MK-isms

"Mom, is it dribbling outside?" - aka raining.

"Mom, I have splinters in my feet because of these shoes!" - she was wearing plastic dress-up shoes and now she has blisters.

Pumpkin Patch - Take Two

The serious side of things....the funny pics are so easy; the children are all so willing to pose for those! The "lets take a picture for memories" photos are a bit harder to capture....all four looking in the direction of the camera is a feat among itself.

Our newest little pumpkin was all about the patch....her cuteness factor grew ten fold during our trip!

She loved seeing the many different shapes, colors and sizes, but mostly enjoyed trying to redecorate the patch putting the pumpkins where she saw fit....

And if she wasn't redecorating, she was dashing to and fro.....the freedom to roam was another highlight for her :)

And then came decision time.....which one would she choose?

Colin liked the green......

Pryce preferred the light green......

MK was all ago for the one that fit right in the palm of her four-year-old hand.....

Maddox, well, she gave up.....and then she found this scarecrow friend and insisted on a pic with him!

So glad to be home with this little one! Seven months and counting, she has added so much joy in our lives - definitely the missing piece to our family!

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch - Take One

What was supposed to be a fun, family-centered, good bonding time experience for our family, turned into just that plus a little silliness involved....

As the boys grow up, their humor grows with them.....and it is all boy humor, trust me.

One picture was snapped and then they came up with a million other ideas for me to shoot.....

thankfully, no one actually tried to take a bite of these things!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the patch, Maddox was struggling to pick up a pumpkin she fell in love with. She was yelling her newest word, "HELP!" at the top of her lungs.

And then there was MK. She was spent.

CAUTION: This Post is Questionable

MK went to see the play Cinderella on Thursday. Due to a speech appt. for Maddox, I was unable to attend the play with her. Following the show, I picked her up and began the usual questioning of how the show was, her favorite part, and what the play was about. She was rambling off several things and then she said, "Hey, Mom, you know how you got daddy pregnant?" Luckily, I managed to keep my car on the road! Dumbfounded, I said, "Ummm, yes???" She said, "Well, that is what Prince Charming did to Cinderella!" It took me a minute, well, several minutes, to finally grasp what she was trying to tell me......Prince Charming and Cinderella got MARRIED just like we did. Of course, "pregnant" and "married" are so confusing to the average four year old, right??? (Obviously, we need to clarify these too sooner rather than later for her - after all, misinformation is how rumors get started!)

Pryce has been playing baseball since he could hold a bat in his hands.

Tonight we wrapped up a season of Fall ball. At the age of 9, this was Pryce's first experience with "kid pitch" and he was pleased to accept an award for Most Strike Outs By A Pitcher!

This was also the first season "stealing bases" was allowed....

and he took it quite seriously, always looking to walk off the base a bit once the ball was pitched!

One can see the thrill in his eyes! What a pleasure it has been to sit in the stands and cheer for this kiddo!

Homeschool Co-Op

We made the decision to homeschool our boys three years ago. One of my biggest concerns was making sure that the boys maintained their school friendships as well as obtained new friends in the homeschool community. We decided to join a local co-op and we have been more than smitten with this group! The relationships that we have formed with these guys is amazing - a sense of family - and they offer a great deal of support!

Our co-op focuses on science, geography and art for the elementary kiddos.

This week, Pryce had to prepare an animal notebook as well as dress like an animal and bring in a food that his animal eats. We had so much fun with this project! While we were in China, we visited a safari and had some amazing photos of animals to include.

As for dressing up and eating, Pryce was a Fire Salamander who took gummy bugs to eat! Others included a horse, a cheetah, a zebra, a penguin.....

These guys were quite proud of themselves and their accomplishments of our year thus far!

Meanwhile, I managed to snap a shot of some of our guys!

In co-op, no one is left out! Our two and three year olds spend quite some time with crafts and stories.

Maddox agrees to do art projects yet she is not about the mess that accompanies them. She is so funny - one to play in the dirt but not one to tolerate glue on her fingers!

I believe her favorite time at co-op is time spent outside! She loves to swing and....

talk to the little ones in the windows!

She continues to do so well! She finally stayed in our church nursery without crying the entire time!!!! You know your child has made quite an impression on the staff when they all come up to you at one time or another throughout the week and state how well she did on Sunday!

And MK! She is full of joy these days! I love watching her play. I love that she is taking the initiative to play by herself at home. I love that her sister's eyes light up when she arrives home from school. I love to hear her cheer Maddox on. I love to hear her ask Pryce to play with her. I love to hear her ask Colin for help. She has been on a pink-cowboy-boot-wearing frenzy! Nothing else will do but her pink boots. So very cute! She participates in co-op too and loves every single minute of it. They do music and art and learn to write - she has also been taught to recite her address, her entire birthday, our names, our phone number - lots of good things to know!

A day at the zoo.....with MK all better and with one child who has an animal notebook project due next week, we felt there was no better time than now to spend a day at the zoo.

Our last name is Drafts. It is a simple name??? Not so much. Often, people pronounce our name as "Giraffes".....

These three guys are the bestest of friends. They all have an animal notebook project due this week so they spent their day at the zoo saying, "Hey, take a picture of this! We can use this one in our project!"

And these two, "the Kates," had their own agenda for the zoo. They were often heard shouting, "Hey, take a picture of us!"

There was a moment when I suggested we take a pic in front of the Fall decor. The above shot is what came out of that suggestion! There was some music playing and the kids turned into dancing machines!

ALL of them!

Even Maddox was feeling the beat.

And then there were the Lorikeets.

And then we saw the lions and tigers. Maddox walked through the entire zoo (we were there 5 hours!) with an unclothed baby doll and her snack container all nestled in her hands. After seeing the lions and tigers, Maddox felt the need to roar.

Our trip was complete once we visited the aquarium. What a beautiful day!

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In other news, Maddox had a follow-up appointment with her surgeon on Friday. We will be seen again in two months by the entire team and concentrate on orthodontics - there was mention of an appliance being made for her to wear temporarily to help her form some of the sounds that she is having difficulty with. Though she does continue to do well and she has improved so much with speech therapy, she is still delayed where speech is concerned. We are doing our best to provide her with everything we know to get her up to par!