Our little grad!

Well, Kaliese's kindergarten year is over. Except for the first few, she loved every minute. The first day I dropped her off she cried and didn't want me to leave. Her teacher took a picture of all the children that day and she was smiling, so her anxiety evaporated quickly. I enjoyed taking this journey of firsts with her and watching her grow and learn. Just the amount of words she is able to read has amazed me, but she also absorbed tons more. She knows money, what each piece is called, who's on it and how much its worth. She can add, subtract, sort and compare. She can write much better and even spell a good deal without copying off another page. Her drawing and storytelling have developed into very entertaining hobbies. She has learned to share, cooperate, try new things, be a good sport, be respectful and how to be a good friend. She even learned to like new foods by trying the school lunches! They say everything you really need to know you learn in Kindergarten and that comes pretty close. However, she has such a love for learning that I hope every school year is as fun as this one has been!

Her first day

Her last day

Braedyn's Big Birthday Bash!

Saturday we had Braedyn's 3rd birthday party. Theme: CRAYOLA.

I think the kids all had a great time because they were an absolute mess. The proven theory, I believe, is that a child's fun is directly and proportionately related to how much of a mess they made.

Thanks to dad for collecting glass doors and for setting up the great fingerpainting station. The kids had a blast with that!!

There was also coloring, sand, and bubbles!

Braedyn loved his crayon cake and the colored icing on the cupcakes contributed a little more to some colorful faces.

Each child received their own personalized paint shirt and colorful goodie bag!

Braedyn's birthday loot was everything he could have hoped for; from Ironman and Batman to Taters of the Lost Ark

and a voice changing Optimus Prime helmet with which everyone took a turn (especially all the dads!).

Thanks to Grandma Bera and Papa Albert for the transforming Bumblebee car. He was so excited to see that!!!

One of his most immediately played with gifts was a Pirates of the Caribbean birthday card that played the theme music when he opened it. As you know, he is a theme music kind of guy. He ran around the rest of the party opening and closing the card, providing his own background music to his birthday adventures. The potato head also plays Indiana Jones theme music when you press his hat. He loved that as well!!

Sadly, most of the pictures are not my own. I had used my camera the whole day, only to realize that night that the memory card was not in there. So, thanks to Sara and Susan for taking great pictures and to mom for getting video of the celebration!!

For the rest of the birthday pics, click here or visit Sara's slideshow

And if you need any more proof that the boy partied hard, well, here is what the next day looked like:

From early morning to late afternoon, he was either in the bathroom or lying lifeless on his bed, my bed, the couch or the living room floor. It was so pathetic. The poor boy couldn't even play with all his new toys. He didn't have any other symptoms and by the evening was feeling fine.

Monday he was full force again!

Another year older....

Happy Birthday, Braedyn!

Today he turns 3 years old! I know I will say this every year, but it seems like yesterday....
It's the first year he has really understood his birthday and all the benefits that come with it. He got to spend the day with Kadyn and grandmother. We went to the outlet mall and let them run around the toy store. Kaliese made him one of her famous birthday cards. He got a chocolate doughnut and an Ironman balloon for breakfast. He was so worried about his balloon floating away that he wouldn't let go of it to eat. I had tied one of those plastic hearts to it to anchor it. I tried to show him that he could set that on the table and the balloon would stay, but he insisted that I had to hold on to it. Eventually, I had Optimus Prime stand on the plastic heart in such a position that it looked like he was holding the balloon. That satisfied Braedyn. A little later I saw him on the floor studying Optimus Prime trying to figure out how he was holding it. Its hard to describe, but it was pretty funny! Amazing how a $2 balloon can just make a birthday complete!!
Well, we are gearing up for his big birthday bash on Saturday. I will post pictures of the event then.

Treasure of the day:
Just a little note for my beautiful boy. You have such a magnetic charm about you. That, along with those big brown eyes get you out of more trouble than you will ever know. I love your sense of cautious adventure and hope that your knowledge of all things "super" will serve you well as you continue to explore your expanding world. You have packed a lot into 3 short years and I look forward to watching as you absorb more and more each day. This treasured day is almost over and another birthday a sweet memory. While it is perceived that I go overboard on birthdays, it is just my way of making sure I can hold onto them for as long as possible. You grow so quickly that I fear your childhood will become a blur and I want to remember every second in vivid color. So, I wish you the happiest of birthdays and always remember: I love you, love you, love you!!!!

All HAIL!!

So we had a big storm yesterday with plenty of lightening, thunder, buckets of rain and yes, even some hail. It didn't really frighten the kids at all until a bolt hit the TV in the playroom. It knocked out the TV, DirecTV receiver and DVD player. It was a loud sound and you could even smell burning plastic if you got close enough. Kaliese jumped at the sound, but Braedyn really had no response for at least 10-15 seconds. At that point, he comes screaming into the room. I thought that was a kind of a late reaction until I heard him wail, "Mom, the TV is broke!"

Anyway, the kids loved watching the hail. That was a different sight for them. They didn't really miss their TV that much, which is a good thing.

Having a Field Day...

Kaliese had field day yesterday at her school. It was unlike any field day I ever had. I remember long, hot days outside with little water or refreshment to be found. Races were run, legs were tied together to create awkward 3 legged creatures, ropes were tugged and various objects were passed in unconventional ways down a line. Some of it was fun, but all of it was hot.

Kaliese spent most of her day doing relays and races that involved lots of water, and those that didn't had bigger kids with Super-soakers standing there keeping them cool. Needless to say, she had a BLAST! They even had an inflatable waterslide! Is that fair???

I took Braedyn with me to take some pictures of Kaliese's day. With all the water being sprayed and poured, it was a lost cause trying to keep him dry.

I've put all the pictures on webshots, click here to see them. I even added captions on many of them so you know what's going on.

Treasure of the day:

When Kaliese got home from school, there were packages waiting for her and Braedyn from Grandma Bera and Papa Albert. They just returned from a trip to Cancun and we are very glad they had a safe and fun vacation. They sent the kids shirts, which both were very excited to receive. Thank you very much!!!

Pimp my ride!!!

So, I upgraded my van considerably! No longer the stereotypical, dreary "soccer mom" vehicle; I now have an eye-catching testament to something way cooler than soccer! My "TRHLMBL" license tag is on the way. A nice antenna topper, a seat cover perhaps and this baby is ready for basketball season to begin! Ok, so its still 6 months away, but being a fan is a year round commitment.














And like any loyal son, Braedyn is in awe of mommy's "tattoos" on her van!!!



Treasure of the day:
As you know, I continue to be impressed with Kaliese's drawings. She has such an eye for the details. You could have in your mind just how to draw something, or a good picture to copy, but somehow, once you've put it to paper it doesn't look anything like the original. Sometimes the essence of the picture is in just a few details. You've seen the people who can quickly take a few brush stokes of paint across a canvas. At first, it looks an undiscernable mess. But after a few crucial lines are added, you suddenly see a very recognizable celebrity face. Well, I think Kaliese has the ability to know which details are important which make a figure recognizable.

Below is one of her story pictures. Its about a mother mouse, who is trying to take a hot bath while her children nap. She keeps getting interupted by familiar storybook characters admiring her shoe house. She tells each one in turn to get their own shoe and "put it over there," until eventually a shoe town materializes around her. Each character picks a different kind of shoe. You can see below that Kaliese has drawn the Tortoise and the Hare (note his 'bushy tail'), the Big Bad Wolf, and the Little Red Hen all in their own shoes. I also love her newly learned skill of curly letters.

This is just one of her lovely works of art. It may not seem like much to most, but I am the mother of a world famous artist!

His many moods....

As most children do, Braedyn has many moods. Any one of which could surface without a moments notice. There are usually no gathering storm clouds, or predictable pattern....just moments that really take you by surprise.

He is fussing in the grocery store, mad that I didn't pick up something he wanted or because we went down the wrong aisle....and then BAM! All of the sudden a lightening bolt of silliness strikes!

We are leaving Papa's house. Things are good as we cheerfully give hugs and kisses good-bye. Kaliese is getting into the car and I've lost Braedyn. I walk back around the corner to the front of the house and there he is performing one of his unforewarned sit-ins. I'm not sure what he's protesting. Certainly not the deforestation of third world countries or the inhumane testing of beauty products on animals, but something just as vital to life as we know it.

And whether its his inner-starving artist without a canvas or the ancient innate warrior within, he has not been able, for some time, to eat without painting his face with whatever materials he has been given to express himself. Not just his face, but hands, arms, chest...whatever he can reach and however far it spreads. From lasagna to chocolate pudding, its a Picasso (or Braveheart) in the making.

Treasure of the day:

I got to go on a field trip with Kaliese today. The Kindergarten classes went to the Imagine It! Children's Museum. She got to play in a very cool water table, run through a playhouse, pick out produce from a market, play with moonsand and play dressup in front of a green screen. She had a blast playing with her friends. Her buddy for the day was Mya, a very sweet and social little girl. I loved being able to hang out with Kaliese and her friends with no other distractions or pressures on my time. I got to simply enjoy being a mom watching her child have fun being a kid. Thanks to mom for keeping Braedyn! The day meant more than you'll know.

Many of the children fell asleep on the way home, including my two charges. However, Kaliese wasn't asleep for more than 5 minutes or so.

Celebrating 30 - 80s style!

Saturday we got to celebrate Sara's 30th birthday. Adam thought an 80s theme would be appropriate for her, so we Googled and Ebayed all we could find to put the party together. Adam did a great job creating a Jeopardy game with 80s categories as well as Sara categories. But he did an even better job keeping it a suprise. She was genuinely shocked. Kudos to Adam and his buttoned-lip!!!


For more totally rad pics, check this out!

We had a blast Sara! Happy Birthday!!


If you have pics of the party, put a link in the comments so we can all see!