Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Vincent's first day of Preschool

Vincent started preschool today. He's been so excited about this for months. As the day drew closer, he stopped talking about when he was going to go to "Spreeschool" and started saying he didn't want to go. The nervousness was setting in. So it took a little encouraging to get him dressed this morning. But he was so, so excited to go. He walked right up to Ms. Kelly's door and knocked. There he joined Gabe, Maggie and Emma at their very own, private preschool where the student to teacher ratio is 2 to 1 and the projects are custom made for each child. We totally lucked out with this one. Ms. Jordan and Ms. Kelly are AWESOME!!
Preschool started complete with a school calendar and photo for the first day. Vincent came home with the cutest projects. He traced his name really well and painted. They also made homemade pizza on toast for snack time. He had so much fun and when he was telling me about school, he still referred to his teachers as "Ms. Jordan and Ms. Kelly" even though he's known them his whole life by just their first names. It's all official. Jordan said even Maggie was calling her "Miss Mommy" after school. Ha ha ha!!!

Daniel turns 5!

It's been five years since we brought our first little boy home from the hospital. I can't believe it. We celebrated Daniel's birthday together with Lucas who turned one the following day. Daniel was so excited all week for this day, and he climbed into our bed Saturday morning and announced he was ready for his birthday party. He loves those parties and all the family that surrounds him.


Daniel shares his birthday with his Great-Grandma Willie Mae. We celebrated her birthday the next day at her house. They're just 80 years apart.


Daniel (and Vincent) were so excited about the new bike from Papa Dan and Grandma B-Doe. All the men worked on it for quite awhile, until all the modifications were complete and it was ready to ride.

We all had a great time celebrating Daniel's birthday. We are so blessed and lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful, loving family and friends. This is a priceless gift.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Haircuts & Growing Up

Daniel went on his first field trip this week. We visited a farm and pumpkin patch. He got to feed goats, climb on hay bails and pick out a pumpkin. He chose the first one he saw...again. All he wants to do with it is eat the seeds. As we waited to enter, Daniel and several other boys discovered how much fun kicking up dust in an old barn can be. The were covered in dirt before we even got through the gates. It was lots of fun.
The boys visited my hair salon last week. All three got haircuts in the garage. We took before and after pictures just for fun and they were so cooperative. Vincent's chin is looking really good, we're just keeping the band aid on for extra protection. He got the stitches out Tuesday, just four days after the ER visit. The second layer of stitches will dissolve slowly over the next 6 months.
What handsome boys, being so good for their mother who keeps wanting pictures of all three of them together. I'm just loving that I can finally get them all in the same shot. We've arrived!
This week, Gavin seems to have made a leap from toddler to little boy. There's really not any baby left in him, except he still loves and needs to cuddle. He's my snuggle bug and I love that about him. He runs around, climbs on things and swings on his own on the big boy swing. He turned into a little boy this week. I'm loving this stage with all three of them. We go places without the stroller, they can all follow instructions reasonably well. They love playing together and Gavin really holds his own. He's even taken down both of his big brothers from time to time.
Tomorrow, Daniel turns 5. We said goodnight and goodbye to our 4 year old Daniel tonight and reminisced about our last night without kids five years ago. It's been madness ever since. He's so excited for his birthday. Every morning this week, the first words out of his mouth were "Is it my birthday today?" 5 seems like a pretty big landmark age. Daniel loves to climb trees and does whenever he gets a chance.
Vincent was playing in the backyard this evening when he fell and started crying. When I looked outside to see how bad it was I saw Daniel giving Vincent a huge hug. They have such great moments. I've even captured some of them on video. The funny thing about the videos is that they almost always end with crying or fighting which just really tells the whole story. It's a mixed bag of crazy around here.
A couple weeks ago I had the privaledge of joining these two awesome girls on a houseboat for the weekend. All three of us are busy moms who needed a break. We sat there at the dock for three glorious days of rest, soaking up sun, taking an occasional dip and enjoying some great conversation. It was awesome and I'm so thankful for that time.
George took care of the boys all weekend once again. He was amazing, taking them to an air show, In-N-Out and the fairgrounds. I was impressed; he was tired.

Friday, October 01, 2010

Counting Stitches

Vincent had a motorcycle accident last night. He was going off a jump in the backyard and landed on his face. His poor chin was lacerated. One look and we knew it would be another long night in the hospital. When we first got to the waiting room, it was full. They took him right in and after taking his vitals they put something to numb his chin and after that, the tears subsided. He did great waiting for two hours as we watched curious george on my phone. Auntie Tracy and Uncle Paul were over for dinner when the accident happened, so they stayed with the other boys while George and I were able to both be with Vincent at the hospital. George drove while I held the poor guy in the backseat on the way there.
In order to have a still child to operate on, they had to strap him down. He wasn't very happy about it. But he did a great job.
He was such a trooper after it was all done, he gave daddy this awesome smile to show he was all better.
Dr. Williams came in as a favor to fix Vincent's chin. He wasn't working that night or even on call. He is a plastic surgeon and we were very thankful to have him to minimize the scaring.
In his right hand, Vincent is holding the "paperwork" they gave him at the hospital. This morning he is very seriously coloring it in.
Here is the scene of the accident the next morning. The ramp was several inches higher last night.