Basketball and Gymnastics

Will has started playing basketball out at Southland. He's on a team of 10 Kindergartners (it's really nice to not have older kids on the same team) and it's totally just for fun! Right now they're just doing practices on Saturday, but starting in January he'll have a half hour practice and a half hour game on Saturdays. After the game they have devotionals and snack. It's such a great ministry and we're just loving it! Today at practice he got his jersey and he's worn it ALL day long. He's very proud of his uniform. It's just so cute!

In other Will news, he's officially on Christmas break and it's nice to not think about waking up early for the next couple of weeks. I know he'll miss being at school with his friends, but he'll be busy with all the Christmas celebrations we have planned.

Lauren is growing up so quickly. She has turned into a little girl over night! Tonight Lauren had her gymnastics showcase. All of the recreational gymnasts get together and show their families what they've been learning in gymnastics class. Lauren was the youngest there (I was totally surprised by that). She did great and Joe and Will got to watch Lauren do her thing. At the end of the showcase all the girls got their names called one at a time and they stood on the awards podium to receive a medal. Lauren waved to Joe and Will while she was on the podium. It was so cute! She is super proud of her medal - it was a very special night for her.

Not much else going on around here. Have a very Merry Christmas. Maybe I'll get things together and post about our celebrations.....

Happy Halloween

I know it's been a really long time since I've posted on the blog. Right now Lauren is whining at me - the reason why I haven't blogged in two months. So this is what has been going on over the past few months....

Will started Kindergarten - WOW - it has kept us busy. You would think that having only one child at home from 7:45-2:35 would simply our life a bit, but it's been the opposite. Will's day starts at 6:30 and we leave for school a little after 7 am. He LOVES school and he's done a great job. He has taken off in his reading and he tries to read everything now. His favorite subject is math and his teacher calls him her "little mathematician." He can write sentences in writing and he even had a little spelling test already. His writing has improved the most this year. He loves science, art, music, gym, computer, library, and Japanese. He's made a bunch of little friends and it turns out that he is a leader. Mrs. Scott has identified him as a leader in the class and she gives him opportunities to develop this trait. We pick Will up at 2:35 and we're home for homework, playtime, dinner (soccer on Wednesdays), and bed. Whew!

Lauren misses her big brother, but it's given us some great one on one time. We spend our mornings eating breakfast and getting ready for our days. Some days are spent at home getting caught up on laundry, cleaning, or grocery shopping. Other days are spent at the library for storytime or gymnastics classes at the gym. She loves going to the library and she calls it her "Kindergarten." So cute! She loves to sit and listen to the books being read and she loves the singing and dancing! She has really developed in gymnastics and her coach moved her up to the 3-4 year old class. We tried that out twice and I decided to move her back. She is so little and I just want that time with her in the mommy and me class. She did great (wow, she's getting good at gymnastics), but she was missing her mama. This time without her brother has been good for Lauren, but she sure loves picking him up from school!

My life has definitely gotten a lot busier, but it's been great. I spend a lot of time in the car, but I'm finding ways to make that a useful part of my day. It's hard to go back to being a mom of one during the day, but I'm adjusting. I'm just used to having two kids that play together.... Lauren doesn't have her playmate anymore and she looks to me to fill that role. Speaking of playing... I better go. Maybe I'll do this again....

Kindergarten

Kindergarten..... Wow. I can hardly believe that our little boy is old enough to be going to school all day. Yes, Joe and I believe that all day Kindergarten is a little long, but we know that Will is ready for it. He was so excited to go to school yesterday, and yes, he was a little scared, too. But, honestly, think about it - most adults would be nervous going to a new school (or a new job) where you barely know anybody in your class. He's a brave little guy. I went into Will's room to wake him up at 6:30 and he was already awake. He had heard us going up and down the stairs (Joe went running a little earlier so that he'd be home when we had to leave for school.) He ate a big breakfast and talked non-stop. We went back upstairs and he brushed his teeth and got dressed while I woke up Lauren and got her dressed. That right there is the most difficult part of school. I have to pull Lauren out of bed to get into the car so we can take Will to school. Worse yet, I have to get her dressed because we're walking him into class right now - you know, so he doesn't get lost finding his room. I guess that will get easier. We left the house at 7:10 and drove to school. Will got settled and we left. He was really happy that he was sitting next to Erika from preschool. The only familiar face in his class! God really takes care of him! All ready to go to school - and yes, it's dark out!

Oh that look..... Is my mommy really going to leave me here? No tears (from either of us)! Saying the pledge (thank goodness he knew it!)

Looking around.... sitting next to Erika.

When I picked Will up he looked exhausted. His teacher said that he was "shell shocked" most of the day, but that he did everything he was supposed to do. I'm guessing he didn't say much the entire day! He brought home some "work" he had done. He told me about his "star" system (discipline) and that the class earned a lot of bears (reward system). He talked about gym class and music class, recess, lunch, and center time. He hasn't made any new friends, but I'm sure that will happen soon. While I was tucking him in last night, he just kept going on and on about his day at school. His eyes kept closing half way and then he'd jerk them open and start talking again. I asked him if he was excited about going to school tomorrow, and he perked up and said that he was. Off to sleep.....

Well, we're over that hurdle.... what's next?

Will is FIVE

Well, my baby is now FIVE years old. Every year we throw a party to celebrate the birth of our children. It's just a little celebration with their/our friends. This year Will wanted a pirate party - a fun theme! I bought little bandannas for the kids and we made sashes out of red fabric - a sort of pirate costume for them all to take home. Joe made an excellent pirate treasure map and the kids all got to go on a treasure hunt to find their treasure boxes. Once they found their box, they got to paint it. After it dried, they all got to pick out treasures to put in their box - fake gold coins, stickers, little jewels, and candy. Every year I've made a birthday cake for my kids. I really enjoy making cakes for them. This year Will wanted a pirate ship cake - AHHH. Well, anything is possible with the Internet and I was able to pull that one off..... :-)

My favorite part of his party was when everyone was singing Happy Birthday to Will. My eyes teared up as I realized how many people love our little boy. He has made some wonderful friends over the past couple of years and it made me realize what a special boy we really have. One of his biggest strengths is empathy. He is able to really feel when others are sad, scared, or just unhappy. He has such a loving heart and I can tell that he really feels for others in need. I know that is a special gift and God will really be able to use him in a special way when he gets older.

He's also an amazing little kid. While he has some fears, he's also pretty adventurous. He loves to ride his bike (with no training wheels!), his scooter, and we're working on his roller skates and skateboard. Recently, he and Lauren have been playing out in the backyard more. They've enjoyed the swings (he flies like crazy on the disk swing), the slide, and just being plain adventurous in the back yard. He loves roller coasters and sports. He's tried his hand at soccer and basketball this year. He even scored his first goal in soccer! We're also doing a lot of swimming this summer and Will has really enjoyed his swimming lessons!

This year has been a big year for growth in his academics, too. He's learned how to read and he can sound out most phonetically spelled words with ease. He's made some great progress on his cutting and coloring as well. It's been awesome to watch him become a little boy instead of a toddler. We just love our Will and we can't wait to watch him develop even more. As we look into his 5 year old year, we see Kindergarten in the future! While I'll miss him being home M-F, I know that he's going to love school. He's always enjoyed going to school and being with his friends. We're starting to see how important his friends are to him - and we continue to pray that he makes some good lifetime friends while he's in school.

Camping

This past weekend we went camping with three other families in our Life Group. We spent two nights at Zilpo Campgrounds in the Daniel Boone National Forrest. It was great! The weekend was filled with swimming in the lake, building sandcastles in the sand, fishing, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and sleeping in tents (even through a thunderstorm!). The kids had a great time despite the many ticks that we had to pull off of them - Will was not a fan of the ticks! Will and the boys in the water. They had so much fun splashing each other and running around.

Working together to build a sandcastle.

Building a sandcastle with me - they really worked hard to build a "really big one!"

Roasting marshmallows. I think Will ate two or three s'mores that night.

Waking up on Sunday morning after the thunderstorm (they slept right through the entire thing). Will is showing me his glow stick.

Fishing.... Will was the only big boy that didn't catch a fish. He was so patient. Right before we left, he actually caught one, but it got away as he was reeling it in. Maybe next time!

More fishing

The group fishing. The fish were really biting and it was so fun to watch their little faces as they would reel in the fish.

Fishing with Hayden.

Lauren and her buddy Zachy.

Another favorite activity - riding bikes and scooters between the two campsites.

Lauren asking Tyler if he's going to McDonald's with us on Sunday. We all hit McDonald's on our way out on Sunday. It was a great weekend with great friends. We can't wait to do it again!

Graduation

Will graduated from preschool on Friday. He is such a big boy and we are so proud of him. He got excellent marks on his report card and he progressed in his fine motor skills! We're all ready for Kindergarten in the fall - after a nice and relaxing summer! All dressed up and ready to go!

Walking down the aisle with Avery (his good buddy) while all the mommies and daddies take pictures!

Waiting to start a song.

Our cutie!

Will receiving his certificate.

Will and Ms. Marsha - she has been a wonderful teacher this year - just a perfect fit for our little boy.

Will and Ms. Vicki - another wonderful teacher and a perfect fit for Will.

Will and his buddy Michael. This was after the "ceremony." Heather and I decided to take the kids to the park for a picnic. The kids had a great time and they got a lot of energy out!

Flowers

I wanted the kids to have their own flower pots this year so that they could learn responsibility and they could also learn a little more about plants. They got to pick out their own flower pots and their own flowers. They of course picked out the same things (Lauren likes to do what Will does....), but maybe we'll have a little more variety next year! Will planting his flowers.

Lauren playing in her dirt....

Planting with Grandma and Mommy.

Water, water, water.

Lauren taking her turn with the watering.

Gymnastics

I've posted some pictures of Will doing his Trampoline and Tumbling class, but since I'm in the Lauren's class with here I'm unable to take pictures.... Since my parents were here, they were able to take some pictures of Lauren doing her thing. She has really "progressed" in her gymnastics and she just loves to go to class. Her leo doesn't fit anymore and we didn't buy a new one since we're taking a break over the summer. She doesn't seem to mind not having her leo. Doing our straddle stretches.

Lauren doing her V sit. She loves to follow everything Ms. Robin does with her.

She's really holding herself up in this picture. She's getting so big!

Doing a forward roll on the balance beam.

She loves her trampoline time.

Grandpa and Grandma

My parents were able to come up and spend a week with us a couple of weeks ago. We had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma! The kids LOVE having their grandparents here and they always have so much fun with them. Since my parents are retired, they are able to come up a little more often. Here are some pictures from their visit. Milkshakes at Red Robin with Grandpa. There's a picture almost exactly like this with Bradley and Grandpa, too.

Pancake breakfast before Will's last day of school on Wednesday. He didn't know that McDonald's served pancakes....

We went to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate Will's birthday (in June - mom and dad wanted to celebrate with him while they were up here). Lauren LOVED dancing on the TV's there. It was hilarious!

Driving the cars together.

Lauren on the helicopter. She just liked to sit on it - she doesn't like it when the things move!

Dad tried to hard to get her to sit in this car so she could get her picture taken, but she would not have it.... stubborn!

Our loot....

Happy Birthday Will (and mommy...). Will got a Bible for his birthday. This week he moves up to the Kindergarten through 2nd grade class at church. They need to bring their Bibles to church because they look up verses during their life group sessions. He's getting so BIG!

The new rope swing from Grandpa and Grandma! Lauren tried it out, but it's mostly for Will right now.

Flying high.... he LOVES this!

Some more swinging fun!

We had a great week!

GOAL

Will scored his first goal last Saturday. He was so excited (as you can see in this picture!). He got the ball just before mid field and he "kicked and ran" down the field while everyone was following him. He shot and he scored! The great thing is that Nonnie, Grandpa, and Grandma were all there to see his first goal. Unfortunately Joe had drill that weekend and I was in the port-a-potty with Lauren. Although I wasn't able to watch the goal, I was able to hear all the cheering! Everyone was so proud of our boy! Smiling after the goal!

It appears that Will and Jack are fighting for the ball....

Will and Coach Jeff with his trophy. This was the last game of the season.

GOAL!!!