Pre-K baby!

It's officially happened.  My baby boy has started what will be his life for the next 13 years+.  It's crazy how excited one can be over the excitement of starting school, and how unexcited one can be as it becomes something that's done over and over and over as the years go by.  Micah was beyond ready to start and I think this will be a really good year for him!  And while I know that kids HAVE to start school, it was still bittersweet for Christian and I to send him off this past Monday.  It will be fun for me to hear all about it, and spend some quality time with Reid as Gemma will be napping most of the time while Micah's gone, but the reality of it also hit...others can influence my child.  He will be listening and watching teachers and fellow students and allowing those to impact his decision making and it's not just mom and dad anymore.  Not that it always has been - he's had plenty of classes via park district and church as well as many, many play dates.  But still, this is the first time it's been this structured of an environment for this length of time.  It's a natural and normal part of parenting, but our first time experiencing it at this depth.  Fun times in store for all!

We started the special day with buttermilk pancakes - and forgot to get the picture until they were almost all gone!

Enter photo shoot!  Micah with a backpack and without.  Micah with a sign and without.  Micah with his siblings.  Micah with Mommy and Daddy.  What do you expect?  He's our first and we're picture takers, lol.

Love this shot... LOVE THIS KID!

Cool Dude :)

Love my big boy.

Outside his school.

Walking to class...something awesome about little kids and big backpacks :)  And check out Reid too - looks so big!

Micah wanted to bring an apple for each of his teachers, so we did.  So cute!!

Mrs. Mangers

And Mrs. Goldstein

Last kisses before going.

And wise words that I'm sure he was listening to, haha.  Never mind his hands on the toy bin...he's very anxious to begin playing.  Enough mom - let me go :)

Reid was all too interested in the toys too...all in due time baby boy.  Stay small for as long as you can!

Ok Reid - time to go...

AND alone.  Bye Micah!  We love you!!

Micah's gone 3 days now - M, W and F - from 9-11:30.  He seems to be adjusting well, and loves it. Here's my one email from his teachers:

We have enjoyed getting to know Micah

He is an awesome kid and very detail oriented and he remembers EVERYTHING! So cute.

You're telling me, Mrs. Goldstein, you're telling me :)  This kid's memory continues to amaze me, almost daily!  Looks like we're off to a good start!

Smiles :)

 

Ice Bucket Challenge

While I will not get in to the argument about the pros and cons of the ice bucket challenge (and I have thoughts, of course!) I wanted to post my sweet boys who wanted to be a part of the dumping ice on your head :)  Micah's mister serious, and Reid's mister smiley.  Love these two!

Half-Marathon, Baby!

While it's not a marathon, and I'm not sure when my next marathon will be at this point, it's a half-marathon.  13.1 miles, 10.5 weeks post baby #3.

It was an incredibly hot and humid day, and I had only trained for 4.5 weeks.  I was hoping for a 2 hour, but feeling that was super ambitious given the above conditions.  My time?  2:00:00.  On.the.dot.  I have never had a race time quite as accurate as that one!  I'll take it!!

My friend Kate ran it too, and this is our pre-race pic.  Not sweaty, yet.

Post-race, baby!

Half of my cheering crew at mile 11.  Almost cost me my 2 hour time because I had to stop and give them all kisses, of course.  Worth every second!! 

Wichita vacation!

We had a good time in Wichita and really enjoyed seeing family!  It's been two years since seeing my grandma and while we saw Aunt Elizabeth for a few hours in the spring, it was nice to spend extended time with her and her family.  Unfortunately Gemma was all out of sorts for this vacation and it put a bit of a damper on the trip.  She's definitely been better since we've been home, and I think she was just off schedule and routine and completely over stimulated, the poor girl.   

Aside from Gemma troubles, the boys had a great time!!  Micah became a fish in a matter of 24 hours in the pool, which was awesome to see.  We had a blast hanging out in their awesome pool, and were also able to play some tennis, do a little running, head to the zoo and out to dinner.  Overall, it was a perfect first vacation for our new family of 5 - and the only way vacationing was going to happen this summer :)

View from the patio - gorgeous!

The next few are silly - Micah's attempt with the camera...

My aunt, mom and grandma took Micah and Reid out to the zoo one morning while Christian and I stayed back with Gemma.  We were planning to have a relaxing time together while she slept, but Gemma had other plans...sigh.  Oh well :)  The boys had a blast at the zoo, and Micah made a list (see below) of animals to look for and then cross off.  He was beyond ecstatic to do a little scavenger hunt at the zoo, and made it ok that Mommy and Daddy weren't going with him!!  Win, win.

Check out this sweet girl!  Do not be deceived by those big eyes :)

Swimming - what we did the most while there and the boys, particularly Micah, loved it!

The weather was absolutely amazing - especially for July in Wichita.  It's usually 100+ degrees, and we had mid-80s and cool at night.  Awesome.  So we took advantage, and had a s'more night in their outdoor fire pit while watching Frozen.  Reid was in bed, but Micah got to stay up and loved it!!

The boys throwing their superheroes in the pool and watching them sink :)  Love capturing the moments they get along and have fun with each other!

Aaaannnndddddd back in the pool!  Skylar, their dog, loved the water and I'm shocked she didn't have a heart attack with all the activity my boys gave her.

Gemma made an appearance outside and was able to be held by someone else!!  Papa C :)  Didn't last too long, but when you're only awake for an hour (including eatings) before you're ready to sleep again, there's not much time to be held awake!

And here are moments capturing Micah and Reid's jumps in the pool! I was thoroughly impressed and proud of my boys!

Christian and I went to the country club to play some tennis, and Lance and Micah headed to the pool for a bigger water slide adventure!

I love, love, love this picture of my aunt and Reid!  

The gracious hosts - my Aunt and Uncle and cousins!

Sweet boys :)

Reid's selfie, lol

Four generations!  Do NOT be deceived by Gemma's sleeping in my mom's arms here...this was not the norm while we were in Wichita :)

But she stayed asleep as she transferred to the car seat as well - at least before we buckled her in...

The boys were cracking themselves up saying "Papa E" or "Papa D"... silly kiddos!

Gemma smiles!

And riding quite illegally, but we were all able to sleep this way and it was worth it...Gemma did not like the car!  (And has yet to like it since this trip, sadly.  Lots and lots of crying ensues when she gets in her car seat now!)

Overall, a successful trip, with some expected chaos thrown in the mix!  Thanks again Aunt E and Uncle Don for letting us crash your pad for a few days!!  Love you guys.