"I'm gonna shoot!"

I think it's so funny how boys can turn any object into a 'gun'...today's example, a potato chip. Reese nibbled it into shape, then informed me that it was a gun. A few moments later, it was a hackey sack. Somehow (in his imagination) that round object was able to shoot those invisible bad guys! Yesterday, it was his sister's 'My Little Pony' that saved the world by shooting bullets from it's pink & purple mane. Aye!

Brody Update

Reese has learned to count money in school! He came home with a homework page last night, and quickly completed it without assistance! Wow! I am so proud!

Mark was embarassed in class yesterday. And I'm afraid it's my fault. During the English lesson, he felt something weird in his sleeve. When he pulled it out, it ended up being one of Mommy's nylon knee-highs! Ooops! Must have snuck in there during the dry cycle. The whole class saw it and laughed. But, being the cool kid Mark is, he easily laughed along and played it off well. Sorry Mark! I owe you!!!

Marina likes to pull the chair over to the counter, climb up, and raid the snack cupboard! Little sneak! She also has a new fascination with Barbie Princess movies. So, she is constantly asking me if she can watch Swan Lake or Repunzil. Her other new favorite is Charlotte's Web (or as she says, Charlip's Web). She spent her own b-day money on these movies. And she loves when we set up the laptop in her room so she can watch them while she plays.

"I telled a LIE!!!"

My sweet little Reese has told a couple lies in the past few weeks. This is a new thing for him. The first time was when I sent him downstairs to get his socks and shoes on for church. I was upstairs still getting ready. After a few minutes I hollered down to him, "Reese! Do you have your socks and shoes on?" To which he quickly replied, "Yeah!" With hurried relief, I went about getting ready. But when I came downstairs, there was Reese, playing video games, with BARE FEET! He had a little grin on his face, like, "I tricked you. That was fun." The little stinker! From then on, I knew I couldn't place all my trust in his responses.

The other night, I sent the boys to brush their teeth before bed. They were awfully silly and playful in the bathroom, so as Reese walked out, I asked him, "Did you brush your teeth?" To which he replied, "Yes." Being skeptical of him lately, I narrowed my eyes and said, "Let me smell your breath." He shyly let me examine, and sure enough, he had NOT brushed his teeth! Another lie! This time, I knew I needed to take action, so he would learn that lying is not a game. I told him, "Reese, you told Mommy a lie. You said you brushed your teeth, but you really didn't. That's a lie. It makes Jesus sad. And it makes Mommy sad." At which point, he burst out into tears. It's like he was heartbroken that he had made Jesus sad and Mommy sad. I wanted to cry with him; he was so sincere about it. Quickly I said, "Reese, let's try again." And I went on to ask him if he had brushed his teeth. This time (thru tears) he told me the truth.

As he entered the bathroom, I overheard him tell his big brother, in a sad, sad voice, "Mark...I telled a LIE!!!" What a sweetie!!!! He melts me. Truly melts me.

1st Loose Tooth!!!

On New Year's Day, Reese lost his very first loose tooth! It began to wiggle only the night before. And that quickly, it fell out! He was a little bit afraid, not understanding what in the world was happening to him, so I calmly explained what was going on. And I reassurred him that everyone else has lost a tooth too! Even little cousin Mikayla has her 2 front teeth missing at the moment, so it was comforting to him to see that he had a toothless companion.

Marina, on the other hand, refuses to believe that she will ever lose a 'toof' because she insists that her 'teef' are already sharp!

Stolen Markers & Sharpened Pencils...

Yesterday was quite an eventful day for my two boys.
First, Reese came home from school...strangely hobbling off the bus in front of our house. When he stepped inside the door, he had the look of mischief in his eyes. He said, "Mommy, guess what I have in my shoe." Um...I can only imagine! "What Reese?" At that point, he whipped out a fat, black dry erase marker. "I have a marker!" he declared with a smile. Normally a marker wouldn't alert my mommy senses, but the fact that he had sneakily brought it home in his shoe caused my suspicions to surface.
"Who's marker is that, Reese?"
"Mr. Hayek's"
"Did you take this from Mr. Hayek's desk?"
"Yes."
"Reese, when you take something that isn't yours, that's called stealing. How do you think that makes Mr. Hayek feel?"
Suddenly Reese's face transformed into one of sheer despair!
"Does it make him feel...SAD?"
"Yes Reese, it makes him feel sad."
He burst into tears, and I felt like the rottenest mother ever for pushing my sweet, naive boy to tears. Especially when this was one of the darlingest thing he's ever done! But true to my role as mother, I helped him close his eyes and tell Jesus sorry for stealing. Then I instructed him to give it back to Mr. Hayek tomorrow, and tell him sorry for taking his marker. Again, Reese busted out crying, "But I want a marker!" OK, he obviously wasn't getting the concept. So the issue was dropped, and I swept him up into the tightest, kissiest hug I could give him. He is my sweetest child!

Then, Mr. Mark came home. He was beaming so bright, he could power all of New York City. What was his secret joy?? He waited until Daddy arrived home before he spilled the beans...apparently, when Mark had entered class that morning, he saw that Grace (his 3-year crush; his dream-girl; the one whom we incessantly tease him about. hehe) was rummaging through Mark's desk. "Grace, what are you doing?"
"Oh, I was cleaning up your desk for you. And I sharpened all your pencils."
Sharpened all his pencils?!?! Oh my! You'd think she'd declared her love for him! He melts into the floor everytime he thinks about her sweet, thoughtful pencil-sharpening skills. And, of course, Ryan and I see it as fresh, new material that we can use to tease him! (Mark laughs his head off when we tease him about Grace. And his face gets beet red. It's great!) So, before bed, when we brought the subject up again, we told him Grace must really like him after his amazing performance in the school play. He had the funniest reply! "She just can't resist showing me how much she likes me!" Oh please!!!! Someone please pop that big fat head before it explodes! LOL.

This week...

This week was quite a roller coaster ride for Mommy and Daddy!
(Starting from the youngest) Little Marina learned that shoving mini lego pirates' gold pieces up her nose nostrils is very unpleasant, makes her nose hurt, and makes Mommy very upset and anxious. In the process, she also learned how to blow her nose, with her mouth shut. (Thank the Lord, that's all it took to get those things out!)

Sweet Reese learned how to write the letters 'z' and 'w.' He also learned that, if he pulls a chair from the table to the counter, he can climb onto the counter, stand up, and reach just high enough to pull the big blue bowl off the top of the refrigerator. (That is, the big blue bowl that holds the remaining Halloween candy). Hmm...little Sneak!

Marky-Mark has had the roughest week of all. On Wednesday, he fearfully came home and showed me a behavior slip that stated he was to serve a silent lunch the next day...for spitting from up on the monkey bars. Not a huge crime, but still disrespectful and against the rules. So he accepted responsibility and served his punishment. Thursday, he came home from school visibly shaken, with yet another behavior slip. This time, he did something much worse. In an effort to make kids laugh, he had held up his snow glove, and pushed all the fingers down except the middle. I had to read it a few times to let that one soak in. Not MY kid!!! Not at a CHRISTIAN school!!! I told Mark I was going to let Daddy handle this one when he got home from work. And Mark said, "Oh no! That's the worst!"

He started giving me excuses, but I cut him off right away, saying, "Mark, if you start making excuses, you are only going to put yourself in more trouble! You know you were wrong. Just accept responsibility, Man-up and serve your punishment, and then move on knowing that Daddy and Mommy still love you!" So he quietly endured the agony of awaiting Daddy's return home (and inevitable punishment).

Being the wise father he is, Ryan had a very good talk with Mark. We realize that Mark doesn't understand the gravity of what that gesture means. So, I guess you can add that to what Mark learned this week...that sticking up a middle finger is like swearing at someone. He looked appalled when we told him that! He'd known it was a bad gesture. But didn't know HOW bad. Then Ryan reminded him that everyone in the 4th grade will probably hear about this little stunt. And Mark was equally appalled (and humiliated). Today, Mark intends to go apologize to his teacher, as well as his circle of friends, for not setting a good example and for doing something so wrong.

And Mommy learned that she should never think, "My child would never...." because you just never know. What's most important to me is that my kids would know they can come to us when they screw up. Even when they screw up big time. And we will hold them accountable for their actions....but we will also stand behind them and love them no matter what. I hope this instance can be the beginning of that kind of relationship with our eldest son.

Phew! Thank goodness it's the weekend!

Reese's Prayer Tonight...

"Jesus...Have a good sleep.
And help us be safe...And Jesus is wiff us.
And we have school tomorrow. Amen!"

There's a New Sheriff in Town!

And his name is Sheriff Brody!
Reese dressed up for the Halloween parade at school today. He wore his Sheriff costume, complete with a leather vest that his daddy once wore as a child. Too cute!

This little sheriff has more than just a quick draw and a fast punch. He also has learned to read this week! Last night, while he was at the table practicing writing the letter 'j' he surprised us all when he began to sound out words on his own! "J-A-M....jam!" "J-U-G...jug!" We were so thrilled at this little guy's accomplishment! Now he's ready to take on the world, and has the sheriff badge to prove it.

Celebrating Reese's birthday

Friday night, we celebrated Reese's birthday with the Brody family and the Grove's. Miss Kristi helped Mommy make the Thomas the Train cake! I think it turned out well & Reese was certainly thrilled!

Reese had that shy little smile on his face while we sang happy birthday to him. I know he was loving every single moment of it!

At bedtime, I snuggled in bed with Reese and showed him the photos on my camera from that evening. The cake. The candles. The birthday boy. But, before I could kiss him goodnight, he asked in the sweetest little voice, "Mommy, can you sing 'Happy Birfday' to me one more time?" So, we sang it together. It was so precious. Well...it was precious until about halfway thru when he let one rip! Aye! Such a Brody!

Reese Turns Six!

My sweet little Reese turns 6 today! I cannot believe how quickly time has flown! There was a time I thought we'd never get through those terrible two's (and three's). LOL. But since he has developed in his vocabulary and has grown in his temperment, he has become such a fun, sweet kid. He has hit milestones so quickly that it feels time has just flown by!

Now he is in kindergarten. He is acceling beyond our expectations. And he is an awesome big brother to Marina, while looking up greatly to his big brother, Mark.

He was thrilled, this morning, to bring treat bags to share with his kindergarten class. And he is anxious to get home after school to play with his gift from Mommy and Daddy...the Thomas the Train table (which I have to quickly assemble before he gets home!)

Hide and Seek

Yeah, they are cute alright. But they are also little stinkers! Partners in crime! Their newest antic: hiding silently from Mommy until she goes into panic mode, searching every floor of the house.

It's happened twice now. I'll come downstairs to a silent family room. No kids in sight. The back sliding door is cracked open to allow a breeze. And I'll call for Reese and Marina, receiving no answer. I'll call louder. Nothing. I'll peek outside, check the basement, look back upstairs, EVERYWHERE. And just when I'm ready to call the cops, I hear little giggles behind he couch. In a spot that only little munchkins like them could actually fit into. Relief! Then anger! Then laughs, because they are so adorable, crouching into that small spot. Like two little peas in a pod. Luckily, they haven't figured out any other spots to hide. So now I know to always check there first. Stinkers!

More football...sorry!

Mark's team took on New Lenox on Saturday...and they won! The final score was something like 33-12. A very exciting game! That concludes their regular season with a record of 5 wins and 3 losses. Now we have a 'by' week, then on to the playoffs. Fun times.

Since we were all the way out in New Lenox for the game, we decided to grab some lunch as a family, when Mark's game finished, and then we returned to the field to catch the Varsity game (another slaughter win!) while Mark played around the bleachers with some of his teammates.

Lots of football families spend the entire day on the field, as they have several kids on the various team levels. Next year, Reese will be old enough to join Superlight, and Mark will continue to play on Lightweight, which means we will have 2 games to sit thru. Then, when Marina is 6, she will be old enough to cheer for Superlight...and by then Mark will be on Varsity, so we will be one of those families spending the entire day on the bleachers, supporting our kids.

I really don't mind tho. It's so fun to hang out with other football families, and cheer each others' kids on. And it's fun to see Reese and Marina proudly cheer for their big brother. It's also a good excuse for Ryan and I to sit close on the bleachers, like we did in high school, and share a pack of M&Ms or some nachos. lol. Good memories. Good times.

"These are a few of my FAVORITE things..."

The scent of Marky's thick, buzzed haircut. It smells like a cushiony foam pillow mixed with shampoo. The way his freckles dance across the bridge of his nose and his belly laugh when his dad cracks a joke. The way he wrestles with his little brother, taking a beating from the 5yr old that is out for real blood, while keeping his cool and his sense-of-humor at arms' reach.

Watching little Reese sleep, all snuggled up in our bed. His fine silky hair draped across the pillow. The way he scrunches up his tiny, little nose when he laughs. And his shyness that rears its head up when we drench him with tickles and attention and compliments. The way he always busts out with random rhymes from school or quotes from movies.

Marina's chubby little neck that I could kiss on all day long. The way she sets up all her toy animals in a straight line on the coffee table with total precision and care. Her eyelashes framing those jeweled-blue eyes that make me want to melt. Her frown when she's unhappy that can easily be turned into dimples with a quick tickle or swinging embrace.

Kindergarten

Who knew there were so many requirements to fulfill before your kid could start kindergarten?? Yikes! Physical exam @ the doctor, including 4 nasty shots...Dental exam...Vision test...bus route paperwork...plus all the shopping for school supplies and clothes! Phew! After all that, the first day of school finally arrives, and here I am, waving goodbye to my sweet little boy. With a lunchbox in his bag and new shoes on his feet, he enters the huge school, holding a teacher's hand, ready to face his first full day without Mom. And I drive away, fighting back fears, ready to face my first full day without Reese. Sad day.

Reese is attending Churchill Elementary this year. I love his teacher. She seems strict, yet loving. He will be in a normal half day kindergarten class, with 25 children. That is an overwhelming number of kids for me, but I know he'll be fine There will be an aid in the classroom to prompt Reese when he needs special help. Then he will be pulled for lunch with the other special needs kids, and then attend an afternoon diagnostic class. This class is intended for kids with delays (such as speech or occupational delays, like Reese), and it is meant to give those kids an added boost as they reinforce the things they've learned in the morning session.



So, in essence, Reese is attending all-day school. My hope is that he will succeed in this program and catch up to the other kids his age. That way, we can enroll him at CCS next year, like his brother. But if he still shows delay, then we will keep him in the public school system so he can receive the special help he needs. (Private schools just don't have the resources to aid special needs kids). Either way, we are so darn proud of Reese. He's such a fighter, and works so hard to overcome obstacles. He is so brave, to enter into new settings without Mom and Dad, and to participate in class.

It's so difficult to let him go out on his own. I'd rather be there beside him, explaining things and making things easy for him. But this program is what he needs. To learn on his own and face tough academics head on. Without Mommy there to give him the answers. It will make him a better student for life. So, here I sit. Rooting for him on the inside. We prayed for him before bed, the night before. And Mark had the same anxieties that I had. He was in tears for Reese, afraid to let his little brother start a new school alone. Sweet Mark decided to sleep in Reese's bed and comfort him all night. What a great, protective brother!

Reese happily came off the bus at the end of his first day. I tried to get as much info as I could from him, before he completely forgot what he'd done at school. He seemed to like it. He liked recess. And storytime. And he was so happy I'd packed him an extra juice box and pretzels for lunch. That's all I could pull from him, before he got frustrated and wanted to run and play. That's enough for me, though. Enough to calm my fears and know that he is in good hands. Even if those hands aren't mine. xoxo