It’s been a while...

Well hello out there!  This post is brought to you by insomnia. I’ve been up for a few hours, (or 4) and have already been through all the pictures on my phone, my email, Facebook and Instagram. So this dusty old blog is the next place to visit.

It’s been a busy few years! Here’s a very short update on the kids. Chad and I spend our free time just trying to keep up with them!

Trace turned 16 a few days ago and is taking his driving test later this morning. He is 6’2” and recently passed his uncles’ marks on the growth chart. He wrapped up his sophomore year of high school last week and reminds me (all too) often that he’s only got two more years before he goes off to college. He has his eyes set on Texas A & M...following in his dad’s footsteps as a mechanical engineer. He spends his time playing baseball (1st base and catcher), video games, and making short jokes at the rest of our expense.

Kinsey is 13 and finished up her 7th grade year last week she was on the News Crew the last two years and did an excellent job on the student magazine they published each month. She’s going to try out yearbook next year. She’s an excellent writer and photographer so this should be right up her alley! Her loves are basketball, dance, and her dog Molly. She still keeps me organized and on schedule (thank goodness!).

Kendall will be 7 in a few days. She will be in second grade when we start the school year in August. She’s dabbled in dance, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and softball but is still looking for her favorite sport. She started piano lessons this month and has her first recital tonight. Performing for a group is a big step outside her comfort zone! Her real favorite thing is being at home. A girl after my own heart!

Pictures might be added later. Probably not, but it’s good to have goals.

Basketball 2016

Trace decided to play basketball after a two year hiatus. He was a full head taller than anyone else on his team. Unfortunately, he was not taller than the posts on the other two teams. He was about 8 inches shorter than the posts on one team and close to the same height as the posts on the third team. He came a long way this season and played some very good defense. It goes without saying that we're so proud of him! He had a good time and now he's ready to move on to baseball.

I coached Kinsey's team again this year with the help of two varsity basketball players. Kinsey was our point guard and she dominated in every game. I looked at one of the high school girls during a game yesterday and asked, "How is she everywhere?!?" And it seemed like she always was. She's found her sport!

Kinsey with Hannah and Marcy

Is there anyone still reading?

Has it really been almost 4 years since I was last here? I can't even begin to recap 4 years at once so I will have to fill in the gaps a little at a time.

The biggest news of late...Trace is taller than me. It finally happened. The day after I measured him, I ran across the following article and it really resonated with me. http://www.scarymommy.com/growing-up-saying-goodbye/

"It seems like he shot up taller than my 5 feet 9 inches in a week, and suddenly he has a deeper voice and a different laugh and even different ways of thinking."

Yesterday was the day. We measured him 30 days ago and I was taller. But not anymore. He was so proud when he turned around and saw that mark on the wall! As he beamed, I smiled on the outside, but on the inside I was willing it not to happen.

I've always hoped he would be taller than me, but I just wasn't ready. I wasn't ready to let go of the boy that he was, to make way for the man he is becoming. His being taller is just an everyday reminder of all the things he no longer needs me for. He can reach things that I can't. He can open jars that I can't. He can lift things that I can't. It's the way things are supposed to happen, I know, but that doesn't make it easier. He will celebrate this milestone with making short jokes at my expense and in a bittersweet way, I'll be grateful for every one...

This picture was taken Jan 2, 2016. Chad had to get a level to really tell who was taller. Then by Feb 2, he had passed me up! Such a bittersweet day for me. But that's what kids are supposed to do. One benefit to his taller height...he stands next to me a lot more than he did before. I don't care if it is just to rub it in. I'll take it.

Trace is Ten!

I still don't know how 10 years have come and gone. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. Here he is at 2 days old.

Back then I couldn't even have imagined how much he would enrich our lives and how happy he would make us. I don't think I could love our smart, handsome, talented, funny, caring, loving son more! 

Since he was going to Yellowstone with Hunee and Pop for his birthday, we figured something electronic to keep him happy in the car was the way to go. That and his love for reading meant he needed a Kindle Fire. Now I want one!

 For his party each year he wants a cookie cake from the mall. A sugar cookie cake.

 He had a few friends come over to play then Chad took them to see The Avengers and back home for a sleepover.

 Chad took the boys to see The Avengers and Kinsey tried to wait up for them to get home, but she couldn't make it. We had been watching House Hunters and she made a house to lay down in. Love her imagination.

A few months ago, a neighbor who is in Trace's grade had her birthday party. Her mom, Trace's third grade teacher, promised they would clean it up if we let them wrap our house. I didn't think they could do much damage, after all it was a bunch of 10 year old girls! Well, I wasn't thinking about her 13 year old brother knowing so much about wrapping a house! Trace has been planning revenge ever since! 

Here's what the girls did:

 So of course, I told her mom that revenge was coming that night. Turns out the 13 year old was on guard. It was an ambush and the screams and laughter were hilarious!!! It didn't help that our boys were loud enough to wake the neighborhood. 

Here's what the boys did:

Field Day

School Awards

Kinsey's school doesn't do a school-wide awards ceremony, so her teacher does one in the classroom. She handed out academic awards, but the ones the kids wanted the most were the candy awards. She had a cute saying to go with a number of different candy bars to fit the students' personalities. Kinsey got a Kit-Kat along with the "Give Me a Break!" award. This is because she is a miniature Mrs. Johnson and can always give Mrs. Johnson a break and take over when she needed a little help. So fitting for the child who was born a grown-up. I haven't been in charge in this house since she was born!

She also got a Reading Award, All A-Honor Roll Award, and a Math Award. She LOVES school! She started reading chapter books this year and has been so excited about it. I love that she likes to read.

Trace got a number of awards at his ceremony. He wanted a picture with each award. This one is the PE award. He scored the highest in his class on the fitness tests they do each spring. He ran his mile in 6 mins and 45 seconds! Incredible!!! He has been asking to go to Boot Camp with me early in the mornings but I know he would lap all of us!

 All A Honor Roll

( Please excuse the mad photography skills.) This one was a special award that was only given to one fourth grader. It was for having the greatest number of Accelerated Reader points for the whole 4th grade. That means that he read more books and took quizzes on them than anyone else. His goal was 40 points for the last 9 weeks and he met that at the end of the first week. His teacher challenged him to get 100 points in that same 9 weeks and he got 150! This kid loves to read more than any kid I have ever seen. He devours books at a ridiculous pace. I'm so thankful!

 This one is a reading award from his teacher.

This year Trace tried out for and made the UIL Number Sense team for the 4th grade. This means that he had to solve really difficult math problems without using paper. It was all mental math. He placed 3rd in our district. The team from his grade took 2nd, 3rd, and 5th.

Eleven Months Old

Kendall turned 11 months old on May 9th. It's hard to believe she's almost 1 year old!

She's taken up to 9 steps on her own and consistently takes 2 or 3 without any help. Now that she's doing this, taking still pictures of her is, well, difficult. These are ALL of the 11 month pictures I got. In all the other months, I got a close up of her face and a full body shot. Don't expect that this month! My model wasn't in the mood for all that standing still business. 

She can walk, but doesn't want to. It's almost as if she starts walking then realizes she's doing it so she sits down. She says Daddy and Katie a lot. And every dog is Katie. She is waving hello and goodbye and has gotten a lot better about letting new people hold her. YIPPEE! She still won't stay in the church nursery the full hour. The staff pages me to come get her every Sunday. She cries so hard that they're afraid she's going to make herself throw up. Definitely Mama's girl.

 She is sleeping through the night! We put her in her bed, awake, each night and she doesn't wake up until the morning. I remember when she was four months old we talked about sleep training her. Then we talked about it again at six months. Then again and again after that, but it finally happened at 11 months. When she woke up during the night, she would stand up in her bed and cry. Anytime I went in to lay her back down it would take well over an hour before I finally caved in and took her to our bed. When Chad went in, it only took about ten minutes. So after about a week of him going in to lay her back down during the night, it was done!

Ahhhh the Life...

Being 11 months old is fun! Lately I've been spending my days talking on the phone...

Unrolling toilet paper when Mom isn't looking...

And climbing in an empty kitchen cabinet.

 

I also really enjoy getting into Katie's and Macy's food and water bowls. And one of my very favorite things is trying to get up a few stairs before Mom can catch me. I can always make her run fast when I do that!

Field Trip!

The 4th grade went to the Sam Houston Folk Festival for their field trip this year. I had forgotten until we got there that Chad and I volunteered at this festival when we were in college at SHSU. The kids get to see Sam Houston's home, a glassblowing demonstration, and displays of what it was like to live when Sam Houston did. It was a boy's paradise. Guns and cannons and camping and hunting.

 

The man in the picture with Trace was cooking an animal over an open fire and swore it was a red fox. I really wish I had a picture of it now. The other mom and I sure thought it looked a lot like a pig, but he swore it was a red fox. Trace and his friend tried it. We moms declined. 

And a pooped baby sister at the end of the day.