Crazy Kid

When we were are the Cornbelters game, Evan got very bored and started acting silly.

My boy is nothing BUT personality and loves to ham it up for anyone who will watch!

Here are a few videos I made of his silliness! 

What's up, lady?

Would you marry me, because I never had a girlfriend in years.

Sooo......can you be my girl?

Teach me how to do it

teach me, teach me how to do it

teach me how to do it

Typical 5 year old boy....

Oh, ooohhho...Mom needs deo, cuz she has B.O.

She's got deodorant, she's got farty armpits

She always wants to smell mine, but they're stinky.

Creepy, creepy, creepy

Do you wanna hear my beluga whale song?

OK, it goes like this............
Wanna hear my blue whale song?.........
Wanna hear my shark sound?................
(chomp, chomp, chomp)
What's up, lady?
See ya
Mom, I'm saying see ya.  That means good-bye!

The facial expressions CRACK ME UP!

Cornbelters

Last night we went to the Cornbelters game.

Evan's school had a reading program-for every week they read 70 minutes they earned a free ticket.

He met the goal for all 4 weeks, so we had 4 free tickets! 

(OK, so the free ones were for lawn seats, but we upgraded to box seats!)

Before the game they had all the Reading Program Kids parade on the field.

Evan decided he would rather play checkers on my phone than watch the game

By the middle of the 2nd inning, he was completely bored, so Tyson took him up to the play area.  

There was a bounce house, a rock climbing wall and "tractor pull".

 They found this "statue" guy!

"Corny" put on quite the show!

Tyson made a new friend!

Evan got the biggest kick out of Corny dancing to "Teach Me How To Dougie"

Then all night he kept singing "Teach Me How To Do It"!

  (ok, ignore this second video.  Blogger is having some sort of episode!)

After the game all the kids got to run the bases.  See my boy rounding third base? (maroon hoodie)  He started at the back of the line.  Looks like we may have another runner in the family!

Dreams and Reality

Last night, after the kids had gone to bed, we heard footsteps upstairs.

It sounded like Evan was running down the hallway, which is not uncommon for him.

Most nights, he wakes up, sprints down the hall and climbs in bed with us.

He must have gone into my room and figured out that I was still up, because then I heard him running down the stairs.  

I met him in the kitchen and as soon as he saw me he jumped into my arms and was holding on for dear life.

He had a bad dream and he was scared.

I held him for a while and then I carried him back up to his bed.

He asked me if I would lay with him because he was still afraid.

So I did, of course.

And as I lay there with my beautiful, precious son, comforting, reassuring and loving him,

my thoughts turned to Nola.  

What happens when she has a bad dream?

And the reality of it hit me.

Nothing.  Nothing happens when she has a bad dream.

There is no one to run to.  

She cannot even get out of her crib to find someone.

There is no one to comfort her.

No one to rub her back.

No one to stroke her hair.

No one to gently kiss her.

No one to softly whisper that she is safe.

No one to tell her she is loved.

No one to stay with her until she falls into a peaceful slumber.

And my heart broke a little more for this child, and for all the children who have no Mommy or Daddy to make bad dreams better.  

I simply cannot get her home soon enough.

Broken

My poor baby boy broke his arm Saturday.

We have been having unbelievably warm weather, and he was riding his bike, and fell off.

We aren't really sure how he broke it.

We know he didn't land on it.

He says his arm got caught in the handlebars, so maybe it twisted? 

Tyson was home with him when it happened. 

He helped him up and brought him in the house to calm him down.

Within minutes, Evan fell asleep.

I got home about 30 minutes later.

We were planning to leave, so we woke him up and he couldn't move his arm.

So we decided to take him to the ER.

Doesn't he look like he's in excruciating pain?

They took him for XRays, where he was completely intrigued and asked lots of questions!

He broke his humerus bone, right above his elbow. 

They put him in a temporary splint and referred us to the orthopaedist.

This was his reaction to being told no running outside the next day.  Poor baby.

We went to the ortho on Monday, where they took a few more XRays.

The Dr. said he is borderline for needing a pin put in, but wants to let it heal for 2 weeks and re-evaluate.

So for now, full arm cast.

Evan insisted on waterproof cast ("Cuz I have swim lessons")

and 2 colors ("Black above the elbow, red below").

First Day of School

It is so hard to believe that summer is over and it's time for school to start.

None of us are ready for it!

 Miss Rylee started 7th grade.....

WHEN did she start looking so grown up???

And this little munchkin bird started Kindergarten! 

He was so excited to go this morning!  He kept saying "Let's get this show on the road!"

I would have been fine to keep him home and snuggle with him.

It's so hard to let go.

He was totally fine with me leaving him.  Does he NOT know he's killing me???  Geesh. 

Have a great first day! 

(I will spare you the pic Tyson took of me sportin' the ugly cry after dropping Evan off!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVAN!!!

Dear Evan,

I cannot believe you are 5 years old today.  How has this time gone by so fast? 

It seems like yesterday you were my little baby bird.

You came into this world 10 days early and showed us right away what a little fighter you were.  The first 4 months of your life were very scary for Daddy and I.  But you came through it all just fine.

You are such a special boy, Evan Michael. 

From the time you were itty bitty, people have always commented on what a communicator you would be. 

That is so true!  You have always been a talker.  Now you are 5 and you love learning about words.  You love to spell them, read them, use them and learn what they mean.

 

From the time you were 8 months old, you have had a love for trains.  That love has really become your passion.  You know so much about trains...engines, cars, the track, the signals.  You love GeoTrax and build your layouts all over the house--taking up several rooms at a time!

You are such a smart boy!  You watch National Geographic alot and can recite entire episodes (with the British accent the narrator uses!)  You also love to research things on Wikipedia, and I'm pretty sure you just tuck the knowledge away for the day you may need it.

You love music and can sing a song after only hearing it once or twice!  I have never seen a child with rhythm like you have!

You eat like a linebacker most of the time.  And when you are going through a growth spurt--forget the grocery budget!  You love ramen noodles and want them almost every day for lunch.

You are a great little brother!  Rylee loves you so much!  And I know that you are going to be a terrific BIG brother!

You have a wonderful heart.  You always have a smile for everyone and genuine compassion for others. You are funny, silly and you like to tell knock-knock jokes.

You are also stubborn, obstinate, loud and you MUST have the last word--always.  As frustrating as that can be at times, I know that those traits are going to benefit you!  I cannot wait to see what you do with your life, you truly are special!

Every day of your life has been an absolute joy.  I feel so blessed to be your Mommy. 

Tomorrow Daddy and I will take you to Kindergarten.  I am still not sure how I am going to handle it.  It feels like I am just not ready for you to leave the safety of being tucked under my wing and flying into the world.  But you are super excited and I know you will do great!

So today, my sweet son....I wish you the very happiest of birthdays.....and many more to come!

You are my heart, my soul, my sunshine. 

I love you baby boy!

Happy, happy birthday!

Love, Mommy

Party Time!

We interrupt our regularly scheduled WILW post to bring you a special edition of

"Birthday Bash 2011"

This year's party theme was "Minute to Win It"!  It was perfect for the crowd we had!

We had about 30 guests who each received a score card when we started. 

Each player chose a game (some games could accomodate 3-4 people).

Once everyone was stationed, we started the clock.  If they completed the task in 60 seconds, it got

circled on the score card.  Then everyone moved to another game. 

Junk in the Trunk--tie a tissue box full of ping pong balls around your waist.  Get all the balls out by shaking, wiggling, etc.

Egg Roll---Get an egg into the target by fanning it with a pizza box!

Candy Elevator--Tied 2 pencils together.  Contestants have to pull the strings and get 3 m&m's in their mouth!

Suck It Up--Use a straw to suck up M&M's and get them into a bowl!

Tilt-A-Cup--Stack 8 cups.  Bounce a ping pong ball and catch it in the cup.  Move bottom cup to top and continue process until all balls and cups are used!  (This was REALLY hard!)

Floatacious--Stack 5 empty soda cans in a plate floating in water!

A Bit Dicey--Stack 6 dice on a popsicle stick in your mouth!

Face the Cookie--get a cookie from forehead into mouth only using facial muscles!  (Hilarious to watch!)

Sticky Balls (we called it Sticky Marbles--Jr. High kids.  Ya know.)--Roll marbles from one end of the table and get it to stick to the double sided tape at the opposite end of the table.

Everyone worked up an appetite playing games so we had a yummy taco bar!

We sang "Happy Birthday" to Evan....

....and then to Rylee



All the kiddos got a plain cupcake and we set out different candy toppings.  They had one minute to decorated their cupcake however they wanted!

And of course.....presents!

Guests all went home with water bottle party favors with a goody bag attached. 

It was such an easy party to put together, and SOOO much fun!!!!



It's Almost Time.....

This is an exciting week around our house.  My 2 kiddos' birthdays are 10 days apart.  Rylee is August 8th and Evan is August 18.  For my sanity simplicity reasons, we always do 1 big bash the weekend between their birthdays.  We invite family and the kids invite their friends and we get it all done in one fell swoop! 

Since it's usually a big event, we go ALL out!  I work best with a theme (can't help it, it's my inner Girl Scout trying to come out!). 

In the past we have done a carnival (the entire yard was set up with carnival games that were awarded with tickets.  The garage was set up like a store and at the end of the party everyone cashed in their tickets for cool prizes instead of goody bags.  We played calliope music and served popcorn, sno cones, etc.  No creepy carnies were invited.)

 

Another year we had a big Bunco bash.  Complete with dice-shaped cakes!

 

Last year we had an outdoor movie night.  We started the party close to dusk, and had soft pretzels, popcorn, and nachos for our guests to enjoy during the movie.  Our backyard was full of lawn chairs and blankets and we set up a projector and large movie screen!  So fun!

This year's theme was a little harder to decide. 

Evan is turning 5 this year, so it's really the first year he has invited his little friends. 

To do a party that will entertain 5 year old boys AND 12 year old girls (PLUS aunts, uncles and grandparents) is a little tricky!

But we came up with a GREAT theme.  And it's gonna be awesome!  We are a little concerned about safety since my family is so stinkin' competitive, but it's gonna be a BLAST!!! 

I'm not gonna tell you what it is, because I only have 60 seconds left.

And because you might practice.

Any guesses?????

Pomp and Circumstance

Thursday my little man graduated from preschool.  This is such a bittersweet time.  He is my baby and I cannot believe he is almost old enough to go to Kindergarten.  He is soooo excited about going!  While it will be a new chapter for him, I cannot help but feel a little sad for this chapter of babyhood that is ending.

 

Their preschool graduation program was TOOO cute for words!  They kept it short and sweet (under 20 minutes!) and sang 3 songs.  Then the teacher presented each child with a graduation hat (that Evan ripped before the other 8 kids were through!), a pin that said "All God's Children" and a diploma. 

                                      

(GRRRR.....I can't get the other pics and adorable video to upload!)

On another note, Miss Rylee tried out for the Jr. High Marching Band on Friday.  She will find out Monday if she made it or not.  The song they had to play for tryouts?  Pomp and Circumstance.  And she only got the sheet music 2 days before tryouts.  Wishing her luck!!!



Workin' the Runway

Every young girl loves to play dress up.  She likes to dress up herself, her dolls, and anyone else that gets in her path.  Occassionally, Rylee still likes to play dress up.  But recently she has found it is more fun when you actually have a LIVE model to work with!  So she and Evan put on quite the fashion show for us!  He was more than happy to be the model while she was the announcer (she gave each ensemble its own name!)  It was a hoot!

(Yes, I know my boy is going to kill me for these pics one day!)

(And yes, they will also be on a poster at his graduation, wedding, and any other occassion I see fit!)

Red Ruby with Under Armour

Purple sparkles with scarf.  This is Evan doing his model walk with the serious face!!!

Snow White

Pink Flower

Our lovely announcer

Cheetah!

Maid

Blu 'N Blu Polka Dots

Serious Business!

Pink 'N Pretty with Scarf

Wolf   (see him howling?)

Hula

Good Times!!!