With the holidays upon us and my boss asking me to train about 6 employees in the coming weeks this is going to be a short post!! But, we are enjoying all the activities that come with the season. Hope all is well with everyone.
Thanksgiving day at the Kies house! Thank you to the Knowles family and Grandpa Jim and Grandma Jean for making the trip over for turkey day and for bringing part of the meal. I had a fun time cooking and prepping that week and with Brooke that day.
Time for a little birthday party for Cashin and Uncle Tyler. Happy 1st birthday Cashin.
Kennon 4, Carter 4, Reid 2, Maddox 6
'Let me at that cake Mom'!! Cashin really dove into the cake and enjoyed tasting the frosting.
5 happy grandkids, 2 happy grandparents…and a red balloon :)
Silly faces…I think Kennon's is the funniest!!
The Friday after Thanksgiving we skipped the shopping and hit the dinner theater instead. The kids, Brooke, and Eric and I (minus Tyler and Cashin at home.. a little young for this type of event yet) drove over to Rock Island to the dinner theater, Circa 21. We had a brunch buffet and then watched The Most Famous Reindeer musical. The kids all REALLY enjoyed it and sat through both acts really well. All of them ate a great brunch too, I was so impressed. I thought the musical was really cute and even had a fair amount of adult humor. We are planning to keep an eye on future kid productions at Circa as both Maddox and Kennon really enjoyed it. It is a great experience for the whole family.
Maddox and Kennon getting an autograph from Evila (the evil snow witch turned nice near the end of the play) I think Evila could have used a bit of a wardrobe adjustment for this kiddo friendly production.
Maddox, Evila and Carter
Maddox and Doey (Rudolph's best friend)
Maddox and Kennon with the misfit elf Ike. Ironically, our church is doing a Christmas Movie series right now and that particular weekend the movie Shawn (our pastor) reviewed was Rudolph. Basically he parallels the movie with a Biblical message. Christians are all misfits and God uses misfits for his purpose. All of God's disciples were actually 'misfits' placed by God to help spread the word. Last weekend it was A Christmas Story and this weekend it is Elf. I have really enjoyed the series so far and it has opened my eyes to a new way to look at the movies.
Maddox and Kennon with Rudolph - the hero of the musical
I feel like since the kids are getting older the door is opening to many more kid friendly activities in the community. A couple of Sunday's ago we drove over to the Putnam Museum in Davenport and watched Frozen Sing A Long on the big screen. It was a great time. The kids enjoyed the big screen and super theater seating as well as the popcorn and lemonades. Prior to the show we toured the museum a bit. They have lots of science type exhibits which both Maddox and Kennon really enjoyed. We are definitely going to have to go back. Luckily we have a 'Fun Bundle' pass which allows us entrance to the Zoo, Family Museum and the Putnam Museum. I'm certain we have already recouped the cost of the pass. Next Sunday we are going back to the Putnam for a Polar Express PJ party…crafts, scavenger hunts through the museum ( with the lights off…we are supposed to bring flashlights… ), hot chocolate, and The Polar Express in 3D on the big screen. The kids don't know yet but I am super excited.
Last weekend we headed out to pick out our Christmas tree. We went back to the same field as last year and had just as good of an experience. It was super warm out which also helped….!! We found a beautiful tree. I really love this one this year…it has a little smaller needles but is still a fir. Beautiful. I love the smell when we first bring her home. Such a fun tradition.
Kennon was INSISTENT on helping Eric saw it down. Normally we have no trouble and even I normally cut it down, but this year with all the rain it was SUPER SAPPY and even Eric had a bit of trouble keeping the saw moving. But with a little extra 'help' from a little person they got er' done. The thing did not drink a lick of water from the tree stand for at least 48-72 hours… which is so unusual. A sign of the rain we've had this year.
Last Sunday we went to the Family Museum's Winter Fest!! It was so nice this year, a little more organized than last. We were almost first in line to see the big guy which proved to set the tone for just an enjoyable afternoon…crafts, rocket building and blasting, dry ice experiments and cookies and milk. So thankful for a wonderful museum just minutes from our house.
So Kennon asked Santa for a train with a track…which I certainly didn't have on my list for him but is doable. Maddox is CERTAIN she is getting a puppy from Santa..!! UGH (any suggestions on how to get around this request are much appreciated). About 3 weeks ago she came home insistent on asking Santa and EXPECTING a puppy from Santa. She took a towel up to her room for the dog to sleep on and has been saying she'll just keep the puppy in 'her room' as she knows Eric and Kennon are allergic to dogs. We have been gently reminding her that God only grants requests that are TIMELY for the family…and SAFE for the family. (referencing A Christmas Story and Ralphie with the red rider bee bee Gun) After we left the museum last week the ride home was quiet as the kids were just tired from the event. All of a sudden Maddox piped up from the backseat and said 'Mom you are going to have to start buying dog food!'. I honestly didn't say anything and neither did Eric. Then in the awkward silence Kennon says in this rather diplomatic voice 'Maddox!!! if you get a dog I'm going to be sneezing EVERYDAY!!!'. Eric and I burst out laughing. SO so so true buddy…but not everyday…every minute!! Eric and I are still working on how we are going to manage this request. Fish?? It is certainly not out of the question for us to get an allergy free dog but not until the children are older. We have good friends that own a kennel and they say age 12 is the earliest they would recommend getting a dog given the level of responsibility of earlier ages. We are hoping to take Maddox out and let her play with the dogs in the coming weeks.
Making an ornament.
Snowman made of model clay.
Kennon and fox from Fox Knoll (the little make believe city the museum is based after)
Kennon got to bring home Cubbie bear from Awana on Tuesday. Cubbie is the mascot for the Awana Cubbie group that Kennon is in (Maddox is in the next group up the Sparks). So Cubbie got to make cookies with us yesterday and I've been snapping some pictures of him with Kennon at various activities. The bear will go home with each child in the class this year.
We received a special package from Aunt Kelly last week. They were so excited to open it and were happy to find the presents unwrapped :) Those little critters they are holding are so adorable and have been quite the rage in the house since they came out of their boxes. I think technically Maddox's is a unicorn and Kennon's is a mix between a cow and a giraffe maybe? Anyhow they are soft and squishy and have magnets in their feet!! So Kennon has been carrying 'Bruce' around sticking him to all sorts of objects around the house. So fun. I particularly like to stick him to the recess lighting cans… He is rather cute hanging down from the ceiling. Thanks for the special box Aunt Kelly!
It has been so warm out this past week we've been frequenting parks!!
Last Thursday it was peek week at Maddox's dance class. I so love watching her dance. She has really improved since she started last year. She carriers herself quite well in class with her long legs and arms and has really started to develop a good sense of her body in space - proprioception in the therapy world - which allows for an eye pleasing dancer. I am excited to see her continue to develop her skills.
Thursday night was Eric's annual client open house. The kids enjoy going to Eric's office. They got to play with the other Planning Center kiddos (although I didn't get any pictures of the clan this year). They watched movies in one of the meeting rooms, while the clients and staff mingled in the common area. Maddox was excited to wear a new Christmas dress from Grandma Jean. So adorable. The basement of The Planning Center is nearing completion just in time for the winter weather ( or rather supposed winter weather…60 degrees this weekend!!) . Last thing to do is clean and polish the floors and then it will be ready for kiddo play this winter and for the staff to use as a workout room in between clients/before and after the workday. It is a great space.
Yesterday was Maddox's Christmas program at her grade school. She was so excited as she really loves to perform and sign. Grandma Jean had blessed us with TWO beautiful new dresses so she got all gussied up for this event too. It is quite the Christmas program. They kids actually do the entire program twice, once in the morning for the parents of children with last names A-J and then the afternoon is K-Z. The school even provides a shuttle from a distant parking lot to the performance as there is little parking to accommodate all the program goers. She got to sing two songs and did a great job. She loves music at school. It is definitely one of her favorite classes. She also likes to perform in front of others and her self confidence has really improved over the least couple of years thanks to ballet and even the tasks she is doing in front off her peers in her Kindergarten room.
I just LOVE this dress. So classic. Thank you Grandma Jean.
Maddox at peek week.
Kennon blasting off the rocket he made at the Winter Fest last Sunday at the museum.
Kennon is doing well in school and is certainly enjoying this warm weather. He will have his skin allergy test next week so we'll hopefully get a better idea of what his true allergies are and can make house adjustments to keep him healthy. Strictly speaking we HAVE been healthy despite lots of sickness around us (school, church etc). Maybe FINALLY we have built up enough immunity to the germs?? Kennon continues to bless us with his adorable, loving sense of humor. He is just a funny guy..not without the rather frequent fit though which reminds me he is just NOT ready for Kindergarten and we will be holding him back another year despite his apparent readiness in relationship to the scholarly side. We are hoping to get him in to a Transition to Kindergarten all day preschool program through the Pleasant Valley School district next year which will really prepare him for the Kindergarten experience. Maddox is now reading chapter books!! (way to go Maddox) and her penmanship has significantly improved since we got her writing grip worked out with help from Mrs. Gaspelin. She is really taking a liking to reading which I am thrilled about. She has certainly been challenging us this week with her behavior both in and outside of school. But we are trying to give her lots of love and encouragement and get her back on track. She had her 6 year old well check a couple of weeks ago and was in the 89th percentile for height and 49th for weight. Dr. Delessio was quite happy with her growth and thinks she is rather healthy little gal. It might be till after Christmas before my next post…just thinking about all the tasks of the season I might not get back to the computer. Merry Christmas to all!
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