Totato

Jon brought some potatoes outside to peel for dinner and Josh was very interested in them. He helped Aunt Anne dig some out of her garden, so he knew exactly where they came from...in the dirt! He called them"totatoes"! By the time we recorded him, it started to sound a little more like potato...but it is still cute!

Our Last Farm Week of the Summer...

Margaret and I took the kids to Storybook Land...

Caleb thought they should stomp Little Miss. Muffet's spider in honor of his dad. Notice he let Josh and Cassidy do the honors...Caleb doesn't like spiders much either!



Cassidy was over to Gma & Gpa's place and they had fun blowing bubbles.

Caleb & Josh really enjoyed playing in the corn this time...it is easy to get lost... it is so tall!

Caleb had to bring his beloved Happy Meal puppy, Boomer, everywhere!

Ally really gets the royal treatment when the boys are at the farm...lots of dog biscuits (probably way more than we realize!), she gets hand fed and even a plush bed with lots of cuddles! She is such a nice dog and actually seems to love the sometimes annoying attention!

We took the kids to the Redfield pool...it brought back memories for Jon when he was little!

We went to Aunt Anne's for dinner and she knew what to save for when Josh got there...digging potatoes out of her garden! Josh loved having a legitimate reason to dig in the dirt!

Cassidy planted the potatoes in the spring! Now look at how many there are!

Josh did real well husking corn too!

Josh "chubby bunny" Miller LOVES marshmallows! Caleb and the rest of us like to make our marshmallows into smores...not Josh!

I went to a Beth Moore conference for a few days and Dan & Julie came up for the weekend. I caught the end of their visit but left the camera for Jon to hopefully get a few fun shots of the boys with their cousins...this is what I got...

Zero, Zip, Nada

There is a reason he leaves the picture taking to me! Maybe Julie will have a few shots of the kids together that she can mail me?!

Caleb Survived...Mom & Dad...well...we will see!

I gave Caleb his 7 am wake-up call and he excitedly jumped out of bed ready for the day! If I jumped out of bed as fast as he did I would be sick for sure...good thing he is young! He quickly went through his routine we discussed: potty, get dressed, open up window blinds and feed Leo the fish! Then off to breakfast, brush teeth and then have some time to talk about the day before leaving for school at 7:45.
He did his morning routine so quickly that I think I can give him about 10 more minutes of sleep! He is so paranoid about being tardy after we told him we will have to go to the office and get a "tardy slip" if he is late for school. He has such an aversion to getting in trouble in school and is such a model student that way that the thought of getting in trouble for being late puts a healthy fear in him. If only he could have that healthy fear at home!!

Dad said good-bye and we were off for school...

It was such a zoo there and I could not find a place to park, so I told Caleb that I would just have to drop him off. There were helpers there to help the kids find their line. I hated doing that, but he did great.

I drove down the driveway and found a place to squeeze in and took a short jog to the playground area. I had a little heart that Caleb could keep in his pocket if he ever felt a little nervous. He used it in preschool and I wanted to give it to him on his first day...and I forgot! I found him through the sea of kids and parents and he was calmly standing in his triangle line with lunchbox in hand. He had a big smile when he saw me and was glad to get his trusty heart for his pocket. I stayed with him until he went into the school like a little trooper!

I went home to finish a painting project on the front of the house and Josh managed to find his dad's old motorcycle helmet. I did not see him pull it off the shelf in the garage, he just came up behind me and said "look Mommy!" He was pretty excited...and sooo cute! I, on the other hand, spent the day trying to predict what Caleb was doing and if he was OK. I wondered, could he get his milk carton open and find the bathroom! Moms are supposed to worry, right?!

Well, I picked him up and he loved his first day. He said that he could always tell what Sr. Geraldo was saying even though he did not understand each word he said. He learned aqua (water), el bano (bathroom) and rapido (fast). I am sure there were more words but these are the ones that he talked about. I think his teacher plays a lot of charades in class to get the kids to know what he is talking about!
We went to the Turner County fair after school to celebrate!

We went on lots of rides, saw lots of animals and had dinner there!

Off and on, we would hear Caleb saying Spanish words or singing Spanish songs to himself...it was neat to hear him remember so much after just one day!

On the way home, we were talking and Caleb said, "it is weird to hear you speak English after hearing only Spanish all day!" I have a feeling Caleb is going to catch onto Spanish quicker than we think and will have us stumped! What is going to happen when Josh starts and they start scheming with each other and we will have no clue. I think I better start learning myself so that I will know what they are up to! I already bought a Spanish-English dictionary this summer!

Jon and I are feeling a bit sad that Caleb is officially in school now...they grow up too fast...that is really hitting us now!!

P.S. - I have some farm pictures from our visit last week that I will post later...just wanted to let you all know how the first day of school went!

A New Stage in Life...

I am writing this as Josh is running around Grandma Miller's house with his underwear and shorts on his head and Caleb is chasing him around telling him that he "should be embarrassed to do that!" Caleb must feel the need to help him learn to refrain from such behavior...like Caleb NEVER does anything embarrassing!

It won't be long (next Monday to be exact) and the boys won't have endless hours to play, giggle, wrestle, and yes, argue with each other! Caleb starts Kindergarten next week and I am starting to feel pretty sad about it. I was expecting this to happen, but maybe not quite to this degree! I remember thinking during the height of an emotional breakdown between the two of them how nice it will be to have them split up for a few hours during the day! Granted, that is still an appealing thought, but they are easily each other's best friend. Caleb has already told me that he will miss his little buddy Josh and I tried to smooth it over by telling him that he will be having way too much fun at school to think about Mom and Josh at home...

I think what I will miss most are our conversations over lunch with just the three of us. Caleb is such an inquisitive guy and there is something about lunch time that gets his inquisitive juices flowing! Our many conversations range from what is paper made of, what is heaven like, how old do trees get, why do people have different skin color/eye color, what did Jonah eat while in the belly of the whale, all kinds of questions about different places in the world, what he is going to be when he grows up (it changes weekly) and why, and one of his favorites, listing off all the states and their capitols. I am curious when the "birds & bees" question will come up!

I am soooo thankful that I am able to stay at home with the boys and have these conversations with them...how much I would miss out on if I didn't!

So, I guess I should celebrate that there will be a lot less noise around the house this coming year...but I have a feeling that I will actually miss all the noise...the laughter and maybe even a little of the screaming and crying!

Happy 3rd Birthday Josh!

Josh had two birthday's this year...it's fun to celebrate when you are 3!
One in Montana with my family...

Biggest cheeks ever blowing out his candle with no help from Caleb this time! Josh loved his Mater cake from the Cars movie!

Another birthday in SD with Jon's family...

Playing 4-wheelers with cousin Nathan!

Doing a little dancing!

Grandma Margaret did not want Caleb and Cassidy to feel left out...they love to paint!

Opening gifts...

Tickle time with Uncle Stacey (this is a rare picture...Stacey couldn't hide because his hands were a little full! I had to sneak up on him for this one!)

Loving his cake with race cars! He calls these his birthday cars!