Concrete, Festival, Soccer, Mike's Kindergarten pics

 

Michael's teacher posted a bunch of pics from the year. This was in the Fall.

 

Pajama day! Mike's camo pjs rock!

 

 

Fall festival pumpkin man.

 

Candy corn bingo.

 

Michael made me a mother's day card. Hallmark quality.

 

Jacob poked Michael in the eye when they were playing around. Michael had a huge cornea tear but was very brave. The eye doc we were referred to by our pediatrician said that kids with this eye trauma are usually sedated in the OR so she can look at it. Michael, although in great pain, did his best to be obedient and was so brave. He had to wear a protective contact, have his eyes dilated by the eye doc for three days in a row, and have eye drops to prevent infection. It was rough but he was totally a trooper.

 

Meanwhile...our concrete patio was poured!

 

At the eye doc waiting for her to check on Mike in between her surgeries. She fit us in but it was a pretty long wait. Katy is banging Mike on the head with his toy. He is such a good sport to keep his sister happy!

 

We went to the Got to Be NC Festival this morning. The kids loved watching a goat be milked- our newly potty trained Diana was just sure the goat was going to the bathroom and loudly let us know again and again. Gotta love kids. Here is as little chick booth, they also had eggs about to hatch although we didn't see any actually hatch.

 

Waiting for the pig races!

 

Mike was totally back to himself. He's practically bursting with energy after being contained in the home all week long. (It was a long 6 days)

 

Nicole is such a great big sister!

 

I took a bunch of video of the racing pigs, goats and geese. It was pretty fun, totally worth it! We were laughing and cheering as the animals sometimes went the wrong way or just plain stopped to smell the clover. The pigs raced for cheese doodles. I am pretty sure my kids would have too.

 

Michael and Nicole wanted to try the big Ferris Wheel. We let the kids each pick two rides and they were pretty nervous but decided on this one.

 

Up they go! It was cute to see them waiting in line holding hands nervous and excited all at once and taking care of each other.

 

Diana chose a train ride and happily waved at us while driving her train. It was pretty sweet to see her beam out at us with joy all over her face. All from a little train ride.

 

The second ride Nicole and Mike chose, which was Jake's first ride, was the Dragon roller coaster. High thrills let me tell you!

 

Jake's second ride. I think I have a pic of he and Mike doing this exact ride last year.

 

Diana on the big slide with Jim. Diana loved it and was ready to climb back up the slide itself like she does at the park. Not so fast honey! :)

 

Food! We got the kids corn dogs and lemonade at outrageous prices. I had a steak wrap yum! The food was really good and we had fun in the warm morning sun with a light breeze. It was a beautiful day.

 

There was also a BMX competition going on, we watched it for a little while and would have watched it a lot longer if the kids weren't antsy.

 

The crew! Daniel came with us and both Jim and I agree that it was funner with him there. We are so glad he is in NC this summer!

 

We drove home in time for the boys soccer game. Jake chilled as goalie for the first quarter.

 

Michael blocking blue players from getting a throw in. This boy is figuring out passing and other aspects of the game.

 

Calling out directions to his teammates. Love my vocal boy! At one point he was singing some made up song about the festival and how he wanted to go back. The parents around me were chuckling.

 

Jake bored out of his mind as goalie and getting his shoe stuck in the net. Can't blame him.

 

Both boys on defense. I love this shot, seeing both my boys lined up and focused before the ball is put into play. They hold so much of my heart!

 

Michael in action with Jake in the wings.

 

Both boys on offense starting play after a goal.

 

 

The sun was blazing by afternoon and Nicole's game was at 3pm. She was having an allergic type reaction and her whole body was breaking out in hives so I gave her Benadryl. Poor thing was so hot and tired by the time we finished this game. You can see her bent over checking out her itchy rash.

 

Playing on the concrete pad! It's all we dreamed of and the kids love it. Now we wait for it to dry completely which is 2 months or so, then we acid stain it so it looks pretty, and then plant grass. Long process, but so worth it. Michael barely agreed to go to his soccer game because he just wanted to ride his bike. He was out before 7am riding this morning as well, with Diana right behind him. They all love it!

 

Some more pics from Mike's class this year.

Backyard concrete, pool fun and sourdough

 

Flare hanging out with Jim. She would really love to be on his head but she'll settle for the shoulder.

 

Jim loves making new arrangements of rocks and seeing the lizards find little caves to sleep in.

 

Our Cinco de Mayo party ready to go!

 

Showing off the mustaches they wore for dinner. It was epic. And fun to have Daniel there to eat with us. We also did a little dancing to mariachi music and watched some of the Lego Movie since it was also Taco Tuesday.

 

The before picture of the back lawn. We are putting in a cement patio/basketball court. Jim is going to acid stain it after it sets which takes 60 days.

 

Taking out a massive stump.

 

Leveling the lawn.

 

End of day 1.

 

Getting set to pour! They will pour next week so more is to come!

 

Jake waiting for his Mothers Day program to start. It was a cute few songs and then a bunch of snacks that totally made them too stuffed with Oreos to eat lunch :)

 

Mothers Day Program

 

Soccer lineup getting ready!

 

Mike and Jake are a wall on defense. I love watching them kick the ball across the field the other way when the ball comes towards them.

 

We went to the pool for the first time! It was chilly but the kids still had a blast.

 

Warming up for the next round of splash pad fun.

 

I've been trying to get a consistently good sourdough recipe for a while now. It's been over 6 months of different recipes, oven temps, starter consistency, you name it. But I think I finally got what works easiest for me. It also helps that through trial and error, I have learned what to look for and how to compensate for a dough that rises faster or slower. The taste and texture of sourdough is a favorite in our family.

Full Speed Ahead

 

Diana was potty-trained last week! We fill her up with Kool-Aid in the morning and let her practice 5 times if she has an accident, walking from the spot she had the accident to the bathroom and going through the whole routine. 5 times. It took about 2 days before we had no more accidents. She stays dry at naps but not nights yet, although she did wake up at 10 last night to go which was awesome! Because the first few days are tough I try to keep her in the kitchen so accidents can be easily cleaned (no carpet cleaning this time hooray!) and so we actually had a lot of fun painting, coloring, shaping playdough, etc. Jacob enjoyed all of the Kool-Aid and I also let him have some Smarties candy that Diana got as a prize every time she went to the bathroom. He was very encouraging to her since he wanted more candy :)

Pretty exciting I know. And probably way more than you need to know. Such is my life!

 

Blueberries are growing!

 

Jim went to Costa Rica for 7 days. Pottytraining D kept my pretty busy but we also had soccer practices at night and sometimes they were after the little ones bedtime so it was quite an adventure.

 

One evening we were blessed to have the cousins and Uncle Daniel (who is working for Brandon and staying here this whole summer!!) come play at the park. It was one of those evenings where I couldn't believe how blessed I am to have family here!

 

Mike and Jake's practice. I love the Mayberry feel of a late afternoon sun and blue skies with a water tower and train passing by. Of course Diana, on day 2 of training and no nap made us end up in the car with her screaming while I watched the practice through the windshield. You win some and you lose some :)

 

Nicole had a nature field trip while Jim was gone too and she came back with some sweet flower tying skills.

 

Jake had an articulation assessment for his language. Marian watched the little girls for me or it would have been nuts. Overall, he is just under the normal range so they'll keep an eye on it at school. He has a great vocabulary but is hard to understand, especially when he's excited. He will slur words together, drop sounds, etc. I feel like he's improving a lot but when his preschool teacher suggested it I figured it wouldn't hurt. Jake was awesome at the screening, totally enthusiastic and talked a lot so she had no trouble getting speech samples lol. She talked to me after and mentioned his high energy level. I wanted to tell her about his older brother's energy. You haven't seen energy until you keep up with Michael starting at 6:15am.

 

Flare looking amazing!

 

Spike has been sick a few times and not eating. The kids fasted for him last month and seriously he got better right away it was crazy. He's beefing back up and is a happy little lizard.

 

Jim kept emailing asking how I was doing while he was gone. I finally sent him this picture on day 5 of his trip with these words: "I cannot be held accountable for the financial or dietary consequences of your prolonged absence." :)

 

Mike eats like crazy. That is his fifth slice and he wasn't near done.

 

Jake had his yearly checkup last month. He is 35lbs (10th %) and 42.25in (37th%) with bmi of 13.6 (3rd %). His growth rate is steady, he's just not the tank his older brother is. I love the differences in my boys and how they are each so special and strong in their own ways. Watching them play soccer is something else!

 

Nicole and her playtime lineup!

 

Kiersten my niece was baptized this last weekend. The cousins all sang Baptism which was super cute. They were pretty good during the meeting but there were plenty of shifting little bodies all over the place since several other large families were there too. When the dessert table opened (and it was like 10 in the morning still) the kids were in heaven and the room was the quietest it had been. We joked that next time we'll serve refreshments first and then proceed.

 

Daniel provided the piano music and while he played postlude Diana wanted to help out.

 

When Michael gets something on his mind it stays there. He made some craft at school and got a home depot apron. He wore that apron for two days, asking and talking about his plans constantly until I went to the store and finally got him some paint and promised him some time with daddy sawing and nailing wood. He didn't beg, just told me how excited he was to make this or paint that. 24-7. He can really get something done if he puts his mind to it!

 

Today Nicole had her class play. We are blessed that they have a drama class  which really helps the kids identify emotions and talk about them. This play was cute and it was great to see the kids each say their lines even when they would each face a little stage fright. Nicole did awesome and was right in the beginning, she was so brave!

The red crayons! Diana and Katy were wiggly and slightly noisy the whole time but we survived. Diana really wanted to go to class with Nicole and snuck off twice to try and follow her to class while I was talking with some moms. Diana is such a fireball of energy- she's the kind of girl who will be a great friend because there will always be something fun going on where she is. Katy isn't walking yet, she's much more chill about life. She is super cuddly and sweet, a little reserved around strangers right now.