Kate's birthday

I am not going straight from the first day of school to Halloween to Kate's birthday because it has been an uneventful fall; in reality, the fall has been our busiest one yet with everyone's growing schedules so I rarely stop to take pictures and write things down. Football season kept us in Oxford quite a bit, and with both Lindsey and Benton playing soccer we spent at least two nights each week at the fields. Lindsey also took tennis lessons and won her league! Wednesdays were our only down night, but I taught the second grade class at church and Benton started the Bible black belt program as well (he moved upstairs at church this fall--only one child left in the nursery area now). But back to Kate's birthday...It's always hard (I say always, knowing she is only three) to plan a party so close to Christmas. Two weeks before her actual birthday was the St. Jude half marathon (which I was supposed to run, but it was cancelled due to an ice storm), so we had her party the week before her actual birthday (not wanting to wait until Christmas weekend, her actual birthday). She was definitely confused by her party vs her real birthday, and throwing in celebrations for Jesus's birthday really threw her off. Regardless, we planned a cookie decorating party at church. It was low key--the kids came, decorated, ate lots of sweets, then left. Short and sweet and perfect for Kate. On her actual birthday, she had one request==Orange Leaf ice cream. That girl loves Orange Leaf as much as her dad loves Ole Miss winning and Mississippi State losing. Everyone should experience once in life the event that is driving Kate to Orange Leaf. She resembles Shelby when we used to take her to my parents' house (before we had kids and started leaving Shelby home alone). She starts screaming and bouncing and pointing as soon as the store comes in view. So she's three now. Our baby is not a baby. She adores "Minsey," her big sister, and Benton, too. She moved to a big girl bed about a month ago and had no problem with the transition from the crib. She also potty trained about two months ago and was the quickest learner out of our kids. She is spunky and has a feisty attitude but definitely keeps us laughing all the time.

Back to school

It is December 26 and I just saw that this post never published to the blog. There's no way I will remember what I planned to post on August 8 (yes, the kids started school on my birthday), so I will do a first semester recap. Benton loves kindergarten! We knew he would be fine since he is so easy going, but we weren't sure he would love it the way he loved going to Ms. Lynn's house or preschool. However, he has never complained about it and has learned so much already. His teachers are Natalie Taylor and Tina Jewel, two superstars to our kids (and David and me). Benton already knew them both through Lindsey and was so excited to be in their class. He only knew two girls in his class originally, Kathryn Ann Lay and Peyton Gunderson (both through Lindsey), but he has made friends and tells us stories of playing with new people all the time. He usually doesn't know anyone's name, even this late in the semester, but it doesn't faze him. His least favorite time of day is naptime, which was true in preschool as well. However, he now gets to go to speech with Ms. Emily during naptime several times a week so he thinks speech is great. He loves puzzles and drawing and coloring. We are so proud of his progress! Lindsey is doing great in second grade! While the work is definitely more rigorous, Lindsey still has all A's and still loves school. Reading is still her favorite subject, and she ended this semester #2 on the Accelerated REader chart for second grade! She constantly walks around with her nose in a book, much like her hero, Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She has several friends in her class this year and enjoys playing with them at recess and activity time. Her teachers are Holly Foreman and Lindsey Robinson, and we have definitely been pleased with them. Although Lindsey has been struggling lately with separation issues, she has such a kind heart and people constantly tell David and me how kind she is. We are so proud of the sweet child she is!

Halloween

We had some nasty weather Halloween week, but we managed to show off the kids' cute costumes and score some major candy between rain showers. Our neighborhood has a lot of kids all around the same age, which is so much fun for the kids--and the adults! We always meet at the front of the neighborhood and trick-or-treat as one big group, and the parents

have as much fun as the kids. This year we had a Minnie Mouse (homemade costume by B, who came to my rescue after my failed attempt to make Lindsey's costume like she wanted me to), a storm trooper (Benton insisted on repeating the Star Wars theme), and a little Minnie Mouse (the girls were still on their post-Disney high).

The whole Robinson Crossing crew

Benton and Mimi, still going strong even though they are no longer in the same class

These four are such good friends!