Merry Christmas to All!!

Holiday Greetings to all of you! We had a wonderful Christmas together and hope that you did, too.

Our Christmas festivities started out with attending Connor's Christmas program at Second Friends. The pics didn't turn out that well, but he did a fantastic job playing the part of a horse at the manger scene. Here's one picture of our little star with Mommy and Daddy when the show was over. Grandpa and Lori, Aunt Sarah, Cara, Collin, and Uncle Jordan were also on hand to watch Connor's performance, and it was so special to have them there!!

We departed that next Wednesday morning for North Carolina, where we spent 4 days with the Carlson family. The kids were real troopers on both flights and had a great time playing with Drew, Amy, and Beth. This was our family's first time to meet Amy and Beth, and boy, are they PRECIOUS! Both of the kids loved "the babies" and also spent a great deal of time running around and around Justin and Mary's house with Drew. Anything that you might envision coming along with 5 young children in one house was a reality for us, and we are grateful to Justin and Mary for opening their home for our celebration. Highlights of our time included a trip to Chuckie Cheese to celebrate Drew's third birthday, and carousel rides and watching the "singing bears" at the local mall. We all enjoyed the time with Grandpa and Grandma Carlson, and had some great Christmas gifts to bring home with us. By the time we left, we were almost pros at telling the girls apart, so the trip was a success (they are pictured above--Amy on the left in the light pink and Beth on the right in the darker pink)!! :)

We arrived back home in Liberty on Christmas Eve afternoon, after a bit of a trying trip. Kylee started vomiting right before we left North Carolina, and continued heaving as we sat at baggage claim waiting for our suitcases at KCI. The poor thing held together well, and Mommy and Daddy were happy to shed their vomit-soaked clothes once we walked back into the house. :)

We then celebrated with Uncle Craig and Grandpa Haneke and once again ate too much. Jordan and the Milne crew were able to join us for an evening of food and fun, which was special for us all. We hit the Plaza for some after-Christmas shopping, which was fun, especially since the weather is so nice here. We look forward to another Christmas celebration with the McKinney crew this weekend.

Connor keeps asking "Is Christmas over?"--he's one lucky boy to have a celebration that spans more than a week!! He keeps asking to open more presents--Brandon and I have laughed about how frustrated God must get with us when we keep asking for more as we stand surrounded by more than we know what to do with already!! We have tried talking with him about being thankful for what he already has, and he does a pretty good job for being four.

Here are some pics of the kids celebrating with family and enjoying their loot. We hope this finds you all doing well!!

Thanks, Grandpa!!

These past couple of weeks have been busy ones for us. The holiday hustle and bustle has definitely set in, but we are having a great time! I am writing this post on a Tuesday, which is possibly the most exciting news of all. What news and why, you ask? This means that I am DONE with clinicals at Jewell for the semester! It is so nice to have things wrapped up. Now I am working on getting my Assessment course up and running--it's my "bread and butter" of all my work at Jewell, so I am excited about that starting up in early January.

We've had some additional (and probably more significant) exciting news in our family--we found out a couple weeks ago that Brandon is the recipient of DST's Gould Award for his division of the company. This is an award given to an associate who models innovation and creates money-saving processes or ideas for the company. Brandon built a self-service website from the ground up that has saved him and his co-workers a great deal of time and hassle, thereby saving money and resources. It will be a great resume builder for him as he continues his career at DST. Congratulations, Brandon!!

Grandpa Carlson flew out last weekend to spend some quality time with the grandkids while Mommy and Daddy went out to celebrate their 7th wedding anniversary. Connor and Kylee had a great time playing with "Pa-Pa", and Connor even got new bunk-beds assembled while Grandpa was here to help Daddy with the project. We enjoyed an evening away with a nice dinner out and an overnight stay at the Hyatt down by Crown Center (if you haven't ever tried priceline.com to get reduced hotel rates, we'd highly recommend it!). It's hard to believe that it's been 7 years already--we feel so blessed to have shared our lives with each other. We both got pretty emotional watching our wedding footage--both because of our commitment to each other and because of all of the support we've received from our friends and family. God has been so good to us and we look forward to celebrating 100 more together! :)

I took Kylee to storytime at the library yesterday. This is our special time together while Connor is at school. She loves to pick out books and do the craft, but is generally uninterested in participating in any of the other storytime activities. We sing songs, shake a parachute, dance, and play musical instruments, during which Kylee stays firmly glued to my lap. The interesting part is that as soon as we get home, she begins belting out whatever tune she refused to sing at the library. Amazing. I'm going to keep trying in the hopes that someday, she'll jump in. Here's a picture of the reindeer that she made yesterday.

We had a great time last night hosting the Chase/Blakemore/Carlson Christmas at our house. We all gathered together and ate, laughed, and watched the kiddos tear into their packages. Connor was thrilled with new swim trunks and flip-flops (if you recall the Elmo flip-flops that Connor wore until his feet literally hung off the back of them a good couple inches, but still had a meltdown when we told him they were too small, you know how exciting this was for him to get a new pair) from the Chases and a new Batman from the Blakemores. Kylee received a My Little Pony from the Blakemores, and a new Ariel swimsuit and sandals from the Chases. The Blakemores also gave us "Ants in Your Pants", a fun new game. We are so thankful to have such wonderful friends!!

We will be preparing for our big trip to North Carolina over the next week. We are excited to see Justin, Mary, Drew, Amy, and Beth!! This will be the first time we meet our nieces/cousins in person. We will spend a few days out there catching up and eating way too much before coming back to Kansas City to celebrate the holidays with the Haneke and McKinney families.

As you may have noticed, there are several pictures of Kylee on this post and not many of Connor. Connor has entered that lovely "I don't want my picture taken" phase of life again. Hopefully he'll snap out of it soon.

We hope this finds you all doing well and enjoying your holiday season. More to come....

Hooray for Snow Days!!

Yesterday was an ugly day. Ice started pouring out of the sky yesterday afternoon (unforunately right when the kids and I had to leave to go pick up our neighbors from the airport). I had a terrifying experience driving our neighbor's huge suburban in the midst of an ice storm. It wouldn't have been so bad, except our two precious little ones were in the back seat (the thought of wrecking and causing them harm almost pushed me over the edge). We fishtailed several times and spun halfway around in the midst of the interstate once (thank goodness there were no cars around us). I am NOT a bad weather driver. Thank goodness I married a man who is, and in the future, I will not venture out in bad weather without him in the driver's seat. God is very good and we arrived at the airport safely. I was very glad to crawl into the back seat with the kiddos and let our neighbor navigate our way back to Liberty.

However, as a result of this same storm, today has been an AWESOME day. Over the past couple months, it seems like we've been running constantly...but today we've been forced to stay indoors, my meetings have been cancelled, and we've enjoyed some really great time together (unfortunately for Brandon, corporate America doesn't have snow days).

Everything outside is covered in a sheet of ice. Therefore, we've had to entertain ourselves indoors. I have had the BEST time watching our kids play together. They chase each other, giggle a lot, and occasionally wrestle around on the floor. I've been able to catch up on some things from work, make my grocery list, and put the finishing touches on our Christmas decorating. We didn't even get out of our pajamas until 11:00 this morning. I fixed the kids waffles for lunch with Christmas music blaring in the background. It's the best!!

These days are the greatest because they're a completely unexpected break from the normal daily routine. On top of that, you couldn't really accomplish anything even if you wanted to, because everything is shut down.

Connor did venture outside, claiming that he wanted to "see if it was really freezing outside". He donned his winter coat, hat, gloves, and Spiderman snowboots (was he in heaven or what?) before going out in the backyard. He tromped around for about 5 minutes and then came back inside reporting "Mommy, it is REALLY FREEZING out there." Kylee donned Mommy's boots for awhile this morning, but eventually, trying to navigate in shoes that are 12 sizes too big became more frustration than fun. :) She took Connor's word for it that it really was freezing outside. We all enjoyed hot chocolate with extra marshmallows together.

Hooray for snow days!!

Our Turkey Day

Hello! If you're reading this, we can assume that you too have survived your Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time with the Carlsons in Lindsborg on Thanksgiving Day, and then got to go on to Great Bend to be with the Haneke/McKinney children crowd on Friday and Saturday. The kids had a great time playing with each other and with family, and Dad and Mom actually found some time to relax and enjoy conversation with family.

The Thanksgiving in Great Bend was certainly different without Grandma. We had some extra folks join us for our big meal, so the hole wasn't quite as noticeable as it might have been otherwise. We certainly missed her special touch and knack for making everything come together just right, but Grandpa and Craig are plugging along and making the best of a rough situation. It was amazing how she was there with us as we all gathered together. I teared up as we turned down the drive to their house--it's painful to see the place where so many memories have been made and know that she's not there anymore, but it was actually a comfort to step inside and see that even though she wasn't physically present, Grandma was emotionally present in all that we did. As I scrubbed dishes and helped stir gravy, I knew that Grandma and Mom were happy that we all came together as a family. Christmas will be hard--it was both women's favorite holiday--but I hope to draw strength from their legacies and make the season extra merry and bright in their memory.

Prior to leaving town for Thanksgiving, we had the distinct pleasure of watching Connor as he participated in Second Friends' Thanksgiving Celebration. He and his class sang songs and fixed a delicious snack of muffins, fruit salad, and popcorn that we all enjoyed together. Connor did a FANTASTIC job of singing and did the majority of the motions for each song, too. He was dressed up like a little Indian and looked absolutely adorable. We were so proud of him and thankful to be a part of his first school program. Here are a couple pics of him singing and us together as a family prior to diving into our snacks.

It was great day at home for us today--we decorated for Christmas and the kids had a great time helping. We did have to take some liberties as we decorated to allow them to utilize their own creative approaches for embellishing things. For example, Connor thought that the nativity scene wasn't complete without Lightning McQueen and Mater attending the Christ child's birth right alongside Mary and Joseph (see picture). As Connor was playing with his own nativity scene, he drove Mater around to the front of the stable and bellowed "Jesus, open the gates!". Brandon and I laughed hard at the thought of our Savior paving the way for Mater to enter into the Holiest of moments (nevermind the fact that He was an infant at that time and would probably not have even been physically able to open the gates by Himself--maybe Mater would have done better to employ the help of the angel or the donkey).

When we were picking up Connor from school today, Kylee asked where we were going. I replied "We're picking up Connor from school". She then said "Connor, my friend?" I said "Yes--is Connor your friend?". She said "Connor is my best friend--I love him". Awww. She's in a stage of a thousand questions--"Where's Daddy?" "Where's Mommy?" "What happened?". It would be really cute except for the fact that she asks these sorts of questions approximately a thousand times. Therefore, it's cute for the first 12 times, but after that, it starts to lose its luster. Good thing for that absolutely adorable smile!!

At the Carlson Thanskgiving, we were asked to share what we were most thankful for. I am thankful that our children have wonderful grandparents and great-grandparents, and that we have not just one, but several families to celebrate holidays with. I am thankful for my amazing husband and his patience, wisdom, encouragement, and kindness. I am thankful for two beautiful, healthy children who are growing more and more each day and forcing me to grow right along with them. I am thankful for God's grace and unconditional love.

And, I'm thankful for folks like you who take the time to read and look at what is happening in our corner of the world. :)

Our Two (Not-So) Little Hearts

Those of you that know me well know that I am certainly NOT the kind of person that wishes their children would hurry up and grow and get into school so that I can go on with my life. No, sir. The days pass so quickly for me and I almost panic when I think about both of my kids being away from me all day at kindergarten. This is not because I don't want to watch them flourish, but because the majority of the time, I LOVE being with my kids. Now, don't get me wrong, I will love having time alone with my husband, but I have already cried on a couple of occasions about sending my kids to college someday (pathetic, I know). Brandon jokes about starting me on medication when our oldest graduates from highschool. I come by this honestly--my mother was the same way. She was so proud of our accomplishments and always wanted us to go and do, but at the same time, she was always very connected to us and was happiest when we were together as a family. There is a quote that says "Making the decision to have a child--it's momentous. It is making the decision to forever have your heart go walking around outside your body." That sums it up for me.

I share this because this week, I once again saw how quickly things change. I just realized that our baby girl is no longer a baby. Now, logic would tell you that due to the fact that she is two years old, she hasn't been a baby for a long time. However, watching her this week, she just seems so BIG!! She has grown into her 2T clothes and is fitting into the footie pajamas that I once looked at and thought "Wow, it will be awhile before she grows into these!".

I went into our baby's room this morning to get her out of bed. As I looked at her, it was almost as if she'd grown overnight. Really. She looked HUGE in her crib--almost as if she is too big for it (we've been talking about converting it to a toddler bed, but neither Mommy or Daddy has made the move to make it official yet). She heralded me into her room this morning by yelling "Mom! Dad!" as if she were a teenager who was irritated that her parents weren't responding RIGHT AWAY, which only added to the feeling of her being older. Could this possibly be our youngest?

As I carry her, I see how long her legs are. She is proportioned like a little girl--not even really a toddler. Good thing she still has the attitude of a two year old...it reminds me that maybe she's not growing as fast as it seems. :) I took her with me to a faculty meeting this week up at Jewell. She hopped up in the middle of the meeting and started announcing (all too loudly, of course) "Mommy, I want to go home!". She kept repeating it until finally, when my duties were done, we left. Thankfully, I work with women, most of whom find that kind of thing cute.

Our son is growing, too. He can now fully dress himself (let me just tell you how wonderful it is to say "Connor, here are your clothes, now please get dressed" and to turn around 5 minutes later and find that he's ready to go!) and has started writing letters. He writes really well for a little guy, and has even learned how to write his name and spell it correctly. We've found that he likes to look at a computer keyboard, find a certain letter, and then write it on paper. In the last couple days, he's figured out how to type his name on the computer. Granted, most of his handwritten letters are backwards, but he definitely has the idea right. He sometimes gets frustrated and says "I give up!" when he can't make letters right. We try to coach him, but find that it's better to let him cool off a bit and then try it again on his own terms. Given that Brandon and I are both fairly easily frustrated when something doesn't turn out like we want it to, it's no surprise that our son is this way, too. It's pretty humbling to watch him exhibit the same behaviors we do.

This week, we will attend his class Thanksgiving Celebration at Second Friends. We'll be sure to post pictures. He seems to really be coming out of his shell at school. When I picked him up on Wednesday, his teacher's comment to me was "Wow, he sure had a lot of energy today!". Was that code for "Wow, he was a real handful today"? I don't know. :)

We have also enjoyed watching the movie Cars this week. It is really cute (and that is something for me to say given that we've watched it a MINIMUM of 10 times in the last week). Connor and Kylee both like Mater best, with Lightning McQueen coming in a close second. We especially like to dance to the "Life is A Highway" song that plays towards the beginning of the film. Daddy generally refrains from joining in, but Connor, Kylee, and I have a good time grooving together.

Tomorrow, our church will celebrate its 6th birthday. It's hard to believe that we have been attending services there for 6 years! We recently found out that we will not be breaking ground on our new building this spring as originally planned. It is difficult for us to be patient, but in the end, we know it's the responsible thing to do and are glad to be part of a financially reasonable entity. Please pray for North Star as we vision for our future and dream about the possibilities that lie ahead for us as a congregation. Brandon recently wrapped up his tenure as the chair of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee. He did a great job mediating in some difficult situations. It will be interesting to see what he gets asked to do next!!

All of these milestones are pretty exciting, and maybe a little bit painful, as we watch the ones that we love grow right before our eyes. I feel as if I'm going to blink my eyes and our kids will have turned into teenagers (at which point I'll probably wish I could blink my eyes and send them to college-ha ha!!). I am so thankful to get to be a part of their everyday lives!!

The Hidden Picaso

When your kids are screaming at the top of their lungs, running through the house, and crashing around with their toys, it can be annoying. But, as anyone with kids knows from experience, it's the times when they're quiet that worry you far more. A few weeks ago Lindsey made a discovery that was a prime example of this fact. It's been a while, so my memory is a little fuzzy, but here's essentially what happened...

Connor had started playing by himself in his room more often lately, and that was great. He's got his trains, his piano, lots of books, and no little sister in there. However, one particular day when he'd been playing quietly in his room for quite a while, Lindsey went to check on him. Connor had that "busted" look on his face, but she couldn't see right then what he'd been busted for. A few days later, she was putting laundry away and hit the jackpot --- our little blonde Picaso had been creating a mural on the back wall of his closet with crayons!

Connor was duly scolded and told that he was not to color on the walls anymore, but we couldn't help but be proud (when he wasn't watching, of course) of the quality of his drawing. Here are a couple pictures of the afore-mentioned illegal mural - you can plainly see the pirate ship on the water with one pirate on the top mast, as well as some birds and rocks. If he asks, he is never to color on the walls again, but we haven't removed his original work from the wall yet...it makes us smile too much. ;)

Fall Festivities

It's 9:20 pm and all is quiet at the Carlson house. We've had an insanely busy week so far, so the quiet is very welcome. It is a balmy 67 degrees outside, so I'm sitting here typing with the office window open. I love it!

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating. Kylee wore out fairly quickly, but Connor hung in for the duration. He did a great job of saying "trick-or-treat" at each stop--a far cry from a couple years ago when he wouldn't dare to even look directly at a stranger. Above is a pic of the kids with Daddy has they get ready to start trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.

Since Halloween, we've been busy with school, work, and just life in general. Today we had our first playdate with some friends of Connor's from school, Noah and Jacie. He had a great time running around the park with his new buddies after we all enjoyed a picnic lunch together. He is doing so well at Second Friends--I went and helped with his Fall Party last week and it was incredible to watch him relate to his classmates and teachers--he is learning to be a bit more outgoing (here are some pictures of Connor with some of his classmates and with Mrs. Tiffani, the assistant teacher for his class). Mrs. Amy, his lead teacher, told us that he is starting to talk a lot more and "really come out of his shell". I am excited about that, but then I also get nervous--will he decide to talk about something embarrassing? Who knows. Speaking of embarrassment, we had our first confrontation with Mommy/Daddy public displays of affection a couple weeks ago--Brandon gave me a quick hug and kiss one evening while we were watching TV together, and Connor promptly piped up and said "Daddy, that's disgusting!". Let the games begin.

Kylee is doing well, also. Her speech is incredible and clear about 75% of the time. She does a good job of "using her words", and you can almost carry on a conversation with her (as long as her attention span will allow you to). She is starting to get into babies, but still prefers trucks, Play-Doh, puzzles, and coloring to all the pink frilly stuff. She is absolutely ADORABLE, which has saved her life on many occasions (the book "The Strong Willed Child" is currently on hold waiting for us to pick it up from the library). She works hard to keep up with the big kids and does a pretty good job most of the time. She is a riot and keeps us all laughing (when we're not trying to discipline her). ;)

In a couple recent posts, I have mentioned that sibling rivalry has reared its ugly head around our house. We were driving along the other day, and I looked in the backseat to see Connor and Kylee holding hands. I had to snap a picture of it (not the safest thing to do when you're driving, but hey) because the moment really touched me. The kids take such good care of each other, and I hope that their relationship stays strong as they grow up. I know that my brother and sister have been such a source of joy and comfort to me, and I hope that our kids can find strength in each other's company for years to come. One of our greatest joys as parents is watching the two of them play together and really get to giggling. Then there are quieter moments like these, which are no less precious. What a gift!!

We hope this picture will encourage you to squeeze the hand of someone that you love today. :)

Trick-or-Treat Mania!!

This weekend held lots of fun for us as we took Batman and Bedtime Bear to a few pre-Halloween festivities. Initially, Kylee wasn't too sure about donning the Care Bear costume, but she jumped into the swing of things very quickly when she realized that candy was at stake (you can see her delight when holding up her pumpkin in the photo). Smart girl!

Both kids put their costumes on for the first time Friday afternoon to go trick-or-treating at Uncle Jordan's office in downtown Kansas City. They had a great time gathering candy, and thought Uncle Jordan's office (a gigantic mailroom!) was really cool, too. It was fun to meet Jordan's colleagues, several of whom commented about how happy they are to have Jordan as part of the team at Fleischman-Hillard.

Saturday afternoon, we celebrated cousin Cara's third birthday at a purple princess party. Connor and Kylee thought that her presents were really cool!! I was there when Cara was born three years ago--it made Aunt Lindsey a little teary to reflect back on that amazing morning when our very special niece came into the world!

On Saturday evening, we went to Scott and Trena's house for a rockin' Halloween party. The kids had a great time playing with their friends (some of which are pictured here around the dinner table--Claire Chase (a witch), Georgia (Princess Fiona from Shrek), Bailey (a ladybug) and Connor). The Chases have a cool wooded area out behind their house, so Connor had a great time running around in the dark trees in his stealth Batman costume. We ate, chatted, roasted s'mores, and had a wonderful time.

Our weekend was capped off by our trunk-or-treat at church. The kids walked from car to car collecting goodies from fellow church members who generously decorated their trunks and handed out candy. You can see Connor and Georgia posing together after they'd finished gathering their loot. The weather was beautiful--a perfect day for ghosts and goblins!

Hope you enjoy these pictures. We have Connor's fall party at school today, and of course, Halloween itself, so there are more pictures to come.

Happy Haunting!

My, How Time Flies!!

Happy Thursday, All!!

This week has been a busy, but fun one for our family. Brandon took Monday off of work so that we could all go to the pumpkin patch with Connor's preschool class. Unfortunately, the trip was cancelled due to bad weather, but we all enjoyed a day together at home, and even managed to get our laundry room painted (we went with a blue-gray color--it's pretty cool!).

This week has been great because I didn't have clinicals on Tuesday. The extra day at home was SO NICE and I've really enjoyed the time with the kids. :)

Connor, Kylee, and I did end up going to Hobbs' Pumpkin Patch on Wednesday. The weather wasn't much better, but we had a good time anyway. I didn't bring the camera because I was fairly sure that the trip would be cancelled again, but, of course, we went, and I am without pictures of the big event. We spent most of our time trying to stay warm, so maybe the pictures wouldn't have been all that exciting, anyway. Connor and Kylee both got pumpkins, which they were pumped about.

It was really great for me to see Connor's class interacting with one another. It is amazing how tiny and yet how mature three and four year olds are!! They looked so cute filing onto the Second Friends bus to ride out to the patch--parents followed along in a "mini-van caravan". I shed a tear or two in honor of our son's first field trip, and also because I am so thankful that I was able to share in that moment with him. My working part-time at William Jewell has been such a blessing for our family--it allows me to keep my foot in the door professionally while still getting to spend the majority of my days at home with Connor and Kylee. I was actually supposed to be in a special project meeting at work on Wednesday morning, but when I explained the field-trip situation to the project leader, she said "Go with your son. You don't get those pumpkin patch moments back". What a blessing!!

When we got home, there were packages waiting for us on the porch, which makes our children's day like nothing else. We unwrapped lots of Halloween goodies from Grandpa and Grandma Carlson and the kids have played lots and lots with the new treasures. :)

Kylee also received a new pink winter coat, which she was excited about. It's so fun to have a little girl who actually gets excited about clothes. Connor thinks it's the worst trick ever to disguise clothes as presents, but Kylee actually pulls everything out and "oohs and aahs" over each item. So cute!

Cold weather has definitely set in and the skies have been gray here for most of the week. Connor has commented on how pretty the leaves are--the reds and golds are coming out in full force. We had tomato soup (otherwise known as "orange soup") and grilled cheese for dinner on Tuesday night to celebrate the changing seasons. Connor has started helping me cook and bake--he's learned how to run the mixer by himself and has become quite the little chef. It's something fun for he and I to do together. His wife is going to be a very lucky woman if this trend continues! ;)

Mommy will be heading out of town this weekend to go spend some time with the "510 Spring" crowd in Springfield, MO. Jennifer, Dana, Heather, and I were all roomies our senior year of college (our duplex was 510 Spring Avenue, hence the name). We get together a couple times a year and "fill our tanks" with lots of girl time and chatting. Say a prayer for Brandon as he holds the fort down here in Liberty!! :)

I decided to post these pictures as a reminder of how quickly time flies. These were taken almost exactly two years apart. My, how things have changed. It is nice to have graduated out of the lugging the carseat and every-three hour feeding stage of life, but as we forge into preschooler/toddlerhood, the challenges are, well, challenging. Kylee continues to assert herself as only she can ("My juice all gone (accompanied by a great cry of despair)!" "Would you like Mommy to get you more?" "DON'T WANT IT!!" (throws herself down on the couch). Connor is learning how to defend himself against his sister ("Really, Connor, you don't have to just sit there while she pounds you over the head with a full sippy"), and is also at the stage where I feel like I have to give instructions 80 times ("Please get dressed." "Please get dressed." "PLEASE GET DRESSED!!!"). They fight over important things like who gets to pick what movie we watch and who gets to turn the TV off....it brings back childhood memories for Brandon and I.

They look like such angels when they're sleeping, don't they? :)

Picture Perfect

Just in case you didn't believe Connor when he said he didn't smile in his school pictures, here's proof. He claims that he was "too nervous to smile when he was getting his picture taken". :)

More details on the K-State experience...

As Linds mentioned below, here is the scoop on the K-State experience...

Last week we received a call from Uncle Jim and Aunt Marsha asking if we would like to use their two extra tickets to the K-State/Oklahoma State game on 10/7. We were excited about the prospect of a fun day out (and yes, Lindsey was excited about a KSU game), and made a few calls to arrange someone to watch the kids. Unfortunately, Kylee came down sick late in the week, so our plans had to change. While we were both disappointed that Lindsey would not be able to go (she was staying home with Kylee), that left an opportunity for Connor to come along instead.

He was a champ!

It was a long drive to Manhattan, but he sat quietly and patiently in his seat, coloring and snacking on raisins. When we got to the stadium, he stared around wide-eyed at all the "K-State flags" showing the powercat, and he was especially taken with the big purple "wildcat bus". We ate a quick BBQ lunch in the parking lot, then went into the stadium. After we found our seats, Connor perched and watched the pre-game activities with great excitement. He was elated to see Willie the Wildcat come out in pirate garb, and was fascinated by the band. As the game went on, he periodically asked to use the binoculars Uncle Jim gave us, so he was definitely interested in looking around. Since he was constantly adjusting them back and forth, I'm not sure how much he actually saw through them, but he certainly seemed to think they were cool.

Throughout the game, Connor was particularly intent on keeping track of Willie, and asked me every few minutes where he was, so I would point him out. He especially liked it when KSU scored, since Willie was lifted up on a platform to do pushups right down in front of us. As the game drew to an intense and exciting close (KSU came from behind to win 31-27 on a last-minute defensive stand in the end zone), Connor was very patient as Daddy jumped up and down and cheered with the rest of the crowd, and several times was whisked off his feet to take part in the jumping and cheering. He looked just a bit nervous with all the noise and excitement right there at the end, but he still wanted to watch what was happening - it's tough to see when you're only 3 feet tall!

After the game was over, Connor announced that he "really liked the Wildcats", and that maybe someday when he got bigger he could play football for K-State. Boy, is that what Daddy wants to hear, or what?? I guess it pays to start 'em early!

We stopped for chicken and fries on the way home (never mind that we had his previously unfinished chicken and fries from lunch still in the cooler), and all was right with the world.

So, thanks a bunch to Jim and Marsha for allowing us to create such a special memory! It was a great experience - Daddy loved it, and Connor seemed to have a lot of fun, too. Hopefully next time Mommy and Kylee can come along, and we'll make it a family affair! :)

Football, Fevers, and Jumping for Joy

Here it is, Thursday afternoon, and this week has been a long one. I had always thought that if God chose to give us a child with serious health concerns, we could handle it. This week has been an example of how well God knows our limits and our hearts--Kylee has been battling an infection since last Tuesday and it has worn us out!

She started with a low-grade fever, which eventually progressed into a significant fever, which progressed to a high fever with an enlarged cervical lymph node. Suffice it to say that when I sat in the Children's Mercy Urgent Care center with her on Saturday afternoon (after hearing that she had 104.6 temperature), it was not one of my proudest moments. I should have taken her in earlier, but, being a nurse, I thought if we waited one more day, things would clear up...I dread visits to the Doctor's office where they look at you like you're crazy and then tell you that your child has a simple upper-respiratory infection (this is a rather large pride issue for me having been trained as a Nurse Practitioner). However, one more time, I learned that pride is dangerous--especially when it comes to the health of our children. We are now officially 6 days into our 10 day course of antibiotics. No more fever and a little bit better coutnenance on all of our parts is making life much easier. I have an AMAZING amount of respect for parents who deal with ill children as part of their every day lives. What a blessing happy, healthy children are! Thank goodness God knows better than I do what I am capable of handling.

We did have an exciting first in our family last weekend--Brandon took Connor to his first ever live K-State football game (thanks to Aunt Marsha and Uncle Jim generously offering two tickets to attend the game along with them!). I will not write in-depth about it, because I know Brandon is anxious to share the experience with all of you. It was a special occasion to be sure.

We pulled out our Halloween decorations early this week, and Connor caught a fever of a different sort--holiday fever. He is excited to go trick-or-treating and has already worn out the Toys R Us catalog showing us what all he'd like for Christmas. We're going to work hard teaching him about the true meaning of Christmas. Last year, we attempted to do this by having nightly Advent devotionals with the kids, which usually ended with Connor playing off somewhere else, Kylee fussing because it was bedtime, and me laughing because Brandon diligently kept on reading the devotional as if everyone was paying full attention. Maybe this year it will go better. :)

Watching Connor's childlike excitement about life in general is quite refreshing for me. He jumped up and down last night because we purchased Batman winter gloves for him at Target. I love it that children are so uninhibited with their emotions and that the littlest things make them jump for joy. Maybe I wouldn't be so stressed out if I took time to jump up and down every once in awhile...

Trying to be wife, mommy, nursing instructor, church member, sister, daughter, grand-daughter, friend...it gets pretty overwhelming sometimes, especially for a perfectionist like me. Watching our kids makes me realize that what the world tells us is important just really isn't. What does matter is that our kids know that Jesus loves them, and that they have parents that support them and that desire the VERY best for them in all circumstances. I need to do better about remembering that my most important role is that of God's child, and that by fulfilling that role faithfully, everything else will fall into place. Our children trust that their needs will be met regardless of how hectic life gets and they let nothing stand in the way of being joyful. Why should things be any different for grown-ups?

Therefore, I should be celebrating fever-free days and Batman winter gloves--crisp fall days, first football games, and Halloween decorations. Maybe I'll follow our son's example and do just that (I'll have to work up to the actual jumping up and down part).

Thanks to all of you who love me just the way that I am. :)

Learning and Legacies

This week has been a good one at the Carlson residence. Connor had picture day at school (after which he warned me that he "didn't smile") and Kylee has expressed mild interest in using the potty. I worked on Tuesday and had an incredibly SLOW day (only one patient in labor and just a few up on the postpartum floor--I had to be quite creative in finding learning experiences for my students!), and Brandon has been busy at work recovering from the end of quarter rush that he had last week.

We are convinced, as every good parent is, that our kids are INCREDIBLY smart and talented. Watching our children learn and explore new things is probably one of our greatest joys.

Let me share some of our latest "tricks"...

Kylee is very into counting right now. Order is of no consequence to her, but we are impressed nonetheless. Her typical counting spree goes something like "6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,9!" or "1,2,6,7,8,9!". Occasionally, she does get the order exactly right, but more often than not, the numbers come out in the orders listed above. :) Kylee has also started speaking in sentences, which has been fun. Examples: "Connor pushed me", "Winnie kissed me!", or "I want strawberry milk, please!". Kylee has also revealed a very compassionate side. When she sees a picture of someone crying in one of her books, she says "awww...he's crying!", and wants to know why that person is upset. She seems genuinely disraught in these moments and I am impressed at her ability to recognize pain in others at such a young age.

Connor is also trying out lots of new things. His speech is crystal clear, and he likes to spit out new words all the time (he incorporated the word "solution" into our conversation the other night). He is learning to write his name, and has also learned a lot about the calendar and the weather from circle time at preschool. His best trick is reciting "David and Goliath" out of his Beginners Bible. He can "read" the story verbatim and it is very cool to observe (of course, this is a trick he refuses to do when we are trying to get him to show off a bit to Grandma and Grandpa).

We spend a lot of time "playing with friends"--either in the neighborhood or with friends from church--which also provides a wealth of learning experiences for both the kids. Connor especially has become quite the social butterfly and loves to interact with other children. He will frequently wake up and declare, "I want to go to someone's house today!". We did have our first heartbreak experience last week when two little girls in the neighborhood told Connor that they didn't want to play with him or be his friend. You could tell that he didn't quite know what to do with this--he cried and couldn't understand why they didn't want to be his friends. This instantly brought out the grizzly bear in his Mommy, who wanted to drop-kick the little girls off the porch out into the cul-de-sac (I restrained because I didn't figure this would be the best way to model Christ to our son). We talked about it, and I assured Connor that he was a wonderful friend and that he had many friends who really enjoyed playing with him. Then, the moment of truth--Connor looked at me and said "but Mommy, I still want to pray for them". Then my tears started rolling. What amazing lessons our children teach us. Since then, the girls have decided that Connor is okay, and they have all played together happily again--and Brandon has informed me that I need to consult him before taking any action to avenge the tender spirit of our son (in order to avoid the aforementioned drop-kicking).

Of course, with all the excitement of the kids getting older, we are experiencing some of life's more painful lessons, too. This summer has been a difficult one for us with the passing of both Grandma Plummer and Grandma Haneke. Connor especially has tried to understand what has happened, but as you all know, the concept of death and going to be with Jesus is a difficult one for young minds to grasp. Last night, Connor noticed the locket that I wear around my neck and asked what was in there. As I showed him the picture of my Mom, he asked where she was. When I explained that she was in heaven, he asked if he could see other pictures of her. We took a few minutes and looked at some photos of Mom--a very special time for me. I am so thankful that he is interested as one of my greatest heartaches is the fact that Connor and Kylee will never know their Grandma Beth. I know, though, that both of their Great Grandmas and Grandma Beth are watching down on us, and I look forward to sharing the stories of these remarkable women with the kids as the years go by.

With everything that we've gone through this summer, I am reminded that life is short and that kindness is of the utmost importance. I hope that our children continue to desire to pray for those who have hurt them and to be interested in those that have gone before them. Saying goodbye to my Grandmas has led me to reflect on what kind of legacy I want to leave for my children..I hope it is one of joy, love, forgiveness, and compassion. I am thankful for the examples of courage and hope that these women have been, and will continue to be, to us and to our children.

Got puzzle?

For anyone wanting a bit of a mental challenge, check this out: http://n.nfshost.com/1.html

Here's a hint: the idea is to count as high as you can; you have to figure out what URL to go to next based on what you see on the current page.

Have fun!

Our Little Superheroes

Good Morning! I am excited about this new way to communicate with you all. It is more user-friendly than the webpage is (at least for me), so I'll be able to post updates more frequently and let you know what exciting things are happening on a weekly basis. So, thanks in advance for indulging me.

You know, Brandon and I at one point had believed that if we could survive the kids being 3 and 1 year old, we'd have it made from there on out (until, of course, puberty sets in). Boy, were we wrong. Connor being 4 and Kylee being 2 has brought on a wealth of new challenges and joys. A couple of recent examples for you....

We were at a playdate last week where our hostess had prepared lunch for us. At the conclusion of our meal, Connor jumped out of his seat and promptly thanked our hostess for lunch. Kylee, on the other hand, refused to say thank you. I restricted her to her booster seat until she did what I was asking her to do. I will make a long story short by saying that she sat in her booster, sat in two different time-outs, got a spanking, had an individual conference with the hostess (who generously offered to try to coax a thank you out of her when she could see how stressed I was getting), and we STILL left the house without Kylee ever saying thank you. We have met our match with our little girl, that is for sure.

Rachel once asked me "so, do you read much in considering what works and what doesn't with your kids?". I replied with great confidence that no, my nursing experience was quite helpful and outside of that, I hadn't needed to do much reading about childhood development and behavior. I am sure that somewhere, I have seen a book entitled "Raising a Strong-Willed Child". I have thought on more than one occasion lately that I should look into checking that one out from the library if I intend to survive raising our daughter with an ounce of dignity.

I have to admit, though, that as frustrating as she is sometimes, I hope that our daughter never loses her spunk. I really admire the way that she takes charge of a situation and isn't afraid of the consequences (granted, this is much more admirable at home than when we're at someone else's house). She is so joyful and it is rare for her to not have a smile on her face. Her belly laugh will make anyone chuckle right along with her. If you ask Kylee, life is just great about 95% of the time. What a good example of courage and unabashed joy she is for me--one who often worries too much about failure or what other people will think.

Connor, our eternally compliant child, is doing such a great job at preschool. I drop him off outside of his classroom where he gives me a hug and a kiss (I plan to savor that for as long as it will last) and he just marches right in to his room like it's no big deal (keep in mind that last year, his teacher had to literally peel him off of my legs and I listened to him scream bloody murder as I stood in the hallway). What a gift! He is maturing and growing by leaps and bounds and continues to be so kind and compassionate. He had a huge first last weekend at the Liberty Fall Festival. There was a pirate ship that children could play in, but the catch was that parents couldn't go with them. As you know, doing things on his own has never been Connor's forte. After watching for awhile, he decided that he wanted to go play on the pirate ship all by himself (this was no small ship, either. There were dark tunnels, stairs, and then a slide that the kids had to go down to exit). He navigated his way through the ship all by himself while we stood and watched. He had a GREAT time. I stood there with tears in my eyes watching our firstborn branch out on his own and I realized that all too soon, he won't need Mommy and Daddy there to hold his hand all the time.

One of Connor's favorite pastimes as of late is to dance. He wears a straw hat that belonged to my Grandma, turns up the music, and just goes for it with all his might. It is quite a sight. I am so proud of him for expressing himself, and it always brings a smile to my face.

Connor informed me the other day that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up (it is a good thing that he's not considering being a dancer full-time. He has definitely inherited Daddy and Mommy's inability to move and groove). Then, in the next sentence, he said that he thought that he might want to "drive an airplane like Grandpa". It struck me how wonderful it is going to be to watch him paint on the blank canvas that is his life--he has so many wonderful opportunities ahead of him, and I know he will make this world a better place. Both of our children will.

I cherish our children's everyday heroics. They teach me so much and help me to recognize even life's smallest blessings--finding the strength to be independent, trying new adventures, and sometimes just taking a minute to move and groove in a way that only you can. I am so thankful that God has blessed us with two little superheros of our very own.

Just getting started...

Well, that's about it for tonight! This blogging thing is new to us, but it seems to be a good way to let people know what we're up to, so we're going to give it a shot. Check back often!

Little Miss J...

Kylee is all 2! One of her favorite words right now is "NO!", and she likes to push boundaries. The problem is that she is so darned cute while she does it! Anyway, she loves to color (even on the walls and herself), and her vocabulary is expanding at an incredible rate. She loves to keep up with big brother and the other older kids. Here's our little munchkin at home on the swing, another favorite past-time!

Connor goes to pre-school

Connor James started pre-school this fall, and is doing great! He's one of the older kids in class, and does a great job of playing, learning, and helping. Miss Amy has said very good things about him, and we're really proud of how he's doing! Way to go, Con-man!!!

First blog message...!

More info coming soon...!