WITL--Monday

Well, I was right about not really wanting to take pics yesterday.  At least that was the case in the morning but once I got started I found my groove and Troy and I took a total of 176 pictures.  I'm guessing from past experience that that number will slowly go down all week.  I think it will be much lower especially today and Thursday as both of the kids will be at school.

Yesterday was a new experience for us.  Luke has never gone to school on Mondays before and yesterday was his first time.  He only goes for half a day but I was grateful for that as Hannah and I were able to get a trip to Target and Sam's Club completed before picking him back up.  We had a rather normal afternoon--Hannah napped fairly well; LJ did some projects and watched a couple of shows and then they played together after nap time.  Troy brought dinner home as it was soccer practice night.  He and Luke went to that while Hannah and I had a ton of fun playing together.  Since school is back in session, the kids are going to bed earlier and thus bath time is earlier as well.  Troy and I hung out on the couch after they were in bed and watched some TV before going to bed ourselves.

Clean feet

LJ's breakfast

She loves to play with the belts in carts

Walking into Sam's Club

Playing peek-a-boo while waiting for LJ

Lunch

Before nap time

Everything needs water

Bleck!

Dryer sheet box train engine shed

Remembering

Snack time snuggles

More bleck!

Daddy's home

Dinner 

Eating lettuce at 20 1/2 months

He was so sweaty when he got home

Love this one 

PJ's

Shark attack

Pic from Grammy from Tybee Island

Good night squeeze 

Reading Nat Geo Kids (got the first one in the mail today)

"Best Man Time Ever"

Those were Luke's words when he and Troy got home late Saturday night after riding the Amtrak train to Dallas and back.  It's no secret that Luke loves trains--he always has and he is still building tracks with his wooden train track on a fairly regular basis.  

Troy decided about 6 weeks ago that they should take a real train ride while Luke's excitement about it is still really high.  Luke was stoked about it when Troy told him the plan--ride the train to Dallas, meet up with Uncle Todd and go to the zoo and then ride the train back home.  Let's just say that we heard about it more than a few times between the original telling and the actual event.  

The guys had to leave our house by 7:30, that's really early for LJ.  There was no hesitation about getting out of bed though.  Luke didn't want to eat breakfast either; he was worried they were going to miss the train.  They didn't of course but unfortunately their timing wasn't the best.  One of the conductors assigned seats to everyone as they came aboard; Troy and Luke ended up facing backwards.  My boys are both sensitive to motion sickness and this was a bit concerning for Troy.  The train was completely full so Troy asked if they could change seats at a stop but that's not allowed apparently.  Thankfully it turned out not to be an issue.  

The ride is about 4 hours each way.  Luke watched a movie and played on the iPad and also his LeapPad to pass the time.  Troy told me he did a really good job of entertaining himself and he received more than few compliments for his good behavior from strangers.  They also had lots of snacks for the day which also passed some of the time.

Once in Dallas, Todd picked them up and they went out to lunch and then to the zoo.  Luke said his favorite animal at the zoo was the baby elephant; it is only 2 months old and still very small.  They also saw meercats, ibex, tigers, sharks, rhinos, hippos, etc.  And they also got to ride on the train that was at the zoo.  

They got back to the train station about 4:45 and thankfully got forward facing seats for the trip home.  Luke tried to sleep for a bit on the way back but didn't have much luck with that.  Troy said they tried to eat a bit of dinner on the train too but it wasn't very edible; thankfully they had a large lunch and all those snacks.  

When they got home about 10:15 Luke was still so excited about the day and told me all about it as we got him ready for bed.  I think he was asleep before his head hit the pillow.  Sunday he took a 2 1/2 hour nap and I was worried he wouldn't be able to go to sleep at bedtime but he went right to sleep then too.  I guess his big adventure wore him out.

Unfortunately Luke didn't want to take his picture standing by the train on the outside.  I'm just grateful that Troy indulged the scrapbooker/blogger in me and took as many pics as he did.

Labor Day Weekend

We went to Topeka for the long Labor Day weekend.  We got there about 5 on Friday night and left right after lunch on Monday.  It was a great trip.  The kids love to play with Grandma and Grandpa.  Todd and Georgia arrived late on Saturday night and it was good to hang out and catch up with them too.  

Saturday morning we went to Gage Park--a huge park with tons of play equipment, train ride, carousel, gardens and also the zoo.  We did everything except the zoo.  Thankfully the super hot weather stayed away for a while although we were definitely ready for some AC when we left.  Luke loved the train ride (obviously) and we all had fun exploring and playing.  I got some great pics of the kids with Grandma and Grandpa.

Sunday afternoon after church we headed to Leonardville, KS for the family reunion (Sherre's side of the family).  We had fun catching up with relatives and Hannah had a great time playing with Annika, a distant cousin who is 2 months older than her.  

Monday morning we went to Lake Shawnee and fed the ducks and played for a bit before heading back for lunch.  After lunch we packed up the car and headed home.

First Days of School

Luke started school on Wednesday.  We're waiting one more year for kindergarten and so he's back at the same preschool as last year.  Luke was very anxious to start school again this year.  We went supply shopping a few weeks ago and I've been hearing about it since then.  We went to meet the teacher day last week although Luke has the same teachers as last year; he is in a different classroom though.  Luke will go to school from 9-11:30 on Monday and from 9-2:45 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Wednesday morning we were ready to go early so I could take some pictures before we headed to school.  After that we headed to school and I asked LJ what he was most excited about.  His response was playground time.  Drop off went great and Luke barely gave me a hug and kiss good-bye.  I wasn't expecting any less.

Luke wanted to play on the playground after school (a routine from last year) so we did that for a while although it was rather hot.  I tried to get some answers about his day although I didn't get much response.  Finally after much proding, I got a summary that went something like this:

*Playground time

*Circle time

*Story time

*Potty time

*Snack time

*Enrichment time

*Lunch time

*Play time

*Playground time

*Potty time

*Story time

*Free play time

*Go home time

Luke has three other boys in his class this year that were also in his class last year.  One of his teachers asked me to explain to LJ that the teachers are going to look to the four of them to help out around the classroom since they know the routine.  Luke thought was pretty cool and said he would do a good job.

Yesterday was Hannah's first day of MDO.  Luke was super excited for her to be going to school with him.  We repeated the getting ready early so we could take a few pictures and then we headed off.  I was a bit anxious about leaving Hannah; she has been pretty clingy lately and we all know she's a big time momma's girl.  We took Luke's stuff upstairs to his classroom and then we all went to drop off Hannah before I took Luke out to the playground.  Hannah's drop off went okay.  She was a bit hesitant but she didn't cry.  I had a few tears and sniffles but handled it well I think.

Because her drop off went relatively well I didn't worry about her too much during the day.  Of course I thought about her a bunch but I wasn't worried about her.  I went to the outlet mall and did some shopping before coming home for lunch and enjoying a quiet house for a bit before heading to pick up the kids.

Well, turns out Hannah didn't have a great day.  She apparently cried off and on all day long.  Her teachers said she wasn't inconsolable so they didn't call me but she had a pretty rough day.  When I appeared in the doorway, one of her teachers was holding her because she was already crying.  She saw me and starting crying harder and reaching for me.  I felt awful.  I could tell she had been upset for a while because her eyes were all puffy and her face was red.  Needless to say she was very happy to see me.  Her teachers said she had a few good moments but it was a long day for her.  She ate a decent lunch but only slept for 30 minutes.  We went down to get Luke and then headed home.

I was expecting Hannah to be super clingy for the rest of the afternoon.  She was for part of it but it seemed like she calmed down fairly quickly after getting back in her normal environment and realizing I wasn't going anywhere.

I knew that Hannah was either going to have no problem at all transitioning to MDO or it was going to be really tough.  If yesterday is a good indication of the future it might be a rough road for a while.  I know that Hannah needs to be away from me for a bit and realize she can handle that and she also needs the socialization but it is going to be much tougher to leave her on Tuesday than it was yesterday.  I have a feeling she isn't going to let me go so easily or without crying.  I hope she can figure out quickly that she can be okay without me or another family member and that school is fun.

Week in the Life

So I'm going to do a Week in the Life project again as I have for the past two years.  It starts on Monday and goes through Sunday.  I think this might be tough for me this year.  Not only have I not been blogging very regularly but taking pictures hasn't been a huge priority either.  Maybe this will get me out of that funk.  

I remember last year not being excited to start this and that's how I feel again this year.  I also remember at the end of things last year I was super glad I had done it.  I really like the in depth look at our regular everyday life.  I know it will be fascinating to look at years from now when the kids are older.  I would love to know what exactly my life was like when I was young.  So, with all that in mind I plan to start snapping and blogging away on Monday.  

If you'd like more information on this project, please visit Ali Edwards website.

Another Branson Trip

Two weekends ago, August 15-18, we were back in Branson to spend the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa H and Aunt Sarah for Aunt Kristi's wedding.  We rented a house this time--it was really nice and had an awesome screened in porch we used a bunch.  We had a rather relaxing weekend outside of the wedding activities.  We took some walks around the neighborhood pond, did some shopping, played more miniature golf and just enjoyed the company.  

Kristi and Kevin were married Saturday evening during the sunset.  It was a very nice ceremony with basically just family in attendance.  We will miss having Kristi and Wesley here in OKC with us but are  extremely happy for them and Kevin and his kids.  They make a wonderful family.