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September 30, 2006

imagination

artwork, homework, play, reading, knitting, design, storytelling, bike riding--some of the many activities that fill our days. we are definitely a family that enjoys the cooler weather and somehow always seem to relate better when spending plenty of time outdoors. yea for fall!

these last few weeks of school for aidan have been interesting. i am sure that many of the school related struggles in my mind are merely the fear of placing my first child out there. granted, these weeks have not left aidan unscathed, but i have realized how well adjusted this child really is. i also now understand that i should never judge or label first-time-moms for being overprotective of their little ones. despite the number of children you have, experience, or your age, walking through life with your first child always seems to bring new struggles. i guess what i am trying to say is that i am still a first-time-mom of a five year old. i know what to do with a new baby but have no idea how to shape the character of a little boy. scary stuff.

so, aidan has been busy working on letters and learning to read at school. he seems to love learning, and we always have a blast working on his little homework assignments. here is one where he had to find, cut out, and label his favorite foods:

...and some pieces of art completed at school:

(swimmin' in grandma's pool.)

("this is you lovin' dad. that's me on the side with a blue robot toy.")

abe the storyteller:

this little guy talks throughout most of the day. grabbing bits of stories told, videos watched, conversations overheard, and the elaborations contrived in his own mind, abe has some great stories to share with anyone crossing his path. most days, the one hearing the stories is me. his face becomes so animated as he weaves a tale. today, i grabbed a camera to capture that face. what a fun guy!

(abe checking to see if i am still listening)

Posted by cooleys at 11:57 AM | TrackBack

September 27, 2006

it's all about...

YOU!

happy birthday, mom! we love you!

Posted by cooleys at 04:48 PM | TrackBack

September 06, 2006

happenings

mark requested that i update the blog so that his picture will no longer appear at the top of the page. i thought that it was a nice picture of him, but i guess these kid pics are pretty cute too...

summer is over, and we hope that our family will soon fall into a new schedule. so far, the kids have the rising early thing down. i am the one left fumbling to get a diaper changed, kids dressed, backpack and lunch ready, and little people fed all before leaving at 7:30am. i know that others who have been doing this school thing much longer would laugh at my inability to pull it all together, but we have not been late yet. i guess this will all seem routine soon, right?

this week marks aidan's second full week of school. there have been significant bumps along the way--namely another child that decided to give aidan a hard time during his first couple of days of school. aidan did not seem phased by either incident, but having this fear of my child being mistreated realized so quickly into his kindergarten year was difficult.

mark and i attended our first pta meeting. that was weird. i sat through most of it wondering how i got to be the parent in this circumstance.

abel has enjoyed being the oldest child at home during the days that aidan is away at school. i try to play up the role letting him sit in aidan's car seat and encouraging him to help oliver when needed. i hope to see more of a bond develop between these two.

abe insists on helping me take aidan to school each morning. he spends much of that time coaching aidan on his expected behavior for that day. he also instructs him on what to do if another child picks on him. it is sweet to see their bond growing.

Posted by cooleys at 12:53 PM | TrackBack