Watch Calder, Tessa and Alyse Grow: 2013

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Seven

Eh, only 4 months late this time...

Our boy is now 7!! Where does the time go? Can't believe how quickly he has grown, but this is such a fun age.

He loves games. He's competitive, but not a sore loser. He's up for anything, but especially likes Uno, Parcheesi and Monopoly Jr.

He still LOVES legos. He flip-flops back and forth between different lego themes. His latest loves have been Chima, Ninjago, Star Wars and Castle. He gets so involved in them, he sometimes has trouble focusing on anything else! He builds the sets, and then almost immediately takes them apart to make his own creation. I love his creativity, but this tends to keep him up quite late some nights!

His other big love is reading. He flies through books like crazy and always has several books going at once. Favorites include Magic Tree House, Star Wars, and The Secrets of Droon.

He's in 2nd grade now and he's not crazy about school. Although he loves art and reading, he loathes writing. Since so many school subjects involve some kind of writing...well, that's why he's not so crazy about it.

A few other things to remember about Calder at age 7.

He loves to be silly and tell jokes.
He plays especially well with Alyse -- they are two peas in a pod.
We tried to teach him how to ride his bike without training wheels this summer, but he decided he's "not the kind of guy who wants to learn."
He's still pretty picky about food (mostly meat). But he eats plenty of fruits and vegetables, so I'm thankful for that!
He despises jeans.
He's addicted to his cd player. He absolutely cannot go to sleep without listening to a story (usually while also playing with legos in his bed!)
He really appreciates family time. He especially loves playing with his cousins.
He can be a really good helper...when he wants to be!

Calder Lucas, you are such a treasure to us! We love you!

Saturday, December 7, 2013

A Sad Goodbye

At the end of October, we had to say goodbye to our beloved Lucky dog. He had really been declining in recent months, and it was just his time. It was one of the hardest things we've ever done, but we know he is running and playing in doggy heaven with his bff and cousin Riley. Calder and Tessa took it pretty hard (as did we), but Alyse is still too young to understand. We are all adjusting to a quieter house without the little jingle of his tags. Here are a few of the last pictures that we took with him, as well as a few old favorites. RIP Lucky!

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A New Pumpkin Patch

We checked out a new pumpkin patch/farm this year with some friends. With five kids between us, it proved a bit hard to actually stick together, but everyone had a lot of fun!

The giant jumping pillow was a first for us. So much fun!

I have to admit...I was a little jealous that this was only for kids. Why do they get to have all the fun!?

A pony ride for Tessa!

And Alyse too! She clutched Daddy with one hand the whole time.

The big kids got to try out the race track.

Will touched Tessa's hair and didn't lose a limb. She must like him.

Yep, she does.


The mini corn maze was a huge hit with our kids!

These jumping ponies were super fun. And adults got to play too. Tessa and I had a little race. And I really do mean little -- we didn't even make it all the way around the track! It was hard!

More driving.

A little relaxation before heading home!

Pumpkin Playground

As is our fall tradition, we spent a good amount of time at pumpkin patches this season! The kids always have a blast! They can be pricey, so we definitely took advantage of the free pumpkin playground at the produce market near our house!