Blake is in Kindergarten!

Blake started Kindergarten after many sleepless nights on Scott and my part.  As many of you know, we have debated for over a year on whether or not we should send him to kinder.  He is so young and he can be immature at times.  We slept on it and we decided to send him.  We are so glad we did!  He is thriving in the environment.  He is learning so much and he LOVES school!  He wakes up everyday ready to go to school and I love having him at my school.  It has been such a blessing.  He loves his teacher and I am very pleased with his progress.  I think we did the right thing so far.  I am looking forward to a very successful year with him.  He is so eager to learn and looks for answers to his questions and he has started reading even more than he already did before.  He even likes art which he HATED before.  I love hearing all the funny stories from other teachers at my school.  They make me giggle most of the time like the one on the second day of school.  He said to a teacher he didn't know while standing in line for the bathroom, "Excuse me.  Can you tell me when graduation is?"  Then there is another story of lunch.  I packed his lunch because I wasn't sure how he felt about the lunchroom and all.  I saw him walking down the hall to lunch.  It took me a minute to remember he was going to lunch and he had no lunchbox.  I found someone to cover my class and went down there in time to see him eating pizza!  They were having pizza in the lunchroom so he decided that is what he wanted.  I asked him how he got the money and he said they let him charge because I am in the building!  The little stinker!  I was so worried that he didn't know he had a lunch but he played me.  His teacher has been great with him and she called him on it.  I needed to see that too because my mommy genes were worried that my baby didn't know he had a lunch.  Well I was wrong and I am glad his teacher got that out of him.  Another funny story is how he tried to play a little girl in his class.  He gave her a big smile and asked her nicely to color his dinosaur for him.  She did it!  His teacher told me this story laughing.  What a stinker!  There are so many more stories after that.  I need to write them down.  He cracks me up on a daily basis.  I knew he was a handful because he always looks for the gray when there is only black and white.  His teacher says he keeps her on her toes.  I am glad he likes her so much and I am glad she isn't letting him get away with anything.  My kid is the kind that will take a mile after and inch.  He needed the structure and consequences that kinder is giving him.  His teacher told me that the first week she had to tell him the consequences for not doing his best and such and now he does it without any second thoughts.  He strives to do a good job.  My mommy heart is so happy. I am so glad we sent him.  :-)  Here are some pics from his first day.

Daddy took him on his first day.  One drawback to being a teacher is I had to be in my own classroom so I couldn't take him to his. :-(  But I get to see him everyday so it is ok.

Blake sitting at his table the first day of school.

He walked past my room and I got a picture of him.  He looks terrified.  Too funny!

We made it 9 years!

Scott and I celebrated our 9th anniversary on the 14th of July.  We couldn't celebrate on that day this year because it was a Wednesday, but we did celebrate on Saturday.  Scott's mom watched the boys while we had a new experience together.  Both of us got a little dressier than we normally would have for date night. I actually wore a skirt!  That never happens so that was me dressed up. hehehe  Having a new experience together was great especially since we have actually been together for over 12 years.  We went to the Melting Pot and it was so much fun.  Scott had arranged a wonderful romantic surprise for me.  He had roses, balloons, and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us at our table.  We started the four course meal off with a wonderful cheese fondue.  We dipped apples, bread, and veggies in that.  Then we had the most amazing Caesar salads ever!  Scott and I both loved them. Then we had the main course of shrimp, lobster, steak, chicken, tuna, and more I cannot remember.  I wasn't a big fan but Scott loved it so it worked out well.  Last, we had the most amazing chocolate ever.  It was new and not even on the menu yet.  It was snickers and had carmel, nuts, and peanut butter in it.  We dipped strawberries, bananas, brownies, cheesecake, and more yummy stuff in it.  The whole meal was wonderful, but the best part was spending it with my wonderful husband.  It was fun and new and we talked the whole time and not about the kids.  Yes, of course, they were mentioned, but the majority of the date was just about us which was great.  We have to take time for us sometimes and to remember how much we love and adore each other after all this time.  I have loved this man for most of my life.  He is the father of my two amazing children and the love of my life.  I look forward to the next 90 years with him. :-)  Here are some pics of the night.

Us at our secluded table.

The first course before we started.  I got so busy eating, I never took anymore of the food. LOL

Me with my yummy drink.  It was a special occasion after all.

Me and the love of my life.  I don't know what I would do without him.  MUAH!

Our first road trip as a family of four!

Scott and I decided to take a road trip to Galveston this summer and we actually went with some of our great friends.  My friend Terri and I were talking about our summer plans and realized we all were going to go to Galveston for a quick trip to the beach.  After talking about it and a lot of searching on Terri's part, we booked a condo in the community of Pointe West which is beautiful and out of from downtown Galveston where everyone is.  From previous posts, you will notice that Brooke (the daughter) is Blake's little girlfriend.  They met over two years ago and have decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend ever since.  We went after fourth of July and drove down.  I wish I could say that Luke enjoyed the drive, but that would be a HUGE lie!  He hates the car and sitting in his seat for that long was not his idea of fun.  Scott and I made several stops on the way down there and according to the GPS, we were stopped for three hours!  He still was not a happy camper. :-(  We stayed at a wonderful condo with our friends for the whole week.  We went to the beach, ate at great restaurants, fed seagulls off of balconies, went to Moody Gardens Aquarium, played in the condo when it rained, went to the pool, hung out on the balcony, and really enjoyed the time we spent together.  The weather was mostly beautiful except for Thursday.  We were having so much fun we decided to stay all day Friday and drive back in the middle of the night thinking that Luke would sleep.  Well....  he was not happy the entire ride home either so that was a waste.  It was a great trip overall and we had so much fun we have decided to make it a yearly trip with the Musias.  We need to start thinking where we want to go next year!  I am thinking somewhere we DON'T have to drive. LOL  Here are some pics of the trip.

This was our first dinner.  The kids were SO tired from the driving that we decided to just hang out until dark.  Then we went crab hunting, but I didn't get pics.  I was too busy making sure Blake didn't go into the water and try to grab a crab with his bare hand.  LOL

Our friends the Musias having fun in the water.

The whole gang at Landry's

Luke at the penguin exhibit at the Moody Garden's Aquarium. 

Blake on the beach.  This day we made him wear a life jacket because it was the day after the storm and the undertow was strong.  Better safe than sorry. :-)

Baby Luke was so tired.  He loved the ocean.  This picture was taken during his very short 20 minute nap. :-)  He didn't want to miss anything!

It was time to leave, but Blake loved the ocean so much he didn't want to leave.  LOL  He even got a tan line!  Too cute.

It was a great trip with great friends.  I wish I would have taken more pics but when you have two kiddos its harder.  Especially at the ocean. :-)

Blake Turned 5!

On Sunday, Blake turned 5!  We had a wonderful day filled with friends and family.  Scott and I decided to have the party at our local splash park.  We had pizza, a water balloon fight, cake, and lots of splashing!  We probably had 50+ people there.  It was so much fun and everyone got to laugh and the kids got to enjoy the beautiful day.  We gave the kids a personalized beach bucket to kick off their summer too.  They were so cute!  Blake got a lot of great presents and we haven't even got to open them all yet. We are very blessed to have so many people who love him.  I know that Blake is loved by so many people and it makes my heart happy. :-)  Here are some pictures from the party.

This is how the day started.  Blake and some of his friends running around in a circle.

Then came pizza.  We had to wait on Blake because he kept eating more and more! LOL

Then came the water balloon fight. :0)  I got in on the action too! hehehe

Then it was splash park fun!  Blake was getting a water board here.  (I think that's what they call it. hehe)

Cake time and we sang happy birthday to my 5 year old!

Some of you are probably wondering where Luke is.  He was there, but he hung out with his aunt in the shade.  Here is a pic of my little hot red faced baby with my cousin Trudy. :0)

Blake lost his first tooth!

The week before his 5th birthday, Blake lost his first tooth!  He was opening a water bottle with his teeth and it loosened it.  Yep.  A water bottle!  I was feeding Luke and Scott was golfing.  I am not a fan of teeth at all!  It was just dangling there so we waited for the dentist to tell us what to do.  We waited for two hours until Blake kept wiggling it and it was so lose it was barely hanging on.  I spoke to Uncle Genie and he gave me a tip to get it out without pain. (and the best part is that I couldn't see it! LOL)  He told me to put a washcloth in the freezer and then yank the tooth.  I did and it worked!  I wanted to throw up, but I kept my dinner in my tummy.  He was so brave, but scared to death.  I hadn't talked to him about his teeth so it took some getting used to.  He was sad for a little while, but he told me to pull it after a little while.  He actually was trying to pull it himself.  He says now that he has a joker smile because The Joker has a missing tooth there too on the Batman cartoon. :-) The tooth fairy visited Blake that night and he got $5!  The tooth fairy didn't realize what the going rate for teeth was so she overpaid for the first tooth. hehehe  Scott took Blake to the dentist and the dentist said the tooth must have already been loose because it was ready to come out anyways.  He also said that Blake will be losing the one next to it very soon.  You can already see the new tooth coming it.  That is a relief because I thought for sure he would be without a tooth for a year! 

Before.  Hard to get him to show me right after the tooth came loose.

Here is the loose tooth!  Can you see it just dangling there!  UUUGGGHHHH

Blake and his joker smile!

The Adventures of Luke

As I told you in our last post, Luke started solids.  Let's just say it has been an adventure.  He is so in charge.  He wants what he wants when he wants it!  LOL  He kinda tolerated solids at first and after a month now, he has started to like them.  His favorites so far have been squash and bananas.  He was not a fan of green beans at all, but that could be because Blake kept saying, "That is disgusting Mom!  EEEWWWWEEEE Gross!" in the background. hahahaha  I wish you could have seen Blake's face.  He was seriously disgusted.  He could not believe I was feeding that stuff to his brother.  I tried to give some for Blake to taste, but he didn't fall for it. hahaha  Here is a few pictures of him eating. :-)  We have now found Blake's small tabletop high chair which Luke prefers.  He kept getting out of the bumbo! LOL

Luke turned 7 months old this month.  This big baby is growing so fast!  He started sitting up right after he turned six months.  He has really gotten a lot more mobile.  He started reaching for me when I come near him.  I am his favorite after all. :-)  He is so alert.  He cracks me up because when he can't reach something with his hands, he tries to get it with his feet including the dog!  Too cute!  Thankfully, Trixie doesn't mind.  She loves Luke.  He has really been trying to pull up already.  He will pull up on my but he is still a little wobbly.  He has also gotten up on all fours in the crawl position but hasn't put it altogether yet.  I am ok with that! haha  He has such an amazing giggle.  Sometimes, Blake just looks at him and he giggles.  Makes my heart happy to see that.  He is a happy baby mostly.  He has really been teething.  I looked back at Blake's baby book and he had 11 teeth at his first year.  I am thinking Luke won't have that many since he still doesn't have any.   hahaha  I am staying home with the boys this summer and I have already realized that Luke HATES the car!  He protests the entire time mostly.  He cried so loud yesterday, Blake even said something.  He does not want to be in there and he will tell you all about it.  Just another way he is showing me he wants to be in charge. :-)  He is my strong willed little baby.  He went swimming for the first time at Auntie Lynne's house.  He was kinda tired and didn't want to sit in his floaty.  We went swimming again yesterday at Auntie Hah's house and he loved it!  As long as he was with me and not in the floaty. hehehe  I think I will be going and getting a smaller floaty for him.  Here are some pics of my little baby boy.

We actually got all of the family in this one.  You just can't see all our faces. hahaha

Luke is 6 months and Blake is signed up for Kinder!

Things have been changing over the last month or so.  Luke has turned 6 months and Blake is signed up to go to kindergarten next August!  Big changes.  I just cannot believe how fast they are growing.  I haven't had a chance to get new new pics of them yet so I will post some this weekend of both of them.  I take great pics with my phone because I can never catch them with the real camera! hahaha

Luke is really working hard at sitting up.  He gets it but he cannot stay still. He just gets so excited that he jumps around and falls over.  He is so funny!  His newest thing over the last couple of days, is to get Trixie to come over to him and grab her.  She thinks its funny, but Mommy doesn't let him do it much.  He tries to put the dog hair in his mouth!  YUCK!  He get so excited.  When Trixie is out of his reach, he uses his feet to grab her hair! hahaha  He is too much!  He never stops moving his feet.  We were at Babe's the other night with the music, and he just kept dancing.  He is so active.  When I hold him at the table at dinner, he tries to eat the table.  The poor kid is starving!  He finally gets to try rice cereal this week.  The doctor told us today that we can try that for a week and then do veggies.  We have to be extra careful because of his allergy.  He will be so happy when we try it.  We are gonna do it tomorrow so I'll try to take pics and post soon. :-)  I bet he will be so happy!  He is also impossible to keep on his back anymore.  He WILL NOT sleep on his back anymore.  I have to hold my breath and check on him all the time, but he is sleeping through the night.  Maybe I will get used to it soon and be able to sleep too....

Blake is officially signed up for kindergarten in the fall.  YIKES!  When did that happen?!?!?!  He is so ready.  He is so smart.  I cannot believe what he already knows.  He will be graduating from Pre-K soon and he is kinda sad about that.  He will be leaving behind Mrs. M.  His other teacher, Ms. Wilens, actually moved back home this past month and Blake was so sad.  He loved her so much.  I hated to see him go through that.  Mrs. M and Ms. Wilens worked with Scott and I to try to help Blake be successful and ready for kinder.  We appreciate both of them SO much.  He has truly loved his time with them.  BUT he has to go to big boy school!  We are trying to get him excited about it eventhough Mommy wants to throw up! hehehe 

Gotta run for now, but I will try to get some pics up soon.  We also had two additions to our family this past week.  Blake got two African Dwarf Frogs!  Fred and Ted.  I will post pics of them too.

Happy Easter!

We spent the day with the Jackson clan today.  The boys played so much with their cousins.  We ate some yummy food, hunted eggs, and just enjoyed family time.  It was so much fun and both boys are worn out from all the fun.  Blake got all the eggs since all the other kids are 'over' the whole thing.  All but one are teenagers of course so it is so not cool. hahaha  Here are a few of the cute pics from the day!

Blake couldn't keep all his eggs in his basket.  He needed some help so cousin Casey let him use his shirt for a basket too!

We are SO busy! Here is a QUICK update!

It has been forever since I have had the time to write a blog so I figured I better write a quick one today.

Luke fell alseep playing today.  He didn't want to stop!

Luke turned 4 months and is now almost 5 months! I cannot believe it. My baby never stops moving. Friends and family tell me all the time they cannot believe how chatty he is or that he is always moving his legs. When you hold him, he doesn't lay still. He can do all sorts of things right now. His school writes me notes about how he can roll and roll and roll to get across the room. He is in such a hurry to grow up. He has such a sweet smile and just loves his big brother. He only cries when he is hungry and is known as the 'happy baby' at school, which makes Mommy very proud. I am very blessed. He is even teething! No surprise there since his big bro got his first tooth at 4 months. I just cannot believe how fast he is growing. He just loves his excersaucer. We finally got him off the expensive formula and NO insurance never covered any of it. I am still mad about that. Because of who Scott works for(I won't say bc I am not saying nice things), they don't have to follow state law. UUUGGGGHHHHH!! So we just had to pay it ourselves. We spent well over $1400 on that the past two months. It still makes me mad, but he needed it. We always do what our kids need no matter the cost. All you parents know what I am talking about. :-) I would have paid one million if Luke needed it. I digress. Luke is such a big boy these days. He loves to be read to and Blake actually will read to him. Luke loves to giggle and Daddy is the best at making him do that. It is too cute!

Blake is getting closer and closer to that 5-year-old birthday. He is SO excited. We are trying to come up with options this year for his bday party. It is hard! I don't want to spend as much as we did last year, but I want him to have a great time. We will see.... We have really been working with Blake the last couple of months. We took him in for some testing due to his teacher observations in his Pre-K class. We thought he might have an auditory processing disorder or something. We got him a detailed test and it came back ADHD. (They told me in the parent interview that they usually do not diagnosis 4 year olds unless it is very very prevalent. Well. Two weeks later, they said it was and he was diagnosed.) Now that I know the diagnosis, everything makes sense. He used to run from me when he was younger. He jumped into a pool and almost drowned when he was 3. The impulsiveness comes from the ADHD. We have really tried to be more patient with him and I am reading every book ever written to help him to cope with this. A lot of people ask me if I saw signs and I have to say no because he was my only little boy. I just thought he was active like all the others. I never saw anything. His doctor tells me that he is intellectually on the level with a 7-8 year old. It amazes me that he is that smart considering everything that is going on in his head. You can see it in his eyes that he has a lot going on in his mind. He is SUPER smart though and such a great little boy. We are trying some things to help him be ready for kindergarten next year. Bottom line is that we want him to be happy and proud of himself. I worry about his self-concept because ADHD kids sometimes think they are losers or dumb. We are going to make sure he knows how special and wonderful he is no matter what. This is just a hill to climb, but together we can do it.  Scott and I will do whatever it takes to help him and to make sure he is a happy kid.  He and Luke are everything to us.   Scott and I took Blake and Luke fishing a couple of times and he caught a fish!  He loves fishing.  He also loves going to see sporting events.  Scott and Blake are going to opening day on Monday.  Are you jealous? I am! hehehe  Scott is going to make it a family tradition. Maybe next year Mommy and Luke will be able to go. :-)  Blake started blastball again and Scott and I are coaching again.  This year, Luke gets to watch too.  It is so much fun and Blake is really good at it.  We are enjoying our family time together that is for sure!

I think Scott and I are going to change Blake's room this summer.  We did it in Cars when he was two and now he has moved on to other things.  He would prefer a transformer or power ranger room now so I will see what I can find.  Blake has been reading to Luke like I said and he just loves being a big brother. He told me that we need to have another baby soon. I would love to, but I think we have our hands full enough for now. :-) Tomorrow is Easter and it is going to be a beautiful day! TTYL!

Happy Birthday Daddy

The 3rd of this month marked my Dad's 70th birthday.  My Mom and I decided to give him a surprise party, but because of his busy schedule, we had to wait until last Saturday to have the party.  When I was growing up, he was always saying that the WHOLE month of February was his birthday so I guess we just added fuel to that fire.  I think he was really surprised.  There were more than 50 family and friends there.  Wow!  I was so happy with the turn out.  My in laws came as well as my aunts and uncles, numerous cousins, neighbors, and lots of friends of my Dad's.  There are too many to name them all!  Some traveled a long way just to share this special moment with my Dad.  Thank you all!  I enjoyed the party with everyone and I am so glad he had fun.  Nothing makes me happier. :0)  Luke even had a good time hanging out with everyone.  He was held by everyone at the party pretty much and Blake loved to play with Keagan.  Keagan loved Blake's light up shoes so Blake loved entertaining him with them even after Keagan had lost interest. hehehe 

I think he looks surprised. :-)

Me and Dad

Mom and Dad

Me and Scott.

See.  This is the picture that shows Keagan has lost interest, but Blake just wants to make him giggle again. :0)

And here is baby Luke in his carseat ready to go home.  He was partied out!

Scooter Junior

As a child, Scott's nickname was Scooter.  We now have a Scooter of our own.  Luke can scoot across the floor already at 3 1/2 months!  He is so funny when he does it.  It is hard to believe.  Last week, he even rolled from his back to his tummy.  He is so mobile!  Here are some pics of the process. 

And after a couple of minutes.  I never let him get far.  I am afraid he will start crawling or something!

The cutest boys in the world!

We had the boys pictures taken the last week in January.  They are so cute so I had to share. Their Godmother Krystal bought the orange polo outfits for Christmas and my cousins, Robin and Sami, sent me the other 'western' outfit for Luke.  Both were SO cute!  Blake was so funny!  He had the photographer laughing SO hard.  She said she had never had a kid like Blake before.  He was creating HIS OWN poses!  hehehe  I love that he has such a personality and I bet Luke will be right behind him soon. :-)