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? :)