first day of school

So last Thursday was the first day of 2nd grade for John, and... the first day of preschool for my Sammy!! I had officially prepared myself for this day for quite a while and I knew that it would be hard to watch Sam go. Necessary, but hard none the less. I was totally shocked when Sam woke us up, very early, that morning with a blazing hot fever. I was very disappointed because I felt ready to let him go, and I knew that I would have to re-prepare myself over that weekend for the following Monday. John woke up bright and bushy tailed but was also very nervous. When I drove him to school, the car was very quiet. When we got out of the car and I walked him to his classroom he looked very scared- kind of like a deer caught in the head lights!! That first day will never get any easier for me and for him I am sure! Once we got into his class and found his seat we waited for his teacher, Mrs. Padron to come and greet us. She actually already knew who John was, probably because I am at his school every day and is used to seeing me! When I went to pick him up that day, she said he did great and that his previous teacher had told her so many good things about John. She said she knew she would have no problems with him!! That is such an awesome thing to hear from a teacher who doesn't know your kid. Actually, when I was talking to his 1st grade teacher the other day she told me that she had been checking up on John and that he seemed very content in his new class. Isn't that nice that she cared that much about him to see if he was o.k. She also told me that Mrs. Padron already loved John as she had. Good stuff!





He is getting so big and handsome. He is such a good boy and makes me proud each day!

So that is John. Sam on the other hand had a very tough 1st day at preschool. He was fine until we got into the classroom. He clung a little bit tighter to my leg when I introduced him to his teacher Mrs. Bohannon (Mrs. Julie). I signed him in and we proceeded to the room where they have a big colored carpet where they start their morning with singing and reading. When we entered the room, he lost it! He started crying and pleading with me to "not leabe (leave) him". That is heart breaking. So I sat with him for about 5 minutes when I knew I had to leave. The crying was getting worse. His teacher assured me that he would be fine. I peeked into the window and one of the aids was holding him. That made me feel better. I continued to hear him cry all the way to the gate "I want my mommy". Those were 3 very long hours. When I went to pick him up, Mrs. Bohannon said he did excellent. He only cried for a few minutes and when he saw the other kids playing with the blocks he decided to join in the fun. They called his name and he came bouncing around the corner just as happy as can be! He cried Tuesday-Thursday mornings, but it got quieter and less each day. On Friday morning he told me "I'm not going to cry today" perfect!!! He kept his word. He actually went to the other extreme and told me not to walk him up. Ha Ha, funny boy- that's not happening! Any ways, he is doing great and is playing nicely with all the girls and boys.



This was the first day that Sam went to school. I love the way he adores his brother. He really does look up to him as you can see!



He has to wear a uniform- and he is so cute in it. I really like him in a white polo and tan shorts.



This was before reality set in and he realized that I was taking him to school and I would be leaving.



These pictures are later in the week. He is modeling his many "uniform fashions"



Mr. Max and I have had a great week also. It is so great to see his true personality come out when he has one on one attention from his mommy. He has been so easy and happy. I'm sure he feels like a little king! He has never had the attention that he deserves being the youngest of three. He has suffered from that also. He had been really aggressive and very impulsive lately. He is under constant attack from his brothers so I think that he has learned to strike first. We will be working on him and will be bringing out the sweet boy that he is.



He loves this tricycle.






He loves to say "I'm gonna get you". Although only his dad and I can understand him

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mommas birthday so I just want to say happy birthday to her. I love you mom and appreciate everything you do for me and my boys. They love you so much and have a great time whenever they are with you. Whoever knows you is truly blessed. You are such a great example of someone with a servant's heart! God must be pleased with you! love you!!

cutie pies

Man I love this boy:



This one too:



And this one:



But this one the most:




Lucky girl I'd say

Baby Jackson is Here!!!

Jackson decided to wait for his due date to join the family. Personally, I would've too. It has to be way to comfy in there. I got to go and visit this afternoon with the kids. Sammy was most excited. He has asked Aunt Stephie when baby Jackson was going to "come out of time out" several times,(does that mean that I put Sam in time out too much) so he was excited to go and see him. Anyways, Jackson is absolutely beautiful. He is so soft and squishy and I just love that new baby smell. He weighed 7lbs. 10oz. and was 20in. long. He has quiet a bit of light brown hair. He looks a lot like Scott. He does look a little bit different to me than Madi and Carson, maybe he has a longer face than the other kids (I'm sure that next time I see him he will be completely different) I would have loved to see Carson's reaction to him because he is such a mommas boy and is incredibly protective of Steph. I am pretty positive that Madi will do great!! Congratulation guys- he's beautiful!!


I apologize for the picture quality- I really need to fix my good camera!!

Dress-up

Look out people- there's a new superhero in town. He may be short, but he's dangerous!!

Avila Beach

We took a trip to Avila Beach this weekend for an annual men's motorcycle riding weekend that John, his dad and uncles do every year. I just love Avila. It is my second favorite beach that we visit. We stayed in the Lighthouse Suites with John's parents and sister. The room was great and was right on the beach and across the street from the park. The hotel has a pool, ping pong tables, a life sized chess game and putting green. Lots of fun activities for the kiddos. We left on Friday afternoon and arrived early evening. We checked in and took a stroll down to the street fair that was taking place. After eating we went back to the room and attempted to put the kids to bed. Max had other ideas in mind- such as a pajama party. Yeah no fun for us, but apparently lots of fun for him. We ended up separating Max and Sam and Sam went to the other room to sleep with Aunt Katie. Bad idea. Who knew Sam was such a bed hog and that Kate would end up sleeping on the floor because Sam thought he was king of the bed and wouldn't scoot over. We all finally fell asleep around 11:30pm. The next day the men headed off for their ride and I took the boys down to the beach and then to the park with Karen. Sam loves to run from the waves and didn't even mind when the waves kept knocking him down. Max was not as fond of the water. Later that morning Karen's sister-in-law and two girls who live in Avila, met us at the park to play. John absolutely loves these girls and has such a close bond with his cousin Sofia. They are like two peas in a pod. We then headed over to the Avila barn for a very healthy lunch of ice-cream!!(Max and Sam did have PB&J) They barn is a great family place. They have hay rides, all kinds of farm animals and a cute little store. Next we went up to Julie's house. She lives up in the hills in Avila in a gated community. I love this house. It is directly on a hill and they have deer that come right up to their house. They also have a club house that has a great pool, so while Max napped Katie and I took John, Sam, Cascina and Sofia down to swim. Those kids swam for three hours. Karen calls John and Sam chocolate bunnies because they are so dark. After swimming it was dinner time so we went down the hill to their Deli. SOOOOO Yummy!!! At that point Sam was so tired because of the long day, so we took them back to the hotel to get ready for bed. They didn't protest that night. Little John was lucky enough to get to spend the night at his cousins house so John and I got to go for a motorcycle ride up to their house to give Little John his P.J.'s and clothes for the next day. Then we rode over to Fat Cat's diner to have a late night snack. Jeez that was a busy day. Sunday was much more relaxed. We spent it at the beach the whole day after getting Little John and the girls. We ate a late lunch, got an ice cream cone and played at the park some more. The ride home was incredibly long because of rode work. Thank God for the DVD player in Karen's van. We got home around 9:30 and all crashed.


funny story: while we were down at the beach I asked Sam if he wanted a PB&J sandwich. Max heard the word "sandwich" and came running. He loves food and can always eat. Later that morning he spotted some crackers on the person's blanket next to us and slowly crept over to try to snag some. He was just about to bend down, ever so sneaky, when I caught him and ran over to get him.


look at my beach bum son. He has an unbuttoned shirt on with no shoes in the resturant!


Our find of the day- a sand crab


Max almost asleep on Papa's shoulder. He was so good for how tired he was.


Mommy and some of her boys playing in the sand. Mikey aquired quiet the attitude while around his cousins. He was too cool for baby stuff, like digging in the sand.


Love this picture


This one too!!


Playing frisbee


building a sand castle


The kids loved the motorcycles. The girls wanted to ride them so bad!


These kids are stuck like glue- as you can see!








Sam with his seaweed "weapon" He finds some sort of weapon where ever he is




















They were so tired on the way home. Sam and John are in the zone watching Kung Fu Panda