soccer morning

mason had a soccer game before we left town today and it was at a different complex where there is a large playground. the other three and i were checking it out while mason and daddy warmed up with the team.

we have canvas prints of the three big kids right before they turned two and want to do one of manning, but this little stinker doesn't like to have his picture taken the way that the other three would and we have yet to get 'the one.' i was trying to get some today because he was being extra smiley, but every time i picked up the camera he would look down or away.

maddux learned how to swing on his own today! he got into this swing all on his own and madelyn taught him how to pump his legs and get going from stopped. this is a pretty big deal!

only five players showed up this morning so none of the kids had to sit out at all. they were both excited and exhausted! they aren't used to playing the whole game and drank a lot of water on this quickly warming day.

mason running ahead to turn the ball back the other direction, he did a great job of doing this the entire game. he has a great instinct to swing wide during play and come out at the front of the pack.

i just thought he looked really grown-up in this shot.

the ref today was super strict and kept making the kids redo their throw if they stepped on the line or gave any kind of hop at all. we sometimes had three attempts at just throwing the ball in. it was a little annoying to have a game with no score called so tight, but i thought it was cute that he took his job so seriously. there were lots of things he let go that you could tell were just killing him.

manning got this miniature cat toy at the dentist this week and found it in my purse during the game.

coach daddy and mason coming for a water break.

more of manning and his blue cat.

i just like this picture of manning in the sunshine.

manning has a couple of injuries to his eyes - one above on the left and one below on the right.

manning was acting as mason's personal water boy and would run the water bottle over every time he came over for a drink. he did it with a lot of urgency too. (the picture isn't great. i could hardly see because the sun was so bright. there were lots of cuter times when they were both smiling.)

team huddle with coach matt. one of the girls is a total power-house at the age of four (like, she coaches the other kids and tries to keep up the intensity) and her parents asked if they could request matt again. it always feels good to know that the kids like being on the team.

just one more game in the season. it has flown by and mason has just loved it. love.

"best dinner ever!"

we surprised the kids with a sundae dinner to celebrate the last day of school. and they were very surprised! we had vanilla and chocolate ice-cream and every toping we had in the house out for them to help themselves. they thought that we were joking. much to their delight, we weren't. with a large mouthful of ice-cream, mason said, "this is the best dinner ever!" love.

welcome, summer!

school's out and the day is beautiful! i think that calls for popsicles outside. (we also played frisbee, rode bikes, played with the water table, played soccer and baseball and watched the construction trucks next door.) yay for summer!

maddux wanted me to try and "catch" him with the camera while he ran by.

the boys enjoyed their popsicles in the shade while watching trucks load, unload and roll by.

and then they thought that they were really funny stealing my hat from me!

it was such great way to start summer break! love.

last day of school!

it occurred to me last night that i didn't have anything planned for breakfast today. this was particularly odd because i make breakfast at least 3 days a week. while researching ideas for mason's birthday party, i had seen some pictures of pancakes with strawberries and sprinkles. let's give it a try. i picked a base recipe (which i will change up a little next time) and whipped them up. the kids loved them! (well, maddux said that they should be made with bananas instead of strawberries next time.)

we were actually off to a good start. everyone was dressed and ready super early and in a pretty good mood. and then things started falling apart. mainly it was maddux put the others started having problems too. maddux was upset because he only had "church socks" clean. and this isn't what you think. he refers to white and grey athletic socks as his "church socks," not his argyle dress socks.

and then he decided that he wasn't done with the 'craft' he made for his teacher. well, tough, guy, because it is time to leave for your last day of school! he had been cutting and gluing pieces of red paper together all week. seriously, he spent hours on this thing - i can't believe that i didn't take a picture!

but i did get some pictures to sort of compare with their first days of school (first day on the left, last day on the right).

i wanted to get a picture of her with the bus at the bus stop. she is squinting, not crying.

none of the boys cooperated on the first day of school, but here are some 'ready to go' pictures from today (maddux is crying behind me about his socks).

ready to go in with their teacher gifts and cards (note the "red paper" in maddux' hand).

 i think maddux' biggest change is his hair! for some reason, he let me comb it today.

in mason's notebook from the year, it said that he grew two inches this school year.

maddux and ms. p. he LOVES her!

maddux' teacher is the same one mason had and she truly loves each and every one of those kids. she loves jesus too and it shows everyday. she is such a special lady. maddux is going to miss her.

mason and his main teacher.  she is a wonderful teacher and really cares about seeing the kids progress over the year. she is also awesome at handling ready-for-kindergarten questions.

in a few hours we are going to be ready for summer!! love.

preschool year in review

the boys each brought home a notebook that reviewed their entire year at school. mason's had all of his colors, shapes, letters, favorites, etc. it was a complete notebook - too much to photograph, but the page above was one of my most favorite. i love how mason was able to draw superman and batman with some details from memory.

maddux' notebook was filled will pictures, here are a few of his favorite pages. that 2-year-old room is so special - mainly due to his extremely godly and loving teachers. i am so sad that manning isn't going to get that experience with them next year (we didn't want to pay for three kids to be in preschool at once when i am staying home).

this is what mason's teacher had to say on his end of year review:

- he knows all of his colors, shapes, numbers and letters (she wrote "wonderful!" next to those fields)

- "thank you for sharing mason with us this year. he has been a joy to teach!"

- they also commented that he gets the award for "best hair" in one of their thank you notes.

- he "shows readiness for kindergarten" but they fully support our decision to hold him back next year and do pre-k instead of kindergarten.

maddux' teacher wrote a long and heartfelt letter, here are a few excerpts: 

"what a pleasure it has been to have maddux in our class this year. he is a wonderfully outgoing little boy who always has a story to share. he truly enjoys all he does to the fullest. 

...maddux follows directions well and is a full participant in all class activities. his energy and enthusiasm in all he does adds a spark to our class. he is a very smart little boy and once engaged in an activity no matter how big or small; block building, an art project or participating in group activities maddux shows determination to do and be the best in all he does..."

such a great school year for the two big boys! we are so proud of them. and they are pretty proud of themselves - and their school notebooks. love.

announcements

madelyn was selected to do part of the morning announcements today. and she was SUPER pumped about it! this is how she described it to us: "i get to do the announcements on wednesday! i get to use the adult microphone to tell everyone what the kids who buy their lunch get to eat and say the first part of the pledge of allegiance! they will hear me in the art room, in the library, in the cafeteria...everywhere!" and then she started saying all of the parts that are the same everyday and she had already memorized.

here is what she actually got to say...

"good morning! my name is madelyn and i am a first grader from homeroom x. today is wednesday, may 28th. if you are buying your lunch today, the menu in the clearmount cafe is home baked pizza, assorted snacks. the fruit and vegetable options are assorted fruits and vegetables. and of course, your choice of white, chocolate or strawberry flavored milk! will you please stand for the pledge of allegiance... 'i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america...'"

we are so proud of her! love.

just manning being manning

memorial day

this morning madelyn and i headed out early this morning for the memorial day parade. the ymca invites all of the "character champions" from the school year to walk in the parade. madelyn was lucky enough to be selected last year too. daddy walked the parade route with her last year (largely because i was still nursing) and this year madelyn asked me to walk with her. i think her request was motivated by her assumption that i would drive her to the start of the parade and daddy was guaranteed to walk there. we did walk there this morning. thankfully, she did not cry the whole way there like she did when daddy took her to the 'fun run.' and we had a lovely walk too.

unlike last year, it was beautiful today and warm - quickly approaching 80. all of the kids were given a choice of color for their t-shirt this year and madelyn choose yellow. the idea was for the kids to line up by color so that it would look like a marching rainbow. however, the second we hit the parade route it was just a mass of kids.

the boys were there to see us at the start of the parade route. and they got a ton of candy!

it was kind of neat to walk down the middle of main street. there were a lot of people out to watch the parade. madelyn said that there were a lot more than last year. i think the weather helped.

we had lunch at home before heading to the pool! it opens for the year today and we are super excited! there are several new families in the neighborhood and the pool was hopping with kids. usually our kids are the only ones in there even though all of the deck chairs are full so this was a fun change. of course i did a lot more head counts than i normally would have done (but i have always been pretty cautious around water). what a difference a year makes. madelyn is like a fish and doesn't look awkward swimming around any more. the boys still have work to do on swimming, but they are very comfortable in the water and move around very freely. manning was having no part of the pool. he wouldn't even take off his shoes! i did finally convince him to sit in a deck chair. he was a gigantic grump almost the entire time. he was even hitting me while telling me no (about everything) so i told him "so sad" and sat him on a chair farther away from me, saying that he could come back when he was done hitting. he sat there for a few minutes and then calmly walked over, hit me and then walked back to the chair to sit by himself some more. he might not be a "biter" but he is turning into quite the little "hitter."

we are SO excited to be able to spend time at the pool again! love.