Lincoln's "Hot!"

Lincoln came home from school and said "Mommy, Aysia said that I was 'hot',"
Smiling, I said "She did! Well, what did you say?"
Lincoln "I told her that she was hot, too. Mommy, what does 'you're hot' mean?"
I laugh a little and explain it to him. He immediately blushes and has this look of disbelief like "You mean, I just told her that she was very pretty???" It was amusing to watch the wheels in his head process all of this. He looked at me, still somewhat stunned at what he said to her. We discussed it a little more and he learned that it might be good to find out what something means before he says it back. It was a sweet, little conversation. He is growing up!

Catherine's Super Power

As all of you in the Mid-State know, it rained and rained and rained in Putnam County yesterday. Water was standing/running everywhere. Our road actually was closed and that has never happened.

Anyway, Coleman, especially, was asking to play in the rain. Catherine had her little gymnastics class in the a.m. so I did not let Coleman play in it. On the way to gymnastics, Catherine was singing "Rain, Rain, Go Away...." She decided, after a few rounds, that when she sang the verse the rain would lighten up on the windshield. So she assumed that she could make the ran go away/lessen by singing.

She said "I am going to make the rain go away!"
Coleman whines "Noooo, I want to play in it!!"
Catherine reponds with "No, I am going to sing and the rain is going to go away." and begins to sing the song. Coleman believes her and starts to whine and cry "NO, don't sing. I want to play in rain! Mommy, Cafrine make the rain go away. Mommy..."

I try to expain to Coleman, my 2 year old, that Catherine cannot make the rain go away, but for some reason (ha ha) he believes his sister over his mommy and continues to be worried about Catherine stopping the rain.
So, I ask Catherine to stop singing the song for a little while. She respectfully stops. Quiet again.

Then I hear in a somewhat quiet voice"Puffff Puffffff. I can blow the rain away." and Coleman really thinking his sister must have super powers by now says "MOMMY, Cafrine blow the rain away!!!!" I am inwardly laughing at Catherine's strategy in the mind game with Coleman, and at the same time, I am so ready for it to be over.

Thankfully, we arrive at gymnastics. Coleman is convinced that Catherine has power over the rain. As we get out of the car, Catherine stops singing, and the rain picks up. I put Coleman down and tell him "We're playing in the rain!" and we run into the building. Everyone's happy!

Recent Catherine comments

Last weekend, I spotted a dead fox in the middle of our road. In my surprise, I said "Oh, there's a dead fox in the middle of the road!"
Catherine asks "Why?"
me- "Well, it got hit by a car."
Catherine- "You mean it didn't look both ways??" (before crossing the street)
That made me smile. "No, honey, it must have forgotten to look both ways before it crossed the street."
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Another odd comment-
We were at my mom and dad's this past weekend, and the mosquitos were everywhere! We were talking about them and the kids' bites and Catherine said "The devil is making the mosquitos come out and bite us!" (????)
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On Lincoln's first day of 1st grade, the kids and I walked him to his classroom . Once we got back into the car Catherine said: "Mommy, when it is MY first day of school (she's talking about Kindergarten), I don't want YOU to walk me to my classroom. LINCOLN will walk me to my room." she continued on with how she won't be nervous and won't need me to go inside with her- Just Lincoln. My first thought was "Just wait Little Bit (a name I often call her), you may feel more nervous than you think." Then I thanked God for her independence and for the security that she feels from her big brother. :)

A Tullahoma Weekend

A Tullahoma Weekend

Saturday:

When Madeline and her cousin Mason arrived, the orange count went up. Couldn't resist a picture. It was "Football Time in Tennessee." Brad and Lincoln were at the game.

Sunday:
Birthday Celebration for Lincoln and Brad at Greg and Andrea's house.

Lincoln's cake face

Catherine's cake face

Lincoln is blushing in this picture b/c someone got him a Barbie bday card. He was relieved when he realized it was from his sister.

Anna Lea holding Catherine. Most Tullahoma folks say that Catherine looks like her older cousin Anna Lea. Most Cookeville folks say that Catherine looks like Brad's sister Karen.



Amy's youngest son Tucker- 9 months


A cousin picture
Madeline, Catherine, Shelby holding Maddox, Megan holding Tucker, Anna Lea holding Coleman
Lincoln, "Big Tyler", Tyler



Sunday Night:

A Cousin sleep over at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's! Our First Ever!!

Monday Morning:

Grandmommy's special breakfast- PANCAKES!! Each kid got their initials!


The Imagination Station Swing

At Imagination Station after a long play

A lunch stop at Sonic before heading to Tracy and Amy's farm.

I don't know why I didn't get a picture at Amy's house. Probably b/c I was carrying Catherine- she doesn't like the dogs. We did get to see a faining goat, cows, alpacas, and hogs. They are actually Tracy's twin brother's hogs. They are not cute little piggies! Lincoln enjoyed a ride on the 4-Wheeler with Uncle Tracy, Tyler and Anna Lea.
The weekend couldn't have ended on a better note. As we pulled into our driveway the misty rain and a few sun rays produced a beautiful rainbow. It wasn't long but it was bold! The kids and I enjoyed it!

Race for the Park

One fun summer event that I would like to document was the 2nd Annual Race for the Park Event in Cookeville on August 8. There was a One Mile Fun Run for the kids and then at 8:58 pm the adults ran an 8K. Lincoln and Catherine ran in the kid race and I ran the 8K portion while Brad watched the kiddos. It was a first for all of us and completion was our goal.

Below- Lincoln and Catherine with friends, Anna and Emma

Catherine and Emma

Catherine with Bella and Ella. Catherine overheard them say they would fire a gun to start the race. She stood with her fingers in her ears anticipating that shot for 5 minutes. :)
Lincoln with buddies Walden and Jake
In the days leading up to the race, Lincoln asked many questions about the race and winning. We had to stress that we were running this race for FUN not to win. We had to explain that there would be bigger kids running and that they would be much faster (and he would say "but what if they are not??") I wanted to give Lincoln tips on how to start the race but Brad had to remind me that Lincoln was going to do it the way he wanted. Giving tips wouldn't matter, Lincoln would have to learn it by experiencing it . And he did. He shot off the line at full sprint, I just knew he would die out. But several minutes later he came... he was going at full speed. Arms pumping, legs going as fast as they could. I was so proud. He did his best and he was happy!

Catherine, opposite of Lincoln, was in because her friends were in. She didn't care about the "race" part. According to Brad, she ran when the girls did, stopped when they did, walked when they did. She did start running when I cheered for her at the end. As soon as she was in sight of the finish line, she began to run. She was grinning her sweet little grin as she rounded the final corner, and down she dashed. It was so sweet and my heart swelled as she passed with her flushed cheeks and little pony tail swishing.

It was a fun night!

The best part of Lincoln's day/First Day Pictures

First day at Mother's Day Out. Coleman is in the 2's class and Catherine is in the 4's. Coleman is showing off in this picture. He knew his friend Ava was watching from her car. A picture from Lincoln's first day of First Grade!

It was the second full week of first grade.

Brad asks Lincoln, "So, what was the best part of your day today?"

Lincoln replies, "Coming home!"

On another day, he said he wanted to go back to Kindergarten because it was "SO EASY".

Since that week, Lincoln's confidence in himself and his teacher has grown. He is learning so much so fast and he has risen to the challenge. He did excellent on his first tests and we both enjoy homework time. Catherine and Coleman also want "homework". So, Catherine practices writing her letters with a little dry erase board and Coleman colors. Coleman mimics Catherine by scribbling his letters. He will scribble and say "E!"

Coleman's "heart"

A few nights ago as I was putting Coleman to bed, he put his hand over his heart and said "my heart". I was surprised because I had not seen him do that, and I was pretty sure I hadn't taught him that. I immediately assumed that Coleman had heard his bible class teacher say something about God living in our hearts. So, I asked "Ahh, is God in your heart?"

Coleman replied, "No, Grandmommy."
It was sooo sweet.
We are going to Tullahoma this weekend.