Jaxon's New Seat

When Alex was a baby, he loved sitting in his Bumbo seat.  He would sit there for long stretches of time and watch me as I got stuff done around the house.

Unfortunately, Jax has not liked the Bumbo nearly as much.  He would sit there for about two minutes and then commence yelling at me.  At first I thought it was because it was something new and eventually he would get used to it.  After several days and one agitated child, I finally figured out what the problem was. It was pinching his chunky thighs and making him uncomfortable.

The other day, we went to Babies R Us and found a new seat for Jax.  We discovered the Summer Infant 3-Stage Super Seat.  Big enough to fit his chunky thighs and plenty of stuff to keep him occupied while I cook dinner - a winner for both of us.  Now, if only they had something in Alex's size :)

Here are a few pictures of Jax in his new seat:

Stick Family

Saw this cute little stick family on another blog - thought we needed one for ours :)



My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com

First Day of Preschool

Alex had his first day of preschool today!  He was so excited to go!  I love that I have a child that is excited for things like this - it makes dropping him off so much easier :)

He has a new teacher this year.  Her name is Mrs. Butler (often times he calls her Mrs. Butter).  She seems like a wonderful, loving woman and I am so happy that Alex is in her class.  She also has two aides in her class.  Mrs. Corning helps out on Tuesday and Thursday and Mrs. Chaplin (Amy - his teacher from last year) helps out on Wednesday.  We are so glad that Amy is in his class.  Alex absolutely adores her and it is so nice to have a familiar face around :)

When I dropped Alex off at school this morning, he walked right in and put his bag on the hook and lunch bag on the floor.  He acted like he owned the place - of course that is nothing out of the ordinary for Alex!  After he sat down, he asked Mrs. Butler where the bathroom was.  She pointed it out (it is in the classroom) and asked him if he needed to go.  He told her "no, I was just checking for when I will need to use it later"!  Ha - always prepared!

In his classroom this year, they are all about independence.  He carries his own bag, goes to the bathroom when he needs to, cleans up toys, plays independently (as well as in the group) and he is even able to do car pool (no need for me to drag Jax in and out of the car to drop off and pick up Alex).  I love that they are teaching him these things, but also a little sad because it means that my little man isn't so little anymore!  He is growing up and I can't stop it!

He also will have chapel this year on Wednesdays.  They will get to go into the church sanctuary, learn about Jesus and learn to pray.  I am so excited for this.  He has such love in his heart for Jesus and loves learning about Him.

I went in to pick him up today (this morning he told me to come in and pick him up because he was "just not ready for the car pool line") and Mrs. Butler told me that he was a wonderful little boy and that he cleaned up after himself without even being asked to.  She said that they really enjoyed him.  Apparently he is quite the social butterfly too.

When we got in the car today, he told me all about his day.  He was so proud of the handprints he made, told me all about eating his lunch, playing with his friends and he told me about hanging out with all his friends from last year on the playground!  He even told me that he thinks that he is ready to try the carpool tomorrow because he is a "big boy" now :)

I am so happy he enjoyed his first day and I am so hopeful that he will be this excited the rest of the year!

Here are a few pictures that we took this morning before we left for school:

Ready for school:

Mommy and Alex:

Brothers:

Love that they are holding hands in this picture :)

Soccer Star

Alex is finally able to play soccer this year with the YMCA.  He has been looking forward to this for awhile....so have I (I am secretly hoping that he will get some of his energy out and sleep really well on the nights he has soccer practice).

Alex had his first practice today and loved it.  He thinks he is going to be the "winner" of his team.  I keep trying to explain to him that they are a team and they work together.  Apparently, I am not getting through to him - after one of the goals that he kicked he turned around to the rest of his team and yelled out "woohoo, I'm the winner!"  Yep, that was my kid...never a dull moment!

The coach is teaching them the basics and it is pretty funny to watch these three year olds run around and learn soccer.  You have kids who are really into it, kids who are just there because their parents are making them and other kids who are just running around the field without a care in the world.  I can't wait for games :)

Here are a few pictures for his first practice:

Yep...that is my little superstar posing:

On the field:

Practicing:

Taking time out from practice to give a little wave to his fans:

Team huddle:

Speaking of fans, apparently Alex thinks he is running in a parade waving as he is running around the field.  This kid cracks me up:

And of course, a picture of the cutest little brother I know:

Soccer Practice, Double Rainbow and Captain America

Soccer Practice:


In preparation for Alex's upcoming Soccer season, we got him a soccer ball, cleats, shin guards and socks.  Well, of course he had to try them all out.  We suited him up and let him loose in the backyard to "practice" his soccer skills.  Fortunately for us, we discovered that he isn't all that bad.  Of course, he does have my gracefulness and falls down pretty frequently, but if we can get that under control, the boy  actually isn't too bad at soccer.  He kicks the ball pretty well and even dribbles it better than I expected :)

Here are a few pictures:

Such a crazy kid:

Kicking it around the yard:

Super Star:

Had to take a break to cry about how far away the soccer ball was:

Pretty good form, right?

I think Daddy and Alex were practicing hitting it off his head.  Not really a requirement for soccer, but something Larry thoroughly enjoyed:

Double Rainbow:

After practicing soccer, we went out front to play in the driveway.  While we were sitting there, we noticed a double rainbow.  It was absolutely beautiful - my pictures do not do it justice!

I love seeing reminders of God like this.  He surely has fulfilled His promise of bringing me a rainbow (my boys) after the storm (the death of my parents).

Captain America:


Larry said it best "Who needs to go to the movies to see Captain America when we have our own Captain America living with us?"

Little Brother:


And because I can't leave Little Brother out:

Laughter

Jax is finally laughing!  He makes us work for it, but it is so worth it!  Tonight, he was in an especially giggly mood, so we took advantage of it and got it on video and on pictures.

I love these laughs.  The kind where they surprise themselves and get a shocked look on their faces after laughing.  The kind where their whole body shakes when they laugh.  The kind where you can't help but smile along.  These are the moments that I live for as a Mommy :)

Here are some cute pictures of our little man:

My favorite:

Getting all serious:

Buckwheat and Jax (love the look on Jax's face):

Kisses for Daddy:

And here is the video (I'm not sure how to turn them around...sorry):