Ready or Not: PreK here we come!

Much to my surprise, I have been struggling with the idea of Brevin starting Pre-K a week from today on August 17th. Signs that I'm losing it include: receiving a very nice letter from his teacher, Mrs. Pettit, only to bawl the whole way through it and then cry every time I talk about it after reading it AND having to quickly look away from the calendar after I see we only have days left before school starts.

I'm worried about if he'll get too hungry between breakfast and lunch, if he'll be able to handle bathroom duties by himself, and if he'll get too tired with the all-day everyday schedule. And I'm worried about myself on the days I'll still be home with Jaeley-that there will be a huge void in the house.

So tonight Brev and I went out-just the two of us- to spend some time together. We did a few random errands and then went to pick out his birthday party supplies and order a cake for this weekend.  I turned off the radio in the car and we talked the whole way into West Des Moines. I think that was his favorite part of the evening as he was able to talk freely without a little sister to interrupt him-which has really been bothering him lately. We stopped and got a slice of pizza and a pop at Casey's and ate it on the way; his choice.

And I made sure to notice all the little things that make Brevin himself-putting his shoes on the wrong feet, worrying about Jae when we left because she was crying, reaching up to hold my hand on the way into the store....

I can't believe how perceptive this kid is, but on the way home he asked; "Mommy, are you sad I'm growing up?" I said, "No, that's the way it's supposed to be." I think I convinced him...now I just need to convince myself!

My Garden

This is the only produce to come from my garden. It’s a red pepper. There were supposed to be cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and green peppers in addition to this lonely little guy. Adam says that we need to landscape the area where my garden is, but I refuse….next year I WILL have fresh vegetables. In the meantime- all the produce from Dad’s garden is tasting REALLY GOOD! 

Weekend with the cousins

The kids were able to spend some quality time with Maggie and Riley this weekend. On Saturday they went over to their house in Johnston while we were at a golf-outing party.  After Ankeny Splash Park and pizza/popcorn/movie night at their house- they did it again today when they came over here!  We need to do this more often! Although it IS busy with four kids and I didn’t get one picture:(

Melissa’s 30th

 

Happy 30th Melissa! As shown-Adam REALLY wished they would have played Miley’s “Party in the USA” so he could do his butterfly actions.

Sick in the Summer??

We were supposed to have an eye appointment for Brevin and spend the day at Raccoon River, but instead poor Brevin spent the day soooo sick. He typically runs high temps-and today it got up to 105.2. We were ready to take him to the doctor, but Motrin did the trick and lowered his temp. He woke up the next day like nothing ever happened. Crazy!

Daycare Swap

In order to save some money on daycare costs-we do a daycare swap with the Dawes’. Today was our day to have them over to play-so we filled it up with a picnic, park-time, and swimming. Braylon and Brevin are only six months apart in age and always have a good time wrestling and beating each other up!?

The guys enjoying their ice cream at the Dairy Shoppe after the pool.

The Vinton Padres-starring Uncle Judd

We spent Saturday night in Vinton and were able to see Uncle Judd play baseball this morning. Although we were pretty impressed with his efforts while we were there-we heard that he pitched after we left and had 10 strike-outs!

I wonder if Uncle Judd could have been distracted by all the WHINING going on at the game!? Here is a picture of Jaeley in mid-whine right after leaving the game- and it didn’t stop ALL DAY. Wow…the patience required by mommy and daddy on this leg of the trip was off the charts.

 

Didn’t grab an in-the-moment pic of Brevin in his bad mood-but this is a pretty good representation.

The kids and I hung out in Osage while Adam headed to Clear Lake to take Uncle Matt out for his birthday. I am shown here trying to get Miss Grouchy down for nap- I did not succeed.

Visitors while at Ahnya and Papa’s included Great Grandpa and Grandma, Lindsay, and Lauryn/Syenna. AND we went swimming!  Whew-this was a BIG weekend.