NINETY SEVEN

This year starts t-ball. We decided to do it through the Y since I have a friend who did it last year and is on our team this year. Let's just say the Y is VERY recreational. Pretty much a free-for-all...bless the coaches hearts! It is great for learning the basics though. I guess I took it for granted and assumed that little boys innately know to run to first base (and so on) after hitting a ball. NOPE..they must be taught everything :)

All day long on Wednesdays (practice day) Kai talks about t-ball and "When is practice?" "Is it time to go to practice?" "Can we leave now?" I mean ALL DAY. Then when 6 o'clock finally rolls around, Kai and I show up at practice, me lugging our chairs, water, equipment, etc. all the way to the field. We get there, Kai cries and sits down. Ummmm really?!!! It's a new thing we're trying out...turn 4 and cry about things. I have never had a problem with Kai going places, like to his Sunday School class, his class at the gym...anywhere...2 weeks ago and before he walked right in after waving goodbye happily to me. Then all of a sudden he is screaming, wrapping himself around my legs and acting like I am handing him over to Freddy Kruger! Let me just say...nothing has happened to torture him in any way at any of these places...he has a blast once I leave and the tears dry up (I go sneak a peak and check on him)..it is just one of those lovely phases he is going through, and I am just hoping we all make it through in one piece. I guess I feel kind of bad for not really feeling that bad..does that make sense?! I know that he is going to have fun and nothing is wrong, so it is just a wee bit annoying (yes, I said it) when I am trying to make it to my class at the gym and he is crying about nothing, or when he cries at t-ball and I am right there with him. Ahhh...deep breath...I love the kid dearly...you all know that. 3 and 4 years old is just HARD! The good news is at t-ball, as soon as his friend Jackson gets there, Kai gets up out of his chair, minds the coach and loves every second of it (until he gets bored standing on 3rd base waiting to catch a ball and decides to come sit in his chair instead)! I must say I am a little relieved that this is normal behavior and quite a few of the other kids (even the coach's) are criers throughout the whole game...at least our tears only last 2 minutes or so :) So, here's to another phase of childhood! May we all make it through and come out on the other side with our sanity still in tact!!

NINETY SIX

God made a world out of His dreams

of magic mountains, oceans, and streams, praries and plains and wooden land.

Then paused and thought:

I need someone to stand, on top of the mountains, to conquer the seas, explore the plains and climb the trees;

someone to start out small and grow, sturdy and strong like a tree and so, He created boys, full of spirit and fun, to explore and conquer, to romp and run. With dirty faces and banged up chins, with courageous hearts and boyish grins. And when he had completed the task He'd begun, He surely said, "that's a job well done."~unknown

We love you Kai!!!

NINETY FIVE

Ahoy Matey!! For Kai's 4th Birthday, we rented out a section of Clay's restaurant and we had a WONDERFUL evening with family and friends. We had a treasure hunt in the sand box, fed all the animals and then had yummy food..complete with cupcakes with personalized pirate ship toppers for each kid made by Yours Truly :) Thanks again to all the people who came out to celebrate with us! Could not have asked for a more perfect evening. It was even pretty relaxing (considering we had a bunch of kids ranging from 18 months to 9 years old!)


"Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be? I'm a pirate, after all!" ~unknown

NINETY FOUR

This is what happens when you send a tired kiddo to time-out.

Poor Kai has had a rough week. He started running fever, and then when I would schedule an appointment for the doctor, it would go away for a couple of days so I would think he was better (though still a bit whiny). I learned my lesson this time! After his fever spiked again, and he didn't seem to be hearing well all of a sudden, Adam and I got worried and took him to the ER. He had double ear infections, poor kid! I guess it never crossed my mind because (knock on wood) NONE of my kids have ever had an ear infection. I have always found this strange since most kids I know get them often, so I have always been thankful for this stroke of luck. We got Kai on antibiotics and he seems good as new...just in time for his 4th birthday festivities!

"Of all of the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable"~Plato

NINETY THREE

"I wanna poo poo on my potty!"

Are there any more glorious words to a mother from her 2 year old?! So, Kalan sits down on his potty...and sits...and sits...

"Nuffin come out!" were his next words.

So, we decided he just needed a little reading material. I have decided over my years that newsprint has a laxative effect on men, so I tried it out on Kalan....worked like a charm :)

"The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable."~Lane Olinghouse

NINETY TWO

Told ya we're ready for summer around here!! The temperature got in the high 80's, so Amaya (whose been wearing her swimsuit around the house for days now) decided she needed to break it in and have a run in the sprinkler! Kalan thought the idea was fun, but when we ran in it, he came out and said, "It gets me all wet?!" and stayed away from the water for the duration of the afternoon!

"A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows."~St. Francis of Assisi

NINETY ONE

Aren't Drumsticks the best on a warm day? And when you eat them in your backyard, two messy little boys can be undressed while eating them and then cleaned up with a waterhose. That's the good thing about kids...they're washable :) Amaya, however, has no problem devouring hers before a drip can even dribble down the side of the cone! Bring on summer, we're ready!!

"Even when freshly washed and relieved of all obvious confections, children tend to be sticky."~Fran Lebowitz

NINETY

Amaya brought a friend home from school with her today! I am just thankful it is not another mouth to feed or diaper to change, lol! Isn't he handsome? She is so proud of him and takes good care of him...with 5 squirts (not 6) of water a day.

"Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend."~Albert Camus

EIGHTY NINE

Spring arrived in Katy and the weather has been breathtakingly FABULOUS!! We have been outside as much as possible soaking up a few rays and enjoying the warm breezes.

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we sometimes did not taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."~Anne Bradstreet

EIGHTY EIGHT

I have no idea what hunting plastic Easter eggs with candy in them has to do with the real meaning of Easter (the resurrection of Christ) but hey, the kids love it and who doesn't need more candy?! The boys and I joined some friends at the park to let our kids gather eggs and beg to eat all the candy in them...before they eat lunch...good times :)