Queen Of The Mountain

Well folks, it is official, we have a climber on our hands!  And she is oh so proud of herself!  Lily has figured out how to climb up the play set ladder and slide down the slide all by herself.  She mastered this new skill in about 10 minutes flat and hasn't looked back since.  Whenever we open the back door she takes off running to the play set and bounds up the ladder laughing as she goes.  Occasionally she will look back as if to say, "Check me out Mom!  I am so big!!!"  She hasn't quite figured out how to sit up while sliding so after she pushes off she lays down and soars to the end.  The look on her face says it all....pure joy!  And after several rounds of climbing and sliding she typically settles in for a quick drink before she does it all over again.  I think we are going to have our hands full with this one!

Wordless Wednesday

All In A Week's Work

A couple of weeks ago I was talking on the phone with my friend, Kellie.  Her son, Big Ben (that is what Cole calls him), is 2 months older than Cole.  We were talking about how they are at that age where they ask for everything they see on TV or in the store.  It is frustrating and we both were discussing how we don't want them to grow up being handed every little thing.  What topped it off for Rhonald and I was when I took Cole to buy a birthday gift for a friend and he happily picked one out and then asked what we were going to buy him as a gift.  Well, Kellie gave me a great idea...something she and her husband were doing with Ben.  A chore chart to earn money to buy something they would like to have.  Not only to buy something but to learn to save a portion of what is earned and to give a potion to church.  Cole was all about it.  We came up with 8 chores that he is very capable of doing.  He gets a check mark for each chore he does and at the end of the week we add up the checks and pay him.  Then we have him put some in the offering at church, some in his piggy bank and he can save or spend the rest.  I told him I would pay him 25 cents for every check.  Well, this is week 2 and we quickly learned we needed to adjust our pay.  The first week Cole earned $13.00!  He was so excited to get paid and put his money in his wallet - he carried it everywhere!  I was proud of him...he never complained about giving or saving.  Actually he was thrilled beyond measure to give at church, although he did ask, "so, who is the one chosen to hand the money to Jesus?"  Good question :)  Rhonald took him to Target on Sunday afternoon where he spent literally 1 1/2 hours picking out a toy.  He came home with a new Transformer and $3.00 left in his wallet for next time.  He is really proud of himself.  He even used his own money to buy food to feed the animals at the petting zoo - even after we told him several times he did not have to do that.  I wondered if he would lose the love of earning money this week but he has continued to work hard. He counts his checks every night and asks "how many days until pay day?"  I hope he is getting it....I hope he sees that hard work pays off and that it feels so much better to earn something than to be given everything.  I think he gets it...in his own, 4 year old way, I think he is getting it....and I pray he holds on to it.

Trouble Face

This is true Lily Kate right here.  This is her "I am in trouble" face, as well as her "You can't see me because I am hiding from you" face.  From the moment she could manage it she has covered one eye in every situation where she is unsure of her surrounding or if she is in trouble for something.  If you look at her sternly or raise your voice she immediately covers one eye.  People are constantly saying "oh, she is so sleepy!" but no, she is not...she is hiding because she doesn't know you well.  She is smart though...she always keeps one eye uncovered so she can keep an eye on what is going on.  Man, I love that little trouble maker!

Siblings

"Brother and sister,

together as friends,

ready to face whatever life sends.

Joy and laughter or tears and strife,

holding hands tightly as we dance through life."

---Suzie Huitt

Cole's First Sleepover

A few weeks ago Ben and Miss Em invited Cole and Jackson over for a sleepover....a first for all 3 of the boys.  Cole was so excited and we jumped at the opportunity.  This was a huge deal for us.  Up until this point Cole had never spent the night away from home without us.  Poor Emily and Jim had to put up with my worries and questions for a few weeks (I'm sure next time they will invite Cole about 2 hours beforehand to avoid me - ha!).  Cole was determined to go, sleep over and enjoy every second of his time....and that is just what he did.  I'm not going to lie....on the way over to Ben's, Cole asked me to pray with him and tell him everything that was going to happen.  He was especially concerned with the sleeping arrangements and what would happen if he needed something in the night.  Emily and Jim are like family to us, I knew without a doubt Cole would be spoiled rotten and I think, deep down he knew that too. One bonus of the night was that Jim's parents were in town so there was even more love to go around.  As soon as Ben opened the door the boys took off to play.  I said my last "I will come get him anytime if you need me to." and Lily and I headed off to enjoy some girl time.  Emily had it all planned out - the boys played hard, ate well and even got to make t-shirts.  She had a stuffed animal for each of them (Cole still sleeps with it) and made everything very cozy for the boys.  Ben and Cole wanted to share a bed on the floor which worked out well because Jackson really wanted to check out Ben's bed.  After a fun bubble bath, Emily and Jim tucked them in and did not hear a peep from them until morning.  Rhonald, Lily and I went to pick Cole up and he was so sad to leave.  All of the way home he kept asking when he would be able to go do that again.  When I asked him if he missed me he sweetly said, "No.  But I did miss Lily Kate.  She is my best buddy!" After hearing about how much fun he had and how well he did I could feel myself breathe a huge sigh of relief!  I could not have been more proud of him!  I see many more sleep overs in our future....now, if Emily would just offer to keep Lily Kate too...:)

So Big

Look who is big enough to sit at the big table!!!  And she is so very happy about it!