back to school!

beckett started his third and final year of preschool. he now goes four days a week and one of those days is devoted to science. so that should be fun. you know i signed up to volunteer on the science day that is all about pumpkins! beckett's lead teacher is the same as the last two years, but the pre-k class has two new to beckett assistant teachers. we also took care of two class pets, a salamander and a frog, over the summer and beckett's teacher seemed legitimately surprised that we brought them both back alive! apparently, the classroom guinea pig did not fare as well... since there is a new one this year. penelope will be in beckett's class again as they wrap up their preschool education. we are ready and excited for this new school year. let's go pre-k, let's go!

flashback! geez.

15 month check up

so, i know i'm a big weirdo, but we took heath for his 15 month check up and the lighting was just really great in the waiting room and i had to take so many pictures. i'm thinking about starting a photography business where i only take casual photos of kids in a doctor's office waiting room in the late morning on overcast days. it's going to be very successful. anyway, our regular doctor, lucy, is on sabbatical, so we saw somebody different and heath did not like any part of the visit and got many shots. BUT no shots at his 18 month, so probably worth it? he is still tiny bodied and giant headed, but we think we'll keep him anyways since we like his face. 

height: 30 inches 5%

weight: 20 pounds 16%

head: 19 inches 99%

heath kos at 15 months!

our silly little heath is fifteen months. what is even happening, with the time and its insistence on continuing so quickly? anyways, when heath doesn't feel like listening to the words i am saying or isn't happy about what i'm asking of him, he will slowly, slowly back away from me and out of the room... staring at me the whole time, until he backs around a corner and we can't see each other anymore. it's so ridiculous. don't you wish you could do that in uncomfortable situations without that making things a thousand times more awkward?! maybe i should try it sometime and just see how it feels. so, here is a little heath review... i'll just leave it right here and slooooowly back away...

nicknames: h, heath-ers, bug

you are the best little cleaner i have ever met. this is lucky because you are also a very big mess maker. i will ask you to clean up a certain set of toys and you will patiently pick up all the pieces and put the toy away. it makes you very stressed out to not be able to complete a cleaning task. things have to have lids put on them and be put away. the only thing you can't clean up are the books you are constantly dumping off the bookshelf. we're working on it though. 

you love and i mean LOVE any song by meghan trainor. if we are driving in the car and she comes on the radio, you instantly start bopping around in your car seat. at home i often have the tv on and just set to a music station, and no matter what you are doing or where you are, you will drop everything to go and dance if you hear meghan's voice. you especially love all about that bass. probably you can just really relate to it because you have a lot of junk in the trunk. 

you have started using words a little bit, but you aren't nearly as vocal as your brother was at this age. one of your big phrases that you're using right now is "and this!" when you see something you want that is out of reach you will start waving your hands in the direction of the thing and saying, "and this! and this!" if i give you the wrong thing, you will shake your head no, and continue on with the "and this!" until you're given whatever it is you were wanting. 

what you are lacking in the words department, you make up for with large motor skills. you are so good at throwing and kicking and even catching. when we were at our friend's house playing tball with the big kids your dad gave you the bat and put a ball on the tee just joking around. you went over and hit the ball with the bat on your first swing! of course that was mostly just luck, but we do think you are going to be a little athlete. 

heath. why are you the cutest thing that's ever happened? you are such a good little brother... always up in beckett's business, wanting to be doing what he's doing, eating what he's eating, watching what he's watching. you fill your role in this family perfectly. you are still a pretty good eater (getting more picky as you transition in toddler-hood, of course) and a great sleeper. you are such a mover, always dancing, clapping, jumping (your feet don't leave the floor yet, but you think they do), and spinning. you are a joy and a blessing, so we're thinking we'll just keep you forever!

clay's first haircut!

excuse me while i just pretend that clayton is my child for a moment and start documenting all his milestones on the blog. just kidding. only one milestone. whitney gave clay his first haircut while the bruners were up visiting and first haircuts are just a big deal. heath even hand fed him some blueberries during the process because we are nothing if not excellent hosts. the haircut went well (putting scissors right by the face of a tiny, wiggling, not understanding the situation person would stress me out, but whitney seems fine about it) and clay looked so handsome with his new cut. he l also looks three years older. haircuts! you're so sneaky. also! i just realized that i think whitney has given every boy cousin in our family their first haircut. now its a weird tradition we'll have to follow forever. 

beckett kol at 4 point 5 years

ah geez, four and a half. half way to five. and five is just a really big deal. everybody knows it. also, because old habits die hard... beckett is also 54 months! gah. these updates always stress me out because i slack every single time and then i find myself scrambling to think of stories or recall little details from the last six months. once i start though... it just makes me love the little people in my life that much more. especially since you really do only remember the good stuff. beckett is such a little person now with so many ideas and opinions and more personality than i can handle. hanging out with him is really a pleasure and the constant stream of questions that i get on the daily (because he's four and that's how four year olds do) is totally bearable when i stare at his sweet face. it also keeps me on my toes (and on google) because you never know what he's going to ask about. when were the last dinosaurs on earth? who is the oldest person? who was the first human? how did heath get out of your belly? is celery or chicken healthier for you? how many hours does it take to fly to australia? why does it get dark so early in winter? has there ever been a person with three hands? why does goofy always wear a hat? why?! how?! we must know all the things!  

nicknames: b, b kol, bud

you are obsessed with sweets. you will ask for treats a hundred times a day (you usually get about 99 rejections) and it is a real devastating time in your life when we tell you that it isn't a dessert night. you always want to tag along on trips to trader joes (because you get a lollipop for finding freddy) or safeway (because you get a free cookie from the bakery). when you bake with me, you just neeeeed to sample the sugar and i can't leave you alone with it for even a moment. you will even try and lick the measuring cups if i'm not paying attention. parties and events that don't serve cake are a big fat waste of your time. you must have such a sweet demeanor because you are filled to the brim with actual sugar. i'm always shocked when you get to put your name in the no cavity raffle at the dentist, but so far so good.

you are a crazy singer. and dancer. right now you know all the words to shut up and dance, tear in my heart, bad blood, and really a lot more. you will perform concerts for us that will include a very strange montage of current day (possibly inappropriate) songs and veggie tales hits. you scream sing along with the radio in the car. you will sit and watch taylor swift music videos for days. you try and copy the girl's dance moves in sia's chandelier video. you have band practice in your room with make believe band mates (named jerry, cocoa, and waffle). you already take piano lessons and are signed up for hip hop dance classes this winter (yeah! you read right!), but we are thinking about maybe voice lessons too? too much? you just really love music so much and you come from pretty musically untalented parents, so anything you learn isn't going to come from us! but musicians are like the coolest... so we want to encourage that passion! 

beckett quote

during lunch

3.26.15

"oh, chai there!"

"chai?"

"chai is french for hello."

"guess what? i don't think you know french."

"guess what? that was hurtful."

you are really into superhero pretend lately. you don't know much about comic book superheros (which is starting to make your dad stressed out), so you just make up whatever. you have a superhero mask that you got for your birthday and you will usually make one of heath's large bibs your cape. almost always you are "super beckett" and usually you have normal powers like super speed or super strength, but sometimes your powers are really specific and obscure. the other day while you were super beckett you told me your super power was the ability to summon and throw 17 chairs. you even really used the word summon. i don't even know. i am impressed with your large vocabulary and your creativity... even if it's a little weird. 

beckett quote

playing with blocks

5.29.15

"what is that?"

"a bunch of towers in a town."

"what's that tall thing?"

"a tornado. it's just a small one. the towers will probably be alright. plus, this man is here to stop the tornado."

"that's a man?"

"yes. it's hard to tell because he lost one foot and his head in a tragic accident."

"geez. doing what?"

"jet packing. he's a real daredevil."

beckett kol, you are a real joy. you are so hilarious... even though sometimes (maybe more than sometimes) it's only to yourself. you are such a wonderful big brother. you are generally patient and kind with heath and i am never nervous for you to be playing alone together and for that i am so grateful. you have such a helping heart. you almost always do what is asked of you and often offer assistance. you are a serious snuggler and you come to our room every morning to cuddle before we start the day. you're good at playing on your own and have a super imagination, but you of course prefer to play with someone. you are just our favorite big guy and we are so happy to call you ours.  

last day of school

beckett finished up another successful year of preschool. he has learned so much fun, new stuff this year and officially knows all his letter sounds, can count to over one hundred, writes his name, and knows a lot of random things about a lot of random topics. don't get him started on nocturnal animals. we are so proud of beckett for being a hard worker and a sweet friend. we are ready for a fun, laid back summer and to hit the ground running this fall with our official pre-k kid!

 flashback! 

sadly, penelope was sick and missed the last day of school and the end of the year performance. we certainly missed her, but she'll be back next year in pre-k with us. phew! alright... let's go summer, let's go!