William's first day of kindergarten

Chapter 1
My first day of kindergarten was fun! I learned my numbers, which I already know. And I learned my alphabet, which I already know. AND I played a game, a ball game where you roll the ball to someone and they say their name. That game is called "Name Ball." The End.

Chapter 2
I had chapel at my school - part school and part church! We learned that Jesus is our friend. We sang songs at chapel. And everybody who had a birthday on August got to stand up in a line in front of the group and get a pencil. The End.

Chapter 3
At chapel we said one Prayer. The End.

Chapter 4
After chapel we goed back to my school room and then we goed back out of my school room and we goed outside and played on the playground but first we had to wait behind the red line which was the safety line and we waited for cars to pass and we saw there was no cars. We crossed to the door of the gate to the playground and we played, played, played! The End.

Happy Birthday to you!

Five years ago I gave birth to this big boy who was big even then. It's been a blast being his mom and I look forward to the years to come, a whole new adventure now that he's starting school.

We've been trying to make today a very special day for him despite the busy-ness of a typical Thursday in our household, with the addition of vacation bible school. Several "Happy Birthday" songs and a few candles can make any day great. But the best was the first present he opened, a transformer that he's been wanting all summer! That should keep him entertained until he gets to dinner at Chuck E Cheese (shhh... it's still a secret). He's been asking to go there for the longest time. Today was the perfect opportunity since Darren's in the cities for work and I have to go to Maple Grove to meet some friends for dinner! As luck would have it, this also coincided with his birthday! It sure seems meant to be!

Sunday we will put his aunts, uncles and grandparents through the paces during his Survivor themed birthday party. He's been planning the challenges all year, so it should be fun! We'll see if they'll indulge us with some pictures :)

Playing with William's CD player

Today Mom and I brought William to vacation bible school in the morning. Then we came home for some breakfast. It was very quiet without William here. Mom said this is what it's going to be like most mornings now, since William starts kindergarten next week. Don't tell William, but I played in his room while he was gone. Actually, he's very nice about sharing his toys, as long as he isn't working on a project that I might wreck. And I usually don't mind too much when he shuts the door, as long as he doesn't have my blankie in there with him! Today Mom and I did some chores around the house and then ran some errands. When we got back to the school to get William, I was very excited! I missed him while he was there. But I still had to kick and hit him when he got too close to the shopping cart at the store. You've got to keep those brothers in line!

Chapter 1
I had a doctor's appointment and I thought I wouldn't get a shot because I think shots hurt. But I got 4 shots alright. And they for sure hurted. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 2
My doctor's appointment even got to weigh me by the wall. And I feeled something touching my head. And I was 44 1/2 inches (82%) and I was 45 pounds (78%). The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 3
My doctor's appointment, just after a shot, I got to do a funny thing - pee into a cup! The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 4
And I got to get another poke to get some blood out of me. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 5
And on my shots the nurses said "One, two, three, blow the pinwheel!" The end. That's a true story.

That's all the chapters.

The itsy bitsy spider

Chapter 1
We went to the zoo and I played on Woodland Adventure playground. And I saw a very funny thing - a spiderweb that I could play on! And I was the itsy bitsy spider! The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 2
We saw the wolves at the zoo. And we saw a MOMMY ONE. And it was lying by a tree looking at us. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 3
We saw a silly zebra and it was rolling in the dirt. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 4
We saw the ostriches and they were walking around. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 5
We saw a ostrich egg that had a hole in it that somebody drilled in it. The end. That's a true story.

Chapter 1
I think Eliana is gonna take all the kleenexes out of the tissue box.
I'm gonna sell a garage sale.
Mom's gonna most likely wash the dishes.
And Dad's mostly going to wash the dishes.

The End. That's a true story.

Chapter 2
Mom's gonna wash the dishes and Dad's gonna wash the dishes, too.

The End. That's a true story.

Eliana had a bit of a runny nose

And I think I must be growing
Oh, I know I'm really growing

Bringing Mom the kleenexes - so helpful!

My mom says, Yes I'm growing
And now I know it's true

-Raffi

I thought I'd share a few cute stories about my day.

You may know that I have a thing about shoes. But you may NOT know that I not only enjoy having my shoes on, but I also enjoy taking them off. Mommy has finally started putting me in my car seat without shoes, since she and William are otherwise chasing around the van for them after I've tossed them. Well, today I woke up especially early from my nap just so I could go school shopping with William and Mommy at Target. And somewhere between the cracker aisle and the school supply aisle I started repeating "oooo gah," "oooo gah." Finally William interpreted for me, "Her shoe's gone!" Mommy immediately looked back the way we came. But my brother, in all his wisdom, looked underneath the cart and there it was, sitting in the rack. Maybe next time Mommy will understand what I'm saying when I say "ooo gah!"

When we returned home, Mommy and William labeled all his school supplies. I really, really wanted to use those new markers! But I got old ones instead. And some paper - I do TRY to stay on the paper. And I got out the stickers because I LOVE stickers! Here's my finished artwork:

Artwork by Eliana, age 18 months

Another fun pastime of mine is washing. At dinner tonight I stole Mommy's napkin and used it to wash my face, blow my nose, and then wipe off my tray. I'm so helpful!

Intently washing

After dinner we played outside. Belle got a new gentle leader, so she went for a whole entire walk with us! When we got back, I wanted a turn to wear the leash. William and I like to have it clipped it to our shirt collar while someone "walks" us, so we can show how well we can heel too.

Then it was time for pajamas. William suggested a race to see who could put their pajamas on more quickly. Usually he beats me at this event. But tonight he had some trouble with a pant leg that was inside out and before you know it, I won! I clapped for myself when I won, but William cried. I tried patting him very nice, but that didn't make him happy. So I went and found my special blankie to make him feel better. He didn't want it, but he was very thankful for the offer. He said he had his own blanket. But really, it's not as special as mine.

Loving the blankie and nuk

I love my blankie. And my nuk. I've had them out of my bed more often lately because Mommy feels sorry for me with my eye teeth coming in. One of them has poked through now, so hopefully the rest will follow soon and this teething pain will be over. But those are my best cute stories from today. I hope you enjoyed them!

Cousins

We had all 9 of the McKeever grandkids in one spot this morning. It was a very special event. Dawn and her family are living in Nebraska right now while Leah and her kids are in Arkansas. But Dawn and Leah both happened to bring their kids to Minnesota this weekend, as luck would have it. So we took the opportunity to get all the cousins sitting in one spot for few minutes to snap some photos. And after pictures we sat them all down in the kitchen for some blueberry pancakes. It was a grand adventure and a big success! As further demonstration of how well it went, I'll tell you that our happy-go-lucky little camera lover definitely earned the tough cookie award for the day! Enjoy the photos!

The king and queen of Genovia, just married

We had lots of samples at Sam's Club. The End. That's a true story.

Faith and Parker had a sleepover at our house. And Faithy got to sleep on my top bunk and we talked a really lot. And I got to sleep on Faithy's bunk on top and talk until Auntie Leah came up to tell us to stop talking. Parker slept in Eliana's crib. And Eliana slept in Mom's room in her pack and play. And Mom slept in her room. Leah slept in Eliana's room where Parker slept. In the morning, there was King and Queen of Genovia. And me, William, was the king, the queen's husband. And Faithy was the queen, my wife. The End. The true stories are true.