It's that time of year again. . .

for APPLE PICKING!!!!!

I love fall.  And I love apples and pumpkins.  And I love, love all of the desserts and drinks that come from these two things.

Apple picking is one of my favorite fall traditions.

And if any of you felt that I've been slacking on the pictures these past couple of weeks, this post will more than make up for that. 

This photo was originally of just Bella and Curtis.  At the last minute, Graydon jumped in and posed.  So rare.  If only Curtis had kept his eyes open. . .

Hayride!  Andy had quite the time trying to keep Curtis still.  He is a walking and climbing machine these days.

On to the picking. . .

Graydon nominated himself as keeper of the bag.  No matter how heavy it got, he was determined to carry it.

Time for some apple pie!

So happy together!

NINE years!!!!

1,000 Gifts continued. . .

#93. . . rainbow colors splashed in the sky from the sunset on what was a cloudy day

#94. . . my three children laughing hysterically around the dinner table

#95. . . September mornings at the park -- less hot, less crowded

#96. . . a tea party with Bella

#97. . . dinner with friends

#98. . . one-on-one time with Graydon - kind of rare for my middle child

#99. . . encouraging notes from friends

#100. . . our Aster plant is blooming

#101. . . fall decorations up all over the house

#102. . . a cool shower after a morning run on the treadmill

#103. . . the scent of pumpkin candles in the house

#104. . . seeing all of Curtis's teeth when he laughs

#105. . . making jack-o-lanterns out of construction paper with Bella

#106. . . laughter and tears over morning coffee with friends

#107. . . Curtis trying to feed Graydon his sippy cup

#108. . . Bella taking  care of Graydon when he wasn't feeling well

#109. . . Graydon wanting to wear his dinosaur costume for days in a row -- so cute with that tail dragging behind

#110. . . listening to Bella read

#111. . . extra quiet time in the morning when all three kids slept in!

#112. . . 9 years of marriage!

#113. . . a husband who I love being with

Curtis walking!

He took his first steps back in August, but crawling was still his preferred form of getting around.  Until now. . .


Yay Curtis!!!

I was making dinner. . .

. . . when I turned my head and saw this.

We appear to have a climber on our hands.

And this other little guy of ours has some big news. . .

Yesterday he pooped on the potty chair for the first time!!!!!! We all celebrated by jumping around and shouting hooray.  Everyone got suckers - even Curtis.  Andy wasn't home at the time so I took a picture and texted it to him.  (Couldn't leave him out of the fun, right?)  Definitely a happy moment in our house.  No pee pee yet. But this new development has me daydreaming about a life with only one child in diapers.

What a lovely thought.

Shiny Happy People

He took over my job. . .

of cleaning crumbs out from between the couch cushions.

Such a sweet little helper.

1,000 Gifts. . .

#60. . . little fingerprints on the TV

#61. . . scented candles

#62. . . waking up earlier and not feeling tired

#63. . . reading bedtime stories to the kids

#64. . . a good sermon given by Andy

#65. . . Graydon sitting on the potty chair (still not going, but at least sitting now)

#66. . . meeting friends at the park for a playdate

#67. . . three new teeth growing in Curtis's mouth

#68. . . Bella's excitement about starting kindergarten

#69. . . Curtis going to sleep without crying

#70. . . having all three kids in the nursery at church

#71. . . Psalm 46

#72. . . tears at the bus stop - mine, not Bella's

#73. . . a new daily routine

#74. . . Curtis asleep in my arms - mouth open and paci dangling between his lips

#75. . . leftover pizza

#76. . . notes offering forgiveness

#77. . . the promise of peace

#78. . . singing praise songs with 10,000 other women

#79. . . driving in Philly and encountering no problems

#80. . . waking up on time even though I forgot to set my alarm

#81. . . laughing so hard at a comedian (Tim Hawkins) that my abs hurt!

$82. . . sweater weather

#83. . . three healthy children

#84. . . a beautiful new scarf

#85. . . the friendly check-out lady at the grocery store

#86. . . a sweet message from Bella written in my journal

#87. . . parenting magazines on my bedside table

#88. . . Graydon taking his carrot to bed with him

#89. . . the sound of crickets in the morning

#90. . . a morning walk with the boys

#91. . . Graydon kissing my 'boo-boos'

#92. . . searching around the house for 'M' words with Bella

First day of kindergarten

I woke Bella up around 7am that morning. The first words out of her mouth were the same as every other summer morning: "What are we going to do today?" I just laughed at her. And she laughed too when she remembered that this was the day she had been counting down to for the past three weeks!

Her outfit had been laid out the night before. The one that was picked out over a month ago. She couldn't wait to put it on.

And she knew exactly how she wanted her hair.
 Two pony tails.

By 8am she was growing impatient. She wanted to get going! But she still had over a half hour until her bus would come.

So I just took more pictures.

And tried to capture some details that I don't want to forget.

When it was time to head out to the bus stop, 

we all went together.

My mommy-heart was so happy that she had some older church friends on the bus too. I knew they'd take care of her.

The sight of this had me feeling a little weak.

Not Bella though. See her blurry leg. . . she ran to that bus and was so eager to get on.

I saved my tears for this moment.

And then turned around and saw that 

Graydon had some tears of his own.

I thought it was so sweet that he was sad to see his sister leave. But then he kept crying out, "My turn! My turn!" I soon realized that he wanted to get on the bus too.

Curtis was still just waking up at this point.

Andy, the boys, and I walked back to the house, loaded up the van, and headed to school to meet Bella when she got off.

Here she is setting eyes on her new school for the first time.

And this sweet lady putting a nametag on her backpack is her teacher.

When all the kids were accounted for, they headed in 

and Bella began her first day of school.

We then made our way to the orientation in the library. They gave out a ton of information that I don't even remember. But what will forever stick in my mind is when the Guidance Counselor announced our kids as the class of 2024. I think the eyes of just about every mommy in the room began to fill with tears.

Thankfully, those were the last of my tears. Bella loves school, thinks riding the bus is the coolest thing, and is making some good friends.

Here is Bella, in her own words, after her first day of school.
Bella's First Day of Kindergarten from Karen Kilps on Vimeo.

Back to School Eve

It was raining cats and dogs that morning, but I promised the kids Sidewalk Chalk Paint and I have to keep my promises.

After pounding my chalk bits into powder and mixing in some water, we were ready to paint.

It's a good thing we have a covered porch.

Curtis found his own ways to get involved.

Our final summer fun activity complete.

Later that evening, we celebrated a Back to School Night.

There were decorations.

Flowers and candles. (I envisioned just a cheap bouquet of carnations, but the least expensive flowers at the grocery store that day were these pink roses. Ended up working out perfectly for our pink-loving-lady).

Some back-to-school advice.

A crown that I made for her third birthday that she never wore and of course the 'You are Special' plate.

Bella chose the menu: spaghetti and meatballs. We toasted our kindergartener-to-be with sparkling grape juice.

And for dessert: Chocolate Cream Pie!

Soon enough is was time for pajamas, stories, and sleep.

After all, it was a SCHOOL NIGHT!!!

Writing a love letter to her daddy. . .

On the dryer of all places!!!

Gotta love this thoughtful, silly girl.

1,000 Gifts. . .

#27. . . birthday cards in the mail -- stretching my birthday out just a little bit further

#28. . . simple recipes that turn out delicious

#29. . . pulling the boys in the wagon

#30. . . Bella pulling the boys in the wagon - while riding her bike!

#31. . . taking pictures with my cell phone camera

#32. . . the ever-expanding vocabulary of my two-year-old

#33. . . a box filled with getting-to-know-you questions

#34. . . a free photobook filled with family memories

#35. . . pretty toenails

#36. . . the healing power of a kiss from mommy

#37. . . flavored coffee creamer

#38. . . rocking my boys to sleep

#39. . . snuggling with Bella at night and talking about our day

#40. . . sweet rest after a long day

#41. . . the smell of clothes just out of the dryer

#42. . . the feel of clothes just out of the dryer

#43. . . Curtis's fluffy hair after bath time

#44. . . freshly bathed children

#45. . . riding bikes after dinner

#46. . . the morning sun painting pictures on our living room walls

#47. . . new school supplies

#48. . . coffee in the morning

#49. . . updating the blog with my smart phone

#50. . . a quiet morning

#51. . . one-on-one time with Bella while the boys nap

#52. . . Graydon's hand resting on mine

#53. . . Curtis saying "ma ma", "da da", and "uh-oh"

#54. . . an earlier bedtime routine for the kids

#55. . . a meal of plastic food made in Bella and Graydon's kitchen

#56. . . praying together as a family at dinner time

#57. . . Graydon *helping* with the dinner dishes

#58. . . Andy and the kids chasing each other around the house -- and all the laughter that goes along with it

#59. . . a refrigerator covered in artwork

At summer's end. . .

I could ask where the time has gone, but I don't have to. It's all right in front of me.

These are the ways we spent our summer. There's just one activity left to do. Sidewalk Chalk Paint. All of those stubby chalk pieces will be broken down and made into something fun and new. We'll do that on Tuesday. Our last day of summer.

Wednesday is the kick start to a new school year. Bella's first school year. Lots of emotions are coming my way this week.

But I won't think about that for now. We still have two days of summer and there's still a little bit of fun to be had. Like this park. We went there for our first time and are surely going back.

Happy Labor Day!!!