Cornelius Chronicles

Halloween celebrations kicked off this week and we've been having a spooky good time! Here are some of the highlights from the week. :) The Church "Trunk or Treat" party was on Friday. We dressed up our excited goblins and headed to the Church Parking lot for some fun! (The weather finally turned chilly on Friday so our Kitty Cat wasn't very enthusiastic about getting her picture done outside. It must have been super cold. You know, like 61 degrees F or something. ;>P Don't worry, we put heavy coats under everyone's costume once we got to the church. No frozen Texans for us!) There was a costume contest at the Church party and one of our three cuties won first prize. Can you guess who it was? That's right! Xavier won first prize for his amazing Yoda costume! I'm pretty sure the original Yoda didn't even look that cute. :) This did lead to a brief discussion with Bekah on why they all didn't win a prize. When she's older

Rebekah received her first progress report from Kindergarten this week and it caused me to reflect on some of the things I have encountered that I didn't expect from having an elementary schooler. I thought I would share some of those things: 1. All Betty Crocker boxes and cans throughout my kitchen are suddenly filled with square shaped holes where "Box Tops" once lived. 2. I have to remind Bekah that she can't do the entire month's worth of homework in a single night. I have to reason with her that if she does, then she won't have any fun doing homework later. 3. Having to sort through the millions of brightly colored fliers, pictures, and fundraiser reminders sent home in her folder each week. 4. Realizing the importance of having your mom show up for a lunch date at the school cafeteria to a tender 5 year old. 5. Running after the school bus inevitably becoming part of the morning exercise routine. 6. Watching "Wild Krats" after school en

These pictures of Xavier sporting his new fireman hat were too cute to pass up. We are so grateful for library story time themes about fire fighters and the fun hats they share. :)

Sharing his birthday with the great John Lennon, we celebrated Xavier's 2nd birthday today. He has been a joy in our family and I don't know what we would do without him. His cute giggles, mischievous grins, and constant running from place to place keep a smile on everyone's face. To celebrate this milestone out of moving out of babyhood and into the official toddler years, we took the family to the Fall Festival at Rebekah's elementary school. The kids played games, won prizes, got their faces painted and ate lots of junk food. Everyone had a great time. Bekah even won Xavier's birthday cupcakes from the cake walk game. Thanks Rebekah! After all the fun that could be had was over we came home and the kids and the daddy took a much needed nap. After nap time we pulled out the birthday cupcakes and present and sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" to our Mr. X. Xavier had a tough time blowing those pesky candles out. However, thanks to some

This handsome young scholar had his first day of preschool this week. Doesn't he look so handsome and smart! Loyd has been looking forward to this day ever since Bekah went to preschool last year. he did great. He comes home each afternoon excited to tell me about his day, happy about his fun and engaging morning of learning, and calmed down because the teachers managed to use up some of his seemingly inexhaustible supply of energy. Who knew? It only takes 56 teenagers to keep Mr. Loyd productively engaged for a morning. :) Now, I have some good news and some bad news regarding this momentous first week of school. First, the good news. Loyd loves school and he is doing really well to listen to all of his teachers and he behaves himself quite well. Now, the bad news. Xavier really enjoys having Loyd go to preschool. While this may sound like good news, believe me it can be a bit of a pain. When we arrive at the preschool to pick Loyd up in the afternoon Xavier begin

Rebekah's Story About Loyd Loyd gets into trouble with the scissors. Mom says, "No, Loyd! Put the scissors back." And Loyd did not listen. The end. Things We Have Had to Loyd-Proof Since Turning 3 Years Old The Freezer - This happened when we found him hiding ice cream under his bed. The Hall Closet - To keep him out of the "scun scream" and water color paint, among other things. The Artwork in the Hall All of the cabinets in the kitchen containing cooking tools Any Pickle Jars in the House Grapes Danimal Yogurt Drinks Brownies Anywhere in the House Lunchables His Bedroom Door My Bedroom Door Bekah's Bedroom Door My Bathroom Door The Entire Garage The Time-Out Corner Silly Things Loyd Says "What happens if I stick a rolly-polly (bug) up my nose?" "If I put [hand] sanitizer up my nose will I breath fire!?" - I told him it would burn if he put it up his nose. This was a response to that information. "That's what boys do!&qu