First Day of First Grade for the First Boy...

Caleb started First Grade this week!

I loved First Grade. Loved. My teacher was Miss Allgaier at Cimarron Elementary here in Katy, TX. She was a first year teacher and I thought she was the prettiest person ever with her beautiful red hair, perfect smile, and gold bead necklace that she wore often. It was also in first grade that I made my first best friend, Wendy, and had my first sleepovers. After moving two times during my Kindergarten year (attending schools in New Mexico, Kansas and Alaska), a whole year at one school was very exciting.

I hope this boy has a great year as well! He's pumped to have his buddy Noah in his class, and the big question is, "Will we ever have fish in the fish tank behind Ms. Hebert's desk?"

{Side Note: His teacher is a sweet veteran educator named Ms. Karen Hebert. We were running a tad late to Meet the Teacher night last week, and walked in just after she introduced herself and told a bit about herself. However, we walked in just in time to hear her share with the parents that she is a Christian, and feels it's necessary for her as a teacher to pray for her students, by name, daily in order to be the best teacher for them that she can be. Cue the tears threatening to fall from this mama's eyes! I appreciated knowing this about her -- and in that moment, any other information about Ms. Hebert became unnecessary. Thank you Jesus for Caleb being placed in her classroom!}

He was all smiles as he hopped -- and ran -- off the bus! It's been a great start to the school year so far.
Next year, I'll have two little guys hopping off that bus! Wow...

My Guys...

We finally got around to taking 'official' yearly pictures of our three young men. I am woefully behind on documenting them each year, but hopefully the adage "better late than never" will apply!Caleb will be turning six in just a couple of weeks. I can't believe that we've been parents for a majority of our marriage -- it seems like just yesterday we were in the trials of infertility and waiting on the Lord. Caleb is a pretty incredible kid and the best big brother EVER. He is overall very patient and kind with his younger brothers, especially with Toben. His favorite things to do are Legos, play games on the Wii, jigsaw puzzles (the more pieces the better), and play with his buddy Hunter. He's beginning to read more and more on his own, which has made bedtime story reading more enjoyable (and more drawn out -- I think he's picked up on that stalling tactic!). We've really enjoyed reading The Jesus Storybook Bible each night with him. The childlike faith is something to behold -- he doesn't realize it, but he's teaching me as much or more than I'm (hopefully) teaching him. Gotta love how the Lord works like that.
(For my own memory's sake... some stats on the Bug: He's approximately 45-50 pounds and 46-48 inches tall. We'll find out for sure at his six-year well check after his birthday. He wears size 6 pants for the length, but only if they have adjustable waistbands, and mostly size 6 shirts. Long and lean. He lost two teeth during the first week of the year - the bottom center two, one on January 2nd and one on January 6th.) (EDITED 2/24 - Caleb weighs 45lb, 8oz and is 46 1/2 inches tall. Dang, I'm good at estimating! ;)
Logan continues to be our greatest challenge and also our greatest comedian. We are learning more and more that he is very much an introvert, and new situations and crowds just set him on a tailspin. If he is with a small group of people whom he is comfortable around, he will turn into the silliest, most creative little nut. However, if he's at all uneasy he will cling to Ryan or me, or dissolve into tears, or become the most serious little man. His creative nature shines when he's having an "on" day, and he's racking up some great stories for us to tell one day. (I really should be better about writing these things down...) Logan loves to play on the iPad, go to his gymnastics class (where he's excelling in everything -- I'm in awe watching him), play with his Puppy, play games on the Wii, pretend play with his ImagiNext toys, and do most anything outside. He's our outdoors boy at the moment.
(For my memory: Logan is 39 pounds and 43 inches tall as of last Wednesday at his four-year well check. He wears size 4T clothing, but in some pants we've had to buy size 5T slims, also with adjustable waistbands.)
The Littles. Toben is our little charmer, for sure. He's strong-willed like Logan, but is also quite outgoing. He loves to be wherever his big brothers are, and tries to do everything just like them! Toben has been slow to speak coherently, but it hasn't stopped him from trying to express his mind... loudly. He has one volume, and it's LOUD. You never have to worry about him sneaking up on you! He also loves to play on the iPad, play outdoors, play with cars and trains, and watch his brothers play Wii.
(I'm really not sure on T's stats, but my best guess is that he's in the 33-35 pound range and is about 36 inches tall. He wears size 2T clothing and size 5 diapers. Toben is the most solid of all our boys at this age.)
We only got one photo of all three together and I feel like it shows a glimpse of each of their personalities. The other photos above are a small handful of the shots I got of all three individually -- we had such a fun time tromping around old Richmond as a family that evening.

Hopefully I won't wait so long again to do annual photos of the boys -- I think it's been since Toben's first birthday that I last intentionally took yearly photos of any of my guys. Oops! At least I have a million snapshots of them from everyday life. Those are the memories truly worth having -- but it sure is nice to have a good shot or two to hang on the walls now and then!

Go Sonics!

Caleb started Flag Football this past Saturday. It was really a good time and went so much better than I could have imagined! He's playing on a team with his best buddy Hunter, who has the ball in the photo above. Caleb is "blocking" for Hunter--we'll work on skills as we go along.

Considering this was his first EVER time to play, he did a great job!
Coach had him in the QB position for a while, then as a running back (we'll work on protecting the ball, too), and finally as a center. He played a bit of defense during the game, too.
I asked the boys at halftime to give me their best Game Faces... gotta love what I saw! Caleb's mouthpiece is blue, and he must have thought it was cool to wear it non-stop as he wore it in the car the entire way to the fields, throughout practice and his game, and we had to ask for it after the game.

Saturday mornings are going to be tons of fun this fall!

And He's Off!

For the record and for my memory, I did not cry when we dropped him off! It was after Ryan and I got back in the car and were driving away that both of us got misty-eyed. Grin. It just seems like such a huge milestone! (it is)

I can't wait for this boy to hop off the bus at approximately 4:15 this afternoon. Hopefully he'll be in the mood to tell us about his day!! Now, it's time to bake some cupcakes for a First Day of School After-Party Celebration.

Blessing for This School Year...

My prayer for Caleb, that he will not fear the unknown of school but will embrace it with the strength the Lord provides. That he will know that God is with him at all times, and that he can trust in His guidance. That he will enjoy this new chapter, and learn and laugh a lot. That he will be respectful towards his teacher and peers. That he will continue his love of learning.

Twelve...

In twelve days, my oldest will leave me. For Kindergarten. I will no longer be a mom to three toddlers/preschoolers.

I am beyond thrilled and excited for this new chapter in Caleb's life. He is absolutely going to love all of the social interaction, the games, the crafts, the learning, the teachers, the routine, the bus... He's been excited all summer about starting Kindergarten. (He can't wait to 1. See his new classroom and 2. Ride the bus.)

We've had a countdown of sorts going on these past few weeks. Every few days, Caleb will ask me how many days are left until he goes to his new school. Today, when I answered "Twelve," it hit me -- that's just a few days away from being in the single digits. And that's just a few days away from being one week out. And that's just a few days away from The Day actually being here!We've tried to make the most of our summer with some new experiences for the boys. One more last hurrah will be taken tomorrow, when Ryan and I take the older two boys to Schlitterbahn waterpark in Galveston. Our days are now measured and planned around the school calendar, which is in some ways a new experience even though we've abided by the preschool calendar for two years now. We've gone "Back to School" shopping for some new clothes, a backpack and a lunchbox. We've pre-registered for Kindergarten. We've pre-ordered school supplies. We've got his Meet the Teacher night on the calendar, as well as our first Open House. As a former teacher, I remember how busy and crazy the first month of school was -- it will be very interesting to see it on the parent side now.
If the stinging in my eyes that threatens to turn into tears while writing this post is any indication, I'm totally going to be "one of those moms" who is wiping her eyes as she leaves the school without her child that first day of class -- and I'll probably repeat it when I drop each of my boys off at college, too. Hopefully it won't be the Ugly Cry! I truly can't wait to see how school unfolds for Caleb. I pray that he makes great friends early on, that he keeps his love of learning and discovery, that he's respectful to adults, teachers and peers, and that he just enjoys school.
I'm confident he will.

And he just keeps growing...

You started out so very small on Monday, February 13, 2006. We laughed the night after you were born (when we had you all to ourselves) at how you curled up like a tree frog on our shoulders -- I believe this is when I KNEW I loved you, and always would.
Oh, to revisit those early days with you, knowing what we know now. (Maybe with some more sleep at night, though... We're so glad you quickly figured out a good sleep pattern!)

Look at you today, Caleb. Today you are five years old. Yesterday we celebrated your birthday, and we made a whole weekend of the celebration. You had a birthday party at Build A Bear with the friends of your choosing -- it was the first party where you chose the guest list.

You created a bear, and named him Batman. He wears an Iron Man shirt, though. :)
Josh, Toben, Walker, you, Hunter and Logan all made new furry friends before having a Chick-fil-A lunch in the food court and a carousel ride.
For some reason, you did NOT want to have cupcakes at this point in your party. You're getting so big, but I think celebrations and having the spotlight still overwhelms you a bit.
Caleb, you have filled our hearts with more joy than we ever knew possible. You made us parents, and have taught us so much about love and trust. We pray that you continue to grow strong, healthy, with a kind and generous heart, having respect for others, in your knowledge and (hopefully) love of Jesus... We love watching you grow.
Love you, Bug.

Kickin' Around...

There was a superhero sighting in the backyard recently. Spidey dropped in for a while to play in the leaves.
His buddy Batman parked the Batmobile long enough for a pickup soccer game.

I'd say we need to sign them up for spring soccer...

Calebism & Loganesque...

Some for the memory books:

One evening early this past week, we were eating some leftover Thanksgiving dinner for supper. Here's part of a conversation that transpired between Caleb and Ryan...

Caleb (while eating sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows): Daddy, marshmallows are yummy and healthy.

Ryan: You're right, Caleb. Marshmallows are yummy, but they're not that healthy. They have a lot of sugar in them.

Caleb: No they don't. You're just kidding me.

Ryan (stifling laughter): No kidding, Caleb -- they really have a lot of sugar. They're made with sugar and some air to fluff them up. (How do you explain that to a preschooler?)

Caleb (after thinking for a moment): So will eating marshmallows help you breathe?

And one about Logan, our uber-competitive child as referenced in the previous post:

We ate at Chick-fil-A this past Friday evening. The boys usually have nuggets, but this time Caleb decided to have a chicken sandwich. Logan and Toben split an 8-count of nuggets. The rule is that the boys have to eat a good meal before going to play in the play area.

We noticed that Logan didn't waste much time getting busy eating his share of the nuggets. After a little while, with ketchup lining the edges of his mouth, Logan leans over to Ryan, taps him on the shoulder, and this is what he said...

"Daddy, I ate all of my chicken. I won." -- as matter of fact as can be. Dead-pan face and all.

Of course, with the "I won" he raised his right arm straight up in the air.

The Wheels on the {Firetruck} Go Round and Round...

A firetruck (and firemen) visited the boys' preschool today.
It made quite an impression, but mainly on the boys. A couple of them were clapping and cheering as it drove into the parking lot.
Logan had Puppy close at hand, and most of his classmates had their special loveys in hand too. They were missing nap time today to see the firetruck.
Caleb's teacher, Ms. Lori, put on a real fireman suit for all the kids to see. She's a rockstar.
The siren was sounded for a little bit -- little hands were asked to cover little ears.
The bigger kids were allowed to climb through the cab of the firetruck. Way cool.
The littler kids were not allowed to go through the cab. Logan thought that was way NOT cool. (That's the preschool director, Ms. Jennifer, comforting him.)
We got a great photo of Caleb's Whale Class! You always have to have someone picking their nose, though. At least it wasn't my kiddo (this time...)!

The end.

Perfect Logic...

After so much concentration and hard work while coloring on top of the kitchen table, it only makes sense to pull out the nap mats and "rest" while watching Letter Factory under a "tent."