Adventures of a Knight Museum Camp

The week of the Fourth the kids went to a museum camp titled, "Adventures of a Knight".   Back when they were picking camps for the summer, they decided to do this museum camp together because they had never done a museum camp before and were a little nervous about it; they figured they would be less nervous about it if they were together.  They were right.

On the first day, upon arriving at the museum, we were greeted by a knight and a queen in full costume.  Ordinarily this would be a huge problem; Baylor does not like it when people are wearing costumes and often resists interacting when he encounters this.  After a little reassuring, though, he was okay enough to go off with the knight and queen ... and his sister, of course.

The first day they made shields with their own crests and learned about life during medieval times.  The second day they made castles out of tissue boxes, tried out a trebuchet, and watched the knights use real medieval weapons to bash and slash some melons.  The third day - the last day - was special. First, they made helmets.

(That's the queen; she did a ton of arts and crafts in that huge dress, complete with a hoop skirt and corset.  Amazing, if you ask me.  Plus, she was incredibly kind to the kids.)

The main knight was also very kind and patient with the kids.

They then had a little tournament, complete with a ring toss, Nerf bow and arrow shooting, and a pool noodle sword fight with a real knight in armor.  Amalia was the only girl in the class, but she held her own.

I was so proud of Baylor for actually participating in the events!

He and Mollie both tried out each event, even the pool noodle sword fight.

After the tournament, they helped the two knights who hadn't done the sword fight get back into their armor.

After Baylor's knight was redressed, Baylor headed over to the book area to read a bit.

Then the kids got their helmets (except for Baylor who informed us that he made his helmet for decorative purposes) and their shields and practiced their defensive maneuvers.

Mollie put on her game face for the jousting.

That's right, the jousting.  The kids all got on the carousel and prepared for a joust with the knights.  Baylor preferred to sit in one of the stationary seats, but he rode the carousel, something he hasn't done in years.

Mollie, on the other hand, chose a bejeweled galloping horse.

And then they jousted!

They got to joust with two knights, the one you could see on the video and one at the back of the carousel.

After the joust, the kids came out into the vestibule under the giant whale skeleton, demonstrated their skills with their shields, and then sat down and prepared for the fight.

That's right!  The three knights took turns fighting each other, full-clad in armor, with real medieval weapons.  They started with swords, then moved on to a mace, a war hammer, and a flail.  It was, to say the least, intense.

After the fighting, each child was made a knight, dubbed so with a real (though rather dull) sword.  As the only girl, Amalia was dubbed, "Dame Amalia the Fierce"; she later informed me that she didn't like the "dame" part and would prefer to be called a "lady".  Baylor did not want to have anything added to his name, nor did he want the sword anywhere near him, so they accommodated him and simply called him "Sir Baylor".  I tell you, these people were amazing, so kind and compassionate.

All in all, the kids had a fantastic time and had a bunch of wonderful new experiences.  Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the Adventures of a Knight museum camp!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa E!

Today is my dad's birthday, and since he is so far away, the kids and I thought we'd make him a little video greeting before we headed off to school today.




For those of you who don't know, not only is this super cute (I'm biased, I know), but it's also a huge accomplishment for Baylor; he hasn't liked the Happy Birthday song in any form since his second birthday, and for the longest time would dart out of the room (often crying) whenever he heard it.

So happy birthday, Dad!  We can't wait to celebrate with you when you get home!!  Love you!!

Baylor at Bat

I am so sorry for how little I have been posting lately.  Things have gotten unbelievably busy since before last Christmas and they haven't let up since.  One of the things keeping us busy as of late has been baseball.  We signed Mollie up for tee ball and Baylor up for coach pitch baseball this spring, and with both of their game schedules we have been up to our ears in bats, balls, and bases.

Mollie has had success playing tee ball, in no small part because they cannot strike out or be thrown out ... ever.  Each kiddo gets to swing until they hit and then run to first base, then second after the kid after them hits, then third, and so on until they go home - or until the last one in the lineup hits a "home run" and they all come home.  So it'd be tough to do poorly playing tee ball.

But coach pitch baseball is a lot different.  They do the usual three-strikes-and-you're-out rule and can get thrown out at any base.  Needless to say, Baylor, who had never played a game of baseball in his life before this spring, has struggled a bit.



Getting hit in the head during one's first batting practice doesn't make for a particularly good start, mind you.



More than that, he has struggled with this more than he has with anything else in his entire life.  The thing is, struggle is good for a person; it builds character and teaches perseverance.  But too much struggle, like an entire season of it, and the fun can drain right away.  We were starting to see improvement in him at each game, but I was also starting to notice here and there that he wasn't enjoying it; he was dragging his feet when getting ready to go, he was a lot more emotionally volatile on game days, and he seemed a little more dejected when walking away after striking out each inning.  We were all hoping he'd finally get a hit and start enjoying the game a little more.  Even his coach, who had seemed to give up on our boy a few weeks back, started pitching a little closer and giving him an extra pitch here and there to see if he could just get one hit.

And then it happened.



He got a hit!!!  You can hear and see just how excited the coach is that he finally did it, and at the end of the video you can hear his teammates say, "Baylor got his first hit!!"

And even more than that, he made it around the bases!  He ran for home with one out left, running better than we've ever seen before, and only got out at home because the other team made a very heads-up play at home plate.




It was a big day for the little man, and his team even voted to give him the game ball because of his efforts!

Hopefully this will be the beginning of more hits for Baylor, but even if it isn't, I am so incredibly proud of my little guy for sticking with it and working hard to achieve something that is so tough for him.

Way to go, Baylor!!

Baylor's First Grade Concert!

Here it is, at long last ... the video of Baylor's first grade concert (the bulk of it, anyway).  To say I am proud of him in light of his performance (and mere participation) in the event is an unbelievable understatement.  When he came on, looked happy and confident, and started singing I started to cry.  Our little guy, who would not participate at all in his preschool graduation and never once danced along during music and movement time in kindergarten, has come such a long way.

Such a long way.

And didn't he look super dapper?!  I might have to try getting him to wear a tie every day.

Enjoy!

Halloween 2014

This year our Halloween was quite eventful.  With two children in school at least part time now, there was a lot to balance and coordinate.  Luckily, this year the kids ended up having a half day on Halloween, and, as a result, Mollie's teacher moved their party back to Wednesday.  This change meant that I would be able to help out at both kids' parties, and we were all really happy about the coincidence.

My mom made Mollie a beautiful Cinderella costume, and Mom and Christine found the gloves when they were out shopping one day.

I know I am totally biased, but I think she made a perfectly lovely little princess.

I helped make the bustle in the back, and then did some troubleshooting when the bustle wouldn't stay fastened.

After we dropped Baylor off at school, Mollie and I hurried over to her school and we started celebrating.  She has thirteen kids in her class, seven girls and six boys.  Before we arrived, I guessed that five of the seven girls would be princesses, and I was right!  There was Mollie as Cinderella, a Sleeping Beauty, an Elsa, an Anna, and a Sophia the First.  The Anna costume was actually pretty impressive.  It had a button you could press that would play "For the First Time in Forever" and light up the skirt.  Their teacher even turned out the lights to demonstrate!

There were four stations for Mollie's party: snacks, decorating cupcakes, a witch's hat ring toss, and an arts and crafts table where they made some ghosts out of paper plates and streamers.  I was in charge of helping the kids with the arts and crafts, but Mollie still was able to check in with me every now and then.  Her cupcake was epic, but it sadly got smushed in the baggie they gave them for leftovers and she cried a bit when it didn't look nearly as awesome as it did before.

In between events, their teacher, dressed as Olaf from Frozen, would read them a story, which I think helped them calm down just a bit even with the copious amounts of sugar coursing through their little veins.

Mollie had a great time at her party, and even stayed after the party was done so she could hang out with the kids whose parents hadn't come to the party.  It was a fantastic first school party experience!

Baylor, on the other hand, was a bit upset that his sister had gotten to have her party and he still hadn't had his yet.  So he came up with a grand plan to have a Halloween party on Thursday the 30th at my parents' house and asked/informed my mom of his ideas.  Usually he gets shot down or the moment passes and he moves onto something else, but this time, THIS time, my mom said, "Sure!"

So we had an impromptu Halloween party the day before Halloween!  My mom went all out with the food, too.  There were mummy hot dogs, gnarly chicken fingers, ghostly mashed potatoes, and fish eyes (which were really peas).

The kids LOVED it!  (The adults did, too.)

She even made dirt dessert!  It was beyond delicious and very apropos!

The next day Baylor got to have his class party and on a half day, no less!  There was a parade all around the school, lots of treats, a beanbag toss game, and an alien creation arts and crafts table.  He had a lot of fun and made a bunch of adorable little aliens.  It did start to rain/snow during the party, but even that didn't really dampen the kids' spirits.  It was a great time!

The principal, dressed as Gru from Despicable Me, stopped by to join in the fun as well, leaving his minions (the office ladies) behind to "get their evil work done".  But before long it was time to go home and rest up for a chilly night of trick-or-treating ahead.

After dinner we piled on the layers under the kids' costumes and headed out into a very, very chilly evening.  Though it was quite windy, at least the slushy precipitation had long stopped and our time outside was dry.  Baylor requested that my dad come with us, so Bryson stayed behind to help hand out candy and enjoy the warmth inside.

We had a bit of a rocky start when a full-size collie charged at Mollie, and the owner did barely anything, insisting that the dog was just fine and that the kids basically get over it.  After that ordeal, Mollie wanted to know whenever there would be a dog.

We were out for an hour and came back as popsicles, but we had a lot of fun.  Baylor actually said, "Trick or Treat!" at nearly every house, and Mollie did a great job saying, "Thank you!" and holding up her dress like a little lady when going up and down the stairs.

Of course, once you collect your major haul, you have to assess and count your candy.

Mollie was disappointed with the massive amount of Twizzlers she got, but Oma and Aunt Christine helped her out and switched out the offending sweets with candy from our bin.

While the kids ate their three pieces of candy (our limit for the night) we all enjoyed a little Jeopardy. 

Try getting kids to go to sleep after they've had candy and loads of fun.  It's nearly impossible.  But that's what we did.

And then the next night, our PTC held a "boogie night" dance in the gym at Baylor's school.  I, being a part of the PTC, was going to chaperon, and since they asked for the chaperons to dress up, I had to find a costume that would be easy to throw together and also not upset Baylor, who typically doesn't like people to wear costumes.  Then I asked him if he would be okay with me being an historical figure that we could research and learn about, and he was totally on-board with the idea!  So, Rosie the Riveter I was!

You can do it, you know?!

The dance was a success, and I think a good majority of the kids had a great time.

Hope you had a happy, safe Halloween!

Amalia's First Day of Preschool!

After the stress of yesterday, I was so hoping today would go well for both my dear, sweet kiddos.  I will say this, it did not start well.  The feet-dragging of pretty much every day of our lives persisted today, and even in spite of my best attempts to stay perky and positive I was barking at them to move faster by the end of breakfast.  Baylor stepped it up a bit, but Mollie, never really having had much of anywhere to go in a hurry, lolly-gagged her rear end off.

But once everyone was dressed, brushed, and backpacked, I was able to snap a few pictures before we made our way over to school.  In the first picture, Mollie really looked pretty nervous.

But, in typical Mollie fashion, she was clowning around by the second picture and looking as cheerful as ever.

I'm not sure Baylor was thrilled to have his picture taken yet again, but he seemed to understand how big a day this was for Mollie so he gave it his best shot.

Of course, when it came time for a silly picture - at Mollie's request - he was totally game!

Throughout the morning I had been reminding Baylor that he had to walk in from the car at school today, and I was about to do it again on the ride there when I realized they had launched into some sort of elaborate pretend play involving rocket ships and were finally totally relaxed before school.  About halfway down the street his school is on, though, he got really quiet, so I took that opportunity to reassure him that he could do this and that I was so proud of him.  As I put the car into park, I looked back at my boy and he seemed a bit nervous, so I told him to come give me a hug.  Then, after helping him get his backpack on, he said goodbye, jumped out of the car, and walked into school like he'd been doing it his whole life.

Honestly, at that moment, watching him walk/trot to the back of school with all the other kids and teachers and staff around him, I could have cried.  I was so insanely proud of him for his bravery, and it took a lot of focus to keep the tears at bay.  On top of it, Mollie soon thereafter told me that seeing Baylor walk into school on his own really helped her!  That's a win-win if I've ever seen one.

Once we got to school, parked, and made our way to the preschool door, I made Mollie pose for yet another picture.  Man, it was sunny out, though!

As the doors opened, we filed in with all the other parents and preschoolers and set about looking for Mollie's backpack/jacket hook.  Lo and behold, it had an orange star marking it!  (Nothing makes you feel better when you're a preschooler like seeing your favorite color on something that is newly yours.)  Of course, it was at this point I noticed that, in all the hubbub of the morning, I had neglected to button the back of her dress!  Oops!

After I sheepishly buttoned her dress, Mollie sat down at an empty table to play with some magnatiles.

She was soon joined by another little girl, and not long after that her teacher came over to say hi!  I wanted my time in her class today to be spent supporting her only as much as she needed it, so I stepped back to let the two of them chat for a bit.

It took a bit for all the kiddos and their parents to get in and get situated, but once they did the kids were called over to the "circle" rug for circle time.  (Really it is a giant oval, but I guess "oval time" doesn't really have that special preschool ring to it, does it?)  They then passed around a (Curious) George doll and introduced themselves, most of them very quietly.

By now parents were giving quick hugs and making quiet exits and I began to wonder if it really was okay for me to stay the whole day.  Mollie's teacher clarified that it was indeed okay for me to stay all day if Mollie wanted me to, and, unsurprisingly, she wanted me to.

After a scavenger hunt to find special spots around the room, the kids were encouraged to play at the various centers around the room.  Mollie, still feeling quite shy, just wanted to walk around taking it all in.  Eventually I got her to go to an empty center where she did a little tracing.  (Later in the day she revealed to me that this activity had been "boring".)

While she was busy tracing, her classmates were busy tearing the room apart toy-by-toy, and when it came time to pick up I thought Mollie would beg off, noting that she hadn't taken anything out.  But, to my surprise and delight, she absolutely dove right in and helped tremendously with the clean up of all the other centers!  I was so proud of her, particularly that she seemed to want to help, and I likely had a goofy grin on my face for the duration of pick up time as a result.

Snack time was a little dicey for Mollie, though.  Not only was the snack, a treat brought in by a birthday girl classmate, something sweet and therefore not her cup of tea, but when she went to pour some apple juice into a cup by herself, she spilled a bunch and had no idea what to do.  I helped her clean it up, not wanting to have bad feelings creep in when the day had been going so smoothly, but still she spent the rest of snack time looking like she was about to burst into tears.

She made it through, though, and even had the forethought to go potty before they all headed outside to play on the playground!  Honestly, watching her be so self-sufficient made it feel like she was growing up before my very eyes, or at least faster than usual.

Playing on the playground was a big hit with her, and later on she named this as her favorite part of her first day of preschool.  She played by herself the whole time and managed to try a few new things, namely sliding down the fireman's pole again and again.

She really had a knack for it, and once she has pants on to prevent her thighs from sticking to it every couple of inches she'll probably look like a pro!

Nothing can really follow up playing outside for kids of this age, so after a quick book and some impromptu new-school-folder-show-and-tell we headed home for the day.  As soon as we got out into the parking lot, Mollie informed me that, 1) she was hungry (having not eaten her snack and all), and 2) she wanted to go OUT for lunch.  After some debate, we decided on Mr. Burger and promptly headed over there to avoid any "hangry" behavior.  She walked in like she owned the place, even grabbing a tray to start up the whole ordering process.  Best part of the meal?  She got to have pink lemonade as a special treat!

Okay, the fries and chicken strips didn't hurt either.

She ate her meal in dramatic fashion, tilting her head back as she slid her ketchup-soaked fries down her gullet one after another.  It was epic.

We made a quick trip to the potty before heading out to pick up some potential birthday treats for school for Baylor to choose from.  While we were on our way out of Mr. Burger, my mom called to see how the day had gone so far.  As I was regaling her with the awesome details of the morning, I started searching through my purse for my keys.  Soon enough, I found them ... in the cup holder by the driver's seat inside the car.  (It is at these times - as well as many others, of course - that I find myself very, VERY glad we live in the same town as our families.)  Thankfully, my mom was available to drive to our house, pick up the spare key, and run it over to us in the Mr. Burger parking lot.  (Did I mention my mom is awesome?)

While we waited for my mom to bring the key, though, Mollie used that time to burn off some extra energy.  I don't know how she managed to dance around so freely while the asphalt basically cooked us from below, but she did.  Oh, she did.

Mollie can be so wonderfully dramatic sometimes.

Once we were rescued (Thanks again, Mom!), we headed over to Party City to find the aforementioned potential school treats and then made a quick stop at Pet Smart to indulge Mollie's weird love/hate of animals.  From there we went home, dropped some stuff off, picked up some distractions for the pickup line, and went to Baylor's school to pick him up.  He reported having a "good" day but didn't seem to want to give up many details about it.  He was, however, very glad to hear Mollie had a good day at school!

As the afternoon dragged on, I gathered up bits and pieces of their days that I will now share with you ...

When asked, Mollie reported that the best part of her day at preschool was "playing on the playground" and the worst part was "when that teacher (Mrs. Fillman, the preschool parapro) had a talk with us about not taking our shoes off after we got back from the playground".  I pressed her on why that was her least favorite part, and she said it was because it was "boring".  Awesome.

Baylor came home with an incredible amount of sand and dirt caked under and around his fingernails, and he told me that he had played in the sandbox for all three recesses.  Because he then launched into a story about how some kid had knocked over the sandcastle he made, it didn't dawn on me until an hour or two later that the "three recesses" meant that he had actually played before school!!!!!  At that point, I couldn't contain my happiness and walked over to him for a massive hug.

Baylor was not only okay walking into school by himself but also commented that he preferred it and noticed that it took "a lot less time".  I really hope he still feels this way tomorrow!

And that was that.  Really, I'm not sure I could have asked for today to go any better than it did.  Hopefully the positivity from today will help make Friday's solo preschool day a success.  (Knock on wood!)