9 Things

1.  I like her.  She is getting so big and growing so tall.  She measures pretty frequently and last time Josh Kelley said I only had about 1 inch on her.  She will likely be taller than me by summer’s end.  Not too long ago she read The Hate U Give and I’m so glad she read it.  If you asked her, she would likely tell you it is her favorite book.  She’s quick to help with the littles…and sometimes quick to be annoyed by them as well. 😉  She’s witty and fun and asks good questions and she’s always up for a Target trip.  She’s had a babysitting job for several months now, music and art are keys to her heart and every morning when she gets up I’m sure she’s aged by at least 3.5 months.  There’s a reason she’s the leader of this Kelley kid pack and life wouldn’t be as bright without her.  Like I said, I like her.

2.  Soccer season has finished up and we were all sad to see it go.  The big kids are really coming into their own on the field and it’s really fun to watch.  Amon goes all out…all the time…and is 100% here for the snacks and the possibility of nachos from the concession stand.  Winter didn’t play this season because she’s 5 and she’s pretty cool with whatever right now, but she still jumped in on Amon’s warm-ups and insisted on wearing cleats a lot.  Leo ate a lot of snacks.  It’s really fun watching them play and we’re all excited about next season.

3.  Solo time with just Leo and I has come to an end with the start of summer and I’m fairly confident he loves it.  His siblings are his favorite.  Also, Josh gave him a haircut and everyone had very strong feelings about it.  I gasped when I saw him.  Like, GASPED.

4.  These 2!!!!  I just can’t.  So much to say.  So much to love.  So much close sitting for their entire lives.

5.  End of the school year brought on ALL THE THINGS!!!!  Teacher appreciation and ice-cream parties and field trips and class picnics and themed fun days and field day and and and.  All on the exact same day, all within 30 minutes of each other Hudson and Solomon had awards, Harper had awards and Winter had her pre-K program and class picnic.  Josh and I decided to divide and conquer.  It was a really long day and I pushed Leo to his absolute max and in turn he slapped a baby.  Literally, SLAPPED A BABY.  It was mortifying and now a hilarious story to tell.  Leo has sensory issues…does sensory therapy…wears compression shirts…plays with all the sensory toys…weighted blanket…THE WORKS…and he was smiling ear-to-ear when he slapped that baby…poor baby never saw it coming.  When he’s tired he can easily get over stimulated and, well, slap babies.  And I don’t even know how to wrap this story up because now I am just sitting here laughing at the hilariousness of it all.  The end.

  6.  We took Harper, Hudson and Solomon to see Kwame Alexander speak and it was AMAZING!!!!!  He is an incredible author…all the kids have read and loved lots of his books.  We made it a whole night with Taco Bell and ice-cream and Josh and I just can’t get over how much fun our big kids are.  And Kwame Alexendar was so so freakin’ good.  We laughed so much.  I cried.  He is such a good storyteller and we all loved it.  If you get a chance to hear him speak, make it happen!

(Hudson might have a mild obsession with Taco Bell.)

Also, I asked Solomon to take our picture and this is what we got.  I mean, he’s a natural.  Making it my profile pic ASAP.

7.  Winter had a wild few months figuring out some heart stuff.  She has a heart murmur which was discovered over a year ago and deemed “innocent”, but recently has been having some issues.  Our cardiologist discovered a small leak and the girl got to rock a heart rate monitor for over a month.  She’s still got 4 circle outlines on her chest and stomach to prove it. 🙂  In one month’s time we tore through 3 heart monitors…one of which was accidentally dropped into the toilet.  I mean surely this wasn’t the first time a heart rate monitor had fallen off a 5-year-old and into a toilet.  Surely.  We were happy to see the monitor finally go and to get a good report from our cardiologist.  I’ve had the honor of seeing 4 amazing little hearts on the same screen…each one absolutely incredible in its’ own way.

8.  I see rainbows and hearts a lot.  I don’t know if they’ve always been there and I just never noticed them before or if I’m just looking too hard now and therefore see them more often.  Either way, it’s nice to find them in random moments of our days.  Any little reminder of Everett is a good one.  Miss him so much.

And 9.  Sleeping kids…will this ever get old??!??!  I mean, I just really don’t think it will.  For as long as they are falling asleep all adorable and funny like, I will forever photograph them.  Long live sleeping kiddos.

 

9 Comments

  1. renee’ says:

    I also read The Hate U Give ~ LOVED IT. Not going to lie…. I did smile every time she said Black Jesus~ Cracked me up! Y’all have fun this summer! I see rainbows now in everything too! Funny that they have always been there….. we just never knew to look.

  2. Slapped.a.baby.
    You all are my people. I am laughing so hard

  3. Slapped a baby… not funny, but oh so funny

  4. Christa h. says:

    Why does Harper look like a straight up ADULT in the third photo! So gorgeous!

    And I absolutely *felt* the Leo baby slapping story. I totally 100% get that. I have a sensory kid too (HF autism) and I have been in those trenches. Your heart just tumbles outside of your body (via your backside) and your face flames. But later on you just have to sit and laugh and laugh because “what the freaking heck kid! WHY?”

    Love you all. I’m so glad I found you on Instagram years ago when you were waiting for Amon. I read every single blog post and love every Instagram post. I love your raw honesty and ache with your pain and laugh with your joy. Thanks for being you.

  5. Heather Herman says:

    Winter’s face is absolutely beautiful!!! Like I live for it. Leo slapping a baby is a close second. That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard.

  6. Sharron says:

    You can’t tell a baby slapping story and not tell us what the baby’s mom did? I’m dying! Laughing dying! This post was a great end to my day! Thanks!

    • The baby was with his aunt and she was so so gracious to us. She also has kiddos with special needs. Seriously, wish all our encounters were like that one…minus the slapping of the baby. 🙂

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