Tuesday, October 24, 2017

A lovely fall here in KC...

Wowza - how the heck is it already October 20th?? I really don't know, it seems like October was just starting!! I found myself almost craving a minute to slow-down and reflect on all we have been doing and capturing these sweet times.

We have all fallen into our routine pretty nicely - now that 1/4 of Will's school year is done, things are going very smoothly.  The first couple weeks were a bit bumpy- just some lack of communication from the school and frustration on my part- but Will has always enjoyed it and it seems his teacher, Ms. Straeter really enjoys having Will in class.  She said he has such an eagerness to learn and has a great attitude.  I love to hear all the things we learns about - it's interesting how so many of the things they do involve coloring in certain letters or pictures -and he has gotten SO good at coloring, he is reading words, doing addition (he loves us to quiz him on this!) and singing certain worship/praise songs and surprising me with how he knows all the words :)  I couldn't be a more proud kindergarten mom.  Only thing he doesnt like is when I can't pick him up at the Adoration line (where parents pick up right after school lets out) typically he goes to Y-Care, the after school care program, which I think he likes, but he would just prefer one of us pick him up right after school like most of his friends get to do ;(  Ugh, talk about mommy guilt.  However, I am very lucky that usually my job is flexible enough that if my schedule allows, I am able to leave work at 2:45 and pick him up, maybe once a week and the delight on his face is so sweet and genuine.  So it's sort of a fun treat..... but i know we are going to need that after school care over the years, so i don't want him to get too used to it.....

Will is just our sweet boy and loves tricking us - he is such a joker and he can get both Patrick and I to fall for his tricks!  He loves snuggling with Mom at bedtime, and I SOAK it up-- every. single. time.

Ellie has adjusted well to the J - and is starting T-ball on Mondays, she takes Dance on Tuesdays, and all of them go swim on Wednesdays.  Her class is pretty small - so huge adjustment from St. Luke's - and a lot of boys in her class, but she seems to like it and has adapted pretty well.  Still likes to cling to her Mom quite a bit in the mornings, which is hard, but some days she is fine giving me a little push out the door! She loves to help around the house - with laundry, to hang up her clothes, to watch me put on my 'make-ups', she likes to help with dishes, etc.  She has always been really great at picking up her toys also, so I really hope this is something that sticks!  She is also in the fun 'threenager' year, and challenges us many times with her fiercely independent mood, her strong opinions, and tantrums.

We have had a really beautiful fall in KC.  Here are some of our September highlights:

  • Lake trip!! Our last of the year for Labor Day - had some awesome, perfect lake weather, always hard to be done for the year, but i love all the sweet memories we make there
  • Patrick and Will went camping the first weekend of September, so Ellie and I had a fun girls day.  Love that sweet 1:1 time.... now i need some with Will
  • The following weekend was supposed to be a shopping/girls day with my mom and sister, and I got hit with a HORRIBLE flu.  I could barely move or get out of bed.  I would get SO hot and cold, my bones would ache and had zero energy - lasted a full 4 days before I felt better.  Whew, so glad that is over and that no one else in the house got it.  Ended that weekend with Disney on Ice, which the kids loved and I kind of suckered through.
  • Plaza Art Fair (my 10th annual), Phi Mu friend get together, OP fall festival parade (all a SUPER hot weekend, but still fun!
  • A few Deanna Rose trips - all made up a really fun September


October:

  • Went to the NW Bearcat football game with my Dad, Amy, Cody and the kids.  Had a nice lunch at A&G, and was awesome to see a good game and the weather/rain cleared up right in time for the game to start.  We had a little (or a lot) of a scare with my dad that evening and him having a diabetic reaction.  He was not acting like himself at all, acting confused and almost silly - so we took him in to theR and his blood sugar was at 20. Typical is 90-110.... he is so lucky he didn't go into a coma or worse.  We are so thankful he got there in time and was a huge wake up call for all he deals with and educational to say the least for Amy and I.
  • We took advantage of a beautiful Sunday and went out to Johnson Farms pumpkin patch.  That place is HUGE!! Farm animals (pig races), a huge play area for the kids, a hayride to get pumpkins, and much more.  Ellie got stung by a bee, but was a trooper and loves her ice pack she got to keep.
  • This week Patrick and I are getting ready to head to NE to see Garth Brooks (AGAIN) and spend an adult only weekend with my best friend Lindsay and her husband Chad.  Also going to a walk in Omaha for my friends Lauren and Emily for a walk for their brother Colin, who passed a few years ago with leukemia. 
  • Also, survived my 11th Cerner Health Conference!! How nuts!! It's always exciting to get to interact with our clients and to feel the energy. We had 14,000 clients in town, and of course, cap it all off with the Bash at Power and Light with a fun band that plays - always exhausting week but fun as well.
We also found out earlier this month some devastating news from some friends of ours - The Akins.  Dave was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer, as a 33 year old with 4 young kids.  Claire and Dave went to St. Ann's and lived in Prairie Village, we would get together with the kids, went to our church festivals together and some playdates.  It is so terrible they have to go through this, to such fantastic, faithful and wonderful people - and easily our lives could have been substituted.  Life is so, so precious and we are praying that we appreciate the life God gives us, our health and to never take a day for granted.