Fall Roundup

School, soccer, and scouts.  That's the fall in these parts!

This year Alastair is a second grader.

He was so excited for his first day he put up with a few pictures.

Two weeks later, Emery finally got to start school.

This year she is going three days a week in preparation for kindergarten next year.  That is, if I let her go.  Emery has already agreed that we are going to college together (Hook 'Em Horns!) I'm not sure I'm going to let her go off to kinder without me.  She has been bucking her nap lately, though, so I figure one summer without naps will cure that notion.

Guess who else started school this fall?

Nelly loves her "Fish Class" and tells everyone about it.  She doesn't quite get the concept of attending only one day though and spends the first day we drop off Emery confused as to why she isn't going, the second ecstatic because it is finally her turn, and then Friday devastated because it is all over for the week and Emery is going without her again.

She is awfully fond of her big sister.

Speaking of that  sister...

Emery was all about soccer again this fall.  She is part of such a sweet team of little girls and it is neat to watch their playing evolve.  This season Emery scored three goals and her offensive play and ball control improved immensely.

She wants to play again in the Spring, but we are reserving a decision on that until we see what we have lined up.  Last Spring we overcommitted the entire family to various events and by May, it was painful to keep up with everything.  I cringe to think about it.

Alastair took the sports season off and has been busy with Scouts and school.   Here he is in early October at his school's Colt Bolt Fundraiser.  

The highlight in Cub Scouts was our recent "Go See It" at Papa's shop.  The boys (and their dads) loved learning all about the various big power tools and the kids got to make a Christmas project that allowed them to use a pneumatic brad nailer.  They also got to see a turning demonstration and each boy took home their own blue and gold turned top.  As den leaders this year, this was Kim and my favorite meeting by far.  The kids were so well behaved and I think they'll be talking about it for a long time to come.

 

In October we had an event that has kept the kids talking:  a visit from their cousin Baron.  Emery enjoyed mothering the heck out of him and we all enjoyed spending some more time with Yvette and Harlan.

Yes, I made them do this.

I think Emery may have invented photobombing.

Fall means mandatory pumpkin patch pictures.  Price of one pumpkin?  Smiles and patience, please.

 

This kid.  No one else can make me quite so angry and then melt my heart with that little smile.  He is sweet, he is tender, he is a brick.  Possibly hurled through a window depending on his mood.

 

This one.  May she never outgrow her sweetness.  She has such a big personality in a tiny package and reminds me of Emery and Alastair in different ways.  Bottom line:  Nell will not be defined by her siblings.

Ah, Emery.  So passionate and tender hearted.  Heaven help us when she discovers boys.

 

They are a pretty great combination.  We are blessed.

This very Mom moment interrupted by Halloween.

There was the preschool parade.

Then the big day finally arrived.

One little black cat who knew her lines.  "Meow, Meow!  I key-cat!," she yelled.

One super sweet sassy witch, who claimed to be wicked.  As if, Emery.  As if.

Nelly left the ears on almost all night which may be some sort of record.

Like all ninjas, Alastair was hard to photograph.  Here he is with some neighborhood buddies.  Anyone recognize that wolf costume?  I didn't make the ninja costume (thanks Target!) but I did have three creations on parade around the neighborhood this year.  It was nice to see it get a second life.

In early November, Emery had a very big week when she learned to ride her bike sans training wheels and stopped sucking her thumb.  The thumb sucking achievement piggybacked on the accidental skewering of said thumb when Emery decided to see how her emergency EpiPen worked while I was outside rounding up toys.  The story is a little unclear as to how it happened, either through subterfuge or because she was as shocked as I was (very!).  Bottom line:  she managed to activate it by disabling the safety feature then pressing it into either her thumb or the table at which point it went straight through the thumb.  When she came running screaming to tell me she hurt her finger, I do recall her seeming a little more amped up than usual, but again, this is Emery and she is never one to scrimp on the drama.  After closer inspection, we figured that most of the medicine came out on the other side of her thumb and that she probably only got a tiny dose of the epinephrine.  We still had to visit the doctor, although it took so long to get in that by the time he finally came to our room, she was dancing and clapping her hands.  The prescription was to stop sucking her thumb until it healed.  The first night was very hard and was aided by bandaids.  After that, it became decreasingly difficult and we stepped down to a bit of Thum polish on the fingernail.  A week later, she was done!

Awhile ago, I promised to take Emery to get real big girl nail polish on her fingers when she stopped sucking her thumb.  After a full seven days, we went for the treat.  The ladies made such a big deal out of her and she loved every minute.  In my defense, I have no intention of taking a five year old for regular pedicures, but it was well earned.  To date, Emery is still not sucking her thumb and we are all very proud of her.

For lack of alternate childcare, someone else got to come along and she sat happily in my lap and watched Sesame Street, streamed through Hulu.  These girls were so quiet and well behaved that none of the other customers would have known they were there, at least until Eleanor discovered the fish tank and yelled out happily "fish!  FISH!"  I think that is excusable.  Hey, they were enormous fluorescent orange fish.   I thought about yelling myself.