1st day of MDO for HB & G!!

Today was the day I dropped off my babies for 3 hours at school. It was Hayes' 1st time going to Mother's Day Out, but luckily Georgia is an old pro. She marched right in placing all her items where they belonged and took a seat next to her friends and started making playdough! So one kiddo down, no tears, and one to go. Hayes was so proud toting around his lunch box. His sweet teacher was showing him where to put his backpack and he was answering her and was so cute! What a big boy..and all of a sudden it seems! She asked if he wanted to put his lunchbox in the bin and he said "NO!" clutching it tightly, so we moved on to his room. He was fine at this point, no tears all smiles. We chatted a bit and then I said, well, I'm gonna go...so Hayes waves and says, "Bye" to his teacher...ummmm confusion...No sweet boy, you're staying! Then the tears. I felt bad for my baby, but I knew he would have so much fun! And Georgia said she would protect him! The teacher distracted him with playdough and he stopped crying before I left. I love that they are going to the same school. And that they will see eachother on the playground and in the hall. It's a nice, small school and it's where we go to MOPS so it is familiar to them. I love their teachers and know it is a great starting point for them both. Hayes has 5 kids in his class and Georgia has 8. This is really the biggest deal for us regarding Hayes in school: Mrs. Tarin, HB's teacher, also was on board for no pacifier!!!!! YEA!!! So we don't even send one..just another step closer to no pac! My goal is by Christmas to have it gone..maybe before.. Hayes' teacher said he had a wonderful week of school, was so sweet and happy all day! Hayes goes 2 days a week while Georgia goes 3. Hayes has also become independent real quick. He loves to 'do it myself' and 'I buckle' his carseat. He also wants to do his own shoes and socks. I'm thinking it's about time to move to a toddler bed..probably when we move to the new house. It is so fun watching Hayes become a big boy and learning all the new things he says and does! Georgia has Mrs. Christine, a friend of mine from MOPS. She is seriously the most patient person I know and has that teacher quality - the one where she is always in teacher mode with her voice and what she says and does. It's amazing! Georgia has been a great big sister lately! She loves taking on the role of being the only big sister. She now can unbuckle her own carseat (most of the time) and then will unbuckle Hayes. She helps put his shoes and socks on and tried to change his diaper and clothes, but he usually resists that by screaming. She also loves to comb his hair and tries to brush his teeth (he doesn't allow the teeth brushing)! They have become closer and play well together. I love seeing that of course and am happy they have that time together to form their own relationship! I am so happy they both had a great day at school! Georgia said Hayes was following her on the playground. While I was in the line to pickup I got to watch them play and he was infact following her around while she pedaled her trike. It's fun because they get to play with all the classes at the end of the day and we know a lot of the kids that attend Lambs of God. Here's to a great 1st week at school for my littles!! I'm so proud of how well they transitioned to a new school!

Firsts for Hayes

Little bitty Hayes finally got a real haircut. {these 2 pics are before the haircut} While I was in CS I knew it was time. His hair was wild and long and it is losing its curl. I wasn't really afraid of it being cut, I just was afraid of hating it so much. I took the girls and Hayes and we went to the only place in town I know of that is kid-friendly. It has a car to sit in while you get cut and a tv to watch cartoons. What is there not to like? Hayes was all smiles about the thought of a haircut. Unfortunately, we had to wait like 20 minutes for our turn, then as soon as we walk to the back and I attempt to sit him in the car...TEARS! Screams of NOOOO! He was gripping me so tight I couldn't get free. We tried a sucker. He took it but the thrashing and yelling continued. Oh dear..really. All the meanwhile his sisters are loving it and giggling and trying to talk him down. None of it was helping. So I did what most people would do, I held him on my hip through the entire haircut. That is what most people would do, right??! At this point I didn't really care what his hair looked like I just wanted her to cut it shorter. She was quick and nice and did a good job considering what she was working with. I gave her a good tip. You know when you have this idea in your mind's eye of what a certain circumstance is going to be like. I was going to take pictures. I knew Hayes was gonna have tears in his eyes, but not crying, smiling sitting in the car with his sucker was how it was supposed to go... Instead, I was thinking...just get this over with...fast! She took a little too much off the front, I like it long, but the rest I was really happy with. And it still curls up nicely!!! We went to my dad's store afterwards and Michael, my brother, said, "Wow, his hair is really long!" HA! Ummmm, he just got a hair cut, you should have seen it before! And for record sake, I think I already wrote this, but I did cut Hayes' hair a few months ago, maybe around Easter. All I did was cut off with one snip his little rattail that was trailing down his back, nothing on the sides. I count this as his 1st haircut! Hayes also got to ride a carousel for the 1st time. We took a family trip to the mall for one of Daniel's work functions. That sounds random, I know..Anyways, they have a huge carousel there in the food court, so of course the girls went crazy. It only cost $2 per kid to ride and nothing for adults. That seemed cheap. So we caved and it was fun! Here are a few quick pictures from my phone, so they aren't great, but as you can tell Hayes loved it!! You could see he felt like such a big boy! It was a fun afternoon where we also saw Daniel's robot from the hospital and met some of his doctors. There is also a playarea in the mall the kids loved and could have spent hours there!I know Hayes has had more firsts lately, but these were 2 that stood out and I had pics of! I love this picture of Daniel and Hayes! So sweet to see these boys who look so much alike having fun together! Stay tuned this week...Hayes goes to school for the 1st time ever!!! I might be a little excited to have some free time!!!!!!!

Belle Camp & other CS fun

Emmaline attended Bengal Belle Dance Camp this year for the 1st time. The Bengal Belles are my highschool drill team (clarifying that I wasn't on drill team, if anyone could ever be confused about that) and they put on this camp annually. Emmaline kept telling people she was going to the Jingle Bell camp! CUTE! My parents signed her up and she was excited. Georgia declined and opted to stay with MaMa instead! A few of my friends were sending their daughters so E knew some people. The camp was held in my middle school gym, where I spent countless hours, so it was crazy how it still looked and smelled the same. Even some of the classrooms had the same subjects being taught all these years later. I also saw sooo many people I went to school with. Interesting little reunion for sure. Emmaline liked it ok. She likes doing all the dancing and playing and crafting. The part she isn't interested in is performing in front of people. I didn't have the heart (completely) to tell her that is what it involves pretty much all the time. She tried to tell me she didn't have to go to the performance part on the last day of camp. I told her she was going to stick it out and that was the only way she was getting her trophy. She was sold at that moment. There were so many girls in her group and she was in the back so I couldn't hardly get any pictures, but she did do the dance moves and smiled so I was proud. And her giddiness when they called out her name and she got her 1st trophy was priceless. While in CS we also spent a lot of time at the pool! Georgia is doing so well swimming now and can go a ways by herself. She is stuck at not being able to take a breath in midswim, so that still throws her off, but otherwise she is good! As of now we are still planning on getting a fence around our pool in the new house. I want the kids to be able to go in the backyard without me to jump on the trampoline or swing, etc. Emmaline did some school work with MaMa and enjoyed it. I told my mom she should move to the RGV and homeschool E. She laughed like it was a joke. Now I'm stuck on my 8-3 Monday - Friday schedule for life! OH well, at least Emmaline loves school and is a morning person! My mom found 3 train tables at garage sales. So she kept one, we took one and we gave one to Autumn & Hoyt. All 3 kids love it and I'm so excited about HB getting to grow with this toy and enjoy it for years! The kids also love my parents' piano, another item my parents want me to take to my house..I'm not ready for that noise level yet. I did take lessons when I was young on that piano and wish I was better. We had a great time visiting friends and playing across Texas before school started!

Schlitterbahn!

My dad got us free tickets to Schlitterbahn again this year. I was set on using them so and I'm so glad it worked out that Autumn and Hoyt could join us for the day! We left the babies at home with Grandma and started out on our drive. The kids did pretty good, eventhough Georgia has gotten bad about the "are we there yet?" line. We hit up some kiddie slides and pools first and rode the trolley over to the Surfenburg. They loved riding the trolley, of course kids seem always excited about mass transportation for some reason.. I kindof love that they were satisfied doing the kiddie stuff and not begging to ride all the tube rides, which they are a bit young for..the lines were long for those!We ended up spending the whole afternoon climbing up the stairs and taking our turns on 3 different slides. The kids could go down on their own or with an adult and they loved it! It was fun watching them get more and more brave going down the slide first sitting up on their bottoms to head first! They did so well all day and played well together. We also got to hang out at Hoyt's house one afternoon and do lunch and a movie together. I hope they can visit us one day here and we can do the beach! Autumn and I did decide we want to make the Schlitterbahn trip an annual thing and maybe add in an adult only day too!

Sam's 70th Birthday and a book of letters!

Today is Sam's (Daniel's dad) 70th Birthday! What a milestone! Daniel flew to Houston to attend the birthday dinner. He also helped put together a great slideshow of photos and memories for the party. Me and the kids hated to miss it, but with school starting and the long drive we decided to stay home. We will be celebrating with him this week! I read about an neat idea on Pinterest (where else!?) for a memorable gift. I thought about who I wanted to give it to and knew my father-in-law was the perfect person! I sent out letters and emails to friends and family asking for their help in creating a book of letters, photos, etc. that I would give to him. This picture is of Daniel and Sam..Daniel reminds me so much of Hayes! Here is a part of the letter I sent out. Dear Family & Friends, We are writing to you because at some point over the years you have played a special role in Sam Listi’s life. As you may know, Sam’s birthday is coming up on August 19 and he is turning 70 years old. We want to give him a gift that is unique and unforgettable and that is where you will help us out. We are asking you to write a letter to Sam that can be a story, fond memories or anything that reminds you of Sam Listi. The letter can be short, funny, serious, long, etc. Please send us a handwritten letter or an email which can be addressed to Sam by August 4, 2012 so that we can begin to put together the book of letters for his actual birthday gift. And if you ever wondered where Hayes gets the white hair...! The project was a big success and received so many letters and pictures and articles. Sam was gifted them in a box last night and I am told loved them! I am so glad! I knew that he would appreciate this gift most. Because of the timing of everything I was unable to make the book so that is something I am going to collaborate with him on. I envision it to be sort of a hard back book with pictures and letters scanned in, like a blog book. I will update the blog with picutes of it when it is complete!Here is Sam with Tony and his new grandson, Samuel Anthony, the kids new cousin! He's a cutie!!

on our trip north....

We drove in early Sunday to meet up at Momak's, our old favorite kid-friendly restaurant and it's right by our old house, so of course we swung by there. I love Momak's and miss having restaurants with places for the kids to play. We met Anna and Lisa there and we surprisingly, or not, spent 3 hours there chatting while the kids played and ate and played more! It was great to see them hug and smile when they saw eachother - it has been a while. After lunch we went to see the Sullivan's new house. It was perfect and clean and homey! The kids could have played there forever and we can't wait to go back to do it again! So happy we got a chance to meet up! We stayed with Ainsley, Britton and Cambrie for 2 days. Hayes and Cambrie were quite cute together and shared Cheerios and toys (sortof). Hayes has some work to do on sharing and caring. We might have a bully on our hands! The girls spent hours dressing up, having fashion shows and playing with dirt and grass outside! They always do well together. I am so thankful to still have great friends in SA so that we can go and visit for a few days. I do miss my girls' nights out and my lunch dates! We went to an indoor inflatable playplace and it was lots of fun. The big kids has tons to do and could even watch a movie. The littles had fun at first but tired pretty quickly of it. I guess it was too close to naptime for them!

Emmaline's first day of Kinder!

So, it happened! My baby girl went to school, for 7 hours, for the 1st time this week! What a big day. She was ready. I was ready. No big deal, right?! Really it wasn't that big of a deal, but those first 5 years just fly by before your eyes. Before we knew it, Daniel and I found ourselves at Meet the Teacher night. We looked at eachother and Daniel said, "this is wild. How did we get here so fast?" Of course, on the big morning there were some nerves. Emmaline was at my bedside at 7 sharp telling me to get up and that it's time for her 1st day of school! I'm so thankful that she likes her uniform and is a morning person. I don't know if we would ever make it out of the house on time if she wasn't! Daniel stayed with G & H while me and Emmaline took of the less than 2 miles to school! She was smiling but nervous. We parked and walked hand in hand down the path through the gate to the classrooms. She looked up at me and said, "I'm scared. I don't want to go.." I told her in my best big girl voice, "It's ok to be scared. Everyone gets nervous doing new things. Mommy is nervous and I bet your teacher is too. You are going to have so much fun and I will be back in a few hours to get you!" She smiled and we squeezed hands. She walked in the door by herself and followed her teacher's directions to unload her lunch and find her seat. I was so happy she was smiling and answering questions. When she gets shy she usually won't talk much. Her teacher, Mrs. Brooke Newman, had sat her at a table with a cute little girl who you could tell has a big personality! It was finally time to pick her up. Georgia wanted to go in to get her, so we parked and walked the 10 steps across the street. Hayes ran over to her with his arms spread out for a big hug! He still loves yelling, "SEEESTA!" She said, "Mom, I love school! I want to go back everyday that I can!" So thankful she loves it and can't wait to see how she grows and changes this year! We hit up Sonic happy hour for some slushes and got her teachers a gift card to say thank you! She made them a card with their names on it. SUCCESS!

Meeting the newest Kamrowski!

While Emmaline was at Bengal Belle camp and G stayed at Ma & Pop camp, me and Hayes headed north to the Dallas area to stay with Carrie, Craig & Jackson. We wanted to go for sure to meet the newest addition to their family of 4 - Chase Anthony! What a cutie and good baby! He looks a lot like his brother, but I think favors the Streetman side of the family a bit more. Hayes was sweet the few interactions they had and he gently put his paci back in his mouth! We were so happy to see these guys playing together again. They are talking more now and I loved hearing them say eachother's names, share together and be boys! We watched the Olympics, went to an indoor safari playarea, ate Chick-fil-A, & enjoyed the splashpad. We also spent lots of time at the house playing with all JJ's toys, in his little tent and with his trains! Georgia and Emmaline were sad to not get to see Jackson and the family, but I am so glad that we squeezed in a trip while we could! I wish we lived closer together and will miss our Saturdays filled with football and hanging out!