Carrie: Mom, it’s not raining!

Me: No sweetie, not today.

Carrie: Why isn’t it raining?

Me: Well, I guess we don’t have the right atmospheric conditions.

Carrie: Yeah! And plus, the clouds don’t have any water!

Okay, seriously, wasn’t I JUST blogging about Logan’s fifth birthday??? Wasn’t this like a week ago? A couple months, tops?

And yet, here we are again, somehow a whole YEAR later.

The best part of Logan’s birthday this year was that David had the day off, so we spent the whole day together as a family. We started off with a trip to Krispy Kreme, just in time for the debut of their Halloween donuts!

We even got them for free, thanks to the kindness of the lady behind the counter. It probably helped that David is their mailman.

It’s so much fun to watch the freshly fried donuts slide down the line and get showered with sugary glaze!

Our next stop was tumbling class. Logan and Carrie really enjoy being in class together. Their class of four kids consists of the two of them, their cousin, and one other kid. It’s a real family affair!

Even Kayla tried to get in on the action.

Next stop – lunch! Logan chose Burger King, which David and I were not thrilled about. So after we picked up BK for the kids, we headed to Moe’s for some burritos. There were several police officers in the parking lot, and David tried to convince Logan to come say hello to them. He was too shy, but Carrie wasn’t. They were very kind and even let Carrie sit on one of their bikes with the lights flashing!

The police officers laughed at me a little bit for having my camera at the ready. But it was Logan’s birthday, so of course I had my camera!

After lunch, we decided to take advantage of our Explorium membership. Did the kids want to go? Let’s just say we didn’t have to twist any arms…

The kids’ favorite room at the Explorium is the Bubble Room. They would happily spend all day there.

Eventually, though, it was time to go. When we got home, Aunt Janine was there with a present for Logan.

PUFFLES! Exactly what he wanted.

After dinner, it was time to head out to Logan’s t-ball game!

Running home. And then home we went, for more presents and the Baskin Robbins ice cream cake he’s been talking and dreaming about for months and months.

Happy Birthday to our wonderful big kid! We love you so much and can’t wait to see what the coming year holds for you. All our love, Mom and Dad.

Logan is way too young to lose a tooth. Doesn’t that only happen to big kids? He’s only FIVE! Okay, so his birthday is next week. Still.

Isn’t this the funniest picture? We had a little too much fun with the camera…

If you’re interested in Montessori activities for your preschool child but don’t have a big budget for such things, consider this book. (And while you’re at it, buy a bunch of her other products and tell me how you like them!)

I bought the Montessori on a Shoestring book about a week ago, and so far it’s been a big hit. I bought the book mainly for Carrie, thinking it would give her some fun activities to work on while I do school with Logan (she’s always begging me to “do school” too), but Logan enjoys the activities just as much as she does. And on the 5 or so activities we’ve tried so far, I’ve spent a total of $0.67.

So far, Carrie’s hands-down favorite is the “real tea party” where she gets to set the table for tea, then practice pouring “real” tea (water with food coloring) and “cream” (a bit of milk). She also spoons sugar into our cups and stirs. She loves to have tea parties anyway, so when I told her she’d get to pour real tea, well, let’s just say the girl was in heaven. And already she’s gotten quite adept at pouring. This week I’ve planned to try several new activities, but she’s been begging for the tea party again, so I have a feeling we’ll be doing that one… a LOT.

Me: How old will you be on your next birthday?

Carrie: Four years old!

Me: Four years old?!?! How did you get to be such a big girl???

Carrie: Well, first I turned one, then I turned two, and next I turned three, and on my next birthday I’ll turn four!

Me: Logan, can you spell “fuchsia”?

Logan: Umm… P-U-R-P-L-E.

I know I’ve probably raved about Handwriting Without Tears enough already, but I’m going to rave some more.

I love HWT!!!

Here is Logan’s spelling test from this morning.

Amazing, no? Not so much the perfect spelling – my gosh, these words are way too easy for him – but the way his awareness of the lines has improved. And he has a proper sense of small, tall, and descending letters (something HWT emphasizes). And it’s all so tidy.

Did I mention I love HWT?

Me: They’re twins, but one was born before midnight, and one was born after, so they have different birthdays. Isn’t that funny?

Logan: That sounds like a twin glitch!

Carrie’s bedtime prayer tonight: Dear God, please help me to be good, and then I will become a princess! Also I would like to be a pie maker and a ninja. Amen!

Today Logan had a dentist appointment. He was a little nervous, but not nearly as scared as I was. He doesn’t remember his last visit to the dentist.

But I do. And I did not want a repeat. Let me just say that there was screaming and vomit involved. (And he got upset too!) And we were both so traumatized that I took him home and didn’t take him back. For three years. Yes, I’m a terrible mother.

But recently, he complained that his front teeth were hurting him. I thought maybe we weren’t brushing and flossing well enough, so we ramped up the oral hygiene. When that didn’t help, I swallowed my fear and scheduled him an appontment. Today was the day.

One thing I love about our pediatric dentistry practice is that they have no problem with parents staying with their children through the entire visit. I’ve heard horror stories of places where parents are told they are not allowed to accompany their children. At our place, they do encourage parents to let their kids go alone, and I understand that most kids do just fine, but considering what we’d been through last time, and considering Logan’s unique circumstances and personality, I knew I needed to be there to be his advocate.

I was right to go with him. I made sure everything went smoothly – that he wasn’t forced to do the bitewing x-ray (pure torture for someone with oral sensory defensiveness) and he was allowed to spit into a cup rather than using the “spit sucker.” But all in all, I am so proud of how he acted. He was braver than I am when I go to the dentist. The pain turned out to be due to his two loose teeth – I didn’t even realize! He didn’t have any cavities, and the dentist said his oral hygiene looks fantastic. I couldn’t help but be a little proud to hear that – it means I am doing a good job too!

But the best part came at the end, when they gave him his certificate of bravery. There was a coupon attached for a free kid’s meal at Chick Fil A. When the hygienist told him he’d get a free lunch, he said, “Oh, that’s good, because we’re low on money.”

I turned six shades of red and made a mental note: from now on, watch very carefully what I say in front of him!!!