Johnson Farms...again??

Aiden and I had so much fun at Johnson Farms, we decided to visit it again as a family! And even better, they have even more activities on the weekends for the kids. There was a pumpkin launching cannon that easily shot pumpkins well over 400 ft!!! It was crazy! I caught a great picture of the launch!



There was also a great spot that I had my boys stand up to see just how tall they are. I'm pretty sure Aiden is going to pass me up in the next few years - being that he is near 4.5 ft right now!



I have an affectionate term for Kieran at home - calling him the "Very Hungry Catepillar" (cute book by Eric Carle). It's no wonder the kid has an endless pit for a stomach (especially at breakfast) - given that he is already a little over 3 ft as well!



We picked out a few more pumpkins in the pumpkin patch (although sadly I will admit that we didn't get to carving any of them this year!)



Overall - it was great fun and worth a second visit!! Here are a few more pictures of our fun day!

Fall Field Trip

I was lucky enough to be able to go along with the 1st graders to visit Johnson Farms for their fall field trip. As I get to experience new things with my boys, I am constantly amazed at how many cool places there are around us.

One of the farmers took us on a tour - first stop - the Pumpkin Patch! Each kiddo got to pick out their very own pumpkin to take home. Once they took them back to school, Aiden's teacher had them line them up from biggest to smallest - and of course, Aiden's was leading the pack! Here Aiden is picking pumpkins with a few of his buddies!



They also got some play time on the playground and one of the largest haystacks I've seen yet!


I was glad that I got some special time with A.B. too!!

Kieran is "FWEE"

Catching up from the busy schedules we seem to keep at the Smith household, I cannot let Kieran's 3rd b-day pass without some blogging (albeit over a mth later!).

I know they say two kids are never the same, but as a parent you never really believe that is possible until you experience it. While my boys both have their similarities - they both have very unique qualities that makes them completely different as well. Kieran is such a little mass of chaos that continually ruffles my 'type A' feathers, while at the same time he can make me laugh hysterically from everything he does. That boy is funny - and he knows it - and uses it to his advantage! His transition to the world of 3s went pretty smoothly. He's never been one for big temper tantrums, although they rear their ugly head every now and again. I'm not sure he could be a true toddler without the occasional tantrum. However, he always keeps us on our toes as we try to keep him out of trouble (he is too curious for his own good) and he lives life BIG - the wilder the better!

So - of course Kieran's birthday had to be as wild as can be - thus a bounce house was in order! He had a great time jumping around with the neighbor kids. He got his fill of chocolate "Cars" cupcakes. He had lots of fun opening up all of his presents and just had an all around fabulous birthday.

You know it was good when the first thing he said after he woke up the next morning was "Momma...I want to do it again!" Check out some of our fun!

Lions & Tigers & Bears...Oh My!

So with all of the summer activity we finally got a chance to sneak away for a quick family vacation weekend up to Omaha, NE. While it may not be the most glamorous of vacations, it was a perfect fit for the boys and we had an overall fabulous time!

Gram and Papa were brave enough to travel with us on the road trip and through the flood lands that extended our road trip by about an hour each way. The only thing that I can say is thank goodness for portable dvd players...maybe that is why I didn't go on many road trips growing up! :)

We left early Friday morning and were able to hit up the Children's Museum Friday afternoon. What a great place to take kids! There was tons of hands on activities that both boys absolutely got a thrill of! Splash tables, plastic balls, face painting by mom followed by a science show that included blasting off a "rocket" using water and alka seltzer! It is a must to go see. AND...this summer they also had a dinosaur exhibit on the 2nd floor where the boys got a chance to see dinosaurs up and close. They both had a ton of fun, but it took Kieran some warming up before he took his eye off the dinosaurs!

We ended up staying in this cute little hotel downtown called the Magnolia Hotel. It was in walking distance of the Old Market. It really surprised me how beautiful Omaha was! Not sure what I expected, but the Old Market had brick paved roads and carriage rides going on...it was full of hustle and bustle both nights we were there! We must have tuckered Kieran out because we had just sat down for dinner in this nice little table in the corner when Kieran got out of his seat. I thought he had dropped a toy on the floor that he was reaching down to get, but the next thing I knew he had fallen asleep on the floor of this restaurant!!!! Even the manager of the restaurant had to come over to take a peek.

On Saturday we loaded up the car and took the boys to the zoo. What a great zoo...and the weather turned out to be perfect! The highlight reels were: Aiden loved the gorillas most - Papa even got to see one run up and 'slap' the viewing glass window sending kids into a frenzy...if you can imagine that! A short second to that would be the aquarium that we walked through an underground tunnel and saw a stingray and sharks swimming right above us! Kieran loved the train ride throughout the park. My personal favorite was the Kingdom of the Night exhibit, which included a swamp exhibit that Aiden kept repeating "Mom...these crocodiles are freaking me out!". I think Gram's favorite would be AFTER the zoo and the ice cream parlor we found that only serves HOMEADE ICE CREAM!! Yummy! Similarly, Chris would also chime in that he enjoyed the nightly cookie buffet at the hotel that he got to indulge in his love of White Chocolate Macadamian Nut cookies!!

Overall, it was a great weekend of fun! On our way out of town we stopped at the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge that crosses over the Missouri river. Did I mention the flooding? It was crazy how high the water was - including the views we got on the drive up of the flooding through the farming fields.

Here are a few pics from the trip!

What's up Doc?

So...what else has this crazy family been keeping busy with? Here is a short debut of the fun we've had.

In April, I kicked off the month Rockin the Parkway! I completed my PR 1/2 marathon with a finish time of 1:52:57 finishing 43rd out of 301 women in my age group. Here is a pic of me with my awesome sweat sisters!



Then in the month of May we were busy busy busy with end of school activities! Between the kindergarten musical (which my camera ran out of batteries for!!), the end of school parties, and the spring soccer and start of baseball season we had a jam packed calendar! Here is Aiden on his field day...



Check out AB in the back with the flipped up visor...



and here he is on his last day of school...my how he has grown!

We kicked off the month of June when I ran a 10-K run with my dad! It was the Hospital Hill run, which is a HARD and HILLY run to say the least. How proud was I that my dad ran the entire way with me...although he was pretty proud of himself that he crossed the finish one second before me. What a memorable experience...just wish I had some good pics to share from the event.

Aiden has been busy at summer camp going to the pool every day. He is desperately trying to get us to let him go off the high dive at the pool, but not sure I can stomach that without being there to watch! My little cautious son is ready to embark on some adventure! We've been spending a lot of time at the baseball fields, which is ok given that it's Aiden's favorite sport (although Kieran much prefers the playground than cheering on his brother at this point!). We've also been spending a lot of time on our bikes and staying active, cheering on Chris in both the Tour of KC as well as the Tour of Lawrence. And for those of you following Chris's blog, you'll know that Aiden also debuted in his 1st bike race at the Tour of Lawrence! GO A.B.!!!

Where has the time gone?

WOW!! That is the beginning of this crazy 'catch up' blog posting. Sometimes life takes us and grabs us by the horns and all we can do is try to hang on. That is kind of what I feel like the Smith household has been like for the past several months. Although I'm certainly not complaining - we are all happy and healthy, and our calendars have been full of activities of fun!

So...going back to March...hard to believe the big man is a full 6 yrs old. We hosted a gym party up at Lifetime Fitness again, which the kids had a blast playing games of capture the flag and dodgeball (especially when it was the kids against the adults!). Aiden really enjoyed getting his big boy bike from mom & dad, which he has put a few miles on this summer! Here are a few pics that sum up the big day!

ROCK CHALK!!

At Aiden's school, the kids can earn different awards for good behavior. Collectively, the kindergarten class earned enough gold stars in the lunch room that they got to celebrate today with CRAZY HAIR DAY!

Since Aiden's hair is all of a quarter of an inch or so, we tried to get creative. Given that KU is playing in the SWEET 16 tonight, we thought we might influence a little more luck to get those hawks to the championship if we supported them in style...

My Lucky Charms!

With Aiden on spring break, we decided to take a family day on St. Patrick's Day. The weather was gorgeous for this time of year, so we thought it would be a perfect day to head out for one of the local St. Patrick's Day parades.

Since we had both boys, we decided to visit a more laid back family friendly version of St. Patricks Day in the great town of Lawrence, KS!! Mass St. was full of people - including many of our neighbors! The parade was great - some very interesting floats to see. My favorite was the jayhawk flying the rocket, which I had to get a picture of (see below)! Aiden enjoyed all of the candy passed out during the parade most, I think! However, on our way back to the car we decided to let the boys get a treat and let them try their first cotton candy. Can you believe that Aiden - my son who would eat chocolate or treats with every meal if we let him - does NOT like cotton candy? Tried one bite and then left the rest for Kieran! Unbelievable! Kieran was funny too...I don't think he was quite sure how to eat his cotton candy! It was definitely an experience!

Although it wasn't the same as sipping a nice frosty drink while the waves roll in, it was definitely a bit of family fun that we enjoyed during our spring break "vacation".

Say What?

So, life goes on at the Smith household. We are currently enjoying Aiden's 1.5 week spring break VACATION! Seriously, where was that when I was a kid? I'm pretty sure the kid's brain is going to be jello by the time he goes back to school next Monday. So far he has enjoyed spending some time at Gram & Papa's house, playing the Wii and an old magic set from when I was a kid. (Psstt...don't tell my mom this, but I used to think she was crazy when her refusal to not throw things away resulted in a collection of many of the toys of my youth still in her basement. However, that is one of the things my kids love about going over there - there are tons of toys they don't find anywhere else! Ha! Who would imagine?)

We've also enjoyed a small break from sports. Basketball wrapped up a few weeks ago - although soccer practice 'kicks' in next week! Hope this weather turns around so the boys enjoy being out on the field. We haven't thrown in the towel altogether though...during our break we got to celebrate KU's BIG 12 VICTORY - AGAIN!! (You know...a win of 5 out of the last 6 seasons. No big deal...just sayin.) I think I have finally gotten the boys to be true Rock Chalk fans while we have cheered on their victories. Aiden's definitely becoming more aware of sports teams and mascots. It's pretty cool to watch him get excited about sports.

Kieran has just recently moved classrooms at his school into the preschool room this past Monday. So far the transition has been ok; however, there was an interesting discussion with his teacher. The conversation went something like this: Miss Jenny: "Does Kieran have older siblings?"; Me: "Yes, he has an older brother who is almost six."; Miss Jenny: "Aahhh, that explains a lot." Apparently Kieran has been using his love of wrestling with his older brother as a way to introduce himself to the friends in his new class. Seriously - I do love my boys, but do they always have to be so physical? More to come to see if we are able to reel in the littlest wild man of the family.

Along the same lines, his language skills are growing every single day. It is just amazing. While we still can't have full conversations, it is great to know what is going on in that little mind. He does, however, still have that two year old slur to his words. One of the funniest things I can recall of late was Kieran using his manners for something his daddy had done for him. Now - when Kieran says "thank you", I'll admit that it sometimes comes out something like "Dankoo". Chris turned around to Kieran and says "Kieran, I don't have a dingo." Say what? Can we please get an interpreter in here?

Where has the time gone?

All I can say is...WOW! The last several months have been such a whirlwind in the Smith household. I can barely believe I have not posted a single blog entry since December!! Needless to say, there have been many memories created since the last post. Here's a few photos that will show you just how crazy things can get in our house sometimes:

(This is the boys' best
pirate expression)

Chocolate attack! Daddy introduced us to Nutella - yummy!

Without recasting the last several months, I will say we've had a lot of fun this winter! Most importantly, Aiden has discovered the art of "the snow day". And there have been LOTS of them! Not sure that I kept an official count; however, I am fairly certain that between snow days and planned days off from school, there has been only one week that A.B. has been at school all five days since he went back after Christmas! Thank goodness for family and neighbors as we have juggled all the time off!

We've also been busy with sports! Aiden started basketball this winter - and he claims that this is now his favorite. He has a little bit of a height advantage. Chris measured the other day and he is already just over 4 ft tall...and a little over 60 lbs!! The kid is a monster! Let's just say I've been weight training a lot because I'm pretty sure Aiden is going to shoot up taller than me in the next year or two and I still have to keep him in line somehow!

Kieran has also maintained his maniac mode! We moved him into a big boy bed in the last several weeks and the transition has been pretty easy. He has had occasional wake ups during the middle of the night, but goes back down quickly. I'm writing it off to the fact that he has been growing a new molar about every 3 weeks for the last month and a half. There is only one more to go and then hopefully we will be smooth sailing from that point forward. However, other than that it doesn't seem to bother him, which is great! He is such a non-two year old - Chris and I say there is barely any baby left in him. He's short on temper tantrums (which is fantastic), but his ornery streak is larger than life! He has a devil of a smile and gets away with way more than he should. I definitely can feel my hair graying as he is giving us a run for our money.

We also enjoyed another great ski trip just after Christmas with our fabulous friends - the Mareks. Aiden went this year and did a phenomenal job picking up skiing in just 3 days. Talk about making a mama proud! It's so exciting to share a sport that we really love with our kiddo - and then to have him love it just as much as us! As long as we can get Kieran on board (which given his wild streak, he'll be hitting the terrain park on his first trip), I can see many more family ski trips over the next several years.

Chris and I have been busy between work and juggling our workout schedules. Anyone who follows Chris's blog knows that he is always busy biking. I am planning on running another 1/2 marathon (not sure when I am going to give up the pain!) at the beginning of April. Not sure if I will do another marathon this fall...TBD. I also joined a mom's indoor soccer league this winter. What fun! I've really enjoyed getting to know some of the other mom's (some with other kindergartners and a few with kiddos just a few years older). I've learned pretty quickly that it's a lot easier cheering Aiden on from the sidelines - that is for sure!

While we have definitely had a bit of "crazy" to our lives, I know that Chris and I share the same goal for 2011, which is to live life fully. There are many things we can and should do with our time - and then there are those things that fill you up and make you invigorated with energy and joy. It is our hope that we set the example for our boys that we can all pursue our goals and dreams - no matter how old we are (although the recovery process always takes a little longer as the years tick by!). We are all busy doing the things we love - and I can't tell you the smile it brings to have my boys cheering me on from the sidelines or vice versa. I am constantly in awe of the joy in our lives and feel gratitude that I get to experience this life with my boys each and every day.

So, when you have been saying to yourself "what in the world are those Smiths up to?"...now you know! Here are a few of my favorite pics over the last few months:

Confucious Says...

For those of you who follow Chris's blog, you've already heard the story of Aiden's finger (for those just catching up click here). Why, you ask, has it taken me this long to catch up with my blog? The short answer is - it took ME that long to recover from the whole incident.

For all of the moms out there that have gotten "that call", you know what I mean. The second my phone rang at work from school I knew something was wrong. I can't describe anything other than shock that hit me like a brick when our after school care program director told me about what happened...but all I really remember from that conversation was the part where she told me part of Aiden's finger was missing. I can tell you, for the many speeding tickets I got in high school, none would compare to that which I would have gotten if I was pulled over that afternoon. I couldn't seem to get to school fast enough.

Without documenting all of the crazy details from the incident, I can tell you, as a mom, I learned several things from this experience:

1 - Your children can often teach you more than you are able to teach them if you let them.

Before this happened, I could have told you Aiden was a tough kid. He's always picked himself back up quickly and doesn't come to tears often. But, throughout everything that happened, I just keep replaying how all of the doctors and nurses kept saying how brave he was and how well he was handling everything that happened. Today - Aiden is drawing pictures of his finger so that everyone knows what it looks like (it's still wrapped up in bandages). It didn't slow him down a beat - he jumped right back into things, playing outside with his friends and playing basketball at school. He recalls the incident as "the time that he chopped his finger off". He doesn't wince or worry that it might permanently look different, like his mother does. In fact, I'm pretty certain that throughout his lifetime he will carry this as one of his "battle wounds" to be proud of. All I can say is that the strength and resilience of that kid amazes me. I was always proud to be his mom, but even more so after watching him persevere through hardship.

2 - C Smith is about as good as it gets.

I am a tough girl myself...that is until I had kids. I figured that out quickly the first time Aiden clipped his chin on our wooden stairs and there was blood everywhere. All I could think was blood, BLOOD! I couldn't even think a rationale thought. The same panic overcame me when picking Aiden up from school that afternoon. Silence was about all I could do to keep it together...and lots and lots of hugs. I figured the best thing I could do for Aiden was try to hide my fear and sadness - if I was strong he would be strong. However, my boy scout husband met us at the hospital with stories ready to roll. He talked a lot with Aiden and put him at ease. Later when the docs were cleaning the wound, Chris thought to get out his phone to play Star Wars clips...I'm pretty sure Aiden wasn't thinking anything but lightsaber battles at this point! Then Chris was the trooper and took Aiden downtown for surgery (more on that below) and was out until 2:00 that morning, putting up with a very hungry and tired son...no dinner since they knew they would have to give Aiden local anesthesia to fix his finger. Even since then, Chris is more tolerable of cleaning the wound than I and fixing up Aiden's bandages. I mean I always knew that I was married to a good man, but I'm not sure I can actually put into words what it meant to realize the deep levels of compassion I saw in this man. I can only hope that my two boys grow into as good of a father as he is some day.

3 - Good friends and family are what life boils down to.

When all of this happened, it was right at the end of a work day. Kieran was still at daycare. We called upon our good friend Stef to pick up Kieran so that we both could be with Aiden at the hospital. Stef, with three kids of her own (including a 9 mth old), picked up Kieran and took all four kids to gymnastics and dinner all by herself. What can I say - she is the woman! Her husband then tucked her kids into bed while she went to my house to tuck in Kieran that night. I finally left the hospital around 9:30 when the two boys were headed downtown for Aiden's surgery. While I have some of the best friends in the world, I also didn't want to make her to have to settle in at my house for the night! So, I went home and waited anxiously for the phone call that would eventually tell me everything went just fine.

The day after the accident I was at home with Aiden when he had a basket of fruit sent by the people at my office...Aiden LOVES fruit. When Aiden saw the basket, his actual words were "Mom, this is the best day EVER!". Oh, to be able to see the world through the eyes of a kid again! Given the night before, Aiden spent much of that day sleeping. However, I tried to keep him on his normal schedule, so at 8 o'clock off to bed we went. As we were saying our nighttime prayers, Aiden asked me how I was able to fall asleep every night. My response was that I like to think about all of the happy things that happened to me during the day, so Aiden said "ok, I'm going to think about my fruit!" The things that 5 yr olds say...

Throughout the next week, our family stepped up helping to take care of Aiden while we kept him out of school. I'm pretty sure by the end of it he was plenty spoiled by all of his relatives!

Although we didn't do the greatest job of reaching out to people...the love and prayers we got from all of our friends and family reminded me that this is the important stuff in life. We were all put on earth to create relationships and experience life fully. To me - that is time spent slowing down and really making the most of the time I have with all of the wonderful people in my life.

Here is a quote by Confucious that I found that summarizes it best:
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

On my Thanksgiving this year, I was much more thankful of the beautiful family I have been blessed with and the honor of friendship I have received from all of the good people that surround me. My hope for you is that we don't have to experience these moments to realize the best in those around us.

All Hallow's Eve and Then Some!

Does anyone else feel like certain holidays get celebrated ad nauseam? We certainly celebrated and celebrated and CELEBRATED Halloween this year!

It all began with the boys' school parties. On Wednesday, all the kids from Aiden's school had a parade behind the school with all the parents capturing photo ops. They followed up in their classroom with games and a craft, and food of course! Aiden was dressed as Boba Fett - a bounty hunter from Clone Wars (a cartoon spin-off from Star Wars). You can see from the pic that it's all about Star Wars in his classroom!

A huge thanks to Gram who came and spent the day with Aiden while he was out of school on Thursday and Friday. She also got bonus party duty for Kieran's school Halloween party where it's all about the FOOD!! Even Aiden got to enjoy some of the treats, and Kieran enjoyed having his big brother to play with during school time!

Then on Saturday our neighborhood hosted it's annual Haunted Hayride. We got on the earliest shift (the event gets progressively scarier as the night goes on), and rode on hay-filled trailer throughout our neighborhood. We ended at one house where the kids cooked smores over the fire followed up by a "scary" tale told by JoHo, the professional storyteller, about the Runaway Pumpkin. It had the kids laughing and interacting - and was a great time as usual.


And, THEN, we finally got to Halloween. All day Aiden was anxiously awaiting getting into his costume - the wait was almost unbearable! Following the very exciting Chiefs game, Gram and Papa made their way to the Smith house with the tradition of pizza prior to trick-or-treating. As soon as it was barely dusk you could hear the bustle of kids anxiously outside ready to start the mass collection of candy! We got the boys dressed in their attire, which Kieran actually complied (for a short while) to wear his full monkey costume. He was quick to join in the fun once he got a look at all the kids outside in costumes running around. We still couldn't get him to say "trick-or-treat", but with his charming personality he still got the goods and filled his bag full of candy regardless. The boys made their way around the neighborhood, pulling Kieran in the wagon, and hitting as many houses as they could before AB finally decided it was TOO cold!

I think someone's either got a little too much candy or he's seen a ghost!...

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Last weekend was a first for our family - and a first for me, in particular. The Smith family carved pumpkins!

I quickly learned why my parents likely did not embark on this tradition during my childhood days. Simply put - carving pumpkins is gross! I required latex gloves to protect my hands to do the dirty work. But looking inside of a pumpkin - seriously, how is there ever anything worth making pumpkin pies out of...there is nothing inside of there except a ton of seeds and pumpkin mush - yuck! AND...Chris and I quickly learned that this "family activity" is really the parents carving the pumpkins while the kids run around outside and play to their hearts content!

I took the easy way out and used the drill to put different sized holes throughout my pumpkin (very Pottery-Barn"esque"). It was interesting once the candles were burning inside (and definitely less labor intensive!) Chris, however, got the super dad award as he agreed to carve Aiden's choice of Boba Fett (the Clone Wars character Aiden was dressing up for Halloween). I'm not sure he was still enjoying it two nights later while he was STILL putting the finishing touches on Aiden's pumpkin! However, all the pumpkins turned out great! Now we'll just see if this was a one-time occurrence or a tradition to be continued as the years go on...



We couldn't leave the littlest Smith out, so we decorated his pumpkin with Halloween stickers!


And, finally, the GREAT PUMPKIN...


On the night of Halloween we checked for toys left from the Great Pumpkin, but all we got was a bowl full of overflowing Halloween candy! Maybe next year...

Just another day?

A cute Aidenism...yesterday Mrs. Cline's classroom got to wear pajamas to school because they had been rewarded for exhibiting the schools virtues. Aiden was SO excited...of course picked out his favorite Star Wars pajamas to wear to school.

At the end of the day I asked him how his day went and if he thought it was cool that he got to wear his pjs all day long. His response, "It was ok, but it wasn't so cool because we still had to do work and stuff."

Bye Bye Binkies!!

The Smith household has been full of change over the past several weeks! The weekend of Kieran's birthday - our little man decided he was to become an escape artist and pole vaulted himself out of his crib. Of course this would happen...with Aiden, we moved to our new house and I remember wanting to get him settled into his own room, so we set up a with a big boy bed at 18 mos. and never looked back. Aiden was such a sleepy boy...you would just tell him to get to bed, in he would crawl, and with a book and a snuggle he was off to lala land!

Wild man Kieran, on the other hand, I think both Chris & I could've been satisfied not moving him out of his crib until he was like - FIVE! But, as our little man has often proven to us just how quickly he likes to keep up with his older brother, he found his way to freedom much earlier than his parents would have liked. So...we made the decision to forge ahead and move Kieran into his toddler bed.

This transition has not been without its bumps. On most nights Kieran finds himself out of his room 2-3 times before settling in. Moreso, it's the random four a.m. visits that are much less appreciated - especially when Kieran is convinced that since he has awoken and is feeling full of energy it MUST be morning!! At least we have gotten him back to sleep on most of these nights, but the best way to describe is...we are surviving!

And...because Chris & I are gluttons for punishment, we made the discovery shortly thereafter that Kieran had bitten through 1/2 of each of his binkies. With the fear of him biting them off completely and choking on them in the middle of the night - we had two choices: (1) replace the binkies or (2) endure a visit from the binkie fairy. Again, we decided to jump feet first and removed all binkies from the house. Honestly, it was not as bad as I had feared. Kieran really didn't cry for his binkies - and anytime he asked for them we simply replied "all gone". In fact, I haven't even heard the word binkie for several days until we were going through pictures this past weekend and a picture of Kieran with a binkie appeared. All of a sudden he was on a quest for binkies again, but it quickly subsided.

In short...our little man has made some BIG strides over the past few weeks in this phase of him growing up. He is still my little boy, and in some ways, I hate watching him grow up so fast as there is a small part of me that would love to keep him as my little baby forever. However, it is fun to hear his conversations develop...and to watch his understanding of the world grow. We think he is so much fun and he brings a lot of laughter into our household. Now...if we could just find a way to tame that wild instinct in him, we would be golden!

The Little Engine That Could

September 12, 2010 - We celebrated the smallest little Smith turning a BIG TWO YEARS OLD!! Where did the time go? Given that Kieran is completely crazy for anything cars, we decided to host a party with all of our immediate family at a local restaurant, Fritz's Railroad Restaurant. It was such a great venue, plus it went along with the super cute invitations that I found online...
Fritz's is great...the first restaurant was opened in KCK back in the 1960's. We went to a new location out in Shawnee. The restaurant has a railroad track built around the top exterior of the restaurant. You dial up your order at a phone that is at each table...then a train actually comes out of the kitchen and "drops" your order onto a lift that lowers it to your table. It is SO cool. Kieran was in complete amazement as that was his first experience at Fritz's.

The presents were ok too :)...although I think big brother, Aiden, did most of the unwrapping. Kieran got into it closer to the end. He got lots of choo choo trains as presents, which he is still fascinated with. The cutest part of it all - I ended up making a train birthday cake for him. Even now when he sees pictures of his cake, he starts singing "Happy Birthday to you"...

Thanks to everyone that helped us to celebrate Kieran's big day! What a memorable event. Check out the pics to see the fun that we had.

What Part of NO Don't You Understand?

So while Aiden is getting accustomed to life as a kindergartner, Kieran is blazing fire into the terrible twos. Don't get me wrong - he is CUTE, and he knows it, which makes it a deadly combination. He can often get away with many antics at the Smith household just by flashing those pearly whites. Perfect example...here is Kieran's idea of keeping busy while at the ball fields this summer...(mommy sigh, at least his shirt appropriately said Mud Monster!)



However, the latest development is his discovery of the word NO. Pretty much from morning to night, any question asked of him is responded to in this soft quiet almost shy...no.

"Kieran - are you cute?" "NO!"
"Kieran - do you love mommy?" "NO!"
"Kieran - are you excited to play with your friends at school?" "NO!"
"Kieran - do you love your binkies?" "NO!" (now we know THAT isn't true!)

He mostly is sweet and almost funny when he says it, though as time has gone on the NO's are getting louder and more firm - like, "I may be the littlest person in this house, but let's not get confused who is the boss here!"

Here is a quick video of Kieran on his latest NO rant:

From movies

Ready, Set, GO...

As if the little people in my household aren't just growing up in leaps and bounds, or so it seems. Life as a kindergartner is great - as I'm told. Aiden is making lots of new friends in his new classroom. He has girls on both sides of him at his table - Celia and Katie. I asked him last night if he thought the girls were pretty...and then there was silence with a hidden smile on Aiden's face. So, this is how it is going to be for the next 15+ yrs?

Aiden also made an astounding record this week (although still behind his daddy)...he managed to find himself in the principal's office on day 5 of kindergarten. Yes - you read that right - DAY 5. Apparently him and another little boy were "too busy playing" and ended up dropping their shorts peeing on the mulch on the playground! Remember back to my story at t-ball? I knew that was going to come back and haunt me one day - I just didn't think it was going to be quite so soon!! Let's just hope this visit was not the first of many.

Aiden has made his daddy very proud as he has conquered his bicycle. It took lots of convincing - I'm afraid that Aiden is not a big fan of things that don't come easily (reminds me of his daddy!). So, there were many tears as we tried for many weeks to get him to try to ride his bike. Finally we took him up to his school where there is a huge flat field of grass. It was amazing - without the fear of falling, the kid was off and running on his own on his first try! From that point on he has been obsessed, I mean OBSESSED about riding his bike - every single day. Which is great - until he crashed! Sunday night, with all the pomp and circumstance of having the neighbors watching and cheering, Aiden didn't quite turn his bike quick enough around the cul-de-sac and plowed into storm sewer. He flew over his handlebars putting a nice strawberry on his knee. Our fabulous neighbor, Colonel Waldron, put on his marine corp voice and made a man of my boy right in front of my eyes! It took him a few minutes, but he dried the tears and then got up to ride again - and he's been riding like crazy ever since!

Here is a quick clip of Aiden on the move!

From movies

Go Aiden GO!

And so it begins...

At 8:35 a.m., "A.B." Smith officially became a kindergartener.

Yesterday, following our return from a great weekend at the lake with the Smith family, we got the e-mail notifying us that Aiden would soon join the classroom of Mrs. Cline. Aiden knew a few kids in his classroom, both that live on our cul-de-sac and a few through playing soccer & t-ball this past year. He was quite excited.

We celebrated at the Ice Cream Social last night at school. The kids picked up their massive box of school supplies (we pre-order through school and avoid the store chaos), and then went back to check out their classrooms. Mrs. Cline was there to greet the students. Aiden checked out his cubby (#17) and his assigned seat at his circle table. Mrs. Cline seems like she will be a great teacher - we are very excited to see what this year has in store for us! Aiden was a little shy introducing himself to Mrs. Cline, but quickly warmed up with other boys in the classroom upon the discovery of all the new toys he will get to play with.

Tucking him into bed last night, it took a little arm twisting to read him The Kissing Hand. It is a great story about sending Chester the Raccoon off for his first day of school - mom gives him a kiss on his hand that he can keep there and remember how much she loves him all day long and likewise, Chester kisses his mom's hand so she can remember how much he loves her. At the end of the story, Aiden took one of the heart stickers and gave it to me to wear...oh, how I eat up these moments as they are becoming few and far between as my little boy is growing up and becoming ever so independent.

This morning went smoothly - Aiden was proudly carrying his new backpack showing it off to all of his friends. He also sported his new shoes, which he kept claiming said "nerf" on the back (was really nike). Oh well - as long as he thinks it is cool we are good! Here are a few of the kiddos from our cul-de-sac as we were preparing to leave:





We had a walking school bus to school, which was about 5 kindergartners and their parents that walked up to drop kids off. Aiden went to his classroom - no big deal - and quickly found two other boys that he played with building legos on the floor. I did get a quick hug AND KISS! before I left him...I will say - things got just slightly teary (mom only) at this point!

Parents of kindergartners went down to the BooHoo WooHoo coffee hour in the gym following drop off. The new principal, Mr. Sanders, was there to welcome all of the parents. He is new to Sunrise Point, but seemed like he will be a good role model for the kids and a great resource for the parents.

Overall - things went great today. I walked Aiden back home after school - and he reported how much he liked his new class AND the strawberry milk they served in the cafeteria! We are also busy looking for a gingerbread man that Chef Tony cooked and lost at school...not sure exactly where he is going to turn up! Check out the pics from Aiden's first school lunch:



I am really looking forward to this year ahead. I am SO proud of the little man that Aiden is becoming - I have lots of faith that he will be successful in his new school, and it will be a wonderful experience for him.

Go Sunrise Point Elementary Patriots!

Notes to a Kindergarten Teacher on the First Day of School

This is a poem a friend sent to me that was written by Anne Ridilla Troy, which I thought was lovely, and was modified by me for my Aiden:

This is the child who was in my thoughts
Long before he was in my womb.
He was named before he was conceived.

This is the child on whose birthday I wept
Because I realized that babies don't keep
And that someday he would begin his journey of growing up
Which to me starts through the entry of kindergarten.

Well, now that day has come.

I've changed his diapers and changed his sheets.
I’ve read him goodnight stories and sung lullabies.

I've been his teacher, his disciplinarian,
His buddy, his confidant and his albatross.

I've seen his first attempts at rolling over.
I've seen him waddle clumsily when learning to walk.
I've waited anxiously for his first word.
And now he uses his logic to outreason and correct me.

I've watched him gaze at the world in amazement.
I've watched him lasso that world in his play.
I've watched him create forts.
Invent his own lightsabers,
and dress up like his favorite superheros.

I've watched him embrace his boyhood in this world.

Now you'll be part-time watcher
Part-time keeper.

Please watch him carefully.
Please keep him well
And please, please help keep that
Sense of wonder in his gaze,
That creativeness and inventiveness in his work.

I know to you he is just one of many
And you don't know him very well.

But I know that he calls hamburgers "hamgebers"
And that he easily frustrates, but often perseveres,
And that he acts tough,
But is really very soft and sensitive on the inside.

And to me, he is one of not so many.

He is my firstborn.
he is the answer to our prayers
And he was in my heart even before he was in my womb.

Aiden's Mom