C's 7th Birthday!

Whew, I am exhausted!  That's got to mean he had a good birthday, right?  He crawled in my bed at 6 and said thank you for all the balloons.  Last night I cut out 7 balloons and taped them to the inside of his door, each with a message written on it.  I thought it would be fun for that to be the first thing he saw when he woke up.  I was just hoping that would happen a little later in the morning.

 

French toast breakfast!

Those candles put off a lot of smoke!

After waiting 4 hours from he time we woke up until opening (ha!) we were ready to start our day at the aquarium.

You'll notice lil' peanut doesn't appear in as many pictures as C.  That's because at times like this...

...lil' peanut was cowering in his stroller. ;)

He was fine with the stingrays until C started feeding them and they started flapping against the edge of the wall and splashing us.  After that he stood against the wall and waited until we could go "bye bye stingrays."

Watching big brother go on a ride.  He wasn't tall enough to do it himself, but I have a hunch he would have declined if given the chance.  I had to drag him screaming onto the ferris wheel and he opted out of the carousel!

He didn't mind the ferris wheel once we sat down.  I did try once to put him on the seat next to me...it was too hot to be snuggling!  But, he was having none of that.

Train ride!

Having lunch in the restaurant. 

I think lil' peanut was done about the same time I was...about two hours before C had gotten his fill.  But, we toughed it out for the birthday boy!  Lil' peanut really did so well.  I know he was tired and hot, but he never did throw a real fit.  On our way to the car C thanked me for taking him there (two times in one week, wow!) and lil' peanut passed out before I even backed out of our parking space.  I think it's safe to say they both had a good time.  We went straight to C's school for meet the teacher night.  We met his teacher, saw his classroom (which he said looks like a kindergarten classroom...so like the only other classroom he's been in...pshh)  He and lil' peanut ran around the gym while I chatted up the PTO ladies.  I even joined!  $10 and maybe I'll get a new friend or two out of it.  Then on our way home we found out hubby had managed to get on an earlier flight and was already at home waiting on us!!!  Yay!  We picked him up and went to McDonald's for dinner (C's choice) and then to Walmart because the boy had birthday money burning a hole in his pocket.  Lil' peanut is already in bed for the night and C and Daddy are watching a movie, which I may or may not join in on.  It was a long, hot day!  But, definitely worth it though to see my birthday boy so happy.

Cowboy

During one of our visits to KS, Grandma and Grandpa wanted to take the boys shopping for cowboy boots.  We were happy to oblige since we knew we were headed to Texas!  You can't live in Texas and not own a pair of boots, right?

Lil' peanut has recently discovered that he can put his boots on by himself.  Now he wears them all the time.

It's actually the first thing he does when he wakes up in the morning.  Before he even comes out of his room, he puts his boots on.  Then I'll hear the door open and his little clomp, clomp, clomp and I know he's up for the day.

"You got your boots on?"  "Yeah, cowboy!"  Ha!

A cowboy indeed!  Grocery store, playground, soccer practice, car ride, dinner time...boots are the footwear of choice. 

Thankfully he will change them if I suggest something else depending on where we are going.  And he doesn't insist on sleeping in them...yet. 

He wore his boots to C's soccer practice last night and he was quite the site jumping around singing gangnam style and doing somersaults.  Crazy little cowboy!

:)

Wednesday



Well, we are down to just one more day that hubby is out of town.  These pictures are from Wednesday.  That morning we woke up and did a trial run to C's new school.  I've been there twice, both times in the afternoon.  So, I wanted to test the traffic in the morning and see what time we actually need to leave.  They were excited to check out the outdoor learning area (since last time we were there to turn in registration paperwork their unfortunate behavior kept them from getting to explore).  

I love this idea and I really hope that it gets used often by the classes.  I also hope the mosquitoes let up as the weather cools off a bit.  They were horrendous!  I will definitely need to send C with bug spray!

"If you can see through your shirt like this, then just do it.  The bugs can't get you in here."

After our quick walk on the trail we headed back to a park we saw on our way to the school.  It was a really cute playground, and thankfully there wasn't a mosquito around.

We had a pretty chill afternoon and then went to soccer.  I didn't make lil' peanut sit in the stroller very long this time and he did surprisingly well.  I only had to get up from my chair once to reign him back in.  C also surprised me at practice.  They were having a scrimmage and there was a little pile-up when 3 other boys fell down.  C stopped what he was doing and ran to each one of them to ask if they were ok and to offer to help them up.  I made sure to make note of it when we were talking at bedtime. 

 

This morning we went to the library to cash in on the last of the summer reading program.  We joined just about 3 weeks ago and between books he read himself and me reading to him, C managed to exceed the 60 book goal!  Lil' peanut didn't get as many prizes as his big brother...he doesn't quite have the attention span yet.  It was a good reminder for me though to sit down and make a point of reading to him.  He had very little interest in books when he first came home so I unconsciously had stopped trying to read to him.  He actually enjoys them now!  Yay!  I hope I have another little bookworm on my hands.  We've been to our new library a few times already and each time C goes straight to the person at the children's desk and asks for help finding pokemon books.  Well, lil' peanut has been paying attention because today it seems he realized he too had the power to gain access to any book he wanted simply by bothering the woman at the desk. ;)  "Tractor book."  And one minute after she found us two of those I turn around at the sound of "Airplane book."  C was thrilled to be led to the video game section (since when do libraries carry video games?!) for a pokemon wii game that apparently he's never played because "Daddy says it costs too much money."  Ha!  Well, now he has it to enjoy for 3 weeks.  And enjoy it he did today.  I was feeling quite worn out and battled a headache for most of the day so it was a lazy afternoon/evening around here. 

 

We're just resting up for the big day tomorrow.  My baby turning SEVEN!  Oh, how is it even possible?!  I'm off to hang a Happy Birthday banner and make sure all is in order for a French toast breakfast in the morning.



Saving summer at the space center

Hubby is TDY this week.  With people he knows and likes.  In Orlando.  Rough, I know.  Back home, I'm making a valiant effort to save our summer.  Ok, not that our whole summer was a bust.  But, it was rough.  Travelling, living in a hotel, house hunting, living at my parents, projects, unpacking...we had a lot going on and I doubt our little people would say it was all enjoyable.  Heck, I didn't enjoy much of it!  It was the summer of getting things done that needed to get done.  And now we are starting to settle in and find our new groove here in the south.  But, all those changes put lil' peanut into a tailspin that he has yet to recover from.  Sadly, we've lost some of the ground we'd gained over the past year in the area of attachment.  Parenting him has been really challenging these last two months.  My patience has been maxed out and my spirit has definitely grown weary.  It sure hasn't helped that the boys also experienced some regression in their relationship and I've spent most every waking minute running interference between the two of them.  Some days it's been tough to find the joy in parenting...and I've hated that feeling at the end of the day.  I know C misses his friends and it's been sad for him not having any one his age to play with since we moved.  He started soccer last week and the way his face lit up when he ran out onto the field with tons of other 6 and 7 year olds was just awesome. 

 

So, yeah.  It hasn't been an easy breezy summer.  A few days before hubby left I was dreading his week away, wishing it was happening after C was already back in school.  Then the night before he left I decided to change my attitude.  This week was not going to be the longest week ever.  It was going to be the best!  Or at least better than our last few weeks.  I started to be thankful that I got one more week with C at home before he started school.  And I'm working hard to be intentional this week.  Intentional about having fun with my kids and enjoying them.  Doing things that I know they will love.  First up was a trip to the library on Monday morning where C scored 5 Pokémon books (now that is a good morning for him) and we cashed in on some summer reading program prizes.  Then we took our picnic lunch and headed to a splash park.  C loved it!  We've been to one other little splash pad already, but we were the only ones there.  This place was bigger and much busier.  Which was perfect for my social butterfly.  He was in heaven running around and playing with the other kids.  It took lil' peanut over an hour to warm up to the idea of playing in the water.  He mostly just sat at the picnic table with me and snacked until he finally had a change of heart.  And once he got out there he was laughing and spinning in circles and having just as much fun as his big brother.  We stayed for about 3 hours and then came home for a bit of rest time before we headed to C's soccer practice. 

 

I didn't get any pictures at the splash park, but I have a ton from today's adventure.  The Space Center.  We almost closed the place down, just shy of 7 hours.  Yes, you read that right.  SEVEN hours!  I don't get them often, but I definitely earned a super mom star today. ;)  The membership fees were really reasonable (especially since we were able to get 3 individuals vs. a family membership since kids under 4 are free!) so I'm excited that we can go back whenever we want now. 



 

Ready for takeoff!

He spent a good bit of time when we first got there with this look on his face.  He was scared to try a lot of things.  It almost always takes this little guy time to warm up to a new situation.  Good thing we were there long enough for him to conquer all his fears!

Getting ready to climb the rock wall.  So fun!  And free, yay!

Coming back down.

 

This is his 2nd attempt near the end of our day.  He went up so much higher than the first time.  He could have kept going.  He didn't fall off or anything, just started climbing back down.  I think he might get a little freaked out way up there. ;)

 

Their special exhibit right now is a reptile show.  After it was over, the kids who wanted to could hold the baby alligator.

Lil' peanut said he was "scared the wheels" hence the reason he is standing so far away for the picture.

In the lego pit.

This is how we spent 7 hours there.  The giant, angry birds playground.  There are even bleachers set up for parents to sit and wait for their kids.  You can see parts of the playground, and there are 4 video screens to help you keep track of your kids, but there were seriously times when I wouldn't see C for 20 minutes before he would run out smiling.  He had a great time in there.  So did lil' peanut once he finally decided to give it a try.

This was right as we were headed out the door and was probably my favorite part of the day.  There was a NASA version of the Gangnam Style music video playing and the boys danced their little hearts out.

 

Oh, his dance moves are something to be seen.  Ha!

As we were walking out to the car there was no whining about wanting to stay longer or not getting a toy at the gift shop.  Instead this happened..."Thank you Mom!  We were there for such a long time!"  Wow.  Thank you little one for topping off my love tank.  Seriously.  Love.