1st day of the rest of his life...

My 5 year old has entered a new phase in his life --about a month ago, he started kindergarten.
(I know, I'm a little behind, but life is busy. What can I say?)

Isn't he so cute?  The one day he doesn't go to school with bed head.

I'm not sure what to feel (besides feeling older). I'm a little bit sad and a little bit happy, a little bit worried and little bit excited.
I mean, it could mean the beginning the difficult process of growing up, of suddenly having expectations placed upon you --which you may or may not live up to--, being judged and tested and given scores with actual numbers and letters that may or may not reflect how "smart" you are or the particular talents you have, of having less say in the course of your day to day life, and dealing with outside forces and influences and people that may or may not be kind and loving or have your best interest in mind...
However it could also be the beginning of great growth and exploration, of gaining confidence and will power, having structure to your day, making goals and seeing measurable progress, meeting new people who are just like you or who are on your side helping you to be the best you can be, realizing just how big the world is and seeing your potential as part of it, and having an opportunity to affect the lives of those around you in a positive way...

I guess it will probably be a little of both.

I hope that even though I can't control what happens to my kids when they're out of the home, I can prepare them and instill a in them a positive attitude about school, and about life in general, and help them see the possibilities life has to offer ...even on those days when I don't want to get out of bed in the morning either.

5

I can't believe my first child is five years old already!

My Father-in-law made this lovely dinosaur cake to celebrate his birthday the weekend before.

On the day of his birthday, he woke up to this dinosaur balloon (which he calls a kabloon) and a pancake breakfast (which I didn't get pictures of because the battery died on the camera).  About the balloon, he said, "That balloon is so amazin'.  I've been waiting for one like that for years!"
His 3 yr old brother commented about one of the dinosaurs on the balloon saying, "See that dinosaur right there?  That's a chomposaurus!"

After it got warmer, (and after I recharged the battery on our camera) I brought out one of his surprises. A block of ice!  You should have seen his face when I handed him a hammer.

Inside were some tiny dinosaur figurines!  I added some dirt to make it more like an archeological dig, but I don't think I'll do that again.

 We only had one hammer, so they took turns using a flathead screwdriver and a rock like a chisel as well.

Other activities included super forts, (notice how the baby wants so bad to keep up with his brothers)

And a family water fight.

Moving his barricade?

It was almost too cold in the shade (this is Jackson after all), and I'm afraid I added to my summer collection of freckles.

Happy 5th Birthday Little Man!

Easter traditions

Well, hopefully forgetting to charge the camera battery won't become an Easter tradition.  So yeah-- no photos this year of our easter baskets.

Our Easter Bunny, although rather pagan by nature, at least respects our religious convictions and kindly delivers our easter baskets on Saturday.  When it is good weather like this year, the baskets are hidden outside in the yard, and after a good breakfast and getting dressed, we all go out to find them.  The kids had fun finding them this year.  It was a beautiful day.

While the kids ate their candy, I realized that I hadn't really talked much with them about the true meaning of Easter.  So I told them the Easter story.  As I did, I got a little weepy, and the children listened intently.  After I finished, my four year old very seriously told me, "I want to believe that."

It was one of those moments when a mother's heart leaps for joy, knowing for once that they're actually listening, and reveling in the opportunity to teach.  I told him that he could believe it.  That as with anything we learn in the Church, we can pray to our Heavenly Father to know if it's true, and that the Holy Ghost will let us know through warm feelings of peace and joy and love in our hearts if it is.  I told him that I believe that story, and that it gives me hope that I can live again with my Heavenly Father and my family forever... and then they were back to throwing candy across the table at each other.  sigh.

Luckily, with that, and then the review at church the next day, I think it sunk in.  For dessert that night we had "Resurrection Rolls" or "Empty Tomb Rolls."  I know, it's kinda cheesy, but they're super yummy, so any excuse to have them... :)

The kids thought it was cool anyway.

Kids Need Zen Gardens Too

I just wish it wasn't on my patio.

Welcome to our "ool"

After a long period of deliberation, failed attempts, and sheer procrastination, we have finally made progress in the potty training area.  It's only been about a week or two since we've started in earnest (after months of coaxing and lecturing and bribing all to no avail), but the first week was a disaster.  He was begging for diapers.  I'm afraid neither of us know what we are doing. This week though we finally had some breakthroughs, and he hasn't had any accidents! Although we're not fully there --nights are still iffy-- I'm so proud of my 3 year old (even if he is almost four)!  We went to the swimming pool today, and he even had the control to stop and ask to go to pee on the potty twice!  Woohoo!

My Big Boy!

My (barely) two year old seems interested, but I'm not so sure about whether I can handle that much competition for the one toilet in our small apartment.  I am nearly 8 months pregnant after all... :)   Actually, even though he says he wants big boy pants, I don't trust that he has the control --and I really don't want to be scrubbing floors and furniture in my condition.  Can you blame me?