Getting Ready for Drew's 5th Birthday

Another Year Blue Thank You Card

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I am the candy giver!

Drew came home early from trick or treating and was very excited to help pass out candy. He was able to pass out a few treats before the time was up. I didn't have the heart to tell him that no one else was coming. Check out the video of his catchy little tune he made up while waiting.

Drew ditches his training wheels!

Drew - Please don't grow up so fast.

Love,
Mom & Dad

First Days of School

Tyler is in 1st grade and Drew is in 3 year old preschool at Crestview.

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First Day of School

Today was Tyler's first day of Kindergarten! The day went very well for all of us. Tyler got up twenty-five minutes before his 7 AM alarm and was excited to start the day. We had a special apple french toast breakfast, took LOTS of pictures, and then he boarded the bus and went on his way! It all happened so fast that everyone made it through that part of the morning with no tears (mom included)! I went to school right after the bus for a PTC meeting and Tyler had already found his classroom and was getting settled when I peeked in. I gave him one last hug and left his room. When did he get to be such a big boy?

On the way to the PTC meeting a reporter from the DM Register stopped me and asked me a bunch of questions and I really don't even remember what I said, but I was on the verge of tears, so hopefully if I make it into the story there won't be any direct quotes. :o)

I signed up to be a co-room mother for Tyler's class. I'm not exactly sure what that will involve, but I'm excited to get involved in Crestview. I'm also going to be helping with the Trash to Cash program, so start collecting your BoxTops for Education, soup labels, and anything else that makes money for schools.

It was a short day today, only 8:20-12:45 PM. Drew and I picked Tyler up from school and got to meet a few more kindergarten parents. The kids all looked happy coming out of the school and Tyler seems ready to go back tomorrow which is a great sign! Here are a few highlights from his first day:

-Tyler got a bit lost from the bus to the classroom but the Spanish teacher found him and delivered him to his classroom. Muchas gracias!

-Two recesses. He was very proud that he made it all the way across the curvy "S" monkey bars! His preschool friend fell at recess and got hurt and when I asked Tyler if helped her at all he said he ran away because she was crying. He seems to get his crisis skills from his father. :o)

-Tyler had a hot dog, bun, pineapple, chocolate milk and one bite of a carrot for lunch. One bite of a carrot doesn't seem like much, but to me that is a huge victory that he willingly took a bite of a vegetable without any parental pressure.

-The class learned how to make a line, first using blocks and then lining up to go outside.

-There are 25 kids in the class. including 2 Tylers. Tyler E. and Tyler J. Tyler's table mate is a little girl name Elle.

-Tyler's teacher is Miss Cuthbertson (pictured above). This is her third year teaching kindergarten and she seems very sweet. Other parents have been really happy with her and I expect that he will have a great year!

After leaving school, Drew and I went to playgroup and I got a chance to talk to other moms who had also just dropped off their kids at kindergarten for the first time this week. Happy tears welled up a bit for me as I talked about the note from Tyler's teacher which made me feel more at ease about the transition. I'm so blessed to be able to share these precious moments with such wonderful friends!

Today is the Day

By Alicia Emanuel

Today is the day, your very first day.
The day we’ve been counting down to since May.

This is the day you get on that big bus
You’ve been to preschool, so what’s all the fuss?

This school day is long and you go every day
And this school is almost 4 whole miles away!

In your eyes I see more excitement than fears
Don’t look too closely or in mine you’ll see tears.

It is hard to explain exactly how I feel,
I’m happy and sad and it doesn’t seem real.

You are my baby, born just a short time ago,
How can I have a kindergartener?  I just don’t know.

But then I take a second look and who do I see?
An independent school boy staring back at me.

You are smart and you are anxious to get on your way. 
It is me who is not quite ready to let go today.

I hope I have given you all the tools to succeed,
Instilled in your heart all that you need:

God’s love will follow you wherever you roam,
He will be with you when I must stay home.

God hand-picked this teacher to take care of you,
She’ll teach you many things, everyday something new.

God will be there when you first take your seat,
He will watch over you and the friends that you meet.

God will be here with me, too, as I wonder and wait.
I know you are in His hands and your day will be great. 

God has given me wonderful friends in whom to confide.
Even without words they know what I’m feeling inside.

I’ve known all these moms since you were quite small.
They will see me through this like they’ve seen me through all.

We’ll cry, we’ll laugh, and we’ll all feel the same.
We’ll leave each other better than when we came.

You see, God has a way of providing us just what we need.
He will do that for you, Tyler, if you follow His lead.

So grow up, my son, but more slowly if you can.
Trust in the Lord always because He has a plan.

The bus rounds the corner and I feel my tension decrease,
I’m giving my fears to God and in exchange I get peace.

Teacher Appreciation Week

We have been blessed with wonderful, patient teachers this year.  The boys and I put together Bloomin' Buttons to show our appreciation for their teachers.  This was another idea from Family Fun magazine and I think it turned out pretty cute!  I got the pots, wire and buttons from Michael’s and the plants from HyVee.  Tyler was able to help thread the buttons on to the wire.  Drew’s contribution to the project was crying incessantly for candy while we were checking out at Michael’s.  :o) 

Happy 5th Birthday, Tyler!

 

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Tyler celebrated his birthday today with his friends at Chuck E. Cheese.  It was a 2 hour whirlwind of tokens, tickets & treasures.  Tyler’s Uncle Jeff made a surprise visit on his way back to Colorado.  I kept my winning streak against Brian alive in the basketball game that we I love to play.  My high score was 48 today!  It was such an easy party to throw…we actually had time to enjoy ourselves during the event.  A special thanks to Rebecca, our wonderful babysitter, for entertaining Drew during the party. 

Tyler spent the afternoon playing with his new toys.  There were even a few moments where he let Drew touch his new Star Wars action figures…baby steps!

Good game

Tyler’s first soccer game of the season was this past weekend. He made two goals during the game and was very proud of his performance. The biggest challenge of the game was keeping Drew off of the field.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

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We went to Kansas City for the April 11th Red Sox game vs. the Royals. Our entire family had a great time at the game. Kauffman Stadium is super family-friendly. For $60, we got 4 tickets to the game and $40 in food/souvenir vouchers. The boys were able to burn off some energy in the outfield kids area which had a carousel, mini-golf, a playground and other kid activities. The ushers were all very friendly and helpful. We will definitely be back! The Red Sox won 8-6!

After the game, we went for a swim in our hotel’s heated outdoor pool. I can’t believe we were swimming outside in April!

The next day we visited the Kansas City Zoo and had the perfect weather for our visit. It is a wonderful zoo with lots of animals that we don’t get to see in Des Moines. As we were walking along a path Drew said “snake”. I thought he probably saw a stick, but looked a bit closer and saw that he had found a real rat snake in the grass. He wasn’t scared a bit…all boy!

The “Big K” isn’t that far away!

We attended our first parent meeting for Kindergarten at the beginning of April and Tyler went to Kindergarten story time the following week. It is hard to believe our little boy is getting so big. Tyler is excited for school, but also a little nervous. I feel exactly the same. I know he is ready to go off and learn new things and that he will do very well in school, but I’m sad to think that he will be spending so much time away from Drew and me during the week. I think we will both be a bit lost that first week of school. As you all know, Tyler talks A LOT. Drew is going to have to step up the conversations to fill in the void. I am so grateful to have my playgroup moms who will be going through all the same emotions that first morning of school.

We Love Robots!

Drew isn’t feeling well today so we were stuck at home ALL DAY. Tyler and I worked on these cute little Robot Valentines while Drew took an unusual morning nap. Tyler was introduced to some of my scrapbooking supplies and I found out why Martha Stewart rarely works with 4 year olds! Ha ha! It was pretty fun watching Tyler get the hang of my adhesive roller…maybe he will appreciate all the hard work I put into his scrapbook someday! We found the idea in a Disney Family Fun magazine and we had to try it out. I think they turned out pretty cute. Can’t wait to pass them out to our little friends later this month!

Taking a Break from Procrastination

Tyler is officially on break from school starting today.  This is going to be a long 18 days until school starts up again!  So, I decided to make a little project for myself.  I am planning on doing at least one project per day that I have been putting off/dreading to do.  At the end of break I hope to look back and be amazed at all the things I have accomplished around the house.  Check back often and see how it’s going. 

Today I have purged some of Tyler’s art projects and his art wall looks much nicer now.  I’ve also organized the shoes in our closet and found some to donate to charity.

15.5" of SNOW

The blizzard of 2009 left us with a lot of SNOW! Tyler missed 3 days of preschool and Daddy even stayed home on Wednesday. Tyler loved playing in the snow, but Drew thought the whole thing was strange and a bit uncomfortable. Looks like we'll have a white Christmas this year!

Frigid Fall Fun

We braved the chilly weather this morning to make our annual trek to Howell's Pumpkin Patch near Cumming. This year we had our friends Summer & Christian with us, too. All 6 of us had a fun time exploring the kids' play area, petting bunnies, feeding the goats and picking out mini pumpkins.

Fun with Drew

Drew and I are having fun playing while Tyler is visiting his grandparents in Peoria. Today we had a sock fight which made him laugh.

Happy Mother's Day To Me!

I am sitting downstairs updating this blog in relative peace & quiet as Brian is upstairs busy with the boys. I'm savoring the last bit of Mother's Day listening to all three of my guys laugh their way through bedtime routine. Well, no sooner than I finished the sentence and someone is crying. There is very little peace in a house with a toddler and a preschooler. I know everyone who has lived through these years says they go so quickly. I can already tell that the time does seem to go by fast. It's hard to believe Tyler is already 4 and "little" Drew seems so anxious to be independent. They both seem so eager to grow up and do bigger and better things. There is a constant battle in my head between letting them be adventurous boys and keeping them safely close to me. The day-in, day-out chaos of raising two little boys seems overwhelming, but Mother's Day gives me a chance to step back and put our crazy days in perspective. I know that someday soon I will miss this stage of explaining why shooting Spiderman webs at our Sunday School classmates isn't appropriate. And I will someday soon miss chasing Drew for the fifth time as he escapes the library via automatic doors. So, for now, I will try to cherish these days as much as possible and ask God to help guide me to be the best mom I can be for these deserving little guys.

Tyler Turns 4!

We opted for a few small birthday celebrations instead of a big party this year for Tyler. On the day before his birthday, we went to Adventureland on Opening Day to reward him for potty training success this past fall. Drew stayed with friends and the three of us had a fun (yet chilly) day.


We went to Happy Joe's with the Kinnison family on his actual birthday. Tyler liked his Lightning McQueen cake and playing games in the arcade. Drew's favorite game was Skeeball.


Tyler had a second celebration (& cake) on May 1st with Grandma & Grandpa Carlson. We were celebrating Grandpa Alan's 60th birthday, too. Tyler got his long-awaited Mack truck from the Disney Cars movie and was thrilled. You can tell how much Tyler likes a toy by how much he keeps it away from Drew. Let's just say Drew hasn't been allowed in the same room as Mack.

We made a little treasure hunt for Tyler to find one of his birthday presents. A series of picture clues led him up & down & all around until he finally ended up opening the basement closet to find a shiny red bicycle. He has had fun riding it up and down the block and is convinced that it goes much faster than his old bike.


Tyler is looking forward to his final 4 year old birthday celebration with Grandma & Grandpa Emanuel over Memorial Day weekend.