First. Day. Of. Kindergarten.

Wow.

Just wow.

Sam started kindergarten last  Monday.

Sunday was a little chaotic since we came home from our trip that afternoon.  It was pretty crazy getting unpacked, washing clothes, and making sure that uniforms and bags were ready to go.  I didn't sleep well that night.  My mind just wouldn't stop.

Anthony and I took him to school that day.  For the first week, we were allowed to walk him to his classroom.  The school he's attending is so much bigger than his previous one, and it is K-6.  He looked so small in his little uniform.  We took him to his room, and he met his teacher.  At that point, he got a little nervous and hid behind me.  We showed him where to hang his bag, and he sat down at a table by himself and began to color.  He then looked at me and said, "I thought you said my friends were going to be here."  My heart sank.  He does have friends from his old school, but none of them are in his class.

When we left the classroom, I teared up.  I honestly didn't think I would--we had been so busy, it hadn't occurred to me.  But after he asked where his friends were it was like a punch to the gut.  Bless him.

I shouldn't have worried.  When I picked him up that afternoon, he jumped in my car like he had been going there for years.  He told me all about his day, but the thing he was most fascinated by was their discipline program.  Each child has a monkey.  When you get a warning, your monkey is moved once.  2nd time, you miss some of recess.  The third time, Sam informed me, "You're really, really, in trouble.  You miss recess AND they call your mom."

It's been a full week, and so far he hasn't had his monkey moved.  It's amazing how much better he acts for others.  Why can't he be so cooperative for me?

He has enjoyed Computer, Music, Library, Discovery, Gym, and Spanish.  In other big news, he officially has a friend.  Kids crack me up.

The amount of time it took me to finish the Spiderman on his bag was ridiculous.  I probably shouldn't have waited so late to do it.  Lesson learned.  

Sitting at his new table.  

The infamous monkey.  

Alex started his program today, and I wish I could say it went as well.  Since Sam prefers his daddy and his grandfathers, I swore that Alex would be mine.  I'm eating my words.  

He screamed the second I walked out the door, and today was only the "phase-in" period.  I have made no plans for the days that he's there because I fully expect to get phone calls.  I'm hoping he'll settle in sooner rather than later.  

At least he was happy before we left this morning.   

 

Last vacation of the summer...

We spent all last week drinking fruity cocktails by the pool.  We ate, played with our boys, and had a good time with Anthony's parents. It was wonderful.

Our annual "sitting in the tree" picture.  We take pictures in this tree every year that we go down.  The picture-taking session is usually mass chaos, so some of my pictures are blurry.  I take what I can get when dealing with these two.

Things started off okay...

And then deteriorated rapidly. 

Over it. 

Checking out the ducks.

Hanging with the grands.

Practicing some golf.

Yes, the boys matched. 

 

So long, summer...

Every summer I think to myself, "This is going to be so relaxing.  I'm going to have time to do all sorts of things with the boys."

Wrong.

Between trips, swimming lessons, birthday parties, a wedding, and other things, summer has flown by.  I wouldn't necessarily classify it as "relaxing," but it has definitely been fun.  And now that fall, AKA the-world-stops-because-it's-football-season, is right around the corner, things don't look like they'll be slowing down any time soon.  But that's ok.  We love it.

Sam starts KINDERGARTEN on Monday

KINDERGARTEN.

I die.

And Alex will (attempt) to go to his sweet little program for 2 mornings a week.  That's if he will actually stay without screaming his head off until he makes himself throw up.  We'll see how long I have to stay up there until he'll let me slip out.  Maybe by December?  Fingers crossed.

With school beginning, we had to have shots.  Lots of shots.  They both actually did quite well--I was amazed.  Promises of ice cream and a new Skylander will do a lot to take off the edge.

At 18 months, Alex is 26 lbs., 8 oz.  & 2 ft., 8.5" long.  He's around the 75th percentile for both.  90th for his head circumference.  The big head thing is not new to us.

He's babbling quite a bit now--Mama, Daddy, Mimi, Gandy, Papa, Sissy, doggy, okay, bye-bye, ta-ta, cacka, (cracker) cookie, etc.  It's no surprise that he knows the word "cookie." He is very strong-willed, but incredibly affectionate, and he's still sucking his thumb.  (Which I secretly think is adorable, but I don't look forward to breaking that habit.)  He's also a biter--usually only when he's tired or really frustrated.  He's started to bite Sam occasionally, but honestly, a lot of times Sam deserves it.  :)

And Sam.

Also, very strong-willed.  Very.  And he loves to try to negotiate with you.  Sometimes I think that he thinks he's on "Let's Make A Deal."  He would be good at it.

The kid turned 5 in May, and he is 4 ft., .25 inches tall and 48 lbs. His height is off the charts---he's grown 2 inches since February, and our pediatrician said he's the height of an average 7-year-old.  I'll be interested to see if this is a continuing trend.  He's still a picky-eater, which is unfortunate because his Dad and I will eat just about anything--raw kibby, fried chicken livers, cabbage, etc.

He's still obsessed with firetrucks.  And if there was a contest where you could win millions of dollars to identify dinosaurs, I would shove him in front of a mike in a heartbeat.  Ever heard of  "Micropachycephalosaurus" ?

Me either.  Until last week.  When he told me.  And then I looked it up.  To make sure he wasn't making it up.

 Teddy Grahams + Alex = happy

Fun night at the Mullen Foundation for us.  

How to entertain 2 boys when your husband won't be home for another hour and you've hit the wall:

The reverse camera feature on the ipad.  I look horrendous, but they were super happy.

Bath time.

Fishing.

 

And I leave you with "Nothing says Sunday brunch like eating a biscuit in the window at Julep."