Fall!

My kids both slept past 8 a.m. this morning. I wish I could just relax and let that happen, but I'm the kind of person who wakes up and thinks, why aren't they awake yet? Are they okay? And then I stare at the ceiling, waiting for Aidan to come in or Taylor to start calling for me.

Once they were awake and we were all lying in the big bed together, I thought, This is fantastic. Tomorrow I'll sleep even later if this becomes a habit.

But it's fall. This is my favorite season by far, and we've had lots of fun, but it also means daylight savings is coming. Oh, no. That means that in eight days, it will be as bright as it was at 8 a.m., but at 7 a.m.! Does that mean my kids will sometimes sleep past the hour of 7 on a good day? Yes. Yes it does.

We deal with this problem every year. I always try to outsmart the time change, but it's hopeless. My kids will wake between 6 and 7 for a few weeks until the days become even shorter. Hopefully, once the sun comes up later, we'll return to normal. About 7:30 on those days we don't "have" to get up. But I still love fall. :)

Our home

This morning Taylor told me he wanted to go to our "other house." I guess he was referring to our apartment? My theory because he didn't have a real room there and there was merely a curtain dividing his crib from our living room, he now feels far away when he is in his room.

In any case, we are loving it! It may be our favorite house we've ever lived in. The pictures are kind of out of order on here, but basically, the top two are the backyard views with Taylor's room in the middle, then the master BR, Aidan's room, and the dining room, the bottom row is the living room, kitchenette area,
and full kitchen. These two are a view of the family room from the hallway upstairs and from the family room itself.

The neighborhood itself is so pretty right now! It has tons of mature trees, and of course they are yellow and red and orange now. Another couple of days and I think they'll be all gone, but each time we drive in or out of the subdivision right now, Aidan and Taylor start pointing out the different colors of trees. I love fall.

Terry and I are comfortable here and feel so blessed.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a Friday night family date night at a popular Fall Harvest pumpkin patch about thirty miles away. We never did buy a pumpkin, but we had lots of fun!

Taylor's Transition

Thought I should share a bit about Taylor since the last few posts were about Aidan.

He misses her when she's at preschool. Unlike Aidan, he's never had to play alone while she's asleep or anything similar. When she's gone, it's weird for him.

I kind of like it. He's clingy, in a good way. Today he asked me to watch cartoons with him and pulled a big blanket over both of us in the oversized chair. He came upstairs with me when I was getting ready and got me a towel for my shower, all on his own. He'll ask 25 times, "Where's Lee Lee?" (that's what he calls her). Then, he answers himself: "She's at 'pee school.'"

These are also the times I notice his growth spurts in different areas. Last week, he got a notepad and pencil and climbed up to the island while I was cleaning the kitchen. He put the pencil to the notepad, looked up at me, and said, "What do you need? Bread? You need eggs?" He started to make a 'list.' I had no idea he even knew what a list was.

The best part of these days is when we go pick up Aidan. Our pickup time happens to be halfway through naptime (I know; it's ridiculous), so we tiptoe in and wake her, then gather all of her things, trying not to talk. Taylor does an awesome job of being quiet around all the sleeping 4 year olds, but my favorite is that every single time Aidan groggily stands up, Taylor gives her a huge hug and whispers (loudly), "Hi, Lee Lee! It's me, Taylor! Hi!" Then they share her leftovers in her lunchbox on the way home. Sure, they'll be fighting over some toy a couple of hours later, but they are glad to see each other for a little while. :-)

Sarcasm

I overslept this morning. It was about 8:05 and I needed to get the kids up and dressed, feed them breakfast, and pack Aidan's lunch in about 15 minutes or less in order to get Aidan to preschool on time. No shower for me as I just threw on some clothes and grabbed a scrunchie to throw in my hair.

I was putting a ponytail in Aidan's hair when she looked at me and said, "Your hair doesn't look berry good."

"Oh, thanks!" I said with sarcasm.

"No, Mommy. I said it doesn't look good."

Laughing inside, I said again, "Oh, thanks!"


She took my face into her hands and said in a serious tone, "Mommy, I said that it does NOT look good. So don't say thanks."

I guess now we know that four years old is too young for sarcasm. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

She's my girl

Aidan has had just a bit of trouble at preschool, lately, as far as when I drop her off in the morning, or sitting with someone other than her teacher at lunch. She's a little homesick, I think. Her teacher says she'll be plugging along fine, and then all of a sudden, just get that look on her face which is usually followed by telling her teacher, "I miss my Mommy."

Last Thursday, for the very first time, she absolutely sobbed when I took her into her classroom. We walked in, and instead of telling me bye and going over to the painting center like she usually does, she looked up at me with that bottom lip out, and as soon as I asked her what was wrong, she lost it. I tried to remind her that I come back for her every time and that I'd see her right after her nap, but she just wouldn't let go of my leg. One of the teacher's aides finally had to come over and hold her and try to distract her while I walked out, feeling like the worst parent ever. I'm not working, so should I subject her to that "torture"?

Okay, I know that's not a rational thought when I'm thinking about it under normal circumstances. But I worried all morning and was so relieved when I picked her up and she was just fine.

So Tuesday, I was a bit nervous driving over there because I didn't want it to happen again. She was quiet the whole drive, but when I took her in, the saddest thing I saw was her bottom lip quivering, and then she went to make smiley faces.

Last night, we had some girl time while Terry was at practice and Taylor was in bed, and out of the blue, she said to me, "I was really missing you today at school."

"You were?"

"Yes. I started to go tell my teacher that I missed my Mommy, but then I just told myself, 'I get to see her at the end of the day. When I wake up from my nap, there she'll be.'" She smiled at me.

"That is so great, Aidan," I said to her. "I'm so glad you knew to think that way. Mommy's always going to come back for you."

"I know." A small pause, then she looked at me again. "Mommy, what did you tell yourself when you missed me so much today?"

I just love that kid.

I can't find my camera

anywhere...which is pathetic. Especially since we moved in exactly two weeks ago, and anyone who knows anything would want to excuse me for not finding my camera since there are probably still boxes everywhere, right?? Except that there aren't! We are done. Fully moved in. We still have a few odds and ends to buy, but as far as the boxes thing, any box that is going to get opened and unpacked has already been attacked. Can you believe it? Everything has its place. (I still don't know how that happened so quickly except for the help of my parents!)

And I still can't find my camera to take new pics of the house or the kids in the house. They absolutely adore it, but why wouldn't they? We went from a 900 sq foot apartment for all four of us to a house with a front and a back yard, a trampoline, a place to ride bikes, and a basement catchall playroom for the kids.

I've been searching and searching, and meanwhile, the funniest and cutest things are happening around me. Taylor's latest favorite phrase is, "thasahsum." (that's awesome) We ended up finding about seven or so rubber play balls that he's either never seen or was still taking a bottle the last time I had them out, and he just runs from room to room, tossing it up, watching it bounce, and exclaiming in his gravelly, I'm-trying-to-be-a-big-boy voice, "thasahsum."

Aidan has a friend Ben next door who is almost exactly her age and wants to ride bikes every single evening. We live in a cul-de-sac, and we literally have met almost every other person that lives here, and they all have kids five and under! It's perfect. Around dinner time, it's just crazy loud with all of the bikes, big wheels, and push cars swirling around out in the circle. This past Saturday night, there was a cul-de-sac BBQ, and every day since, Taylor keeps asking where his friends are and if we can go to another party.

Aidan is also loving it, though this morning she told me she thought our room should be hers because it's bigger and has a bathroom inside of it. There is a railing upstairs that overlooks the living room, and sometimes after she's "in bed," she'll come out and whisper down to me or Terry. Last night, it was that she needed a bandaid. I told her I'd bring her one when I came to bed, and she said, "Okay, you just take a few more minutes, there, and I'll be waiting for you right up here. Call me if you need me." Needless to say, she fell asleep and forgot about the Bandaid, but we had a laugh.

We love our house, and so do the kids. As soon as I locate that pesky camera...I'll share it with you.