Fall Soccer 2014

Blake: age 5
team: Diamond Divas

Easton: age 3

team: Gladiators

Happy Halloween!

 Halloween week was full of activities!

The weekend before Halloween, we had Blake's school fall carnival and trunk-or-treat at church. Blake was a pirate and Easton was a fireman!

It was also Red Ribbon Week at school - on camo day, it was also Pumpkin Carving day! Blake designed her pumpkin to be scary-happy. 

Love my sweet girl!

The kiddos are modeling their Halloween shirts Grandma made.

Easton's class took a field trip to a local pumpkin farm/corn maze. He and his two buddies stayed together the whole time, leading each other through the maze and sitting by each other for everything.

They rode the cow train, got to look at different farm animals, the pond,

and there was a hay ride out through the fields to pick their own pumpkin. This is the best picture I got of us on the hay ride! Goof ball!

On Halloween, Blake decided she didn't want to be a pirate and was Princess Belle instead (good thing she has a stash of dress up clothes!) It was a pretty chilly evening, and she ended up putting on and taking off her coat every time she got cold, but then wanted to show her costume...

They had lots of fun trick or treating our neighborhood, and when Easton's legs got tired and treat bags were filled, we headed home and they handed out candy at our door. I think that was just as fun for them!

Molly went trick or treating with us and was perfectly behaved! It was just another walk around the neighborhood for her. She would have been cute with a little costume on... maybe next year.

Pumpkin Patch '14

For our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, this year we did not have to go far. A farm set up a pumpkin patch right across the street from our neighborhood. Blake and Easton had been asking over and over to go, and we finally went!

This is one of my new favorite pictures of my two loves.

October things

In no particular order...

Here we are cozying up at a chilly tailgate

 This was considered "climbing a tree" to Blake!

Easton got to spray the fireman's hose when they came to visit preschool! He loved it and was so excited to tell me about it.

We carved a creepy pumpkin for the pumpkin trail! (the first of several to be carved this year...)

cheering on the Red Raiders at their 2nd college football game!

 and just otherwise being silly... pants on the head and play mustaches

Easton lately

And now I'll try to catch up on Easton...

School- Easton loves going to preschool. He always mentions that he'll miss me before drop-off, but most days he walks in without even more than a "bye mama." He walks right in to start playing with his friends as I sign him in, or goes up to his teachers to greet them, asking how they are doing. So far, no tears at all this year!

Soccer- Easton plays on a team with several friends from church and preschool. They are the "Gladiators," and he takes playing soccer very seriously. I've seen a lot of other 3 year olds on his team and others, that will cry or walk off the field to go sit down when they want, but Easton always answers yes when the coaches ask who's ready to go in again and gets to play a lot because he's always willing. He is fast, and has a great sense of where the ball is, always watching it and running to it, but he says he can't kick it with all the other boys around. He's only kicked it a few times in games. 

Like I said, very serious at a game!

Easton cracks me up daily. He told me he had to go "get some work done downstairs" so I snuck down to find him hard at work at his workbench. When he saw me, he said "what mama? I'm just doing some work here."

Easton loves music and bobs his head along with any song he likes. He often tells me "mama, turn it louder" in the car to any song he likes. And he loves to sing along! 

He is quite an independent little guy who likes to do things himself. Easton enjoys getting special time with me with Blake at school, but is always very ready to pick her up. 

He picks "sunflowers" (dandelions) for me every time he sees one. 

He can be a little shy, but will mostly talk to or go play with anyone, even kids much older. 

*more to come as I think of it

Blake lately

I'm going to try to catch up a little starting with Blake. 

School- she has adjusted very well to kindergarten. She loves her teacher and has many friends. It's no surprise that she behaves very well and I've heard from her teacher and PE teacher about her great attitude and behavior. 

At school one day having lunch with our favorite kindergartener!

Blake did cry a few more times in the first week of school... On Wednesday morning of that week she told me tearfully that she didn't think the weekend would ever come. She still prefers her "mama days" (what she's always called non-school days), but happily goes to school, too!

She earned her "shoe-tying badge" at school today. Blake has been determined to learn to tie shoes. I only had to show her a few times after she watched her teachers at school, and then she practiced and practiced on her own, until she got it! Completely self-motivated!

Soccer- the outdoor season has begun again for the fall, after being rained out 3 weekends in a row. Blake is becoming more and more confident all the time. She usually plays in the back (defender?!)

Other things- Blake loves to write words of lots and lots of letters and then ask you to read them. She thinks it's hysterical to hear the non-sense we try to sound out! 

Here is a picture of our family signed by the artist herself! She loves to draw pictures for me and her daddy, or write lists of things we need to do, or make little books. 

*I'll add more as I think of it...

Red Raiders

Where does the time go? It's the end of September, and days keep flying by quicker than the last. I have lots of things floating in my head that I want to get on the blog for memory's sake. So for now- these pictures were taken over Labor Day weekend, when we had our first Texas Tech football game of the season... and the kids' first ever!

We have season parking passes and tickets, so we are excited to share the excitement of college football with the kids! It was sparse since it was the first game, so we had plenty of room in the parking lot for games. It was soooooo hot, but the kids took turns sitting in the shade of our canopy and playing.

They "got their guns up" a bajillon times that day.

They had lots of fun, but of course were so much happier (me too!) once our section of the stadium became shaded. Go Red Raiders! 

First Day of Preschool

Easton started preschool at our church today. He was worried about it and would cry telling me he would miss me... 

But this morning, he did great! He walked right in and never cried. There are three little boys and one girl he knows from our mom's group in his class, too. That helped!

His teachers said he did awesome and had a great day! I'm so thankful! 

Easton picked a Sonic slush as their after school treat. And he was so excited to tell Blake all about his day! 

Blake is a Kindergartener!

Today Blake started kindergarten! She was very nervous and cried a few times days before about how she would miss me... My mama heart was worried and just wanted everything to go well!

So big!

She cried when it was time for us to leave (we all took her to school!) and I cried once I was in the car. The day flew by, surprisingly, and I was anxious to pick her up to hear about her day. We walk into the kindergarten common area to pick them up everyday, and I found my girl with a big smile on her face saying she had a "super fun day!" I'm so glad!

Easton was so happy to have her back with us, even though we had a good day together, too. Blake picked sno-cones for her after school treat and she's looking forward to go back again!

PS- she crashed by 7:00! School is tiring!