The Kies Family: Finger Painting on the Driveway

So I decided this weekend was the weekend to try finger painting in the driveway. I have had it on my 'to do' list with the kids all summer but it has just been too dang hot!! Eric went to work Saturday morning to see a few clients so it was just the kids and I and the paint. We had a fun time, although you can see from the pictures both Maddox and Kennon had different ideas of 'finger' painting. Maddox, as most of you know really doesn't like to get her hands dirty so I had purchased some foam brushes which she was happy to have. Kennon only actually sat and painted for about 1 minute and most of that minute he used the foam brush to pain his OWN HAND!! I had to laugh. And then he was off to the races, running down the driveway and up the sidewalk or out to the street or to the rock bed to play in/throw the rocks. He was actually pretty tired by the time we got started painting so I chased him down and put him to bed for a nap. That left Maddox and I to paint. She enjoyed mixing the colors and doing something we don't normally do. Our neighbor, Hannah, came down to join us too. It was a nice morning. Luckily today it rained liked bandits, which washed away all the paint that got painted onto the driveway :0 Some quick funnies for the week. Wednesday morning we went to the park with the Hannah, Jody and Charlie. We had a nice time playing and after an hour or so headed back to the van. I had parked quite a bit away so we had a long walk. It was pretty silent as I carried Kennon and Maddox walked along both tired from the outing. Then all of a sudden I heard Maddox say 'I AM a helpful smile'.......'I AM a helpful smile.......I AM a helpful smile'. It took me like 3 times to actually understand what she was saying and then I cracked up laughing. Right now HyVee has on commercials with the 'faces' of Hyvee ( workers throughout their stores) and they phase in on each face and the person says 'I AM a helpful smile' and then they go to somebody else who repeats the same phrase and so on. There are probably 15 people showcased on each commercial and the commercial is on frequently throughout the day. I had no idea Maddox was even paying attention to this commercial as it really has nothing to do with her ( unless you count the free cookie she associates with HyVee ) and it isn't a cartoon. I still laugh thinking about it. She repeated the phrase almost the entire way back to the van. Too funny. Tonight at dinner we had Grammy's BBQ recipe. It is kind of like a sloppy joe and we put it on hamburger buns. We used to just give the meat mixture to Maddox but since she is growing up to be a big girl she has been asking for the bun too!! It is kinda messy but she generally does really well managing her meat and the bun. But, tonight it was very juicy. About midway through her sandwich I hear ' Oh no, it cracked'....meaning her bun had split apart and her meat was falling out. I though cracked was a funny way to put it!! But, super cute. One other sentimental moment for the week. After the finger painting experience, lunch, and a couple of play sessions it was time for nap for Maddox yesterday afternoon. She was really over tired by this time and burst into tears when she realized her blanket was downstairs on the couch and she was upstairs. I couldn't get her calmed down for probably a good 10 to 15 minutes....she just wailed at the top of her lungs and I couldn't distract her. Kennon just sort of toddled around her room and his stopping to read books, brush his teeth, toss a few balls and basically he ignored her pitchy screams not seeming to be bothered by her. When I did finally get her calmed down it was time to potty before nap time. Kennon followed us into the bathroom and almost immediately after she sat down leaned in to give her a big hug!! It was absolutely priceless. It was a REAL hug and then he patted her ever so softly on her arm. I have never seen him treat her quite that way. Usually he is pretty aggressive and boy like with his affection. That whole while it seemed to me he was ignoring her but in fact he was realizing she was having a hard time and he wanted to console her. How darn cute. He was so proud of himself too. He is starting to really develop into a little boy....not even a toddler anymore. Have a good week. Thoughts and prayers for Maddox on Wednesday morning as she starts her new pre-school at Our Savior.