Big Boy Bed

So you remember a few weeks ago I posted that Max had figured out how to mountain climb out of the crib? Well, yesterday, Danger Boy Junior figured out how to get out of the crib without any equipment! So the crib came down and the big boy fire truck bed went up. Max slept in it for the first time last night.





Isn't it an adorable bed? (Hooray to Denise for finding it at a garage sale this summer.) Now we get to re-do his room.

Going for the record

Random dinner time conversation from Nate:

"I'm going to keep wearing these underwear until I break my prior record, which is 100 days."

I'd be really grossed out but he's still only 6 and I'm still pretty heavily involved in the bathing & dressing department so I know he has not being wearing this pair of underwear for more than 24 hours.

Detroit Marathon 2008

I'm so proud of Derek. He finished his first marathon today. His dedication and training really showed!

Here he is at the o'dark-thirty start.


Here he is at mile 25 finishing strong.


Here are his results:

Distance MARATHON
Chip Time 3:25:45
Overall Place 414 / 12568
Gender Place 367 / 6012
Division Place 65 / 936
Pace 7:52

He's a little disappointed that he didn't qualify for Boston. He missed it by less than 5 minutes- but for a first timer- he was amazing!

I was able to cheer him on at the 10, 12 & 25 mile marks. What surprised me is how I felt standing on the side lines cheering. Encouragement isn't generally one of my spiritual gifts, but I really got into the cheering. And the reactions the runners had to the cheering was really neat. You could see the concentration on their faces while they ran and that having someone yell for them really lifted their spirts. We got a lot of "thanks" from the runners especially at the 12 & 25 mile marks. At the 25 mile mark I was on my own on the sidelines cheering. The runners didn't come in bunches so I could really cheer for each person and they knew I was cheering just for them. There were a couple people walking at that point and I really admired the determination- I kept saying "you can do it!" I'm not usually an emotional person but I found myself choking up several times. This experience was outside of my norm on a couple levels and what a blessing!

Here is a link to the photo album for more pictures http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=16j5lt8m.2kb59uja&x=0&y=xxbws2&localeid=en_US

More Fall Fun

So what to do if you'd really like to jump in the leaves, but your own trees are still clinging stubbornly to theirs? Here's my enterprising young man's solution.










Head down to the neighbor's gather some leaves & enjoying the fruits of your labor!

Halloween Preview

Max attended a pre-school halloween party on Monday. It was a really cute idea. The kids ranging from 1 to 4, had a pizza lunch, made crafts and then went trick or treating at some pre-arranged neighbors. It was great because it was daylight and it was just them. A wonderful halloween preview. Plus Max got to dress up like Elmo- whom he just adores right now.








He loves wearing his Elmo costume- but I gotta admit that costumes with big giant heads sort of freak me out. I mean, doesn't it sort of look like Elmo is eating him?

More Great Dance News

Well this just seems to be Kaylee's year at dance! Last night the owner asked Kaylee to be a teaching assistant for the preschool class. This means another night a week at the dance studio but we don't have to pay for it-- in fact she'll be earning credits toward her monthly tutition! Can I get a woo hoo?!? Kaylee is very excited. It is an honor to be asked to do it, and with all Kaylee does with Max and helping in the preschool classes at church- she's certainly qualified to do it.

To nap or not to nap---- that is the question

On Sunday it wasn't much of a question for Max. He was pretty determined not to nap. I heard him in his room talking to himself for over an hour. Then at the hour amd fifteen minute mark I heard him say very clearly: "Mommy, help me." Since I've never heard that sentence before I decided I'd better check it out. I walked into his room and instead of finding him in his crib I found him on the bookshelf in front of the window! So I did what any good mom would do. I said: "hold on a minute, honey" and told Kaylee to get the camera so I could take a picture!



Notice the bent curtain rod? I figure that he grabbed the curtain and pulled the crib closer to the bookshelf then climbed up the side and over the edge of the crib- "mountain climber" style. But after that- I can't figure out why he thought he needed my help to get off the book shelf! Needless to say the bookshelf has moved to a new location in his room. I was really hoping to keep him in his crib several more months. At least past his second birthday!

Marlin Meet

Nate had his first swim meet on Saturday. He had an amazing time and so did his buddy, Ian. I think they are hooked. Here are the results and some pictures:





25 Free (novice- first time swimmers only)
Ian- 1st place
Nate- 3rd place

25 Free
Nate- 5th

50 Free
Nate- 2nd place

25 Back
Nate 4th place
Ian- 6th place

What's the Pointe?

So you might wonder- what's the pointe of 10 years of dance classes, starting when you are 3? Well here it is!






Yep. Kaylee got her pointe shoe this afternoon. She's justifiably giddy. She's worked really hard for this moment and she's earned it.

In fact, this spring 2 other girls got their pointe shoes and Kaylee did not. She was disappointed at the time but had told me that she was happy for the other girls. Last week I ran into one of the other girl's Mom and happened to mention that Kaylee was really hoping to get her pointe shoes this fall. (This was 2 days before we found out that she was getting them). The other girl's Mom said that her daughter was really impressed by how Kaylee had genuinely congratulated her when she got her shoes this spring. That story made me just as proud as I felt today in the store watching Kaylee try on the shoes. Because really, that's the point of this whole experience- a chance to shine some light to the rest of the world.

The Calvary

The Calvary has arrived! Yesterday was a bit crazy. Derek left for the Catalyst Conference at 4:30. Kaylee had dance. Nate had swim team practice. Fortunately, the timing of the two was perfect so I was able to juggle both. Today would have been different. Kaylee has dance from 4:30 to 7:20. Nate has swim practice from 6:45 to 7:45. I'm not quite ready to leave Nate alone at practice yet, so Kaylee would have had to wait about a hour for us to pick her up- except for the Calvary.


Also known as Grandma & Grandpa Green (Kelli's Parents)

They are taking Nate to practice so Max & I can pick Kaylee up on time. I'm glad they are here. This is their last weekend in Michigan before heading to Florida for the winter on Monday. They'll get to see Nate's first swim meet and spend a little extra time with the kids. Plus it will make my life a lot easier this weekend.

How do I know my husband loves me?

He just sent me this picture. Its not a stock picture. Those are real cookies, sitting on my kitchen counter. And they aren't just any cookies. They are my all time favorite Oatmeal-Banana-Chocolate Chip cookies.

I love that man!

Thanks Becky Jo!!

A Big Shout out to Becky Jo for the new layout on my blog!! Check out her blog at Sweet Abundance and check out her other handiwork at I'm Still Clay and 4 Girls and their Prince .

Brotherly Love

We were on our way home from Flint this afternoon and stopped at a rest area so Max could go potty. (He did!) Guess which kid almost got left behind. . . .


() Nate (the obvious choice)
() Kaylee ( the almost 13 year old)
() Max (the little one)



Derek, Nate & Max went into the rest room to use the bathroom. I was on the phone and Kaylee was reading. Nate came back out- reported that Max had actually used the potty (#2 again!). I was finished with my phone call so I decided to run in to the bathroom also- leaving Kaylee & Nate in the car. Derek & I finished at about the same time so he, Max and I came back out to the car, got Max buckled in and started to back out when Nate said "Hey- Kaylee is not in here, ya know!!"

Kaylee had run into to use the restroom shortly after I did, but I didn't see her in the rest room. Turns out her brother loves her after all.

Potty Time

Guess who has been asking to use the potty?

yeah, Max!

Three times since Thursday, he's asked us to go potty, twice he's gone poo-poo. He'll also sit on the potty and go pee-pee pretty much when-ever we suggest it. Hopefully this trend continues!

Blogger Feature

Maybe all of you already know this, but-

I just discovered how to follow my favorite blogs. When I add them in my Dashboard I can click on them and quickly see who has updated their blog without clicking back and forth through all my links. This is going to make my end of the day routine of checking up on all of you much easier!

O.k. back to your regularly scheduled programming.