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.

My Firstborn is Seven

Today was Tyler's seventh birthday. As Rob and I decorated with streamers and banners last night I recounted the moments leading up to his birth seven years ago (as I always do). Such an amazing time - I only wish I could capture that feeling and relive it every year.
Tyler was up by 6:10 and inquiring about the location of his presents. I ordered a Kevin Kolb jersey and a Lego set online and both were taking longer than expected. I had nothing wrapped for him, thinking the Lego set would arrive today and I'd wrap up a photo of the jersey and explain they are still being finished since Kolb is so new to the Cardinals. Tyler remembered that he gets to open one present in the morning and there was nothing to open...yikes! After showing him the jersey and explaining that he'll probably be the first one wearing it, he seemed a little better. Breakfast was his favorite cinnamon streusel muffin with a candle, chocolate milk and sausage. By the time he was dressed for school he was dancing around and singing.
After school grandma came over and when Rob got home we had pizza and a delicious Baskin Robbins mint chocolate chip ice cream cake that grandma brought. Tyler got to open his Super Mario Bros. Wii game and daddy and the boys played it until bed time. When asked his high point today, Tyler replied "getting Super Mario Bros!"

The First Day of First Grade

and in a new school. Tyler did awesome! He was so confident walking to his classroom today and waiting in the multi-purpose room for his teacher to pick them up. When I picked him up after school he was hot but happy after cooling off in the AC. Tonight I asked him his high point and he said his first day of school. After chatting more about it, he said the best part was playing with his new friends. I'm so glad he already made new friends. When I asked if they are nice, he said "mom, they're awesome!".
Last year Tyler had a wonderful teacher and we were so blessed to have Ms. Christopher and Ms. Cooper but I was troubled by the behavior of several classmates. It's funny how Tyler came to Adams Traditional Academy since that wasn't our original plan. We prayed about it and God led us to Adams for all our boys - not just Ryan as we originally thought. God also showed us His plan for Ryan - to wait another year before starting kindergarten. I have so much peace with all of our decisions and am thankful that God showed us His plan. It's going to be a great year!

Ethan Turns Two!

Our little baby is officially a two year old. We celebrated his real birthday as the boys call it by having pizza, cake & ice cream, opening presents with grandma and swimming. Ethan loves swimming! We got to swim at night and watch all the cool colors in the pool.
On Sunday we had Ethan's party. His friends Harrison, Shelby, Elena and Easton all came to rock out with Ethan. We had his music teacher and our friend Katie do a music party for him. The kids loved it! They ended with bubbles and Ethan was so excited. He tried to catch them, pop them on the carpet and even eat them as they fell. What a great day!
On his birthday I held him and rocked him remembering holding him at the hospital the day he was born. Oh what a precious blessing it is to have three amazing sons. I am blessed beyond measure.

Pandamania

Last week was VBS at our church. I volunteered to lead preschool crafts and loved it! So much fun making projects and decorating. Loved getting see all the precious preschoolers every day. Ryan was in my first rotation so it was great way to start each day. They got to be our guinea pigs since we found there were slight "bugs" in the projects. Nothing huge just ways to speed things up and save some mess.
This was Tyler's first year with the grade school kids. He loved it and had a lot of fun. I loved getting to see the boys sing and dance during worship. We ended the week with a church spotlight on VBS and all the kids went on stage to sing VBS songs. God is wild about us!

Summer Break has Begun

The boys started off summer break by having their friend Billy spend the night. Their first time having a friend stay over. They feasted on pizza, made their own sundaes and watched "How to Train Your Dragon". I forgot how hard it is for little ones to fall asleep when sleeping over. I think it was around 11:00 when they finally drifted off.
The next couple days we had picnics and pool parties and lots of fun with friends. Thankfully the weather was still beautiful so we could enjoy time outside.
The next week was filled with playdates, swim lessons, karate lessons and the Harkins summer movie. So nice to get to wake up without setting an alarm clock.
Every day I am so thankful that I get to stay home with the boys...especially in the the summer. The thought of sending them to daycare or hiring a nanny and going to work is so sad. Although some days are trying, they are still absolutely the best! I love my family and am so blessed.

Kindergarten Graduation

Friday was Tyler's Kindergarten Celebration aka Graduation. I'm not sure why schools don't call it graduation anymore but to us the celebration marked his graduation. Rob, mom and I attended the party and were so proud of Tyler! The graduates sang "What a Beautiful World" for us and it truly was beautiful. The students were called up to read "What I Want to be When I Grow Up" or "What I Love". Tyler was a little shy and unable to read what he had written so Mrs. Christopher read it for him. He wants to be an athlete when he grows up because he thinks it would be cool and fun. After more encouragement Tyler was able to read "What I Love" to the audience. It was so cute and sweet. The kids had a great time eating pizza and ice cream and signing each other's autograph books.
When I look back at the past school year I am amazed at the growth. Not only in Tyler but also in myself. We have entered yet another "club" in life - the kids' in school club. I had to adjust to a hectic schedule because tardies are not allowed in grade school. I had to learn how to deal with a son's hurt and fear when faced with bullies at school. I've learned how to constantly lean on God for support and guidance in raising our children in this world.
So much growth happens in Kindergarten - perhaps more than in any other year of school. Tyler entered Kindergarten able to read only a few words and ended reading books. His handwriting is in my opinion perfect and he has really progressed as an artist. He surprised us by memorizing his final poem on his own. We kept forgetting to practice it until one day he came home with a note from his teacher saying he wanted to surprise us and worked on it at school. Tyler excelled in every subject and has really matured this year. We will miss his wonderful teacher Mrs. Christopher and are so thankful he was blessed to have her.