pooled reflections: October 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Kass turned 7 on October 10th. She requested an ice cream cake. This year was a family year, so we celebrated with just us. We usually let the kids pick a restaurant for their birthday dinner. I was surprised when Kassie picked the Hibachi Grill instead of McDonald's. That was definitely ok with Lee and I despite the large price difference.
The big hits this year were a Pikachu pillow pet which Samantha tried to steal multiple times and a Harry Potter Lego set. She still really likes Harry Potter and LOVES Pokemon!
Kass is skinny! Her legs swim in her skinny jeans. She eats like crazy though and by the time she gets into her bed at night, she says she's hungry again. (we're working on that) Kassie has an incredible memory and definitely has a gift for words. I honestly dread thinking about her as a teenager talking back to me. She'll probably "win" every time. She loves to read! In fact, every night she tries to stay up late and read in the dark. She's really outgoing and wears her emotions on her sleeve though. Unfortunately, she still has eczema and is allergic to peanuts, walnuts, and pecans. She really wishes that she will grow out of her allergies but I don't think she will.
Lately when I see Kass, she looks so grown up and tall. I miss the days when it was just me and her. She would try to boss me around as an 18 month old and say, "Mommy, no do dishes, or Mommy, no cooking!" She's changed so much over the years and sometimes I wish she could have stayed 6 for a bit longer.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Indiana State War Museum

Downtown Indy is cool. There are historical buildings and monuments. I should also mention downtown is pretty clean. There was one random weekday the kids didn't have school, so Erika, Anna and I took the kids to the free Indiana War Museum. The museum was down in the basement of this incredibly tall and skinny building. Unfortunately there wasn't an elevator so we had to use some serious muscle to carry two double strollers and one single stroller up and down a ton of stairs. We were the only ones there, which is a good thing when you have two sets of one year old twins, another one year old, a 7 year old, a 4 year old and a 5 year old. Most of the time the kids ran from thing to thing. I'm not sure if they learned anything. At one point Anna tried to read one of the plaques to the older ones. She probably read two lines before the kids were already running to the next thing. Afterwards, we went across the street to the monument. The weather was nice! The little ones tried to fall into the water while the older ones ran around in circles playing chase.

Little Orphan Kassie

Kassie sang and danced in our ward's talent show to "It's a Hard Knock Life" with eight other adorable orphan girls. All of them did a fabulous job! I must be a little biased and say Kassie stole the show!

Tommy's First Day

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I'll be honest! I was really nervous for Tommy to start school. He struggled last year with saying goodbye to me in the mornings. On the two mornings he had school, there was a battle! He wouldn't brush his teeth, get dressed, or eat breakfast without saying NO a thousand times!! I am not kidding when I say I had to do some major bribing! Once he was there, he did enjoy himself and have fun! I felt really discouraged most the year, thinking Tommy would always struggle with going to school! This year however, Tommy is doing so AWESOME! He seriously loves his teacher and runs to class every morning! His teacher is perfect for him! Over the summer I had a calming feeling Tommy would be assigned to right teacher! I am so proud of him! He is really having a great year and making so much progress with being agreeable and saying ok! Let's just say his stubbornness has gone down a notch or two!