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.