1st Day of Preschool 2011

Yesterday was Isaac's first day of preschool for the year. He is now in the 3 year old class, and is so excited about it! I think he's a little sad to not have the same teachers as last year, but they are right next door so he will still see them. His new teachers are so sweet and he seems to like them already! Yesterday was a gradual entry day, which means I took him in and stayed in the classroom for about 30 minutes. Then all the parents went to a meeting while the kids stayed in the classroom for snack and playtime (for about an hour). He was a little nervous about me leaving for the meeting, his bottom lip came out and he started to look really sad. I distracted him with a toy and sent him to his teacher, then I slipped out. He did great, I came back to find him playing and having a great time! The teacher said there were no tears! Yay!

I'm excited for the year and all the new things he will learn, as well as all of the new memories that will be made. I'm thankful we have found such a great school for him where he learns academics, social skills, and bible lessons.

Church

The boys all ready for church this morning!

We have been having a hard time really getting commited to going to church ever since Isaac was born. I have a hard time leaving a sad child in Sunday school, plus I am super paranoid of germs and illnesses. We did really good for a while before Luke was born and went to a church near my parent's house... we left Isaac at their house to avoid Sunday school, and Carl and I went to church. We continued going for a little bit after Luke was born, and have gone randomly ever since. Well, we decided recently that we, okay I, needed to get over my Sunday school issues and just take the kids to church. We wanted to find a church in our area to meet new friends near us and to meet some kids for the kids to play with. Also, we wanted to find a church that would really help guide us in teaching our kids about Jesus and the Bible.

I sent Carl out on a church visit to find one that would fit our family...he really liked the first one he tried, and we have been going there ever since. Isaac has done wonderfully, he loves it! He asks all the time if he can go to Sunday school; yesterday he even asked me why we don't go to Saturday school. There are babies in the same room as our boys and Isaac enjoys loving on them and helping to take care of them. Every week they tell me that Isaac spent some time in the baby section tending to the little ones, and helping to calm them when they fuss. I love his sweet heart, I am so thankful for that characteristic in him. Luke, on the other hand, has had the opposite experience. He is not fond of it, but that's not a suprise to us. We are just praying that the Sunday school workers are patient and understanding, and that he adjusts quickly. It is really helpful that they are in the same room, all of the kids are together, so Isaac is able to talk to him and help calm him. Carl and I are really enjoying the church, and are learning new things. The people in the church are so welcoming, which has been great! I pray this is a church in which our family can grow for many years to come.

Canyon Lake

The kids decorated their own cookies with icing and sprinkles...yum!

Daddy and Luke walking by the river.

Playing in the freezing cold river water.

The cold water did not stop our group from having fun!

Daddy skipping rocks at the lake.

Mason found a frog, so Isaac and Kacy had to check it out.

Adilyn and Isaac held hands as they ran back to the house! Isaac reached for her hand and once she noticed, she grabbed his hand and they were off.

Beautiful sunset from our balcony.

Swimming in the lake.

Mike opened up the piano to play a beautiful song, and the little ones all decided they needed to add to it. ;-)

Isaac with his ladies.

All 9 kids, lined up by age...1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 6, 7.

We just got home from a fantastic weekend spent at Canyon Lake with some of our best friends! This is the annual trip that we do with our friends (the guys have all been friends since high school), and it is always a blast! The last three years we went to Lake Placid, but we decided to branch out this year, so we found a place on Canyon Lake. It turned out to be a great house, perfect for our situation and group of families. Every family had their own bedroom, there were two living areas, and a pool right out the back door. Not to mention being on the lake, which was beautiful! Our group this year consisted of 9 kids and 8 adults!

We got there on Thursday, around 5:00, so we unloaded and visited briefly before it was time for some dinner...burgers and hotdogs. After dinner the kids all played a while, before it was time for bed. Bedtime was the time of the day that made me the most nervous on the trip because Luke has not slept anywhere but his own bed since this trip last year! And that's because he refuses to sleep anywhere else. :-/ The first night was tough, Isaac layed down without a problem, he was excited to sleep in a BIG boy bed (it was a full size bed). I tried to do the usual routine with Luke, but that didn't work, he just cried. So then I held him until he fell alseep...after just over an hour or so he was finally asleep in his bed. Unfortunately, that only lasted about an hour and he was awake again, crying. I rushed in and got him out of the room before he woke up Isaac, and then just let him sit with us for a while. Sadly, there was a search and rescue team out on the lake behind the house looking for someone who had drowned. So we spent the evening sitting outside on the deck watching the crews. Drownings in a lake are something you hear about often, but to actually see the rescue going on made it real and scary. My heart goes out to the family of the man who drowned. Luke enjoyed sitting outside. When we decided to go to bed we took Luke with us and put him in bed between us (usually a huge no no for us), he went right to sleep! We woke up at about 3:30 and moved him to his bed, which went smoothly and he slept there until 8:00 the next morning.

We decided to head out to the Guadalupe River to swim on Friday morning, we usually just stay at the house, so it was fun to venture out to something new. We rented one tube per family and jumped in for a swim. The water was freezing, but we still had a lot of fun in the water and playing on the shore. After some time there we headed back for naps and a little down time. We spent the afternoon swimming at the house and just hanging out. After a yummy chicken dinner cooked by the Hendersons, I took Luke to get him ready for bed and the rest of the group headed down to the lake to fish and play by the water. Isaac had been begging to fish since we got there, so he was excited about this. They didn't catch anything, but they had fun trying and enjoyed just being by the water. I had to lay with Luke for an hour, letting him sleep on my chest but was then able to move him to his bed. He slept from 7:30 pm - 8:30 am!

Saturday we decided to stay around the house and swim in the pool and the lake. It was a great day! The kids all had so much fun playing together inside and out...they did so well sharing toys, and the big kids took good care of the little ones. We had some play doh and coloring time in the afternoon, it was good down time. Isaac loved running around with the big kids and also playing more quietly with the younger ones. Luke loved being around so many kids and following them all over. He also enjoyed all of the attention he got from the kids, if he needed something there was always someone there to help.

We made some special memories as a family as well as with our friends. This trip is one I look forward to every year, and this year did not disappoint! I'm so thankful that we've been blessed with such a great group of friends!

The Beach!

His face when I told him we were going to the beach.

Cheers!

Playing at the house.

The boys and the dads playing in the water.

Driving the truck in the sand...pure joy!

So brave, walking into the water.

Oops, the wave knocked him down, but he didn't mind!

Friends

Daddy helping him fly his kite.

This weekend we were invited to go spend the weekend in Galveston with a sweet family we met at Isaac's school. Colson is Isaac's friend from his class, and they have a great time together! Colson has a little sister that is only 4 days younger than Luke, so it's a perfect match! We have a lot going on, so we decided not to stay the weekend, but just go for the day on Saturday. Isaac said last week, "We haven't been to the beach in a while. Maybe we can go tomorrow?" After we got the invitation we kept it secret from Isaac, and didn't tell him until he woke up on Saturday morning. As you can see from the picture, he was thrilled and couldn't wait to head south.

We started our day there by going to the Rainforest Cafe, a first for my boys. They both loved it! Isaac was a little scared of the "thunderstorm", but overall it was a fun time! He and Colson got some Icees in monkey cups and they loved that, of course. After lunch we headed out to their house to get ready for the beach! The kids all played in the house for a while before we went out, and they did so well together! The toys quickly covered the floor and the kids were all giggles! We got to ride their golf cart over to the beach, which was a highlight for Isaac. He asked, "Can I drive it?" Ha, that boy! Once at the beach, it was all fun...screaches of joy and laughter everywhere! Isaac and daddy immediately headed out to the water, and Isaac did so well! When we went down in May, he wouldn't let us put him down, this time he was jumping the waves and having so much fun! Luke sat in the sand and was immediately covered in it, but he didn't mind. He also did a lot of wandering around, which was great for him. Thankfully, our friend's neighborhood has a private beach area, so it was pretty quiet around us and he could go quite a ways. He loved it! Isaac and Colson had fun driving little trucks in the sand, looking for seashells, and flying kites. After a few hours, we headed back to the neighborhood pool to wash off, and as we were getting on the golfcart Isaac kept asking, where we were going and if we were coming back to the beach. Colson's dad said Luke was the champion of the beach time, he seemed to have the most fun in the sand and even some fun in the water. He was so content in the freedom of the beach.

Once back to the house, the dads headed out to get dinner, and we bathed the kids. We planned on doing the big guys and then the little ones, but in the end decided to throw them all in together. It was cute! We ended the evening with more playing and some dinner, before heading home at about 9:00. I am so proud of the boys, they were so well behaved and just had a blast. Luke made it on only a 30 minute nap for the day, I couldn't believe how happy he was all day.

We are so thankful to have found some new friends, and to have had the chance to make some great memories! Yesterday was a day we won't soon forget.

He's Officially Walking

Luke is officially walking now! He walks everywhere and has the biggest smile on his face while doing it! He is very proud of himself and we are so proud of him, too! Isaac even loves watching him walk, he yells, "Luke is walking!" One more milestone reached by my peanut...he's growing so fast!

July 4, 2011

Hudson

Kacy


Adilyn swimming to Celisa!

Luke loves his ice cream...yes, I did give him ice cream, not just the lid.

Yum!

Isaac taking Adilyn for a ride.

Adilyn and Kacy driving around.

Luke enjoying the gator at the neighbor's party. (I have the same picture of Isaac in this gator a couple of years ago.)

Isaac!

4th of July cuties! (I think my boys will be fighting over this sweetie one day!)






The big guys, Mason and Wyatt, jumping off the board...Isaac thought he was as big as them! They taught him to run and jump off the end.

We had a FABULOUS 4th of July! We spent the day with some of our best friends doing what your supposed to on the 4th, swim and eat! :-) We started the day with the Hrobars and the Hendersons coming over at about 10 to swim. The kids (the adults, too) had a great time swimming...jumping off the board, playing with pool toys, learning to swim, and of course driving around the yard on the power wheels. We had a great lunch of hotdogs and hamburgers, and then it was back in the pool! So fun!

At about 3:30, they headed home and we put the boys down for a nap (Isaac did not sleep after that morning of swimming). After naps and little refreshing we headed down the street to the neighbor's for their annual 4th of July bash! It's a huge party with friends from the neighborhood and all kinds of other friends, it's fun to see some of the same people yearly that we only see there. It's also really cool to see the kids grow and watch the interactions grow. They usually have an amazing fireworks display, but unfortunately that part of the party had to be cancelled. It was still a great party, and a perfect way to end our 4th of July!

Luke Walking

We get asked all the time, "Is Luke walking yet?" Well, he is trying, and is getting really good at it, but he still hasn't decided to do it all the time. I think he has decided that crawling is much faster and easier, so why fix what's not broken? I am proud of him though, and I love watching him walk, he always has a big smile on his face while he does it!