Family,
And a good evening to you from the Queen City. Another EPIC month for Team Taylor is in the books, so let's get amongst it, shall we?
10/1 - I woke up today to find Kaitlyn dressed and already in bed with Vol Nana (I wasn't feeling great and therefore slept in). Kaitlyn was about 2 inches away from her all morning, knowing that the inevitable was coming. Cora was stalking Mom as well, doing her gallop to catch up with her. At one point when Mom was holding Cora, Kaitlyn came over to hug her as well. Cora noticed K and pushed her away - too cute!
Ultimately the moment we all dreaded came, and we put K in the car. She was really, really, REALLY brave and tried so hard to hold back the tears. She is getting better about containing her emotions, but at some point the dam always bursts, and today was no exception. She cried about 20 minutes (all the way to school and with the poor Burch children in the car the whole time), but she was better by the time the school day kicked off.
The day was really good all around. JT and Cora had a good day (a proper return to normalcy), and K had fun both at school and at gymnastics. The highlight of the day for me came that evening, when something truly unexpected happened - KAITLYN READ BOOKS TO ME!!!!!!
So apparently Jenny had already seen this, but I hadn't. She'd mentioned something about K wanting to read a lot while I was in MSP, but I thought she just meant K wanted to practice. Well, she is now reading to me! Seriously - she cut through 3 books tonight with very limited help. AMAZING! SO PROUD!
Oh, and a classic moment at dinner. I served the girls the last of the Bob Evans Mac 'n Cheese that Mom brought, and when Kaitlyn saw it she eyed me suspiciously. She then said, "Dada - this is Vol Nana's mac 'n cheese. How did you get it?" I mean, kid - it's not the first time you've eaten leftovers. Classic!
10/2 - Cora has added a word! She now says, "night night" while you're putting lotion on her before bed. She's also saying "bow" and pointing to bows on Minnie's head and/or Daisy's head, so that definitely counts. Mom kept trying to give her credit for saying "blue" this past weekend, but considering that every color (and some tables) are "blue," I am not ready to sign off on that one just yet... :-)
Kaitlyn read EIGHT BOOKS TO ME TONIGHT - again with limited help. She is doing really, really good. The sight word for this week is "this," and her job this week is "backpack helper." I am really having to work to get any information out of her about her day, but finally tonight we made some progress.
The evening was a lot of fun, running around and playing Monster. Both JT and I were monsters, which meant we could actually catch her and tickle her into oblivion. Cora loves running around after us as well, and that's fine until she drops a MEGA STEAMER like she did this evening, at which point chasing her around is taking your life into your own hands, as it's like running after an open sewer. 
Did I mention the thumb suck game? Jenny isn't crazy about this one, but the gist is K starts sucking her thumb and I have to yank it out of her mouth, tickle her, and make her promise she won't do that anymore (rinse/repeat 4-5 times). We only do it at night, and I do wish we had an alternative (meaning I wish she wasn't sucking her thumb so much). That being said, she's only doing it for a bit at night until she falls asleep, and with 2 teeth missing up front, I don't really think she's jackifying her grill. All the same, it would be AWESOME to drop this habit by summer. Watch this space!
Cora and JT had a good day. It was Jenny's Life Group today, and they met at North Meck Park (we are giving that place some LOVE these days!).
Lastly, cutest moment - Kaitlyn took the pics from the Photo Booth down from the fridge today, hugged them, and then put them in her backpack so she would "have Vol Nana with her all day."
10/3 - Kaitlyn received special recognition from Ms. Pate today! It was super cool - she walked in and presented mommy with an award from Ms. Pate that recognized Kaitlyn for being "on point the entire time" in Math Center. K was proud, and of course we celebrated it. Also, she read three books (which she hadn't seen before) to JT tonight - exciting! You can tell that K is working hard, as she is mentally exhausted by the time it's over.
For me, it was a big night, as it was the Financial Plan review with our new financial planner. This guy is GREAT, and he spent 2 hours with me working through our retirement goals and adjustments we needed to make to get on sound financial footing (including insurances). The shocker - he projects that we'll need $377K all in to fully fund both girls going to a "Chapel Hill" type school. CORA'S PORTION ALONE IS 202K!!!!!! I was in shock. Truly - my jaw was on the floor as I tried to process that. And obviously some of that is progress with investments vs. straight cash, but I was SHOCKED.
10/4 - Kaitlyn had a special adventure this evening - sleepover at Kate's house! That meant that Jenny and I had Cora alone in the house. It was CRAZY - such a surreal experience, as it took us back to the days when there was just K in the house. We had a blast. For us, it was really fun to focus on Cora, and we spent the evening reading to her and playing music in her room while she danced for us (it was too funny). You could tell that Cora was loving the attention as well, and she made quite the production out of running around the jack n jill route (stopping to give me a hug and a kiss each time, mind you!), smiling and laughing the whole time. She is now saying "Hello" and "Bye Bye" when playing with the phone, and she demonstrated some real creativity tonight. She was taking this little inflatable fish and pretending to bite us with it. When we reacted, she would pretend it was swimming to someone else - rinse repeat (about 68 times). I was cool to see, as it was the first time I'd really seen her come up with a creative game (vs. just bringing us things to hold or blocks/books to stack).
Now that we're into Fall, I definitely have some goals and things that I want to focus on for each girl. For Cora, I want to start potty training. I know it feels a little early, but I honestly thing she's ready, and she seems to be showing interest in it. Also, I want to work on more puzzles for Cora and more words. Those last two will I think just be products of being in this house, but I do want to actively encourage both.
For K, I want to keep focusing on sight words and introducing new books - whether from the library or from book order purchases. She is really enjoying it, and I want to keep kindling the fire of motivation to learn, read, and be independently creative. Also, I definitely want to get her more comfortable riding a bike. If we can ever get cooler weather (still in the 90s!), then I will get her down to the greenway. Bed time was about 7:30 for Cora, and I was down at 8:12 (sick and still in recovery from MSP!). Slept like a rock after some NyQuil - 12 hrs!
10/5 - Today was a big day for Team Taylor: we got a new ride!!!! And no, Katie did NOT go the way of the dodo (thank you very much). Instead, we added a third car to have more space for the car pool, hauling stuff, etc. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - THE 2003 NISSAN XTERRA! Names are TBD at the moment - Rex, T-Rex, Tenaya, etc - we have a lot of options. :-) Car drives GREAT, and I'm really, really happy with the purchase. It's honestly perfect for our family.
JT did spin today with Cora bear, who fell asleep in the car on the drive down to Monroe (looked like an angel). For Kaitlyn, we found out that she woke up at 3 AM, and her and Kate had to be separated at 3:45! They apparently slept until 6:45, and all was good until they left the movie theater, at which point Kaitlyn apparently started sobbing uncontrollably and said, "I want my mommy!" JT drove straight over to pick her up, and they are now at DPK as I type this. Needless to say - early to bed for both girls tonight!!!
10/6 - Big day for Team Taylor - our first ever family outing in the Xterra (aka "Rex the X"). It was GREAT! We drove over to Hodge Field Farms, as it was a) the quarterly FH Kids outing and b) our annual visit to a pumpkin patch - and Cora's first time ever! We spent 2 hours there, and it was a blast. We had a chance to see some friends (including classmates from Bradford), and the girls loved playing with the animals and running around the field. There were plenty of activities, and Cora really enjoyed climbing on some carved logs over near the entrance. Kaitlyn was all about climbing, running on, and jumping around the hay stacks near the animals - she was really getting some air! And yes, we did manage to get some food - pancakes and a pair of sno cones, to be exact. Cora had no interest in the pancakes, but she LOVED the sno cones!
The highlights:
After that it was home for lunch and Bear's nap. Jenny took Kaitlyn on a WHIRLWIND of activity, including:
1. Haircut (at Kaitlyn's request, no less!): They took at least 3 inches off, and her hair looks SO MUCH HEALTHIER NOW! It looks AWESOME, is so much easier to manage, and still looks good in a pig tail. Too cute!
2. Aldi
3. BJ's
4. Publix
5. HT
6. Dollar store! The goal here was two-fold. First, they needed to get some supplies for the BPS school project, which is donating supplies to schools that were impacted by Florence. Secondly, the girls had $10 set aside for the acquisition of Halloween decorations. We have them scattered around the house now - they look really good! Well done, ladies! I mean, the motion sensor witch and ghost can be a little obnoxious, but that's what the kill switch is for. The owl and the glowing eyes are a nice touch. :-)
7. AC Moore: Jenny went in here for some crafts, and while there K spent some of her chore money on a mash 'em and a splat ball (I didn't know what either of these things were before this moment). The good news - she is enjoying them a lot. The bad news - despite her mother's repeated warnings, she kept squeezing the splat ball too hard, and it now has a hole that leaks some substance that's kind of like water but you know doesn't exist in nature. K walked up to JT BAWLING and showing it too her. Jenny had warned her not to squeeze it so hard, and so she did a great job of sympathizing but being firm about the need to a) listen and b) take care of our things. I must confess - I was heartbroken! The ball was $3 - a week's allowance! But it does still work pretty good, and she's obviously rallied since thing. Crisis averted...but I may have to buy her one at some point in the not too distant future... :-)
Ashley brought the kids over about 4:30 (Zach was out of town), and we all had dinner together. The kids played well together, and Ashley got some much needed adult time to bridge the gap until Zach got home that night. All in all, a fun night!
10/7 - So today was awesome, largely because of the way it started. After attending the 9 AM service, Jenny and I went to our respective FH Kids rooms to serve. Jenny talked to Morgan, who let Kaitlyn come into Arrows with me to "watch daddy." K got to see me do the opener AND got to see me be part of the actual message - it was SO COOL!!!! She really enjoyed it, was super well behaved, was a great participant, and seemed to have a really good time (and clearly learned something, as she mentioned "contentment" - the theme of the month - later that evening). We got to dance during worship together, play some four-square before service started, and just got the chance to be together in the house of God. It was AWESOME - LOVED IT!!!
After service, Pastor Michael introduced himself to Kaitlyn, which was very sweet. He also asked me to consider being a Lead Teacher - what an honor and a dream come true - PART OF THE TEACHING TEAM!!!!! So I am going to look at the message for 2 weeks from now and see what I think I can do. How exciting is that?!?!?!?! It is an incredible blessing from God, and I absolutely want to make Him, Pastor Michael, and my family proud. YAY! Such a great morning! Jenny and I also got the opportunity to be a Team Prayer for someone up front - first time that's ever happened (and it was very powerful).
The afternoon was good and lazy. Nole Nana and Grandpa came by, and we spent the afternoon playing Monster, watching football, doing Earthquake, eating, playing "frisbee" with the top of a cotton candy tub, and teaching K how to jump rope. It was a very, very good afternoon.
One thing I have to comment on here - Kaitlyn is doing an AMAZING JOB learning how to read. Every night she is cutting through 3 or 4 books - often books she's never seen before. She is doing a TREMENDOUS job sounding out words (and then remembering them), and every night you can tell that she is recognizing more and more words on sight - just INCREDIBLE. So AWESOME. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!! She is really interested and motivated - such an answered prayer and dream come true!
10/8 - Today has been a nice and lazy day. I took the girls to NOMAD in the morning, where Kaitlyn informed me that she is now a fan of the songs "Havana" and "Feel It Still" (kids bop versions, of course). She also said, "Dada, we heard 'feel me like a race horse," which the staff didn't understand but I knew to be Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons. At least she didn't say "Whip me like a race horse," which is what she said last time - CLASSIC.
After running the golf course (it's still so hot outside!), we chilled indoors until gymnastics - and I got to take her and Elizabeth! I was excited, as normally I don't get the chance to watch her in action, so this was a treat. Plus they are really starting to work on stuff now, so it's something very cool to see - I love watching K try to stick landings! They spent a lot of time on the beam and the floor tonight, and K managed her first ever walk-up handstand! YAY! She was thrilled - couldn't wait to show JT when she got home.
Two things to note about Cora bear that I find fascinating, as they are two of the few things her and Kaitlyn did similarly at her age:
1. When I'm rocking her to sleep at night and her head is on my shoulder, she likes to reach down with her right hand and grab one of my fingers (usually my pinky). I love it - she just holds it and is happy as a clam.
2. The 12 little Mickey Board books - she can't get enough of them! Seriously - that girl will just churn through them repeatedly. The similarity, however, is in how fast they've learned to answer the questions (correctly, I might add) that I ask, even if I mix up the order (find this animal, where is X, etc). It's really, really cool to watch those pistons firing!
Oh, and tonight K went next level at reading - while it took a long time and required JT to help with a lot of words, she read, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" How awesome is that?
10/11 - Cora has added new words! Tonight she pointed to the yo-yo in her book and said "Yo-yo!" She's also added "door" to her vocabulary. Best of all, she's starting to try and say things (and even repeat things when you ask her to). It's all starting to click! Really cool to see her in action. She's definitely remembering things in books, such as "which is the tallest, largest, etc." And when she reads "Little Excavator," she just about wets her pants with excitement whenever we get to the end and she sees the little doggie that plays with Little E. Too funny.
Cora is now getting into her high chair by herself, and she's even clipping in sometimes! Normally she still requires assistance, but more than once she's managed to secure both clips. Very cool! But what is not cool - keeping a bib on her has become IMPOSSIBLE. Now it's just a simply decision - do we leave the shirt on and ruin it or feed her topless. The latter has certainly been the preferred approach. We've also started taking off her shorts for naps and just leaving them off when we're not venturing back out in the afternoon. It's been pretty warm, and Cora seems to like the freedom. Win, win!
One interesting thing this evening - after prayers tonight (and Cora saying "yay!", she immediately said "Night, Night." When I asked her if she wanted to put her head on my shoulder, she said no. When I asked if she wanted to go to her crib, she nodded. JUST. LIKE. KAITLYN. That was crazy, as I remember K doing the exact same thing about this age. And while it's AWESOME that she can articulate what she wants, it also means that the time and # of days I will rock her on my shoulder are dwindling. So it goes...the inexorable march of time.
Oh, and the cutest thing - there is a little boy in K's class who is drawing pictures of her and giving them to her during art class! He's done it more than once - so sweet.
10/12 - Granddaddy and Granny A arrived today! The girls got a good 2+ hours of bonding with them, and it was GREAT. Alice came in with a BOATLOAD of toys, and as you can expect, K was over the moon. Cora ran right up to her and cuddled up with Granny A,which left Alice speechless. She hadn't seen Cora in awhile, so she's missed her coming out of her shell! It was super cute.
And speaking of Cora, I am now going to give her credit for "blue," as she is consistently pointing to that color and saying the word. Jenny has mentioned that she's also saying the color "gray." However, as she has yet to correctly identify the color, I am NOT giving her credit just yet. But in that vein, this week she FINALLY started verbalizing the word "more" - HOLY MOLY!!!! BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!! She still does the sign while saying it at dinner, but she is definitely saying "more" as well. Yay! We are on the verge of a language EXPLOSION ladies and gentlemen.
The cutest moment of the night: Kaitlyn brushed her teeth and was up with me, but she went downstairs while I put Cora to bed. Well, she came back up and said, "Dada, I had a sour patch kid, but I didn't really eat it." I was a little confused, and only later did I get the real story. Granny A apparently had a hankering for something sweet and opened the sour patch kids. Well, K came down and saw her, and Alice offered her one. K said, "I can't - I've already brushed my teeth." HOW CUTE IS THAT?!?!?!? Alice kept trying to force her to take one, so she took a bite but then spit it out. LOVE THAT KID!!!!
Oh, and proof that K hangs on my mom's every word. Tonight at dinner she announced, "Vol Nana is going to come every six weeks." I did correct her to say it was every 6-8 weeks, and we can cushion that since K has no concept of time just yet. That being said, Mom - you are now on the clock. :-) So cute...
10/13 - TALK ABOUT A DAY FOR THE AGES!!!! After getting Jenny out the door for Authentic, we rolled over to the Sweet Spot for breakfast. K had already had a chocolate croissant from Starbucks, so the chocolate milk and chocolate chip muffin were probably overkill. :-) Cora (who was still all about Granny A!) didn't eat much...but she did enjoy my pancake and biscuit a lot more than the fruit pouches I brought for her. :-)
After that we drove (in the X, mind you, and it was AWESOME to have everyone in the same car FINALLY!!!) down to Elmwood Cemetery. Alice had long wanted to look for an aunt buried here, and while it wasn't a successful search (there was no office on-site and no one picked up), we did have fun driving around and just looking at the tombstones (all 19,302 of them!).
Kaitlyn was pretty funny, as she asked the following questions:
1. Are there skeletons here?
2. When I die, will I be buried in a tomb?
3. When I die and go to Heaven, will I be able to see everything?
4. Are there skeletons in this cemetery (see why I don't want her to watch scary movies? :-))
As we were looking around, I made the statement at one point, "Sorry, Alice, nothing is jumping out at me," meaning "I don't see a headstone marked "Jones." K thought I was talking about ghosts and skeletons, and she immediately said, "What do you mean jump out, dada!" Priceless. She even tried to pick the spots where the skeletons likely lived.
After that it was over to the Dollar tree to shop for Halloween decorations, and the girls were in HEAVEN. Cora was ALL ABOUT running down the aisles and touching/eating everything, while Kaitlyn was just asking to buy everything not nailed to the ground. We arrived home shortly thereafter, at which point Alice and Kaitlyn went FULL ON DECO MODE around the front of the house...AND DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB! Seriously - you wouldn't BELIEVE how good the house looked when they were done. We had skeletons hanging down, spider webs on the bushes, pumpkins out front, a projection light against the stoop, light up sticks for the walkway - it was AMAZING! I was well and truly impressed.
Seriously - Granny A was INCREDIBLE throughout the entire day. These girls went NONSTOP! They carved two pumpkins, and then they pulled out all the seeds, cleaned them, baked them, covered them in garlic, pepper, and salt, and then ROASTED THEM. Dude - they were SO GUUUUUUD!!!! Seriously -we were SHOVELING them in all day. And I should note - K really did a GREAT job on her pumpkin - she was focused and did some really good carving work (using a special tool - don't worry :-)). Also, K was great about doing the decorations. She is really starting to show some creativity and some skill for art. She has loved coloring lately, but any medium seems to be fun for her at present, and she genuinely seems to have some aptitude. Very exciting!
Oh the Cora front, the highlight with her was Alice placing her in a hatchimal costume. ABSOLUTELY. PRICELESS. AND. HILARIOUS. Incredible!!! Cora was NOT happy about it - she refused to let me take a proper picture and kept burying her face in Alice's legs. But the good news - she LOVED hanging out with Granny A and was content to sit on her lap or be held whenever Alice was interested. Cute...
After grilling burgers and dogs, having cake and ice cream, finishing some moonshine, and having the great unveiling of the front of the house (house and flashing lights inside the pumpkins included), we went around back for what might well have been the highlight of K's weekend - our first ever fire in the fire pit!!!!! Dad got it going, and Kaitlyn could NOT have been happier. She LOVED sitting out there, and when it got dark, she wanted us to start telling ghost stories! I wasn't very good, as every story I know involves an ax murderer or an evil ghost. So when I tried a simpler story, K readily provided feedback: "That wasn't very scary, Dada." Cora was out there for some of it as well, and she was good about not going toward the fire. The key was having a lap for her to sit in. :-)
Everybody crashed about 9 PM or so, and so Jenny and I went back out, had a few beers, and enjoyed the fire until a little after 11. The weather was PERFECT - talk about a GREAT night!
The highlights:
10/14 - JT and I went to church this morning (FOR AN AWESOME SERVICE), and Dad & Alice took the girls to IHOP. K had been begging to go for awhile, and so this worked out perfectly. They had the smiley face pancake, had some chocolate milk, and had a really good time just hanging out. Cora has been GREAT around Granny A and Granddaddy, just curling up with them and letting them hold her non-stop. They left about 11:30 or so, and K watched a movie on TV before heading over to Kate's house for an impromptu play date! They had 2 hours together, and Kaitlyn was SO EXCITED. She even created a picture for Kate that said, "Kate I Love You Kaitlyn" and had stick figures wearing Meow Squad shirts to depict them. The time obviously went super quick, but the good news is that they have several other play dates in the hopper.
Kaitlyn came home and said, "Dada, I want to watch 'The House With a Clock in Its Walls' because it's really creepy." I mean - HOW DID SHE EVEN KNOW THIS MOVIE EXISTED!!!! It's so funny - K is ALL ABOUT watching "scary" movies or Halloween movies right now because either a) her (older) friends are doing it or b) she hears about them from folks like Granny A. Alice couldn't say enough about Hocus Pocus, and now K is desperate to watch it (Alice did record it on our DVR, so K knows we have access to it :-)). We have heard mixed things, but consistently we are hearing "a kid should be 8 to watch this." Given how freaked out K already is with skeletons, I am not yet on-side with her watching this. Watch this space!
On the Cora front, that girl is ready for a language EXPLOSION! Seriously - she is babbling so much, and you can tell she's trying to talk more. She is genuinely trying to repeat whatever you say, and she is actively using more words these days. Yay!
10/15 - PICTURE DAY AT BRADFORD!!!!! Yes, Team Taylor did spring for the CD. I mean, you only get one shot at first school pictures, and we weren't taking any changes. The package will be 8 pics (4 poses, a color and BW of each). Kaitlyn said it went well! Also, she is the Station Spotter this week, which means she has to make sure all the stations in the room are clean. Also, she switched tables and is now at Table 2.
Side note - she has been DESPERATE for a play date with a new friend named Abby. Oddly enough, Abby's mom told us that she's been desperate for a play date with Kaitlyn. Too cute! So the current plan is for a Thursday play date. New friends! Watch this space!
Also, we got confirmation tonight that the playground is being installed at BPS. YAY!!!!! Can't wait to see it, and SO GLAD K will get to experience it.
Last thing on K - she woke up this morning complaining that she'd rolled her ankle at Kate's. We gave her some ibuprofen (she was hopping around on one foot all morning), and she seemed fine after that. It didn't seem to slow her down at gymnastics, and when she got home she showed us a) her splits and b) her new walkover. It was AWESOME! I mean, obviously she had to have a spotter (Jenny in this case), but she did a GREAT job. Getting stronger!
On the Cora front, she was SO much happier today. She wasn't nearly as snotty, and her face was happy again. She definitely looked rough yesterday, but today she was as chipper as ever and full of energy. She didn't nap today, and it's been odd to chart her sleeping habits as of late. The nap has really been hit or miss, which is odd because we'd expect her to nap for another YEAR or so - that's the plan at least! Now granted, most days she has a great nap. The last couple of days, however, have really been hit or miss. Some of it is likely illness, and some of it is definitely teething. The good news - she is still sleeping like a ROCK STAR at night, which is the most important thing (for all of us!).
10/16 - Bradford continued the Spirit Days theme today with Breast Cancer Awareness Day. All the kids were encouraged to wear a pink top. It was really interesting, as K did ask about why she was wearing pink, what cancer was, who got it, what happened, etc. It was fascinating to me, as it was the first time I'd ever really seen someone "become aware" because of the color. We explained it as best we could, and she was truly interested (which I think speaks volumes to the importance of wearing those colors and raising awareness).
After dropping K at school, Jenny took Cora to the light rail to head Uptown for their planned playdate. Well, as fate would have it, the light rail (for whatever reason) was closed and was NOT running uptown today. Consequently, Jenny had to make the drive (suboptimal, but at least it wasn't rush hour). The activity of the day was Imaginon, where Jenny was coordinating a playdate (her life group). JT and Cora had about 2.5 hours there and really had a blast - I am looking forward to seeing that place at some point!
The afternoon was a blast for Jenny and the girls, as they went to CFA with the Burch clan! K got some ice cream, and I even got a few nuggets. Win-win. :-)
Oh, and a really cute Cora thing - within the last couple of weeks she's started taking our hands and leading us where she wants us to go. It's been really cute - as she will latch on and literally DRAG you to her intended destination. Getting her to let go premature is like trying to pry open the jaws of a T-Rex after it's found some meat!
Other side note - Jenny and I have decided that we need to start getting the girls upstairs for the bed time ritual sooner. As we have expanded all the crazy things we do before bed - teeth, mouthwash and the gingerbread man run, potty, bath time, lotion, reading, the thumb suck game, prayer, tickle time, back scratch, lullaby (twinkle, twinkle little star), rocking/tucking in....I mean, it's exhausting to even type! Add in the fact that K wants to try and read books that are WAY above her current level, and the time extends even further. Now don't get me wrong - I LOVE the fact that she is working so hard at reading and really wants to practice and learn, but some changes we are realistically going to have to make:
1. Uptime is going to be 6:15
2. Reading option - Parents read 2 books or K can read 1
3. Clothing must be selected for next day as soon as we go up
If we put those guard rails around the process, I think we'll be fine. But then again, as I always say...WATCH THIS SPACE! :-)
10/17 - Continuing in the Spirit Days theme, today was "Disney Day!" All the teachers apparently dressed as Disney princesses (Ms. Pate was Belle). Kaitlyn was interesting, as she didn't want to dress as ANY of the 14,567 princesses for which she has a gown. Instead, she said "I want to be the Aristocats." I mean...No. Words.
So here's what's so funny about that - last week Kaitlyn suddenly decided that she wanted to find and wear the cat costume Vol Nana bought for her while JT and I were in Colorado for Tait's wedding. Well, for whatever reason, she couldn't find the tail that goes with it (most likely reason is that she didn't really look for it). Well, this weekend Granny A helped her find a costume at the dollar store that included a tail (and face), and so Kaitlyn consolidated them and started wearing them on Saturday afternoon. Since then her and the costume have basically been inseparable, which we think led to K needing to figure out which Disney character she could be and wear the cat costume. When I asked her who the female cat is in the Aristocats, she had NO idea (it's Duchess, for the record - I looked it up). Furthermore, Duchess is white as the driven snow, and Kaitlyn's costume was straight leopard print with pink frills. HILARIOUS!!! However, it's Kindy, people were in good spirits, and let's face it - pretty much anything goes. Good times.
There was a funny moment on the drive apparently. Jenny heard sniffling and first asked Taylee if she needed a tissue. When she said it wasn't her, JT asked K. When K said it wasn't her, Jenny asked Cora if she needed a tissue. Jenny looked back to see the response, and poor Cora just broke down crying! Poor thing!
Today was another first for JT - her first time volunteering at Bradford! She was doing the hot lunch distribution, and she said it went well. She was there about an hour (with Cora the whole time, who was actually quite good so long as she had snacks), but she didn't actually deliver the hot lunches to the rooms. Well, when K came back in from recess (she'd already seen Jenny and waved), she asked if the lunches had already been delivered. When Ms. Pate said they had been, K apparently broke down crying! She thought Jenny was going to deliver them so she could say bye, and she was quite distraught. Luckily Ms. Pate walked her out of class and to the parking lot (Jenny was still there), at which point JT was able to give her a big hug and calm her down. Crisis averted!
The reality - as the week wears on, K just becomes more and more exhausted. She's well rested Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday she needs the alarm to wake her up. Today after the alarm went off, she got up, turned it off, and crawled back in bed!
10/18 - Cora is adding words! I came home tonight and watched Jenny ask her to identify a few body parts, and she went through eye, nose, and ear! She's also saying "sky" - talk about meteoric progress and development! She actually got soap in her eye last night, and while reading to her she continued rubbing it and saying, "eye." It reminded me of when Kaitlyn got a hair in her eye once and said, "Eyeball, dada! Eyeball!"
Cora also jumped for the first time ever tonight on the trampoline! I got some video of it, and it was priceless. She was bouncing up and down like a jack russell terrier - too cute!
For Kaitlyn, today was "Dress Like A Teacher" Day. She looked cute as a button - really did look like a teacher (complete with eye glasses that had no lenses). Pretty adorable. After school she had a playdate with a new friend - Abby. They go to Freedom House, and Jenny's had life group with her mom before. She seemed sweet and was cute as a button, and I think they had fun. Jenny said K tried to explain "sissy kitties" to her, but it fell on deaf ears. I couldn't help but chuckle.
10/19 - Today kicked off a veritable vocabulary explosion for Bear. He said "yo yo" in earnest, but the exciting moment was when I walked in from work, Jenny held up an Elmo doll, and said, "Cora, who is this?" Bear looked at me with that sweet smile and said in that teeny little voice, "Elmo." Too cute! Of course, even that wasn't without drama, as apparently Jenny had told K she could raise the Elmo and ask her sister. So when Jenny did it, Kaitlyn LOST IT. But we did right the ship by dinner. :-)
Cora also did "one" (and raised one finger!) and "big" (with both arms flung wide like Little Quack in his opposites book).
K's sweetest moment came in the evening when I was tucking her in. She said, "Dada, you have my heart." And then when I finished reading to her, she said, "Can you read to me tomorrow night? Because you have my heart." WOW - considering most nights she thinks I'm chopped liver, I milked that for all it was worth. :-)
10/20 - Team Taylor braved some rain today and headed to the state line for a GREAT day at the Great Pumpkin Fest at Carowinds! K was of course not very happy that we didn't stay for "Scarowinds" and kept asking how long it was until the real Scarowinds started. Keep in mind this is a girl who is now afraid of Boo Blasters - can you IMAGINE taking her to the REAL Scarowinds? We were in line at the first ride of the day (Flying Ace Aerial Chase, aka Kiddyhawk) when she boldly announced, "Dada, Scarowinds wouldn't bother me because I'm not afraid of clowns." My response: "Well these clowns have their teeth filed into points, have blood on their faces, and are walking around with chainsaws and knives." She simply said, "What?" I thought I had her stumped until she then proceeded to ask like 65 more questions about the weapons. Oh child...you have no idea...
The day was great. We had some bad weather, but the girls got to do lots of fun stuff as well as all the rides. It wasn't terribly crowded, and we ended up spending 4+ hours there by the time it was all said and done. A highlight for K was at the end. We saw the huge mechanical troll that talked to the crowd, and K thought that was amazing. She also got quite engaged with it, as after hearing about how the troll bit off someone's head, K screamed at him, "You're not a very nice person." A little teenage girl said, "You tell him!", and K thought that was the coolest thing EVER. Too cute.
The highlights:
A highlight for me was Cora's NEXT word. We were in line for a ride, and Cora was staring at a girl beside us. Suddenly she said, "Ariel" and pointed. Sure enough - the little Mermaid was on that girl's shirt! Awesome!
This really was a GREAT battery re-charging weekend for me. I had been going flat out as of late, and for whatever reason I hadn't felt properly focused on or connected to the family unit. Having dedicated time like this made a HUGE difference and was such a blast. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!!!
10/21 - Today was AWESOME and filled with activities! K was in church for two services, but she made them count and racked up 6 tokens (which helped to secure a fun dip from the price hub). She also got to lead the offering prayer in one service and collect the offering in the other. After church, K and I headed to the Greenway during Cora's nap, and I'm pleased to announce that K CRUSHED IT. We didn't ride as far this time (just 4 miles), but she was much more aggressive on both the uphills and the downhills - that was so exciting to see!
We then headed over to Clarke Creek park, where the girls had an absolute BLAST. They were so cute and played so well! Cora was snug as a bug in the swing for a good 30 minutes, after which time she was ALL ABOUT the slides. This park is really great for her, as it's very compartmentalized with walked and gates on all sides, meaning she can't really fall off once she gets up the stairs. She LOVED climbing the "swinging bridge," and she kept going back to the biggest slide - time and time again! Each time she'd make the bottom, she's say "Mo!" and run back to the stairs - it was great!
Kaitlyn did a GREAT job pumping her legs and swinging on her own - easily the best I've ever seen her do! We also started doing a series of "challenges," where I would assign a list of things to climb and places to run to within a set time frame. The girls definitely got their exercise this day, and MAN was the weather perfect.
10/22 - I headed to Minneapolis for work today, but the report I got was that all went great. Cora added two more words: "hay" and "dark" (both while reading Big Red Barn). Kaitlyn enjoyed gymnastics, where they started doing the rock wall! Also, it was pajama day, and ask you can expect the my little pony nightgown came out. Don't worry - we also had her wear pajama bottoms. It was a really cute day, as they actually let them wear slippers everywhere buy PE. Oh, and K was Picnic Pick-up this week for her job - basically tidying after lunch (I think, at least).
10/23 - So I woke up this morning (still in MSP) to a text from Jenny that said "Rex is dead." The X wouldn't even turn over! Luckily we had Ellie, and triple A came out and confirmed that the heads on the battery had popped off for some reason. Once reconnected, it fired right back up. YAY! Note to self - learn more about cars in 2019. :-)
It was school picture day for K, and afterwards Kate came over for a play date and dinner. I didn't get to FT K in the evening, but I heard that it was a smashing success all around. :-)
10/25 - Cora added 3 more words! She has now added "whale," "up," and "ray" (as in Sting ray). I'm telling you - it's just meteoric at this point!
Also, not only is K improving on her handstands (she's well and truly doing them at this point), she's also finally improving her cartwheels! She's starting to get those legs in the air and is DEFINITELY more comfortable in "gymnastic" style positions (my words, as I have no other way to describe all that acrobatic stuff :-)). She wants to practice all the time, and it's paying off! She's also coloring all the time, which has been really neat to see. Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but a huge transformation has taken place recently with her artwork. Instead of just coloring or tracing pictures, she's now starting to actually create images on blank pieces of paper and make pictures herself. Very cool!
10/26 - We've got more words to add to the Cora word bank! Problem is they were on my phone, and somehow I must have deleted them. But what I can confirm - after praying over her, she instantly popped her head off my shoulder and said, "Night, night!" That is AMAZING, as that is EXACTLY what Kaitlyn used to do! It was an emotional moment for me, as I remember that, after K started saying that, I really didn't get to rock her too long before she wanted to be in that crib. Sure enough, now when I ask Bear if she wants to go "Night Night" after she says it, she nods immediately and starts looking over at it. They grow up so fast!!!!
10/27 - Cora said "backpack" today! Also, for the first time ever, JT had her hair in a clip vs. the whale spout. She looked so grown up! It is amazing how fast she's transforming - AND RUNNING - these days. Her little gallop is just about the cutest thing ever - she runs on her toes, the whale spout (or hair in a clip) just bouncing the entire time. Also, she's taken to LOVING doing "Ring Around the Rosie" with Jenny - she just cackles every time they do it.
So today was the definition of FLAT OUT for Team Taylor. After getting an 8 mile run in, Team Taylor had some Starbucks and then rolled over to the sweet spot, where K tried crepes for the first time! They weren't exactly what we expected (the crepes were a little tough and hard to cut/chew), but there was enough sugar to keep her happy. :-)
After that, we headed back to the house, packed up, and then rolled over to the Greenway. Jenny and K got to ride this time, and I pushed Buke behind them. Cora was GREAT - very content to just ride and take in the scenery. UNCC was playing at 2, so the atmosphere was quite jovial around the campus. There was a CFA stand open, and we even got 2 plush moo-moos (and got our photo with the cow). All in all, a great trip!
While Bear was napping, K and I rolled over to the Fall Fest, where K had a power hour of a) candy, b) pumpkin painting (Bear even got in on that, and it was ADORABLE), c) bounce houses, and d) ponies! She actually rode on 2 horses! It was wet and rainy, but we really had fun (and the rain kept the crowd away). Watching the girls paint at the same time was really cute...even if they did COMPLETELY COVER THEMSELVES IN PAINT. Details - it's all washable. :-)
The highlights:
We headed to church after that (POWERFUL service), where K must have dominated Simon Says and earned a load of tokens. Then we scrambled back home for a late dinner and bed. The whole family was EXHAUSTED!
10/28 - Today was another great one - Carowinds with the McLaren clan! K actually rode there with Cheryl and Team McLaren, while we followed a bit later with Bear. We spent 4+ hours there, and it was GREAT. Honestly, it was SUCH a terrific recharge for me, and it was a perfect pace for family time. Everyone felt great, we had a good mix of the girls playing together and me getting to play with each of my girls, saw some other friends, and just had a blast. The weather was incredible, and it was just a perfect day. And Cora added another word! She climbed up to a slide, pointed at it, and said, "Ide!" That counts!
Highlights from Carowinds with Team McLaren:
10/29 - Today was "Mascot/wear your favorite jersey" day at Bradford. Now admittedly K didn't have a massive selection to choose from, but what, pray tell, did she pick? RUSSELLVILLE HORNETS, BABY!!!!!! I mean, HOW CUTE IS THAT? I sent it to Dad, Alice, and Pattie - just too cute.
K did a backwards roll on the bar today - very cool! She tried to do a backwards roll on the mat as well, so progress being made! She wasn't happy that she needed help to do the roll on the floor, but as we explained to her - this stuff just takes practice and time.
Oh, and when asked what she wanted to be for Halloween tonight, she told a family friend, "I want to be a killer leopard that eats humans." Um...okay, I guess...
10/30 - Jenny led her Life Group today, and she had a lot of fun with another mom at Frank Liske Park. Bear apparently really enjoyed it, and we now have a new destination that we definitely want to check out as a family. Very cool!
10/31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! Today was SUCH a fun day! It all started at Bradford at 10 AM, where Jenny and I both got to watch Kaitlyn perform 5 Little Pumpkins and then be part of the character parade! This was really neat, as the entire lower school (that's K-6) each sang a bit, and then they all walked around the car pool circle, showcasing their costumes. I showed up wearing a Rainbow Dash wig and a witch's hat, which K and her classmates thought was great. Too funny - whatever it takes, right? :-)
After they sang, each of the classes gathered in a circle and waited for the parade to start (the other grades had to do their performances). This was awesome for me, as I had the chance to observe two things:
1. Ms. Pate (K's teacher) is AWESOME. She has so much GREAT energy and is just so good with the kids. Each kid dressed up and brought in a book tied to their costume, and Ms. Pate was reading those to the class while they waited. While every teacher was clearly focused on her respective class, Ms. Pate was flat ELECTRIC in reading the stories and keeping the energy level high. SO HAPPY that K has her for her first "academic" experience.
2. In looking at the class sizes, Jenny and I realized that less than 100 kids are in kindergarten, which is historically the biggest class at Bradford (case in point - they'll only graduate 37 seniors this year). I LOVE that, as I know she'll have a chance to make so many wonderful friends and really grow with them over the course of her time at BPS. Also, selfishly I was excited because it means she's got a great chance to play sports there, and for me that is such an important part of the educational experience. Even if they aren't 5 A rockstars, just being part of a team, traveling, learning how to play together, and learning the value of competition is HUGE, and I love the fact that K could very well try her hand at a couple of sports there. LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
After school, the girls did some shopping before heading home. I went back to the office for a bit before heading home and setting up for...HALLOWEEN, BABY!!!!!! We ate quickly, got dressed, and made it outside by about 5:30 or so. We linked up with the Shades again and were on the street by 6. Bear would NOT stay in the wagon, so we ended up having to use the stroller (which she didn't love, but we didn't have many options, as she wasn't doing a great job running downhill in the dark). The crazy thing - Bear was out there NINETY MINUTES, and K went full steam with the older kids for TWO HOURS!!!! She came back with a bucket of candy BRIMMING over. And after eating a good 6 or 7 pieces (as well as a big slice of cookie that Ms. Julie had brought over), do you know what my daughters got into? DORITOS! I mean, you can't run from the genetic code, I guess... :-)
Seriously - they had a BLAST, and it really was a fun Halloween. The Shades are SO GREAT to trick or treat with, and it's always fun in this neighborhood. The cul de sacs are decorated, the candy is plentiful, there are plenty of cool lights, and people are very friendly. We have been down in the total number of trick or treaters lately, but it's still been a hoot (and obviously the girls LOVE it.
It was lights out about 8 for Bear, and K followed about 9 PM. YIKES! The good news - no school the next day at BPS, as it was the first of two days set aside for parent teacher conferences. BEST. SCHOOL. EVER!!!!!
And there you have it -an AWESOME October now in the books. I am actually typing all this up in early November, which tells you how wild and crazy it's been lately. Working in the office 5 days a week has cut into my blogging time, so I am scrambling to try and stay level.
That's all the news that's fit to print. Chat soon!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
10/3 - Kaitlyn received special recognition from Ms. Pate today! It was super cool - she walked in and presented mommy with an award from Ms. Pate that recognized Kaitlyn for being "on point the entire time" in Math Center. K was proud, and of course we celebrated it. Also, she read three books (which she hadn't seen before) to JT tonight - exciting! You can tell that K is working hard, as she is mentally exhausted by the time it's over.
For me, it was a big night, as it was the Financial Plan review with our new financial planner. This guy is GREAT, and he spent 2 hours with me working through our retirement goals and adjustments we needed to make to get on sound financial footing (including insurances). The shocker - he projects that we'll need $377K all in to fully fund both girls going to a "Chapel Hill" type school. CORA'S PORTION ALONE IS 202K!!!!!! I was in shock. Truly - my jaw was on the floor as I tried to process that. And obviously some of that is progress with investments vs. straight cash, but I was SHOCKED.
10/4 - Kaitlyn had a special adventure this evening - sleepover at Kate's house! That meant that Jenny and I had Cora alone in the house. It was CRAZY - such a surreal experience, as it took us back to the days when there was just K in the house. We had a blast. For us, it was really fun to focus on Cora, and we spent the evening reading to her and playing music in her room while she danced for us (it was too funny). You could tell that Cora was loving the attention as well, and she made quite the production out of running around the jack n jill route (stopping to give me a hug and a kiss each time, mind you!), smiling and laughing the whole time. She is now saying "Hello" and "Bye Bye" when playing with the phone, and she demonstrated some real creativity tonight. She was taking this little inflatable fish and pretending to bite us with it. When we reacted, she would pretend it was swimming to someone else - rinse repeat (about 68 times). I was cool to see, as it was the first time I'd really seen her come up with a creative game (vs. just bringing us things to hold or blocks/books to stack).
Now that we're into Fall, I definitely have some goals and things that I want to focus on for each girl. For Cora, I want to start potty training. I know it feels a little early, but I honestly thing she's ready, and she seems to be showing interest in it. Also, I want to work on more puzzles for Cora and more words. Those last two will I think just be products of being in this house, but I do want to actively encourage both.
For K, I want to keep focusing on sight words and introducing new books - whether from the library or from book order purchases. She is really enjoying it, and I want to keep kindling the fire of motivation to learn, read, and be independently creative. Also, I definitely want to get her more comfortable riding a bike. If we can ever get cooler weather (still in the 90s!), then I will get her down to the greenway. Bed time was about 7:30 for Cora, and I was down at 8:12 (sick and still in recovery from MSP!). Slept like a rock after some NyQuil - 12 hrs!
10/5 - Today was a big day for Team Taylor: we got a new ride!!!! And no, Katie did NOT go the way of the dodo (thank you very much). Instead, we added a third car to have more space for the car pool, hauling stuff, etc. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - THE 2003 NISSAN XTERRA! Names are TBD at the moment - Rex, T-Rex, Tenaya, etc - we have a lot of options. :-) Car drives GREAT, and I'm really, really happy with the purchase. It's honestly perfect for our family. JT did spin today with Cora bear, who fell asleep in the car on the drive down to Monroe (looked like an angel). For Kaitlyn, we found out that she woke up at 3 AM, and her and Kate had to be separated at 3:45! They apparently slept until 6:45, and all was good until they left the movie theater, at which point Kaitlyn apparently started sobbing uncontrollably and said, "I want my mommy!" JT drove straight over to pick her up, and they are now at DPK as I type this. Needless to say - early to bed for both girls tonight!!!
10/6 - Big day for Team Taylor - our first ever family outing in the Xterra (aka "Rex the X"). It was GREAT! We drove over to Hodge Field Farms, as it was a) the quarterly FH Kids outing and b) our annual visit to a pumpkin patch - and Cora's first time ever! We spent 2 hours there, and it was a blast. We had a chance to see some friends (including classmates from Bradford), and the girls loved playing with the animals and running around the field. There were plenty of activities, and Cora really enjoyed climbing on some carved logs over near the entrance. Kaitlyn was all about climbing, running on, and jumping around the hay stacks near the animals - she was really getting some air! And yes, we did manage to get some food - pancakes and a pair of sno cones, to be exact. Cora had no interest in the pancakes, but she LOVED the sno cones!
The highlights:
After that it was home for lunch and Bear's nap. Jenny took Kaitlyn on a WHIRLWIND of activity, including:
1. Haircut (at Kaitlyn's request, no less!): They took at least 3 inches off, and her hair looks SO MUCH HEALTHIER NOW! It looks AWESOME, is so much easier to manage, and still looks good in a pig tail. Too cute!
2. Aldi
3. BJ's
4. Publix
5. HT
6. Dollar store! The goal here was two-fold. First, they needed to get some supplies for the BPS school project, which is donating supplies to schools that were impacted by Florence. Secondly, the girls had $10 set aside for the acquisition of Halloween decorations. We have them scattered around the house now - they look really good! Well done, ladies! I mean, the motion sensor witch and ghost can be a little obnoxious, but that's what the kill switch is for. The owl and the glowing eyes are a nice touch. :-)
7. AC Moore: Jenny went in here for some crafts, and while there K spent some of her chore money on a mash 'em and a splat ball (I didn't know what either of these things were before this moment). The good news - she is enjoying them a lot. The bad news - despite her mother's repeated warnings, she kept squeezing the splat ball too hard, and it now has a hole that leaks some substance that's kind of like water but you know doesn't exist in nature. K walked up to JT BAWLING and showing it too her. Jenny had warned her not to squeeze it so hard, and so she did a great job of sympathizing but being firm about the need to a) listen and b) take care of our things. I must confess - I was heartbroken! The ball was $3 - a week's allowance! But it does still work pretty good, and she's obviously rallied since thing. Crisis averted...but I may have to buy her one at some point in the not too distant future... :-)Ashley brought the kids over about 4:30 (Zach was out of town), and we all had dinner together. The kids played well together, and Ashley got some much needed adult time to bridge the gap until Zach got home that night. All in all, a fun night!
10/7 - So today was awesome, largely because of the way it started. After attending the 9 AM service, Jenny and I went to our respective FH Kids rooms to serve. Jenny talked to Morgan, who let Kaitlyn come into Arrows with me to "watch daddy." K got to see me do the opener AND got to see me be part of the actual message - it was SO COOL!!!! She really enjoyed it, was super well behaved, was a great participant, and seemed to have a really good time (and clearly learned something, as she mentioned "contentment" - the theme of the month - later that evening). We got to dance during worship together, play some four-square before service started, and just got the chance to be together in the house of God. It was AWESOME - LOVED IT!!! 
After service, Pastor Michael introduced himself to Kaitlyn, which was very sweet. He also asked me to consider being a Lead Teacher - what an honor and a dream come true - PART OF THE TEACHING TEAM!!!!! So I am going to look at the message for 2 weeks from now and see what I think I can do. How exciting is that?!?!?!?! It is an incredible blessing from God, and I absolutely want to make Him, Pastor Michael, and my family proud. YAY! Such a great morning! Jenny and I also got the opportunity to be a Team Prayer for someone up front - first time that's ever happened (and it was very powerful). The afternoon was good and lazy. Nole Nana and Grandpa came by, and we spent the afternoon playing Monster, watching football, doing Earthquake, eating, playing "frisbee" with the top of a cotton candy tub, and teaching K how to jump rope. It was a very, very good afternoon.
One thing I have to comment on here - Kaitlyn is doing an AMAZING JOB learning how to read. Every night she is cutting through 3 or 4 books - often books she's never seen before. She is doing a TREMENDOUS job sounding out words (and then remembering them), and every night you can tell that she is recognizing more and more words on sight - just INCREDIBLE. So AWESOME. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!! She is really interested and motivated - such an answered prayer and dream come true!10/8 - Today has been a nice and lazy day. I took the girls to NOMAD in the morning, where Kaitlyn informed me that she is now a fan of the songs "Havana" and "Feel It Still" (kids bop versions, of course). She also said, "Dada, we heard 'feel me like a race horse," which the staff didn't understand but I knew to be Whatever It Takes by Imagine Dragons. At least she didn't say "Whip me like a race horse," which is what she said last time - CLASSIC.
After running the golf course (it's still so hot outside!), we chilled indoors until gymnastics - and I got to take her and Elizabeth! I was excited, as normally I don't get the chance to watch her in action, so this was a treat. Plus they are really starting to work on stuff now, so it's something very cool to see - I love watching K try to stick landings! They spent a lot of time on the beam and the floor tonight, and K managed her first ever walk-up handstand! YAY! She was thrilled - couldn't wait to show JT when she got home.Two things to note about Cora bear that I find fascinating, as they are two of the few things her and Kaitlyn did similarly at her age:
1. When I'm rocking her to sleep at night and her head is on my shoulder, she likes to reach down with her right hand and grab one of my fingers (usually my pinky). I love it - she just holds it and is happy as a clam.
2. The 12 little Mickey Board books - she can't get enough of them! Seriously - that girl will just churn through them repeatedly. The similarity, however, is in how fast they've learned to answer the questions (correctly, I might add) that I ask, even if I mix up the order (find this animal, where is X, etc). It's really, really cool to watch those pistons firing!
Oh, and tonight K went next level at reading - while it took a long time and required JT to help with a lot of words, she read, "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!" How awesome is that?
10/11 - Cora has added new words! Tonight she pointed to the yo-yo in her book and said "Yo-yo!" She's also added "door" to her vocabulary. Best of all, she's starting to try and say things (and even repeat things when you ask her to). It's all starting to click! Really cool to see her in action. She's definitely remembering things in books, such as "which is the tallest, largest, etc." And when she reads "Little Excavator," she just about wets her pants with excitement whenever we get to the end and she sees the little doggie that plays with Little E. Too funny.Cora is now getting into her high chair by herself, and she's even clipping in sometimes! Normally she still requires assistance, but more than once she's managed to secure both clips. Very cool! But what is not cool - keeping a bib on her has become IMPOSSIBLE. Now it's just a simply decision - do we leave the shirt on and ruin it or feed her topless. The latter has certainly been the preferred approach. We've also started taking off her shorts for naps and just leaving them off when we're not venturing back out in the afternoon. It's been pretty warm, and Cora seems to like the freedom. Win, win!
One interesting thing this evening - after prayers tonight (and Cora saying "yay!", she immediately said "Night, Night." When I asked her if she wanted to put her head on my shoulder, she said no. When I asked if she wanted to go to her crib, she nodded. JUST. LIKE. KAITLYN. That was crazy, as I remember K doing the exact same thing about this age. And while it's AWESOME that she can articulate what she wants, it also means that the time and # of days I will rock her on my shoulder are dwindling. So it goes...the inexorable march of time. Oh, and the cutest thing - there is a little boy in K's class who is drawing pictures of her and giving them to her during art class! He's done it more than once - so sweet.
10/12 - Granddaddy and Granny A arrived today! The girls got a good 2+ hours of bonding with them, and it was GREAT. Alice came in with a BOATLOAD of toys, and as you can expect, K was over the moon. Cora ran right up to her and cuddled up with Granny A,which left Alice speechless. She hadn't seen Cora in awhile, so she's missed her coming out of her shell! It was super cute.And speaking of Cora, I am now going to give her credit for "blue," as she is consistently pointing to that color and saying the word. Jenny has mentioned that she's also saying the color "gray." However, as she has yet to correctly identify the color, I am NOT giving her credit just yet. But in that vein, this week she FINALLY started verbalizing the word "more" - HOLY MOLY!!!! BREAKTHROUGH!!!!!! She still does the sign while saying it at dinner, but she is definitely saying "more" as well. Yay! We are on the verge of a language EXPLOSION ladies and gentlemen.
The cutest moment of the night: Kaitlyn brushed her teeth and was up with me, but she went downstairs while I put Cora to bed. Well, she came back up and said, "Dada, I had a sour patch kid, but I didn't really eat it." I was a little confused, and only later did I get the real story. Granny A apparently had a hankering for something sweet and opened the sour patch kids. Well, K came down and saw her, and Alice offered her one. K said, "I can't - I've already brushed my teeth." HOW CUTE IS THAT?!?!?!? Alice kept trying to force her to take one, so she took a bite but then spit it out. LOVE THAT KID!!!!
Oh, and proof that K hangs on my mom's every word. Tonight at dinner she announced, "Vol Nana is going to come every six weeks." I did correct her to say it was every 6-8 weeks, and we can cushion that since K has no concept of time just yet. That being said, Mom - you are now on the clock. :-) So cute...10/13 - TALK ABOUT A DAY FOR THE AGES!!!! After getting Jenny out the door for Authentic, we rolled over to the Sweet Spot for breakfast. K had already had a chocolate croissant from Starbucks, so the chocolate milk and chocolate chip muffin were probably overkill. :-) Cora (who was still all about Granny A!) didn't eat much...but she did enjoy my pancake and biscuit a lot more than the fruit pouches I brought for her. :-)
After that we drove (in the X, mind you, and it was AWESOME to have everyone in the same car FINALLY!!!) down to Elmwood Cemetery. Alice had long wanted to look for an aunt buried here, and while it wasn't a successful search (there was no office on-site and no one picked up), we did have fun driving around and just looking at the tombstones (all 19,302 of them!).
Kaitlyn was pretty funny, as she asked the following questions:
1. Are there skeletons here?
2. When I die, will I be buried in a tomb?
3. When I die and go to Heaven, will I be able to see everything?
4. Are there skeletons in this cemetery (see why I don't want her to watch scary movies? :-))
As we were looking around, I made the statement at one point, "Sorry, Alice, nothing is jumping out at me," meaning "I don't see a headstone marked "Jones." K thought I was talking about ghosts and skeletons, and she immediately said, "What do you mean jump out, dada!" Priceless. She even tried to pick the spots where the skeletons likely lived.
After that it was over to the Dollar tree to shop for Halloween decorations, and the girls were in HEAVEN. Cora was ALL ABOUT running down the aisles and touching/eating everything, while Kaitlyn was just asking to buy everything not nailed to the ground. We arrived home shortly thereafter, at which point Alice and Kaitlyn went FULL ON DECO MODE around the front of the house...AND DID AN INCREDIBLE JOB! Seriously - you wouldn't BELIEVE how good the house looked when they were done. We had skeletons hanging down, spider webs on the bushes, pumpkins out front, a projection light against the stoop, light up sticks for the walkway - it was AMAZING! I was well and truly impressed.
Seriously - Granny A was INCREDIBLE throughout the entire day. These girls went NONSTOP! They carved two pumpkins, and then they pulled out all the seeds, cleaned them, baked them, covered them in garlic, pepper, and salt, and then ROASTED THEM. Dude - they were SO GUUUUUUD!!!! Seriously -we were SHOVELING them in all day. And I should note - K really did a GREAT job on her pumpkin - she was focused and did some really good carving work (using a special tool - don't worry :-)). Also, K was great about doing the decorations. She is really starting to show some creativity and some skill for art. She has loved coloring lately, but any medium seems to be fun for her at present, and she genuinely seems to have some aptitude. Very exciting!
Oh the Cora front, the highlight with her was Alice placing her in a hatchimal costume. ABSOLUTELY. PRICELESS. AND. HILARIOUS. Incredible!!! Cora was NOT happy about it - she refused to let me take a proper picture and kept burying her face in Alice's legs. But the good news - she LOVED hanging out with Granny A and was content to sit on her lap or be held whenever Alice was interested. Cute...After grilling burgers and dogs, having cake and ice cream, finishing some moonshine, and having the great unveiling of the front of the house (house and flashing lights inside the pumpkins included), we went around back for what might well have been the highlight of K's weekend - our first ever fire in the fire pit!!!!! Dad got it going, and Kaitlyn could NOT have been happier. She LOVED sitting out there, and when it got dark, she wanted us to start telling ghost stories! I wasn't very good, as every story I know involves an ax murderer or an evil ghost. So when I tried a simpler story, K readily provided feedback: "That wasn't very scary, Dada." Cora was out there for some of it as well, and she was good about not going toward the fire. The key was having a lap for her to sit in. :-)
Everybody crashed about 9 PM or so, and so Jenny and I went back out, had a few beers, and enjoyed the fire until a little after 11. The weather was PERFECT - talk about a GREAT night!
The highlights:
10/14 - JT and I went to church this morning (FOR AN AWESOME SERVICE), and Dad & Alice took the girls to IHOP. K had been begging to go for awhile, and so this worked out perfectly. They had the smiley face pancake, had some chocolate milk, and had a really good time just hanging out. Cora has been GREAT around Granny A and Granddaddy, just curling up with them and letting them hold her non-stop. They left about 11:30 or so, and K watched a movie on TV before heading over to Kate's house for an impromptu play date! They had 2 hours together, and Kaitlyn was SO EXCITED. She even created a picture for Kate that said, "Kate I Love You Kaitlyn" and had stick figures wearing Meow Squad shirts to depict them. The time obviously went super quick, but the good news is that they have several other play dates in the hopper.
Kaitlyn came home and said, "Dada, I want to watch 'The House With a Clock in Its Walls' because it's really creepy." I mean - HOW DID SHE EVEN KNOW THIS MOVIE EXISTED!!!! It's so funny - K is ALL ABOUT watching "scary" movies or Halloween movies right now because either a) her (older) friends are doing it or b) she hears about them from folks like Granny A. Alice couldn't say enough about Hocus Pocus, and now K is desperate to watch it (Alice did record it on our DVR, so K knows we have access to it :-)). We have heard mixed things, but consistently we are hearing "a kid should be 8 to watch this." Given how freaked out K already is with skeletons, I am not yet on-side with her watching this. Watch this space!On the Cora front, that girl is ready for a language EXPLOSION! Seriously - she is babbling so much, and you can tell she's trying to talk more. She is genuinely trying to repeat whatever you say, and she is actively using more words these days. Yay!
10/15 - PICTURE DAY AT BRADFORD!!!!! Yes, Team Taylor did spring for the CD. I mean, you only get one shot at first school pictures, and we weren't taking any changes. The package will be 8 pics (4 poses, a color and BW of each). Kaitlyn said it went well! Also, she is the Station Spotter this week, which means she has to make sure all the stations in the room are clean. Also, she switched tables and is now at Table 2.
Side note - she has been DESPERATE for a play date with a new friend named Abby. Oddly enough, Abby's mom told us that she's been desperate for a play date with Kaitlyn. Too cute! So the current plan is for a Thursday play date. New friends! Watch this space!
Also, we got confirmation tonight that the playground is being installed at BPS. YAY!!!!! Can't wait to see it, and SO GLAD K will get to experience it. 
Last thing on K - she woke up this morning complaining that she'd rolled her ankle at Kate's. We gave her some ibuprofen (she was hopping around on one foot all morning), and she seemed fine after that. It didn't seem to slow her down at gymnastics, and when she got home she showed us a) her splits and b) her new walkover. It was AWESOME! I mean, obviously she had to have a spotter (Jenny in this case), but she did a GREAT job. Getting stronger!On the Cora front, she was SO much happier today. She wasn't nearly as snotty, and her face was happy again. She definitely looked rough yesterday, but today she was as chipper as ever and full of energy. She didn't nap today, and it's been odd to chart her sleeping habits as of late. The nap has really been hit or miss, which is odd because we'd expect her to nap for another YEAR or so - that's the plan at least! Now granted, most days she has a great nap. The last couple of days, however, have really been hit or miss. Some of it is likely illness, and some of it is definitely teething. The good news - she is still sleeping like a ROCK STAR at night, which is the most important thing (for all of us!).
10/16 - Bradford continued the Spirit Days theme today with Breast Cancer Awareness Day. All the kids were encouraged to wear a pink top. It was really interesting, as K did ask about why she was wearing pink, what cancer was, who got it, what happened, etc. It was fascinating to me, as it was the first time I'd ever really seen someone "become aware" because of the color. We explained it as best we could, and she was truly interested (which I think speaks volumes to the importance of wearing those colors and raising awareness).
After dropping K at school, Jenny took Cora to the light rail to head Uptown for their planned playdate. Well, as fate would have it, the light rail (for whatever reason) was closed and was NOT running uptown today. Consequently, Jenny had to make the drive (suboptimal, but at least it wasn't rush hour). The activity of the day was Imaginon, where Jenny was coordinating a playdate (her life group). JT and Cora had about 2.5 hours there and really had a blast - I am looking forward to seeing that place at some point!
The afternoon was a blast for Jenny and the girls, as they went to CFA with the Burch clan! K got some ice cream, and I even got a few nuggets. Win-win. :-)
Oh, and a really cute Cora thing - within the last couple of weeks she's started taking our hands and leading us where she wants us to go. It's been really cute - as she will latch on and literally DRAG you to her intended destination. Getting her to let go premature is like trying to pry open the jaws of a T-Rex after it's found some meat!
Other side note - Jenny and I have decided that we need to start getting the girls upstairs for the bed time ritual sooner. As we have expanded all the crazy things we do before bed - teeth, mouthwash and the gingerbread man run, potty, bath time, lotion, reading, the thumb suck game, prayer, tickle time, back scratch, lullaby (twinkle, twinkle little star), rocking/tucking in....I mean, it's exhausting to even type! Add in the fact that K wants to try and read books that are WAY above her current level, and the time extends even further. Now don't get me wrong - I LOVE the fact that she is working so hard at reading and really wants to practice and learn, but some changes we are realistically going to have to make:
1. Uptime is going to be 6:15
2. Reading option - Parents read 2 books or K can read 1
3. Clothing must be selected for next day as soon as we go up
If we put those guard rails around the process, I think we'll be fine. But then again, as I always say...WATCH THIS SPACE! :-)
10/17 - Continuing in the Spirit Days theme, today was "Disney Day!" All the teachers apparently dressed as Disney princesses (Ms. Pate was Belle). Kaitlyn was interesting, as she didn't want to dress as ANY of the 14,567 princesses for which she has a gown. Instead, she said "I want to be the Aristocats." I mean...No. Words.
So here's what's so funny about that - last week Kaitlyn suddenly decided that she wanted to find and wear the cat costume Vol Nana bought for her while JT and I were in Colorado for Tait's wedding. Well, for whatever reason, she couldn't find the tail that goes with it (most likely reason is that she didn't really look for it). Well, this weekend Granny A helped her find a costume at the dollar store that included a tail (and face), and so Kaitlyn consolidated them and started wearing them on Saturday afternoon. Since then her and the costume have basically been inseparable, which we think led to K needing to figure out which Disney character she could be and wear the cat costume. When I asked her who the female cat is in the Aristocats, she had NO idea (it's Duchess, for the record - I looked it up). Furthermore, Duchess is white as the driven snow, and Kaitlyn's costume was straight leopard print with pink frills. HILARIOUS!!! However, it's Kindy, people were in good spirits, and let's face it - pretty much anything goes. Good times.
There was a funny moment on the drive apparently. Jenny heard sniffling and first asked Taylee if she needed a tissue. When she said it wasn't her, JT asked K. When K said it wasn't her, Jenny asked Cora if she needed a tissue. Jenny looked back to see the response, and poor Cora just broke down crying! Poor thing!
Today was another first for JT - her first time volunteering at Bradford! She was doing the hot lunch distribution, and she said it went well. She was there about an hour (with Cora the whole time, who was actually quite good so long as she had snacks), but she didn't actually deliver the hot lunches to the rooms. Well, when K came back in from recess (she'd already seen Jenny and waved), she asked if the lunches had already been delivered. When Ms. Pate said they had been, K apparently broke down crying! She thought Jenny was going to deliver them so she could say bye, and she was quite distraught. Luckily Ms. Pate walked her out of class and to the parking lot (Jenny was still there), at which point JT was able to give her a big hug and calm her down. Crisis averted!
The reality - as the week wears on, K just becomes more and more exhausted. She's well rested Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday she needs the alarm to wake her up. Today after the alarm went off, she got up, turned it off, and crawled back in bed!
10/18 - Cora is adding words! I came home tonight and watched Jenny ask her to identify a few body parts, and she went through eye, nose, and ear! She's also saying "sky" - talk about meteoric progress and development! She actually got soap in her eye last night, and while reading to her she continued rubbing it and saying, "eye." It reminded me of when Kaitlyn got a hair in her eye once and said, "Eyeball, dada! Eyeball!"
Cora also jumped for the first time ever tonight on the trampoline! I got some video of it, and it was priceless. She was bouncing up and down like a jack russell terrier - too cute!
For Kaitlyn, today was "Dress Like A Teacher" Day. She looked cute as a button - really did look like a teacher (complete with eye glasses that had no lenses). Pretty adorable. After school she had a playdate with a new friend - Abby. They go to Freedom House, and Jenny's had life group with her mom before. She seemed sweet and was cute as a button, and I think they had fun. Jenny said K tried to explain "sissy kitties" to her, but it fell on deaf ears. I couldn't help but chuckle.
10/19 - Today kicked off a veritable vocabulary explosion for Bear. He said "yo yo" in earnest, but the exciting moment was when I walked in from work, Jenny held up an Elmo doll, and said, "Cora, who is this?" Bear looked at me with that sweet smile and said in that teeny little voice, "Elmo." Too cute! Of course, even that wasn't without drama, as apparently Jenny had told K she could raise the Elmo and ask her sister. So when Jenny did it, Kaitlyn LOST IT. But we did right the ship by dinner. :-)
Cora also did "one" (and raised one finger!) and "big" (with both arms flung wide like Little Quack in his opposites book).
K's sweetest moment came in the evening when I was tucking her in. She said, "Dada, you have my heart." And then when I finished reading to her, she said, "Can you read to me tomorrow night? Because you have my heart." WOW - considering most nights she thinks I'm chopped liver, I milked that for all it was worth. :-)
10/20 - Team Taylor braved some rain today and headed to the state line for a GREAT day at the Great Pumpkin Fest at Carowinds! K was of course not very happy that we didn't stay for "Scarowinds" and kept asking how long it was until the real Scarowinds started. Keep in mind this is a girl who is now afraid of Boo Blasters - can you IMAGINE taking her to the REAL Scarowinds? We were in line at the first ride of the day (Flying Ace Aerial Chase, aka Kiddyhawk) when she boldly announced, "Dada, Scarowinds wouldn't bother me because I'm not afraid of clowns." My response: "Well these clowns have their teeth filed into points, have blood on their faces, and are walking around with chainsaws and knives." She simply said, "What?" I thought I had her stumped until she then proceeded to ask like 65 more questions about the weapons. Oh child...you have no idea...
The day was great. We had some bad weather, but the girls got to do lots of fun stuff as well as all the rides. It wasn't terribly crowded, and we ended up spending 4+ hours there by the time it was all said and done. A highlight for K was at the end. We saw the huge mechanical troll that talked to the crowd, and K thought that was amazing. She also got quite engaged with it, as after hearing about how the troll bit off someone's head, K screamed at him, "You're not a very nice person." A little teenage girl said, "You tell him!", and K thought that was the coolest thing EVER. Too cute.
The highlights:
A highlight for me was Cora's NEXT word. We were in line for a ride, and Cora was staring at a girl beside us. Suddenly she said, "Ariel" and pointed. Sure enough - the little Mermaid was on that girl's shirt! Awesome!
This really was a GREAT battery re-charging weekend for me. I had been going flat out as of late, and for whatever reason I hadn't felt properly focused on or connected to the family unit. Having dedicated time like this made a HUGE difference and was such a blast. THANK YOU, FATHER!!!!!!
10/21 - Today was AWESOME and filled with activities! K was in church for two services, but she made them count and racked up 6 tokens (which helped to secure a fun dip from the price hub). She also got to lead the offering prayer in one service and collect the offering in the other. After church, K and I headed to the Greenway during Cora's nap, and I'm pleased to announce that K CRUSHED IT. We didn't ride as far this time (just 4 miles), but she was much more aggressive on both the uphills and the downhills - that was so exciting to see!
We then headed over to Clarke Creek park, where the girls had an absolute BLAST. They were so cute and played so well! Cora was snug as a bug in the swing for a good 30 minutes, after which time she was ALL ABOUT the slides. This park is really great for her, as it's very compartmentalized with walked and gates on all sides, meaning she can't really fall off once she gets up the stairs. She LOVED climbing the "swinging bridge," and she kept going back to the biggest slide - time and time again! Each time she'd make the bottom, she's say "Mo!" and run back to the stairs - it was great!
Kaitlyn did a GREAT job pumping her legs and swinging on her own - easily the best I've ever seen her do! We also started doing a series of "challenges," where I would assign a list of things to climb and places to run to within a set time frame. The girls definitely got their exercise this day, and MAN was the weather perfect.
10/22 - I headed to Minneapolis for work today, but the report I got was that all went great. Cora added two more words: "hay" and "dark" (both while reading Big Red Barn). Kaitlyn enjoyed gymnastics, where they started doing the rock wall! Also, it was pajama day, and ask you can expect the my little pony nightgown came out. Don't worry - we also had her wear pajama bottoms. It was a really cute day, as they actually let them wear slippers everywhere buy PE. Oh, and K was Picnic Pick-up this week for her job - basically tidying after lunch (I think, at least).
10/23 - So I woke up this morning (still in MSP) to a text from Jenny that said "Rex is dead." The X wouldn't even turn over! Luckily we had Ellie, and triple A came out and confirmed that the heads on the battery had popped off for some reason. Once reconnected, it fired right back up. YAY! Note to self - learn more about cars in 2019. :-)
It was school picture day for K, and afterwards Kate came over for a play date and dinner. I didn't get to FT K in the evening, but I heard that it was a smashing success all around. :-)
10/25 - Cora added 3 more words! She has now added "whale," "up," and "ray" (as in Sting ray). I'm telling you - it's just meteoric at this point!
Also, not only is K improving on her handstands (she's well and truly doing them at this point), she's also finally improving her cartwheels! She's starting to get those legs in the air and is DEFINITELY more comfortable in "gymnastic" style positions (my words, as I have no other way to describe all that acrobatic stuff :-)). She wants to practice all the time, and it's paying off! She's also coloring all the time, which has been really neat to see. Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but a huge transformation has taken place recently with her artwork. Instead of just coloring or tracing pictures, she's now starting to actually create images on blank pieces of paper and make pictures herself. Very cool!
10/26 - We've got more words to add to the Cora word bank! Problem is they were on my phone, and somehow I must have deleted them. But what I can confirm - after praying over her, she instantly popped her head off my shoulder and said, "Night, night!" That is AMAZING, as that is EXACTLY what Kaitlyn used to do! It was an emotional moment for me, as I remember that, after K started saying that, I really didn't get to rock her too long before she wanted to be in that crib. Sure enough, now when I ask Bear if she wants to go "Night Night" after she says it, she nods immediately and starts looking over at it. They grow up so fast!!!!
10/27 - Cora said "backpack" today! Also, for the first time ever, JT had her hair in a clip vs. the whale spout. She looked so grown up! It is amazing how fast she's transforming - AND RUNNING - these days. Her little gallop is just about the cutest thing ever - she runs on her toes, the whale spout (or hair in a clip) just bouncing the entire time. Also, she's taken to LOVING doing "Ring Around the Rosie" with Jenny - she just cackles every time they do it.
So today was the definition of FLAT OUT for Team Taylor. After getting an 8 mile run in, Team Taylor had some Starbucks and then rolled over to the sweet spot, where K tried crepes for the first time! They weren't exactly what we expected (the crepes were a little tough and hard to cut/chew), but there was enough sugar to keep her happy. :-)
After that, we headed back to the house, packed up, and then rolled over to the Greenway. Jenny and K got to ride this time, and I pushed Buke behind them. Cora was GREAT - very content to just ride and take in the scenery. UNCC was playing at 2, so the atmosphere was quite jovial around the campus. There was a CFA stand open, and we even got 2 plush moo-moos (and got our photo with the cow). All in all, a great trip!
While Bear was napping, K and I rolled over to the Fall Fest, where K had a power hour of a) candy, b) pumpkin painting (Bear even got in on that, and it was ADORABLE), c) bounce houses, and d) ponies! She actually rode on 2 horses! It was wet and rainy, but we really had fun (and the rain kept the crowd away). Watching the girls paint at the same time was really cute...even if they did COMPLETELY COVER THEMSELVES IN PAINT. Details - it's all washable. :-)
The highlights:
We headed to church after that (POWERFUL service), where K must have dominated Simon Says and earned a load of tokens. Then we scrambled back home for a late dinner and bed. The whole family was EXHAUSTED!
10/28 - Today was another great one - Carowinds with the McLaren clan! K actually rode there with Cheryl and Team McLaren, while we followed a bit later with Bear. We spent 4+ hours there, and it was GREAT. Honestly, it was SUCH a terrific recharge for me, and it was a perfect pace for family time. Everyone felt great, we had a good mix of the girls playing together and me getting to play with each of my girls, saw some other friends, and just had a blast. The weather was incredible, and it was just a perfect day. And Cora added another word! She climbed up to a slide, pointed at it, and said, "Ide!" That counts!
Highlights from Carowinds with Team McLaren:
10/29 - Today was "Mascot/wear your favorite jersey" day at Bradford. Now admittedly K didn't have a massive selection to choose from, but what, pray tell, did she pick? RUSSELLVILLE HORNETS, BABY!!!!!! I mean, HOW CUTE IS THAT? I sent it to Dad, Alice, and Pattie - just too cute.
K did a backwards roll on the bar today - very cool! She tried to do a backwards roll on the mat as well, so progress being made! She wasn't happy that she needed help to do the roll on the floor, but as we explained to her - this stuff just takes practice and time.
Oh, and when asked what she wanted to be for Halloween tonight, she told a family friend, "I want to be a killer leopard that eats humans." Um...okay, I guess...
10/30 - Jenny led her Life Group today, and she had a lot of fun with another mom at Frank Liske Park. Bear apparently really enjoyed it, and we now have a new destination that we definitely want to check out as a family. Very cool!
10/31 - HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!! Today was SUCH a fun day! It all started at Bradford at 10 AM, where Jenny and I both got to watch Kaitlyn perform 5 Little Pumpkins and then be part of the character parade! This was really neat, as the entire lower school (that's K-6) each sang a bit, and then they all walked around the car pool circle, showcasing their costumes. I showed up wearing a Rainbow Dash wig and a witch's hat, which K and her classmates thought was great. Too funny - whatever it takes, right? :-)After they sang, each of the classes gathered in a circle and waited for the parade to start (the other grades had to do their performances). This was awesome for me, as I had the chance to observe two things:
1. Ms. Pate (K's teacher) is AWESOME. She has so much GREAT energy and is just so good with the kids. Each kid dressed up and brought in a book tied to their costume, and Ms. Pate was reading those to the class while they waited. While every teacher was clearly focused on her respective class, Ms. Pate was flat ELECTRIC in reading the stories and keeping the energy level high. SO HAPPY that K has her for her first "academic" experience.2. In looking at the class sizes, Jenny and I realized that less than 100 kids are in kindergarten, which is historically the biggest class at Bradford (case in point - they'll only graduate 37 seniors this year). I LOVE that, as I know she'll have a chance to make so many wonderful friends and really grow with them over the course of her time at BPS. Also, selfishly I was excited because it means she's got a great chance to play sports there, and for me that is such an important part of the educational experience. Even if they aren't 5 A rockstars, just being part of a team, traveling, learning how to play together, and learning the value of competition is HUGE, and I love the fact that K could very well try her hand at a couple of sports there. LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
After school, the girls did some shopping before heading home. I went back to the office for a bit before heading home and setting up for...HALLOWEEN, BABY!!!!!! We ate quickly, got dressed, and made it outside by about 5:30 or so. We linked up with the Shades again and were on the street by 6. Bear would NOT stay in the wagon, so we ended up having to use the stroller (which she didn't love, but we didn't have many options, as she wasn't doing a great job running downhill in the dark). The crazy thing - Bear was out there NINETY MINUTES, and K went full steam with the older kids for TWO HOURS!!!! She came back with a bucket of candy BRIMMING over. And after eating a good 6 or 7 pieces (as well as a big slice of cookie that Ms. Julie had brought over), do you know what my daughters got into? DORITOS! I mean, you can't run from the genetic code, I guess... :-)
Seriously - they had a BLAST, and it really was a fun Halloween. The Shades are SO GREAT to trick or treat with, and it's always fun in this neighborhood. The cul de sacs are decorated, the candy is plentiful, there are plenty of cool lights, and people are very friendly. We have been down in the total number of trick or treaters lately, but it's still been a hoot (and obviously the girls LOVE it.It was lights out about 8 for Bear, and K followed about 9 PM. YIKES! The good news - no school the next day at BPS, as it was the first of two days set aside for parent teacher conferences. BEST. SCHOOL. EVER!!!!!
And there you have it -an AWESOME October now in the books. I am actually typing all this up in early November, which tells you how wild and crazy it's been lately. Working in the office 5 days a week has cut into my blogging time, so I am scrambling to try and stay level.
That's all the news that's fit to print. Chat soon!
Love,
Sam and Jenny
