First Week of School

Michael:
went camping with the Young Men this week. All of Michael's stories from his Young Men's experiences growing up sound like he had the best leaders. It's fun that he gets to be involved in that now, and it would be really fun to be involved in all that when his own boys are big enough to come along. He made homemade apple cider today, no reviews yet because it's still simmering on the stove. Our apple tree made SO MANY apples this year. We don't know if it's an every other year type thing or if it's because we pruned it so much a few months ago, but it's really fun. They're small and delicious. The mornings are getting nice and cool here so that's when he was motivated to get this homemade apple goodness brewing, but it's an all day thing so we'll be taste testing it during our 90-degree afternoon, haha. But our house smells like fall and I am READY for it.

Maddie:
survived potty training round 3. Camden is doing totally great. He has had one accident since Tuesday, and he made it through two hours of church today. He's feeling so big. I had fun spending one on one time with Bennett this week while Camden was down for a nap and Westin was at school. He loved doing his workbook with me and it's fun to see how much progress he's making in speech and learning through all his hard work. I had so much fun with the boys this weekend too -- we went swimming, and delivered cookies to friends, and went to the library. We're taking little short outings to keep testing Camden's new skills. I'm excited for Bennett to go to school this week because it'll be so good for him, but I just really loved this summer and felt like it went by so fast. It's really fun to have my kids home. It's almost harder to be home alone with Camden then to be home with brothers and Camden :) I'm feeling so big and pregnant -- my hips are falling out of where they're supposed to be and it just feels like I'm in such countdown mode even though 28 weeks is supposed to be the feeling great stage. I've still been knocking things off my to do list though to get ready for baby, so that feels good.

Westin:
is such a sweetheart. He had a really hard first day of school, which none of us expected. Sounded like a combination of some things feeling too easy and some things feeling too hard and not a great friend experience at recess and missing his old class and teacher. But I feel like Westin and I just get to know each other more and more as he gets older, and I knew he just needed patience and time to feel what he feels and a little help finding the positive to focus on. I read extra books with him that night and laid by him longer than usual, and in the morning the first thing he told me was, "I liked cuddling with you last night, so much." He just needed a little help through a transition that we both expected to be no big thing. The rest of the week went well though, and I feel like he has a great class and teacher and school waiting for him.

Bennett:
is so easygoing and sweet. He never complained dropping Westin off at school and having to come back home. (Even on Monday when I fully thought it was his first day of school too, but learned it's actually NEXT Monday.... ha). We went and toured his classroom and met with his teacher on Wednesday. Each day this week I spent time doing his Pre-K workbook with him and working on some speech flashcards and doing some activities. He's making progress and I sometimes don't see it as much as other people do because of how much I'm around him, but he is such a focuser and worker. He loves that Camden is potty training and is a great cheerleader. He asks questions about more things lately that give fun glimpses into what he thinks about. I think he's been on the quieter side for a while because of his speech but I think/hope that's fading as he has a desire to communicate more and is getting better at it. He's just so sweet.

Camden:
seems like such a big boy and a little champ this week! I'm so proud of how well he's done with potty training. It's such a beast of a task but it's also such a fun way to see how they learn and how they respond to conquering something. Such a cute age. He was my little buddy all weekend when Michael was at his campout and it gave me a glimpse into what a residency Camden would have been like. We would have done just fine, but boy does he love having Michael around :) I stayed with him through nursery at church and I don't see him staying there by himself for a while, but with just potty training him now it's fine that one of us will be with him on Sundays until he gets really good at being able to tell someone he needs to go.

These boys are so sweet.

Bennett is allllll ready for school,
which starts next week and that classroom is empty.
Haha we're blaming potty training for me mixing up those dates in the emails.

Bennett's official attendance photo haha, he's not in the most natural smiley stage.

Stickers in the mail from Grandma Miner is always a happy day.

A little chilly after our neighborhood pool trip but he totally loved it!