Frogs, Frogs, Frogs

We are seeing frogs everywhere these days. Don't know what that's all about, but the kids love it! We have had two tree frogs attach themselves to our windows in the last week. Makes for a fun picture. Cooper, for some reason, is convinced that frogs are stinky. Every time he sees the he says, "Oh frog. Cool. Mom, frogs stinky." Don't know what that's all about either.

Unplanned Adventure

Layla had a little unplanned adventure at school today. Her friend, Emma, left her headband out at the playground and Layla knew where it was. So, thinking the 1st grade class and teacher were still on the playground, Layla's teacher sent Emma and Layla back out to get it. Here is the rest of the story, according to Layla......

"We went out to the playground to get Emma's headband under the table. We went to the glass door and it was locked. We went to the black door and that was locked too. So Emma and I started pounding on the door and yelling, but no one heard us. Emma put her headband on and we kept on pounding. No one came. Then Emma and I looked at each other and I could tell she was about to cry and I thought, oh know, if she cries, I'm going to cry. So I told Emma to breathe in and out really slow to try to calm her down, but that Emma wouldn't have it. She started crying and I started crying and I thought we would be there the whole night. Then, Jesus gave me the idea about the gate. We ran to the gate and Emma figured out how to open it so we ran to the front of the school, went inside a lady found us and called Mrs. McGrath. Mrs. McGrath hugged us and said she was so sorry and will never send us on our own again. Mom, that was pretty scary stuff."

Where There's a Will....

...there's a Cooper.

The weather midweek was gorgeous! We actually got to eat out on the deck again. After supper, Coop disappeared and this is where I found him, trying to get a Popsicle for dessert. I wish I had a picture of how I found him. He actually had is right foot hoisted up into the fridge handle. He remembered that when he asked for a Popsicle at 10am that morning I had told him no, but he could have one after supper.

The Popscicles were on the top shelf, but he managed to get one for himself and one for Layla. Now, if I could just get him to get his own breakfast at 6am every morning instead of standing next to our bed, tapping my arms and saying, "Mom, eggs?"

Her List of Firsts

When we took our trip to Chicago and NY with Layla, we kept a running list of firsts. The first time at the AG store, first time in a sky scraper, first time on a train, etc. When we got to NY and the Paneks house, her list kept growing. She tubed at full speed for the first time and rode a jet ski. She kept yelling to go faster on both. Again, she may look just like her daddy, but she is all me!

Cinco

At 7:44 this morning, Layla Faye Handsaker turned 5 years old and at 12:10 I dropped her off for her first day of Kinder Prep. She jumped out of the car, called, "see ya mom," over her shoulder and was gone. Oh my, how things have changed in 5 years!

On the way to school Layla said, "Mom, I just keep thinking, wait a minute, I'm not 4anymore, I'm 5!"

I just don't know what else to say about that. We love you Layla Faye.

A Country Wedding

We rounded out our trip to Chicago by flying to Upstate New York for a little country wedding. Dave lived in Upstate before I met him and he made a lifelong friendship with the Panek family. Lucky for me, I get to be their friend too since I married Dave! They have a beautiful farm and recently bought a lake house that is quite unique. It's a large house in the middle of timber on the shore of Lake Alice. It was built by a couple who didn't have kids of their own, but made it a place all kids and adults would love to be. There are sweet touches everywhere on this property. My favorite outdoor spot was a clearing with a table with a candle chandelier hanging over it from the trees. This is the same area that cable TV reached so you can wheel the TV outside and watch movies under the stars.

The Paneks oldest son, Alan, married his beautiful bride, Guin, at the lake house while we were their. The Paneks daughter Katie, grows her own flowers and is a florist. She's a very talented 25 year old!

Here are some pictures from the beautiful day....

American Girl Place

Yes, we have succumb to the crazy world of American Girl. It started early in this house and quite by accident. Before we had kids, Dave and I started receiving the catalog because of a gift purchased for a niece. By 2 years old, Layla loved getting her "baby magazine" in the mail. When she was 3 we visited friends whose daughters had everything imaginable out of the "magazine" and I remember her turning to me and saying, "Mommy, you can get stuff out of my baby magazine!" She was in awe of the realization that it wasn't just a magazine, but a catalog! And so the craze began!

To celebrate Layla's 5th birthday, Dave and I planned a big girl trip to Chicago. We stayed with my Aunt Mary in Wheaton and took the commuter train into Chicago and a water taxi to Michigan Ave., both firsts for Layla. She loved the bigness of Chicago and the AG store! With chore money she'd been saving for 6 months and birthday money, she had made a list of what she wanted and could afford. She was all business when we got inside! We shopped, looked at every item, ate lunch in the restaurant and left with a bag a loot. She was thrilled to no end!

What made the day special for me was how thankful and appreciative she was. At lunch, they leave a little box of conversation questions to keep you busy while you wait for your food. I picked the question, "Have you ever been really lucky and when?" Layla replied, "No, but I've been really blessed and it's today!"

While in Chicago we also took Layla to the top of the Hancock building and she was amazed at the swimming pools on top of other tall buildings. It was fun to give her a day of firsts! And tomorrow we will add to that list....it will be the first day she's 5 years old.