...Barricaded the Bedroom

Finnie loves his Ceci and follows her where ever she goes. Cecilia loves her little brother and cannot wait until he wakes up from his naps so they can play. Sibling bliss overfloweth here... most of the time. Here's how it went down. A few days ago Cecilia grew tired of playing with Finnie so she went into her bedroom and barricaded the door with her toy chest so she could have some "personal space." I hear the little man screaming at the top of his lungs so I enter the living room to investigate. I discover he's been exiled and ask Cecilia why she's refusing to let him in her room. I do not get a verbal response, I get a visual one slipped through the crack in the door...

...Lost a Tooth. Literally.

Ms. Cecilia's first loose tooth has finally fallen out. Funny part - it happened in her sleep and we cannot find it. It's totally MIA. Hmm, what to do now? Leave the Tooth Fairy a note? Needing some suggestions here people.

...Listened to Nana Debbie

You ask and you shall receive mamasita! I have created an album of Cecilia's scanned school work, grade cards, etc. I plan to make an album for each year of school! Her progress will be posted online for all to see! Soon Finnie can join in on the fun! Check out the link below:

Cecilia's 2009 - 2010 School Work [Kindergarten]

...Raised a Smart Cookie

Thought I'd share some of Cecilia's recent stuff. Man, I do not remember bringing home this much paper when I was in Kindergarten. Our mixed paper recycling box is overflowing with the stuff. (easy Grandma's...I do keep some of it!) Cecilia busted me once and totally reamed me for throwing away her work.

...Packed a School Lunch, Retro-style

Cecilia has be BEGGING me to allow her to take a sack lunch. Apparently there are a few in her class who do not like school lunches and regularly bring their own. Nuts, right? I loved school lunch and can remember running to the lunchroom with my English classmates our Senior year. Yes, Senior year. If it was Crispito day, look out. You could loss a limb if you got in our way.

Okay, back to Cecilia... so, the last thing I want to add to my mornings is making her lunch *ugh* but she was insistent. I told her if she reminded me after dinner one night, we would prepare her lunch for the next day. This way we wouldn't have to do it in the morning. She reminded me THAT night of course. Crap. What do we pack it in? She gave me a "duh" and ran to her arts-n-crafts drawer in our kitchen and pulled out my old tin Strawberry Shortcake lunch box (which we had been using to house markers).

"This of course!" said Cecilia.
"Perfect," I said, "but we need to add your name to the top."
[Can you see Megan Herring in faded red writing?]

...Rubba-Dub-Dub Returned to The Tub

Finnegan snuck back into our sssllloooooowwww draining bathtub AFTER I dressed him for bed. Gross Finnie. Gross.

...Returned to The Alley

My favorite place to be on crisp Fall Saturday afternoon is an alley. Not just any alley will do; it must be filled with BBQ smoke, the constant sound of aluminium cans being opened, 1000s of friends and every where one looks the most beautiful colors in the world wave about - crimson and blue of course.

Last Saturday Wade and I returned to our alley for another season of Jayhawk tailgating. We hang in the alley next to 11th St. between Alabama St. and Illinois St. - within steps of Memorial Stadium. Several season ticket holders from our town park here. The parking fee at this location (an apartment complex) is steep so Wade and I choose to hoof it; we park 3-4 blocks away. It is a haul, but it is so worth it!

Because of our Williams Fund donation, Wade and I were invited to attend KU's Select-a-Seat at Memorial Stadium in June. Our good friends Amanda and Andrew are also donors and have about the same number of Williams Fund priority points as we do. Because of this we were able to pick our seats on the same day. We coordinated via a couple text messages and got our season ticket seats right next to each other - something I hope to continue until we are old and gray.


Amanda, Andrew and Wade - three of the four coolest fans in Section 9, Row 38.

Can't wait until next Saturday! Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

...Never Looked Back

After battling Strep throat and missing her first day of Kindergarten last Friday, Cecilia finally experienced first day school excitement this morning. She woke up via her new alarm clock at 6:15 am, got dressed by herself and brushed her teeth. She wasn't happy about her hair so she had me flat iron it. This was new. She's NEVER cared about her hair before. I am taking this as a good sign. I have been dying to doll up her hair with bows and such ever since she grew it! Maybe now I'll get my chance. After she was all ready, we had the classic first day of school photo session. Here are the results:

Wade, Finn and I drove her to school. Our plan was to walk and make a video on the way, but it was raining. Blast! We circled around the school with the other car riders and stopped at the side door. The van in front of us brought two of Cecilia's good friends to school: Reichen and Paige. As soon as Ceci saw them she was off, and never looked back.

It was a bitter sweet moment for us all, especially Finnie. He watched her go into the school and began whining for her, "My Ceci. My Ceci!" Then his lower lip came out. The pouty lip combined with sad little sniffles did Wade and I in. We teared up as it was probably the most pitiful thing we've seen him do. As soon as we got him inside the house "His Ceci" was quickly replaced by his boots and baseball shoes - his current favorite items:

...Rocked Our Kasbah at Territiral Days

CLICK HERE to enlarge this collage

1. In two days time, we spent roughly 20 hours at Territorial Days. Lucky for us we have Big Granny's house to use as a refuge. Her porch is just a hop skip and a jump from all of the action.
2. Finnie enjoyed the all three of the rides he was able to experience, but hardly cracked a smile while he kept a death grip on their handle bars.
3. We made five coffee cans of Mint Julep (thanks to our friend Jess). Fast becoming a Perry tradition, we wrap our coffee can full of Mint Julep in a kitchen towel and duct tape and then pass the thing around until it is gone. There is only one rule with the Mint Julep can-o-goodness. Don't ever set it down. Here is a shot of Wes partaking in its refreshing goodness for the first time.
4. Yeah!...a photo of me with one of my kids. I do exist.
5. This was Mr. Finn's third Territorial Day's experience, but this was the first time Mommy and Daddy dropped $18 on a wristband so he could enjoy unlimited riding fun. Carnies make bank on those wristbands.
6. Wade always said our kids would experience their first kisses at Territorial Days; I just didn't think it would have happened this soon.
7. Our turtles, Bella and Edward (yes, we are HUGE Twilight fans) did not win us any grand prizes but they definitely gave us their best effort. This was the first time Cecilia has ever touched her turtle, so at least we won THAT battle. If you have never seen a turtle race it is definitely a sight to behold. Check out one of Bella's trial runs HERE.
   (Dear PETA - no turtle was harmed during the festivities and we let ours go in the country the day after the race.)

...Finished the Season 0-8

It was bound to happen...a team full of preschoolers never had a chance against teams full of 1st graders. Ah well, at least we had fun!