New School for All!

My boys (big and small) are all doing well at their new schools!

Marshall had a shaky start at his new day care, but he seems to be adjusting now. The first couple of weeks, he would cry for long stretches of time - always upon drop-off and then when the first kid's parent came to pick him/her up in the afternoon. It was breaking my mama heart, so thankfully Jason took on most of the painful drop-off duties. I was starting to get really worried that things might not be working out until one morning I asked Marshall if he was ready to go to day care to play with his friends. He responded, "Mmm-hmm. I better now!" Here's Marshall's first day of day care and Miles' first day of summer "camp":

 

We thought Miles might have an uncharacteristically rough start after his first day of summer day camp at the new school, but his extrovert self recovered on Day 2, and he was back to making new friends and having fun as usual. In general, he has been so excited about the whole process of starting school. The day before his first day of kindergarten, I asked him to tell me what he was looking forward to most. He said when the bell rings. Then I asked him what he was looking forward to the least about the next day. He said, "When I don't get to be at school!" I knew that everything would be just fine after that. Here is Miles at his new desk - so proud!

 

 

 

 

Jason is also easing into the school year. When I say easing, that is definitely the truth. He started work at the school with nearly two weeks' worth of teacher days. Then school started last week, but he didn't actually have to teach class until today. It's definitely a different pace of life for the Kahls!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

We've entered into Bonus Summer...and Bonus Weekends, Bonus Evenings, and all-around Bonus Daddy Time!

A few weeks ago, Jason accepted a job offer at a new school. As much as we'll miss being a part of the community in his old school, we missed having Jason at home with us even more! Rather than herding kids grades 6-12 in and out of marching band, pep band, concert band, jazz band, color guard, winter percussion, solo and ensemble, plus coordinating booster meetings, fundraisers, etc., etc., etc....Jason will be teaching concert band to grades 6-8, with a side of 5th grade general music. It'll be a big change, but the boys and I are so happy and relieved to have him at home with us on the evenings and weekends. It's been a little strange not having our calendar fully booked, but it's been so wonderful to spend our free time just doing things like this:

It also turns out that Jason's new school is a pretty awesome place, and a perk of his employment is being able to send our kids there for less money than it costs for us to pay for after care at public school. It doesn't hurt that if you had asked me to name the qualities of my ideal school, this pretty much is as close as you could come. So, no surprise, we switched our plans to send Miles to kindergarten at our local elementary, and instead he'll be making the commute with Jason every day. Miles is so excited about it all. When I told him he would be wearing uniforms, he asked, "Like Daddy's marching band uniforms?". When I told him "not quite", he said, "OK. So, like, football uniforms?" Here he is, goofing off while trying on some of his actual uniform clothes:

The new school starts three weeks later than Miles' "old" school - and Jason would have already been well into marching band rehearsals at this point - so we feel like we've gotten a bonus summer. Jason has been spending lots of time with the boys on special trips to the library, the zoo, the Children's Museum, and the playground. I'm personally pretty jealous sometimes that I have to go to work while they get to go fun places. 

At least I did get to join in the fun at Cedar Point over the 4th holiday! Miles rode his first roller coaster with Aunt KK, and Marshall was jealous that he wasn't tall enough to ride some of the rides that big kids Lyla and Miles got to ride.

We are so looking forward to a new life filled with every more fun outings and great times together as a family!

Blame Technology

This really is a sad, sorry excuse of a blog. I blame advances in technology, or at least my adoption of them. The guilty parties include:
 
The iPhone
Now that I can pretty much do whatever I used to on computer, in about half the time, in about a quarter of the space, I never touch my actual computer. Since my fat little fingers would win an award for Worst Touchscreen Typer, I find it torture to write more than sentence on my phone. Believe me, if you've ever received a text from me with the help my my friend Autocorrect, you know how sorry my posts would look if I attempted to post from my phone. And who wants to wait 72 minutes for my computer to boot up when I can just get on to Pinterest in 7 seconds instead? I'd also like to thank the iPhone for allowing me to take a hundred photos of the same scene, just so I can find the best of the buck and delete the rest. Something like this is a standard on my phone. (Idea for future post about why technology is good in general: iPhone apps, like the collage one I used for Miles' PreK graduation).
 

 
 
The Work Laptop
OK, so it's kind of hard calling this one an "advance in technology", since it crashes on me every other day and is as slow as Marshall "riding" his bike down the street or Miles trying to decide on, well, anything. However, when I used to work from home from my personal computer, access to Blogger at lunch breaks or after work (never during work hours, of course) was much faster and frequent. Considering that my company blocks Blogger, Facebook, Yahoo Mail, and sends nasty grams to higher-ups if you so much as think about looking at LinkedIn sideways, I pretty much never do anything non-work related on a computer anymore.

Facebook
Let's face it. I'm friends with most of you on Facebook anyway, and I post all of my pictures there. If you're not on Facebook and am complaining about how infrequently I post here, join the 21st century and just set up an account. Or, if you're on Facebook and still am complaining about infrequently I post pictures there, then let me know. I have a special group set up for family and friends who I think actually want to see my pictures. This is so I don't torture that person who I'm sure begrundingly friended me, hasn't talked to me in 20 years, and still sees me as 110 pounds (yay!) with a mouth full of braces (boo!). On the other hand, if you're sick of seeing pictures like the one below (587th picture of my family at the Indianapolis Indians games), then let me know that too. I'm a proud mama, but not proud in general. I'd rather take you off my special people list than have you block me forever...I might need you someday for an emergency opinion on which refrigerator to buy.

Netflix
I knew it would happen. Like about a million other people, we sign up for the free trial month to catch the Netflix-only season of Arrested Development (Same!) and we decided that never again shall we live without its beauty and wonder in our lives. Blame Don Draper from Mad Men for why I'm watching TV instead of updating this blog. You can also blame Tom Bergerron from America's Funniest Home Videos too. My boys are too busy guffawing at Grandpa Dropping a Cake on His Crotch to do the cute and funny things that I used to catch on video. OK, so I still catch some great moments - they're just all sitting at my YouTube account (refer to Section 1: iPhone on why it's so much easier to upload there).
  
So...if you're still reading at this point, I guess you want to hear a little something about the two gentlemen whose names are on the virtual door. The boys are full swing into brotherhood - wrestling, hogging toys, yelling, kissing and making up - and just plain driving Daddy crazy while he's home with them four days a week on summer break. We had a lovely time on a cheap but fun vacation in the Smokies, thanks to a fantastic Christmas present from Grammy & Co. Miles and Marshall loved hanging out with cousins Lyla and Natalie.

The above picture was about the only time Marshall had fun splashing in the pool. He must take after his mommy, because while the other kids were playing in the sun, he just wanted to be in the air-conditioned clubhouse. We thought maybe the indoor pool might go over better, but, like his Daddy, I think he just doesn't dig the water.

The whole thing surprised me, because he tends to be pretty adventurous and not scared of much. We especially like when Miles was scared of the sound effects at WonderWorks (the "upside-down" house / fancy arcade in Pigeon Forge), Marshall just kept trying to tell Miles, "It's just creaking!".

Marshall is also full into being an independent two-year old and showing his stubborn side. He had his first potty training success about a month ago, but is refusing to try it again, no matter how much candy talk we throw at him. Despite the toddler fits, he is still such a sweet boy, requesting "snuggles" several times a day. The other day, I picked him up in front of the bathroom mirror, and he mushed his chubby little cheek next to mine to look at ourselves in the mirror. Then he just said, "I love you so!"

Miles is transitioning to be a "big kid" kindergartener next month. He's only going to day care one day a week, but he always reminds us that it's not day care, it's "summer camp", because he's technically considered a school ager there now. He loves going on field trips (the pool, the fair, the splash park) and he really likes bringing his lunch in his Spider Man lunch box. We only have a few days left over the next month for him to go back to day care, and I think it will be pretty hard leaving. After all, he's been going there since he was three months old!

As I mentioned about the "creaking", Miles may be working towards big-boyhood, but he still gets a little scared about some things. For his birthday, Miles talked for weeks ahead of time about going to the Star Wars exhibit at the Indiana State Museum. We pulled up in front, he took one look at the 50-foot high Darth Vader poster, and then he promptly decided that he no longer wanted to go there. So, we went to the old standby Children's Museum. Even there, he still didn't want to attempt the dinosaurs (as usual) and this what he looked like on the carousel:

OK - hopefully that will do you for another month or two...on to Kindergarten!!

Moved In and On

What a whirlwind of a spring! I don't normally give advice, but...if you're thinking about moving with two children under five, hosting a birthday party, having a house full of overnight guests, entertaining the Easter Bunny, and traveling to the other side of the country - all within a week's time - DON'T DO IT! What was I thinking? The boys wonder too, "Ooooohhhhh. Mommy, why did you do that?"

Nevertheless, we've pretty much adjusted. We still don't have pictures on the wall, our yard is totally overgrown, and we still have stuff in boxes, but we are living our lives.

Miles is turning out to be such a big kid! He is pretty much reading - can get through a story in the ol' "At Home and Away" reader from 1964 we all started out on. He had his kindergarten assessment today (results to come) and is "graduating" from PreK next week. His new favorite love is Tee Ball. He's really pretty good! He's one of the few on his team that hits in into the outfield and is a good little fielder. He even made a play at home plate!

Marshall knows all of his colors and shapes, can count to 12, and can sing his ABCs. He moved up to the bigger kids room at school and is having a little bit of a tough time adjusting. We have been saying lots of "No hitting friends. No biting friends." So, we've been doing more regular time outs.  Here he is in his time-out spot, before he really knew what time outs were:

Well, my borrowed time is up...after going upstairs after bedtime for the fourth time, Marshall is crying again. Guess I'll call this one a wrap!

New! New! New!

There are lots of new things in the Kahl Bros' world lately.

First...a new baby cousin! Baby Nolan was born on March 4, and we are overjoyed to have a new family member! We visited the new baby and big brother Gavin last weekend.We had tons of fun with Grammy at the park and eating strawberry ice cream.

 

We also officially own a new house! We closed on Monday, but the excitement hasn't quite set in yet because we don't get possession for a few more days. Thankfully spring break is coming up, and we'll be able to clean, pack, move, celebrate Marshall's birthday, and celebrate Easter all before the month is over! Can't wait to get into our new digs:

 

As if my heart couldn't take anymore, today I registered Miles for kindergarten. Has this day really come? He'll have his assessment in May, and we'll be learning more about his school and big boy stuff like riding the bus.

Marshall is getting ready for Big Two birthday, and he's starting to show signs of the Terrible Twos. He's mostly a happy boy, but he sure is stubborn! We went round and round all night long the other day, telling him that he couldn't have ice cream until he ate a bite of chicken. He eventually went to bed without ice cream! Tonight he held a piece of broccoli in his mouth until it basically disintegrated - he refused to chew it as told before a 300th round of "chase". In more fun areas, he's starting to sing recognizable songs (ABCDs, Twinkle Twinkle). His newest phrase is "Aw, Man!"

We have all kinds of new videos on our You Tube channel that no one has watched. If you get a minute, check them out. The usual wacky dances, ABCs, and Hide and Go Seek!

On to our next adventure!!

 

Movin' on Up (And Fallin' On Down)

We're almost there! We sorta kinda bought a house and sold ours, or at least signed our lives away with the intentions to do it.

We're through the inspection phase on our purchase - just waiting for closing in mid-March. We took the leap on making an offer before we got on offer on our existing house, and it was a little scary there for a little bit. We originally looked at the house back in October. The house itself was perfect for what we need (minus the resident cat), but the yard wasn't our dream yard, so we put it on the back burner. After they lowered the price for the third time (and got a call from the seller's agent begging us to make an offer), we realized that it really was the best deal for our money, so we decided to take the jump. Feeling more excited about it every day!

We thought it was a sign, because, of the dozen or so houses we had seen,  it was the only house in which Miles chose to - ahem - use the facilities. Even during the second showing, I guess Miles decided to mark his territory. Jason and I often joke that we're glad we have Miles to make decisions for us, because we're so indecisive. Where to eat dinner is usually the choice he makes, but where to live for the next 20 years can work too. Miles is so excited about the basement, and we've been playing up the swing set that we negotiated to stay for them too. Even Marshall is in the spirit, often talking about the "new house". I read a book to him the other day with a haunted house in it, and it pointed to it and said "New House!"

Thankfully, we got an offer last week to buy this one - only a few weeks of living with the idea of two mortgages. That was an adventure too - it took us 5 days to get an offer signed on both sides, but we're pretty happy with where we landed. Now just keeping our fingers crossed that the loan (kind of a strange one) will go through. We might be insane, but we're still entertaining showings on our house. However, we'll be a lot more picky about which ones we accept and less picky about how clean the house is for them. Now on to the packing!

In other news, Marshall took a tumble down the stairs yesterday. One of the scariest moments of my life as a parent, and I watched it all happen. We were heading up after breakfast to get dressed, and we both reached the top of the stairs. I stepped aside to close the gate, and Marshall grabbed it from me and slammed it shut. The gate then swung open the opposite direction over the open air. Marshall lunged for the gate to grab it and tumbled head over heels all the way down the stairs. I was right behind him the whole way down but never got to actually catch him. By the time we both got the bottom, I think I was crying harder than he was. Within 10 minutes, he was his happy normal self and so we decided he would go to school as usual. After his nap, I got a call from his teacher saying that he just wasn't acting like his normal self and was just sitting in the chair in the corner watching the other kids play and looking pitiful. That's just where I found him when I went to go pick him up, and his poor little eye was swollen and watering. We rushed to the doctor, and thankfully everything checked out perfectly. It was definitely not something I want to repeat! No major bruises or issues today.

In happier updates, Miles is getting so good at reading and writing! He still gets a little frustrated when he can't figure out something right away, but I am amazed at how many words he can recognize. He even wrote the names of just about every person he knows on his Valentines this year.

Speaking of Valentines, here are my favorite loves:

Xmas Etc.

Happy New Year! My new year's resolution is not to start every blog post with an excuse or an apology about how long it's been since the last one. Oops.

Speaking of "Oops", today's blog will be a non-proofread stream of consciousness. Let's see see if I can dump everything in my head from the last month in under 10 minutes...aaaaand go!

Back to "Oops". Marshall's favorite book right now is "Baby Counts", which he knows by heart. (One, Two. One, Two, Three, Four. OOPS! Back to one.) He also loves "Bubbles, Bubbles", just like his Bubba. He's getting slightly more patient with reading books but he can't yet sit still long enough to read one with Big Bro at bedtime. Santa got him a new Mickey book, which I thought would keep him interested, but Miles reads it more than he does.

Speaking of Santa:



On Christmas morning, Marshall wasn't exactly thrilled. He threw a little tantrum at one point and didn't open half of his presents until later that afternoon. His favorite present seems to be his Elmo cash register.

Miles, on the other hand was super pumped! I think Marshall made the first peep that morning, but Miles was awake as soon as he heard it. I think we ended up going downstairs around 5:30. We opened presents, ate breakfast, opened stockings, and Nana and I went back to bed before the sun even came up. I was anticipating that Miles would be the one throwing a fit after several lectures beforehand about "It's about giving just as much as getting." However, I wrongly underestimated by sweet boy. Since then, he has told me how thankful he is several times for all the presents Santa and other have gotten for him.

Most of Miles' Santa presents were Spiderman related (which Marshall, for some reason, calls "Bubby"). He got some sa-weet Spiderman 3D wall art and Spiderman bedding for his new room in the new house. No news on that front. Boo. Anyway, Miles was telling me a little this afternoon about how he was a little scared and nervous about moving. I kept giving him reasons about why it'll be cool to move, and he seemed to understand but still wasn't totally bought in. Then, I mentioned that we would be moving a lot closer to Chick-Fil-A. We got SO excited and decided right then and there that moving was a good idea after all.

The boys got to have a sleepover at Granny and Grampa Kahl's house with Gavin while the parents spent an evening in Nashville to watching Butler's road game at Vanderbilt. Miles got in the spirit soon afterward:



My 15 minutes are about up...just a couple more random tidbits.

Overheard by Miles after taking a bite of a not-yet-ripe banana, "This tastes like white Mexican jello!"

Overhead by Marshall (a hundred times), "Aw, nuts!"

Overhead by Miles at the grocery, after I told him, no, we can't buy that salami. "Mommy, I bit it." Yes, I had to buy the black-pepper coated salami that Miles bit. To quote Nana, "Damn sausages!"