First Day Of School!!

Kindergarten Is Fun!

Colin started Kindergarten this week. It wasn't exactly hard for me because I went through the emotions when he started his preschool at three-and-a-half. Colin was so excited-especially since there are quite a few kids from his preschool that have transferred over with him. We needed to be at the school at 9:30 AM on Monday to have orientation, but Colin was ready with his backpack on at eight-it was so cute!

My favorite part of the orientation was when I had several little girls' mothers come over and ask, "Are you Colin's mom? My daughter talks about Colin all of the time!" Another mom told me that she can already tell Colin is going to be one of the popular kids. Not that this matters to me, but I was happy to hear he's nice to his classmates and has a good amount of friends. He took the tour of the campus holding one little girl's hand, and she even kissed him a few times! He didn't react how I expected. He just smiled and wiped his cheek.

His best friend from Mulberry was Franco. He talked about Franco all summer, and even named his Build-A-Bear after Franco. We were disappointed on Monday to find out that his friend is in the PM class, and Colin is in the AM class. I talked to Franco's mom for a bit, and at the end of the orientation, she told me she had switched him to the AM class so that he and Colin could be together again. I thought that was very sweet of her!

Each day after school, Colin comes home and proudly states, "Mom! Dad! I had fun at school today!" Then when I ask him what he learned, he tells me, "I saw Franco!" That's it. I can tell it's going to be a great year, and I'm excited to see Colin's progress! Good luck, Bubba!



My Tooth Is....GONE! Part 2

I was quite nervous for the next tooth to come out after the meltdown from the first lost tooth. However, Colin had quite a different reaction with the second tooth.

We had just gotten home from a fun day. We had spent time with friends, gotten ice cream, and had gone to the park. It was bed time by the time we had gotten home. Colin walked over to me with his hands behind his back and said, "Mom...I'm hungry." (After a full evening of eating.) I asked what he would like to eat and he pulled out the box of Pop Tarts that were hiding behind his back. Knowing how he usually reacts to bribes (he doesn't fall for them), I replied, "SURE! If you take out that wiggly tooth you can have a Pop Tart." In the blink of an eye he pulled the tooth right out, handed it to me with a simple, "HERE", and pulled out a package of Pop Tarts. Well that was easy.

Birthday!

BIRTHDAY PARTY!

Blake turned two this week, so we had a low-key family party on his big day (the 12th), and then we had the big party today. We had Blake's friends party with us at Build-A-Bear in Downtown Disney, and then went to the picnic area just outside the main entrance of Disneyland for cake and ice cream. I must say is was a low-maintenance, low-stress day! We had a great time, and I think the other kids did, too. Blake really enjoyed himself and seemed to understand the concept of birthdays.

I loved seeing what the other little kiddos picked out for their animal, and the names they picked out were fun, too! Colin dressed his bear like an Angel's baseball player and named him "Franco" after a classmate, and Blake had "Beast", a bear that had a Buzz Lightyear outfit. I will admit that I was proud of my cake. I made two cakes separated into four round pans, and then it took me a good three hours (with breaks for eating) to build and decorate it. I felt good when my youngest S.I.L didn't believe that I had made it! Ü

Happy Birthday Blake! Please keep the "Terrible Twos" to a minimum, and we love you!



My Tooth is...is GONE!

Colin has had this dang wiggly tooth for the longest time, and he wouldn't let me get my hands on it! Finally, I was so worried that he would swallow it, I pretended to floss it and pulled it out. He didn't notice until I excitedly showed it to him, then...he freaked out.

We experienced a good twenty minutes of crying. He just didn't understand the concept of losing a tooth and growing a new one. I tried the Tooth Fairy route, and that just scared him. "NO FAIRY! My tooth is gooooone! Oh nooooo!" Eventually he calmed down, looked in the mirror, and said, "THANKS MOM!"

Now the tooth next to it is equally as wiggly, so here we go again!

Crabs

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST

Today we went to Jarron Livingston's 3rd birthday party. It was a swimming party, and we had the best time! (The best part...I didn't get burned! Thanks Heath!) At the end of the party, Jarron handed out his party favors that each had a cute little card game like "Old Maid" or "Go Fish!" Colin just happened to get "Go Fish!"

After dinner, Ron and I had decided to try and teach Colin how to play the game. He did pretty well (except for yelling out what card he drew each time). He was already familiar with his sea creatures, so we didn't have to teach him any.

It was Colin's turn to ask me for a card, so he and Ron made a mutual decision of what to ask me for. Then...he said it...."Mom...Do you have the crabs?" Ron and hysterically and immaturely rolled on the floor and laughed. And with delight, I answered, "YES I DO!"



GOLF

We had a coupon for a free bucket of balls at the Claremont Golf Course, so we utilized it and took the boys. Blake, of course, was extremely loud and inappropriate at the course (as any two-year-old would be), and Colin impressed several with his amazing swing despite the too-long golf clubs. We bought him a bucket of 100 balls...he hit them all!

P.S. Blake put the headband on himself. I thought it was very fashion forward.

CA ADVENTURE

I am realizing that Blake is now getting to the age where he is afraid of a lot of things. He used to be so curious, and now he's just scared. I took my guys to CA Adventure on a whim one afternoon, and we had a great time. They have seemed to enjoyed the same rides in the past, but during this visit, Blake held on to me for dear life on pretty much every one. The carousel was no exception. He even hid in the basket of the stroller during the Electric Light Parade!