Scarecrow

For Dustin's birthday Kenzie gave him a picture she colored.  It was a scarecrow.  She thought their garden needed some protection, and that she and daddy needed a project.  An idea was born.  It took a little while to find the time to build him, but Mr. Scarecrow is now ready to find his home in our blossoming garden.

They worked on it mostly while I was away teaching my night classes.  It was fun to come home at night and see the progress.

Detail work is perfect for attention-oriented McKenzie.

Kaia helped, too, but Dustin said she did a lot of what Kaia does.  Which is, well, anything but what everyone else is doing.  Here's a good action shot of her chasing the chickens away from Kenzie's work space.

This finished product is a scarecrow that is scary enough to freak me out every time I come home at night.  My heart jumps every time I catch a glimpse of the towering shadow.  Kaia isn't afraid, though.  She tells me it looks like Papa....

Kaia: Care crow looks like Papa.
Me: What?!  You think it looks like Papa?
Kaia: Yeah, looks like Papa.
Me: Papa Lavoine or Papa Ricci?
Kaia: Papa Voine.
Me: The Papa with Auntie Jenni or the Papa with Auntie Loren?
Kaia: Auntie Denni.
Me: That's Papa Lavoine.

Ha!  My dad has confirmed, however, that while she may think it looks like him, the scarecrow does not dish out ice cream and candy so he is not nearly as cool as Papa Voine.

All Aboard!

When my friend Jess sent me a link to the Essex Steamtrain and Big Top Circus Show I didn't have to think twice.  Kenzie has been asking for months if she can someday ride a train, "maybe, when I'm five?"  

Here's a confession, I've always wanted to ride on a train, too.  I've been on a subway train, but that doesn't count.  So, when that steam train glided up to the station and blew the whistle I was just as giddy as the girls.  Unfortunately, the train ride lasted all of ten minutes and never exceeded 5 mph, but it was thrilling, nonetheless.  

The circus was fun.  It wasn't a big "big top" but it was enough for the girls.  There was one aerial act where a woman twisted and turned and hung upside down from long silk sheets.  Kenzie was astonished.  She didn't take her eyes off of her the entire time.  Her facial expressions say it all.

The man who climbed atop the stacked chairs had me nervous.  There were no safety precautions.  I kept thinking that if he fell the girls would be forever scarred.  Kaia wasn't too concerned, I guess.  She spotted my friend's newborn baby next to us and smiled big.  The daredevil behind her apparently wasn't enough to keep her attention.

The girls had a great time on the rides.

A good representation of the Kenzie/Kaia dynamic.
 Kenzie is serious (she really thinks she's driving) and Kaia is just along for the ride.

It was a great day, and now I have a brochure of all the other steam train events (including dinner and a sunset).  Anyone want to babysit?

Cut and Paste

Kenzie: Mommy, I just love my new scissors so much, I want to play with them all the time.  Hahahaha.

Kaia would put glue on EVERYTHING if I let her.  As much as I love that Kenzie can sit for hours cutting and pasting, having glue around Kaia requires constant supervision.  But man, that smile on her face as she mounds more and more Elmer's onto the paper is priceless.

New Mom

Kenzie likes to go and play with her "new mom."  This fictional person resides in our living room and Kenzie visits her often.  I asked what is so great about her new mom.  Among other things, Kenzie said, "she can tell what the weather will be without looking on the computer."  Well then.

She assured me, however, that she loves her new mom only a tiny bit more than me.  Whew.  I thought I had something to worry about.

As if it's not bad enough that Kenzie is replacing me, she's taken to calling me "old mom."  Kaia needed me this morning and Kenzie told her, "no, Kaia.  That's old mommy, we don't use her anymore." 

Interestingly enough, she does NOT like it when I joke about going to play with "new Kenzie." 

Today's the Day the Teddy Bears Have Their Picnic

Man, I just love planning parties.  I think that if I didn't love teaching so much I could definitely make a career out of party planning and catering.  And it would be SO much fun to spend someone else's money.  But I digress.  On Mother's Day we hosted the girls' second and fourth birthdays and had our family and friends over for a picnic.  My trust in the science of meteorology was wavering when it was still overcast and drizzling at 10:30 am, but, just as predicted, the sun peeked out at 11:00 and the rest of the day was amazing.

I don't think I've ever had a more exciting birthday bash. Not because of the decorations, guests, presents, food, etc, but because of the immeasurable happiness on both girls' faces all day long.  Kaia is definitely a birthday lover.  It doesn't have to be her birthday, just any birthday.  She knows that where there's a birthday, there's cake, and that's all a girl really needs, right?  In the weeks leading to her birthday at the end of April she woke every day to declare, "it's my birthday!"  In the two weeks between her birthday and the girls' joint party her daily declaration became, "it's my birthday party!" There was never a doubt that her party was going to make her happy.

Kenzie, on the other hand, had a kind of subdued excitement about her pending birthday.  She thinks much more analytically about it all.  She remembered that turning four meant she would finally be able to have popcorn ('cause for some reason it's a choke-able until age four, "they" say).  She knows that age four means the start of preschool, and it means being one year closer to being five.  She's very excited about five. Possibly because a year ago I, apparently, told her that when she is five she can ride a horse.  As her big day  got closer, though, her outward excitement grew.  The night before her party I tucked her into bed and said, "Guess what?  Tonight you are going to sleep and you're only three, but, when you wake up in the morning, you're going to be four!"  Her ear-to-ear grin was beautiful.  

As evidenced by the following videos and pictures, Kenzie and Kaia had the most fun they've ever had.  Kenzie couldn't contain her joy, often jumping and running with excitement.  Kaia ate any piece of junk food she could get her hands on and made the rounds drinking from every "boo box" (juice box) she saw.  It helped, of course, that we have the most fun and loving group of family and friends that any two girls could dream of.  What a great weekend.

Kenzie looked like she might cry from the sheer joy of it all.

Cousin Kaitlin leads the girls around the yard.

Super cool, impromptu fort.

"Mommy, look at my gobbles."

Jumping for joy (and this was after nearly everyone had gone home).

Conversations with Kiddos

The day after the girls' super fun Teddy Bear Picnic birthday party...

Me: Kaia, what was your favorite thing about yesterday's party?
Kaia: I...love...playing...with...all...my........................pickles!

Haha!  I'm not sure if this is really advanced for a two-year-old.  You know, leading me to believe she would say friends and then throwing pickles in at the last second.  OR, this is a sign that Kaia has no idea what even happened yesterday.  I choose the former.

____________________________________________________

While enjoying a delicious (if I do say so myself) homemade mac n' cheese dinner...

Kenzie: Mommy, you make the BEST noodles.  In this house.
Me: Haha.  Thanks, honey.
Kenzie: 'Cause we don't know if there is someone who makes better noodles in the whole wide world.  So you make the best noodles in this house.

I love that girl's honesty.

____________________________________________________

While talking about her future...

Kenzie: when I grow up I’m going to be a mommy.
Me: You are?
Kenzie: Yup.  But I have to be married to be a mommy, right?
Me: Ah, yup.
Kenzie: But (thinking), how does being married get you a baby?
Me: Well (thinking), to have a baby, you have to have someone you really, really love.  Like daddy really loves me and I really love daddy.
Kenzie: Kaia really really loves me, right?
Me: Yes, but to have a baby it has to be someone you aren’t related to.
Kenzie: It can’t be someone in my family?
Me: Right.
Kenzie: Oh, okay.

Okay, that clears that right up. Done.

Conversations with Kiddos

Me: Let's get going upstairs.  I need you to go to bed so I can take a break.  You know, when you girls are sleeping, I'm not a mommy anymore.
Kenzie: Huh?
Me: Yeah.  I don't have to be a mommy anymore when you are sleeping.
Dustin (against his better judgement): That's right.  When you are sleeping she's not a mommy anymore.  After that she's just a wife.

_______________________________________________________

Kenzie: Massachusetts kinda sounds like Cheez-Its.  It's like Massacheezits.

_______________________________________________________

When a dominant rooster wants to mate, a good hen (one who knows her place) stops and squats and lets the roo do his thing.  Kaia has been chasing the chickens as of late and a couple of them have started to drop into this position when she is near.  In essence, our chickens think Kaia is a rooster.   Hence, the following heated dialogue. Quite possibly the strangest thing we'll ever scold our children for doing.

Dustin: Kaia!
Me: Kaia! No!
Dustin: Kaia!  Do NOT sit on the chicken!  Get off the chicken!!
Me: KAIA!  GET OFF THE CHICKEN!
Dustin (running to her): No!  No!  We do NOT sit on the chickens!
Kaia: hahahahahahaha

 After a few minutes sitting on the stairs (pretending) to contemplate her wrong-doing...

 Me: Kaia, it is not nice to sit on the chickens.  You could hurt them.  We don't want to hurt the chickens.

Kaia (patting my arm sympathetically): Okay, Mommy.  Okay.

Ooo boy that girl likes to test us.