The Things Kids Say

May 31, 2010, 10:11 pm

You know how much Lily loves Taylor Swift. She talks about growing her hair out like Taylor. She also believes her hair is becoming naturally curly. Her goal: look like Taylor Swift.

A few days ago Noah looked at Lily and said, "You know, you really do look like Taylor Swift!"



The look on Lily's face after this wonderful compliment from her not-always-nice brother was priceless. She lit up. Then I could tell she was thinking. This is what she came up with, "You look like............Michael Jackson!"

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A Tough Decision

May 31, 2010, 9:54 pm

Lily had a great Kindergarten year except for Strep throat. She had strep throat 6 times in 6 months. The poor child would get over an episode and then end up sick again. She also developed snoring issues due to her enlarged tonsils.

We were referred to an Ear Nose Throat specialist last month. We discussed Lily's case at length asking why a tonsillectomy was the answer. Then last week we met with her pediatrician for an explanation. After lots and lots of conversations, Nathan and I decided that a tonsillectomy may help Lily avoid more sickness and future complications. Tomorrow morning we take Lily to the hospital.

I have heard about tonsillectomies for ages, and I never thought anything of the procedure. The procedure seems pretty routine...until it's going to happen to your baby. So my stomach has been in knots all day, and Nathan and I keep giving each other that knowing look. Nathan shows his love to me with acts of service, and he has cleaned the house, made dinner, and purchased groceries today. I'm so thankful to have a husband like him because I can't even think straight due to worry.

I am so grateful to my family and close friends who have helped me with this decision... Thank goodness for the wonderful people in our lives!

Hopefully Lily will not have too much pain and this procedure is the best decision. She giggled the entire time she was in the chair at the ENT's office. Such a sweet and silly child:

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School's Out!

May 31, 2010, 9:47 pm

Noah and Lily were very excited for the last day of school. I drove the kids to school and walked during their last hour of class. Lily planned a beautiful outfit for the last day of school, and Noah was excited to have donuts in class.

Here they are on their last day:



Noah and Lily found out who their teachers are for next year and received their report cards. Lily received a "perfect Kindergarten report card" along with a touching letter from her teacher Mrs. Thomsen. Noah received straight A's and had perfect marks for respecting authority and other behaviors during 3rd grade. Nathan and I are so proud!

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Field Day Fun

May 31, 2010, 9:41 pm

I went to Field Day at Noah and Lily's school for the first time this year. I had a fantastic time watching the kids play games. Noah and Lily are so very different...Noah is very competitive and had fun only when he was doing well. He was so serious about winning every contest. Lily just had fun and didn't care who was winning. The weather was perfect and there were smiles all around (especially during Popsicle time!)

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Noah the Nine Year Old

May 28, 2010, 10:19 pm

Noah enjoyed three days of celebration for his 9th birthday. Noah (our early bird) woke up at 6:00 am. excited to open presents. He received wonderful gifts: books, baseball gear, a putting green (guess who that is from), and money (always a hit).

Thank you to everyone for the wonderful gifts...you know Noah well!




His birthday fell on a Saturday this year, and he had baseball practice in the morning. He celebrated with his baseball buddies by having breakfast for the team. He enjoyed playing catcher for the first time on his birthday, and now he's hooked on catching.

Noah picked the Indian food for lunch (much to our excitement), but the restaurant was closed. We went to a Mexican restaurant instead and enjoyed yummy food with the Kruses and Passmans.

Nathan and Noah set up an obstacle course for Noah's birthday. Noah invited two neighbor friends: Cade and Max. The boys wore camouflage clothes and had fun competing at the obstacle course. Cade and Max then spent the night and played on Sunday as well.



On Monday, the third graders went on their field trip to Niabi Zoo. It was a very hot day (95 degrees), and I went along to spend the day with Noah. We drank lots and lots of water and enjoyed the fans at the zoo.



After the zoo we had a picnic at a park. Noah brought treats for his class and enjoyed playing kickball with his friends.

Amazingly Noah is half way out of the house. In 9 more years he will be 18 and at the end of his senior year. Noah has developed into a jock which tickles me. He's also intelligent, handsome, and best of all kind.

Happy Birthday Big Buddy!

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Our Talented Almost-9-Year-Old

May 20, 2010, 3:18 pm

The countdown is on: 2 more days until Noah turns 9! Here is one of my favorite pictures of him with his impressive hat collection:



Noah spent a 4-day weekend in Kansas City with his best friend Cade. The Harris clan have basically adopted Noah and took him along for a vacation. Noah got to see the Royals beat the White Sox, a Wizard soccer game, go bowling twice, swim, and play putt putt golf. We're shocked he returned home.

Buddies:



Noah had an impressive baseball game last night. He was short stop and caught a ball and then trotted over to 2nd base and very dramatically stomped his foot on the base for the double play. The kid somehow has style. I cheered so loud I lost my voice momentarily.

Noah is having two of his best buddies spend the night for his birthday. I talked him out of a big party because he usually gets upset. I think kids have a hard time in large groups of friends, and I know Cade, Max, and Noah will have a blast. The theme is military, so I'm going to try to make camouflage cupcakes. Pictures to follow...

I asked Noah where he would like to eat lunch on his special day, and he responded, "The Indian Restaurant!" I feel that I have succeeded as a mother in the Quad Cities if my child picks Indian Food over Happy Joe's Pizza.

Some of my friends (especially the ones who watch Noah play baseball) have commented lately that Noah is getting more and more like Nathan. It's true. I find it very comforting to be around Noah as he reminds me so much of his father. He's calm and only speaks when he really has something to say. I predict an absolutely delightful adult is in the making...

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Lily's First T-Ball Game: That's Entertainment!

May 17, 2010, 9:38 pm

I spent a very enjoyable hour watching Lily in her first T-ball game. She received her blue shirt (her team is called the Cubs). She picked the number 8 (because her big brother is 8).

I especially enjoyed when a boy was on first base after hitting the ball and then started playing for the other team and got the ball and wouldn't give it to the coach. That's good stuff.

Lily and her friend Anika:



Dang they're cute:



These girls know that chatting is perhaps the best part about sports (and I was chatting with Anika's Mom at this very moment):



Our lefty up at bat (Noah taught her to keep her elbow up):



She insisted on wearing her baseball hat under her helmet:



I was very impressed with her position in the outfield:




I suspect Lily is playing T-ball for the following 4 reasons (in order of importance):

1. The treat tickets
2. The trophy
3. The pink bat, ball, and glove
4. The social hour

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Monkeys

May 15, 2010, 9:27 am

I purchased a monkey bar for my monkeys:




Now if they would just stop eating all the bananas...

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Personalities

May 13, 2010, 9:31 am



Last week Lily wanted to make a cake for Papa: a "Thank you for getting us Taylor Swift concert tickets" cake. So I let her make a cake and frost it, and we sang "Thank you dear Papa." It was time for baseball practice, so we all ate cake instead of dinner. When we were headed out for practice Lily said, "But I didn't get to eat dinner." Nathan explained that there are plenty of calories in cake and we could have a healthy snack after practice. He looked to me for reinforcement. Then Noah said, "You're the dietitian Mom! Well?!"

Nathan grew some facial hair over the winter and recently shaved it all off. Lily got right in his face and asked what was different. Nathan told her that he shaved his beard. Lily looked at him really hard and then declared, "Makes your nose look bigger!"

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The Best Days

May 9, 2010, 7:07 pm

Today is Mother's Day. I sent my mother a card in which I wrote a long sappy paragraph about what a great Mom she is. My Mom is a great Mom and as the mother of two I now know all that she did for me. I had a morning where I got up at 5:40 and made the kids' lunches, wrote notes for their teachers that I was picking them up, made their breakfasts, woke them up, and got them on the bus. When they left I was exhausted and I realized all that my Mom did for me and with no complaint. My Mom loved being a stay at home Mom. Her favorite moments were our baby years, playing with us as kids, and going to our school activities. I have vivid memories of having tea parties with my Mom daily, going to the library with her, and having picnics at the park. She was always there for me.

So now I'm the mother of two elementary aged kids. I love it. I think these are truly the golden years of parenting. The kids are not high maintenance and sleep through he night and can dress themselves. They are developing wonderful personalities. I love what they contribute to our conversations. Best of all they still want to hang out with their parents. I have a friend who told me 9 years ago that I would some day love being a parent to elementary aged kids...she was so right.

Our lives include baseball games, cub scout activities, tumbling, and t-ball. Nathan and I have to counsel each other after all of Noah's games and discuss what went right and wrong. I never played a sport in my life and had a very fulfilling childhood, yet I find myself overly vested in Noah's baseball team. I see how happy baseball makes Noah, so his dreams become ours.

Today we went to the zoo on a beautiful Mother's Day. Noah and Lily played happily at the playground together, and I realized these are the best days...


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Mother's Day Eve

May 9, 2010, 11:12 am

My favorite day of the year since I was a little girl has been Christmas Eve. I often refer to the Eve of events. Birthday Eves, Halloween Eve, and even Christmas Eve Eve. Last week Lily was talking on and on as she often does, and I was half listening and agreeing to everything she was saying. Then in the midst of her monologue I heard the phrase "Mother's Day Eve." This stopped me in my tracks. I grabbed her and gave her a big hug. I hadn't even thought of that one!

So on my Mother's Day Eve Lily and I had a very special date to the Taylor Swift concert. The concert was sold out and the tickets were hard to come by and we were so excited. We spent the day watching Taylor Swift videos on you-tube and planning out Lily's outfit. She of course insisted that I curl her hair. She picked out a white shirt with ruffles, leggings, and socks with butterflies (you know Taylor loves butterflies just like Lily). She set out her outfit in the morning along with her Taylor Swift barbie doll and binoculars.

Lily started listening to Taylor Swift last year with the song "You Belong to Me" which she heard on the radio and fell in love with. We got her the CD, and she has been performing to Taylor Swift all year--at Christmas Eve and birthdays and every special Tackett event and even on rainy days at home. She even turned her Mom into a Taylor Swift fan and I think maybe her Papa and brother.

The concert was incredible. Taylor Swift is an amazing performer. Lily sang along to all of her favorite songs. She was completely mesmerized and only complaint was that she didn't get a hug from Taylor (who came into the audience and hugged lots of fans).

Here is Lily at her first (and hopefully not last) Taylor Swift concert:



Lily loved hearing Taylor talk to the crowd. She declared that she loves Illinois as much as...sparkly dresses! Lily and I loved seeing all of Taylor's beautiful dresses. We had a game of guessing what color dress she would have on next. We absolutely loved her sparkly dresses and our favorite was the purple sparkly dress!

Here are her dresses!



An unforgettable Mother's Day Eve!!!

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First Zoo Trip

May 6, 2010, 7:03 pm

The zoo opened this week after a long closing for construction. I broke a major parenting rule and took Lily on a sick day from school. Hey, she'd been on antibiotics for strep throat for 24 hours. Hey, I rented a wagon so she wouldn't have to walk. Hey, we had a blast.

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Spring Concert Fun for All

May 5, 2010, 8:30 pm

We lucked out and both kids were in the Spring concert this year (we got away with going to just one music concert). Lily counted down to the concert and reminded me daily of the date and time and need to dress up. She kept giggling over a joke the Kindergarteners were doing during the program (and amazingly did not tell me before the event).

The program was on Tuesday night. Unfortunately Lily started to get a cold on Sunday. She went to school on Tuesday but seemed pretty miserable. I had her rest after school, and she was so pumped for the concert that we let her go.

Lily kept commenting that she did not want to be sick and miss the concert as all of her friends and teacher would be there. Noah said cynically, "Lots of third graders wish they were sick. Who wants to sing in front of hundreds of people?"

Lily asked me to curl her hair, and for once I exceeded her expectations. Here are the kids (and parents) all dressed up:



Lily even asked me to take her picture in the car on the way to the school so that she could check out her fancy do:



I assumed Lily would barely participate despite her enthusiasm. I was surprised when Lily did all of the hand motions and sang the songs looking out at the audience.



Lily and her friend Jenna:



When Noah walked up to perform Nathan said that Noah was thinking, "I'm gonna lip sync the hell out of this one!" Unfortunately his comment had me giggling uncontrollably as Noah did not smile and seemed very happy to sit back down.

Nathan and I experienced our first concert with no child to entertain. Just the two of us...laughing inappropriately and getting glares from other parents. Good times...

p.s. The Kindergartener joke was the following.: The music teacher asked how Old McDonald spelled farm. They replied in unison: E-I-E-I-O. Totally worth the wait.

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May Day Tradition

May 4, 2010, 8:54 am

Noah is no longer interested in making May Day baskets with me... Thankfully I have Lily who is over the top into May Day. She couldn't wait for the first day of May and made 5 baskets to deliver to neighbors. Lily absolutely loves giving gifts, making crafts, and delivering surprises. I'm sure she'll continue my tradition with her children some day.

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