Pilgrims, Turkey & PIE!

Keaton was a Pilgrim in his Kindergarten program. Mark, Nana (Mark's mom) and I went to the Thanksgiving program and feast at his school on Tuesday. I asked to leave work so I could attend and I was so excited when I arrived to see Mark had scored a front row seat. Then as the kids filed in and found their places, Keaton was on the other side of the stage. And there was another kid's pilgrim hat in front of him. He was all grins to see us and kept peaking around that hat at us. I thought, oh well to getting great pictures, Mark will get it all on video.......only to find out my dear husband accidently hit the button and it didn't record. Well...we tried.

We spent Thanksgiving day at Nana's and then watched The Aggie Football Game.  Friday morning, in tradition, Mark and the Hamilton family worked the cows at the ranch. We joined them for another wonderful Thanksgiving meal that included a turkey cooked in a trash can, cowboy style. We went on an explore looking for a 100 year old tree, played on the hay, and took some family pictures. The boys even had a lot of fun climbing in one of Grandmother's trees.

Playing on the Hay

Exploring

I couldn't keep up(in my boots with heels), so most of my pictures were from behind.....but I think it is cute.

Tree Climbing

But, I can't complete the post without filling you in on our great news! Cort visited the allergist on Wednesday and received the ALL CLEAR! His skin test showed no sign of allergy to Egg, Peanuts or any Tree Nuts. So Thanksgiving feast it was....or could have been. The challenge now will be to get him to try new things. When you have been told your whole life that you can't have it, it is hard for a 3 year old to say, 'okay now I will eat it'. EXCEPT FOR PIE! Cort splurged on Chocolate Silk Pie for the first time Thanksgiving day. Mark and I even let him have a second piece later that night.....and he was bouncing off the walls like I had never seen him before. It was pretty funny! MMMM PIE!

Kid Talk

They grow up so fast. I can't believe Cort will be 4 in January! I want to remember all the cute things they said when they were little. Like....

Lucky for Yucky. They couldn't say the 'L' sound, so for example, 'Broccoli is lucky' instead of Broccoli is yucky. Also Keaton would say, 'Mommy, Cort lelled at me' instead of yelled.

Stink for Think. When asking Keaton what he wants for snack, he would say, 'Let me stink about it'.

Tanks for Thanks. 'NO TANKS Mommy, NO TANKS! Broccoli is LUCKY!' Can't you just hear it. :)

HAM-GER-BUR Cort was so cute, he couldn't say Hamburger. We loved asking him to say this one over and over. He also had a hard time saying camera and hospital---it was cram-ra and hos-i-pi-tal.

PUPCAKE for cupcake.

TEAKON Cort still calls Keaton, Teakon.

Other things not to forget:
Keaton's blankets are Scratchy and Fish blanket. Cort's blanket is Helicopter blanket.

MORNINGS....

Mornings at our house usually go pretty smooth...I say this because this morning did not. This morning Cort, God bless his soul, woke up on the wrong side of the bed and had a meltdown for 45 minutes. Surprisingly, Mark and I still pulled it together and I made it out the door on time...with happy kids.

This is a glimpse of our morning routine (and how much Mark helps me). We are all up by 6:00. While I spend an hour getting ready, Mark feeds the kids breakfast and gets them dressed for school. I take the kids to school so Mark can then get ready for work. At Children's Courtyard, Keaton and Cort are in different buildings so we rotate who we drop off first. There is a key pad to enter the door code....I mention this because of the many fights over who gets to 'push the buttons'. When they were in the same building, after numerous times of pushing and shoving at the door, I implemented the weekday plan. Keaton gets to push the buttons MWF, Cort gets to push the buttons TTH. (Cort didn't realize he was getting the shorter end of the deal) But now, they each get to push the buttons of their own building.....oh the drama of kids. Anyway, once inside we settle in by hanging up their backpacks, coats, and putting blankets in cubbies. I offer breakfast that is being served even though they already ate at home. The answer is usually no, but every once in a while Cort will sit down and eat again. Then after a big squeeze, an 'I love you, and 'have a good day', I am off. Only to get as far as the window outside for our goodbye wave. Cort usually just stands at the window with a smile and waves. It is cute and quick. Keaton is a creature of habit, he has his routines and you better keep them. We salute, blow a kiss, gig'em (you know the thumb thing) and then wave. I may have to do this 2 or 3 times before I make it to the car. If I keep walking, He just knocks on the window until I turn and do it again. It's cute...I secretly enjoy it because I know one day he will not want mom around at all.

So all of this works great except for the days that are filled with tears, leg hanging, and the heart breaking cries of 'but I'm going to miss you'. Those were the days at the beginning of Kindergarten and still happens every once in a while.

Then I have peace as I drive to work in silence maybe calling Mark telling him how the kids did or what our game plan is for the evening....dinner, activities, etc.

Oh, and this is cute.... on the way to school this morning I was talking with Cort about how he had a hard morning and it resulted in a meeting with the 'no-no stick'. Yes, I am posting that we spanked our child, but his comments sum it up. He said, 'It was just a little spanking. I cried, but...I was just teasing'.

EIEIO!

We went to Old Mac Donald's Farm recently for a
birthday party. It was our first time there
and we had a lot of fun! There is so
much to do and the weather was perfect.

Me and the boys in the Indian Village TeePee

HORSE BACK RIDING

HAY BARN SWING

I think this was their favorite

TRAIN RIDE

FEEDING THE ANIMALS

THE DEER

The deer just run free and and are very friendly. 

We got to feed them and pose for pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARK!

Mark celebrated his 35th birthday last week. He spent a few days at The Creek with his business partner and clients. They had a great time relaxing and fishing. Here are some pictures of the fish they caught. And yes, they let them go!

SOCCER!

This was the first time both Keaton and Cort played soccer. That meant two nights a week with practice and 1-3 games on Saturdays mornings. The season went well, but I think that all of us are glad it is over. Cort was the typical 3 year old. Some games he played hard, scoring 4 goals and 2 saves, other times he just wanted to play in the dirt. Keaton was consistent with his game. He ran and kept up with the ball, but we will have to work on his aggressiveness for next year.

Keaton has been begging to play flag football. Absolutely not! He will probably play T-Ball in the spring again, but we will wait one more year for Cort.

Here are some pictures of soccer season.

Keaton's team - FIREBALLS.

Cort's team - HOTSHOTS.

I LOVE TO BE GOALIE!

Mommy and Cort cheer on Keaton. Daddy was helping coach.

Cort and Ella (future wife) were on the same team.

"Let's go pick mommy some flowers!"

Keaton and BFF Levi were on the same team.

There's trouble!

And just because they are so darn cute, here is a flashback to last year
when Keaton and Levi played their first season.

Cort and Ella always did a great job cheering on their brothers.

HALLOWEEN 2008

Here are Halloween pictures. Keaton and Cort were going to be COMMANDER CODY AND CAPTAIN REX from the Star Wars Clone Wars.

But then Cort changed his mind and wanted to be BATMAN. He wore his costume to school all day...and I mean all day! When I picked him up, he was on the playground still in costume. Unfortunately, he had ripped a large hole in the bottom area.......sooo

I convinced him to be SPIDERMAN for the evening festivities.

TRUNK-OR-TREATING AT THE FALL FESTIVAL

LEVI, KEATON, CORT, ELLA

Okay, so Halloween was over and we had our final soccer games Saturday morning. We hit the road for Austin headed for Meredith's, Mark's cousin, wedding. After that we celebrated 5 Roberson birthdays at Adam and Julie's. Kayla turned 7, Julie celebrated another year (we won't say-although she is younger than Mark), Grandmother and Grandfather celebrated 91! and Mark turns the BIG 35 TOMORROW! Happy birthday everyone!

The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and spending the night. Here is a cute picture of them together.

Keaton, Kayla, Cort, Ryan