so bad after all! We've given her little bits of things on many different occasions and she picks it up, studies it very closely, never gets it near her mouth, and promptly drops it for Botchie. Last night, we gave her some puffs (mostly to try to keep her entertained while we ate) and next thing I new she was "chewing" and had eaten 4 of them! I guess that's why we keep trying after many failed attempts!

Will and Jakeson went "to the mall at KU" and ate pizza, yogurt and popcorn. Will's Aunt J and her friend T were also mentioned, not sure if they were with Will & Jakeson or what, but it sounded like a fun time!

Jakeson

Will announced to us last night that his friend Jakeson was coming over for lunch.
"Will, do you mean Jackson?"
"No, mama, JAKEson"
So, apparently Jakeson is Will's imaginary friend. We know no one of this name. And no one was coming over for dinner. I asked Will where he met Jakeson.
"On the football team"
Will is not on a football team.
"How old is Jakeson, Will?"
"He's 22."
Oh geez - this kid is gonna be the sophomore in high school who only wants to hang out with the seniors. Lord help us!
Jakeson apparently lives at the North Pole with Santa Claus. Maybe Jakeson is an elf?
Will later told us that we needed to make a cake for when Jakeson was coming over and that Jakeson would put him to bed. In actuality, Daddy put Will to bed and there was no cake made. We'll have to see if Jakeson survived until today...