what?

We went from 102 to 56. I can already feel cold coming on. Gabe went back to school without incident Tuesday. Molly was happy that he was with her again.


I think Molly and Gabe staying up too late is starting to catch up with them. Wednesday was a nightmare of a day.

I think it's cute how Molly and Gabe miss each other. They're in different classrooms. They see each other at breakfast, lunch and recess, but I think that's about it. So instead of falling asleep at bedtime they talk and giggle. It's cute, but they're super moody if they don't get enough sleep. They probably get that from me...

We wait for the bus on our porch. I saw the bus rounding the corner so I told Molly and Gabe to get their backpacks on. Gabe said he didn't want to carry his backpack. As I was telling him that I would carry it to the bus for him. Molly lost it. She started crying about how she HATES naps and she doesn't want to go to school without Gabe. As I try to explain to her that Gabe is going to school the bus pulls up and Gabe starts crying too. Gabe doesn't want to go to school if Molly isn't going. AHHHH! So I told the bus driver that we'd be meeting them at school.
Of course this is the one morning that I haven't showered or nursed Lincoln yet. Great. We rush inside I throw some jeans on quickly nurse Lincoln and then we're off to school. I stayed through breakfast and then walked them to their rooms and helped them put their backpacks, coats and lunch boxes away.

It was kind of nice getting to meet a few more kids. I met Jasmine. Jasmine is in Gabe's class, but Molly really likes her and actually talks about her. Jasmine had on a dress with some fancy tights and little high heel shoes. Seriously the girl looked like Fancy Nancy. It was obvious right away why Molly would choose to be her friend. Adorable.

I left school around 10:45 and had a quick errand to run. Luckily I was showered and ready by 1:00 when Miss B arrived. (I watch a friends little girl a few afternoons a week) Lincoln and B were napping when I got a call from Gabe's teacher around 2:40 telling me that Gabe was hysterical. He was rolling around on the cot and the floor holding his stomach screaming and crying. His teacher knew about what happened the week before and thought he needed to go to the bathroom. I strapped a car seat in the van for B, woke everyone up and we went to pick up Gabe. Gabe's teacher was right. He needed to use the bathroom so once at home everything was alright. But trying to sign Gabe out of school with Lincoln in the stroller and Miss B (14 months) trying to run away from me was crazy. Holy Cow bedtime could not come fast enough. I was ready to put that day behind us.

Thursday was perfect.
and yes in case you are wondering I have taken pictures of Molly and Gabe everyday before they leave for school ;). I am that mom.

Look at this adorable little man. I could just eat him up. He's getting up on his hands and knees on the floor now. He's barely 6 months! I think the saddest thing is when he does it in his crib and he gets his face smashed against the bars. He has no idea how to fix that so he screams until someone comes to the rescue. He really is the best little guy.

Welcome September!

Thursday (Sept 1) it was 100 degrees! what a way to end the first week of preschool.

Friday was 102, so we decided to make snow flakes?
we love scissors and making messes, but mainly scissors!

Lincoln has been getting up on his hands and knees. So far he's only been doing it on soft surfaces. crib, couch, my bed. Drew thinks that I'm going to need more to fill my time so here he is working with Lincoln on the carpet.
Love it that Gabe is using his snowflake like a mask.

Suzie called and said that she was going to stop in for the weekend. It gave us the proper motivation to finish painting the toy area of the basement. :) Now we need some baseboards. Good bye ugly brown paneling! Well almost we have the small wall that the computer is on and the stairway left to paint, but we're almost there.
I have two more large picture frames to hang on the long wall. I was thinking about using some chalkboard paint and turning the frames into chalkboards. I think it would be fun to have ever changing artwork displayed. Or I could just frame more of their art and call it good...

Suzie brought Z and E with her. Molly and Gabe always have fun when cousins come. We stayed pretty close to home just because Drew and I are still paranoid about Gabe. We did however carve out some time to go to Kart Kountry. I think it was the first time that E was speechless. I asked him a few questions while I was driving and all I got were "yes" and "no" answers if I got a response at all. It was very unusual. E is usually quite the chatterbox. :) It was a nice weekend that I sadly got no pictures of.

more preschool and stuff

Molly home from her second day of school. The first thing she went for was the remote. I think she's going through TV with drawls... I didn't think she watched that much, but I like to unwind with the TV too.

We also found out that Molly didn't lose her water bottle on the bus and/or Madison didn't take it. Molly left it in her classroom. Which makes me feel better.

Instead of sporting a watch Gabe's sporting a hospital band and a superstar patient sticker. He really missed going to school with Molly.Day 3."I'm going for a run before the bus get here. k."Gabe didn't go to school yesterday or today and he won't be there tomorrow and maybe next week... Little man has been scaring me and Drew. We went to children's hospital tonight so I'm assuming we were talking with one of the best surgeons in the area, but I'm not exactly sure how you can say that a boy who goes #2 usually 2* a day is constipated. Gabe has been diagnosed with rectal prolapse. gross. disgusting. I'm hoping that no one else has or will have any experience with this. But we're told that with a high fiber diet and lots of liquids that it should correct itself within the next 2 weeks. The surgeon said that his odds of needing surgery to correct the problem are 1% but I'm still freaked out about the whole thing. Send prayers and happy thoughts Gabe's way.

My chicks

have flown the coop...

Today was the first day of preschool.

(No uniforms. I made a slightly humiliating mistake. Which I can't really share on our public blog... I feel bad about sending my mother in law on a wild goose chase. Sorry Suzie!)

Molly and Gabe about a half hour or so before the bus came.

Gabe likes to mimic Drew. He told me "I goin for a run" as we waited for the bus.

They did so well. No tears just excitement. I met Molly and Gabe at school. I wanted to make sure all of their papers got to the right people. I also had a few questions. And of course I wanted to check on them and make sure the bus ride had gone well. Watching them lining up and following all of their teachers directions made me really proud of them. They'd just randomly look at me, give me a big smile and a little wave. They're so big.

I was asked if I was nervous for them. And I really wasn't. I knew that they were ready and they would be fine, but I was really sad. I've spent almost everyday of their lives with them. Now 4 days a week they'll be gone more than they're home. :( But they loved it. They're excited to go back tomorrow. The first things that Gabe told me "I don't have a slide. but I have balls. Lots and lots. I have lots of new friends." I asked how many new friends? He threw his arms in the air and said very proud "TWO!" Love it. Molly started crying as we walked inside. She said she sat by Madison on the bus and Madison took her water bottle. Hopefully we aren't starting any drama yet. They're too little.

outside time

Suzie came to visit a couple weeks. Before she left she decided to replenish the kids sand box.
Gabe was thrilled about the sand. He played in it for probably an hour when he realized it wasn't coming off his hands and had a melt down...
Molly building a castle.

In my attempt to calm Gabe and keep him outside a bit longer we decided to play in the sprinkler.

Who knew skipping a week of cutting the grass would be such a mess? It really didn't look long, but it was. The mower shut down on me a couple times. boo. Anyway the sprinkler was messier than the sand.

This is our first year gardening. We planted late so we decided to just plant 3 things.
zucchini. green peppers. tomatoes.
I've learned a few things. Did you know that your ground can be low in calcium? My zucchini kept growing about 6 inches long and then rotting. I mentioned that to my sister who informed me that if your soil is lacking calcium the flower won't fall off causing your plants to rot. I had no idea.
(Look at Gabe's watch. A couple weeks ago we were in Target. I was looking at the clearance bins in the jewelry section. Gabe saw a watch and asked if he could try it on. He then asked in the cutest most sincere Gabe voice "Mom I please have this watch? I take it home with me? I really like this watch." I told him it was a girl watch. He proceeded to ask if he could have a boy watch. I told him that we could look. Wouldn't you know they had a WWF watch for $1.74 The price was right so I told Gabe he could have the watch with the "strong man" on it. I thought he would wear it for a couple of days and then it would get lost in the bottom of the toy box with so many other toys. To my surprise Gabe has worn his watch everyday for the past couple weeks. He's so proud of it. He shows it to everyone. "See this is my watch. What time is it?" He carefully takes it off and puts it in the same place every night. It's adorable. )

I also learned that 9 tomato plants might be too many. I've been picking between 8-12 tomatoes a day.

summer is ending...

Monday Drew starts teaching again. (even though we haven't really seen him the past 2 weeks... lots of meeting/trainings/prep etc LAME) Then in a couple weeks Molly and Gabe start pre-school! Everyday Molly talks about how excited she is. She keeps telling me that she's going to be so brave just like her friends Jimmy and Olivia. Gabe is excited too, but I think it's mainly because Molly is bursting and he gets to go too. I have mixed emotions. I guess it's because I'm their mom and am always with them, but mainly I just hope that the other kids are nice to them. I also hope that they talk to the other kids. :)

The pros
*Drew can see their school from his office window.
*Molly and Gabe are super excited about taking the bus. (only pre-k kids on their bus and maybe a 2 mile bus ride)
*Molly and Gabe will be able to make friends. (no little kids on our street)
*They will be in the same class which I think will make for a nice transition.
*It's a uniform school, but not a very strict one. They can wear any solid color polo. Yay for being able to wear pink! Although Molly is so excited I think she'd wear anything.
The Cons
*Buying the kids with endless amounts of clothes: more clothes.
*Only closed toed shoes and no crocs. What is Gabe going to wear? :)
*Khaki pants, but no corduroy (love cords)
*Lastly they will be gone M-Th ALL DAY. They start just after 9:30 and get out at 4:15.

I won't have any excuses for falling behind on housework. I'm looking forward to this milestone. I know that Molly and Gabe will love it. It will also give me lots of quality time with Mr Lincoln, who started rolling from his back to his tummy today. We're growing up fast in the Wilkerson home.

dum dum da dum

This past weekend we ventured out to Tomah, Wisconsin for a friends wedding. We stayed at the Cranberry Country Lodge. I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to get a room at the Lodge where the reception was held. Who knew we needed to call over a month ahead? So even though we didn't get an indoor/outdoor water park we did get an aquatics center at our hotel. Molly and Gabe LOVED it, Lincoln had no complaints. This little pool in the picture was 3 inches deep in some areas and went up to 15 inches. Perfect for Molly and Gabe. There were 2 other pools. One had basketball hoops and a volleyball net. The other pool was smaller and warm. There was also a huge hot tub, but our family is too young for that.

This picture is from the first night. We played for a few hours before we ate dinner. Drew, Molly and Gabe swam a bit Saturday morning before the wedding festivities began and then we swam again before we checked out Sunday morning. Molly kept saying "Mom this is so fun I've never been to a hotel before." While not true I'm sure she doesn't remember the last time she was at a hotel.I'm sad that I forgot to bring my camera to the church. The church was way out in the country by Stephanie's parents farm. It was beautiful. Just what I was expecting. Fields everywhere with a pretty white church with a huge steeple. Beautiful. Gabe: "Look at those windows they beautiful" talking about all the stained glass.

I remembered my camera for the reception.

Once the music started this girl was in all her glory.

Molly jumping and twirling on the dance floor. She was "SO EXCITED" to wear this dress and her high heels. I think she has showed her dress to everyone who has walked through our door the past couple months. "This is my wedding dress. I can't wear it until Eric's wedding... It's my wedding dress. Do you want me to try it on? Please. I so excited."

Another highlight for Molly was getting to dance with Eric. Gabe showing Stephanie his little man.

Drew with all of his grad school friends. A bunch of guys that he really misses. It was nice getting to catch up. I think we're already planning a trip to hang out with all of them next summer. Hopefully all the open house invitations were for real. :)