Kindergarten Graduation 2011

(May 27, 2011)


Another kindergartener down the line. Or should I say walking the line! Grant proudly accepted his diploma as he participated in graduation ceremonies last night. It has been another great year and Grant has learned SO MUCH. As we started the year out I was concerned about some of the frustration he was having with his homework, but it didn't take long before he was improving and even excelling at his work! His wonderful teacher, Mrs. Lyons, describes him as having this extraordinary "drive" to improve and learn. He always wants to know what to expect, what's next. By the end of the year he was moved to one of the top reading groups in his class and I could tell by his reading homework that he was improving dramatically over the course of the year. One thing I'm sure of is that he had no trouble in making friends! He often talked about his classmates and I know he looked forward to school each and every day because of that camaraderie. And he again managed to keep his teachers laughing the whole year through! By now we are used to hearing "Grant has such a sense of humor!" We love him and are so proud of the wonderful year he's had. Way to go Grant! Congratulations buddy!

In his classroom prior to getting on his cap and stole

Receiving his diploma from Mrs. Lyons during the ceremony

With Mommy - I love you buddy!

Proud parents

The whole crew

Our graudate

First Lost Tooth - Grant

(May 22, 2011)

Another first for another of my babies! Here is his new smile!

Happy 6th Birthday Grant

Grant, Grant, Grant. That's what I always seem to be saying or thinking to myself. What a character. If there is anyone in this world who likes to make people laugh, it is YOU! Your spirit is so naturally full of kindness, generosity, and concern. You worry about people and their well being and show adult-like compassion. We love you very much and are enjoying watching you grow!

We celebrated today with Star Wars cupcakes at school for the whole class. Yummy!

Ice Skating for the First Time!

I have had this post saved in draft for some time - just now posting, oops!

(January 9, 2011)

Clayton, Grant, and I got to go on our first ice skating trip ever when we went with Clayton's Cub Scouts group Sunday afternoon. My biggest fear was that we would leave with a broken bone and that it would be ME! Fortunately, we avoided any accidents (although one guy wasn't so lucky and they believed he may have broken his ankle!) and actually had an absolute blast learning the "ropes" of ice skating and getting a feel for a new and different activity. I loved the fact that they had crates stacked two or three high to help the little ones navigate that tough frozen terrain. Heck, I even considered using them myself but was a little self-concious about that screaming "BEGINNER: GET OUT OF HER WAY." LOL I mustered up the courage to "sink or swim" and slowly got a feel for what I was supposed to do. Starting out holding the edge helped, lol. But soon I was making strides (literally) and although still a complete novice I can say that I enjoyed skating around that oval many times by the time we left. I love learning new things but I hated it that there was no one to teach me. What is proper form? These skates are killing my ankles, am I doing this right?? Maybe next time I can Google these questions before we go now that I have a better idea of what DOESN'T work, lol. Anyway, we had a GREAT time and the boys were already asking when we get to go back. I'd like to know, too! :-)

Grant

Clayton (who was pretty fearless)

Grant

Grant & Clayton with their crates

Clayton, Mommy, and Grant

And a boring, but cute video of their experiences on ice for the first time!

Jr. Pro Basketball 2010

(December 14, 2010)

Well, basketball has already come and gone for the boys! It is always a quick season and this year they barely got all six of their games in with the early winter weather. This was Grant's first year of basketball and he and Clayton got to be on the same Kindergarten/1st Grade team. The LOVED every minute of this sport. Here they are standing proud with their trophies after their last game.

Run For Fun 2010

(November 13, 2010)

Unfortunately, this has been my only race so far this year! But it is definitely one I'm glad I didn't miss. It is sponsored by our local hospital and proceeds go to their diabetes foundation. This is one very organized race with such nice extras. My favorite has to be the Fit Kid Races where kids can run a non competitive race and earn themselves a medal and a couple of other novelty freebies. This is the second year we've signed up and the kids enjoy it so much, too. I hope one day we can all run the 5k together!

Pre-Race



Post-Race





With my step-dad and rival fan, who also ran this race - Great job Jerry!



My Fit Kid Racers



With their hard-earned medals - Way to go guys!

Halloween 2010

Youth Football Night

(October 1, 2010)

It was youth football night at our local highschool (the same one Andy and I graduated from) and all of the kids from the local youth football league were invited to come out onto the field before the highschool game to be recognized by division and team. Of course, if there is a football game going on, Grant is going to INSIST that we stay and watch, so we came prepared to stay. We hadn't really considered that the two little ones might not like this idea, but we were able to call Grandma who happened to be on her way home and she came and got the two little ones so Andy and the two older boys and I could enjoy the game. That we did - we won!

More Football

(September 11, 2010)

Here are the little flag players in action. But I must pause and say a few words about Grant and football: The two seem to be inseparable. I have never seen Grant have a passion like this before. He eats, sleeps, and breathes football and is constantly counting down the days until his next game or practice. There are only four teams in the flag division and the kid even has the rotation of which team he plays next memorized in his head! For a kid who appears to struggle with other things that seem of utter simplicity, that's impressive! We are dumbfounded, yet enamored at his new-found love. It's so much fun to watch and hear him talk with excitement about every play of the game. He gets out there and gives it his all and we couldn't be prouder. Way to go Grant!!

Evan is enjoying the sport, too, although he is more of the mindset that as long as his is running around and there is a ball involved, he is having a good time, lol. You can't beat that attitude! :-)

Evan

Grant

First Games

(August 28, 2010)

Here the boys are the morning of one of their first games. Evan and Grant, who are both playing flag this year, are not in uniform yet but I was able to get them in on the photo op, too. :-)


Our lean, mean, defensive machine ;-)

Goofy Grant

(August 19, 2010)

LOL!

Homework Time

(August 17, 2010)

I didn't even know Andy had taken this, lol. This one's worth at least a few hundred words, lol...

1st Day of School - 2010

(August 4, 2010)

Well, another one off! Grant got to experience his first day of Kindergarten alongside big brother on his first day of 1st grade! Grant was super pumped about being back in school and had been asking since the last day of preschool, "When do I go to Kindergarten?" Clayton was excited, too, and was all set to fulfill his big brotherly role in his instruction about "what to do at school." And for those of you who know Clayton, you know that going over instructions and procedures is his element! LOL!! I shed a tear for my little Grant as he climbed aboard that bus. Milestones...

My camera was in the shop so I had to take these with my cell phone, but not bad for a cell phone!

My two Big Kids


Clayton


Grant

Pirates Tball 2010

(July 8, 2010)

Well, we celebrated the end of our fantastic tball season with a team party at a local sports-themed family restaurant. The dad of one of my players is the manager there and offered to buy the kids each a meal and put our team uniform shirt, along with a team picture signed by each player and coach, on the wall. I thought that was so neat!

This had to be one of my favorite parts of the season. Not because it meant it was over, but because I decided to come up with awards for each child to recognize where he stood out the most throughout the season. I thought long and hard about each child and reflected on many of the laughs, challenges, and proud moments of the past few months. I spent lots of time creating my own award certificate, each personalized with a graphic to fit the achievement. I had 13 players and gave each player their own unique award, with the exception of two kids who both received the same award because it just fit. My awards were: Best Attitude (x2), Best Arm, Best Base Running, Speed Demon, Most Heart, Most Eager to Learn, Most Improved, Best Batting, Most Confidence, Best Team Player, Best All-Around, and Golden Glove. Even though I was a little nervous and a bit tearful at times, I enjoyed having the opportunity to get up in front of all the players and parents to let them know how special I think each child is and how much I enjoyed being their coach this season.

We were proud to finish 3rd in the league out of 8 teams! I will NEVER forget this experience...

Here is a slideshow of pictures from the evening of our party. Grant received the "Best Attitude" award because he always had a smile on his face and NEVER complained about anything (not even about having to wear that hot, heavy catcher's equipment for the entire season). Clayton received the "Most Confidence" award for believing in himself and showing up to play like he knew he could every game both on the field at first base and in the batters box. I'm so proud of my boys!

Preschool Graduation

My babies are growing up so fast and we had another one graduate preschool this week! Grant has had a great year of learning, as well as keeping Mrs. Lee and her assistants laughing! He is SO excited about being a kindergartener and has already asked me numerous times "How many days until I start kindergarten?" He has come a long way from dreading getting on that bus every day to asking every morning excitedly, "Do I have school today?!" I am so happy that he loves school and looks forward to seeing his friends. I'm sure he will make many along the way as it is impossible to resist falling in love with his kind and generous nature.

Congratulations big boy!

Happy 5th Birthday Grant!

I can't believe you're 5! You still love making people laugh and acting goofy. In recent months you have added a love of cooking to your interests, as well as an infatuation with Transformers! You only want to wear Transformer t-shirts and Megatron (leader of the bad guys) is your favorite. You are still a kind and generous friend and are great about sharing everything you have. You enjoy bugging Clayton to death and getting into mischief with Evan. We can't wait to see what the next year brings out in you. We love you so much!

First Days of School 2009

The school year is officially in swing with today marking the second "first day of school" when Grant boarded the school bus mid-morning. Clayton started kindergarten on August 5th. Public preschool always starts a little later than the rest of the public school kids, and they get out a little earlier, as well. Clayton was as cool as a cucumber on his first day and Grant was nervously giddy with excitement. Grant's preschool will run a half of a day and he will go in the afternoon session. I was quite tearful as I watched that big yellow bus swallow my firstborn and take him away - kindergarten just feels like such a big deal! With Grant I was just bursting with pride and excitedness knowing how he will probably jump right in and make all kinds of new friends and have everyone falling in love with him with his kind heart and generous, fun-loving spirit. It's so hard to believe that we are at this stage of the game already! Grant will be in kindergarten next year, Evan the next, and Blake just two years after that - phew, it is scary how fast it will all go by!

Clayton



Grant



I also put together a little video of each day. I have discovered Windows Movie Maker lately and figured out how to put multiple clips of video together into one movie. I love projects like this so you may be seeing even more video with my posts in the future!