ALS Ice Bucket Challenge...Scott & Natalie Style

The kids recently received an ALS ice bucket challenge from their good friends.  They watched their friends' cute video over and over and psyched themselves up.

When the big moment came though, Scott and Natalie couldn't quite bring themselves to go all the way...so they just dumped some ice water on their tummies.  That doesn't count!

 Kate took one for the team, however, and saved the day!

A Social Butterfly in the Making

So perhaps that's a bit of a stretch...but we are taking steps in the right direction.

Anyone who knows Scott, knows that he's pretty reserved in most social situations.  This year in kindergarten, I've been making him earn two points per day by initiating conversations with the other kids in his class.  He reports to me about his two conversations each day.  Here are a few examples of the riveting dialogue he has had in the past month...

Scott:  Do you have any trains?
Other kid: Yes, I have more trains than you. 
(We aren't sure how the other kid knew this, since it was only their third day of school together and they had never discussed trains before.)
=POINT FOR SCOTT


Scott:  What church do you go to?
Other kid:  The one by my house.
Scott:  What's the name of it?
Other kid:  I don't know.
=POINT FOR SCOTT

Scott:  What's your favorite color?
Other kid:  Blue
(End of conversation)
=POINT FOR SCOTT

You get the idea.  Well, today his "conversation" story really made me smile.  He told me he earned all of his points at recess because he started to go down the slide and discovered that there was mud on the bottom of it.  He jumped off and said that he figured the other boys would be okay with the mud, but that he should warn the girls in his class since he was guessing that they would not like it.  So he said that he went around and found all of the girls in his class and told each of them not to go down the slide due to the mud.  :) =POINT, POINT, POINT for the ladies' man 

They get their moves from their dad...

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Highs and Lows

High:  Natalie loves doing school work especially when she gets to use her dot paints and markers.

Low:  We've had too many "Magic Eraser" moments on the walls lately, so Kate must stick to the crayon tub at the table.  You can see how she feels about it.

High:  We went on a family walk/bike ride at the park to burn some of our pizza power.

Low:  Natalie was hot and let everyone know it.  She whined a lot, and Jon said, "Well, Scott's two more years older so there is hope."  As the whining continued, we came to the sad realization that maturity had little to do with it.  Natalie will whine when she's four, six, and sixteen.  Oh, how we love her.

 High:  We had a water balloon fight in the backyard. 

 Low:  We found out that the kids mostly just like to hold the water balloons.  Daddy had the most fun.  :) 

High:  Natalie loves this striped shirt and "sparkly tutu" and would wear it everyday if she could.  (Hence why she has it on in about 90% of my photos lately.)  Kate now has a big tu-tu-too! 

Low:  Natalie wasn't as thrilled about wearing one of my old dresses to church on Sunday.  I loved it on her, but she didn't (reason for the fake smile below). 

High:  Scott's doing well in Kindergarten and is liking it!

 Low:  I have more pictures of the girls than of Scott on this post, so he's going to get another one below.

To end on a high note, here are a few other fun memories as of late...

Natalie-  "I'm ready to play baseball!"

Monkey friends! 

Molly while making bread with the kids-  "I sense a blog post coming on!" 

True Love

Jon's dream come true...

After an afternoon with Jon on the range, I'm nominating Scott and I for son and wife of the year. 

 Actually, Scott loved it and felt super grown up.  He's already asking when we can go back again.  It was fun to spend time with my boys.  :) 

Warning: Not for the eyes of dentists or speech therapists

At 21 months, we've been having the discussion about Kate kicking the habit.  She must be catching on that her pacifier is on borrowed time because lately her addiction has been going in the opposite direction.  

The title is the hardest part...

Our neighbor pulled into his driveway the other day and immediately lifted up the hood on his truck.  The kids and I started speculating what could be going on and then Scott started to say something and point.  I said, "Scott!  Don't point or he'll think we are talking about him."  With a puzzled look on his face he replied, "We ARE talking about him."  :)

Natalie:  Would you like me to vacuum for you?
Me:  Yes, that would be great.
Natalie:  Okay, I would be happy to because you talked in a nice voice.  

Above:  Scott called a family meeting to discuss his future plans for God's Best Church.  Everyone was given a name tag (notice Jon's lanyard) and assigned an instrument. 

(I entered the room the other day to hear this...)
Natalie:  No!  No Mommy!  Don't look at me.  I am NOT going to get hurt!
(Immediate red flags)



(Scott had his first homework to complete over the weekend.  He was supposed to create a character that looked like himself.  He was proud of his work.)
Scott:  I'm excited for my teacher to see it!
Natalie: But she might start laughing a little. 
(Oh the encouragement!)

 

We recently got together to celebrate my grandma's 85th birthday.  Here she is with some of her great grandchildren.

The sisters have had no trouble entertaining themselves while Scott's away at kindergarten.  Crazy girls!

 

 We made it to the State Fair today.  The goats were our favorite and were quite vocal.

 Baaaa-bye!