Caleb Meets Tessa

Happy Saturday! We started the day at gymnastics. Kendall was so excited about her new leotard. Unfortunately, it kept riding up her entire class. SO, for now on it will be paired with a pair of shorts. She of course is young enough to not care. It is a very sparkly leo though and she loves it!
Next, I took Caleb to meet Tessa. Kendall stayed home because she has a cough and we didn't want the baby to get sick. Caleb was all smiles and very excited.
Caleb was so sweet with Tessa. He held her quite a few times throughout the day. Caleb gave her lots of hugs and kisses as well. At one point he was working on a coloring book with Caroline. It said to draw a picture of your best friend and he drew Tessa. Too sweet!
At first there were a lot of nervous hands helping him. Then he got it and was very responsible. It was nice to be able to trust him with Tessa. When Caroline was napping Caleb laid down to watch tv. Rachel put Tessa down for a nap in her swing in the same room. So, Caleb got to watch her at the same time and let us know when she woke up. He was thrilled and proud of the responsibility.
At the end of the day, Caleb was exhausted! He fell asleep immediately in the car. I guess playing with Caroline wore him out. He was so good and helpful today. It is nice to see his growing maturity. When I asked when we should go back and help again he smiled and said tomorrow. We'll see!

Norton Farm Field Trip with Caleb

Today Caleb had a field trip to Norton Farm. He was so excited. I am not sure what he was more excited about...the trip or the bus ride. He really wanted to sit next to Aria on the bus. So, we prepped the night before and discussed how he should stand by Aria in line to help out with that. They walked off the bus together all smiles. Caleb immediately ran up and held my hand. It was very sweet.
First the kids went into the barn to hear the gourd talk by Mrs. Norton. I have been on the field trip at least 10 times and she does the same talk. It is great and the kids love her, but I bet I could do the talk myself!
Next the kids went to the corn maze. By went through, I really meant run full speed ahead. Caleb was so proud when he came out. Then he ran right back in it for time two.
Everyone lined up for the tractor ride next! Aria and Caleb had to stand by each other. It is sweet what great friends they have become!
We then went to the pumpkin patch. Well, I realize that they call it a patch, but really it is a patch of grass with pumpkins, gourds, and indian corn strewn upon it.
Here is Aria and Caleb showing off their bags of goodies.
Misha is another one of Caleb's new friends and he wanted a picture with Caleb as well.
Finally the kids had a chance to play in the hollow. Caleb, Misha, and Steven played in the hay house.
It was a little piece of boy heaven. I have to say I didn't like getting the straw thrown on me though! The boys were full of smiles and laughter.
At the end of the trip they took a class picture. What a beautiful day and a fun trip!

A New Day, a New Park

We discovered a new park in Geneva. On an impulse we stopped by when we saw it. Caleb and Kendall had a great time playing at the park. They especially loved this swing. I am guessing it is for disabled children, but Terry thought it was for adults-specifically him. =) What a goof ball!
I love when the kids are being sweet with each other! I hope this stage lasts and lasts!

Sydney's Birthday

Kendall was invited to her first birthday party. She was super excited. We decided to burn off some energy and walk. I should have mapquested it first. What I was guessing a mile, ended up being more like 2. Kendall was a bit tired at the end and needed some prodding, but she walked the whole way!

She had a wonderful time at the party. I am thrilled that Kendall is meeting new friends at school, and she is TALKING this year at school! YEAH! She loves school and this is such a positive change compared to last year.

Caleb, was devastated that he wasn't invited to the party. It was a first for him. Kendall has been in his shoes where he was invited to a party, and she wasn't. It is a hard thing for them to be split apart, but it is a good lesson for them that it is okay to have different friends and interests. Hopefully, he will take it better next time!

Corner Bakery

I took Kendall to Corner Bakery today for a special treat. Well, this was Kendall's first and last trip here. We didn't see the kids menu, so I asked what they had and the nice cashier told us. Kendall ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, carrots, a juice, and a cookie. They asked me white or wheat bread, and I of course said wheat. We went to find a seat, and Kendall found a kids menu and crayons. Yeah! So, we grabbed them and sat down. I have to give Corner Bakery props for putting calorie counts right on the kids menu. Panera does this as well, and I think it is a great thing. You can make informed decisions about what you are consuming. Unfortunately, the calorie counts for Corner Bakery kid's menu were terrible to say the least.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich: 620

Carrots: 30

Juice: 100

Cookie: 340

For a grand total of 1,090 calories.

Well, the daily recommended calories for preschoolers is 1,200 calories. Crazy right! It gets worse. If she had ordered a peanut butter and jelly on wheat, chips, juice, and a cookie the total calories would be 1,400 calories...200 more than she would have needed to eat for an entire day. Kendall and I split the cookie, and she didn't finish her grilled cheese. So, her actual intake was much less.

Now, I will say that they did offer a turkey sandwich with 400 calories. It still would have added up to a bunch, but would have been more reasonable.

I thought I was giving her a healthy alternative to McDonalds, Her typical meal of chicken nuggets, 1/2 of a small fries (we split), apples (no dip), and a chocolate milk would have landed her with 510 calories, or less than 1/2 of what was in the above kids meal.

Now with this rant, please realize that I do not actually count Kendall's calories. She is at a very healthy weight. We do typically have just healthy food and snacks in the house, but she is able to help herself to a snack if she is hungry. I honestly don't worry about it. But, there are plenty of individuals who do have to worry about this. And I find it appalling that these items would even be offered on a kids menu.

Renegade Cantaloupe

So, our typical morning routine involves me getting the kids up, dressed, and getting their breakfast. They then typically watch tv while they eat and I get ready. Well, last week Caleb had a rough time at school due to being stuck inside because of rainy weather. So, he lost tv. Well, while I was getting ready I heard the kids giggling and talking. I thought, wow this is going so much better than I expected. I finished getting ready an went downstairs to clean up breakfast, so that we could leave. There sitting at our island were the kids holding a cut up cantaloupe. My first thought was OMG where is the knife? Is there any blood??? I quickly saw the butter knife and realized that at least Caleb made one good decision. He was so proud of himself. I told him that this was very messy, and knives are dangerous. So, next time please ask. I think cut up 1/2 of the cantaloupe which they ate for breakfast. I put the other half of the cantaloupe in a zip-lock bag and tossed it in the fridge. We then grabbed backpacks and headed for school.

So, the day went on like normal, until we went to pack up lunch for the following day. I knew there was something going on when I opened up Caleb's backpack and smelled the sweet smell of cantaloupe. Yup, my son snuck the cantaloupe into his backpack and took it to school. There was a spork sticking out of it, so he obviously brought it to lunch with him. I can just imagine what the lunch supervisors must think of me.