Gratitude...November 2nd

So on Facebook lots of people are posting things they are grateful for each day during the month of November.  I'm on board with this plan...not only for myself, but for my peas.  At least, the peas that can talk, that is ;)

Mama:
Today I am grateful for the prompt response of our gas company when my neighbor & I smelled gas outside of our house this morning.  Twenty minutes after the call a very nice man showed up, found a small leak outside, and then checked the entire house to make sure all pipes & appliances were not leaking.  Last month a house in our town blew up from a natural gas leak...which mr. gas man assured me was completely bizarre, and a little strange.  And definitely would not happen with the amount that was leaking outside of our house.

Also grateful for the daily company of said neighbor walking to & from school.  Sadly, she's moving soon.  To Texas.  The irony.

And lastly grateful for the impromptu family bike ride down the trail to Luci's school.  Luci rode her bike, Gus rode his, and I rode mine with Hugh in the bike trailer.  We had fun riding, playing at the school playground, and even riding up the hill on the way home.

Luci:
"Um....my new math book at school."  Apparently they finished the first math workbook (she brought it home today).  

Gus:  
"The superheros in this book."  Which was actually a Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  He had picked out little Captain America & Batman Lego figurines.  I'm strategically planning to introduce Lego's this Christmas, so the timing is good :)

Hugh:
If he could talk, I think he'd tell me thanks for the addition of the snack trap into his life.  He's a big fan.

 showing off her accomplishments from the morning kindergarten Halloween party!

 don't let his handsome face fool ya.  if he could, he'd say, "seriously.  enough with the stroller!"  instead he makes the most annoying noise in the world at the top of his lungs to express his displeasure.

 this one was T.I.R.E.D.  and just a leeeeettle bit grumpy.

he soon looked like this!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

For the last four years we've gone to the Oil Ranch in Texas to get our pumpkins.  It was a bit of a tradition & I was quite worried about finding a place to live up to the pumpkin patch hype in Luci's mind.

I need not have worried.

I was on the lookout for a pumpkin patch up north so we could talk our fabulous Aunt Krista (Uncle Todd was on a big golfing trip) the Great into enjoying the day with us (they live north of Denver, we live south).  Enter, Anderson Farms, right in The Great's town.

Clay liked this sign...

Fear the goat!  Go Navy!

The top of tire mountain with Aunt Krista the Great!

The happiest Hugh was all day...staying put in a stroller for hours was not his idea of fun.  

My girl is ALL ABOUT the face paint.  

A heart rainbow for her (big shock), and a 'Broncos' for Gus.

 Riding in the barrel train...pulled by a riding lawn mower!

Pumpkin Chunkin!

Good thing Dad is strong.  Gus slept the entire wait (a long, long, wait) for the hayride to the pumpkin patch.

Hugh fussed.  A.LOT.

So while Dad & Aunt Krista took the big kids to find pumpkins, I stayed with Hugh...who finally gave up & went to sleep!

training wheels no more!

aaaaand....we have a bike rider!!  luci has been anxious to get rid of her training wheels for over a year now but her dad & i just didn't think she was quite ready.  part of the issue was the size of her bike...it's a good, quality bike, but it is a larger scale (16 inch I think?) and it was difficult for her to handle it well enough to figure out the balance part.

in fact, those training wheels have caused us so much angst that when we decided to get G his big boy bike we went for a pedal-less balance bike.  training wheels actually provide negative training and we didn't really want to go through all that again.  it turned out to be a great decision - g loves his balance bike, the 'lil rock't', & it only took him about a week to get the balance part down.  

AND more importantly to this post, someone else loved it too...his big sissy.  g's bike was small enough that she could get a good handle on it & work on the balance part.  after less than a month of begging gus to ride his bike on a daily basis, she's now mastered HER bike WITH pedals WITHOUT training wheels, thanks to lots of patience on dad's part and sharing on g's part.  

it's hard to get photos of a girl on the move!

i literally get dizzy watching her ride in circles on the driveway!

 WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU BIG GIRL!!

next up?

working on the brakes so we can tackle the hills we'll face as soon as we leave the driveway!

as for g?

he's taken to 'off-roading'.

i see lots of mountain biking with Dad in his future.

boots, belts, bikes, & brows

my little man...

he's all about being a 'worker man'.

or a 'big daddy'.

or a 'super hero with super powders'.

he pretty much never leaves home without his boots that are three sizes too small.

and the latest addition?  his belt.  it's "like uncle ben's.  and daddy's."

when given a choice of activity he'll pick his bike pretty much every time.

yes, he was posing for this photo.  

the girl smiles & tries to look pretty.  

the little man?  he tries to look as manly and tough as possible.

and his brows are rarely un-furrowed these days.

his voice is always stern & gruff.

i'm pretty sure he's in 'big man' character most of the time.  

i have the most difficult time writing about him.  he's complex.  
so eager to be a big man, yet so sensitive & loving at the same time.

he is, without question, my biggest challenge right now.  he's turning into such his own little person, and so quickly.  i feel like i can't keep up.  he gave up his paci on 9/11 to his newborn friend baby Eliza.  our 'newly' big boy was rewarded with a big boy bike.  a week later he decided to start wearing underpants.  and has had less than a handful of accidents since.  he's decided napping isn't necessary, nor is falling asleep before 10p.

if left to his own devices for long, he literally climbs under the kitchen table & starts taking it apart.  bolts, nuts, washers & all.  

to that end, he starts pre-school next week.  

he will be the youngest, but i'm pretty sure he won't be the least mature.

this one...

is into every.thing.

but mama is still his favorite thing.  if mama is within reach, he's reach-in.
and mama is not complain-in.

i know i'm her mama

but isn't she stunning?

my lu

time to play catch up a bit.  to say the last 6 months have been busy ones would be an understatement...but i really don't have much of an excuse anymore, other than i'm out of the habit of blogging.  

my lu is turning into quite the young little lady.  she no long resembles a toddler or preschooler in anyway.  she's wearing size 6 slim jeans and size small or even medium girls shirts (6/7).  although she is still a big fan of 12-24 month socks...the girl has a hard time with socks.

she's doing really well at kindergarten.  we leave about 8:15 each day, and walk the 7-10 minutes to school.  at 8:30a she goes in, and at 11:35a she comes back out, usually with a big smile on her face.  last week she came home & informed us she had 'the most mountain lion roars.'  the meadow view elementary school mascot is the mountain lion, and r(esect)o(n-task)a(chieve)r(esponsible) is the acronym that details the positive behavior support matrix.  and apparently her behavior is quite positive!!  she came home with a rubber/plastic little bracelet that said ROAR and a free kids meal coupon from chick-fil-a.  have i mentioned we are doing our part to support chick-fil-a & the hoblob lately?!?!  (as if i need yet another a reason.)

luci has been invited to several birthday parties and seems to be doing well making friends.  blythe, lily, tenley & grace seem to be the names mentioned most frequently.  the monkey bars are THE.IT.THING. to do at recess.  back in september we got a call from her school letting us know there had been an accident & she had fallen onto her face whilst playing on said monkey bars.  a quick trip to the er confirmed we were just dealing with two black eyes, a bruised nose and a cut lip.  more to come on that story later.  but she was fine.  at the er she informed us that just the day before she had made it ALL.THE.WAY. across said monkey bars.  clay & i were skeptical as we'd seen little evidence that she was capable of such a feat, but sure enough we saw it with our own eyes tonight.  you go girl!!!

in her free time the girl is a drawing & coloring fool.  she gets homework sent home on tuesday & thursday...she sits right down at the counter & takes care of her business...then usually asks for more.  she draws 20-30 pictures a day...and i'm not exaggerating.  she's forever asking, 'what should i draw next?'  she's quite the little artist. and thanks to aunt krista the great, she's also a budding photographer.  

she's incredibly helpful with hugh & gus.  her face seriously lights up when she spies them in the pick-up crowd after school.  and when the boys' wake up from their afternoon naps she genuinely seems to have missed them.  

she still has a few sensory issues.  socks continue to be a challenge.  jeans are all right provided they have no tags & the little internal belt thing is cinched tight & tucked back into itself. 

she's a great eater...she likes her veggies, fruit, protein & grandpa bread.  as well as a good treat!  never seen her turn down a baked good...just like her mama.

overall she's a joy.  kind, a little spunky, and big-hearted.  her mama & dad are very proud of the young lady she is becoming :)

showing hugh the map...

 awesome shot courtesy of aunt krista the great...

ouch.  those monkey bars can gItcha.

 we helped Grandma celebrate 70 wonderful years...just a few days late :)

 new boots...a birthday gift from Aunt Baylee!

 working on her camera skills...lots of self portraits...

well green lantern is fun

scene:  5 minutes prior we said good-bye to Uncle Sunidh, Asher & Lila.  sitting at kitchen table eating breakfast.

luci:  [big, sad sigh]
mama:  what's wrong lu?
luci:  i miss asher. 
mama:  i know.  you guys had tons of fun, didn't you?  he's a good friend and cousin.  was it nice to have someone to play in the basement with?
luci:  [sad nod yes of the head]
gus (wearing a green lantern costume):  well green lantern is fun.  green lantern can play in the basement with you sissy.
mama:  yes, sissy, green lantern is fun, isn't he?
luci:  [a patronizing slight nod of the head yes, as in, i guess.]

what's he gonna do with that waffle?

said Clay one morning.  In my absent minded attempt at multi-tasking I mistakenly left an entire, in tact, toasted waffle on Hugh's tray.  I said, "Huh?  Um, looks like he's gonna eat it!"  Unfortunately for our third born, that's pretty much how I roll these days...I discover he's ready for new things either a- by accident, or b-at an attempt to appease him (aka get him to stop screeching).  Method a has brought on blueberries, cheerios, cheese, and Goldfish...btw...all things he found on the floor courtesy of Gus' lunch.  Method b includes a giant pretzel from the Target concession area, pizza, french toast, and french fries.  I know you're all impressed by my clean floors & nutritional values.  Go ahead & judge...just keep it to yourself thankyouverymuch.  ;)

cutest baby since...

gus, i think ;)

these photos are over a month old but i still wanted to document them.  isn't he adorable?  people comment on his bright blue eyes almost everywhere we go.  and see that little curl?  certainly don't want to forget about that! 

the glamour girl

sporting her birthday panda shirt from uncle keith & aunt lee, as well as an angry bird birthday band-aid from grandma & grandpa.  no, she didn't really have a boo-boo there.  till we ripped the band-aid off, that is.

su-per, su-per, su-per-man!

"you need saving, mama?"  he takes his super hero duties seriously.

the littlest pea

isn't he precious?  a bit messy, but precious nonetheless!