Here Comes the Sun

Well, we've been out soaking in the colors of fall (just like Lionni's Frederick). I still fear we won't have enough colors soaked up for the long, lean, gray days of winter just ahead of us.

The kids have been enjoying picking up little sticks, acorns, pine cones and a wide array of colorful leaves on their walks. Oddly enough, Kai needed to gather items for a fall wreath project at his preschool this weekend, and he was a bit irksome about it; I guess it wasn't spontaneous enough for his little spirit.

We've tried to spend at least a couple of days each week at Nana and Pappy's pumpkin patch. Some weeks the weather just won't cooperate. We've also been walking at Busey Wooks and at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana.

Norah (and Kai too) are really enjoying Busey Woods. They absolutely love to toss leaves off of the bridge and watch them float by on the other side. Kai also likes to make the decision of which way on the boardwalk we are going to roam. When it's dryer, we try to venture off the boarded path onto the trails, but it just hasn't truly been dry enough. I don't relish slogging though the mud with two young children, unhappy with the mud, who at the same time cry, "Up. Up." Call me crazy! 

There is just something so amazing about a woods in the fall -- of course, I LOVE the colors, but there is also something about the smell of a woods in autumn that also makes me feel all warm inside. I grew up on a wooded lot so I am sure my soul feels soothed by such a familiar scent. And yes, I know, it's decomposition. The romantic in me just doesn't want to admit it.

Kit is Home!

Well...we survived 9 days without my sweetheart. It was tough. We were all stoic about it. Norah didn't lose it until yesterday when she took to crying out of nowhere. Kai just refused to even say the word daddy or talk about him.

To comfort the kids at bedtime, Kit was so sweet and recorded bedtime stories for them before he left. They watched a few the first morning he was gone, and then, after that, they would get upset if I even asked if they wanted to watch one. I hope to NEVER have 9 days a part again.

The kids and I spent the today cooking and baking some tasty treats for daddy's eating pleasure. We baked Kit's grandmother's applesauce cookies, which Kai LOVED and Norah replied, "Get it out of my mouth!" She does NOT consider it a cookie.

We also baked yummy bread, and squash, apple and sweet potato soup made most excellent with cayenne pepper.

While I was cooking today, I had a flash back to how annoyed I used to get cooking for Kit. I hated all of his vegetarian ingredients, no preservatives and organic way of life.  It took me forever to shop for food. It meant multiple grocery stores. It took time to read all of the labels. Now, I am so glad that Kit wouldn't compromise. I am much healthier today than I was then. Now, it just seems like second nature. I'm also glad that we are more intentional about the food we feed to the kids. Thanks, baby!

Here's to lots of family time in the next few days! And, to surprise my sweetie...I got Dylan tickets (more for me since I am the fan) for a show in Chicago, which means a night away from the kids (which makes Kit smile and me too). It will be nice to have some couple time.

Happy Birthday, Baby Doll

Today, Norah officially turns 2! Kit is still in Kyrgyzstan so we are not talking about her birthday; she had her family party last weekend so she's had her cake!!! In other words, she's happy.

When he gets back, we're planning on celebrating her birthday again with a trip to a children's museum in an undecided location -- St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis-Saint Paul are all in the running; we do this for everyone's birthday including the adults. I spent my birthday at the Bloomington Children's Museum -- we all had a blast.

So, I thought that I would celebrate here by posting some of my favorite photos of Miss Norah as a 1 year old. Her silly smile in some of the photos makes Kit and I laugh out loud.

So...without further ado...I present...Miss Norah Condill...Happy 2nd Birthday, Baby Doll (as your daddy calls you).

Trees, Some Minor Hills and Water = Heaven to Me

I snapped this picture of Kai at Turkey Run State Park a few weekends ago. To Kit and I, it captures Kai's joyful movement through the world. He is a bundle of energy. There is rarely a still moment. He sings, dances, tells stories...movement is his life. He does slow down to draw, build amazing Lego structures and listen to a good story. However, movement is his preferred state.

Kit and I have been trying to take the kids out into the woods on a more regular basis. I grew up on a wooded lot (or as we say where I grew up a ravine lot) so trees makes me feel alive, and they even calm my spirit. Kit says he has never seen me as relaxed as when I am surrounded by trees and/or walking amongst them.

Turkey Run was an amazing experience for our family. Literally, we could say to the kids to get them moving...there's going to be something else cool to climb on and explore a few feet ahead of us -- AND THERE WAS! A parent and child's dream come true.

Kai is an amazing climber and there were a lot of rocks and roots to climb, which was a big plus. The trail was natural -- not the paved walkways you see at Starved Rock. However, the trail we hiked was easy enough for almost 2 year old Norah to manage.

Next summer, I hope to be able to take the kids back to Turkey Run to canoe. In the meantime, we will keep visiting it to hike and breathe with the trees, rocks and water.

Eight Years Ago...Today

Eight years ago today, Kit and I had our very first date. We'd met a year earlier. We didn't hit it off. Kit will claim that I LOVED him upon meeting him...I say...not so much. I was a bundle of nerves that night...rambling on and on. Anyway, we made it to our 2nd date...then our 3rd...then we were a couple. 9 months later we bought a house and were engaged to be married.

Truth be told, I fell for him, because he was so kind to my cousin, Ben, who had just returned from Turkmenistan where he was in the Peace Corps; Kit cooked us dinner when Ben was visiting me. This was post 9/11 so Ben had just been evacuated. Kit had traveled in the region and knew about the culture, the landscape...he got where Ben had been.

I can hardly believe that it has been 8 years...time seems to have flown by and at the same time it feels like we've been together forever.

Dating and marrying Kit has made me a much better person. He's opened my eyes to so many things and ideas. He's helped me to calm down, enjoy life more and be more content with who I am trying to be and become.

Here's to many more dates...we need to go out more. Seriously. Oh...And, I LOVE his weird sense of humor too...

Our Little Pumpkin Turns 2 (Almost)

Norah celebrated her 2nd birthday this past Saturday with a family party at Nana and Pappy's farm! I cannot believe that she will be 2 years old on the fourth of October. Okay, I can and I can't. Honestly, I cannot believe how fast my nieces and nephew have grown up either. It seems like just yesterday that Benjamin was the only wee one and now he is 7.  To quote my favorite 80s movie -- Ferris Bueller -- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while you could miss it." Too true. I often have to catch myself...when I am being a busy (and at times cranky) Mama trying to get stuff done...I don't want to miss a thing with either of them. Kai drawing, whistling, building amazing structures...OR Norah coloring, reading, listening to the wind.

Anyway...back to my story...but first...a picture of my kids, nieces and nephew...taken while Norah's birthday dinner was getting finished. We were all hungry and cranky, but you wouldn't know it...

I know...I know...fall is a crazy time to have a birthday in our family, BUT she is the only Condill grandkid so far to get to celebrate her birthday while the pumpkin patch is in its glorious riot of fall colors and textures. Plus, we like crazy in our family. We seem to thrive on it. Once the last customer pulled out of the parking lot, it was PARTY time.

Aunt G made an amazing cake celebrating Norah's LOVE of pink cupcakes. From the moment she saw the cake, it was all she could think about. CAKE. CAKE. CAKE. Presents didn't interest her. Only cake. FINALLY, it was time for cake! She was thrilled eating the icing off all of the mini cupcakes and then putting them back on the cake board for someone else to enjoy. Yummy!

Now, this cake was big -- we have a large, wonderful extended family -- however, little Miss Norah wanted to carry a chunk of it to Mama. Her mouth was watering as different family members scaffolded her effort. I just love the way her tongue is sticking out right as she passed it to me. Too cute. I still cannot believe it did not hit the floor. She would have been devastated if it had. We all would have been. For her. For us. It was delish.

Happy, happy almost 2nd birthday, my little pumpkin pie!

 

Curls No More

Kai's been growing by leaps and bounds lately. His mind is clicking away, and he can even rest his nose (I know, I know...it isn't sanitary) on our island top. He is also Mr. Adventurous when it comes to getting stools or using the radiators to reach things high up (Grandma is having a nervous breakdown about this). We want him to be safe too, but we are enjoying his creative problem solving after we have told him "just a minute" one to many times in his book.

It didn't come as a surprise to us when he asked to get his gorgeous, blond curls, which we all love, cut a bit shorter. So, without further ado, we let him get his hair cut as short as he wanted to. He LOVED it at first. He enjoyed the cool breeze blowing on the back of his neck. He liked the fuzzy, short hair feeling. However, after a few hours, he told us that next time, he wants it kept a little longer. He missed his curls when he looked in the mirror, and he missed their softness. He even told us in a hopeful voice that his hair was already longer. And, it probably is a wee, little bit longer.

He also started preschool earlier this month. He's already learned to whistle; he adores the teacher who gave him his final lessons on this skill (we'd been working on it for a while, but she helped him to finally get it). He also is busy singing "Where is Thumbkin" to his sister. We love his take on what the lyrics are...something like..."Merrily do you do." And, whenever we pick him up from school, he is all lit up inside, which makes our hearts sing. Kit and I love his excitement over new people, places and ideas.

Oh...Kai...you are such a sweet, amazing little boy! Thank you for all your sweet words, hugs, dances, songs and flowers. Thank you for being you.