The Boy Down the Street

Meet Cooper...

(Also pictured is friend Kylie)

He is the boy Justin fears. His house is positioned around the corner in such a way that his back yard is traversed to our yard by foot, a bike, a golf cart, or a 4-wheeler. Cooper is allowed to drive all of those. Cooper was born 1 week before Kenlee, so they've "grown up" together. When they were 4 years old, they had to be separated at VBS because they would not stop kissing. When they were 6, Cooper announces to me that he and Kenlee are playing "Married" in the playroom. My intention was to approach this the best way I could--- ensure that they grew up so close that Kenlee would never find him attractive because he would be seen as more of a brother and protector. Besides, my little Boy-Crazy Girl has always had a thing for older men... her "boyfriends" have all been in high school since she was 3 and decided she was smitten by them.
So the other day I answer a knock on the door, and Cooper asks, "Can Kenlee come ride around the block with me on the golf cart?" I think I just stared at him. 8 years old is not when I thought a boy would come to our house to pick Kenlee up and take her riding around! Later that week, I was making petit fours in the kitchen, and I hear the computer Jukebox playing Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman very loudly. I peek into the living room, and Cooper is teaching Kenlee to Two Step!! I almost started bawling! Partially because of the lyrics from that song of choice:
"She spins and she sways to whatever song plays, Without a care in the world.
And I'm sitting here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited
and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad the prom is just one week away And I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"
Chorus: So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone
Well she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowin' and tellin' us all they had planned
She says, "Dad the wedding's still six months away
but I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone"
I wanted to call Justin and tell him to get home and dance with Kenlee because Cooper already was! So I practiced the art of distraction: "Kenlee! Coop! Want a popsicle?" So they stopped for a popsicle and then resumed the lesson on slow-dancing.
Last night at the football game a neighbor told me, "I think there's something serious going on in my neck of the neighborhood." I was trying to figure out if she was talking about the rash of babies being born on the street, and then she said, "I saw Kenlee riding her bike past my house again Wednesday, and I visited with her and asked what she had been up to. She said she was headed over to Cooper's to see if he wanted to ride bikes. I think it's getting pretty serious. They ride bikes several times a week, and Wednesday evening they came over together to visit me and Gracie (the dog)". At least the neighbors are keeping an eye out!
Well, the whole situation is good for a giggle. But in the back of my mind I am very aware of how quickly we are approaching that age where we have to tell her she's not old enough to date. For now we are sending chaperones on the play dates. Cooper has a little sister Claire who was born 2 weeks before Kelton, so a pesty little brother and little sister following them around will limit the kissing... then again, having Clarie and Kelton together could eventually become a problem as well!

"You Know, I'm Almost 7 Now..."

Hearing Kelton remind me he is "almost 7 now" made me cringe on several different levels. But I think the level that pained the most was the realization that he is right.

I remembered being flat depressed the day after Kenlee's 1st birthday. Justin thought I was crazy, but when I explained to him what was bothering me, it was so clear to me that I was already fighting a losing battle of hanging on to moments. The 1st year passed so quickly that I felt like I hadn't been able to relish in it as long as I desired. I told him "everyone says it just gets quicker as they get older. I cannot imagine the next 17 years passing at the rate the 1st one passed, much less having it pass even more quickly!" And looking at the 8 year old and 6 year old who bless my life, I can raise my eyebrows and say, "See? I was right." How can we wrap our brains around the fact that they are growing up so quickly?

So as Kelton celebrates turning 6 (which makes him almost 7, of course... just ask him!), I'll share a mini-memory lane of the growth and changes. From a picture of my pregnant tummy the week before he arrived to a picture at the lake last month. I'll upload birthday party pictures when I get around to getting them off of my camera ;-) Born Thursday, September 4, 2003 at 11:17 AM; 7 lbs, 4 oz; 20" long
Favorite pastime was entertaining Kenlee and making her laugh.
First steps were at 9 months old at a family reunion in Kerrville in June '04.
By Father's Day he was showing off his walking skills all over the yard at a Father's Day cookout. He has been Full-Speed and Full-Throttle ever since!
At 1 yr old, Kelton enjoyed bathtime, making messes, playing "phone", and playing ball.
He got his 1st haircut after his 1st birthday. He loved to hide and was very loving toward Kenlee.

At age 2, he liked wearing hats and oversized gloves. He loved jumping, swinging, eating suckers, and wearing sunglasses. He had several "buddies" he called his brothers.
He liked to hit balls and slide down slides the best.

Age 3 brought us the train era... a fascination with all things Train and Thomas. Kelton painted his first pumpkin that year, and he decided that some of his favorite things to do were to play golf with dad and ride horses with Uncle Rylan. By this time Kelton had a full-on addiction to sprinkles at Granny's house... the only place you get handed a full bottle of sprinkles and a spoon that fits right into the sugary heaven! He learned ABC's while brishing his teeth ALL those times after ALL those sweets! This boy sure has a sweet tooth!

By age 4, Kelton had taught us that tasks requiring concentration are much easier when you stick your tongue out while you concentrate... a trait from great-grandmother Evelyn ;-) Age 4 revolved around dinosaurs and growling and a few sword fights here and there. He exhibited his love for THRILL~ everything is better when it is faster, higher, and loopier.
He could write his name and identify shapes & colors.

At age 5, Kelton asserted his position on top of the world! He believes he can conquer anything, do anything, and he is Very Frustrated when we tell him he cannot do something because he isn't old enough yet (or tall enough-- he cannot wait to ride the Titan-- I'm glad he's not at that height requirement!!) This boy tries more things than I would ever consider trying. His favorite past times are Wii Sports, Mario Kart, and playing Superhero/Villain. He strips to his underwear as soon as he is home, and he prefers it that way! He loves dressing in costumes, though, especially when his "dudes" are over here to play.

"Almost 7" Well, I am sticking to SIX! No telling where age 6 will take us, but I have no doubt it will be a wild ride! With lots of negotiations and protests, I'm sure! But hopefully, he will not outgrow his loving spirit. Something about a boy being loving with his family that will make your heart melt. But we also know we will be entertained the whole way!

We are learning

We made it through Week 1 of End of Summer, Start of School Year! I'm learning lots of Mommy Lessons that I hadn't anticipated God would throw into the kids' lesson plans :-) Day 2 of school I went into Kelton's room to wake him and tell him that it was time to get up for Kindergarten. He says, "Again?!?! I went yesterday!" To which I replied (of course) that we get to go again today, too! Yay! As his balled up fist and rubbed his eyes, he said, "Mom, we don't have to go every day! I'll go tomorrow." Soooo, we made a calendar showing 5 days of school, Cartoon Day, and Church Day. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Labor Day weekend is gonna throw us off, but I can at least tell him he got an extra day off for his birthday... he thinks the West Texas Fair is in honor of his birthday, so for now we go with it!





We floated through the week pretty well completing Kenlee's Life Timeline and a Family Tree (luckily it was our household on the tree... Mom, Dad, Kenlee, Kelton, Cricket the Baby, and Allie the dog)--- it starts getting pretty confusing when we map beyond that! But then on Thursday, Kenlee reports No Homework, and the assignment folders are not quite as parent-information-friendly as they were in the early grades. They rely more on students developing responsibility for their own assignments, which is a good thing. Anway, Friday morning, we are up in our Tiger gear, all ready for school early, and I am addressing Kelton's birthday party invitations, and Kenlee is putting stamps on them for me. She casually says, "I have to do a leaf collection." I calmly replied, "That's cool. When is that due?", and just as calmly, she says, "Today." I very distinctly feel the calm of the morning begin to drain from my forehead, down to my nose, down to my mouth, and I was glad I had the presense of mind to breathe and not freak out. I reminded her that she told me she had no homework, and that she does not get help nor sympathy from mom when she announces at 7:35 AM that she has an assignment due... after all, we are approximately 7 minutes from getting in the car. She lost some of her calm at that point and said, "Then what am I supposed to do? I don't want to get in trouble!", so I told her to get a Ziploc and fill it with leaves from the yard and to hope that counts as a collection. I can tell I am going to have to let her fall/fail this year to teach a lesson, but that's hard to sit back and watch. We had a similar episode Monday morning, but I'll spare you all the details. But it did lead to an apology at lunch where I told her that it was both of our faults, not just hers. That as a 3rd grader her teachers are expecting her to learn more responsibility, but that as a parent, it is also my job to run down the checklist to show her how to develop that responsibility. We are learning :-) It has been a great week, though. Here are random pictures from the week.

Kelton has had a good week. Here is a picture from his Classroom Blog.

Justin & I both got off work early yesterday, so we took the kids for a little bit of golf. Not sure how we both play right-handed and ended up with 2 left-handed players for kids.

They were putting right on top of one another, but both putted in =)
Driving the golf cart is the highlight for both kids.

Kenlee & my nephew Corbin (Can't believe he's almost walking!)

Kenlee took a pic of my 17-week profile.

We haven't been documenting that up to this point, but I figure it's time.

I can't believe we're closing in on the halfway point!!

Funny how most of the time I just feel pretty thick, but at night, it seems to grow a lot! The kids are amused how I look more pregnant at night. I bought a doppler off of eBay, so we have all had fun listening to "Cricket" as well as to Kenlee's & Kelton's heartbeats.