"Octover"

Dear bright-eyed son:

When I ask you what season it is, you say "fall."  When I ask you what month it is you say, "September" first.  When I correct your response you say, "It's Octover."  I can't help but understand your confusion as to what month it is, as I am shocked myself that we are already more than halfway through the month of October.

The month began with Mommy and Daddy driving to Wilmington, NC to get Aunt Jennifer & Uncle Matt hitched.  Despite Hurricane Matthew's impending arrival we were able to enjoy a wonderful (even if brief) celebration with some of our favorite friends.  While we were away you spent a few days with Papa Bass and Grams.  If I recall, you enjoyed special trips to the duck pond, and an endless array of delicious treats.   Over that same weekend Uncle Nick and Aunt Mert came for a visit.  You had a great time bonding with Aunt Meredith at the playground!  You are so lucky, Kemper, you have so many people who love you so much.



We celebrated Mommy's birthday with Papa Tate and Beba by going out to dinner.  You are becoming quite proficient in ordering dinner for yourself.  You and Daddy bought me beautiful flowers and a gift card to Starbucks which I will savor.  Not to mention a triple chocolate fudge cake.  You will find that the older you get the less exciting your birthdays become.  But, to be showered with love by your family and friends is the greatest gift to be given, no matter your age.

Daddy has cleaned out some of his bins in the basement and found lots of toys for you to play with! You have enjoyed racing new (to you) matchbox cars down the hallway, crashing dinosaurs on the coffee table, and generally throwing these toys from one end of the house to the other.  Do we really have to think about what to get you for Christmas?  ;)


We have had some fun fall adventures.  We have gone on several bike rides with you being chauffeured in your bright orange chariot! It is a shame that when the temperatures cool the days also get shorter so by the time dinner is done there is not much daylight for bike-riding.

The library and the playground are still favorite locations for playing.  You've been able to play at Penn Forest, Papa Bass' church and Mommy's church playgrounds.  A slide is a slide, but you can never go down too many times.



At school you and your classmates painted a pumpkin so naturally we had to paint the pumpkin Grams bought for you last week.  It was a lot of fun watching you add bright colors to the pumpkin. I'm not sure if we will carve it or not.  It is pretty cool just like it is.  We do have a pirate costume for you this year and you tried it on a few nights ago.  Time will tell how trick-or-treating is done this year.

You continue to enjoy school and interacting with your classmates.  Maya is still queen bee of your heart and Dalton is still your right-hand man.  I'm not sure how it happened but you managed to make someone jealous by holding hands with another friend and got scratched on the face last week.  I'm warning you now son, it might be best if you didn't play the field....

You've learned your colors very well over the past few weeks and can sing many songs.  You love to dance too.  You have been attending the toddler Sunday school class at church and I must say I've been amazed at how you have retained some details of the stories.  Yesterday, you knew the order in which 3 pictures of Moses went, from being a baby in a basket, to standing up to Pharaoh, to the leading the people out of Egypt.  Maybe it was just a lucky guess but you were very confident when you said it!  I prefer to think you are going to be a genius.

You've been Daddy's boy this week, from stories at bedtime to helping out in the kitchen, you've stayed by his side.  I can't say that I blame you, son, Daddy is pretty fun.  No one else plays hide and seek or wrestles on the floor quite like him.

You bring light and happiness into every face you meet.  You are our constant joy, bringing laughter to even the toughest of days.

We love you, kid.

Mommy

Mommy Falls Behind

Mr. Kemper,

By the time you are old enough to notice, you will not care one bit that this blog post is about 5 days behind the date I normally like to write them on (22nd of the month).  But, that is about me, not about you! We've had a full couple of weeks and I have not had ample time to reflect.  As with every month, you have grown by leaps and bounds it seems.  You talk more every day and form better sentences all the time.  For the most part you continue to be sweet and well-behaved....but occasionally you "show your age" as a 28 month old. Case in point: today after school you had a meltdown when your poptart broke and you couldn't put it back together. Serious crocodile tears. I was crying and laughing at the same time.

   You are getting taller as well and we just got you new shoes which you are incredibly proud of.  You couldn't wait to wear them to school and show your friends.  You handled your first time in Sunday school extremely well. You are quite the avid singer, particularly you like to sing the ABC's, Down By The Bay, and Old Mac.

You have had the opportunity to spend quality time with all of your grandparents in the last few weeks, enjoying the perks of being a grandchild with delicious foods, fun adventures, and new toys and clothes.  We are so, SO fortunate to have both sets of grandparents close by to help raise and nurture you.  You have also gotten to visit with Great Ray and his puppy Sandy, and Auntie Whitney. 

My favorite things you have said or done lately:

Mommy: What about a bear, what does a bear say?
Kemper: I'm a bear! I'm mommy and daddy's bear. 

Yes, yes you are!

Your daddy taught you to say, "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!" which you do with much gusto!

Daddy was away in Atlanta last week, which you proudly confirmed, "Daddy in At-yanta" Upon his return Daddy told you he missed you to which you replied, "I missed you too Daddy, but you had to work."  WOW!

Your latest interests have involved stickers and super heroes. You also like to play with cars and for a while there you were obsessed with chalk.  Top food remains firmly at mac and cheese (that's my boy). 



 I might have to stack some books on your head to slow down the growth... but we are enjoying every minute that we can of you growing into this sweet little boy. 

Much Love,
Mommy

"I Did It"

Kemper (or Pemper as you refer to yourself), 

"I do it."  "Pemper do dat."   These are words that are spoken regularly in our home these days.  But my favorite of all is when you run to one of us, grinning ear to ear and say, "I did it!" This typically happens when you have mastered something you once asked for help with such as taking lids off of Tupperware and removing your shoes. Proud moments like these are becoming increasingly more frequent and we are reminded daily how quickly you are growing up.  Just today I was told that you put your shoes on by yourself at school.  Last night you went to bed without your "paci" for the first time ever.  EVER! You didn't reach that goal tonight but I am not complaining.  

You are finally adjusting to your new class at school.  You no longer cry every morning and cling to me as I leave. You seem more comfortable to greet your teachers and friends.  I was even pushed out the door one morning this week. "Bye, Mommy!"  So, even on those days when you do turn on the water works, know that I am on to you kid.  I see you happy as a clam when I return in the afternoons.  I see you.

The highlight of the last month has of course been our much anticipated trip to the beach! We spent a week in Emerald Isle with your Papa Bass and Grams.  We got to spend a lot of time with your extended family too, taking boat rides with your Great Grandma, Aunt Ida, and your cousins! We had such a wonderful trip and I wish that I had written a special blog post about your first beach experience right after, or during the trip because your enthusiasm (and trepidation) were so palpable throughout the trip.  I will try to hit the highlights.

• The Ocean:  Everyone was so excited to get to the ocean we drove out to the beach upon our arrival about 9:00 PM on our first night.  You kept saying, "I go see ocean!" "I go to beeeeech." But when you actually saw it you were terrified.  Each time Papa Bass or Daddy put their feet in the water you screamed bloody murder, scared they would get hurt.  Your concern was so sweet but it made beach visits a little difficult.  Eventually you enjoyed playing in the sand and ultimately getting it everywhere.  You even got in the water just a tiny bit, mostly in the calmer waters of the sound.  Rest assured, after you experienced it you said, "I played in water! I swam in ocean with whales.  I did it!" As though this were the greatest joy of your life to date.  

• The Boats: Again, talking about the boat was an exciting prospect for you, but the execution at first was not so enjoyable.  But, in the end you did great.  You rocked your life-jacket like a pro!  I believe that Aunt Ida was very wise to bring your cousin Grayson, who is about a year older than you so that you could become friends.  Grayson is an accomplished seaman so he was pleased to show you the ropes.  We had much fun traveling by boat and jet-ski one day with Aunt Corinne & Uncle Jeremy and then the next day to Shackleford Island and Beaufort with family.  We even saw a few wild horses from afar.

• The Pool: I wasn't sure we'd get you into the pool at Aunt Ida's farm mid-week but we did! It took you a long while but eventually you clung to me less and the little float more.  Seeing your older cousins enjoying the water surely helped.  "I did it.  I swimmin!" 
• The Dock:  Fishing and Crabbing took place at home on the peaceful sound.  We put your life-jacket on each time you went out there to fish with Papa Bass and Daddy.  As with anything, fishing didn't hold your attention for long.  You did however enjoy going to see "cabs" and clapping your hands together like claws.  
• The Food:  You liked to order out at restaurants.  You loved to request "mac and cheese" from the waitresses before anyone else placed their orders.  This worked for you, you often got your meal first.  You also had zero qualms about ordering seconds.  :)
• The Aquarium:  In the two years of your life I have never seen you more excited and in awe of anything as you were in the aquarium.  We went with Daddy's cousin Jodi and her lovely family so that you all could play together.  I thought, "oh we'll keep him in the stroller."  That was a no go.  You bounced from one tank to the other, cutting through lines of tanned limbs and pressed yourself right up to the glass.  "Oh! Shark! Oh! Turtle!"  We also had to bring a dolphin stuffed animal home from the aquarium because your cousins had one at the beach house and we knew by your attachment we better have one in the car to come home.  

 

I am so very thankful to Bass and Debbie for arranging such a great trip for our family.  It meant a lot to us to have your grandparents there to help us with you.  It gave us an opportunity to have dates and special time with our friends while you did fun stuff with them.  We cannot thank Aunt Ida enough for opening her beautiful home to us.  It was truly a gift! We were blessed to have her and cousin Taylor to show us around the area so much.  We hope this will be the beginning of a stronger relationship between our families, it meant a lot to us to be with them. 

After such a fun trip it was hard for us to get back into a good routine, we wanted more vacation time! You also hurt your elbow somehow at school when we came back.  It's called nurse-maid's elbow and it was a very easy fix with a trip to the doctor.  It has made you more cautious in your play because now when I say, "be careful" you respond, "No fall down. No hurt elbow."  

 Last week Daddy had to travel for work to Atlanta but you and I managed with a little help from Papa Tate & Beba and Papa Bass & Grams.  We are so lucky! They made sure we were fed and entertained.  You enjoyed going to "get that Daddy airplane" on Friday night.  

You've brought us lots of laughs recently.  We love getting you to dance in the car, preferably to greatest hits of the 90's.  You've also been turning around and singing, "Shake yo' booty."  No idea who taught you that..... Your giggles are absolutely infectious.

Time will not slow, I know that.  We must try to enjoy you every moment we can.  You're a good kid, a great kid in fact.  We love you.  And we love hearing you say that back.

Love,
Mommy

"We're goin' to the beeeech"

Kempy,

We've had a pretty mundane month as it turns out.  Your parents have been slaving away at work each day, getting used to a new routine.  Meanwhile, you are in your second week of a new class at school.  It has been a tough transition for you. You get upset each morning when we walk down the hall by your old classroom, place your stuff in a new cubby and enter your new class.  I am told that you calm down five seconds after I leave and everything is peachy.  Why do you do this to Mommy!?  At least we knew your teacher already and you have lots of friends in the class who moved up before you.  Your BFF Maya joined the class this week so the Three Musketeers (Maya, Avery, and Kemper) are together again.  Lord help those teachers!

 

You have had several occasions to spend time with both sets of grandparents as Mommy and Daddy have had a few date nights and I went wedding dress shopping with Auntie Jennifer.  You really love playing with the great stuff at their homes, your water table and your outdoor cars. Not to mention they have the best snacks and you get to do whatever you want. :) 

We've had some fun times at the playground, at church, and general family silliness.  It brings us such joy (and some frustration) as you grow older and explore all kinds of things.  You also test your limits on many occasions.  You talk up a storm, and sing, and boss us around.  Last night I just wanted to relax on the couch but you insisted that I come "Play with Pemper in tunnel."  And so I did because you will only be small a little while longer and I must soak up your sweet, innocent joy while I can.  But seriously, stop throwing food on the ground!

Sunday we depart for the beach.  Daddy's enthusiasm has rubbed off on you and now you smile with glee and say, "We're going to the beeech!!"  I hope you enjoy it when we get down there.  Fingers crossed you like the sand and the ocean.  It will be nice to get away for a little while.  "Here we go, go, go, go on an adventure!"

 

 

Love you,
Mommy

Imagination Station

Kempy,

I am amazed at the ways you have developed in the last few weeks!  I am pretty certain that you have gotten taller as well!

We have had a full month since your second birthday celebrations.  Almost three weeks ago now we celebrated Mommy's ten year class reunion at Hollins University.  We had such fun seeing all our Auntie & Uncles.  You got to meet many Aunt's for the first time which was great fun.  We spent some quality time on campus, where you attempted to steal a golf car--this scored you major points in the cool department with your Aunts.  You made great pals with Uncle Matt and Uncle Mark too, way to go! I think you might grow as tall as them one day! You also helped to hold the sign in our class photo because you refused to miss a photo op.  If there are classmates who don't like that, so sorry.  We had some of our Hollins family stay at our house over the weekend.  Never dull at the Mitchell's, we had to call the Fire Dept. at 2 AM because one of our ceiling fan motors was going bad, got really hot and smoked up our whole house.  Again, another chance for us to be thankful we live in a great place, very close to Roa Co. Fire and Rescue stations.

After Reunion, Daddy left and went to California for 2 weeks to train for his new job.  We missed him a whole lot! Every day you asked, "Where's Daddy" a couple of times.  And each morning as we left the house you said, "Bye, Daddy!" as you do every other morning.  We stayed busy doing lots of things to distract us from having Daddy far away.  We spent time at Papa Bass and Grams House, had dinner with Papa Tate and Beba (before they went to Scotland), and spent our Saturday with Auntie Whit in Lynchburg.  We also went downtown and spent some time with one of your friends from school and his Mommy, such fun! Boy, were we glad when Daddy came home last weekend.  You've wanted him to do pretty much everything with you since he got back. "No, no Daddy do it." For Example: Daddy get the juice, Daddy make the snack, Daddy color the picture, Daddy dance in the car.  Daddy is still really busy with his new job which is going to be great.  We have been really spoiled to have him around so much for a while. We are getting into a good routine I think.

You have been talking up a storm the last few weeks.  Your ability to form little sentences and make sense of things has really taken off.  I have been amazed at your imagination in the last week alone.  One morning you brought me a stack of building blocks with a green one on top that you thought looked like a frog.  You came down the hall saying, "Hop, hop, hop. Look Mommy, my frog. Ribbit Ribbit!"  You have also really been enjoying building castles and towers out of these same blocks.  This morning you turned your cars up on their back wheels and said, "My dinosaur, Roar!" Last night in the yard you were catching imaginary bees and releasing them.  Pretty amazing.

I was so tickled to pick you up from school the other day and watch you put away the animal figures you were playing with. You had them all lined up in a row and you picked up each one, looked at it and said, "Bye Elephant, Bye Lion, Bye Giraffe" before dropping it in the box.

You have enjoyed playing in your new pool and the water table at Papa Bass and Grams house too.  Drawing with chalk is also a favorite pass-time.  You love to sing and know most of the words to "Bah Bah Black Sheep" and "Jesus Loves Me."  Dancing and running around in circles are great ways to blow expel energy.  I think you've done well at school lately, only a few times have you had time-out for playing too rough with your friends.You have been really great at drop off lately too, excited to go in and see your friends.  You have also spent a few afternoons with the older class and I think you will move up to the next class soon.  I can't believe you have been at this school a year to the day.  We will certainly miss your current teacher when you switch classes, you've been with her since September.


You still love to go out to eat and are still relatively well behaved when we are in restaurants.  You still love mac and cheese the best and Apple Juice is king in our house.  Cheetos are out (sort of), popcorn is in.  "Again. Again. Again."  "More. More. More."

It's VBS week in our house again, just as it was the week you began your new school last year.  Mommy is tired.  Time for bed little bear. We love you more than anything, thank you for being Mr. Cool.

Love,
Mommy

Two Soon

Toddler Bear,

Happy 2nd Birthday!  Compared to your birth and first birthday this weekend was a breeze! No trips to the ER, yay (but we did have a bloody nose)! We had a wonderful party with family and some friends on Saturday! Boy, did you make out like a bandit.  Clothes and Books were piled all over the living room. You also got a very cool (read noisy) lawnmower.  Not one, but two helmets arrived to go with your brand new scooter! Daddy and I are already having fun with your drum set and remote control car.  And I am guaranteed to enjoy your kiddie pool as much as you. The sand bucket, shovels, and swimwear will be great for the beach this summer. And your Great Aunts stocked you up on Goldfish for a little while.   We had homemade mac and cheese and grandma's famous chocolate cupcakes!  Unwrapping each gift was a joy for you, and everything had to be opened up and played with at once.   We were all exhausted at the end of the day, but what a great celebration of YOU!

We celebrated Papa Tate's birthday at The Station with the family.  You were a big fan of the mac and cheese dinner and cupcake dessert that followed.  Do you see a food pattern developing?

We had great fun at the Pirate Party Parents Night Out at church.  You love following the big kids around.  And they all seem to love to "look out for little Kemper".  I do believe your favorite part of the evening was climbing a tree, marshmallow in hand.

We had a very nice Mother's day weekend earlier in the month.  Thank you very much for the Krispy Kreme donut and coffee you and Daddy delivered to me that morning, along with the fabulous chocolates that are currently hidden out of sight in the pantry.  We went to Bedford and spent some time with Beba & Papa and also had dinner with Grams and Papa Bass.  We are so very fortunate to have your grandparents close by.  They adore you so much.

As the weather has gotten warmer we've spent a lot of time at the playground.  You've also become a big fan of walking with the stroller so some evenings we go out after dinner.   You get super excited and jump up and down in front of the car as the stroller gets unfolded.  You also give directions as to where we should go.  Easy for you to say, you aren't the one pushing the stroller. :)

We hear a lot of:
"Mommy, mommy, Mommy!"
"Yes, baby?"
 "Sit. Here."
"Daddy.  DAAAADDDY!"
"Yes, Kempy?"
"Sit.  Here."

New things that you are doing:

The Good: You are learning your ABC's.  You sing Twinkle Twinkle and Wheels on the Bus. You can be pretty agreeable, often times you'll respond to a question with, "Okay!" When I ask you what a Pastor says, you reply "Amen!" And when asked what Hanson says, you appropriately respond, "Mmmbop!"  You make efforts to share and play well with others.  Daddy and I appreciate the stale popcorn and slobbery cookies you hand deliver to us. Quote of the Month: "Come on Sirius, Come play blocks."

The Bad: Last night you were chasing Sirius down the hall with your new shovel.  I keep catching you with your finger up your nose.  You think kicking your legs and wiggling while I am changing your diaper is hilarious (again).  Super hard to discipline you when your laughter is so infectious. Word on the street is you've been pushing some at school.

The Ugly:  First day of being 2....you had a melt down this morning because I closed the bedroom door.  On Saturday you collapsed into a red-faced, sobbing mess because (you needed a nap truly) I wouldn't put your shoes and socks on. But then when I did, you were unsatisfied because I wouldn't put my shoes and socks on.  Yeah, you took a nap promptly after that.   You have had some rough mornings going into school too.  You love your friends but man, Monday mornings are tough.


You are high energy, high laughter, high fun.  You get excited about Minions and Popcorn.  And you gleefully cry "library" when we go to get new books.   We love watching you learn new things! You bring so much happiness into our lives.  Keep doing you, kid.

Love,
Mommy, Mommy, MOOOOMMMY!

T Minus 1 Month

Bear,

Happy 23 Months, Kiddo!  I can't believe you are this close to that magic (and tragic?) age of TWO! I have noticed more in the last few weeks that you are starting to "act your age" on occasion. I was away this week at Montreat for several days and I swear when I had returned your vocabulary and speech had improved, in only a few days! I've gotten a lot of "Hey, Mommy!" and big hugs since I came home.  On Tuesday night you and Daddy had a party and you made new friends. I am glad you all enjoyed your Boys Club.

You've had some fun times in the past few weeks with visits from grandparents at Easter time and also Aunt Whit & Laura last weekend. Uncle Mike Yorg also stayed with us one night and I am pretty sure you believe we brought him in just to be your play mate.  You had some delicious Easter goodies which I wish I could say I ate all of, but you quickly discovered their value.  You also really liked doing a little mini egg hunt in the yard.  For at least a week each time we went outside you would say, "Where eggs?"

You also met your cousin Bridget for the first time a week or so ago! She is exactly six months younger than you.  She and her parents, Andrew and Jessica just moved to Greenville, SC so they are much closer to us than they used to be.  At first you were very skeptical of this little lady running up and hugging you right away, but you warmed up and had a good time.


We've had some tough days with a cold and teething in which food was not appealing at all and sleep was less than restful.  For several days leaving you at school brought tears (yours) and frustration/guilt (mine)  but thankfully you are feeling better and out of that particular stage!

One of the things we have realized as parents is we have no shame talking about poop.  In the car, around the dinner table, there is no sacred space in which your functions are not mentioned.  So, imagine my joy to receive a text from your teacher while at work saying that you "pooped in the potty!"  According to Ms. Becca you said, "I pooped. Eww!"  Is it wrong to praise you for bodily functions?  I hope not, because I just came out of the bathroom and you clapped for me. ;)

You have had a great time going to church with me on Sundays recently.  You have become more comfortable having time to play in the nursery and you really enjoy singing and dancing with the older kids at their gathering time.  Last week you waved and spoke to everyone as you walked into the building like you owned the place.  It feels good to have a child that brings smiles to other people's faces.  Please let it stay this way in the next year (fingers crossed)!

So, as we approach the big T-W-O: keep singing, keep smiling, keep dancing, keep hugging, keep exploring.   You always bring us comfort and happiness when we are sad.  You remind us of our purpose and you help us see the world through new eyes.  We love you.


Kisses! (To which you usually reply, "no, thank you" or "no kisses"

Love,
 "My Mommy"