The Baseball Lego Birthday

One of my favorite things to do for the boys is throw awesome birthday parties! So, this year, when Big Brother chose a "Baseball Lego" theme for his birthday, I had some work cut out for me. We held the party at the batting cages nearby and had 14 happy boys with helmets on and bats in hand. 

There were a couple more photos from the party on a previous post here.

Here are some of the details from the party:

Invite: (Some things changed for the sake of privacy on the web!)

Gift Bags for the kids:  (A marshmallow pop made from a large marshmallow and mini on top, dipped in yellow chocolate and face drawn with store bought icing gel "pen") They also got Cracker Jacks and a mystery Lego Minifigure.

Table: Big Brother worked on this 7 made from his stash of legos. I think he did a fantastic job!

Juice Box labels: (Found on web and printed)

 Chocolate lego men: Melted chocolate into our lego minifigure ice cube tray

The Cake: (Store bought with baseball field sprayed on- Big Brother used his own guys to put on the field and also made the bench for the players waiting to bat. Loved it!)

Baseball Autographs: We had his friends sign a baseball to keep in his room.

Gifts: Tons of Legos! Just about everything he got was Legos. He is one happy (and lucky) boy!

Weekend Round Up

(Is round up one word or two?)

Well, if last week was about Little Brother and focusing on getting him settled into school, it's only fair that this weekend was all about Big Brother!

This weekend was chock full from Friday 7:45 am all the way through Sunday 9pm! Here's a quick recap...

Friday: I finally was chosen to chaperone a Field Trip with Big Brother's class! However, that meant I needed ALL day child care for the little guy! I have only one friend with little ones left at home all day and she graciously took him for me ALL day! He had a blast and continues to remind me that, "Colleen is my favorite Mommy. She was so nice to me and let me drive her car!" I'm not sure I'll never top that one!

That allowed me to ride on the bus and attend the field trip to a nearby river and park area, where we collected bugs, water "creatures" and other things from the pond and river. After lunch, we did a nature walk to discover nature using all our senses. It was a great field trip and since we were outside and searching for nasty critters, the kids were all awesome!

This is a shot of the kids crossing the river and one of the many crawdads we captured (and later released) in the river!

Saturday: Big Brother finished baseball and moved on to Flag Football! It's been fun to see him join different sports teams and learn new games. He likes football so far, but says it's a lot of running!

We finished the night off with a birthday dinner at Red Robin. He got to choose his restaurant and that was #1 since they sing Happy Birthday! Photos from this are stuck on Daddy's iPhone!

Sunday: This was the day he's been crossing the days off his calendar for! Finally it was his 7th Birthday!!! Lots more details to come, but here's a little sneak peak at the fun that we had throughout the day.

We have a birthday tradition of covering the boys' doors in wrapping paper while they sleep. This was the first year we "wrapped him" in his room and he had to bust out. He thought it was extra fun! (And yes, that is a Santa night light in the middle of September! It's better than leaving the Christmas lights on the outside of the house all year!) He had a ton of great gifts to open and enjoy until his party in the afternoon.

We did a Lego Baseball party at the local Batting Cages. Many more details to come, but as you can see, fun was had by all!

Little Man on Campus

Finally, after weeks of tests, meetings and countless prayers, Little Brother started school today! 

A while back I posted about a change in plans regarding preschool for our little guy. Since then we've continued the process and I've been amazed at how all the pieces of this puzzle just fell into place. We were originally scheduled to have his comprehensive speech test today. However, they put us in early due to a cancelation.

At that meeting, we were given the news that he qualified for the special services and would receive free preschool and speech help at school. This news came the morning before he was to start school somewhere else, so we were able to withdraw him before he ever started. I had been so concerned that he would have to switch schools which would add to the drama- so this was a huge blessing.

Then, we were given the news that he'd be at a preschool close by, but not our "home school." We were just grateful that it wasn't across town. Three days later we got a call that there was an opening at our "home school" (which happens to be where Big Brother goes to school!)

We finalized meetings yesterday and were hoping to start by early next week. Then, they called last night and said he could start today. When I read about my fears and uncertainties from that original day, I'm so thankful for how God orchestrated the details along the way. I couldn't have asked for anything to work out more perfectly!

As you can see from the pictures above, he was pretty excited for this morning! Mommy was running a little behind so we didn't have time to get the "perfect" 1st day of school photo, but nevertheless, these photos are "perfectly" him!

And, I'm happy to report all is well in preschool-land and we have a very excited little guy here tonight!

Support and Freedom

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard. ~Sloan Wilson

Though we didn't teach anyone to ride a bike this weekend, I did have this lesson hit me several times.

Our neighbors have a dog and a trampoline. When they are out of town, they ask my boys to come and jump on the trampoline to keep the dog company in their yard. Trust me, you don't have to ask them twice! This weekend was one of those times. I was in the kitchen cleaning and heard Big Brother exclaim, "Mommy! I just did a flip!"

So, here was my chance to celebrate with him... but, what did I do? I squashed it. I immediately said, "Oh honey- I don't really think that's a good idea. I don't think you're old enough to be doing flips." And immediately, his joy was squashed. I realized what I had done, so I tried to fix it, but truly, I had already failed. I had failed to celebrate his success and squashed his moment. Then, he told Daddy about his flip and Daddy replied, "Wow, that's awesome Buddy. Let me see!"

Throughout the weekend Daddy let the boys have a lot of "treats" Mommy doesn't let them have (like Mountain Dew!). So, an ongoing joke was "It's a good thing you have Daddy in your life!" But it's not a joke at all. Our kids are so blessed to have us both in their lives. We both fail and we both succeed. We see life through different experiences and enrich their lives in different ways. I was grateful that Big Brother had his Dad's encouragement, when his Mom had reacted in fear and not in joy.

It was a good lesson in finding that balance between giving them "roots and wings" or "support and freedom". 

Later in the weekend we had a last minute drive to the mountains to hike. Along the way, we saw a sign for horseback trail rides. We made a u-turn, asked a few questions and were in the saddle within the hour. Little Brother rode with a guide, while Big Brother rode all alone. It was another chance at feeling independent and grown up. This time I was joyful for him!

It is truly a difficult lesson for me to learn. My natural tendency is to hold him back, to react in fear, to try to keep him protected and safe. But, I know it's not what is best for him and that is why I continue to try!

And by the way- he can do a flip!

First we stopped at Boulder Falls and the boys saw their first waterfall. We were on our way to hike to some lake and saw this sign and turned around. We never made it to our hiking destination, but we all agreed this turned out better!

Big Brother's horse was named "Spanky". She was a good horse for a first time rider.

I found out taking photos while riding on a horse is not all that easy!

Little Brother rode "Papi" with the guide. He talked her ears off for the entire hour. He's ready for his shot at riding alone like his big brother!

My horse wouldn't stay on the trail. She kept veering off to rub her belly on the trees and bushes and at one point walked right through a group of mountain bikers, forcing them to move out of our way. She had a mind of her own, but the kids thought it was funny that it was happening to me!

Happy Holiday Weekend!

Enjoy your 3-day weekend! No school, no work, no homework, no football game or practice, not much of anything happening around here! I know our family is looking forward to a little relaxation and down time this weekend. 

The photos above are the boys and their neighborhood friends trying to stay cool last weekend! We have some of the best neighbors around!

Soccer Dad

Little Brother has spent the last almost 4 years of his life watching his big brother play soccer, baseball, basketball, and now football.

Finally it was his turn! We enrolled him in a "Kinder Soccer" class for 3-5 year olds. It was one hour a week for 4 weeks. He loved the warm ups and stretching, loved the running as fast as he could, loved the dribbling and knocking cones down, and loved playing "sharks and minnows".

However, he did not love soccer! The few times they scrimmaged, he ended up in my lap in tears. Sounds like another little boy in our family a few years ago (and no- it wasn't Kevin!)

He's Ba-ack!

Some of you know that a few times a year, Kevin travels

FOR-EV-ER!

Well, he finally got back last week from 3 weeks gone- with only a weekend home. It's great to have him back. Things are not complete without him home.

He took Friday off and rode the boys to school. Big Brother is always begging to ride bikes to school, but Mommy never has it in her! (I walk and they ride scooters most days!) So, he made their day (and mine) and took him to school and picked him up riding bikes both ways. He even spent the day running errands with me and Little Brother. Not an amazing day off, but nice to feel complete again!

Family Photos!

While I was in AZ, I got the chance to do some family photography for my family! I love taking photos for other people and despite the ridiculous temperatures, we got some cute ones!

First, my niece's 8 month photos, shot in a make shift "studio" area in the corner of a hotel room!

You gotta love those rolls!

Next, was my brother and sister-in-laws adorable family in the midday heat of 110 outside a fire station...

Too cute!

And lastly, our newest niece and her amazing mom and dad!

I love taking photos and my kids get really sick of it, so I jump at the chance to do photos for others, especially our family! Love you guys!

Arizona- Part 3

The last part of our trip was spent in the water! Kevin's mom has a pool and lives off a "lake". We took a boat ride every night with Big Brother as the captain and swam all day! They had so much fun with all their cousins! It makes it hard to leave every time...

Big Brother learned to dive while he was here!

Good Bye Heat, Good Bye Summer! Until next year :)

Arizona: Part 2

After our 2 days in Flagstaff, we continued to visit family in Phoenix.

We met Grandma Sheryl at a new play place at Desert Ridge. The boys enjoyed the slides and both tried a rock climbing wall for the first time.

Then, Grandma Sheryl treated them to a bag of candy- anything they wanted. Little Brother was like a kid in a candy store.... (lame joke, I know!)

We got to see our nephew for a quick dinner before he left with his mom back to Minnesota. Here he is with one of the kids' favorite uncles!

We also got a fun night of bowling and dinner with Grandpa Toothpicks and Grandma Jackie. 

I'll probably get in trouble for showing the scoreboard and how my dad was beaten by his 3 year old grandson, but it is worth the risk!

And a little photo to remember why we call him Grandpa Toothpicks!