Back to School!

Trevor, 7th grade! I can hardly believe it. He is growing up before my very eyes. He is taller than me. He is smarter than me. Well, at least in math. The boy is taking Geometry this year. Normally a 10th grade class. He'll be earning a high school credit for it which is great. He continues to amaze me with his success in school. Hannah, 3rd grade. On to a new school. Oak Grove is 3rd through 5th grades. She adjusts so well though. Even though none of her closest girlfriends were in her class, she was still very excited and ready for 3rd grade. She is already bringing home books from her classroom library, and I'm sure this will be another great school year for her.


Ben and Ava braved the big world of preschool yesterday. They had different feelings about the idea of going, though. Ava was very excited and even said she was going to be a big girl and stay without Mommy there. Ben, on the other hand, was a little nervous, as the pictures show. He wanted me to stay the whole time. But after a few minutes on the playground and having his teacher come over to him and talk to him a bit, he loosened up and was doing well when I left. They will only be going two days a week. Just enough to get some social interaction and experience a structured, school like environment. It will be strange for me to be without any children for 2 1/2 hours on those days. I'm sure I'll get used to having some free time to get things done...

Ben's feet

Last night, quite late I might add, Ben held up his right foot and said, "Mom, is this my right foot?"
And I said, "Yes, it is!"
Then he held up his left foot and said, "And is this my wrong foot?"
It cracked me up. For a minute, I didn't even mind that he was up way past his bedtime. What a funny boy.

Feeling nostalgic

I was going through my pictures today, looking for a particular one that was taken of a garden trellis at our previous home. I started at the beginning of my collection, knowing it was taken shortly after I got a digital camera, back in 2003. I had forgotten how much I enjoy looking at pictures from the past, especially pictures of the kids when they were so much younger.

I came across this picture of Hannah on her 4th birthday. She was really into dressing up and singing, and here she was giving me a private performance of "Me and My Teddy Bear," as sung by Baby Bop. :) The only reason I remember the song is because I took a video along with the picture. She was such a little princess, and still is. Just in a big girl kind of way...

Looking at pictures from this time period reminds me how life seemed less busy back then, and we seemed to have more time to soak up sweet little moments like these. I guess it's just the natural evolution of a family. And I'm glad I have lots of pictures like these to remind me to make time and to not get so busy that we forget to make more special memories.

These Two...

...have a love/hate relationship. (Or maybe it's more like sibling rivalry.) But I think the hate part is just for show.

Getting a picture of them together can be very difficult most of the time. For example, today we stopped to take some pictures at this really beautiful field of lupine. (Ben was asleep in the car.) I asked them to stand together for a picture and to hurry because the battery in my camera was low. I just started snapping, figuring I would have to settle for a picture of them in a lupine field wrestling around being silly, but after a few shots I ended up with a pretty nice picture with the pretty purple blooms behind them.

I know they love eachother. And hopefully as they grow up they'll be able to show it more easily.

Wee Artists

Yesterday I got down the paints from the very top cupboard in the kitchen. You see, they had been there since Ben and Ava had gotten into them about a year and a half ago, rubbing them into the carpet two separate times. It happened before I could get to them and stop them. That is how quickly they work as a team.

I figured they were probably ready to try the paints again, this time with a little more supervision and structure. Oh and they were so excited. The moment I suggested painting, they both forgot what they were doing and ran into the kitchen as I got the paints down. Of course, they immediately started requesting certain colors, but that was solved by putting all of the paints in the center where they could be reached by both of them. (Notice the blue and purple paints are missing...rubbed into the carpet...)

The painting actually held their attention for quite a while. Ben took the more "modern art" approach, while Ava scattered her colors separately all over her paper, including a "rainbow" in the end.

I think investing in some more good paints, including the colors blue and purple, is in order for this summer. We may even try painting outside if the sun ever makes it's appearance again.

Recycling

I try really hard to recycle everything I possibly can. Many of my friends and family would attest to this fact. Just last week, in fact, I took a bag home full of empty boxes and french fry containers from McDonalds after having lunch there. (I wasn't going to confess this because it is, afterall, borderline crazy! But I already let the information slip out to a friend at work, so what the heck?!) After we finished our lunch there, I looked at all of those empty containers, knowing that they almost always end up in the trash can inside the restaurant. And it bothered me. I really hate to waste things, and so bringing them home and putting them into my commingled recycle bin was what I had to do.
But what I really want to mention, on the topic, is something said by my little boy last night. He came to me with two pieces of cardboard in his hand and said, "Mommy, is this garbage or recycle?" Now this might sound crazy, but I was so proud! :) He is only three years old, and this just goes to show you that I, like every other parent, have habits that rub off on my children. So glad that this good habit, (in my opinion), is rubbing off on him!

Now, here is a picture of the silly boy...

Saturday Soccer

I love Saturday soccer. Trevor and Hannah are both soccer players. In the fall and spring, we plan our Saturdays around the soccer games...or try to figure out how to fit both soccer games into the day, which can be tricky since I'm often the only parent available to do the "soccer run." But I don't mind it. I actually really enjoy it. Soccer is something they both do well and seem to really have fun with.

I left my camera at home today by accident for Hannah's game, so no shots of her this time. I did get some good photos of Trevor though. I just sat with my camera ready to shoot, which is what you have to do to get a good action shot.

He has been playing since he was five years old. We used to go to his games back then and giggle as the boys would all run together around the ball, hovering over it like a swarm of bees. The way he plays now is so different and I find myself sitting on the edge of my chair as it gets exciting. When he was younger and would score a goal, I would be so proud of him that it would bring me to tears. It's the same today, and whenever he makes a good pass or challenges another player and makes it around him with the ball, the lump stars forming in my throat. I guess it's just the mommy in me.

I'm proud beyond proud. But not just because he is good at soccer; he is successful at a multitude of things, but more simply because I have been entrusted this wonderful young man by God.

Ben's soggy foot

A couple days ago, in the morning, Ben was sitting on a barstool at the bar eating his breakfast. He climbed down from his stool and limped over to me, whimpering and complaining that his foot hurt. I said, "Why does it hurt? What happened?", and he said, "It's all soggy", and he was shaking it. I stood there trying to figure out what in the world he meant by a soggy foot, but then realized that he must have been sitting on his foot and it had fallen asleep.

A creative way to describe what he was feeling, I thought. Cute kid!

Sweet little Ben

Ben says the sweetest things. I have to write this one down, and plan to make that a habit, because I know from experience that it will slip from my mind if I don't.
Last night we were sitting down for dinner, and it was a little rushed because we had to leave to take Trevor to church shortly. I looked over at Ben and he was just sitting there, eating his dinner and looking at me. Our little "dialog" went like this:
Ben: "Wuv you."
Me: "I love you, too."
Ben: (Wink.)
Me: (Wink.)
And then he puckered up his lips and leaned over to kiss me. And my heart melted.
He has the tenderest of hearts. I cherish every piece of him. I got lucky enough to be blessed with this sweet boy, and I'm so thankful for him.