Lasater Land

Kedrick is reading. I've worked with him a bit, but very inconsistently. In true Kedrick style, he just decided one day that he wanted to read and started reading. He's been practicing and practicing, with many different books. I'm not sure how he figures out all of the words, but he somehow manages most on his own. Every now and then he'll ask for help. He'll say, "This word is a bit hard for me."

Kedrick is becoming so grown up. There is something significant in his mind about turning six, which won't happen until August. Today he said, "After when I turn six, I'm going to drive the car." He also thinks he is going to get a guinea pig or a hamster. We'll have to see about that.

Kedrick got to visit the ER yesterday. The boys were in the playroom jumping from beanbag to toybox to couch to chair to chair (something I've been unable to prevent them from doing lately), and Kedrick slipped and hit his face on the tile bar that sits above our counter top. I had warned them repeatedly that something like that could happen. I guess some kids have to learn the hard way. The result was a large welt on Kedrick's cheek bone and a cut across the bridge of his nose. He was very brave, friendly and cooperative at the hospital. They cleaned him up, glued him up, and gave him a balloon.

Kedrick had a bad attitude this morning, so I took something away. He got mad.

He said, "You aren't my mom anymore."

"I'm not?" I asked.

"No, you are a scary ogre."

I think I'll put the Shrek movies away.

I love that my kids are goofy.

Eva is walking everywhere! We can't keep her contained. She loves to climb and loves to be in the middle of whatever is going on.

The boys have been wanting to see a rainbow, for a long time.

They've seen them in pictures. They've seen them on TV. But they've never seen a real one.

We've driven around after storms hoping to catch a glimpse.

I finally just gave up. I figured the view from our house must not be one prone to rainbow sightings.

Today we were driving to church and Kedrick looked out at the cloudy sky and told me that he really wanted to see a rainbow. I sighed, then told him to ask God to let him see a rainbow today. He prayed a sweet prayer asking God to show him a rainbow.

This afternoon, we were packing up the stroller for a walk around the neighborhood, when I heard Kedrick yell, "A rainbow!" I thought he was pretending. I stepped out from the garage and looked up. There was a beautiful, complete rainbow. The boys sat in the driveway and looked at the rainbow until we were ready to leave.

As we started our walk, they both looked up and said, "Thank you God, for the rainbow!"

This isn't a great picture, but here it is, the boys' first rainbow sighting:

I took the kids to Damie's office on Friday to go trick-or-treating. Kedrick was a fireman. Victor was a race car driver. And Eva was a kitty cat. She was so cute!! Damie's parents bought her the sweet costume.

The boys brought home so much candy.

Oh...and Damie was Super Why!

Eva is ten-months-old today. I can't believe it. Amazing how quickly time goes by when you have a little one.

She waves when she eats. If she is drinking from her bottle, her little hand sticks up in the air and she waves, almost the entire time she drinks.

For solid food, each time Eva takes a bite, her hand shoots up in the air and she waves repeatedly until she is ready for the next bite. We all laugh so hard.

It has been really sweet, especially since I haven't been able to hold and cuddle her. Instead we wave at each other and smile, longingly.

Eva started clapping today. We spent the day clapping and singing all the clapping songs we know, encouraging Eva to clap more.

Victor says this to me often. He grabs my face with his little hands, stares into my face and tells me I'm beautiful. I'm required to return the compliment with, "And you are handsome!" Because Victor has figured out that girls are beautiful and boys are handsome.

I asked him, "What makes people beautiful?"

He stared at me blankly.

"Is it my hair?" I asked.

"Noooo." he replied with a smile (since I don't have any hair).

"Is it my smile?"

"Noooo." he replied again

"Is it my eyes?"

"Noooo!" he exclaimed.

"Then what makes a person beautiful?"

"Their heart!"

Such wisdom found in my little three-year-old!

Eva also occasionally stands by herself. She reminds me of Wiley E. Coyote, who runs off the cliff. He then hangs suspended in the air until he finally realizes he is in the air and falls. In the same way, Eva will stand for a bit by herself, distracted. Then she realizes she isn't holding on to anything and falls down on her bottom.

Update: It's her bottom right.

Update: 9/10. Noticed her bottom left tooth broke through.

Mom: "You mean, like Daddy?"

Kedrick: "No, like Cookie Monster."

I took the boys on a tour of a fire station with some friends from church. These never get old, and each one is a little different. Their favorite part was watching one of the firefighters put on his "costume."

Damie took the boys down to the Boise River to go fishing for the very first time. Damie's brother Dason, and niece, Ashley accompanied them. Not wanting to miss out on a photo shoot, I took Eva along in the blistering heat.

Unfortunately, most of our fun this summer has been at home, which is probably easier with a six-month-old. Here are some pictures of the kids having fun at home. I love how they all play together.

I'm sure someday Eva will be unhappy about this post. But I just can't help but show her adorable little poo-face. Here is the progression...