He's Back!!!!

After 3 long weeks in Baghdad, Brice is finally home. I am just a little excited to have my man back. I missed him so much!

Saturday Soccer

Caden and Kayla had their first soccer game last Saturday. It was cold and windy and walking to the van after the game was a nightmare (post of it's own) but the kids had a wonderful time.

Caden played goalie for the first half and got no action. I guess that is good for his team though. Kayla and I stood next to him and kept him company. I think Kayla passed him a few M&Ms.

The second half was a bit more eventful. His team won 3-0.

Kayla has absolutely no idea how to play soccer. When her coach asked if anyone knew the rules of soccer, Kayla anxiously waved her arm in the air and said something about the other team being "it" and having to "tag them" and then your team is "it". I'm sure her coach did a mental "eye roll". But what she lacks in skill, she makes up for in enthusiasm. She had a blast running with the crowd. I'm pretty sure she never kicked the ball, but she didn't care.

This is Kayla practicing with her team before the game. They did simple drills like standing RIGHT in front of the goal and kicking the ball in. So now Kayla tells everyone that she scored 4 goals at soccer. See, she doesn't even know when she's practing and really playing the game.

In a few years maybe.

Finally

Caden finally lost his first tooth last Saturday. Thus entering that awkward mismatched, snaggaly tooth stage.

Amazing how something so gross can be so exciting to him.

While thinking about this new stage of physical change Caden will be entering in I came to this conclusion. I have met very few 7-13 aged boys that I didn't find a bit annoying. For some reason it is just hard to not be hyper and obnoxious and a bit defiant. I have met a few cool kids at this age, but not many. So while I know I will always love Caden, I just really hope I still like him for the next few years. I'm guessing I will.

And for the record, I forgot to put something under his pillow until he came downstairs at 6:30 to tell me the tooth fairy hadn't come yet. I did feel bad, but was irritated that he woke me up so early on a Sunday morning. I immediately placed the blame away from me and said that she must be busy, or maybe she came and his eyes were open. I sent him back upstairs to go back to sleep with the promise that she will come soon if he closes his eyes. I waited a few minutes and snuck it under his pillow. No....he never went back to sleep.

Daydreaming

Only 19 days until Brice and I get to go on our belated 10 year anniversary getaway.

We are going to Sicily all by ourselves. With no kids. No kids will be with us. Just adults. Kids will be staying home. I am so excited.

Hotel Villa Ducale

We picked the most non kid friendly place we could find....and a room with a view.

Caden

Caden is a cool kid.

He loves sports. He officially starts soccer season tomorrow but plays it everyday at school during recess. He also loves to play basketball and will shoot hoops by himself at our park. He loves it when Brice takes him to the park because they can play together. If he's really lucky Brice will play tennis with him. Yeah, I can't play either and don't even pretend that I can. I will kick the soccer ball with him, play tether ball, and toss out the baseball. He really enjoyed watching the Olympics this year and followed the winners closely. His favorites were Michael Phelps and the US basketball team.

Caden has really taken to the first grade. He loves it!! He is in a great mood in the morning because he gets to go to school and comes home just as happy. I think his teacher must be magic.

Caden loves to read and write and draw. He has reading homework every night and is always anxious to do it. He just beams with pride as he reads. His teacher wrote a note that said she has finally met someone who loves books as much as she does. He also loves music. He is into the Jonas Brothers and the movie Camp Rock. He has his own CD player in his room and will go up there and play air guitar on the bed. Unfortunately the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and he has no singing ability or rhythm. But I tell him he is just like a rock star.

He has also started Boy Scouts this month. He seems to like it so far but is anxiously awaiting the camping, climbing and outdoorsy part of it all. We were a bit hesitant to enroll him because it is a big commitment. But we decided that we'll follow his lead and let him do it as long as he wants.

Caden finally has a loose tooth. He thought he would be the last kid ever to loose a tooth. It is on it's way out and is sure to bring him a lot of pride when he finally has that gaping hole in his mouth.

I finally bit the bullet and bought him lace up shoes for school this year. For some reason I just was dreading teaching him how to tie his shoes. Anticipating the frustration and time it would take. But my procrastinating paid off and he picked it up the first time. I think I wait until he's 25 to teach him to drive. Just to save myself the headaches.
Of course he loves to be silly and goof off.
The best thing about Caden right now is his love for Avery. He absolutely adores her. She is his pride and joy and he is the BEST big brother (to Avery....Kayla is a different story)

For Daddy

Caden is the polar opposite of Kayla when it comes to performing. He is shy and reserved and had no interest at all in being on camera. He was willing to give me a few seconds to say hi to Brice who is traveling. You can totally tell he was a bit uncomfortable.

Kayla

Kayla is going to been a rotten teenager. That is the only explanation Brice and I can come up with as to why she is just so sweet and good now. She really is the perfect child. She is always happy, even when she's sick. She loves to play with you, but is perfectly content to sit and entertain herself with a box of crayons. She loves to help me out, whatever I'm doing. She loves to cook in the kitchen, clean, help with Avery, do laundry and even likes doing dishes.

She is little Ms. Independent. She requires and certainly doesn't want any help in getting dressed, making her bed or even washing in the shower. She will let me fix her hair, but is happy to wet it back and stick a headband in it by herself if needed.

Kayla loves to cuddle and sit in your lap. She is a very affectionate child and says "I love you" or "you look pretty" all day long.

She is coming along well in school. She has 2 good friends in her class and enjoys going. She is starting a reading program at home with me and hasn't complained (yet).

Of course when describing Kayla I have to include a few of her songs. Really, she sings and dances all of the time. She is way better than anything on TV.

Here is another love ballad. A Kayla original. She had been singing songs from Camp Rock when I got the camera out. When I asked her to sing for me she wanted to perform one that she just had made up in her mind....obviously. The lyrics make no sense. She sings about petals falling, being enchanted, and some competition.

one more

This song is a bit more rock and roll. She is asking a friend where she got her clothes from because Kayla wants some. The friend replies that she got them at the base, specifically on the shelf. She continues to sing about the dilemma of birthday parties on the sabbath. I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff.

I also want it noted that the furniture in our home is not ours. It was furnished for us and is quite the opposite of anything I would have chosen. The style is too formal and the color of the couches remind me of throw up. But it is free and we are grateful to have a place to sit and sleep.

Avery

So I thought I would give a little update on what the kids are up to lately. Avery is first.

She has started walking and is getting pretty good. I don't think I have seen her crawl in a few days, so I think she will be upright from here on out. She still wobbles a bit so there are lots of falls if the ground is uneven (like outside) but she gets right back up and keeps going.

She is also talking all of the time. I don't understand any of it, but she's constantly making noise. Maybe she's speaking German. I wouldn't know. Some of her words that are in English are ma ma, da da, ah oh, ni ni (night night), no no, up, bye bye and flabbergasted.

She also loves to point and grunt but is known to reach and grunt on occasion. She is so curious about things around her that she can't explore them fast enough. She can completely destroy the house in a matter of minutes. She goes from room to room emptying out anything she can open.

She is also playing the awesome baby game of grab and drop. She forcefully grabs things out of my hands only to drop them. This is especially fun when walking up 3 flights of stairs.

Oddly she has a strange obsession with Luna Bars. She doesn't like to eat them, but likes to carry them around. One in each hand. They are in a cabinet that she can reach, so she will take a new one anytime she has misplaced one somewhere in the house. At the end of the day I usually find 5 or 6 that I have to put away. I just think they fit well in her hands and she likes the shiny, crinkly wrapper.

She can wave hi and bye, play "so big" and plays peek a boo with one hand.

All in all she is a very sweet and good baby. She hardly fusses and is just a happy child. She has more energy than any 1 year old I have ever met. I swear she has an invisible cord that keeps her plugged into the wall. She wears me out, but is sooooo worth it.