The Prattfall

Spidey Skate

2012-02-10T23:24:00.001-06:00

Toby's episode five

2012-02-10T19:37:00.001-06:00

Lunch date with daddy at Chuy's

2012-02-01T13:37:00.001-06:00

Taken at Chuy's Round Rock

Omelettry

2012-01-14T11:53:00.001-06:00

Taken at Omelettry

Chocolate 26th

2011-12-26T14:48:00.001-06:00

Down by the county line

2011-12-21T19:16:00.001-06:00

Downtown ATX

2011-12-18T13:46:00.001-06:00

Black Friday partner in crime at IHOP

2011-11-25T07:25:00.001-06:00

Reading is best done in the sunshine

2011-11-19T12:03:00.001-06:00

Lizzie's bike race

2011-11-13T09:25:00.001-06:00

Liz and her friend Kim went on a 60 mile bike race yesterday. They had a great time! Winds were very strong so it took a while. The kids and I met them at the finish line.

The ride was called the Wurst ride, so true to form they had beers and brats at the finish line. I'm very proud of Lizzie for taking on this challenge!

Lazy days

2011-11-06T11:12:00.001-06:00

The Chase

2011-10-02T13:05:00.001-05:00

The Chase, a photo by PrattATX on Flickr.

With his new cape attached, Toby escapes the car chasing gang led by Caitlyn.

Partner in crime

2011-10-01T17:05:00.000-05:00

Toby picked out his Halloween costume today. He loves Robin. He does it well! He was twirling his bat boomerang all around the store. He is very happy to be back in a cape.

No training wheels

2011-09-23T19:06:00.001-05:00

view full image

"This one requires no training wheels!"

Spidey metal

2011-09-23T18:52:00.001-05:00

Ready to go

2011-09-15T10:28:00.001-05:00

Toby James

2011-09-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

Water girl

2011-09-08T22:53:00.001-05:00

This girl really loves her tubing! We went on the boat labor day weekend and Caitlyn got on the tube first thing. She has no fear! And lots of pride, too. She does *not* like to fall off. I wonder where she got that from!

Lizzie teaches Caitlyn to sew

2011-07-11T21:56:00.001-05:00

Caitlyn learns to sew from her mom.

Ohio 2011

2011-07-11T21:25:00.001-05:00

Ohio 2011, a set on Flickr.

We had a wonderful trip to Ohio to visit GG, Nana and Bub! Here are the photos. Enjoy!

Sunset Tree

2011-05-19T20:08:00.001-05:00

Sunset Tree, a photo by PrattATX on Flickr.

This is my Toby Bear climbing a tree. He is growing up so fast.

Gift

2011-05-10T22:32:00.001-05:00

Gift, a photo by PrattATX on Flickr.

Caitlyn made a mother's day card for her mom. When I took this photo, I realized that she has the look that steals my breath away! She's my beautiful little girl.

Via Flickr:
She colored a card for her mom.

Caitlyn at Olivia's birthday

2011-04-26T17:05:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Sea World Adventure!

2011-04-23T11:30:00.000-05:00

We brought the kids and their cousins to Sea World Yesterday. Caitlyn decided she wants to be a scientist. Toby and William want to feed the sharks. Madelyn wants to know what plants live in the water with the penguins. Such wonder in these kids eyes!

Lizzie in the Springtime

2011-04-12T22:00:00.000-05:00

As always, she's looking fantastic! We were sitting on the back porch this past weekend with a few friends. I snapped a few photos to share with everyone. Here is one with Lizzie. Over to the right, in the slideshow list, there should be two new slideshows. One with pics from the lazy Friday evening with friends. The other has photos of Toby's fabulous soccer game from this past weekend. He's got quite a bit of hustle in him!

Kids watching movies

2011-04-08T22:21:00.001-05:00

Friends are over tonight. So we are watching a classic to calm down. Kung Fu Panda!!!

Playing tonight

2011-03-18T22:26:00.001-05:00

Liz and I stayed home tonight and stayed with the kids. Toby played legoes and caitlyn wrote us stories.
It was an excellent night.

Shelby!

2011-02-15T20:47:00.001-06:00

This is Shelby! She is our beautiful new puppy. We love her dearly. She is teeny tiny weighing in at only 3 pounds. She is a Maltipoo. She is sleeping in my lap as I write this post.

Toby's Victory

2011-02-15T20:46:00.001-06:00

We returned to Great Wolf Lodge this weekend. Toby turned four and, to celebrate, we decided some water slide action was in store for us. We went on almost all of the slides that the kids were tall enough for. Toby needs one more inch and he gets to go on all but the biggest two slides! Liz also planned the most amazing adventure to Midevil Times Mansion where knights in shinning armor do (mock) jousting and sword fighting. It reminded me of when Liz' dad first met me, he asked me what I thought was the most dangerous sport. With no delay, I responded Jousting! He told me he was thinking of horse cart trotting. Well, our knight won the tournament and threw Caitlyn the first flower! She was exstatic, and so was Toby. Toby got a new sword! He definatley knows how to handle a sword now. Victory!

Snow days in Texas!

2011-02-04T22:55:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful snow day here in sunny Texas. Kids made some snowballs, a snow man and some snow angels. Definitely a fun day! no school at all, even though it only snowed half an inch or so. We sat by the fire a good part of the day, and ended it over a friends house for a pizza party.

Puppy time!

2011-01-25T13:45:00.001-06:00

We are getting geared up to get our puppy. Liz coordinated with a maltipoo breeder in Dallas. We will be headed up there for Toby's birthday so will pick up the puppy then. The kids are ao excited! I'm worried we might get two :)

Cousins Playing Thanksgiving 2010 in Ohio

2010-11-28T09:24:00.001-06:00

Toby loves his camo

2010-11-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

You know what is so cute? Toby loves his swords, his camo and to hit and punch and jump only to say it was an accident. with pure innocence. but sometimes he likes to dress up.like a girl. he sometimes puts on catie's dresses and plays make believe. that is pretty rare - i can only think of 2 or 3 times he did that at home. I know at his old day care they let the boys dress up all the time. they loved it. anyways, last night toby wanted to wear caitlyn's princess and the frog nightgown. he loves that frog movie and for some reason disney doesnt have boy pjs associated with it. whatever. anyways, he said, 'guess what mom? tonight i'm going to dress in princess pajamas. and he had his impish grin on like he knew he was about to get away with something. SO i helped him get the pjs on and we was so happy. he loved wearing it and did somersaults off the ottoman onto the floor in it. and this morning he refused to take it off. i had to put his clothes on over top of it. james said he had to take it off for school - no pjs at school. it will be interesting to see if he wants to wear it again tonight or if he will opt for batman or 'fireman'. It's interesting because in the news (cnn.com) there has been a huge debate about boys in cstume because a mom let her son dress as daphne from scooby do for Halloween. he was gung ho then became shy because he thought he might get teased but the mom told her son to go for it as she had already spent the money and there wasnt time to get anything else. so he rocked it and other parents were rude and appalled. girls can be anythign and do anything - boys should be given the same courtesy.

Happiness is a box

2010-11-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

The kids were painters this fine day. They love painting!

The cuteness in overload

2010-11-05T11:39:00.000-05:00

My sweet kids loved visiting a friends house - but it was the dog house and the TREEhouse they LOVEDLOVEDLOVED. Awesome. This picture is of 4 little kids inside the dog house, er, dog igloo. Can you tell Toby is in heaven? What is it about little spaces and kids? Adorable!

cOMMUNITY hELPER pARADE

2010-10-28T11:15:00.002-05:00

So I wasnt even going to stay but I am so glad I did. Today the kindergartners went on parade! They did not dres sup for halloween but as community helpers. Tons of police men, vets, drs, nurses, and firefighters...but Caitlyn was the only GAME WARDEN!!!! Yes, even mrs. litton told me she loved caitlyn's outfit and that she was the first game warden ever. Caitlyn was dressed in her fishing vest and we taped on a game warden badge and game warden patches and flag patches to her 'costume'. She was super cute. Why a game warden? Well, she wanted to be someone who protects the animals and fish in the forests and lakes. She had binoculars to scope them out (yes i totally unwound a roll of toilet paper to make those because i didnt have any empty rolls handy) and she had a pad and pen to write out tickets to people who were making bad choices in the wild. I love her so! She is just so adorable!

Sweetberry Farm

2010-10-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

From 2010-10-24

We had the best time at sweetberry farms riding horses painting pumkins! Eating pumpkin and berry ice cream! What a great time! CHeckout our pictures if you havent already!

Weekend recap!

2010-10-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful weekend of outdoor activities! Checkout pictures from the Halloween party and the big game! We were so happy and so busy!

The ladies ready for the Longhorns game

2010-10-24T18:19:00.000-05:00

Cactus Ranch Cookout

2010-10-22T11:11:00.003-05:00

James visited Caitlyn for lunch today. She was thrilled. I had to work/take a conference call during lunch time so I missed out but as you can see Caitlyn is so happy to see James. He was quite the celebrity!

WHere does the sweetness come from???

2010-10-20T17:25:00.000-05:00

Today Caitlyn requested we buy toby a present. I have no idea why. it was really important to her. There is a 7/11 near tobys school so we drove to the store and she went down every aisle. she wanted to get him a blue pumpkin lollipop. toby would have loved that - she knows him well. but we couldnt find any. she settled for a plush kitty cat but that was $5.99 and she only had 8 quarters in her change purse. Yes, I made her use her own money to buy toby a present. she looked at all the candies and sweets and treats and settled for a 6 pack of halloween pencils for $1.69. I can not believe it. she put them on the counter, dumped her money, took her change, put it back in her change pouch, then demanded we go home and wrap the present. COuldnt we just hide it from toby and secretly wrap it? No. She was adamant about going home first. so we passed his school and wrapped the pencils up - yes i had to open a new roll of wrapping paper because pink dora would not do. SHe cut the paper. I folded the paper and she taped it up. She presented it to him at school. everyone was excited for toby - for caitlyn she was kind of excited but she was mostly tired. She woke up at 540am this morning after going to bed probably around 9 (she normally is asleep at 8pm and grudgingly rolls out of bed at 7am). She was chipper and sweet at 540am and she was so fiesty about getting her way in temrs of how this present business would take place. I conceded to her wishes becuase - come on- how amazing that a 5 yr old wants to spend her own money on a 'no special reason other than i love you' present? Caitlyn - you are amazing! Toby was excited to receive them! His teacher Ms Cookie said Caitlyn was so sweet. I couldnt agree more!!!

Remember back on Labor day? Good times!

2010-10-20T08:44:00.003-05:00

From 2010-10-19

I cant believe I forgot to write about our family outing to the last baseball game of the ROund Rock Express season! It was labor day weekend. It was crazy hot but we had a great time. Cool drinks! Hotdogs! crackerjack! and a Round Rock victory!

Big Night out!

2010-10-20T08:38:00.002-05:00

I had to run to the store after school to get a birthday gift for a friend. And it turned into quite the night out! Caitlyn and Toby and I went to Target but found nothing - having to pass the food court of that store left them quite hungry but they were well behaved as i tooled around charming charlie's and found a cute gift for 2 of my girl friends. mission accomplished! from there we walked to Yo Yo's, a serve yourself and add topping to your own yogurt. The kids loved it! Both got pumpkin flavored yorgurt and toby added sour gummie worms and caitlyn added choclate chips, cookie dough, and a cherry on top. James met us there and we walked down to Rosie Pho's for delicious viatnamese food. Caitlyn loves pho. I got pad thai, james got a chicken and veggie dish and toby got chicken with brocolli and carrots. The kids love using chop sticks! From there we went to Half Priced Books and got some great deals on some second hand books for the kids. We have been so busy at the public library it had beeen a while since we bought books. we made great purchases - the kids are preferring the books to the TV. Always a winner! Enjoy our photos of the events!

From 2010-10-19

Toby is an all star at the dentist!

2010-10-19T09:42:00.001-05:00

C&T looking BIG @ Neighborhood playground

2010-10-14T14:10:00.003-05:00

after school we made a stop at the nieghborhood park to play. The kids seemed s o big to me - they have grown so much since the last time we were here playing. check out the cuteness with some extra pictures!!!!

Happy Anniversary #7

2010-10-13T13:57:00.000-05:00

Yum! For our anniversary we celebrated by taking the day off work. Niiiiice. We also had a parent teacher conference with Caitlyn's teaCHER. then we went out to breakfast - but not before we got a special delivery - cake balls - which are cake and frosting stirred together then rolled into a ball, and then dipping them in chocolate. These are orange cakeballs. so good. the rest of the day was spent hanging out at the house and gardening. we went to the grocery store as a family and got king crab legs - the kids love those as much as me. james ate chicken :0 not a crabby guy at all.

A great weekend!

2010-10-13T13:39:00.001-05:00

We went to downtown round rock after caitlyn's soccer game and enjoyed an amazing day of sidewalk chalk art. It was a big festival - craft booths, food, and art, and a trip to the library. Lovely!

Check out the remaining pictures! The kids had so much fun!

SOccer practice playground!

2010-10-08T12:06:00.003-05:00

Just another Sunday

2010-10-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Each Sunday Caitlyn and I go to church at 930 for Sunday school then stay for the 11am service. After church we'll go grocery shopping. It's a nice routine - one I cherish because catie is so sweet and so fun to be around. she loves church - it is not a choir to her. she loves dressing up - she loves the art, crafts, music, stories, and even a couple of the people there :) I am so glad she and I share this. I'm learning a lot being the 3rd-5th grade sunday school teacher!

Last Saturday morning!

2010-10-08T11:55:00.000-05:00

Love Saturday mornings where we get to play and relax! Toby is a great paper boy and Catie is quite the architect!

Thanks Nana!

2010-10-08T11:51:00.001-05:00

Nana mailed us a lovely package of halloween treats! Yum!

A special treat

2010-10-08T11:37:00.002-05:00

This is the inside of McDonalds. The kids love it here. These pictures are from a while back - it was on a thursday - Caitlyn's first day of Spanish as well as picture day. It had been a big day - guess what else happened? The teachers didnt realize caitlyn was supposed to go to spanish after school so she went outside to find me but i was not there to pick her up. I got a call form the front office saying caitlyn was there waiting for me. I paniced and said OMG! She is supposed to got to Spanish! Is she ok? and they said yes, she was reading a book. holy smokes. When I picked her up she was happy to see me but then went pear-shaped and I asked if she was ok and she said yes and i met with her teachers and asked why didnt they come get her??? and they said it would be all squared away next week but this week they were confused because there are 2 caitlyn pratts! anyways, caitlyn told me how when she didnt see me she wa sshy but brave and told mrs litton who took her to the office. I told her she did the right thing and I was proud of her and the decisions she made. to celebrate her brilliance we went to mc donalds. it was uspposed to be for ice cream but instead we got dinner. and they played on the payland and it was fun! and she was happy. and safe. what a relief!

birthday

2010-10-05T09:50:00.002-05:00

James set up an aweseom surprise birthday for me. We had such a fun night out!

GNO (girls night out)

2010-10-05T09:36:00.000-05:00

Everybody seems to have birthdays this time of year. I have been going out with the ladies to celebrate. It has been lovely. So much fun to get dressed up and spend some time with good friends.

Date night

2010-10-05T09:24:00.004-05:00

James and I went out for a friends birthday to see a comedian. The best part was getting dressed up and spending time with james.

That time of year!

2010-10-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

Toby and Caitlyn have been talking A LOT about halloween. Toby wants to be a dragon, Catie wants to be a horse. Can you believe we found those exact costumes at Target? Not what I think any of us expected, but perhaps better in that these costumes look like the two of them are riding the animals! As soon as we got home and finished dinner they put them on. I asked what toby wanted for dessert and he said he wanted the costume for dessert - he didnt want to waste anymore time NOT being in the costume. C&T ran around outside galloping and imaganing with there cute costumes. Our neighbors loved it so much they ran out to get some for their grandkids! I guess when your kids turn 3 and 5 halloween becomes more like christmas. seriously - these kids are so excited!!!

Tobyisms

2010-09-28T11:21:00.002-05:00

Monday Toby asked, "mommy? Where are my big boy knives? I want to take my big boy knives to show n tell."
You might be wondering what he is talking about - on sunday we went shopping and got pumpkin carving safety knives. We got a kit. I always wait until the last minute and finally got them ahead of schedule. Too funny.
Toby, you love to play peter pan, you love your swords, your bows and arrows, and now you love knives.

Toby keeps asking for a real bow and arrow. SHeesh!

Kindergarten picture day!

2010-09-24T09:08:00.002-05:00

Longhorn pepper!!

2010-09-24T09:06:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn picked this pepper from our garden. Do you see the UT Longhorn steer.

Joyful noise!

2010-09-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn is a member of the church choir! So cute! I love hearing her hum the tunes during the week. She sang one as we walked to school today! very cute!

A promise kept

2010-09-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn's birthday theme was based on a movie, Alpha and Omega. Well, the movie finally came out and we saw it opening night. Oops. It was pouring rain!!! We went out anyways. And took a neighbor too! The kids loved it! Any excuse to run around in the rain!

Soccer starts back up!

2010-09-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn is going to be awesome this year as a Red Wing! First game this saturday!

What have we been up to???

2010-09-24T08:51:00.002-05:00

It's been a busy month! Check out what we've been up to by checking out our photo album!

tobyisms

2010-09-22T08:04:00.001-05:00

this morning toby walked into my bathroom and asked with all sincerity, "Do dragons like ketchup?" He and I thought about it and he decided, "Dragons dont like ketchup. They like BarBEEque sauce. Yeah, that's how it goes"

What to do on a hot hot day???

2010-09-11T12:28:00.000-05:00

After school onn friday o took the kids ICE SKATING!!! It prooved to be very difficult. caitlyn really enjoyed it though! she wanted to get good - you can see the determination in her eyes!1

Rainy days

2010-09-08T13:01:00.000-05:00

Usually this is just grass - but last night it was filled to the brim. We have had crazy rain due to Hermine (pronounced "her mean") . We dont have basements so it seems as though we dnt have anything to worry about. We do have boots and hats and umbrellas :)

See James waiting in line?

2010-09-08T08:50:00.001-05:00

James, super dad of the year, waited in line outside the school at 5am in order to get caitlyn into Math Pentathlon. It is an after school club in which kids play games and puzzles and I am really excited she is going to be a part of it. At first we were enrvous thinking it would be intimidating, but it really isnt math - just reasoning and spacial orientation games - and it's games - not problems. :) I hope she enjoys it - what a great way to stretch her mind and make new friends!

rain

2010-09-07T17:27:00.001-05:00

Rain boots, rain coat, umbrella and the best attitude of all time - my daughter loved walking to school in the rain. I dont think she missed one puddle :)

Kramer visit

2010-09-07T11:25:00.002-05:00

We went on a boat trip this weekend while mom and dad visited.Check out our album from the boat trip! it was wonderful! we motored around lake travis. we even went swimming! good times!

Seriously, check out our album from the boat trip!

Caitlyn at lunch

2010-09-05T17:28:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn gave me the sweetest smile at lunch today.

Walking to school

2010-08-31T10:14:00.000-05:00

Everyday we walk to school. Sometimes Sophia joins us. Yesterday she and her dad and her puppy, Jacob, joined us! It's so much fun to walk to school.

Caitlyn at school

2010-08-31T09:05:00.002-05:00

One of my friends stopped by the school and said hello to Caitlyn. She was having lunch and looked sooo cute. Last week another friend of mine stopped by to say Hi to Caitlyn. My friend wrote me this message: "Guess who I just saw at lunch :) ? I asked her if she had a message for you and she told me to give you hearts." I thought that was really cute.

The beginning of the Wonder Years

2010-08-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn & neighbor Sophia: 1st day of Kinder Aug 24

Letter from Caitlyn's teacher: Day 3 of Kinder

2010-08-26T14:28:00.004-05:00

Hello Families,
We will have our Parent Information Night on Thursday, September 2nd from
6:00 - 7:00 pm in our classroom. Please see the yellow letter in your
child's binder today. Starting tomorrow we will have "reporters" each day
instead of all of the children contributing to our classroom news every
day. It has been a great first week.
Cheryl

I liked using the marker boards. - Jack
I liked lunch. - Caitlyn*
I liked Kindergarten Rocks. - Soumil
I liked the playground. - Amanda
I liked lunch and the playground. - Olivia
I liked picking out books. - Devin
I liked picking out books. - Griffin
I liked art. - Hibah
I liked going outside. - Priscilla
I liked going to the playground and playing with my friend. - Kasey
I liked playing outside. - Daniel
I liked the new songs. - Maci
I liked everything. - Matt
I liked the new songs. - Dylan
I liked music. - Terin
I liked to play in the playground. - Christianna
I liked working with letters. - Sandeep
I liked outside. - Bibek
I like playing outside. - Haley

* I'd like to point out that today Caitlyn got to use her new Hello Kitty Sandwich Container the Broghammers got her her as a part of her "Back to school care package" Nice work!

From 2010-08

More photos...

2010-08-26T12:17:00.001-05:00

Well, I added some photos to this month's album: Check out the new photos for August, 2010. CHeck them out - there are some cute ones :)

when it's hotter inside than outside

2010-08-26T11:44:00.005-05:00

When it's less that 98.6 degrees we play outside.

My favorite book

2010-08-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

When I went to the grocery store I encountered my favorite book of all time. I remember my mom reading it to me and it making me laugh and laugh land laugh and LAUGH! I couldnt wait to get it home to show my kids. They both loved it! Toby - after me reading it 5 times in a row - had me read it again but skipped to his favorite pages to turn. It was so wonderful to share this book from my childhood with them! This was written before Elmo. Grover was King when I was little! He still knows how to make the kids laugh after all these years!

Day 2 of Kinder: A great day

2010-08-26T08:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was thrilled with Caitlyn's transformation. We sat on the steps of our stair case and she told me story after story. SHe was cracking jokes! She was so happy. It was great! All the anxiety I had after the first day is past. SHe is going to be just fine! :)

Letter from Caitlyn's teacher: Day 2 of Kinder

2010-08-25T17:13:00.002-05:00

Hello Families,

We had a great day. We read The Hungry Thing and practiced making rhyming
words. We practiced reading books in our blue book boxes. We have learned
three ways to read a book. 1. Look at and think about the pictures. 2.
Read the words if you can. 3. Retell the story (if it is one you have
heard before) We are learning our routines and will become much faster
with them soon. We will have free choice time for 20 minutes in the
afternoon, once it does not take us so long to prepare to go home.
Here are the children's comments about today.

I liked playing with playdough. - Dylan
I like to play in the playground - Terin
I liked making my name with playdough - Christianna
I liked playdough. - Sandeep
I liked reading about The Hungry Thing. - Matt
I liked Mrs. Litton writing a story about Lady and Captain Jack. - Haley
I liked to play outside and Wellness. - Daniel
I liked playing outside with my friend Aidan in Mrs. Conley's class.
I liked everything. - Maci
I liked reading the books in my blue box. - Bibek
I liked reading books. - Hibah
I liked choosing a new book to go in my blue box. - Priscilla
I liked book time and everything. - Griffin
I liked Wellness. - Jack
I liked the playdough. - Olivia
I liked Wellness. - Devin
I liked walking in the hall. - Caitlyn
I liked The Hungry Thing book. - Soumil
I liked the playdough. - Amanda

Have a great evening.
Cheryl Litton

Email form Caitlyn's teach Day 1 of Kinder

2010-08-25T17:12:00.002-05:00

Hello Families,
We are having a wonderful first day. We are learning about school
procedures. Just before we went to specials, I asked the children what
they had liked so far. I hope you enjoy reading the answers. Please
remeber to send lunch from home for the first five days of school.
Thank you,
Cheryl Litton

I love going outside - Hibah
I like playing outside. - Devin
I liked making a book. - Dylan
I liked singing songs. - Kasey
I liked going outside. - Haley
I liked the playscape. - Matt
I liked listening to a book. - Sandeep
I loved to play on the playground. - Christianna
I liked going to the cafeteria. - Amber
I liked coloring. - Maci
I liked the playdough. - Bibek
I liked coloring. - Priscilla
I liked using the red and blue letters. - Griffin
I liked playing with playdough. - Soumil
I liked playing with playdough and singing songs. Caitlyn
I liked coloring. - Jack
I liked playdough. - Olivia
I liked doing letters. - Amanda
I liked to play outside. - Daniel
I liked to play with playdough. - Terin

Post KinderDay bLues

2010-08-24T15:31:00.001-05:00

So Caitlyn marched right up to us after school and we hugged and wanted to KNOW EVERYTHING that happened. Pictures of her leaving school right here!!! And Caitlyn all of a sudden hit the wall. Exhausted. She stopped walking aout 100 feet away from the school and James picked her up and carried her. Then she said, "I'm so tired that I'm falling into despair" (We later learned she recognized that word from the book, Beauty and the Beast, when the Beast falls into despair because he thinks nobody could ever love him :( She said, "I dont ever want to grow up" And I started to get nervous but she seems to be better now. We asked her to tell us about our day but she was too tired and had nothing to say. She said she played on the playground by herself and that made my heart break. I told her to find a girlfriend and invite over for a playdate. Now that she is home and out of the 104 degree heat she is perking up a bit. I am hoping she starts to learn names an makes some friends. She is such a sweet girl! I am way too overanalyzing it and freaking out about nothing in the big picture - i just want her to be happy and i know today was really a lot of hard work for her.

The first Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-24T08:51:00.001-05:00

So Caitlyn may not appreciate or realize what a big deal this past weekend was, and how awesome her Monday was until she is older (how much older I dont know). We tried to make Monday special for her since it was her last day of summer. We dropped off Toby to his school then Caitlyn and I went to Starbucks and got hot vanilla steamers and blue berry muffins. Then she got to do some other favorite things: play at a friend's house, watch movies, messy art projects, eat at McDonalds for lunch! Once we got Toby, we headed to the movie theatre to see Cats v Dog: The revenge of Kitty Galore. James met us there and we had Icee's and popcorn. Then we headed to BW3's for caitlyn's favorite - corndogs. I asked Caitlyn how she felt about school starting Tuesday. She said "I feel like I love it!" Then she did a little dance. We got home and took baths, then jumped into bed. That is when Caitlyn started to show some nerves. She started crying and said she was scared (from the movie - the hairless cat was pretty scary) and she wanted us to stay with her. She cried and refused to stay in bed. Finally James got her down, but she ended up hoping into our bed at around 1am. When she woke up she was ready to get dressed in the outfit we picked out the night before. Caitlyn was very excited to start her day. She had me redo her hair 2 different ways until she decided on the final look. James wanted to make her a special breakfast but she requested Frosted Flakes. James set up the comics for her while he read the business section. I drank coffee and floated around, trying to keep myself busy. I didnt have much to do: we packed her bag the night before: lunch (caitlyn wanted to peak at what was packed. She approved), paperwork, family photo, beach towel for rest time, afternoon snack, water bottle, and a light sweater in case she got cold. Everything went into her backpack (which is designed to be colored with Sharpies. Perfect for her creative spirit). SHe put on her backpack and we walked to school with Sophia. They held hands and we had to ask them not to run - they were excited. When we go to the classroom Caitlyn was so independent - which was a little hard on me. She has actually been really independent during this whole process which is wonderful but makes my heart feel stretched like she's growing up and my heart strings are trying to pull her back to me :) I walked into her classroom to give her one last hug - i wanted to help her find her cubby and backpack hook but she already knew how to do it. She remembered where her table was and sat down to start her day. Here are some pictures of the big first day!

The PTA had set up coffee and donuts for parents so it was a real treat to sit with other moms and talk about how it went. I loved every moment. I am so proud of Caitlyn and so grateful to be surrounded by such supportive and wonderfully fun friends. This is going to be a great year!

Family photo

2010-08-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

!Both Caitlyn and Toby's teacher requested a family photo. Of course, we have hardly any pictures in which we are all in it together. So last night james set up the camera and we took a couple pictures. Then James ran up to CVS and got the photos printed before the big first day of school. Yes he was there at 10pm. And yes, he ran into other dads doing the same thing

The ultimate Princess book

2010-08-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

Caitlyn loves looking at our wedding album. I got it out for her to see and she had the best time seeing her parents and family all dressed up. It made me a little sad that she didnt know the whole wedding party - they were so and are so special to me. Wish we were all neighbors and bbqing together. Life moves pretty fast!

AUstin's Natural History Museum

2010-08-24T08:16:00.000-05:00

Sunday was our last day off before school started so we wanted to do something special with the kids. Our neighbor, Sophia, spent the night which was fun. They woke up and snuck ice cream, fun for them, a little parental faux pas for us, then we were off on an adventure: Whole food HQ for lunch, the Natural History Museum, and then Amy's ice cream to close. It was great. A wonderful day. The kids love dinosaur bones.

Lunch out on the town!

2010-08-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday, after we put the ice cream back we went out to lunch at Whole Foods HQ. Delish!

Sneaky Caped Crusader

2010-08-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

Sneaky toby got ice cream out AND spoons for the girls and himself while mom and dad weren't looking. Did I mention it was 730am? Sophia had spent the night and apparently we didnt get breakfast ready fast enough. Toby hhad a mischievous grin on his face and held his hands out and said, 'we're just joking!' but they had eaten A LOT of ice cream! Those sneeky foxes!

We are Flocked!

2010-08-20T18:05:00.003-05:00

The cheerleaders a putting on a fundraiser - where you can "flock" your neighbors. We got flocked. And yes we flocked back. This will make the neighborhood quite colorful. The funny part was - we had all these pink flamingos when our kindergarten teacher came to our house! I bet that made her love us before she even met us!

Dinner out!

2010-08-20T17:54:00.007-05:00

Toby learned how to suck the lime and lick the salt at Polvos, an interior mexicano restuarante in SOuth Austin on South First Street. It was one salty dive and we kinda liked it. Seriously, the food was salty, but the drinks were strong and the sweet hints of banana in every entree were surprisingly fun - intentional or not we dont know or care (did i mention the drinks were strong?)

An evening of Theatre & Friends

2010-08-20T17:45:00.007-05:00

My posts are a little out of order - but I didnt want to leave out an amazing adventure went on! Wednesday night we went to see a theatre performance of Caitlyn and Toby's favorite TV characters - the Backyardigans, Dora the Explorer, and others. There were 4 acts in all with one intermission. It was a really good time and our first time at the amazing Long Center. After we finished the show the kids danced on the lights of the pavilion as the adults enoyed the beautiful Austin Skyline. We went with our good friends the Frizzells (Madi and Avery) and our other good friends Shannon and Aidan. Shannon was Toby and Caitlyn's phonics and music teacher at Prodigy and seeing as how Caitlyn and Toby no longer attend the school is was a really nice way to see them since we wont see them as regularly. The show was fun! The company was better! The night was perfect!

The Cactus Ranch Howdy!

2010-08-20T17:33:00.004-05:00

Before school starts, there is Howdy Day! The entire Pratt family walked to school and we got to see Caitlyn's classroom! Caitlyn got to sit at her table and draw a picture while her Daddy filled out paperwork, Mommy tried not to cry and Toby tried not to break any trinket's on the teacher's desk. We turned in her birth certificate finally. (i didnt realize the one we got at the hospital didnt count. I had to run to south austin, find the govt building, fill out the paper work and get her and toby the official documentation the day before - what an adventure!). I was seriously trying not to cry. My eyes were glassed over/ James was signing up for everything. He joined the PTA and signed up to be a "Watch dawg" which is the coolest - he gets to invade any classroom, and playgorund, any cafeteria and be super dad hero. All time quarterback? he's your guy! Balance a carrot stick on his nose? He's your guy! Read you a story with silly voices? Hello? James is the best at that! I signed up for nothing. I'm just too nervous. My goal is to get Caitlyn to school on time, bathed, dressed, brushed teeth, hair combed, feed, and well rested. Oh - and I have to pack her lunch too. This is all new territory to me and once I master that morning routine I'll dive into the next level. It's just too much right now - my baby girl is starting school. Let's make it through the first day before we start getting ahead of ourselves! Once I get through that I'll probably be fine until graduation. yeah, on second thought, probably not.

Welcome Walk After PArty

2010-08-20T10:49:00.004-05:00

After the Welcome Walk, we had a party to find out who other kids got for teachers! None of our friends have Ms Litton so we'll get to meet a whole new set of friends when school starts!! At the after party we made root beer floats, ice cream sundaes, and ice cream cones (using our year supply of ice cream from blue bell! yum!). When the sun set and the temp dropped to the 80s we built a fire and roasted marshmellows. That was a bit of a disaster as everyone created marshmellow torches and worst of all - i never got a s'more! hahaha. But it was fun! The kids all had a great time. I think the adults did as well! CHeck out the photos from the party!

Welcome walk

2010-08-20T10:11:00.006-05:00

Last night was the Welcome Walk. The Welcome Walk is a tradition at Cactus Ranch Elementary that I find unique and above and beyond the call of duty (I love this school already!) Welcome walk consists of all the teachers of Cactus Ranch Elementary going from house to house and introducing themselves to their new students. I swear to you the anticipation is better than Christmas if you are a parent! James and I were so excited to see who Caitlyn's teacher would be!!! The event takes place 5pm-7pm and our teacher didnt arive until 6:45! Caitlyn was watching tv, performing plays, playing with toys and totally cool while James and I were stalking the front window and jumping at ever sound that could be a potential knock at the door!! We kept asking each other - did we miss the knock? did they accidentally go to the wrong house? We saw a teacher deliver something to our neighbor - did they get the wrong address? Should we call? FINALLY, Caitlyn opened the door and introduced herself to Ms Litton - a kindergarten teacher with over 30 year experience and a daughter of her own! She was so sweet and kind to Caitlyn! It is going to be a great year! I had to laugh because James and I were trying to act like it was no big deal. We probably should have attempted cartwheels so she knew how much we appreciated her coming to our home. The best part was that Caitlyn drew a picture of herself and gave her the card and a butterfly she made and i got to hand her a glass of lemonade james poured for her. (What a sweet guy that James is!)

Caitlyn draws the characters from the movie Toy Story

2010-08-16T10:43:00.004-05:00

Jessie on the horse, Buzz lightyear with the moon, Woody, and Mr and Mrs Potatohead. Very cute.

Toby's signature dance move: Donkey kick

2010-08-16T10:40:00.001-05:00

Lunch! Library! Dessert!

2010-08-16T10:33:00.003-05:00

As a family, we went back to school shopping (just for shoes) and then headed to La Madeleine's for lunch. It was already 95 degrees out but Caitlyn ordered soup. We asked which flavor: out of tomato basil, country potato and french onion, she chose ONION! SHe liked it at first but it was really too salty. so she ate some of my salad and some grilled cheese that we got to go with her soup. After that we returned and renewed some library books and then stopped off at my fav coffee house for a honey almond latte and for some cookies for los babinos. Caitlyn took to the room like it was a dance floor and went crazy. Luckily everyone enjoyed her antics. it was very cute. Looks like we need to get her back into danc eor gymnastics. She really enjoys it.

Dress you up in my love!

2010-08-16T10:30:00.003-05:00

James went to Costco and found a groovey 70s outfit for Caitlyn to wear and said he saw some batman costumes but did not get them for Toby to which Toby responded: "I need to go to the Batman store!" So we had the best intentions of getting to Costco but never made it. Toby was okay with wearing Spiderman. But he has not forgotten - there is a store with Batman stuff. And he will get there! He loves to dress up. On sunday, he wore his black Cape. He loves that cape.

Downtown round rock

2010-08-11T10:58:00.005-05:00

Library, Lunch, shaved ice! The best of downtown round rock all in one block (yes, round rock donuts is in that block as well, but we do breakfast at home!)

IBM DAY @ SEA WORLD!!!!

2010-08-11T10:52:00.006-05:00

Dinner out!

2010-08-11T10:48:00.003-05:00

The best place in town to get a Reuben changed up there menu and their look so it's less like a deli and more like a swanky dinner place. They kept the ruebens and the breakfast all day - but they added some new items. we stuck with the original stuff. so good. the kids did fairly well in terms of behavior. its nice to have dinner out :)