Fun at the Farm

Playing Farm-opoly
Chase trying to save the baby kitten
My sweet niece, Lanae
Vacation has started for us. We stopped at the farm on the way to the mountains. The boys had fun playing Farm-opoly (the farm version of Monopoly). Dylan cleaned house! He was very happy to be the champion! The boys had a lot of fun playing with their cousins. There was a sad time. There are 3 different sets of kittens at the farm right now. One of the mommies is not taking very good care of her very little kittens (their eyes are not even open yet). The mommy kitty had 3 babies and 2 of them have already died. She has deserted the other one. Chase desparately wants to save the last one, but it seems highly unlikely. Chase tried to feed the baby some milk with a medicine dropper, but it did not work very well. I don't think the poor baby kitty will make it through the night. It is pitiful to hear it crying and to want to help it and to not be able to help it. Chase, with his very tender heart, is having a hard time with accepting the fact that this kitty probably won't make it. He wants us to bring the kitty with us on vacation and try to save it. He thinks we can bring it on hikes with us. He has been praying for the kitty. I wish we could save the kitty for him.

We leave in the morning for the mountains! The boys are very excited. It will be a fun adventure. 

Uh-Oh

Here is Nate getting into all sorts of trouble! We have got to find the baby gate! He also got his first tooth yesterday (his bottom right tooth).

On another subject, Cade can be so funny. He is still talking about the baby in his tummy. I thought the baby's name was brother Judy but it is actually brother Julie! Dylan and I had a very funny conversation with Cade about brother Julie. According to Cade, Julie will be coming out but he is unsure about how that will be accomplished. He does know that it will happen at the hospital. Dylan and I were having a lot of fun asking Cade questions about this baby in his tummy! Silly boy! There may be something wrong with him (just joking). 

Nine Months Old!

Nate playing at one of his favorite spots
Chase taking care of his bubba when I was at work
I can't believe that my baby is 9 months old today! He is so sweet and soooo busy. Changing a diaper has become an Olympic event! He crawls all over the house and seems to know when I put the cat food back out. He makes a dash for it and manages to spill it all over the place before I can get to him. At least he is not eating it anymore! He still eats really well and he is a lovely yellow hue from eating his veggies. He is so close to having teeth! He has six huge bumps on his gums and we can even see the white teeth trying to poke through on the bottom. I think he is going to get six teeth all at once! He weighs 17 pounds 4 ounces and is 27 1/2 inches tall. He is in the 5th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height - still a peanut! His brothers still love him very much. They are all so sweet to him. Nate thinks they are great! They can all get huge belly laughs from Nate. We feel so blessed to have our precious baby boy. 

Strep Throat Again!

Need I say more? 

End of School

Cade with his preschool teachers

Cade's last day of preschool was on Friday. He has had the best year. He loves school and is going to miss it this summer. His teachers have been wonderful! They truly enjoy him and recognize his gifts. He has lots of friends and I am amazed at how much he has learned. He knows most of his letters and most of their sounds. He can even recognize some words. He counts to 10 by himself and to 20 with a little help. He knows all of his shapes and colors. The best thing is that he is really learning to communicate more instead of screaming. He is getting better about not freaking out if his food drops on the floor or if he gets a drop of water where it does not belong. He has the sweetest singing voice and he responds very well to songs. I am excited to see what he becomes when he is older. He is truly my joy!

A special thanks goes to Aunt Charlotte for the Gator! Her boys have outgrown it so Cade has inherited it! The boys absolutely love it. They have already run the battery down numerous times. It is a BIG hit! 

Dylan's Awards Day

Dylan with his teacher
Dylan's award day was on Thursday, May 18th. We are so proud of him. The first graders do not get grades. The school give the Character Quality award and the Patriot Pride award to each first grader. The teacher would choose which quality to honor the child for with the Character Quality award. Dylan's teacher honored him for his kindness. Besides the Patriot Pride award and the Character Quality award, he got the Citizenship award, the Reading award, and the Study Skills award. We are proud of our sweet boy. I had a moment of Mommy guilt during the awards. They did not call Dylan's name for the reading award. My boy who reads every chance he gets did not get the reading award?! I thought I had really messed up and not written down everything. Turns out that they had just forgotten to call out his name. No Mommy guilt this time!

Dylan's teacher has been wonderful. She was also Chase's teacher last year. She is the kind of teacher that truly loves the children and recognizes their individual gifts and talents. She has a true love for teaching and learning. She is always kind and encouraging. I am so thankful that she has been Chase's and Dylan's teacher. 

Award Day

Chase with his teacher who has been absolutely wonderful!

Chase has always been a sweet-hearted child. He has always made us so proud. I was very proud of him today. It was second grade award day. He received 5 awards. The award that makes us the most proud is the Quality of Character Award. Here is a description of the award: Consistently exhibited the Bette Perot Elementary character qualities of responsibility, honesty, self-control, respect and compassion. There will be two boys and two girls chosen from each class.

He makes us so proud. He also received the A Honor Roll award, the Reading Award, the Patriot Pride award (Exemplified school spirit and a good attitude. Took initiative to go above and beyond minimum expectations), and the Citizenship award (Earned conduct grades of all E's in all subject areas during each grading period).

After the awards, we went back to the classroom for the students to read a play. Chase played the part of the big, bad mouse complete with a mouse voice. It was so cute! I just love my boy. 

Sweet, Sick Baby

Dylan making his brother laugh

Nate has been remarkably healthy! In his lifetime, he has only experienced a very minor cold. He started feeling bad Sunday night. At first, I thought it was just allergies but now I am not so sure. His poor nose! He is not feeling well at all. He is not running any fever but I think I will call the doctor tomorrow if he is still this miserable. He just wants to be loved on, held, and rocked. He is so sweet. Of course I am getting nothing done, but he is so sweet. Poor baby. 

Happy Birthday Granddad!

Charles with Nate when he was a newborn
Cade going to sleep at the Rattlesnake Round-up
Cade and Granddaddy

Happy Birthday Charles! You are 50 now, right? I hope you have a wonderful day! Thanks for being such a great granddad! We love you!

By the way, while posting these pictures I realized that I do not have near enough pictures of my boys with their Granddad so BEWARE, the camera is coming out when you visit!

The Best Mother's Day Ever

Chase and the snake that he wanted so badly (Daddy won it for him)
Sometimes the best presents are not material things. Those of you who know Mark understand that he is not the best about showing his appreciation for me on Mother's Day or on my birthday (translation - he is not very good about getting me a present or even a card). This year, he gave me the best present ever - a fun day with my precious boys. We went to early service this morning and then we went to Six Flags for the day. I know that Mark would have preferred to take a nap and rest this afternoon instead of dealing with the crowds (it was crowded) and the heat, but he wanted to give me my day. He is a wonderful husband. I had the very best day. Numerous times today I got hugs from my boys , "Happy Mother's Days" from my boys, and my personal favorite, "You are the best mommy in the whole world!". Sweet, sticky, smelly boys hugging my neck and my legs and telling me that they love me. Dylan overcoming his fear of the log ride (but not yet the Shock Wave) and actually enjoying the ride. Nate napping in my arms. Chase riding with me on the Shock Wave while trying his best to not acted scared. Cade snuggling up close to me in the bat car when it flew way up high. The best present in the world. My sweet, sweet family.

Even More

 

Some More

More killing time in the ETERNAL line
More in the line
Finally we got to ride!