Anyway, back to kids growing. In July, our sweet Kerith turned 2! We had brownies and gifts at the house, and a loud song of Happy Birthday, since singing is pretty much her favorite thing.
A stuffed animal? For me??
"Ten Silly Monkeys" - a great book, from the Brownlees.
And bedtime reading with Daddy.
Granna also took us to Olive Garden, where you can see what Kerith celebrated with after her mac 'n' cheese.
Going ...
Going ...
Gone!
Unfortunately, she shares my love for sweets. She also loves attention, so her birthday was a lot of fun.
Kerith's birthday present - a Dora the Explorer dollhouse. (you see the fashion sense here, right?)
Kerith girl, you are headstrong and independent, and a joy to watch as you make up your own songs and dances. You know your letters and numbers, but would MUCH rather talk about colors and your stuffed animals. You LOVE to draw. You will sit for hours making a page of circles, then a page of straight lines, then a page full of one scribble per color of each marker in your box.
Typical Kerith: Coloring on a castle, with white bear, and a self-accessorized bow.
Any time you are annoyed you frown and tell us, "This is a irritate!" Or sometimes, "This is not a irritate!", but they seem to mean the same thing. You love having your hair up in pigtails or a ponytail (which we just barely can do with your hair now)!
You have an amazing vocabulary and imagination for your age, and your fashion sense is ... well ... all your own. Accessories are key to you! The music and laughter you bring to our house is an absolute delight, and we are so thankful for the little girl God has made you!
In August, we got to take a trip to Colorado with Coach and Granna like we did last year. It was awesome! The kids handled the ride great, both back and forth, thanks to movies and a little dancing to oldies on XM radio. The trip was wonderful and relaxing, and they LOVED the trip up the mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park. Well, technically, Kerith slept on the way up and Caleb loved it, then Caleb slept on the way down and Kerith loved it!
The trip to Estes Park - starting at 1:30 am in Midland!
All our best pictures are still on Rick's camera!
We're here!!
A big hit with the kids is the playground right outside our cabins.
Of course, no matter where we are, Kerith finds somewhere to draw and something fuzzy to cuddle. Meet Mr. Bald Eagle, newest addition to the Carman family.
And Caleb finds something to drive. (Thank you, Coach and Granna!)
Getting some exercise at the Midland park before we head home.
At the end of August, we started two very new things. (1) school, for both kids, at Couts Methodist and (2) Kindermusik. Both of the kids were ecstatic about school, until Kerith realized I couldn't stay with her. It was a tough transition for a month or so, but now she literally hops with excitement down the hall when it's a school day. Her teachers have both taken to her, which is a huge blessing for us. They even sing to her at naptime if she has a hard time sleeping. Spoiled? Yes! White bear has been making the trips to school as well, which really helped. I asked if White Bear had a good school day the other day, and Kerith said (very seriously), "No. He is cranky." Well okay then!
Caleb is loving school, and has made a friend in the class named Levi. Apparently, they are attached at the hip. So far I have heard stories of burying treasure together, finding treasure together, drawing self portraits together, and being "juice buddies" when they brought the same Capri Sun to lunch one day. I'm loving that he has a friend to pal around with. Since Caleb is, shall we say, resistant to change, we hit a road bump when his teacher had to quit for the year due to family health problems. We got a new teacher, who is wonderful, but who Caleb swears is "not as good to me" as his other teacher. I can get no quantitative or qualitative explanation. It simply involves change. He's warming up as time goes on. The fact that this school has a computer class is helping a great deal.
Kindermusik is like music class for kids. They learn rhythm, all about scales and instruments, some musical terms, and just have a really good time. I drastically underestimated how much Kerith would love it. Caleb likes it, but Kerith LOVES it! She giggles and sings the entire time (even on the teacher's singing parts).
Another new thing in the fall - football watching with Daddy. Kerith is our football girl.
"Grossology", Caleb's favorite museum exhibit ever, where he got to learn all about the human body, ended in September. So we had to make one last trip to see it ... again.
Just this week, it was Caleb's turn to have a birthday! Usually, I can't believe it when my kids are a year older. But lately, Caleb has gotten so big and so mature, it seems right to be calling him 4 instead of 3!
I was not planning to have a huge party. Until we were driving down the road, and Caleb started telling me everything he wanted to do at his birthday party. "Mom, for my party, I want to go to Cherry Park, and I want to have backwards lunch day so we eat cake first and then lunch, and I want a Thomas cake, and then we can go play!" He also composed a guest list. So, at the last minute, that is exactly what we did.
Pictures of the party are on Rick's camera again, so I'll have to update later. We had a blast!
Caleb, the older you get, the harder to put into words is your personality! You are a rules follower, and you like things done just the way that they should be done in every situation. You are so bright, we are having a hard time keeping up with you! Your last few months as a 3 year old have been spent learning to read your first words. You can sound out anything that is phonetic, and you are always looking for words to read - around the house, driving around town, anywhere. You have a great interest in anything silly these days, loving to tease and play jokes on people. Every time I get in the car, you've put something in my seat! And usually, you have also picked me a flower. You are as tender hearted as can be, but that doesn't mean you don't thoroughly enjoy smashing trucks into walls like any boy will. You still love to play with your Thomas trains and Cars cars, building really awesome (usually on risers) tracks that the trains can run around on. You are starting to learn about football with your Daddy and are learning each and every rule you can ask about. And you are always asking about something! How something works, how something is made, "what if ...?" You'll tell any stranger you meet about God, and you'll ask anyone if they already know about God. I love to hear you tell Kerith, "Kerith girl, you don't need to be afraid, because God is always with us." You try your hardest to keep Kerith in line, and I'm trying my hardest to get you to relax and be a kid. :)
You solved this puzzle better than your daddy or I did!
You are PUMPED about having a baby in the house, and I hope that excitement sticks. You calmly observed that obviously, we have 3 seats in the back of our car and so clearly, that means we should have 3 kids as well. Makes perfect sense to your logical mind. :)
You are an absolute delight, and you're loved by everyone who meets you. I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year! Love you, Little Man! (who is not so little anymore!)
And last but not least, the plight of the third child, I'm afraid, is that I am 5.5 months pregnant, and there's been no blogging about you since announcing that you were joining the family. I'm sorry! But the truth is that life with two kids makes for a crazy life, but a laid back one that I think will benefit you greatly in the end! Since we're going to be surprised about whether you are a boy or a girl, I can't guess much about your personality yet. You are extremely active, kicking anything that gets remotely close to your "home". And I'm thrilled. I'm not at all concerned that you won't be able to hold your own around here. :) Caleb wants to know if you will like trains, and Kerith wants to know if you will cry a lot. I guess we will have to see! Can't wait to meet you ... but not until at least December if not January, okay??? :)
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