AJ's First Day of Preschool

The day has finally come... after months of crying when Mommy and KK left for school, begging to go to "scool", AJ got his wish. Here is my big boy, ready to tackle his first ever day of preschool:




He was so excited for his big day... He didn't have his official backpack yet, but our favorite Lightning McQueen backpack would do just fine for AJ. Note that the pack is stuffed with every single matchbox car AJ owns... I asked if he wanted to pack his lunch or a drink in there, but he decided cars were more important than food. No surprise there, little toot!



Of course, it wouldn't be fun without our KK. AJ was reminded by her several times that she would be right down the hall if he needed her. Warmed my heart! She also helped as the night before school AJ started having a few doubts about leaving our wonderful Ms. S to go to school. He started yelling "No scool, I go Shelley's"... But KK stepped in and told him all about the playground and crafts he would get to do and again he was sold. This "scool" thing had to be awesome if sissy likes it. Here is a pic of the two of them before we went inside:



It turns out AJ's first day was great. There was some hesitation when we arrived, as one little boy was crying for his Mommy. I was worried as AJ tends to cry if another child nearby is crying. We have decided that AJ must think that kid knows something bad is about to go down and then AJ starts crying too... it has happened many a time in children's church. But our saving grace was building blocks! What smart teachers, to have toys to distract them. AJ gave me and KK quick kisses and he was off to build himself a tower.

I picked him up when school let out and when I peeked inside, little AJ was napping, passed out on his back clutching his pink pillow, surrounded by eight other 2 year olds sleeping soundly... it was sweet. I have no idea how his teachers do it. He had a great first day though. His teacher reported he was a happy kid who played well with his classmates. So a strong start to our summer.



It did make me smile: as I entered his room to pick him up, he saw me and grabbed his napmat and pillow and ran towards me (thank goodness no other children were stepped on in this process). He flung himself into my arms and gave me the biggest hug! Oh baby boy, at least you aren't too big for hugs at school. Let's hope you stay that way a long time. I love you!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Happy 31st Birthday Daddy! Wow, can you believe we are officially in our 30's sweetheart? Crazy... I still remember being 18 with you. Well, one benefit of us growing older together would be these two little toots in the picture with you:

KK and AJ loved planning all the secret surprises we had for you. AJ also loved spilling the beans whenever he could, hence why he was cut out of some of our planning :-)

We made Daddy a two layer chocolate cake and KK was in charge of the sprinkles on top. A very important job if you ask her. We shopped hard to find Daddy just the right TCU polo. Since he is 31 now, we also got him a TCU folding chair so he can sit in style if he ever gets tired hehe.

We celebrated the day in style, going to Babe's with our sweet cousins and then having cake and presents at our house. The night was topped off with an evening trip to the swimming pools. The kids thought the day couldn't have been better, and I have to agree.

Happy Birthday sweetheart! I love you so much, I look forward to all the birthdays we have ahead of us to share together. Growing old with you, I could not ask for more... even when you drive me crazy ;-) It's a good thing I get to drive you crazy too!

KK's School Program

I write to you as a proud mommy of a four year old who has just completed the 3/4 year old preschool class: The Building Blocks.

To end the year in style, the school had each class come up to sing songs taught during the year. KK sang the ABC Song where you sing the sound each letter makes, the Months of the Year, the Wiggle Worm and ended it with Goodbye Friends. Before the show was over, Ms. C had each student share with the audience what they like so much about school. KK was no surprise: the coloring. As the best days at school are days in which crafts or art is involved, this pretty much summed up our year. Here is my girl center stage:



What wonderful things we have learned this year. KK learned to write her own name as well as everyone else's in the family. And she will do so on any piece of paper she gets her hands on, so beware :-) Below is a picture of KK with Ms. C ~ we love her!



Ms. C is full of patience and somehow managed to teach 12 four year olds so much this year. KK adores her and Ms. C loves to tell me how sweet and good KK is during school, one of her best students by far! Its not without its laughs, as I have received texts in which KK has reduced Ms. C to tears from laughter. For example, during circle time Ms. C was telling the kids about puppies and said she wished she could bring one to school for them to meet. Cooper pipes up "I am allergic to dogs". Two seconds later, without a hint of a smile, KK replies somberly "My mom is allergic to me". Oh dear! Thank goodness Ms. C knows my knack for sarcasm and teasing... I guess I learned something too this year: Four is still not old enough to understand mommy's sense of humor.

As always, I got distracted. I was bragging about my brilliant baby girl: She can write each letter in the alphabet and sound them all out. We can count in order up to at least 36 before we lose interest or get confused (it's so sweet). We love to color, and will do so for hours. But we are serious about our coloring, we do it within the lines and we never color things the way they should be (we use our imagination to make it pretty, so skies are purple, grass is red and purple can be used on just about anything). KK has learned so many beautiful bible songs from chapel each week that she hums and sings around the house all day long. Our favs this week: Our God is so Great, so Strong and so Mighty, there is nothing Our God cannot Do!

I have learned a lot too this year. First, I have learned that four is just another way to be sixteen. KK is Miss. Independent and wants to do everything herself, from buckling herself in the carseat, to putting on shoes even though she can't tie... Second, if you pray for patience, God will just put you in situations that exercise your patience and require you to be more patient. While KK is passing class with flying colors, I have definitely had a few days of failure. But each day is a new day.... and I heard five was easier :-P

In all seriousness, KK surprises us each day with how fast she can learn things and how much she loves learning. I hope it is something she continues to love the rest of her life!

It's been a wonderful year, and what makes it so special is having sweet friends like KJ and C-bug to share our school days with (and our Green Slime soccer team, but that's a post for another day)!



Side note: Happy Birthday KJ, we have loved watching your grow with KK the past five years!

Egg Hunt #1

Spring is here... and with spring comes Easter - a celebration of Christ's resurrection. He died on the cross, without sin, and doing so washed away our sins so that we may join Him and the Father in heaven. That's a big message, something we strive to teach our kids, and it seems the conversations are even more ongoing as Easter approaches. While words cannot express how awesome Easter is and what it means to us, this picture does explain the randomness that our children felt trying to tie together Jesus opening up the doors to heaven for us to the chasing of candy with a stuffed bunny... perhaps I should have explained the bunny part better?



While there wasn't exactly time for a deep conversation, I got the basic message across: They are going to throw lots of candy out into the field (we are at Mommy's work) and you are going to run when they blow the whistle and pick up as much of it as possible. Just focus kids: candy, get lots of it. Mommy would like a snickers if you can manage it.



Above you can see AJ, somewhat overwhelmed in the thick of things after the whistle blew... KK was more of a pro, this was her 4th year to attend an Egg Hunt (really 3rd year as the first she was like 4 months old so she "watched")... she got down and used her elbows the way we secretly instructed her on the drive over (teasing). But AJ, this was his first real egg hunt. His first year he was a few weeks old, the second he was crawling still - so this was his big break to get to the candy. As most kids on their first time out there in the wilds of egg hunts, he stopped and wanted to take the first piece he got, sit down and eat it. Well don't you worry - Daddy and I stood next to him and screamed to "GO GO GO"... maybe not our finest moment, maybe a few parents stopped to stare... but our eyes were on the prize: CANDY. And maybe just maybe we could eat some when the kids weren't looking :-)

(if you really believed we screamed at him, you need to close this blog and walk away right now)

The kids with their stashes:


We did make them take a few shots before getting any candy. What you won't see in these pictures is the faces they made when we requested pictures before candy... does a parent's heart good to know you are driving them crazy (again, teasing... I am just in one of those moods tonight as I blog).



Please note we only got through four pictures before AJ just couldn't contain himself anymore... the candy (Nerds) were too tempting to ignore any longer.



He plopped down and began to sample his stash. KK and AJ were sweet enough to share with Mommy and Daddy, no stealing needed. I will mention that despite the chilly morning air that the kids were whining about before the hunt, all was forgotten when the sugar hit the taste buds. We did get one family shot... AJ wasn't happy about being interrupted to take the picture, but that makes the picture even better.



It captured a real moment, but it was still an awesome moment. I mean, we just chased kids around a field for candy... what gets better than that? Maybe the drive home where Mommy is inspired to somehow bring together the empty tomb and the search for candy? Thank goodness by that point the kids were on sugar overload and none of it stuck...

Just wait... next week: TCU Egg Hunt. No beginners allowed. Best.Hunt.Ever.

Green Slime Soccer - The Bumblebee Game

Green Slime vs. The Bumblebees.... at first it seems like an obvious win. The kids are small. They are running around like crazy and don't seem to be into the game. That is what we all thought when the whistle blew to start the game. Little did we know, their secret weapon was about to emerge...

It didn't take long for the entire team (and all the parents) to realize that the secret weapon was not a child. Oh no... it was Coach Bumblebee. She was part goalie, part kicker, part coach. She blocked our kicks more times than we could count (she feigned it was because she couldn't move fast enough, which I believed until it kept happening when Green Slime was about to score on a drive). During breaks, she was grabbing her kids by the necks and screaming at them. It was the weirdest game we ever played... hence how I remember the team name: The Bumblebees.

Above: KK trying her best to having a scoring run! She did great out there - so proud of you baby!

My fav part of the game: the after shot with our family! It brings me joy to get to share in KK's soccer achievements with family, and let them see her in action

And don't forget about AJ. While he is only an honorary team member, he loves soccer. Note he is wearing KK's jersey from last year. He wore it to every game so far and will keep doing so. He plays on the sidelines, working to keep the team who is waiting to play nice and warmed up (see below, he and Kenzie running drills lol)!

Go.Green.Slime! If we can handle the Bumblebees, we can handle anything!

AJ's 2nd Birthday PARTY

To follow up on our fun family birthday celebration on AJ's actual birthday ~ little man still had to party with 25 of his bestest friends. And party he did! With McQueen and Thomas decorating the tables with soccer balls (why pick one theme when you love all three equally), we invited all our friends to celebrate AJ's 2nd birthday with a party at the Playscape... as you can see, AJ was all smiles, he loved his party!



For those who don't know what a Playscape is: a church nearby has an indoor jungle gym that easily goes up three stories high and ends in a long long long slide down to the bottom again. The kids adore it... I'm not so sure the adults like me who tagged along for the climb up thought it was quite as amazing, but seeing and sharing in the laughs and giggles made up for the tight squeezes and dizzy heights! As AJ is part monkey, such an adventure was a perfect way to celebrate being TWO!



So here are some shots in between climbs to the top that we could get...

All our friends (well some were still climbing, but to get this many kids to sit when they were having fun is a feat in itself):

After playing for awhile, it was time to serve up some dessert. While Mommy made a "soccer" ball cake out of cupcakes, per the birthday boy's request, since our party was at 9am we also served AJ's favorite: donuts! With some fruit and juice boxes, it made for a somewhat well-rounded start to everyones day!



Everyone gathered around and sang Happy Birthday - AJ snuggled close and had to think about his wish for a moment before blowing out the candle...

It was a great party, AJ had fun and so did we! The kids left with little bags of gummy bears (because I wasn't really sure if the donuts, cupcakes and juice boxes were enough sugar opps he-he) and hugs from AJ. We have such amazing friends and family surrounding us here - such a blessing to get to share our special days like this with them!

So it is official little man - you are TWO! Two years old, two parties to celebrate... Hope your wishes come true sweetheart!

Family Visits :-)

Just in time for AJ's 2nd birthday and KK's Green Slime soccer season ~ Grandpa and our Aunt L and Uncle S came to visit!!! We always have fun on their visits, the kids adore the attention and the extra people to play with. The joy of grandparents, aunts and uncles is that they are easily talked into playing just about anything you can come up with... you can't beat that kind of love! I am going to fast forward really quick and show my fav picture of the weekend:

First event of the weekend: KK's soccer practice. Everyone enjoyed the warm evening while watching Coach C patiently work with the team to ready them for the upcoming game on Saturday.

The boys (AJ included) sat together - it was a sweet moment to capture! After we hit the showers, AJ sat down to open belated birthday presents from Grandma and Ju-Ju and everyone else. He loved everything ~ trains and Thomas and McQueen... they knew exactly what to get!

AJ giving Grandpa a big thank you kiss! And not just for the toys ~ for coming and spending time with us. That matters more than gifts! See more from our weekend in upcoming posts!

AJ's 2nd Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet AJ!

How is it possible that you are already two years old? You have grown so much in so many ways this past year. Before I start with that, let me just share my favorite picture of you. While it hurt to cut those baby curls of hair, your new Justin Bieber look makes you look even more adorable, who knew?



If you were a part of our small guest list for AJ's birthday party, then you received an invitation with that smiling face on it. We presented AJ with his birthday boy outfit and were immediately met with "I wear dat, I wear dat". He loved having such a cool shirt. So we thought, lets go outside and see if we can get at least one picture. Little did we know that our little "Bieber" was all about posing like a big boy with his baby blue eyes and toothy little smile. So adorable! Here are a few more outtakes from our impromptu photo shoot in our yard. Even KK joined in:


Its hard to know where to begin with my little man. It just doesn't seem that long ago that you were this tiny little bundle, so quiet and content to sit back and watch. Those days are gone. Your are small but your personality is mighty AJ! We never have a doubt about what you are thinking or feeling. Getting to watch you learn to talk is so much fun, I wish there was a way to capture you as you hear something and immediately repeat it. Usually as a question to me followed by a quick little smile to show me you know how awesome you are at learning things.

Thank you KK, as you teach AJ the joys of singing. My favorite, hearing AJ singing "Oh Baby baby baby oooohhhh" while playing in the playroom alone. And yes, sometimes you hit that high note and only dogs can hear you. When you were a baby, the nurses were shocked at how loud and high you would scream/cry. It seems that this has transcended your singing little man....

While you are the little brother, you make sure KK knows she can't push you around. More times than not, you push back or push first... but I am so thankful that you and your sissy love each other so very much and don't fight often. Your favorite time is time spent playing together, usually in KK's room playing Barbie or dress-up (that is after playing any kind of ball or lining up your matchbox cars over and over again or playing trains - all things you can do for hours on end). Listening to you and KK talking to one another, such fun little conversations between brother and sister that Daddy and I love to listen to when you think we aren't around... it warms my heart more than I can explain. Some of those conversations drive us a little crazy or to uncontrollable laughter. AJ, you are quite the contrary little man. If KK looks out and says its very sunny today, you will undoubtedly respond immediately with "It's not sunny". You love to rile her up and it doesn't take you long to do it.

Soccer is still your favorite game ever. There are still days in which only clothes with soccer on it will do. But we have branched out. We now have a Mav's jersey and shorts that you refuse to take off. You have come home some many times covered with sand and dirt, and while Mommy tries to bath you and put clean PJ's on, you demand ever so forcefully to wear that dirty "baskball" shirt to bed and again the next morning. Convincing you to do something you don't want to do is such a challenge. You are such a stubborn boy sometimes, but I say that with nothing but love as I only have to look in the mirror to see who taught you that. There are times I laugh as I have no idea what else to do with you. Like when you were in time out for throwing something at your sister. You sat there, looking so defiant and when I made you chose between more time out or saying sorry, you immediately sat back down in that time out chair and didn't crack a smile. I had to leave the room I was laughing so hard. Oh sweet AJ, you bring such joy to our lives, even when we don't expect it.

Sorry for the rambling... part of me is trying to write down these moments and memories as they will be gone soon. I will focus now on your big day! You were all smiles, loving every minute. Of course we wore our birthday boy shirt. Mommy made, per your adamant request, a soccer ball cake! Thomas the train and McQueen were they decorates, again per your request and who can blame you - why pick only one of your best friends?



As tradition in our home - the day was celebrated with our cousins in style: pizza, cake and presents! The cake was a big hit and the night was perfect. The kids had fun together!



Of course everyone joined in to blow out the candle!


Before presents were finished, the kids discovered that all they need is tissue paper to party




AJ was given so many wonderful gifts from our families. They were all perfect for AJ, Thomas and McQueen were the theme for gifts and everything had to be inspected and played with before opening the next gift.



So Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet AJ! Daddy, KK and I have been so blessed by you ~ we love you so much! We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings with you :-)