Summer Break Begins

Friday was the last day of school and the boys celebrated by having their first sleepover! They had so much fun with their friend Billy. Even Ethan had a blast. He thought he was part of the group and did (or at least tried to do) everything the big boys did. After playing outside, eating pizza and making their own sundaes, the boys came inside to watch "How to Train Your Dragon". At bedtime there was organizing stuffed animals, changing sleeping arrangements and lots of giggles, then finally sleep.
Sunday we went to a family cookout and party at the Hepting's. The boys had fun playing in the little pool and the backyard and we were blessed with a beautiful afternoon with temps in the low 80s.

The Little Levins are Growing!

Today is Ryan's first day of kindergarten. I'm so excited for him and all the wonderful things ahead of him but at the same time sad that my buddy will be gone all day. I am so happy we had him wait to start kinder - we had such a great time last year. I know Ethan will miss his buddy too. They played together everyday while Tyler was at school. Ryan did great today and looked absolutely adorable in his uniform. Gosh he is such a cutie! We had chats, pep talks and even practiced for today so he would not feel scared this morning. Meet the teacher brought a lot of anxiety last week and I wanted to make sure we didn't have a repeat today. Next week Ethan will start pre-school! He is so excited and so am I. He is going to love it and I feel so good about his teacher and school. He was excited to get his school supplies and wouldn't take off his backpack - even at mealtime. All of a sudden I feel like I don't have any babies left. :( When I cam back from Scrapbook Camp last weekend, Ethan was potty-trained - yea daddy! He has graduated to big boy underwear and even goes to the potty all by himself. So freeing! He has even given up using his booster seat at the table for meals. Tyler started second grade today in the new Apex program at Adams. It's their accelerated program and Adams is already a highly academic school so I hope it's not overwhelming for him. He is so smart and loves learning so I think he'll do great. He is now taking showers by himself and loves the freedom...and the hot, hot water. He told me he loves getting the water hotter and hotter during his shower. The other night he ran upstairs to take a shower while I was cleaning up after dinner, Ryan ran to take a shower with daddy and Ethan went potty by himself. I realized that suddenly my life has gotten so. much. easier. Almost overnight. Ahhh.

Halloween 2011

Our Halloween celebration seems to get longer every year. This year we started on Monday with a Halloween party at Tramonto park with the Hip Mamas. It was just me and Ethan but we both had a great time enjoying playing and eating with friends. Thursday morning we had a craft play date at Lionel and Everett's house and Thursday afternoon we had a blast at the DeRuiter's Halloween party. The boys decorated pumpkins, cookies, got wrapped up like mummies, danced to the Monster Mash and played games. Friday we decided to skip the Halloween party at the park and get some things accomplished at home. Saturday we headed to Cave Creek for the town's Halloween celebration and the boys were happy to have their buddy Graham and Ms. Chris join us. Sunday we went to the Deatsch's for a football/Halloween party and the boys had a blast playing football in the backyard while Ethan enjoyed chasing the chickens and petting their tortoise Jeeps. The Mings and Katzs brought their trailer over and gave us a great hayride. It was so fun! Finally Monday was the real thing - complete with dinner at the Mings, a pinata and another hayride through their neighborhood. The boys were so excited to trick or treat we couldn't keep up with them. Some of the parents stayed up with the older kids and we stayed back with the little ones. It was absolutely precious to see little Ethan trick or treat!! That was truly my treat for the night!

My Lunch Date

Yesterday was Ryan's first day of no afternoon preschool. We recently decided to have him just go to preschool in the mornings so I picked him up at 11:30 and decided I wanted to go out to lunch. Pita Jungle recently opened at Norterra and I love Pita Jungle. I used to take Tyler out to lunch all the time and I'd even take Tyler and Ryan quite a bit but the past couple years we really don't go out to lunch that much (I don't call McDonald's going out to lunch). I had such a lovely time with my little men. Ryan was really into the activity sheet they gave us and we played several games of tic tac toe. He's getting pretty good at it. Then he worked on a word search and amazed me with his intelligence in unscrambling several long words. Little E loved eating the mac and cheese in between coloring and they both picked at the fresh fruit and (veggie) burger. They were very well behaved and I was happy I decided to take a break from our normal routine and enjoy a lunch out.

Ryan turns 5

This year Ryan's birthday fell on a Saturday which means his real birthday and his birthday party were on the same day. We had a swimming party with a beach theme. I had so much fun working on the details and decorations (my new hobby) and the kids had a great time swimming and playing. They had such a great time that I didn't want to interrupt them with a game I had planned.
His guests included his cool, big cousins Josh and Jenna, friends Billy, Abi & Emily, Graham, Andrew, Audrey & Harrison, Savannah & Shelby and of course his grandma. All Ryan's friends are the kids of our friends so their parents stayed to celebrate too.
Birthday season at the Levin home is over. Whew...it is like a whirlwind of excitement and non-stop celebrations for a couple months around here. What's next? My favorite time of year - fall!
As I write this the Cardinals are on the tv, the boys are playing their own game of football in the family room, chicken tacos are cooking in the crockpot and a cinnamon coffee cake is baking in the over. Oh if only the whole year could be like these next three months.

Stepping Stones

Yesterday was Ryan's first day of Pre-K at a new school. His old preschool Fellowship closed so we needed to find a new school and I couldn't be happier about our decision. I absolutely LOVE this school! For his long awaited first day (his school didn't start until 3 1/2 weeks after most other schools) we celebrated with donuts after dropping off the big kids.
One of the things I love about this school is that I get to aide in classrooms once a week. I signed up to aide in several different classrooms this month, prior to finding out Ryan's new teachers. As it turns out I got to aide in his morning class! So fun! Mrs. Dunham was so nice and taught me a lot about my responsibilities as an aide. Ryan was so happy to have me in his class. I got to help with the art project, snacks, push Ryan and his new friends on the tire swing and help with a craft. I even got to sit next to my little man for snack - applesauce and graham crackers.
Even little Ebo got to go to "school". When I aide, he goes into the playroom. He was hesitant and cried at drop off but after a few minutes he was having a blast. When I picked him the the teacher said "he was a delight to have in class today. He is really comfortable with himself, he has very good verbal skills and we were surprised when he actually strung some Fruit Loops on yarn to make a necklace". That's my little E! :) She then explained after Ethan strung his Fruit Loops, he ate them...all. Oh to be two.
Ryan has Mrs. McMurray in the afternoon. She's so sweet and fun. Ryan informed me that his class has a pet guinea pig and he even got to hold and pet it. He said "you pet it like you pet a dog mom". Mrs. McMurray showed the kids how to hold him and even had them practice with a stuffed animal first. His name is still being decided.
Lastly my little Ryman made it across the monkey bars! First time ever. At morning recess I saw him make it to a couple bars before falling which was a complete surprise because I didn't know he could do the monkey bars at all. He was so determined. He kept trying again and again and eventually it paid off. What a great first day for all!

Slumber Party

Last Friday night we had a slumber birthday party for Tyler. We started by swimming, feasted on pizza, then on to Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. The boys were crazy about playing Super Mario Brothers. Then they gathered up their Nerf guns and had quite the battle while I put Ethan to bed. The battle ended a little early due to a minor injury and the boys decorated pillow cases before having cake and ice cream. Clearly not everyone was as in to coloring as I thought but they still turned out cute. Then presents! Playing with the gifts was also a big hit. They loved Laser Tag and Bionicles. Finally it was time to get ready for the movie. It was so cute to see all the little guys lying on their sleeping bags in the game room, ready to watch "Facing the Giants". A wonderful, inspirational movie about a small football team and the power of God and faith. Ryan and Billy fell asleep by 10:15 but the other made it to the end at 11:30...whew! Finally all fell asleep and I went to bed at midnight. Do you think they all got a good night's rest and slept in? Of course not! At 5:00 am we heard them up and on the Wii playing Super Mario again. After a big breakfast and more playing they all left one by one and by 9:15 am I was officially exhausted. A good exhausted though. It was awesome to have such a fun time celebrating Tyler's birthday. I am so thankful for his good friends (which are our good friends' kids) and a pool and large home to entertain. God has blessed us in so many ways and we continue to enjoy his blessings every day.