Time out triumphs and trials

Time outs abound here of late for our boy. Sometimes he seems happy to be there: 

Other times he finds it less than impressive.

I don't know that he even understands sometimes but the fact that he sits there for one minute is a big change. I have noticed a modest decrease in the amount table climbing and toy tossing . 

This weeks shenanigans

Ho, hum. Just another day as the little brother.

Peek-a-boo lunch

We have been able to remove the baby gate at the bottom of the
stairs so Ellie has reclaimed her favorite spot.

Why not pull up a seat and stay a while?

Brooklyn and Mack playing Ring around the Nosey

Moon over farmland

Mack brought out every last scrap of art supplies to complete a
project at the table. She was not so happy when clean up
time came. It actually lasted longer than art time did!

Mack brought her field journal on our walk.

Mackenzie greeted me wearing these one morning before school.
Good morning, sunshine!

Looking handsome in his fall vest.

Two sleeping boys, both snoring.

Let's go, Grams!

Mx4 2013

Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch

We loaded our kids plus Brooklyn into the car one Saturday morning to check out another pumpkin patch! This one was just south of Boulder and had 100 acres of pumpkins plus activities galore!

It's funny how much the kids love the petting zoo when they visit them.
I figured they wouldn't hold much allure since Gramps has
all those same animals on his farm.

That's Mackenzie in there, and Brooklyn in the ball behind her! Mike
took this picture and I think it's great!

Mackenzie picked Mason's pumpkin but Mason is NOT one for being
confined these days. Each and every picture, he is trying his best to escape.
While the girls waiting in line for the rides, I followed Mason as he walked the entire
farm twice. Even then, he still wanted to " Go-GO!"

Fall Faces: Mason Thomas

Some of you will be visiting us very soon ( just over a month, because we ARE counting!) so I thought you'd appreciate a peek at the Masonite dictionary. Unlike Many toddler boys, Mason has a big vocabulary . It's just not always apparent what it is he's trying to say. This might help you in conversations with him:

Eyes = Yes
Suck = fork or stuck
Soup= Spoon
Sazz - Grams, Shells ( Carley)
Geez- Please
cuck- truck
mee-ohhh - mail
see-sue- sister
Allah- Ellie
Goon-Gunner
Ly-low-nin- Vitamin
Lellow- Banana
teet-whoooooo - train
teets- trees
shyst - chest
gank goo- thank you
a see oooo - I'll see you

 The rest of his words are amazingly clear. There are times that Mason has said " Mommy?" and I've turned to Mackenzie and asked her what she needed! 

Two things you soon find out after meeting Toddler Mason: He is mischievous and he is the biggest charmer you will ever meet.  He spends his days exploring with the purpose of mess making by way of curiosity. I cannot even begin to count the number of times we remove him from the table top every day or how many times he's figure out how to bypass the baby proofing in order to get so the treasures behind forbidden drawers.  Every now and again he gets a wild hair and likes to find out what happens when he pinches or bites or pulls hair. He doesn't have a single ounce of malice when he goes into this mode. He simply likes to see the reactions he gets and doesn't understand how much is tiny little fingers can hurt. Time outs have absolutely no effect on him so we do tons and tons of redirected and do our best to not let him out of our sights ( especially since he knows how to open the trash can and spread it's contents about the house). 

But just as mischievous as he is, he just fills every heart to the max when he smiles or cuddles or hugs the people he meets. He loves to sit in the shopping cart and shout " HI!!" and wave to people that pass by, mainly girls.  He loves to gently run his hand through hair and he will sit on your lap for toddler eternity ( minutes in real life time) and let you adore him.  You nearly forget the pain he inflicted when he lays his head on your should. His smile could move mountains and I can just look into those baby blue eyes forever. All of this said, he is just one very loveable, one very curious  ( and super speedy) boy!

Fall Faces: Mackenzie Claire

 It's fall photo shoot time! Taking pictures of Mackenzie is a breeze. Many poses are her own . If she starts to get too " stiff", I tell her a joke or start a conversation so her smiles are natural.

Mackenzie is in her third month of Kindergarten. Her teacher tells us that she is always willing to help her or other children in the class. She loves to spend time in the learning centers and on the computers. She's currently the solo member of the " count to 100 club" and one of two members in the " I can tie my shoes!" club.

In September, we attended parent/teacher conferences. Mrs. Solliday cleared an hour to spend with Mike and me as she had important topics to discuss. During the first week of school, assessments were completed and Mackenzie surpassed the spectrum of the tests so Mrs. Solliday carefully tested her beyond that to see find out just where Mack lined up academically. Turns out, Mackenzie is well above even the advanced kids in her class. This isn't a huge surprise to us as we've always known Mackenzie's hunger for learning motivates her to learn constantly. The tests showed that Mackenzie was well into the first grade level on nearly everything. The things that she wasn't at first grade on , she was at the bench mark, meaning she was where they'd like the students to be at the end of the kindergarten year. 

So now the question begs- what do we do about it? Mike and I definitely want Mack to be challenged but we do not want her to skip a grade and we never want her to feel like she is so far from the other kids that she feels punished. We all agreed that extra homework wasn't the right answer.

Enter Mrs. Bucho , the schools gifted and talented specialist. Together, she and Mrs. Solliday came up with a plan that would not separate Mackenzie from her classmates but that would allow her to continue to learn at her own pace with out being bored or held back by the progress of the class.  Twice a week, Mackenzie meets with Mrs. Bucho during times that the class is broken up into groups, any way. Together, they work on reading comprehension and advanced learners reading. They pick out a book together , read it and disect it. Mrs. Bucho thought it was so interesting that Mackenzie consistently picks out nonfiction books and had to adapt her teaching model to nonfiction vs. fiction.  Mrs. Buscho is excited to work with Mackenzie but this is new ground for her since she hasn't worked with a kindergartner before.

In class, Mackenzie does all of the same activities as her classmates but her work is more challenging. While the other kids are practicing with early readers on iPads, Mackenzie is given a book that matches her level. There is never a time when Mack feels excluded or " different" and I really like that.

In volunteering in the class each week, I am happy to see the sweet, helpful and smart little girl that Mackenzie is. She is consistently the " voice of reason" and the one who models good behavior. Her teacher loves having her in class and I am so very happy that she has a teacher who loves to see Mackenzie excel and doesn't mind the extra work that goes into preparing for her.

Arriving: ARIZONA!

 Finally!! After all this time, the kids and I made it out to see the Hansfords in Arizona ( Mike had initially wanted to go but decided to pick up some shifts on the ambulance, instead. He did have a few days of  a quiet house to enjoy before he picked up the hours, which was well deserved and appreciated!) . We rode 13 hours with my mom, Brooklyn and Kaleb in the middle of the night to make it in time for breakfast!  In no particular order , here are the pictures from our trip!

Peas in a pod- They both love bugs, learning about science and trying to catch
creepy crawly things.

Grams and Brooklyn swinging their cares away

Taylor loves cars, even cleaning them. So once
we got there and got unloaded, she and Brooklyn cleaned the inside
and everyone cleaned the outside.

Poor Nikki, never hears the end of the short jokes.

We visited a park that had a pond FULL of tiny minnows.
The kids made it their goal to catch one. Despite all their
plotting and planning, this goal went unmet.

Can you believe that Taylor found this guy under her bed?!
What else is under there, Tay?

Nikki and mom took Mason with them on an errand so he could
zonk out in the car. Three minutes after they left, I got a picture of him snoozing away
in his car seat. So the kids and I staged this photo in retaliation.

Mack really loved seeing all the different plants , especially
cactus and palm trees. See her shirt-full of seed pods and flowers?

Snoozing in Coley's bed.

Taylor and Brooklyn were playing dress up and corned Mason for some
lipstick kisses.

Snuggling up with Grams

A Saguaro Cactus that was probably 15 feet tall.

I miss my sister and cherish the time we get together!

I love them!

Look at this beautiful girl! How did she grow up so quickly?

The ride home was nearly silent. All the kids slept
the entire way.

Poor Mason was ready to be home.

The kids all checking out the duck pond

Mackenzie was so worn out that she feel asleep in the middle of the floor
in the middle of the afternoon. That never happens!

Best buds

My girls

Mason never wanted for attention

I snapped a few family pictures just before we left. Those
Hansfords look like a magazine cover!

Six little monkeys swinging in a tree....

Taylor added that little heart with no prompting.
They are a photographers dream.

Brooklyn and me

Mack loved that rock in Nikki's driveway. She scoped out lots of
neat things there.

One of my beautiful sisters

Who leads this pack?

One last picture before we go. There were lots of tears ready to flow.
Sweet Kaleb would be the first to cry.

Wheee!!!!!