Happies & Crappies

Happies

* Summer is officially here! Yay for 'sleeping in'! And by sleeping in I mean waking up at 6:00 am instead of at 5:00 am.

* The kids and I spent our first week off in Albuquerque visiting Brian. Weird to say we were visiting him in another city, but if we wanted to spend time with him this month to ABQ we had to go. We had a really nice time. It was great to visit and see some old friends.

* While in ABQ we spent some quality family time, which was much needed after 3 weeks of being separated by Brian's travel schedule.

* I survived my first plane ride with Reese! She was surprisingly very well behaved. I was so proud of her! Jax was also a trooper. He was a really big help to me on both flights. He is truly a wonderful little boy and I believe that 5 is THE magical year! So far, so good!

* My parents returned from Spain! Yahoo! My support system is back. The kids were beyond happy to see them both. Reese was squealing with delight and would not let my mom out of her sight.  

* I finally bought a baby pool. It seems funny to buy a baby pool when we have a big one in our backyard, but if the water temp isn't 90 degrees then I'm not getting in. The baby pool is a nice compromise and much less stressful for me. 

Crappies

* Reese has not learned the appropriate behavior in a restaurant. Sigh. I'm pretty sure we aren't able to return to ABQ since we have been banned from several eating establishments there. We keep hoping she'll get it, but alas, she hasn't.

One crappy? Sweet! I love summer vacation! 

Preschool is...

The last day of preschool has come and gone. I have been in denial about this day all month. I didn't really want the school year to end for many reasons. One, I loved my class! We had a very rough start, but something magical happened after Fall break and I did not want to let them go. The second reason was Jaxon leaving preschool. I've said it before, WE LOVE HIS PRESCHOOL! It was exactly what we wanted for Jaxon. He had time to play and explore that he needed. He made some wonderful friends and he learned so much. I'm not exactly sure how he learned, but he did. I mean, he can count past 100, can count backwards from 10, can count by 10s, knows all the letters and their sounds, can write the letters and his name, understands rhyming words, addition and subtraction, he recognizes all 4 coins and their value, the list goes on and on. And this is without a 'structured' preschool. His teachers are AMAZING! So needless to say, I was sad. Jaxon was sad too. He was having an especially difficult time leaving his favorite teacher, Ms. Courtney. Thank God we have become friends and will be seeing her over the summer, otherwise, I'm not sure what we'd do. I mean, the kid was in tears about his last day of school. He told me, "I don't want to go to bed because when I wake up it'll be my last day of preschool. I don't want to go to kindergarten. I'll miss my friends." Ugh. 

So, I didn't make a big deal of it. I just said, "today's your last day of preschool. How do you feel?" His response, "I'll have to play with Jake & Hunter & Tyson as much as  I can." Yep. Pretty much. Make the most of it. 

So imagine how I felt when  I found this book in his cubby that I will treasure forever. I read the first two pages and had to close it because I started to cry right in the middle of his classroom. 

If I didn't love this book so much and if I weren't so selfish, I'd donate it to the preschool so they could read it to their new students. It sums preschool up pretty well. 

Ms. Courtney texted me later and said it was his idea and that "wanted a big book of preschool facts to tell everyone what preschool is."

Does it get any better than that? I don't think so. He pretty much summed up his 2 years in preschool. Love it. To make me even sadder , Courtney shared her goodbye with me. As she was packing up to leave (Jax was a late pickup on the last day) she hears a little voice say, "Can I give you a goodbye preschool hug?" If you know Jaxon well, you know that hugs are not given freely. They need to be earned and they are to be treasured. 

All I can say is I am so thankful Ms. Courtney will be starting a new 'transitional' kindergarten program next year and she will have about 6 kindergarteners in her class because if Jaxon had to separate from her completely, we'd be in BIG trouble! So, he'll be with her for 3 1/2 hours in the morning next year. Whew! Plus all the 'dates' we'll have after school. :) 

Quick Funny Jax Story

Today, I was the phone with Grammy Sue and I'm telling her that Brian is in ABQ playing in a golf tournament with a friend. When I get off the phone Jaxon asks me, in all seriousness, "Mama, can we watch Daddy on TV?" Huh? Watch him on TV? No, we can't. What do you mean? Well, we watch Tiger Woods playing tournaments on TV. Can I watch Daddy?"  LOL!!!! I was cracking up!

Then I explain that Tiger Woods is a professional golfer and Daddy is, clearly, not. So he asks how you can become a professional golfer. Hmmm. Good question. Who knows? I do know there is something called Q-School. So I tell him that you have to go to Q-school to become a professional golfer.

He then asks if you have to go to Q-School to become a professional baseball player. Hmmm. Another good questions. Nope, no Q-School, but if you're good enough you should play in college and then a professional team might ask you to join them. "And then they turn their chair around?"  "Huh? Turn their chair around? What are you talking about?" You know, like on The Voice. Do they press their button and turn their chair around if you're really good?"  LOL Again!!!

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At Toys 'R Us, we are in the bathroom. Jaxon uses it first while I change Reesey's diaper, then he washes his hands while I go. While in the stall I hear him say, "Hey it's edible."  Never do I want to her THOSE words in a public restroom! When I start to wash my hands he says, "The sink is edible." The facet was AUTOMATIC!!! OMG! I'm dying! So funny. 

******

Walking back to the toy section from the bathrooms, we pass by the baby clothes. Jaxon looks at something cute and says, "Reesey should have that alphabet. It's cute." Haha! OUTFIT, not alphabet. 

He was on a roll today! 

Happies and Crappies

Happies

* We have a contract on our house in New Mexico!!! Someone FINALLY wants to buy it! So flippin' excited! 

* Reese is a "Mama" sayin' fool! I can't get enough. She is also saying "Lala" frequently. We FaceTimed with my parents on Monday (they are in Spain... jealous) and after we hung up, she took my phone, pressed the home button, pointed to the screen and said, "Lala. Lala. Lala." So cute! She is also saying "awha" as in "aqua". Yes, people. My daughter is apparently bilingual. My friend Maggie said that's why she hasn't talked yet... Spanish is her true language! 

* Jaxon had his final art show as a preschooler. Each year his preschool has an art show displaying the children's art. It is a truly special event. I especially loved it this year because Jaxon has really been into drawing and seeing his beautiful art board made me want to burst with pride and shed tears of joy, but alas, he wanted ice cream and Reesey wanted out of the stroller, so my moment was short and sweet. 

Jaxon's drawing of himself.
The big fat boy in the middle, with a hat. He was so
proud of that detail!

The water color pieces are dragons.

An elaborate nest in the top left. 

The red animal at the top is an orca with spots.

Not sure about the blue animals underneath the orca.

The picture on the top right is "a rainstorm in California." The red is cactus, the black at the top is the rain clouds with rain coming down. and a person on the bottom right.

Jaxon's quote, "I just make inventions in the art studio. Make it with other stuff, extra stuff, like the left over stuff that's in the left over basket. I just made an invention yesterday."

*Our staff celebrated a wonderful lady who have many many many years is retiring. Molly has been with Cottonwood since we opened and it certainly won't be the same without her, but we had a fun time at her retirement party Thursday. I whole heartedly love our staff & school culture and Thursday was a great reminder of why.

* The kids had their well checks Monday. Jaxon for his 5 year check up. EEEEEK!!!! When did THAT happen! Reese has her 18 month. Ugh. So sad they are growing. Dr. Goldberg was very impressed with how healthy they both are. Unbelievably, Reese is in the 78th percentile for weight and 70th for height! IS this the same kid who weighed 3 lbs at birth? Jax has slowed down. He's in the 40th for weight and 51st for height. He was always in the 90s for height. I hope this doesn't mean he's going to take after his mom's side of the family. 

The the doctor we met Brian at Olive Garden for lunch.

* Mother's day. It was a perfect day. I slept in until 7:45!!! And Reese slept until 8:30! Holy guacamole! I had a massage and spent a lazy at home with Brian and the kids. Couldn't have asked for a better day.

My Mother's Day gifts from the kids.
LOVE! Best presents EVER!

* Baseball is over! Yay! that's 2 extra nights I have at home with a normal routine.

Crappies

 

* Brian was gone. We hate when he travels. He needs to find a different job.

* My parents are in Spain. Happy for them. Crappy for me. My backups are gone. And Jaxon is constantly asking me what time it is in Spain. Can we talk to Lola & Abu? What are they doing? How far is Spain? How long would it take to drive there? Well, if you could drive there how many hours would it take? Can we water their plants? 

* My regular thyroid medication was recalled so I'm on a new one. I'm not a fan. I just don't feel like myself. 

* The school year is at an end. So sad. I've had a great year with this class. I love each and every one of those kids and I really don't want them to go. They could be one of my favorite classes, as a whole. I have loads of favorite individual kids. 

Overall a good week.

Monday Memories {#2}

I'm joining the link up party again! I'm digging this Monday Memories party. All week I've been thinking about which memory I should blog about today, or if I'm making a new memories for my kiddies.

I'm blending a new memory and a childhood memory today.

For the past 5 months, Jaxon has been playing tee-ball weekly. We've been going to games and practices what seems like non-stop. As much as I sometimes dread having to leave my house at 5:00pm and head back 'into town' then spend the next hour chasing after Reese, I love that Jax belongs to a team, is learning to work with others, follow directions, etc etc. He genuinely loves it! He doesn't also show it and he may be the slowest runner or the first one to be ready to be done with the game, but he always looks forward to baseball days.

Brian helps with the team as long as he's in town and I LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Brian has a great time with the kids and is surprisingly patient with each one. It makes my heart happy when I see him cheer on the kids as they round the bases or catch the ball and throw it to first.

My parents come to as many games as they can and have enjoyed watching Jax grow into a better ball player. Reese is one of Jaxon's biggest fans. She cheers him on when he's in the outfield or up to bat. Well, maybe she's really cheering for Brian since she is a hard core Daddy's girl. No joke.

I know we will spend many years at the ball park with Jaxon. And I look forward to them.

With all of this said... it has been said before that Reese is a handful. That's putting it mildly. The girl does not sit still, does not listen, laughs when you tell her 'no' and has no regard for rules.

Where does Reese get her wildness from? One person. My little brother. Oh dear. Was he awful! According to my parents, Reese is worse. Aye aye aye.

Well, one very clear memory I have of Jose is when we lived in Puerto Rico. He had to have been around Reesey's age. My grandfather would take us to the park on the weekends and Jose would RUN. I mean RUN like a WILD person. My grandfather was worried that he would run and never come back so he would chase after him. For what seemed like hours.

This week, my dad came to Jaxon's game. Do you think he watched any of it? Nope. He was chasing after Reese. Who was running like a wild person. Like uncle like niece. Sigh.

Voila! Two memories in one.

Making Memories {1}

My very good friend Nicole has started a link up party called Making Memories and I'm jumping on the bandwagon! 

This is Jaxon's birthday week so what a better way to make memories than to have a party! Oh how I love birthdays! I want my kids to have the most special day on their birthday and sometimes it turns into  a week event. Why not? 

The first celebration of my soon-to-be 5 year old was the all important birthday party. You know, the party that he begins planning the day after his last birthday? Yeah. That one. We had the party at a newish place in town called Fire Truck Adventures. It is a super cool party for a little boy... Real firefighter, real fire pole, real turnouts, real fire hoses and wait for it.... a real fire truck!! 

Jumping with Firefighter Andy

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Learning about fire safety

1st Group to be firefighters

Fire Chief Jaxon

Watching the fire truck make its exit with her big brother

"Baba" Bye bye!

Having a blast on the fire truck

Putting out the fire

Group 2

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The Fire Crew

My favorite part

Oh that smile. Warms my heart

Jaxon receiving his badge

My sweet family.
Yes, we are color matching. On purpose. :) 

Opening presents at home

We made some wonderful memories this weekend. How about you?