Too crazy fall

The kids are endlessly building and creating, usually together. This is out of Citiblocks and was done by Louis and his father when I was away somewhere:

The kids' "baby train" -- built out of shoe boxes, etc.

Louis's first representational drawing ever, I think. It's Uncle Dev. He was really excited that Uncle Dev sent him an old set of car keys for his key collection, so this was a tribute:

Louis's outfit for accompanying Rosemary and I to Life Ki Do. Gun made by himself, with straws:

Louis all of a sudden was interested in writing letters. Some early attempts (of course no one has tried to each him):

Rosemary's family portrait, complete with seven chickens with pompom bodies. I LOVE this picture. Do you like how James is inexplicably Jewish? Her style of drawing has totally changed since kindergarten -- all of a sudden she is much less worried about things coming out perfect and willing to try things she doesn't know she can do already. I'm impressed -- I attribute to her teacher Mrs. Thomson and the wonderful atmosphere she provides (I actually get to see her in action as I volunteer one hour a week in the classroom and get the scoop. My takeaway -- kindergarten is a magical age where the kids are capable but full of wonder, funny and creative, not afraid to be original, eager to learn, and NICE TO EACH OTHER). Rosemary is definitely the kid who likes to get things right so it's nice to see her not freezing up.

A typical castle, or what I wake up to find on the dining room floor almost every day (although often its a school house or Kai Lan's fort):

A pretty awesome computer made collaboratively between Louis and Rosemary -- each piece of paper has a letter making a very eclectic keyboard:

Louis's very special "tree house" that he started with Kyle's lovely cousin Caroline, who was with us for about a month while starring in a play that Kyle. It's made of foam and a whiskey box, and later he added a bamboo skewer ladder to the outside:

Woke up one morning to find an interesting storage solution added to my chairs:

 

This is the list of customers at Louis and Rosemary's store. Louis named the customers and Rosemary scribed. What I love though is seeing how Rosemary is learning to write and is not afraid to get things wrong, or doesn't even know about right/wrong spelling -- that is again 100% credited to Ms. Thomson.

Some customers are (I'll translate for you) "Mr. Bucket," and "Ms. Marble Chair," "Ms. Cornstarch," and "Mr. Dining Room." My favorite customer is "Mr. Real Eagle" -- "Mr. Orooegl" -- Louis is really into whether things are "real" or not.

 

Louis is FOUR! A birthday crown marks the occasion at school:

 

Early October brought Louis's birthday party, which this year was a scavenger course. I really had fun with this one -- spent weeks collecting things out of grocery store dumpsters, getting boxes from Lowes, and begging for used tires on the neighborhood listserve. The payoff was that set up this year was WAY easier than last year. Summer and Travis gave me good ideas. Final set up included:

• A "Bridge" of produce crates and a "ball pit" filled with fake bugs and ping pong balls
• A refrigerator box tunnel
• A balance beam (2 by 4 on milk crates)
• A pyramid of tires to climb with a ladder at the end
• A pyramid of 2 wooden palates to climb
• A target to shoot with ping pong ball guns (a big favorite, trick was to prevent boys from stealing the guns)
• A "laser" maze of red yarn strung between trees
• 2 big rope "vines" to swing across hanging down from trees (below one was a pit of green jello and fake bugs)
• A mini roller coaster toy (we already had)
• A zip line (the finale and by far the most popular with the older kids)

A really really GOOD Italian Cream cake made by ... ME! (Maybe the first one I've made instead of Aunt Mo!).

 

The next weekend we went to Chicago. We wanted to see Mary, Dan, Katy and Knut, who were still very much grieving from the stillbirth of their daughter in August. It was clearly a difficult time, but I am glad we at least were there.

We did have a good time picking apples and baking an apple pie with Dan and Mary (orchard to pie in six hours!):

Louis LOVED washing Grandpa Dan's car:

 

And we had a nice time seeing our old friends Doug and Jill and John and Lauren, who were expecting their first baby, and John's SWEET family. John's family had a pumpkin carving party and Rosemary had the best time EVER carving a pumpkin with Lauren and Doug and Jill's slightly-older daughter Olivia. They made the fancy castle pumpkin and Rosemary and Olivia were determined to "do their best not their silliest" (said Rosemary). Lauren's patience with them in doing so is a classic example of how other people can be way way nicer and more patient with my kids than I could ever be. Louis was the only member of our family to go in costume, as a Jacobite (of course).

 

Pictures from the Arboretum:

 

And the Chicago zoo carousel. I have a beautiful picture of Rosemary on this leopard, but I can't find it right now. Here she is 3 years ago on the whooping crane, though:

 

At the airport, sporting her new beautiful dress from Grandma Mary, which she has declared a bridesmaid dress for Aunt Mo's wedding whom she believes will "probably" marry Paul:

 

 On a crazy note, this trip to Chicago was our first in a year, sadly. So the last time we were back was when Louis was barely three or maybe even not even three (I think that's right) and basically didn't talk  (I'm sure that's right -- he really just picked up pretty much in March 2013). At the time, we were still trying to force him to nap and he had trouble falling asleep at night, so our tactic was to lock him in the room upstairs in their attic where we sleep by jamming a folding chair in door so it wouldn't open (no lock -- this technique by the way we used in Dallas at the invention/suggestion of my mother). He'd cry miserably and furiously for about 6-7 minutes and then go to sleep. Sounds horrible and it was, but we didn't know how else to deal with it and get him to get enough sleep. So anyway, this time when we were back he of course can talk prolifically. After we had been there a day or two, he said -- completely out of the blue -- "mommy, whey don't you lock me in that room upstairs any more?" Oh wow. We just gave him YEARS of material at the shrink.

Other miscellaneous fall events include our first ER trip, of course when James was in Warsaw for a business trip. We were at Bradley and Barron's house and she fell backwards off a swing into the corner of their deck. Fortunately Bradley took us to the ER and I didn't faint, though covered in blood! And Rosemary was remarkably brave given she had to suffer a staple gun to the head.

The annual pumpkin patch trip to Barton Hills Farm. This year their 5-acre corn maze was in the shape of Willie Nelson and featured Willie Nelson trivia clues. Remind me to wear a sports bra next time -- this year we RACED through it -- the kids were excited.

Rosemary and Bryson in serious discussion on hay bales:

Fall yard clean up and the chickens, growing up fast:

Volunteering at the zoo -- making monkey enrichment toys!

And the first lost tooth! The tooth fairy brought a sparkly dollar bill:

Alicia and I had a great weekend morning hike in the Greenbelt, which was a totally different place after several fall rains. We discovered wild onions everywhere while down there, soaking in the sun, and Alicia made us an incredible apple tart AND a wild onion tart! After this we decided we absolutely had to reinstate Happy Hikers -- which we have -- this time after school on Wednesdays. Not much hiking so far as its been wet and cold but hopefully starting in January.

Louis chose to wear this gladiator costume for his school's Halloween celebration:

 

Rosemary's class field trip to the pumpkin patch:

Halloween! The Jacobite and the lamp -- headdress borrowed from Kyle's play (isn't it great? It didn't stay on, but I love that it switches on and off).

Well, honestly pulling this all together is making me feel better -- we had more fun than I remember this fall despite the stress, weird schedule, work, and lack of perspective! Guess the only thing we really didn't fit in was many calm family dinners (everyone is TIRED after long, long days at school and James taught until late in the afternoon this semester so got home late) and camping. Next month -- Maureen moves in with us since Paul took a job in Chile, Rosemary's birthday, and the start of holiday fun. But will have to save that for tomorrow in my blogging death march.