Labor Day weekend was our first weekend with the new house, so Jeff and I started right in that Monday. Jeff's parents watched the kiddos so we could go labor away all day. I have offered to help however I can, so that day it was tearing out tack strips and ripping down wall paneling. As with any project like this, it has to start looking worse before it can look better! We definitely got there in September, doing demo work on the living room, kitchen and some needed foundation work on the corner of the house where the master bedroom is located. We ordered new windows for basically the entire house, made decisions on the front entry way/porch as well as interior floor coverings (not selected, just determined best options). One Sunday the kids and I stopped by with pizza for lunch. The kids were playing in the dirt pile and having a great time while I helped a little while they did a concrete pour for the foundation. Samara stuck a small tree branch in the dirt upright and said she was planting a tree. Kalum grabs a 6" long twig, pokes it into the dirt and says "I plant tree too." It was so sweet and Samara then commented how tiny and cute his tree was. I was working around the back side of the house at one point and I hear Samara yelling something to Papa and Nick. I called to her, "Samara we don't need to yell. Talk nicer please." Her response is serious and without hesitation, "But I'm the worker boss and they need to keep working because there is more work to be done to get the house done." Later she told Nick her self-proclaimed title again, that she was the "worker boss" and when we left for the day, she delegated that title to him.
The next weekend, Jeff and I headed to Chicago so that Jeff could be the Best Man in the wedding of his friend from college. We left on Saturday morning and returned Monday late afternoon. Our parents were kind enough to split the time between them watching the kids. For us it was a weekend full of planned activities, including a boat ride and bowling for the groomsmen, dinner at a Polish buffet and a Sunday evening wedding - all of which had us driving in and around Chicago (and reminding us we never want to experience traffic like that on a daily basis!). Jeff fulfilled all of his duties as the best man, I just tried to step in to help where needed and we had some fun as well!
Nine days after returning from Chicago, I had a trip for work to Portland. So, it was the family shuffle again trying to get the kids taken care of, Samara to preschool and Jeff still trying to stay on schedule with exterior house renovations in Ashland. Last time the kids rode along to the airport to drop me off for a work trip, I could hear them both crying as they drove away (making me on the verge of tears). This time I came prepared with a sucker to give them both as I said goodbye. Jeff's mom sent me a message to say it worked like a charm and they both happily enjoyed their treats as they drove home. :) While there we had two days of meetings, but time to connect with other chapter leaders, get some insight on how we could do some things better in Omaha and enjoy some of Portland as well. We ate at a couple restaurants and walked around some of the downtown areas. I left on a Wednesday and got home on Saturday night. Jeff picked me up from the airport and we went back to his parents to finish watching the remainder of a Husker game. MOPS started up on the Friday I was gone, and we had a number of NARI meetings to attend during the month as well, so a full month all around.
I asked Courtney to come along to go to Veggie Tales Live with the kids on the 30th. They both liked it, just REALLY wanted to go up and see the characters. Kalum kept trying to sneak by and go up there and when Courtney tried to pull him back in the seats, he said "Don't touch me!" At least it was loud so no one could hear him. We ended up giving him mints out of our purses until he decided that it was okay to just sit with us.
Kalum's Moments & Milestones for September:
- We went to the doctor for Samara's 4 year check-up and since he had recently been there for ear infections, he was a little suspicious. As soon as the Dr. came into the room, he hid behind a chair, covering his ears and saying "docker ears hurt" and "don't hurt me docker". I had to reassure him and he sat in my lap for most of the appointment. Poor kid!
- While we were out of town, the kids went with Jeff's parents to an event where they had ponies you could ride and so Kalum had his first pony ride!
- He definitely has his own opinions now... One night I told him it was time for bath. He said, "No, want to play with pillows." As in, continue to jump around on the couch cushions which had been pulled onto the living room floor. And he's now on 5-6 word sentences, such as "I wanna be careful with that." and "I go preschool and learning." He SO wants to go with Samara to school! He has figured out that laughing is acknowledging that something is funny. So when he smiles and laughs he then says, "I laughing." I know buddy, and it's adorable. :)
- He really enjoys his toys, and when playing without Samara present, he makes them talk to each other with little "stories" going on. He talks really well now, and usually says please, as in "I want crackers. Please I have two of them please." A growing boy for sure.
- He responds well to the "uh-oh" song when he has done something wrong. It's just a sing-song way of letting him know that what he is doing (or how he is reacting to something) is not acceptable. "uh oh, sounds like someone needs to head up to their room because their screaming is hurting my ears." Usually you don't even have to pick him up and take him all the way to his room, he changes his tune quickly. For example, he's crying/whining at dinner or starts making a purposeful mess. We say uh-oh while pulling his chair away from the table and he says, "No, I want eat dinner."
- Towards the end of the month we started having him sit on the little potty before bath time. He was sitting there, said uh-oh and sure enough he had gone in the potty. So, progress there, but the same day he was confusing the word nipple and meatball. He was trying to pull up his shirt and says, "where meatball go?" After being baffled for a few minutes as he keeps talking about meatballs, I figure out what he meant, help correct and just laugh.
- 4 year check-up stats: Weight 35.8 lbs (51%), Height: 41.75" (81%), BMI 14.4 (22%) She got three shots and screamed the entire time. We needed Mommy and two nurses to get them done. Kalum went up and patted her after and said "sorry", what a sweetheart.
- Samara was very excited for school this year! She is in the purple class with 4/5 year olds and had her newly decorated bag with her that she made with Gemma. I asked her some questions on the way to school...
- Most excited about: Showing all her friends her little puma that she got on vacation for show and tell.
- What she wants to be when she grows up: a Mommy
- What she thinks Kalum will be when he grows up: a Daddy
- Favorite color: pink
- Favorite book: The Poky Little Puppy
- She also had her first pony ride with Jeff's parents while we were out of town. I think she liked it, but she wasn't asking for a horse of her own or anything after that. Whew!
- The morning after a long weekend with grandparents, Samara woke up very cranky! She got so mad over a couple things in the morning (I opened Kalum's door, then wouldn't hold her hand while she was crying and throwing a fit) that she ended up screaming so loud that she set off the glass breakage alarm on our security system. This then added a LOUD, high pitched noise to the mix and made her scream more! The next day she had another tantrum which started in Walgreens and continued in the truck and at home. It took forever to even get her into her car seat, we had to call Daddy and I took a ten minute video just for the records. It was more than I could handle! Thankfully this phase wore off once her routine got back to more normal.
- First assignment of the school year- a get to know you page with favorite food "macaroni and oranges", favorite color "pink", I'm so special because "I love lambs". I was letting her write her own responses in the sections, then just let her dictate the last few so she could fit it all in. Things I'm good at "riding my bike and telling other kids about Jesus". I can't make this stuff up! God may have a plan for that outgoing personality after all, how quickly we forget there is a bigger picture here when we're in the middle of the day to day stuff.
- She is trying to read everything she sees now that she recognizes more letters, much more so than a year ago. She will even make up words, just so it sounds like she's reading a whole sentence or sign she sees.
Okay, that was a LONG post, but it was just a full month, as I said. The kids are at such fun ages (most of the time) so they play together and we are really just enjoying watching them change all the time. I think October will be busy as well, but maybe not crazy busy! Fall is here and we're just hoping for a later start to winter and snow in order to get the exterior set before it's off to all inside work for a few months. Next month the cutest little boy ever turns two and we have our 10 year anniversary, wow, can it be true?!
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