Life Lately

Our schedules have been jam packed lately and while it has been full of fun things, it has been a little crazier than I prefer.  I think I better get used to it though, because the fall calendar is getting very busy very fast.  In between all the meetings, extra curricular activities, social events, and daily grind my two children keep things interesting, hilarious, and occasionally infuriating with their ever changing personalities.

Best Pals playing on Labor Day in Augusta

We went to Augusta, Georgia on Labor Day for a family getaway day.  Our nap schedules didn't line up quite right with the times we wanted to stop places and we had to rearrange our plans once we got there, but it still ended up being neat to explore a new place together.

Frosty at Wendy's - Luke's favorite part of the road trip

I spent most of this past weekend at church volunteering at their annual craft fair.  We also had a cookout with our old small group.  When we were in the small group only one of the four couples had a child, now just four years later there are eight kids between us which means there is wonderful, noisy mayhem when we all get together.  It also means all the pictures I tried to take are completely blurry and not worth sharing here.

It is still pretty hot, but previews of pleasant fall days keep sneaking in and we spend any chance we have outside.

If we are inside, there's a good chance we are playing Chutes and Ladders, hide and seek, snacking, or watching Mickey Mouse.  This weekend we also had a project for Kate's new preschool class and she was excited to make a poster about her favorite things.

Kate likes her new classroom and is taking a ballet/tap class and soccer lessons once a week.  She also goes to the church service with us now and attends a Sunday school class afterwards, so it has been a season full of new beginnings for her.  She had some initial shyness that she quickly overcame and it is amazing to see how much she is learning and growing each day.  Her imagination is in overdrive and I love listening to everything she says, it is precious to get a glimpse into her creative little mind.

Luke also moved to a new classroom at the beginning of the new school year, and this little wild man comes home sweaty, dirty, and covered in new bruises daily (for examples, see scrape on chin and skinned knee below).

He is getting better at communicating, adding new sounds and words to his vocabulary and desperately tries to mimic everything his older sister says, does, wears, etc.  There is no better sound than his giggle or shriek of joy when Kate is chasing him around the living room.  There is no better sight than his imperfect attempt at puckering up his lips to give you a sloppy, wet kiss.  I can't get over how cute he is or how quickly he went from my baby to a little boy who has stolen my heart.

Sometimes it can be frustrating when we have such limited time together during the week as a family and then those times are filled with tantrums, time outs, and uncooperative youngsters instead of the peaceful picture I had in my mind of a quiet family dinner or calm and happy tot bath and bedtimes.  Every day is different, and even in the chaotic moments I am grateful that these crazy little humans are mine.