Football Season has Begun!

Yesterday was Tyler's first football practice. He...or should I say we...were all so excited. At the last minute his practice day & time got changed so went straight to practice after I picked him up from school. The first thing Tyler asked after he got in the van was, "is it time for football practice?". On the drive there he asked "if I'm the quarterback will they have gloves for me to wear?" and "will I get my uniform today?". Tyler was so fired up he gave 100% and had a big smile on his face the whole time.

Rob left work early and mom joined us too so we could all watch his practice. Coach Chris seems to be a great coach with 7+ years experience coaching and 5 kids of his own. His wife Leah is very involved and enthusiastic too. All the boys on the team, with the exception of one, seemed to be totally fired up to play ball!

We Carpool

This week Tyler started riding to school with Elena and her dad Weining. We've been taking Elena home from school for a few weeks now but I was finally (almost) ready to have Tyler carpool now. Sunday I talked to Irene about having Tyler start carpooling but then talked to Rob about it and decided I didn't think Tyler was ready. Rob listened and then said "Laura, I don't think you're ready". Yes, that was exactly it. I am so afraid something will happen to him that it's hard to let go sometimes. I know it's not realistic for me to think that he'll never travel in someone else's car or be in someone else's care but it's just so hard to trust that he'll be safe and okay.
I had a chat with Tyler about carpooling with Elena's dad Monday morning over breakfast. He was faking crying and saying that he didn't want to go because he was scared. He couldn't really say why he was scared, just that he'd never been in anyone else's car before besides grandma's. I explained that I could continue to take him to school for a while longer but at some point he would have to carpool. When I told him it was just part of getting older and that eventually he'd have to carpool with his friends to and from games, he became more relaxed. Immediately he told me he was ready to carpool. I asked if he meant later in the week and he said "no, today". After praying over him for protection and safety, we waited outside for Weining. Tyler was ready to go, no tears, no clinging. As he drove away, I felt nervous but at the same time a huge relief that we didn't have to load all three boys up and rush off to school. Ryan and I still had a whole hour before we had to leave to take him to preschool. I'm still amazed at how freeing it is to carpool. The drive to and from Valley Academy everyday was wearing me out. Now, it's not bad at all.

Ryan is 4!

Sweet little Ryan Jacob is four years old today! Last night I was reminiscing about that same time four years ago and how exciting it was rushing to the hospital in the middle of the night. Oh what an amazing joy it has been to be your mother Ryan! You are so talkative and delightful. I love how you can play happily with just about anything, just using your imagination. The other day you pretended like your markers were the Chipmunks and had a great time with all the characters.
Sunday Ryan had his birthday party at Brunswick Zone. They dimmed the lights and the kids all had glow in the dark necklaces. Of course they put gutter guards in for the little ones and it was so adorable to watch them all "bowl". The bowling balls were so big for them but they managed to get the balls down the lane and even managed to knock down some pins! His party was attended by Tyler, Ethan, Savannah, Micah, Carter and Landon.
Yesterday Ryan got to celebrate his birthday at his preschool and brought in m&m cookies to share and Ms. Dana had a birthday crown for him to decorate.
Today was his real birthday, not to be confused with his fake birthday (what the boys call the day when they have a party but it's not actually their birthday). He woke to the usual streamer decorations and a big number "4" on his door. We had chicken nuggets at McDonald's for lunch and brought home a huge balloon bouquet. Grandma came over to help celebrate his birthday dinner. Ryan selected steak, watermelon and a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream for this birthday dinner. Not bad taste for a four year old. Since Rob worked today, Ryan agreed to pizza and cake tonight and his steak dinner tomorrow. Sounds like a good birthday week to me.

Mom's 60th

Friday was my mom's 60th birthday. Rob and I had been trying to plan a dinner party with all her friends but she decided she would rather not have a big party and celebrate with just us instead. We went to Tutti Santi and had a wonderful time. It is such a beautiful restaurant with excellent food and great service. The boys got a little crazy but it was nice to celebrate together. Ethan loved the bread and couldn't get enough. Come to think of it, Ryan did too. He kept getting out of his chair and coming over the the bread basket to get another piece.
Saturday mom and I met Susan at Arcadia Farms for lunch. I love Arcadia Farms and love catching up with Susan so we all had a really nice time. Almost 3 hours later, we hugged goodbye and headed off to shop. Mom joined us for dinner again tonight too so we could continue celebrating.

Tyler's Swim Party

On Saturday we had Tyler's birthday party. This year we decided to scale back and have a small, mostly family, pool party at the community center. Friday night Desiree called to say her littlest ones had a bad case of pink eye and they were so sorry they wouldn't be able to make it...bummer. Tyler loves swimming with his cousins. Rob said Heath mentioned earlier in the week that his kids were coming down with something. When Rob called to see how they were feeling on Saturday morning...another bummer. Nathan and Haley were very sick and wouldn't be coming either. Tyler figured out who Rob was talking to on the phone and when he put two and two together, he started to cry. He really looks up to Nathan and was so excited to have him at his party.
The party still turned out to be a lot of fun for all! Andrew, Audrey, Harrison, Sydney and Graham all made it to help celebrate and they ended up swimming for hours. We had pizza and cake and ice cream and the grown-ups even enjoyed yummy margaritas poolside. It was so hot out it was crazy but after the sun went down it was awesome. Note to self: next time have a pool party in the evening.

Ryan is a Frog

Today was Ryan's first day of pre-school in Ms. Tina's frog class! He had a great time. Totally laid back, no drama, just left him playing with dominoes. He's so happy to be in a big kid class now. I was pleased to see a lot of his friends in his class. Sweet Savannah came up to give him a hug and welcome him. I had to pick him up early so I could make it to Tyler's school in time. Ryan wasn't ready to leave and told me he wished he could stay at school forever. :)

Tyler Turns Six

Today was Tyler's sixth birthday. Yesterday after we got home from school he complained about a headache, had the chills and a fever. He got so delirious when I tried to give him Tylenol that I got worried and had Rob take him the urgent care. He turned out to be fine (thank goodness) but because of the fever we kept him home today. What a nice, unexpected treat to spend his birthday with him. We also kept Ryan home today from his first day of preschool because we thought he might have pink eye. Tyler and Ryan and even Ethan all played together like they did all summer.
Tyler scored with 2 Nerf guns, a Nerf dart game, basketball and portable basketball hoop. He was so excited. We finally decided it was time he could have a play gun. I know the boys are going to have a blast with them.