Birthday Boys

Kenson and Zeke celebrated birthdays within a pretty short time span.  We actually have three birthdays and an anniversary within two weeks at the end of July/beginning of August.  If you add in D's birthday and Kai's birthday, we have five birthdays and an anniversary all within a month of each other.  Let's just say there's a lot of cake in our house come August.

Zeke turned six.  I'm not quite sure why but it seems like in the last few months, he has gotten much more cuddly than ever.  He's never been a super cuddly guy.  Actually when he first came home, hie was pretty darn prickly.  But gradually he has let his guard down and it just seems like he's done a lot more melting into me and seeking out affection.  He's still a stinking smart little cookie who just absorbs everything.  He can read a bit on his own and I'm pretty sure that he knows all of his addition and subtraction facts.  He still loves sharks and ocean things but has also branched out into poisonous things like tarantulas, cobras, and scorpions.  

Here are his three wishes:

Soccer cards-kind of a weird one but Kenson has started collecting baseball cards so Zeke had to follow suit.

An ocean Lego cake-He put his scuba diver on it and was just happy as a clam.

Take a friend to a local indoor play space.
Kenson also picked this so I took my four kids and two extras all by myself.
The four big boys had a great time together.

Kenson is ten.  That seems nearly impossible.  He is fast turning into a pre-teen boy.  He giggles at all sorts of pre-teen boy things and is testing out his own unique sense of humor.  He loves anything sports related from basketball to soccer to football to baseball.  His spent most of his summer playing baseball in the yard with Zeke and the neighbor boy.

For his birthday, he shared one wish with Zeke, being able to take a friend to an indoor place space.  One of his other wishes was to be able to watch tv all day long.  (See!  I told you!  Pre teen boy!)  I had to attend a training for a job I will be starting so that meant D was home all day with the kids on Kenson's birthday.  Seems like a day of tv watching was a great way for Dad to entertain at least one of the kids.  For his last wish, he wanted Legos.  (That's also been a theme of the summer.  The kids have spent hours playing Legos.)  He wanted something related to a police set he already had so this new set is kind of a swamp chase set, with a hoverboat, a tree house hide out, and another police vehicle.

This Weekend's Funnies

My grandma came for a visit with my mom this weekend.  She brought gifts for all, including Minion shower gel for the boys.  It smells like bananas which should be no surprise if you know the Minion movies.  However, Kenson's first response was a very serious, "This doesn't smell like Minion."

Speaking of smells, Conleigh was playing super hero/kung fu fighter/ninja in the sprinkler on Monday.  She asked me if I knew what her super power was and I replied that I didn't.  I should have left that alone but I didn't.  Because her super power was turning dirt into poop.  Because poop smells bad.  I have no idea...

And since my kids perhaps pay a bit more attention to such things than others might, I asked Zeke to take out the trash even though it wasn't his chore for the day.  (It was Kenson's job.)  He agreed to the task and I told him he was a peach.  To which he replied, "I don't want to be peach."  Apparently, he thought I was making him take out the trash because he was peach.  Reverse discrimination at its finest.

Egg Drop

One of the units for third grade in our school is an embrology unit.
Each class incubates and hatches chicken eggs.
It also makes for a fun end of school year project, the egg drop.
Each kid gets to design some type of container to house a raw egg.
The container is then dropped from a bucket truck onto the school playground.
There are about a hundred kids in the entire third grade so there were plenty of ideas.
Balloons, a bouncy ball, and lots of really unique packaging...
always interesting to hear which ones land with a thud...

Kenson wanted to use a stuffed animal and a parachute.
He found a monkey in the garage sale pile at Grandma's.
Once we got it home, we found that it's head was already coming off.
Obviously it was meant to be.
So bubble wrapped egg inserted into stuffed monkey plus a parachute.

Conleigh originally wanted a Ziplock bag and cotton balls.
She ended up with a bubble wrapped egg, wrapped and stuffed with poly fill, in a show box, with a parachute.

Checking out the results
It survived!

Conleigh's survived as well.
She looks quite contemplative, don't you think?

Baseball's in full swing now, with Kenson having his first game on Thursday.  While I'm not a baseball fan, I'm certainly a fan of the atmosphere of little kid baseball.  There's just something about lazily watching a game, while chatting with a friend as the sun goes down.

There's also something about little boys all dressed up in clean white pants, faces smudged with a little bit of eye black.

And I loved hearing Kenson's comment post game, when I asked him about the hit that he got.  "I just closed my eyes because I didn't know if I was going to hit it or not."  I'm guessing his coach would love to know that.

That Time of Year

My kids are nuts for Christmas right now.  Unfortunately, that seems to be rubbing off into all aspects of life.  Zeke yesterday yelled from the bathroom, "Mom!  I just went poop and it looks like a candy cane!"  Perhaps we could not be quite so excited...

Then on the way home from school, Zeke started asking the big kids how Santa got into our house.  Kenson was the all knowing older brother who explained that our roof has a very thin pipe that Santa uses, that Santa pokes himself with a needle and squeezes all the air out, so that he can slide down it.  Conleigh then interjected that Santa was plump and full of blubber.  Kenson continued that Santa then pumped himself back up with air and put a patch on to cover up the hole.  Kai was not going to be left out because he actually knows what a hole is and is somewhat fascinated by holes of all kinds, from belly buttons to holes in the dirt to holes in clothes.  He grinned like he knew exactly what the big kids were talking about and added emphatically, "Hole!"

Ending with a cute kid pic as the two little boys enjoyed the snow on Monday morning...

Spectacles

Guess who got glasses?  They look better in person, I think.  He just looks so old.

Nine

Kenson is nine.  It's an age I really like.

An array of stuffed animals arranged on the floor for a football game, long lanky arms and legs folded up to fit into my lap as we rock-I'm keenly aware that these things will not last forever.  How much longer will they last?

Moments that alternate between little boy and a maturing big kid.  Between those moments I catch glimpses if the grown up he is going to be.  Quick to smile and warm up the room.  A gentle heart that swoons for little ones, who understands how to talk to babies and pacify toddlers.    Testing out a sense of humor.  Looking for jobs to practice using a screwdriver and a hammer.  

This year's wishes?  A Lego cake, decorated himself.  A trip to the children's museum not with friends but with his siblings.  A remote controlled helicopter.  Happy year nine!

Kai and Kenson on the "yee haw" at the children's museum.
No idea why Kai calls horses that but it's kind of funny.

Children's Museum-Conleigh on the stage

On the stage while Zeke and Kenson run the lights and sound

Children's museum rocket ship

Kenson with his Lego cakes

The birthday helicopter

Meanwhile Back at the Ranch...

The two biggest kids went with D to soccer conditioning.  Apparently, as they were driving home, Conleigh remarked that she sure hoped the house hadn't exploded while they were gone.  Kenson wasn't fazed because he asserted that if that had happened, Mom probably would have called us.  About the same time as that conversation was happening, Zeke and I were playing a tweaked version of Pictionary on the patio doors using dry erase markers.  Basically, the person who was drawing picked something to draw and the other person had to guess what it was.  You laugh, but playing that game with a 4 year old requires a lot of skill in terms of guessing appropriately.  I guessed incorrectly several times.  Two of those times probably should not have counted.  The first time he drew a shark, but not just any shark, a blue shark.  I guessed great white, lemon, tiger, zebra, and goblin which were all not right.  The second instance where I'd like a redo involved Zeke drawing a Japanese spider crab.  Somehow, I failed to entertain that as even a remote possibility.

6 Years Home

Who is this kid? Gosh he has changed so much. From the Haitian toddler who we heard was a "big baby, happy baby" to an 8 year old who is still big and happy. From his first few weeks at home where he explored running water and electric lights, from a cautious guy who was scared of dogs and stuffed animals and flush toilets, to a confident and kind hearted, loves any sport involving a ball big kid. I love his gentle spirit and his sensitive heart as well as his infectious smile.

I'm Late (And No, Not That!)

Kenson turned 8 way back at the beginning of August.   For lots of reasons, I'm just now getting around to posting the pics.  His three wishes were:  1.  Spiderman cake  2.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and 3.  taking a friend to Lost in Fun.  

At age eight, Kenson loves to play football or soccer at recess.  He loves to read super hero books.  He does a great job with babies and younger kids.  He smiles easily and makes friends easily.  I loved hearing at the last parent teacher conference, "Who doesn't like Kenson?"  He is still a pretty sensitive, thoughtful soul.

Ninja Turtles galore-books, cheapy paper masks (which he has played with and played with), a figurine, and movies

The cupckakes of Facebook lore-they were a bad bad thing.  I'll blame Walmart which did not have any black icing for piping in a tube with a super small tip.  We ended up using black licorice that was hard and very unflexible.  I laughed a lot by the end.  Trust me, when I say that they look better in the pictures than they did in real life.

Of Birthdays and Boogers

For birthdays, we let our kids have 3 birthday wishes instead of a ton of presents.  They wish for things like specific cakes, having friends over, a specific toy, or eating at a certain restaurant.  It's not uncommon for my kids to talk about what they are going to wish for months in advance, dreaming about the possibilities.

This morning, the conversation started like it usually does, with Kenson saying "For my birthday, I'm having..."  But then I heard "For my birthday, I'm having a cake with boogers on it."  Then some giggles and "No, I'm not.  But if I wanted to I could."  This was followed by the ever encouraging Zeke chanting, "Do it!"  Do it!  Do it!"

I'm just glad to know that he still thinks I am capable of all things, including putting boogers on a cake.

Summer Haircuts

New haircuts for the two big boys

Kai is trying to "kiss" Kenson

Zeke had just woke up from his nap and wanted none of the picture taking.

Maybe they are both sort of looking at the camera in this one

Ronald McDonald House Boys vs. Girls

Upon entering the lobby of the Ronald McDonald House and seeing the customary Ronald McDonald statue  of the clown sitting on the bench, Conleigh immediately climbed up on Ronald's lap, running her fingers over his arms and face.  Kenson just stood there, chose one finger carefully and quickly said, "Look, Mom!  I'm picking his nose."

The Ugliest Marble Run Ever Aka My Big Brother is Awesome

Big brothers matter.  And Kenson is a pretty good one.  He loves babies and generally has a sweet heart towards his siblings.  He spent yesterday and today home sick though.  A rotten tummy ache all day Monday and Tuesday and then by Tuesday around suppertime a fever meant quite a bit of time just laying around.  But come Wednesday morning he seemed to be back to normal.  Since he had had a fever so late in the day on Tuesday, he still stayed home.  While he was waiting for Zeke to come home from preschool, he decided he wanted to build a marble run for Zeke.  (Because he had heard Zeke talking about a marble run that they made at school.)  He started with some cups, some spoons, an empty toilet paper tube, an empty syrup bottle, and the tubes from our xylophone.  I let him do his thing for a bit but eventually helped him settle on rolled up newspapers, the syrup container, a laundry basket, some pillows and quite a bit of packing tape.  He really wanted to have it ready by noon so it would be a surprise when Zeke got home.  It's super ugly but super sweet...

A few snapshots of Kenson with Kai

He adores him and is probably the one who Kai responds most to other than D or myself.  

Sharing a hat with the baby

Color Fun Run 5K

Our middle school decided to host a color fun run for their fundraiser this year.  Kenson, Conleigh and Mom did it together.  D has been nursing a strained hamstring muscle for several weeks (ask him to see it; it is super ugly looking) plus someone needed to stay back and watch Zeke and Kai.  They did the runners in 3 groups:  sprinters, joggers, and walkers.  That was nice because there was no way I was going to run all of it, plus I needed a way to keep tabs on Kenson and Conleigh who wanted to run and would be ahead of me.    If you haven't done a color fun run, the general idea is that you run and along the course, powdered colors (much like crushed chalk) are thrown at the participants.  Wearing white ensures maxim color coverage.  The organizers do give you some tips prior to running like to cover your car seats before you get in, to oil your hair beforehand to help the color come out, and to wash your color run clothes as a single load when you are done.  I think Kenson's asthma was bothering him, either from all the color dust or just from a bit of an allergy flare up or cold.  He ran quite a bit of the first lap around and walked the second.  Conleigh, on the other hand, ran the whole way.  A 5K is just a bit over 3 miles so for a 7 year old, running the whole way is a pretty good accomplishment.  Sometimes it is hard to find things that she really "shines" at so seeing her do so well was fun.  (She does a lot of things well but isn't really a stand out at any one particular thing.  And while she is in great physical shape, she gets distracted easily during team sports or frustrated because she doesn't understand the rules or doesn't quite have the skill needed for hitting a baseball or shooting a basketball.)

I know all my friends who are mamas of brown babies are looking at this and just shaking their heads.   Really it wasn't too bad.  I did the double French braids to kind of help limit the amount of hair that was exposed to the color.  Then I oiled it with olive oil before we left.  At home, she rinsed once in the tub, then I shampooed it, conditioned it, and reconditioned it under the shower and I think we got most of it out.

How to Go Spying

1.  Find oversized glasses to help you see better
2.  Use a headband to secure your pen to your head (for easy access)
3.  Grab a notebook to record any observations

From Refinement to Testosterone

A few words from Kenson, said within about 30 minutes of each other...

Said gently, with much seriousness-"I can't eat those cucumbers.  They make me ill."

Said while swinging an arm through the air, while balancing half on, half off the chair-"I think I need to go punch something!"

Gender Issues

Apparently, we're not over the gender issues associated with the baby.

Conleigh:  Senora Sikorski (the Spanish teacher) is having a baby!

Mama:  Yes, do you know whether it's going to be a girl or a boy?

Kenson & Conleigh:  A girl!

Conleigh (very dryly):  I wish we could trade our baby for her baby.

Kenson:  Why?  I hate girls!

I guess that's slightly better than Conleigh's original reaction to having a boy which were about punching the boy baby in the face...

6 Weeks

Kai is 6 weeks old today.  I think we are starting to emerge from the haze that is having a newborn.  In the last few days, he has started consistently eating 4 ounces at a time and has consistently gone more than 2 hours between feedings.  Still likes to be up every 2 hours during the day but his nighttime sleeping habits seem to involve stretching the feedings out.

I have my 6 week check up today but in general, things with me have gone really well.  I have felt really good pretty much the whole time aside from a head cold last week and one or two days of some tummy issues that seem to maybe be surgery related.

In the "this might be oversharing but oh well" department, yesterday I was discussing with D my 6 week doctor's appointment and said I assumed I would have a pelvic exam but wasn't sure if I would have to have a full PAP smear done.  Conleigh overheard and immediately wanted to know why I got to have a popsicle.  Ah, if only!  As I explained that this was not what I said, that a PAP smear is a kind of test you have done at the hospital, Kenson then chimed in that he was pretty sure he had had one of those too.

Conleigh and Kai

Oh Wise Ones!

From Kenson:

Don't eat your ear boogers.  (Yes, he meant ear wax.)

From Conleigh:
Mama, I bet it stinged when you took a shower since you have a cut on your tummy, since it sticks out like this.  (Picture a 6 year old belly being stuck out.)  You are kind of chubby, you know.  But don't worry, I won't call you fat.