Muscle Man!

We're back at it again! I have actually been going to bed at a decent time lately, which means that the blog has been put on the back burner. Not only is school wearing the kids out, but Larry and I too. When Gavin gets home we have yet to have a nice, quiet evening. As long as he's good at school it's ok, but this morning I encouraged him to take a little snooze at rest time to see if that would help his grumpiness once he gets home. I doubt it'll happen, but it's worth a shot. Once Larry gets home, it goes like this: supper, bath, and early to bed. There's not even been any time to play outside. The last two nights the boys have both been asleep by 8. I know it's still light at 8, but they are SOOOO tired!

Maddox is all about getting his picture taken now. Every time he does something he asks us to take his picture. This morning he was stretching and checking to see if his muscles got bigger last night! What do you think? Any bigger?

First Day of Pre-K

I picked Maddox up from school at Noon today and here's the info. that I got from him.

How was Pre-School? Good!

What did you have for snack? cheese, crackers, and grapes

Did you see Gavin at lunch? Yes, he picked me up and I kicked him.

Is Miss Jamie a nice teacher? Yes...
(Later on) No...She yelled at me because I took my shoes off.
Then, I yelled at her and said I'm sorry Miss Jamie.

Did you like Pre-School? No, because Miss Jamie says "Shhhh...It's time for quiet."

Who is in your class? I don't know.

Was everyone good in your class today? Yes...No, they were screaming....just don't worry about it...it's mean to say.

Are you ready to go back on Tuesday? No

Why not? Because my teacher says "quiet" and I don't like that.

What is all this supposed to mean? I'm sure it means that everything went as great as a first day of school can go and that he is full of stories.

This is what he said next out of nowhere "Remember that girl that was on my baseball team (he has never played baseball on a team) that kicked me in the weiner...Remember, when I was 5. Oh yeah, I've never been 5 before.

I guess I have to consider the source. I'll assume that he's doing fine unless I hear from Miss Jamie. Keep in mind, that he is full of stories and isn't used to being quiet...EVER! Poor Miss Jamie...I feel for her!

Maddox The Pre-Schooler

Maddox and Gavin were both up bright and early again today. Thank goodness for early bedtimes during the school year. I had forgotten how much extra time that gives me to get stuff done (in other words...check email, post on my blog, etc.)

Gavin's giving the old thumbs up and Maddox must be #1, I'm not sure.
Maddox and his Diego backpack (Some of you might be interested in knowing that Gavin has already used it for 2 years.) It's the inner tightwaud coming out in me...I knew it was in there somewhere. Maddox shaking his booty one last time before we head off to school. He threw that one in there. He must know it makes me smile every time. I love his booty shakes.
Gavin wanted a picture in front of this black-eyed susan. He's quite the gardener. Plus he wanted a picture of his drum shirt. He's quite the little drummer these days.
Maddox wanted to play on the playground before school. He talked me into letting him go down one slide. Maddox with his "friends".
Maddox and Miss Jamie, his teacher. This is her first year at St. Joe as well.
I'm home alone and it is sooo quiet. Maddox is staying at school for lunch today. I let him decide if he wanted to or not. You know, all 3 year olds should have the opportunity to make their own decisions. He first asked if Gavin was staying for lunch today and said he wanted to eat with Gavin. He will see Gavin for a little while at least. That will be good for them both.

Maddox's first day has gone well so far. I assumed it would though. He's been ready for pre-school since last year when he always wanted to stay with Gavin. I had to pry him out of the room each and every day.

Gavin's First Day Of Kindergarten

It started with an All-School Mass at 8am. Family and friends were invited to come and bless the teachers and the students. It was a nice way to start the school year. I love how St. Joe is so family oriented. I feel that we made the best choice. I am confident in that. Gavin has 8 kids in his class. You can't beat that either.

As we were walking up to school Gavin's backpack strap completely ripped off of one end. It will be returned this weekend. He was a little bothered by it, but got over it quickly.

Father Jerry and Mrs. Potter welcoming everyone this morning. Mrs. Potter is the new principal and is doing a great job so far. She is very active in the church and has already brought forth many new ideas and it has really made us look forward to sending Gavin there every day. Gavin with his big cousin Blake who is going to be in 4th grade this year. Gavin with his teacher Mrs. Burgener. This is her first year teaching at St. Joe and Gavin loves her already after just a half day. He keeps telling me things that she said throughout the day. The one I've heard about the most is that they are going to have a 100th day party. I'm not sure that he understands that means he has to wait 100 days til it gets here, but hey, whatever keeps him going!
First thing in the morning the students get 4 tickets. If they misbehave they get a ticket taken away. Gavin came home with 4 tickets today, so we're off to a good start. He got 4 skittles at the end of the day too!

Gavin handed me this paper when he came out of school. When we got in the car he said that Mrs. Burgener read them a story called The Kissing Hand. I haven't read it, but she said she would be sending a copy home soon. Gavin tells me that when I miss him throughout the day that I should put my hand on my cheek and know that he is in good hands with Mrs. Burgener and that she will take good care of him. Awww! So cute! I love Kindergarten!

I did not shed a tear this morning. Mainly for one reason. During Mass we sat in the 3rd row from the front. Gavin later joined his class in the front row after I had to take Maddox out of church (SURPRISE! SURPRISE!) Mass was right at an hour long, so needless to say he was a little ancy. He was really interested in talking to this little girl in his class that he hadn't met yet. You see, he had to tell her how old he was and talk to her, they had their hands together up in the number 5 seeing whose hands were bigger. Then, the entire class joined in. He was whispering, but paying absolutely no attention to Father Jerry. He looked back at me and smiled as I gave him the SHHHHH! signal. But no, Mom can't reach me so I'll keep talking and making new friends while Mass is going on. Needless to say I was a little frustrated with him at the time and so no tears were shed. That was one of the moments I felt a little relieved he was going. Mrs. Burgener said he was great in class this morning. He will do fine. I have no doubt, but it's good that he knows that we see Mrs. Burgener on a daily basis.

Tomorrow is another big day for us. Maddox starts Pre-School! He told me tonight when I was putting him in bed that I'm too big to stay with him tomorrow, but he really wants me to be his teacher. Does that make sense? It does to a 3 yr. old. More to come tomorrow.

Rise and Shine!

Things went smoothly around here this morning. No more sleeping in til 8 am around here. It's back to school for us. The boys were up by 6:20 and Larry was gone by 6:30. We were early for once!

Hopefully our mornings will continue to go as smoothly as this one. I have more pictures to come...hopefully later today.

Kindergarten...Here I Come!

As I write this post I can't help but feel a little anxious about sending Gavin off to school tomorrow. It's a big day for us. I've stayed at home with Gavin since we moved home and he was only 5 months old. I've always been told how they grow up so fast...and there is SO much truth to that. It'll be a LOT different without him around on a daily basis.


You know, the past week, well actually most of the summer, there have been MANY moments that I've secretly thought how nice and quiet it will be around here once he starts school. Gavin and Maddox are the best of friends. When they play and pretend they call each other "friend" instead of calling each other by name. On the other hand the two of them can tangle and bicker like no other...let's just say there is no softness to either of their voices. I'm sure that Maddox and I will find plenty of things to do and enjoy our one on one time. It will not be the same without Gavin around throughout the day.


Good luck Gavin on your first day of Kindergarten! We are very proud of all you've accomplished so far and the amazing boy you've turned out to be.


Ok, now I have just shed my first tear! I didn't think I would, but man this really puts things into perspective.

A Weekend of Camping

Last weekend we went camping with Larry's parents. We've decided that Larry is sleeping in a tent the next time...let's just say he snores...a lot!


The boys can't stop talking about all the fun stuff they did...lots of fishing, roasting marshmallows, playing baseball, watching the fire, and watching the fire some more.

This is our little firebug. He sat for hours and watched this fire and tried to find anything burnable to put on it.