The dark side

Eli was thrilled when we found this at a used children’s clothing store.  He wore it all afternoon.  Then, daddy photo bombed him! 

Found the boys taking selfies on my iPad.  I had to join in the fun . 

Long time, no blog.  I know.  Pathetic.  Honestly, I’d rather write off a lot of 2013 to my distant memory…..Jason’s illness, open heart surgery, and recovery…..

So, I am beginning to blog again, and believe that I will have positive things to write about!

First funny of the restart of this blog:
We went out to eat at Chedder’s tonight.  Everyone was is a carefree mood….a 4 day weekend always helps that!  I was whispering sweet nothings in Oliver’s ear (things like “you give the best hugs” and “I love you so much” and “you have the best giggle “). He caught on to what I was doing, put his sweet little lips up to my ear, and whispered “you get smashed by a car”.  Hold the train, what?!?  He looks at me with a mischievous grin and says “I love you so much mommy”.  This 3 year old sense of humor is something else!  What a guy!  <3.

Time is zooming by!  We are finishing our first grading period at school this week.  That means we are 1/4 done already. 

That also means that Eli is 1/4 done with Kindergarten.   How in the heck did that happen?  He loves school.  He was already a smarty-pants before school started (obviously, with a teacher for a mom, right?) but he is just really taking off.  The kid loves to write.  He walks around with a marker and a paper in his hand.  The other night he saw me making a list of possible chores he could start doing around the house.  He grabbed the paper from me and wrote “I clen up my room”  Hubba-Wha?!  The kid is amazing   He’s also really growing up in terms of being able to keep himself calm when necessary and using words when he’s upset, both of which have been difficult for him in the past.  Proud mommy.

Oliver is also changing in so many ways…. not all for the better ;P  He is totally a 2 year old!  He is loud, proud, damages things (or his brother) on a regular basis.  I secretly attribute his craziness to the use of his inhaler to control his asthma.  He can get really worked up after using that thing.  He had to use it one day last week at preschool.  He got so hyper that the director of the program kept him in a room with her for 30 minutes so he could “run around”.  LOL.  The kid does have amazing hugs though!  He will wrap those strong little arms around you as tight as can be!  He’s also really starting to put words together!  Not many are clear, but we’re all good at translating- especially Eli!

We have a kindergartener!  Eli has had 2 days of very successful, enjoyable, and exhausting kindergarten.  He’s arrived and departed with a smile on his face both days.  My highlight of having him at my school so far:  Being on the playground with his class.  My first graders overlap the kindergarteners by about 10 minutes at recess time.  I’ve gotten a big hug and smile and then he’s run off to play with new friends both days.  Today I overheard him saying proudly to a boy in his class, “Yeah, that teacher is my mom!”  Adore.

Have you ever wanted to bottle up a feeling?  I had that happen tonight.  The boys and I had a very fun time at Fairview’s (my school and now Eli’s school too) Ice Cream Social / Meet your teacher night.  Then we grabbed dinner and the boys and I went to Build-a-Bear.  We splurged and the boys built back to school animals.  A “police dog” for Eli and a pig wearing pajamas for Oliver.  I let them pick out everything and, as expected, the animals they created fit their little personalities perfectly. 

I’ve been avoiding the inevitable all summer.  I can’t believe Eli is going to be in kinder and the reality of it all is finally hitting me.  I’m so proud of the person he is.  He is sweet, silly, joyful, caring, creative, cautious, sensitive, and oh-so-huggable.  I’m overjoyed and honored to be able to have him attend Fairview and watch his educational journey begin!

Says Eli: “I hope I never grow a beard, because I don’t want anyone to get hurt when I kiss them.”