friendship

it's such a special thing.

yesterday, my friend sarah and i had the same last-minute idea while separately leaving to pick up the kids from school - take the kids to either the park or the zoo after school together. toby and alaina decided on the zoo.

i, of course, left the camera in the car. i'll describe a picture i would have taken:

sarah and i pushing joshua and cami in strollers, look back for toby and alaina. i see them walking, hand in hand, faces lit in pure delight - not because they were at the zoo, but because they were together. we could have been ANYWHERE. delight, simply because they were together.

they have this unique, amazing friendship. it's constant. they run to each other EVERY day like they haven't seen each other for weeks and engulf the other in a huge hug. they just truly enjoy each other.

it's crazy, because when we were both "expecting" these two, we always said: if they're the same sex, they'll have to be the best of friends and if they're not, they'll get married.

i pray for their friendship. that it endures all the crap that's ahead of them. i anticipate it being hard to maintain a friendship like theirs during the age when boys and girls aren't supposed to like each other.

maybe someday i'll turn around to look at the two of them and they'll be walking down the aisle. oh, to have in-laws like the castors... :)

Bouncer?

Alaina: Mom, when do I get to wear the bouncer?
Me: The bouncer?
Alaina: Yes, the new bouncer we bought for school.
Me: Bouncer? I don't know what you mean.
Alaina: (annoyed) Mom, the BOUNCER that I have to wear to school!
Cami: (pointing at Elliott) CAT!

Lightbulb.

Me: Oh, the JUMPER?!
Alaina: Oh, yeah, I mean the jumper!

Oh, the stories we'll have from kindergarten... The funniest thing is that this was Sunday, before school even started, and still, last night at dinner, she's still calling it a bouncer. I can't hardly stop laughing every time she says it. She's so sweet.

I'm not very good at this!

It beginning to be quite clear that I'm not very good at this whole "blog" thing. I sure have good intentions, but when it comes to actually taking the time to write and post pictures, I'm not so timely!

My brother started his freshman year at Purdue this year. (Yeah, I know - traitor.) But the girls love their Uncle Kevin even with his faults. :) Here's a picture of our most recent visit:

I just had to add this picture too - no actual event, just a glimpse into how things really are in our home on a daily basis. :)
This month has brought us many celebrations with Alaina: first, her 5th birthday! We started the day by celebrating with family over lunch. Alaina requested Rice Krispie Treats, marshmallows and M&Ms for dessert.

We then spent the afternoon having some of Alaina's friends (and their families) over to the house for a "spray" party, including the sprinkler, slip and slide, and of course, the trampoline. It was very fun, and Alaina really enjoyed her Disney Princesses cake she picked out.
The day after Alaina's birthday, she started kindergarten at Mrs. Tolbert's house (Laura, a good friend of ours). Here's her first day of "school":

Since Alaina's birthday falls 2 days after the enrollment deadline, we couldn't do public schools (which we aren't fond of here in Indy anyways!). We found an AMAZING school, The Oaks Academy - it's a Christ-centered, classical education school here in the city, just a few short blocks from our house. It's exactly what we want - Christian (truly, in every sense of the word) and diverse (in every way you can imagine). BUT, since her birthday falls 2 days after the cut-off, Alaina was placed on a waiting list for kindergarten. We decided that she would go to Mrs. Tolbert's house to be homeschooled for kindergarten (after a most gracious offer from Laura!) until (if) she got into the Oaks.

A cool update: She got in! She starts her first day of kindergarten at the Oaks on Monday, Sept. 24th. And let me tell you, she's SUPER excited! She can't wait to be in school with her friends. We'll miss Mrs. Tolbert's kindergarten, but she just lives around the corner, is in our small group, and goes to our church - so we'll see her QUITE often! :)

Cami is getting so big - she's not growing as much, but she sure acts like a little girl now. Her laugh is infectous. She just giggles and laughs so much! She really is such a sweet little girl. I'm not sure I've met a sweeter 15 month old.She is talking more - some of her words are: ball, more, Boom (for Boomer), kitty (for Elliott), bubble, mama, nana (banana - though my mom would like to think it's her!), Yaina (Alaina) and her newest, just today, hi. I found SIX, yes 6, new teeth coming in today. Four more on top and two on the bottom, taking her up to 14 once they're all in! That explains the fussiness, runny nose and not so great diapers lately!

Our lives are about to change greatly with Alaina starting school at the Oaks - she'll go full day. So my work schedule will change so that I work while she's in school rather than my 3 full days a week I've been working since Alaina was born! (I'll be working the same number of hours still.) I'll drop Cami off at daycare around 8am, then Alaina at school around 8:15am then off to work. I'll work until about 2pm and then go get Cami around 2:30pm and then Alaina at 3pm. It will be quite a transition for all of us - all working/going to school 5 days a week. Hopefully it'll be smooth.