The Times, They Are a Changin'...

Kayci's speech has always been very clear. There wasn't a lot of the cute baby talk, which was good, but you know, not as cute as the little kids you see on TV. There were a couple of things she said that I just loved...she'd say "buhout" instead of "without," i.e. "me and Daddy went buhout YOU." Taco Cabana was "the taco store." My favorite was "Chik-il-A," though. I'll never forget the day we were in the Target parking lot in Cypress and she said something about Chik-fil-A. Then she said, "Mommy? Didn't you HEAR me? I said Chik-FFFFFFFil-A!" Oh, it broke my heart a little. She was almost three.

Noble has a lot more speech substitutions and some pretty interesting word formations. Nothing to worry about, but we all smile a lot at the silly things he says. Kayci will get him to say the things he says the craziest just to hear it. I think we're all a little guilty of that.

My absolute favorite word in Noblese is his name. He uses it very appropriately, can answer "what's your name?" and "who has...?" and "who wants to...?" but our favorite way he uses his name is as a possessive. "Whose car is that?" "Boble's." "Whose bed is this?" "Boble's." And our favorite...when he wants something of yours, he'll grab it, look at you sideways and say, "Boble's" to attempt to mark his territory. I love it!

Alas, all good things must come to an end and babies must grow up. Last weekend, Daddy was talking to Noble and Noble slipped with a "Noble" instead of a "Boble." I guess he realized it...because he hasn't said it since. I have to admit, I stopped Kayci the other day when she was coaching him, "Nnnnnnnn-Noble" because I'm not ready for Boble to go away, just yet.

Sigh.

Wouldn't it be awesome if there'd been a video of him talking on this post?

Hmm. If only someone in our house had the capability.

Hmm. If only.

Blog pressure. Gotta love it!

Noble is Everywhere, Man...

As Kristi mentioned in her previous post, yesterday we went to Addie Bogan's 4th birthday party. I had a lot of good pictures, but here are some of the best of the kids playing. Noble was having a great time out in the country, running literally everywhere.

Kayci didn't stay in one place very long, either. She was busy playing outside and running around having a great time!



One of Noble's friends from school was at the party. They had a great time playing together.



Noble and McKenna looking at the Dora couch.





Noble and his future bride (once he submits his essay), Kaylin, go for a walk.





Noble eats "ice."











Noble and the cow. Man versus beast.



Noble made off with Kaylin's balloon. Don't worry - Kaylin got Kayci The Enforcer to help her get it back.

Happy New Refrigerator!

When we sold our last house, we decided to leave the refrigerator in the house. We bought it with the house originally, and it just seemed right. And...I kind of wanted a new one. When we moved, our plan was to buy one here in Brenham. Then we ended up renting, and buying a refrigerator for a rented house just didn't seem as fun. Luckily, our friends Scott & Melisa got a new refrigerator about that time and gave us their old one. They laugh because it was truly their OLD refrigerator...they bought it when they got married, and it had been sitting out in their garage since they got their new one, waiting to be donated. So we took it, gladly and gratefully. After all, we were only going to be in the little green house for a year or so until we bought a home...ha ha, almost 4 years later.

Don't get me wrong...we loved that old fridge because of what it represented, and the generosity of our good friends who made the move to Brenham easier in so many ways. And let's face it, if we HAD bought a new refrigerator when we moved here, we probably would have put it on the Discover card and bought more than we could afford. So now we're especially grateful for their generosity! But the refrigerator had a few flaws...like brittle plastic from living in the garage for a while, which led to some holes that, thankfully, were easily covered with Capri Suns. :)

Last weekend, when Mom was visiting, I noticed that our vegetables were frozen in the crisper. Hmm. We'd already priced refrigerators as we figured this one would go out at some point in the near future, and we'd already decided that we'd buy a plain, white, up and down fridge that we could either leave in the house when we move (not on the horizon, yet) or take with us for a garage fridge. So, when I talked to James about it that night he laughed--he'd forgotten to tell me that he'd talked to Scott and Melisa at lunch one day and they'd gotten a new fridge...and wanted to give us the one they bought when we moved here!!! What great timing! We hemmed and hawed, as it feels different somehow to accept a 4 year old fridge than a 20 year old fridge...but they insisted. And we're grateful!

Last night was the big swap. James and I emptied the contents of our refrigerator into coolers, then he went off to Scott and Melisa's house to load up the new one (which I thought was going to be a plain old, up and down white fridge) while I stripped ours of magnets and the last couple years of school pictures, love notes, etc.. And Buddy Bucks, of course.

Kayci walked through the kitchen after it was all cleaned off and said, "wow! Is that our new refrigerator??" Nope...old one. Then she said, "It looks so weird with nothing on it. And our kitchen looks so weird...I'm glad we don't have stuff everywhere like this all the time!" (That's my girl!)

Imagine my surprise when James, Scott and Melisa arrived with this gorgeous thing! I can't believe they're GIVING it away--it's beautiful, and definitely the nicest fridge we've ever lived with. Thanks, Scott and Melisa!!

It didn't take any time at all for us to get it installed and filled up...then while I cooked quesadillas, Kayci decorated it. Then Noble promptly undecorated it...well, you get the picture. Scott and Melisa, we owe you BIG. I tried to offer you our firstborn, but well, I understand. I definitely understand you not taking our secondborn back-up offer. So you name it, it's yours!

Oh, I forgot...yesterday we were supposed to post pics of our kids dressed up for Addie's Pirates and Princesses bash. Well...Noble wasn't having it, and Kayci lost her eyepatch in the car on the way to the party. Yes, really. Maybe James (hint hint) will get on here later and post some of the pics from his camera...he got some beautiful pictures out there yesterday. It was a beautiful day, perfect for running around outside in the country. Thanks, Bogans, for a great afternoon!

We are blessed with amazing friends! Today should be another fun day, as Daddy and the Dudes will head out to Chappell Hill for their annual SuperBowl party and the kids and I will play with Lauren and the Parker kiddos here in town. :) Can't wait!

Fun with Friends!

We are blessed with great friends, near and far. One of our friends, Heather, is a Mommyblogger who's great at capturing moments with her kids--and mine. Here are a couple of links to fun posts:

http://dallmeyerdays.blogspot.com/2010/02/creative-kids.html

http://dallmeyerdays.blogspot.com/2010/01/crazy-parade.html

It's 4:00...do you know where your cup is?

At 3:22 this morning, we woke up to a huge crash of thunder and a pretty impressive lightning show. Of course, we're used to getting up at 4, so we were wide awake (poor James--it'll be a long day for him!). After a drink of water and an unsuccessful attempt to go back to sleep, we decided to suck it up and be up. So we started watching a movie on the laptop. At 4:00 on the dot, we heard two little feet hit the floor next door...and then quiet for about 30 seconds. Then our door opened, and in walked Bubby with his cup (that we fill with water and leave on the table in case he wakes crying in the night and we need it in a hurry). He walked right in, held up his cup and said, "unh unh!" (The sound the cars on his cup make, of course). We were pretty impressed that he'd helped himself. Silver lining, silver lining...

Timeline

The first graders at Kayci's school were assigned a project: create a timeline of your life. We handed it over to Kayci and let her lead the way in choosing events, pictures, writing the accompanying sentences...you name it, she did it. And she did a darn good job. Now, others may have been fancier and more perfectly in alignment. But Kayci did it all--and she is so proud of herself. She got in the car today and told me how only a couple of the projects look like the kid did it (she brought it up, not me!). I was shocked, but then I remembered, it's Kayci. She notices everything!

Daddy and I were surprised at what she included (and what she left out), but here are the events that made the final cut:

2003: birth :)

2005: Dora birthday party

2008: Noble being born the same place she was

2008: starting Kindergarten

2009: visiting the Liberty Bell (God help us, she picked the picture where it looks like she's LICKING the Liberty Bell...great)

2009: the day she lost her first tooth

I could NOT be more proud of this kid. She amazes me every day with her insight and her heart. Of course, most days she also frustrates the heck out of me because we're so alike...but it all evens out to one awesome kid!

Fresh Broccoli

In early September we planted a small garden in our back yard that consisted of broccoli and cabbage (and some sunflowers that died almost immediately). According to the card that came with each kind of plant, the broccoli would be ready in October and the cabbage would be ready in November. It wasn't.



On Thursday evening, some of the broccoli was finally ready to cut. So Kayci and I went out in the garden and cut three bunches of broccoli to cook.







We put it in a stir-fry with some other kinds of vegetables, and it made a great dinner. It's the first time I've ever had broccoli that fresh, and I think you could really taste the difference.







Now, if only the cabbage would get ready in time for New Years dinner. Oh, wait...

Career Day

So...Career Day is coming up at Kayci's school. They sent home a letter today asking for volunteers. I asked Kayci if she wanted either Daddy or me to volunteer and she looked at me sadly and said, "um, NO, Mommy--neither of you has a job first graders would want to know about." I guess I shouldn't be too offended, as this came from the child who's going to Career Day dressed as a pop singer. Geez.

Bedazzled!

Guess what Noble got Kayci got for Christmas? :)

Be afraid, Daddy's stuff--be very afraid.

Because Noble knows how to use it, too!

Done!

As of 4:15, our office/playroom is officially inhabitable again! I know it's ony been week and a half since inspiration struck, but it's been a lonnnnng week and a half of clutter in odd places. I don't do well with clutter. But I'm grateful that we bit the bullet...it started a process of purging, cleaning & organizing that's been a long time coming. :)

Before you look at the pictures, know that nobody but me could possibly be excited by this. It's okay.




The view from the kitchen




A cozy, carpeted corner for Bubby




His big toys are on the floor, and all of the low tubs & toys are Noble-friendly :)




Kristi heaven!




Daddy still has his corner back there. It's not mine to show...but it's cool!




Kids's easel & desks




We put paper & markers & crayons on Noble's desk-he loves to sit there!




It's not attractive, but it's functional! And yes, it's time to recycle...




Look what we dug up! He loves being able to turn lights off and on. And it beats him dragging that stool everywhere.




Last but not least, here's the first public view of my work closet. Again, it's not pretty...but I couldn't do what I do without a space to hold all my STUFF! Usually I can't open thd door without an avalanche...this is huge progress!




Now I just need a home for all of my bags...
- Posted from my iPhone