Sam's Christmas Gift to Mrs. Elaine

Sam told me this weekend he knew exactly what he wanted to get Mrs. Elaine for Christmas! He wanted to buy a wooden cross and then he wanted to paint it. (He has seen me paint the wooden letters that are on their bedroom door.) He then told me that he wanted to paint it...orange and blue. GASP! I know, strange coming from the child that tried to set his friends by what tean they pulled for! Mrs. Elaine is a huge Auburn fan which bothered Sam at first but now he's ok with it! We went to Hobby Lobby Saturday and bought the cross and paint. When we got home he knew exactly how he wanted to paint it (blue all around the edges with orange in the middle - sounds funny but turned out cute)! Once we got it painted he was so proud of his work! I told him we would wrap it up and give it to her at his Christmas Party next week. NOT HAPPENING! He wanted to bring it to school today and instead of starting an argument I let him! She had her Auburn Christmas sweatshirt on today so it was perfect! She loved it and gave Sam a huge hug. She also told him how much it meant to her that he would use those colors. She said she knew it must have been hard for him, but he just loves her!


I wish I had taken a picture of it! Oh well!

New post below...

Jake's 1st Breakfast with Santa

This morning was Jake's first Breakfast with Santa at CCCE. It seems like yesterday when I took Sam to his first Breakfast with Santa. I knew Jake would probably want nothing to do with Santa because we have already tried getting pictures this year so we were really just going so he could be with his class and to "say we went"! I got to the school this morning and had a ton of things going on because I had also volunteered in September to help Sam's class paint their Christmas Program shirts which happen to fall on the same day as the breakfast! I grabbed my camera only to realize that my battery was dead, so all I have are cell phone quality pictures.

Mom came with me so that I could split my time between the two classes. I went with Mom & Jake first to see the setup for breakfast. There was a pretty long line to get breakfast so I went down to help paint some shirts. The shirts are adorable! We painted the kids hands green and made Christmas Trees with their handprints. We then painted ornaments and presents under the tree with a huge star on top! I can't wait for his program.

When I was done helping with the shirts I went back to breakfast with Santa. Jake had eaten vanilla icecream with trix for breakfast. The school has this every year for the kids as a treat and they LOVE it! They also had sausage biscuits but there was no way Jake was going to eat a biscuit with icecream in front of him! We waited in line for Santa and he was great. He watched the other kids and I actually thought that he was going to do this without a fit...WRONG! Mom walked him up to Santa so I could get a quick picture but Jake would NOT let go of Mom. He would not even turn his head to look at Santa UNTIL we told him that Santa was giving each child a reindeer and candycane...Jake turned around quick enough to grab his and then turned his head again! As we walked out the door of the school he started saying, "Santa, Santa". All talk and no action!

Great morning with my boys! By the way, I love CCCE! It has been great for both boys and they absolutely love it!

Jake's thumbprint art work that was on our table!

I love this one of him looking at the tree!

Snapped it just as he was turning around for the candycane!

Pumpkin Patch Express

Sunday we went to the Pumpkin Patch Express with Noni & Pappy! We had a great time! Last year we took the kids to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton so Sam had not been to Calera in a while and Jake had never been! As soon as we pulled up Jake started yelling "Choo" and pointing at the trains. We rode the train to the Pumpkin Patch where I made the mistake of letting them go in the bounce house first...they did not want to get out to do anything else! We finally convinced them to go on a hayride and pick out a pumpkin but then they were back in the bounce house until it was time to get back on the train! Needless to say they were worn out on the train ride back to the station. Jake passed out in Pappy's lap on the ride back!

Sam & Pappy: Sam doesn't like to smile these days for pictures!

Jake & Pappy: Jake loves to be up high!

Riding the train!

Bounce House!

Jake thinks that anything that looks scary makes a "Roar" noise...even spiders!

Sam talking to the Conductor about the train!

We are ready for Halloween this week. Both boys have their Halloween Parties at school on Friday and then Saturday night we are going to Noni & Pappy's to Trick or Treat since Helena is having their Trick or Treating on Saturday! I have a feeling Jake will beat Sam to some of the houses once he figures out that he gets candy!

Sam's 4K Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I went with Sam and his 4K class to the Pumpkin Patch in Clanton yesterday and we had a blast! I love this Pumpkin Patch because there is so much for the kids to do. When we first got there Mrs. Elaine brought a snack for the kids while we waited for everyone to arrive. We went to the Petting Zoo first and Sam loved running around looking at all the animals. It was then his classes turn to ride the ponys. I wasn't sure how this would go with Sam because he refused to ride the pony last year. We'll he jumped right in line with Tyler and Caleb and away he went. He loved it! When it was our turn to go on the hayride to the pumpkin patch Sam wanted to sit up front with his buddies which I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to see them interact and hear their conversations which at 4 is hilarious! Once we got to the patch Sam picked out the BIGGEST pumpkin he could find, which was fine except that I had to carry it the rest of the time! Luckily I had brought a bag with me to carry it which made it a little easier, but not any lighter. The kids got to jump around on the hay for a long time which the boys made into a game of "King of the Hay"! It was so funny as they all climbed to the top! The last thing we did was the inflatables. It got Sam just tired enough that he started to get whiny.

When we left I asked Sam what he wanted for lunch since this was "his" day. He chose Moe's so we headed back toward Alabaster. He ate the kid-size burrito and all his chips and cheese dip. He was starving after a fun morning!

We had the best time! I can't believe this is his last year at CCCE! It has flown by! I have loved every one of Sam's teachers and can't believe how much he has learned! I'm glad Jake has started "school" too and I just hope the teachers can handle him!

Sam & Tyler riding the ponys. Must have been hard work because they had to take a break afterwards (See below)!

Most of Sam's 4K Class!

Caleb, Sam, Ethan, and Zac on the Hayride!

I love this one of Sam!

Some of the class with Mrs. Elaine!

The kids playing "King of the Hay"! Sam was the King this time!

Jake's 1st Day at Playschool

Jake had his first day at Playschool today! Ms. Karen loves Mickey Mouse so she made the kids the cutest school bag with their name (pic below). Jake wore his Mickey shirt for his first day of school just for Ms. Karen!

Nana dropped him off and picked him up. She said that Jake started to walk into the classroom this morning until he heard another little boy crying and it made him start to tear up. Nana handed Jake over to Ms. Karen and left. When she got back to the school to pick him up Ms. Karen said that he had a good day! Ms. Karen said that he did cry out a few times throughout the day but that he was good. She said that the kids sat down for lunch but that they did not eat a whole lot. She said that Jake ate more than any of the other kids! HA! That is one thing about Jake, he will eat regardless if he is upset or not! That boys LOVES food, especially the yummy food Nana packed in his lunch. Jake had grapes, cheese, chex-mix, and popcorn chicken! All of his favorites!

I'm sure Friday will be difficult since he will recognize the school but once he gets use to the idea and knows that Nana will be there to pick him up after lunch I think he'll be fine! Sam started out this way and now he is begging us to go to school!

Update on Sam: I have not heard back from the doctor yet but he feels fine (still hasn't had a fever) and is eating normal. He will most likely go to his first day of 4K on Friday! When I told him he said "Yes, Yes, Yes!" I can tell he is ready to see his friends and Ms. Elaine! Actually he said he wanted to see Lauren (his girlfriend)! They are sitting next to each other ALL year! And so it begins...!

Labor Day Weekend

Considering we ended the weekend a little rough we still had a great long weekend!

Saturday the boys stayed home with me and we watched the Bama Game together! When Bama would score the boys would cheer and then come running to me to give me a high-five! I got quite a few high-fives Saturday night!Above: Jake reminds me of Uncle JJ because he stood up to watch the game. I bet he would have paced too if the game had been close!

Sunday we went to the lake with the Cunningham's and the boys played all day! They were worn out Sunday night!

Sam has been asking for me to take him to a new Halloween Store in Alabaster so Monday we had lunch at Golden Rule and went to the Halloween Store. Sam picked out the coolest Batman costume for Halloween and we got Jake a Robin outfit! Sam wanted to try his on when we got home so I put both boys in their costumes and they ran around the house chasing each other! It was hilarious!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

Tomorrow is Jake's first day at CCCE. I can remember when Sam started there 3 years ago! Wow how time flies! I am anxious to see how Jake does on his first day. Nana will be dropping him off for his first day and I hope it will go smoothly! I am worried that Sam may get upset when they drop Jake off because he can't go to school until Friday or Monday. OR he may be fine since he gets playtime with Nana without Jake interupting! HA! I have gotten some emails today from some of the Mom's of Sam's school friends that said the first day went well but that Sam was missed! I love CCCE...the teachers, parents, and kids! Oh and especially Ms. Amy (the director)!

Summertime Fun

What a fun but exhausting weekend! It started when I picked the boys up Friday afternoon. I saw Nana's car at the neighborhood pool so I stopped. When I walked up Jake was playing on the steps in the shallow end without his floaties. Pappy was a few feet away and I kept saying be careful Jake, don't do that Jake. Pappy looked at me and said "He's fine, he's been doing this all afternoon"! WHAT?! Since when did he turn into a big boy without floaties? Oh yeah, Sam doesn't use them so why should Jake, right?! Well the next adventure with Jake was when he started jumping into the pool from the ladder to Nana. Then he jumped in from the side of the pool to Pappy! He is fearless which terrifies me! Our beach trip should be fun next week keeping our eyes on Jake!

Ready or not Pappy here I come!!!

Alan's 31st Birthday was Sunday so when he got home from work Saturday we headed down to the lake to celebrate with Grandma, Poppa, Katie, and Parker! The boys always play so good together and in the 4 hours we were together they only fought a few times over the same toy! We stayed at the lake Saturday night so we could spend some time Sunday on the boat. It was incredibly hot Sunday so we stopped the boat to go swimming for a little while. Sam made it known that he did not want to get in so I got Jake and once Sam saw how much fun Jake was having he had to give it a try. I think he was afraid his life jacket wasn't going to hold him and since he could not see the bottom of the lake he was scared. Well, once he got in and realized he was fine he LOVED it! He was jumping off the side of the boat and putting his face under water! He did not want to get back in the boat when it was time to go! I wanted him to intertube with me but he wanted no part of it because the last time he saw Katie on the intertube Alan was driving crazy trying to throw her off. Poppa drove the boat and was pretty easy on me since Sam was watching so close. A few minutes later he stopped the boat because Sam wanted on!! YAY!! He climbed on the tube with me and off we went. I asked him if he like it and he screamed "YES"! We had a great day at the lake and I am so proud of Sam for being such a big boy and trying new things even though he's a little scared!!