is it fall yet?

Walking to school this week Catcher scolded me because last spring I told him kindergarten starts in the fall. Knowing that it is not technically fall yet, he thinks I'm a fraud. Soccer also starts in the fall, but it happens to start in the actual fall, so woe is Catcher waiting for the change of seasons.

This afternoon he tried coercing both of his sisters to play soccer with him, but Scout just stood still on the sidewalk (exhausted, I think, due to no nap and a 102-degree afternoon) while Tillie didn't listen (surprise!) and repeatedly spiked the football on the front porch. Woe is Catcher again.

everything's a bobby

With the big kids starting school this week, I've been spending some quality time with T (that's what we call her sometimes). She's teaching me her language in which everything is a bobby. Tillie uses the word "bobby" for her blanket but also if she wants you to put on the Bob Marley CD. Her stuffed bunny is "bobby," and the same goes for my bracelet. Scout's belly button is "bobby" too. I'm sure there's more that I can't recall at the moment. Tillie's "bobby" is Scout's "boo" is Catcher's "eeee."

bounce house

The nice thing about breaking your bed is that you can then bounce on the floor mattress without fear of your mother telling you to stop jumping on the bed (and exhaust your big brother in the process).

it isn't a party until something gets broken

Here is what broke in our house today: one cereal bowl, which came crashing to the ground during breakfast around 6:45am and one bed, which came crashing to the ground after dinner around 6:45pm. In between the shattered porcelain bowl and the splintered wooden bed frame, we actually had a nice day. This morning while Alex walked Catcher to school, the ladies took turns reading Olivia on big brother's bed. Then we drove Alex to the airport, and Scout started her first day of preschool. Tillie and I enjoyed a sibling-free morning together and bonded over zucchini-mozzarella quesadillas for lunch.

The afternoon didn't get wild until the big kids got home from their respective schools, and the chaos culminated during FaceTime with Alex when the aforementioned bed (Scout's, of course) came tumbling down. My back was turned on the action, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the prancercizing Scout had been performing on the mattress. Perhaps I shouldn't have served the rest of my leftover birthday cake for dessert tonight.

I did not take a picture of the broken bed in all its glory because seconds later Tillie tripped, bit her lip and spewed blood all over my white tee shirt (Catcher advised that I throw it in the trash). Scout offered the suggestion of "taping" the bed, but I think it was a bigger job than Scotch could handle. In the end, I disassembled what remained of the bed and tucked Scout into her mattress on the floor.

What's funny about Scout's bed breaking, by the way, is that Alex was asking me yesterday when we would start looking into a "big girl" bed for Tillie. I guess we have our answer now--after we find another big girl bed for Scout.

guess who

Not to state the obvious, but this is a self portrait that Catcher drew on his first day of kindergarten. I think he was pretty accurate in capturing his shaggy 'do. I dig the eyelashes, too, even if his right eye is a little Clockwork Orange-ish. He chose green for his eye color which is interesting because there was much discussion about his eye color this summer. Scout, Tillie and I have blue eyes. Alex has green eyes. Catcher used to have blue eyes, but sometime during his fourth year they slowly morphed from blue to a blue-grey to a grey-green (with a hint of blue). We all know Alex is the coolest in the family, so it makes sense that Catcher would identify himself with green eyes, but I think the jury is still out.

in session

Did you blink? Just like that they're starting school. Here it is--the first day.

We're within walking distance to Lee Elementary (I can make it in eight minutes without the littles in tow) so we made the journey a family affair this morning. Although Catcher is not quite adept at riding his bike, he somehow convinced his dad that this should be the mode of transportation on his first day of school. That meant Scout would go on her scooter, and it also meant that Scout would carry Catcher's backpack because the backpack would just add to the balancing issues he has on the bike.

Eventually the backpack made its way back to its rightful owner, but there was a wipeout or two along the way. When Scout went flying face-first into a prickly pear cactus, she exclaimed "That was awesome!" When Catcher skidded off the bike 50 feet from school, it almost brought him to tears (and by tears, I mean there was a meltdown on the horizon). Luckily the throngs of tiny bobbing heads moving toward the front door was distraction enough to snap Catcher out of his defeated state. We parked our wheels, stopped for a quick (but not dorky) photo and ushered the Kinder-man into school. 

Inside his classroom we found various states of child anxiety. There were scared faces and screaming younger siblings. There were tears glistening in the eyes of adoring parents and several sitting on the carpet reading books to their kinder-kids. Catcher scooted over to his spot and, disappointed with the book he found there, walked over to the shelf to choose another. Standing in the doorway, I reminded him that he forgot to give me a hug. He came back for a quick goodbye and then returned to his kinder-business. Next he'll be asking to borrow the keys to the car.

p.s. Scout isn't crying in the photo above...she's yawning. It was a big morning for everyone.

the last day of summer

Tomorrow our new lives begin. Today we had some tears and tantrums, a few fights and a lot of laughs. This is the end of the summer as we know it (although that won't stop me from enjoying a glass of wine tonight) so here is a look back at what was summer 2013...starting with preschool graduation in May:

you say it's your birthday

Happy birthday to me from these wild and crazy guys...

looks like catcher

This afternoon I was reading one of my favorite kids' books to the girls when Scout pointed to one of the drawings and said "That guy looks like Catcher." That guy that she's referring to is the red head wearing glasses in the photo below. I asked why she thought he looked like Catcher and she said "Because he has orange hair." Duh. Kids are crazy...but her keen observation made us all look at the page a little closer to find ourselves.

I'm the girl in the upper left corner peeking into the picnic basket. Alex is the guy wearing glasses right below me. Scout is the girl in red tights sitting on the rock. Tillie is in the far right corner with the wispy blond hair covering one of her eyes. And Catcher, of course, is the guy at the bottom of the page with the orange hair.

ring my bell

Catcher wanted what every five year-old boy wants for his birthday: a bike. His only requirement was that it had a bell. He never requested one with a lime green seat and two different colored wheels--just a functioning bell. So when we found the tricked-out T Rad-Rex this afternoon, the dinosaur claw marks and neon colors decorating the bike were a bonus.

He also got a pretty cool helmut to protect his noggin, and he tested out the new wheels on the sidewalk this afternoon. Scout joined in on her scooter while Tillie whizzed by on foot. Catcher still needs some serious practice on the bike--like actually getting himself on the bike--but at least he has a bell to let you know he's coming...eventually.

porch rats

Ok...who invited the stray cat to the party?

watermelon wonderland

These guys are crazy for watermelon. Catcher was even dressed like a watermelon today. I realized this as the three were negotiating rind consumption with juice dripping down their chins and fingers. Warning: if you aren't a fan of watermelon the pictures below may be disturbing. They seriously ate that much watermelon.