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:

First Stitches

I know that little boys will get injured and little boys will get hurt, but when it happens to YOUR little boy it just breaks your heart!

Today, we took Alex to the Bridgestreet.  They have a fountain area where little kids can run around and and play in the water.  Good idea, right?!  It started out great.  Alex was having fun, playing in the water and being silly.  In an instant it turned out not so great.  Larry and I looked down at Jaxon's stroller to move it and the next thing we know is Alex runs up to us, telling us he has fallen down and with blood gushing from his chin.  Larry, being the quick thinker, grabs a diaper and holds it to Alex's chin so the blood doesn't get everywhere.  Eventually, we calmed Alex down enough and we were able to look at his chin and realized that it was cut a little more than what a simple band-aid could handle.  We quickly left Bridgestreet and headed to the ER.

At the ER, they numbed him up and stitched him up.  He got 2 stitches on the inside and 6 stitches on the outside.  The nurses and doctor kept commenting on how well behaved he was and how brave he was being.  He just laid there and let them stitch him up like it was something that he has done everyday.

A little funny story about the whole incident:

While we were waiting to be seen by the doctor, another lady came into the room.  I forget what exactly her title was, but ti was one that I didn't recognize.  She told us that she wanted to ask Alex a few questions and explain to him the procedure that he was about to have done.  This is how the conversation went:

Lady:  Hi Alex, I work here at the hospital.  Can you tell me what you did today?!
Alex:  Mommy, what did I do?
Me:  Alex, tell her what happened.
Alex:  I fell down and hurt my chin, right Mommy?
Me:  Yes, Alex.
Lady:  Alex, where did you fall down?
Alex: Where did I fall down, Mommy?
Me:  Alex, where were we?
Alex:  At the fountains.  Right, Mommy?
Me: Yes.

You get the picture.  I was so afraid this lady was from child protective services checking up on us.  All the while, Alex was asking was asking me for reassurance.  I was hoping she didn't think he was being coached in any way.  Fun times.

Turns out the lady works with the hospital and explains to kids what is going on - in ways the child can understand.  She told Alex he would be getting blue strings in his chin to help heal him and showed him a doll that had blue strings in it.  He was able to touch and feel the strings - which helped calm him down a little bit about it.  She also told him that he needed to stay very still so the doctor could put the strings in.

All in all, Alex was such a trooper during the whole ordeal.  He only cried for a few minutes - I was so proud of him!

Here are a few pictures of our time at the fountains, before he fell down and a few pictures while we were at the ER:

At the ER:

Phone Calls

This is how Alex talks on the phone...

It's rough to be him :)

Earlyworks Museum - Circus Day

Today, we took Alex to the Earlyworks Museum.  In addition to being able to tour the museum (which we had never been to), they were having clowns, carnival games, popcorn, magic shows, face painting and crafts.  Larry and I thought it would be a great Alex, Mommy and Daddy date.

The museum was really neat.  It was very kids friends and very hands on.  Alex had a great time pushing buttons, playing cashier at the "store", harvesting vegetables and wandering through the museum.  Larry and I had a great time watching him explore.

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Alex and Daddy:

Trying on his clown nose:

Playing games:

On the inflatable:

Playing the slingshot game:

I'm pretty sure he was marching here:

Alex and Mommy:

Sarah and Larry:

Getting his face painted:

The finished product - a red nose and a mustache:

Harvesting vegetables:

Singing :)

Playing with the mailbox:

Playing in the store:

Mommy and Alex:

The visor that he made: