Dear Kortland,

You are such an amazing big brother.
Tennyson thinks you're the greatest thing since disposable diapers.
We think you're pretty great too.



Thanks for always including him.
{Like letting him brush his teeth with your electric Sponge-bob toothbrush}
For making him laugh, and for making him feel special {and big}.



You're just a great kid, Mr. Kortland...



Now for the love of everything holy, go eat a doughnut or something and get some meat on those legs before DCFS decides to conduct an investigation!

Xo,

Yer mom.

Dearest Friends,

Did you know that Kortland is going to be in his school spelling bee next week? He is. And he's already envisioning the big win, talking about the trophy that he imagines will come with the big win, and is probably even making a game plan for juggling all of the cute groupies that inevitably sprout up around awesome local spellers.


He participated in the 3rd grade spelling bee a few weeks ago, and made the final 8, and thus was "qualified" to compete in the school spelling bee. I was SO NERVOUS while watching him at his 3rd grade bee! Like, embarrassingly nervous. I'm such a stage mom - ugh! I'm thinking I should possibly see a therapist. I suspect I am suffering from some post traumatic bee syndrome dating back to my own third grade spelling bee. Because, well, I have regrets. {Ha ha! Yeah, I said it.}


So now I find that I am totally drill-sergeant-ing Kort about practicing. I also spent HOURS making and organizing flash cards with 450 spelling bee words on them. {Yup.}

I counted how many days we had until the bee, divided that number into 450, and found that we'd need to do16 words a day.

I then divided the word cards into piles of 16 a piece, making sure to blend "easy" and "hard" words evenly so as to balance out the study time. {Yes this is all true. Embarrassing, and true.}

What I DIDN'T take into account was the fact that Kort would get a new iphone game called plants vs. zombies {What? We start 'em young in their zombie apocalypse preparation.}and that he would become totally obsessed with it, and therefore have little to no desire to study spelling bee words.
Not even JUST 16 of them a day.
Not even just 5
Not even any.
Not ANY I tell you!!!!

I kind of had a mini-panic attack watching as each days' worth of cards piled up on my desk, unused. I really tried to motivate Kort to action, but the hubs started looking at me like I was a shoe-in for a new TLC reality t.v. show titled "Bee Moms" {and no, that's not really a show, and yes I just made it up, however, I now get the sneaky suspicion that such a show will probably spring up on TLC within the next season or two...and they probably won't even give me my fair cut.}.

So, I was forced {by means of passively-judgmental glances via the hub-a-lubs himself}to give it up.

I stopped hounding him.
And I stopped worrying about it.
And I feel much better.

I mean, Kort is a pretty great speller and all, but his talents have clearly developed more fully in the area of green thumbery and zombie slaughter,which I think is going to be infinitely more useful in the long run, don't you?

I mean, have you ever heard of anyone SPELLING a rabid zombie to death?
That's what I thought.

Xo,
Lola

Today, I am hoping that Kort will always love his little brother as much as he does right now.

Even when Tennyson assumes the role of the world's most relentless shadow.
Even when Tennyson tattles on him,
Or takes his stuff without asking...
Or breaks his stuff on accident...
Or (if he's anything like us Blackwells) on purpose.
Even when Tennyson colors on his walls,
Hogs the TV,
Or flings food at him from across the table...

It may be a long shot, but a mother can dream...right?


What are you doing today? The ladies at communal global want to know - so link up and share!

soccer and such.

Well, we took a huge leap of faith a few weeks ago and did something that we weren't sure we would ever do again after "last time." Yup, we signed Kort up for soccer. Now, you may find yourself saying "What's the big deal, Lola? It's just soccer." Well I'll tell you.

Last time we did the soccer thing, it seems that his over-zealous mama thought it would b e a good idea to sign him up as early as humanly possible (you know, so he could get a "head start" developing all that talent we parents are so absolutely positive our offspring are literally dripping with). And the earliest they would let him sign up was, um, age 3. Did you hear that right? THREE. Do you want to know what a three year old wants to do with his days? Well, I'll tell you.

{HINT: IT DOES NOT INCLUDE SOCCER.}

He wants to play with his friends and eat treats, and make faces at the camera.

He wants to catch bugs in the back yard {and does NOT take kindly to his meddling parents dragging him away from such important work in order for him to participate in a practice for an organized sport.}

He wants to make MORE faces for the camera.

He wants to have the ball the whole time and kick lots of goals. He DOES NOT, however, want other people to steal the ball from him...or to keep him from getting "a turn" to kick the ball...

When kids decide to go ahead and take the ball anyway,
he cries (like, a lot)
and stomps off the field
(like, just the way his drama-mama would have done -okay, and DID- back in the dzay)
Then he says he doesn't want to play.
He makes grass piles instead.
And does a lot of this:

And this:

Then some more of this:

And when he is all tuckered out from grass-pile-building and incessant butt-rocking,
he does this:

and this:

It was ridiculous (and sort of hilariously wonderful...I'm not gonna lie.) So, over the past 3 (almost 4) years, we have dropped the whole "head start mumbo jumbo crap" and just let him do his thang. He started playing soccer every day at school last year, and he was the one who asked to sign up this time around... and he is on a team with lot of kids he knows and loves... and a dear friend of ours is coaching his team...and he's going to be SEVEN instead of three... so, the odds are stacked in our favor this time around. Wish us luck!
I hope he'll be excited to go to practice.
I hope he'll be a good sport.
I hope he'll try hard.
I hope he'll listen to his coach and actually play some soccer
rather than show up to build grass piles and polish off juice boxes...
I hope that things are really different this time around...
But I also hope some things never change.

For example, I really hope he'll still take time out of all that serious soccer playing
to wink at his mama every now and again.

tub party.

K, honestly, this is joy in a bottle for me.

Please enjoy

every frame

every f.a.c.e.

and

EVERY MOMENT

captured in these shots.

I know I will...

(again, and again, and again...)

Chicken bone... and a well trained funny bone.

The hubs: "Woah babe, look at how he polished that off!"

Lola: "Good Job bud! You're gonna grow really big and tall

if you keep eating like that! Hold it up and I'll take a picture.

Smile!"

This is all I got.

(...and after much coaxing,

he still wouldn't smile, so I set the camera

down and went to work.)

Cheese!

(Nope.)

Lola: "Don't smile... don't you dare smi-le... not even a li----ttle bit!"

(Still nothing.)

Lola: "I mean it. Don't laugh. Doooon't laugh! Don't you do it!"
(He's setting a new world record! He never lasts this long!)

"No smiling!

No smiling at this table!

None I tell ya!

I'll have none of it!"

Ohp, starting to crack!

There it is!

Bear.

Some of Aspen Grove's fabulous new additions this year were bronze animal statues all over the main courtyard. Kortland loved climbing on them, and I loved having new points of reference by which to define his general whereabouts.

"I'll be over by the turtles!"

or

"I'll meet you by the bear!"

I must say, they have proven to be very convenient...

...except, of course, for when they try to eat him.

But all in all, I have to say: "Well done, Aspen Grove, well done indeed."

beehive.

"Mom! Come quick!

... and bring your camera!"

for a five year old bug lover,

this is the basic equivalent of a celebrity sighting

smile coaching.

So, Kort wanted me to take a picture of him with all of the "treasures" he'd found on our walk, and Kyle noticed that this smile was a bit unnatural.

so he decided to coach him into a more... natural grin.

(which went over really, really well.)

ah, there it is.

oh, and please be sure to fully appreciate the "Vanna hand" that he has goin' on in

every. single. frame.