First instagram

(see full image)

I have a new toy! An ipod touch to be exact, from Jason, for Valentine's day. Well not exactly. He knew I wanted one, I had been saving Target bonus cards for 12 years and was still a ways away, even when I threw in the cash my grandparents gave us/me for Christmas. Every Sunday, I eagerly browsed the Target ad, hoping there would be something we need that would come with the gift card if I purchased an amount equivalent to a 3 year supply (e.g. 3 supersized detergents). The best deals were on diapers and with Ryan no longer needing, it looked to be quite some time before I had enough to buy the $200 goody. Just before Valentine's day, they were adverstised with, what else, a gift card. I just had the feeling that Jason was going to buy it for me, so I pre-empted and said I would really like to use up my hoarded gift cards, so he agreed (he also agreed to pick out a coat on clearance for me to give to him, oh the excitement of being a valentine when you have been married almost 12 years). So of to Target I went and have since spent way to much time researching, setting up and playing with my first apple product.

The instagram shows Kyle's nightly struggle to fall asleep, something so frustrating for me since I remember having the exact problem as a kid. Actually one reason I wanted the Ipod was so he could listen to music to relax, not that I think it will be a magic bullet, but anything will help at this point.

Brothers

Not the best pic, but I was standing on mom's porch and noticed kyle giving grant a lesson in shooting a basketball. So very sweet. I have tried to show him several times to no avail, but he was listening intently to kyle. Kyle really had a breakout season and I guess grant was paying attention more then I realized. I can't wait to see grant and eventually ryan (who can already dribble better then most 9 year olds) follow in his foot steps.

Soccer Star

I am generally opposed to organized sports for 3 year olds, but I saw sad eyes from ryan one to many times when after telling kyle and grant they had some type of practice he looked up to me and said "and what do I have to do?" You could just tell he knew I was going to say nothing. So when I got an email about this class, I thought I would give it a try, if nothing ellse so I could say, you have soccer on Friday. It turned out to be a lot of fun and he has for the most part had a good time. I say for the most part because the coach always takes them on a pretend adventure, and his overactive imagination has kept him from really enjoying some of the more perilous ones (such as bears and alligtor traps, I asked him at one point if he saw any bears and he said "that guy said roar,), so I have had to stay pretty close instead of playing with my phone or talking to other moms, but in the end I am glad we did it. Hard to believe he will be signing up for the real thing come fall.

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Ryan's First Trip to the Dentist

He did such a great job! It took the others at least a year before they would even sit in the chair let alone have someone look at their teeth, but Ryan hoped right up and went the whole nine yards, polish, suction, everything. It had been a long day, to, starting with a trip to my office to change out my computer. As I was getting ready, he came in and said, "Mom, why you wearing those church pants". Guess I should swap out the workout pants a little more then once a week.

The First Snow Day

...on the 13th day of February. Ryan was so excited, asking right away if
we could go to Popcorn Hill (aka Hawthorn Hill). He was actually supposed
to go to preschool today, but how do you tell a 3 year old his brothers get
to go sledding and he can't. I was actually supposed to work also, but I
felt the need to cram a winter's worth of fun into this one fleeting day.
Snow days always make me wish I was a stay at home mom or teacher. In
between emails, I did manage to help complete construction of the 7 ft snow
man. We could barely roll what was to be the middle, so adjustments were
made. I was so proud of how well it turned out and took a hundred pics. As
usual the boys were not amused. After a quick lunch, it was of to popcorn
hill for sledding, though kyle choose to stay here with mom and look through
old baseball cards. I was pretty annoyed, but I probably need to get used
to that, given how fast he is growing up. He is actually going to a girls
bday party on Friday, but that will need an entirely separate post.

First Day of School - 2011

So it is the start of my blogging fiscal year and I think I can officially declare my efforts from the past year a failure since I didn’t even complete my blog posts of Christmas.  So I think I will have to combine 2 years into one book.  It will still be horribly out of order because I will go back and catch up, but maybe I can change at print time.  Anyhow, I want to get this year off to a better start and low and behold I am actually posting on the first day of school, pictures and all.  We can start with Kyle since school is really not so new to him as a third grader.  He got the cool teacher and has several friends in his class, but that wasn’t really enough to get him excited about the new year.  I am still amazed I got him to wear those plaid shorts instead of his preferred athletic gear.  He of course had a terrible time getting to sleep.  He always has a terrible time getting to sleep.  So frustrating and so like his mother.  I think I am going to try to wake him up at school time even through the weekend for awhile to see if that helps.  I don’t think it will, but it is about the only thing I haven’t tried.  We (well me) have been a little stressed about finding him a competitive baseball team to play with next spring.  This is the age where they seem to be dividing up, and while I think everyone could just wait a few more years, since they are splitting I feel like I need to find a team that is going to be as passionate as he is about baseball.  I kept my eye out for tryouts and even emailed people I knew in the baseball community and nothing seemed to work out.  There was a tryout we had planned to attend on his birthday, but we had just got back from vacation, he was running a fever and had a headache and I had put his glove in a bag I left at the lake.  It was obviously not meant to be and we all but gave up, only to get an email a few days later from a coach wanting Kyle to be a part of his team.  It only meant giving up spring soccer which he was more the ready to do. 

 

As you can see from the pictures, Grant was to the moon excited.  I did the crazy put him on the bus then drive like crazy to school, try to find a parking spot and be there to meet him drill and it actually worked this time (when Kyle was in Kindergarten, I didn’t make it in time, but was able to see him safely in his classroom).  He walked straight to his classroom, made the rounds saying hi to his few friends, then found his seat and asked if he could look at the books in the middle of the table.  I really didn’t think it would bother me to leave him, but once I saw him setting at that desk, I almost lost it, I mean, really lost it.  I gave him a quick hug and smiled like a lunatic as I darted out of that room.  He apparently had a great day.  He said his favorite thing was going outside to play.  There is one pic of him riding his bike without training wheels, a skill he mastered just last night.  Again, he was so ready, I barely had to run two steps behind him before letting go to see him successfully ride away.  Kind of crazy when you think about it.    Here’s to a great new school year.

Kyle's Birthday - #9

Kyle's birthday came on the heels of an amazing vacation, but like any vacation we were exhausted when we got home. I had thankfully shopped prior to vacation and planned the party for Sunday, the day after his birthday. He choose Subway for lunch as opposed to the typical McDonald's birthday venue. Since I couldn't decide on a lego set, I got him a gift card for Target to pick out his own. Unsurprisingly, he opted for additional baseball cards in lieu of a lego set. And so the next obssession has begun. Pics of his party will be hopefully in a future post