Three Things

Happy Thursday!

Here are three things about each member of the Kissel Family.

1. Lucy Belle loves to read! She actually got flagged as needing a little extra help with her words at school, and she loves getting the extra help with the reading specialist! It makes my mama heart so happy to see her sit down with a book and insist on reading it to us . . . no matter how long it might take! We can see her applying the strategies she’s learning in school, and we’re so proud!
2. Gymnastics, gymnastics, gymnastics . . . that’s all Lucy wants to do. If there’s a piece of furniture around, she’s flipping over it. If there’s a wall around, she’s doing handstands. She has an hour and a half class on Wednesdays, and she wishes that it was longer. I “think” Santa is going to be bringing a gymnastics bar for our basement, which could be a blessing or a curse!
3. Our sweet little girl is having MAJOR trouble listening at home. You know how teachers say that some kids expend so much energy focusing and listening at school that they just lose it when they get home? That is 100% Lucy. She got such a glowing review from her teacher at conferences about how well she listens and how helpful she is (which is great!), but we need THAT Lucy at home as well!

1. Emily Rose is our little shadow. If she’s not following me around during the day, she’s checking in on Matty to see what he’s up to. She is ALWAYS ready to lend a hand, whether I’m chopping up veggies for beef stew or cleaning one of the toilets! I love having my little helper around, but those 9 hours a week when she’s at school are also great because I can get chores done so much faster 😉
2. Aggressive Snuggler Alert! Emily is MUCH more into snuggling with me than Lucy is. She’s always asking me to snuggle with her, and it breaks my heart when I have to say no sometimes. At bedtime I’ll lean down to give her a kiss, and she’ll wrap her arms around me and tell me she’s never going to stop hugging me. Um, ok!!! She’s also been known to wake me up in the middle of the night to hold her hand and snuggle with her while she falls back asleep. Cute . . . but not at 2am!
3. Emily is in a major negotiation/ultimatum phase, and I really need her to get out of it! I can’t ask her to do anything without her giving me a counter offer or telling me she needs “just two more minutes.” Or I’ll ask her to put her clothes in her laundry basket and she’ll saying something like, “I’ll only do that if you play a round of Guess Who with me.” Um, no m’am, that’s not how things work around here!

1. Matty: Sadly, grass and golf season are coming to an end which means Matty will be starting his indoor to-do list soon. First on the list is lots of painting, and I can’t wait for him to get started!
2. Molly: I’m feeling a little guilty about my lack of Halloween spirit this year. It’s too late to redeem myself now, so I’m eager for Halloween to be over so I can pull it together for the holiday season. The Christmas season makes everything better!
3. Penelope Pudding: She’s still the greatest dog of all time! She got a bad haircut at the groomer, and we are anxiously awaiting her fur to grow back! She gives Emily a run for her money in the snuggle department lately, and she’s been known to push her way under my arm and on to my lap . . . which I love! She also keeps an eye on me wherever I go . . . see picture below!

We’ve got a big Halloween weekend ahead of us. Here’s hoping there’s no rain for trick-or-treating!

Happy Halloween!

XOXO