Monday, August 30, 2010

Four Days of School...

and the sniffles have already landed in our house!  Sophia came down with a little cold over the weekend...and Mr. J inherited it FULL-BLOWN today.  Not actually sure if it is a cold or just allergies...but my little man was MISERABLE by this afternoon!  Itchy, red eyes...stuffy nose...and lots of ahh-chooing!!!  After lunch... he kept telling me " I have go to doctor," and when I asked why... he replied, " Because the sick not go away!!"  Poor little guy!  Well, the allergy doc and ENT specialist have already been called....  I am going to stay on top of this.....we don't want a repeat of last year....I'm thinking we might be headed towards removing those pesky adenoids.  Hate to do it...but if it gives him some relief...it will be worth it!



Despite not feeling well... I somehow convinced this little guy to model his new Handy Manny BIG boy pants....and maybe the motrin is to blame....but he COMPLIED!!  He is still not too keen on sitting on that big boy potty yet.  We've not had much success with that....the only thing that interests him seems to be the flusher!!!

He was all decked out in his "just like Daddy" hard hat, his Handy Manny pants, and a mop in hand!  I just love these pics I snapped of him doing some "housework" for me!!!



Do you like how his Daddy tucked his shirt into his pants!!! Pretty funny!


Miss Sophia had her first spelling pre-test today.....she did great, only missing one!  I thought the words were kind of challenging for her first test!! We have to practice her words each night....and she was pretty excited to take a practice spelling test with me after school.  I hope her excitement doesn't wear off too soon!  Still can't believe my baby is in FIRST grade!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Goalie

Sophia's first soccer game of the season was this afternoon.  This year... the team decided to get some wild pink socks and have their names put on their jerseys in pink, of course.


She wanted me to get a picture of her name....Do you like how little J copies every move she makes...he wanted a picture of his back too!!




This year, it seems things are a bit different from Kindergarten soccer... The girls are learning about positions....about playing defense, and going for the ball.  Sophia's coach named her goalie today.  This is something we have not practiced.....so she was a little apprehensive.  She didn't understand that she was only supposed to stay by the goal when the other team was getting close.  She would often forget to play offense and run towards the other goal....b/c she would just stand in front of the goal to "protect" it.  Let's just say Coach had to give her a few reminders that she couldn't stand in the goal the whole time.  


It was hot...and she woke up this morning with a stuffy nose which quickly turned into a full blown cold...Oh my....only 3 days of school...and we are already getting the viruses.  She told me that someone had already been absent in her class on Friday!  Welcome to the school year!!!   So....I don't think she was feeling her greatest for her game today!  I felt bad for her at one point b/c she was trying so hard to keep the ball out of the goal...that one time she tried to kick it away (from an angle) and it actually headed back in (the wrong goal of course)!!!  Poor Sophia....  And I was REALLY upset when I heard one of her teammates on the side-lines get upset about it.... This is FIRST grade soccer people....not the World Cup!!! 

Love this picture....Her coach is always giving "bumps" and "high fives" and full of praise even when mistakes are made!!! Just the way it ought to be!!!


I felt like I was back in grade school playing CYO basketball as I was watching her.  I could see the nervousness in her eyes as the ball would get close to her goal and the apprehension about kicking it.  Reminded me of myself when I would pray that no one would foul me so I wouldn't have to shoot from the free throw line!!! 



She did get a bit more comfortable by the end of the game... I think it just takes her a bit to warm up....b/c she had some good blocks and kicks late in the game! Yay!!! I'm so proud of her!!! 


J was pretty pooped and a bit grumpy as the game was during his normal nap time!!! He kept himself occupied by stepping on Sophia's water bottle and watching the water squirt out...and by playing with my hair which is in desperate need of a CUT!


Oh and as for those pink socks...they were awfully thick....might be better for those chilly Fall games!!! 


Thursday, August 26, 2010

Changes

The first day of FIRST grade has already come and gone....  Seems that everything these days happens in the blink of an eye.  All and all...it was a good day!!! Beautiful weather....nice Mass, and one happy little first grader at the end of the day!!!

So much to share....so many things she has said that have already made me laugh....but I am one TIRED cookie tonight....so I'm just going to post the pics.  




And of course I can't leave out little J...along for the ride...who tells me " I want to go to cool," just to hear me say...oh no...what would I do without my little buddy???  He gets a kick out of it when I " boo-hoo" and tell him I would be too lonely without him!! I still get a little upset when I look at his hair...after his bad haircut experience this week!!! I asked for a teensy trim, but instead he ended up with short short short hair and NO MORE CURLS.  I am devastated...it will grow, I know...and he is still a cutie pie....but the receptionist telling me how grown up he now looked as I was leaving the store was not much of a comfort!



And for grins... a pic from her first day of kindergarten!  See how she has changed??  It goes by waaaay too fast!


As for J and me... our life has changed a bit....we miss our Sophia....Jessie misses her Sophia....even Willie has seemed a bit confused.  3:30 has become our favorite part of the day.  We can't wait to see her and hear all about her day.  

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Good-Bye Summer!

The story has been read..


The lunch is packed....



The uniform is neatly ironed and the new tennis shoes are sparkling (literally).

She is ready.....



but I miss her already.
Hope you have a HAPPY first grade year my Sophie P!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Last Hurrah!

Most of the other schools in our area have already started their school year.  We lucked out and got an extra week....but we will be getting back to the grind this week.  Oh... how I love summer....no coats, no flu season, sunshine, eating lunch outside, later bedtimes, sleeping in (a bit, at least)....but I guess it is time.  So here we go.

We had a fun last weekend of "summer."  We spent Saturday afternoon at a birthday party for a very sweet  FOUR year old.  His mother and I knew each other in elementary school....we have spent the last few months chatting over email...sharing our baking successes and failures, and filling each other in on our crazy lives!  I was soooo glad to get to see her finally face to face after all these years!!! She was a perfect hostess...and her little man turning four was cute as can be...and had a BALL at his party!  He chose a fire truck theme...as his daddy is a "real life" (as my kids put it) firefighter.  What a huge surprise that real firemen showed up at the party and dressed up in their gear and gave a fire safety demonstration... Even a visit from Fire Pup!

When we came home.... the kids took their INCREDIBLE favor bags (filled with fun goodies and personalized home-made fire themed shaped cookies) upstairs.  It was too quiet down here for some time... I worried something was wrong and went to investigate.  When I got to Sophia's room.. I found her giving her dollies and Joseph a STOP DROP and ROLL demonstration with her little fireman figure from the favor bag.  Too cute!!!!

I had tons of pictures from the party...but I'll share just a few...

Fire Pup's visit


Trevor's Daddy in his fire fighter gear...Fire fighter Rick kept reminding the kids that fire fighters are their friends...even underneath all that scary looking gear...

Just too cute for words... I love how she loves him and takes care of him!

Here's Trevor's mommy with the fire truck cake!

And here's the Birthday Boy!  Such a cutie and LOVED his cake!

The cake...up close

Yummy cupcakes!


This morning we went to the "Touch a Truck" event at the convention center sponsored by Harvesters.  Long lines and lots of excited little kiddos made for a crazy morning...but both Joseph and Sophia loved getting to go inside a fire truck, ambulance, and police command center vehicle.  Other eye catchers included a John Deere combine and a police motorcycle and a trash truck and race car.  Joseph's dream come true.  Waiting in lines, however, was something he did NOT enjoy.  He does not like to wait his turn.....oh my...we will need to work on this... Here are some pics from our morning.



J in the fire truck and loving it!
J couldn't keep his eyes off the John Deere combine...the line for that was incredibly long!!

The police command center truck


Sophia found Ms. Kanas....she was enthralled with her princess tiara.... So.. we took a picture with her and she autographed a picture for sophia and wrote... "To the beautiful princess Sophia."  S already has Ms. Kansas' autographed picture propped on her desk in her room!!!

In the ambulance
In the ambulance...and all buckled up!

Making her handprint on the car...this may be the only time she will ever be able to WRITE on a car!!!

And last but not least....

So.... Sophia's orientation is tomorrow.... and first day of FIRST grade is Wednesday!!!!  We have an exciting week ahead!!!!!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Miss Twinkle Toes

So... we had our first dance class today... not sure we are staying with this class...but took some pictures anyway...because I just couldn't resist this cute little ballerina!  It's only been a year since her last tap/ballet class, but of course....it's been just long enough to require new leotards, tap shoes and ballet shoes...because this little girl has grown!

So here she is last year before her first ballet class...



And here she is today....



Can you tell how similar her new leotard is to her old??? She picked it out all on her own... I guess this little girl does not like change....b/c both are almost identical....hmmm wonder where she gets that??



And I can not forget the little guy.  I know my last few posts have been about Miss " I am a grown-up now because I am starting first grade next week," but little J certainly deserves some mention too!  This little guy....cracks me up!  Sometimes he makes me want to pull my teeth out....he has become quite verbal, quite demanding...and quite stubborn.  But I still get those tight squeezes and kisses on the lips just because!  He melts my heart.  He wants to do EVERYTHING his big sister does.  Before soccer practice yesterday... all I heard... over and over...and over.. " I go doccer too???"  And today before ballet...." I go ballet too????"  He was not happy when  he realized that he was not allowed to go in the classroom with her...and keeping him happy for an entire 45 minutes was quite the challenge.


I love how he asks me every morning what I dreamed about the night before....  And I love how when I ask him what HE dreamed about...he tells me "ice cream cones!!!"  And I LOVE how he has learned to finally call his sister her real name... almost....he calls her "TO-phia."  Of course I still hear an occasional "Doodah," but that's okay... cause that is pretty darn cute too.  I am taking steps towards giving up Mr. Binky at nap and bedtime and I continue to talk about how great the big boy potty is...but hmmm this little guy just has no interest.  Well... Mr. J.... hope you're ready...b/c when Big Sister "To-phia" is off to school... we are going to hit it hard!!!! :)

Almost back

in the swing of things around here.

Today was Sophia's first soccer practice...tomorrow first dance class.  It's been a whirlwind of a summer...and our last week of summer break has been nothing short of crazy.

I had hoped to fill our week with fun outings...but it didn't turn out that way.  A few things this week have reminded me that as hard as I try to control situations, routines, schedules...ultimately Someone much greater than myself is really in charge of all of our plans.  Again I have been reminded to stop and smell the roses and appreciate every second with those around me.  Life is sooo short..and sometimes I forget this!!

Almost midnight and I need some rest...so for now...just a pic or two of my very soon to be first grader before and after her first soccer practice.  She is really growing up right before my eyes...



Thursday, August 12, 2010

Getting Ready...

School starts in less than TWO weeks.  I had hopes of filling these last few weeks with nothing but fun fun fun.....and by golly a little kidney stone and sinus infection are not gonna stop us!!!!!!  Okay....so we've been inside a lot this week....partially due to my doctor's visits and also due to this crazy Kansas heat wave.  But today we ventured out to go bowling.  This was Sophia and Joseph's first bowling experience.  And I guess I have to admit.... my SIX YEAR OLD scored a HIGHER score than her mama!  Is she talented or what????  ( So maybe the bumpers gave her a bit of an advantage....and NO... I will not reveal the final score....you wouldn't believe how low my number was!!!!!)  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera to capture my two little bowlers in their cute little bowling shoes.  I wish you could have seen little J push that ball down the lane with all of his might....he grunted so loud and the ball moved just the tiniest bit.  Too funny.  At one point it came to a complete stop right before the pins and one of the workers had to retrieve it.  I promise to bring my camera the next time!:)

Besides our bowling adventure... with school starting.....the teacher in me is wanting to come out.  I have fun learning games swimming in my brain....but haven't put them on paper yet.  I did decide, though, that it was time to dive into the alphabet recognition practice with J.  So...we started this week with nonetheless....

"A" is for Johnny Appleseed!!!  (Disregard....my blurry picture taking!!!!)


We read a Johnny Appleseed book, pretended to be Johnny Appleseed ( or tried :) )


And....made apple prints with paint and a real apple.



And the final product....


I was hoping to make apple prints on t-shirts...but I couldn't find a cheap tee in Joseph's size at the craft store....so we opted for these wooden boxes which I thought might be nice crayon holders since Missy insists that she must have SEPARATE crayons from her little "bother"!  Sophia, however, informed me that she may have other plans for her little box.  So... we will see.

And snack of course was... an apple with peanut butter to dip it in.  J ate it up...Sophia didn't touch hers and opted for crackers instead.... imagine that!

And of other importance this week....Let me introduce the new...

LUNCHBOX!!!


Because all BIG first graders need new lunchboxes!

And, finally.... look who joined our family this week...


Welcome home, Woody!


We're so glad you are here!