Samuel had his first shiner recently. You can't tell from this picture, but he sported it proudly. He looked in the mirror early on and said, "Oh, it was purple yesterday and now it's blue". I told him to expect other colors and that it would get back to normal in a few days. He thought lots of colors was going to be pretty cool!Some months ago I promised the kids that if I got a job I would take them to see Toby Mac in concert this summer. I got the job. We saw the show. The kids and I trekked to South Bend to attend the World Pulse Festival, or at least the last quarter of it. The kids made the best of a sticky (due to the heat) situation and bounced their little legs wiggly on the bounce houses in the Kids' Zone. By the time they were done there, Amy Grant was finishing up her 90's set (serious de ja vu for me) and we headed over for the main event. During the show it was determined that
1. Anna enjoys a concert in true Kinnaman fashion. Mostly sitting, a little clapping, and a blank look. She later verbalized that it was "awesome."
2. McKenna is a better dancer than I could ever hope to be. She volunteered to teach me to dance but I think she's already determined me a lost cause. At one point I tried to dance like she was and appropriately, Toby said at that moment, "Stop!" McKenna thought it was because I was dancing. I don't remember the real reason he addressed the crowd like this. Perhaps she was right...
3. A concert is a great place to throw a tantrum. It was super hot and Samuel was probably a little out of his league in terms of endurance requirements for the day. He wavered between having a great time and flailing on the ground having a fit. Due to the loud music, he bothered no one. I hardly even noticed.
Anna is now missing a top tooth. Her smile is adorable, her lisp minimal. She is counting the days until she gets to go to co-op for ballet and PE. (Side note: She called PE "PC" earlier in the summer when we were shopping for new running shoes. When she realized that the correct terminology was "PE" she informed me that it should stand for "play and exercise" instead of "physical education".)
McKenna has new running shoes and thinks they're pretty great. She's confident that she won't come in last in her kindergarten half mile race this fall. :) We've had the it-doesn't-matter-what-place-you-finish-if-you-try-your-best conversation and she thinks that finishing last is OK, but these shoes will ensure that she doesn't. She is reading (er, "guessing the words") very well, even though she claims that she can't read.
Samuel is ornery. No doubt about it. He was, for the second night in a row being quite the pill at bedtime tonight. He knew that he had ignored and disobeyed me. He knew what that brought last night. As he got into his pajamas tonight he told me, "You are the nicest and best mommy. Nicer than the other kid's moms. Nicer than all the kids' moms." Nice comment, for sure. I will remember it always. Half because he then admitted that he said it because he thought it would want to hear it and it would get him out of trouble. Suddenly, bedtime seems like a small issue!
