Evan's First Dentist Appointment

I was very fearful of Evan's very first dentist appointment.
Before we even left the house he was screaming,
"I don't want to go to the dentist!! I don't want to go to the dentist!"
I just knew we were in for quite the morning.
All the bribery in the world was not convincing
this boy that a trip to the dentist would be worth it....

This was Evan at the dentist. I would not have
believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

He was a perfect angel.
He did everything the hygienist ask of him.
He did not protest one second.
He let her count, clean, and polish his teeth.

He got some cool sunglasses to wear
and was holding his "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" Mouse
that Aunt Melissa had given him.
What else does a boy need?
Mommy could not have been more proud!
Thank you, Lord, for
answering the small prayer of mine.
Physical restraint was not required.
Now, if we could talk about that when I
sometimes just try to get him in his car seat!

Indiana Turkey

Hayden's Kinder assignment was to disguise his Thanksgiving turkey.
He thought Indiana Jones would be the perfect cover up.
After finding an old back pack to cut up for a jacket and a
small braided belt for a whip he was all set!
We created a leather satchel and everything to complete the look.
Indiana Turkey was one handsome turkey
and he was so proud to take him to school.

Half Marathon!

Nothing better than seeing my sweet boys cheer me on
at the finish line of my Half Marathon!
They loved taking turns wearing my finisher medal on the way home.
I came in at 2 hr 20 min beating my last years time of 2 hrs 32 minutes.
I am so behind in posting this that since then I ran the
White Rock Half Marathon six weeks later on December 13 coming
in at 2 hrs 15 minutes beating my November time by 5 minutes setting
a new personal record for me!
Running has been such a wonderful outlet for me
and keeps driving me to get stronger.
Anyone want to join me for the White Rock Half next year??
It is such a fun run and so beautiful with
tons of crowd support the whole 13.1 miles!

Halloween Fun

This sums up all our Halloween fun...

We were thrilled when we convinced Evan it was cool to be Robin so we
had the perfect Batman and Robin duo.

Wouldn't want to meet these boys in a dark alley, huh? :-)

The dynamic duo!

Batman and Robin get ready to race..
One of their favorite things to do is run up and down our sidewalk.


Who knew Robin wore little white Fruit of the Loom undies?

Quite the handsome Batman!

We decided to give our first shot at family pumpkin carving.
I let the boys pick out what they wanted to carve from some
online templates.
Of course they picked the most challenging of all choices,
the Star Wars X-wing starfighter.
I was a bit nervous about carving around the details of the little
wings but the $5 carving kit tools far surpassed my expectations!

Daddy cut the top and we let the boys dig out all the pumpkin "guts"
which they loved.
(We don't normally have the boys shirtless and in underwear
but we figured this project would be messy very fast!)

The pumpkin guts were every bit as entertaining as I thought they would be.

It is definitely an X-wing!
Sadly even indoors it was moldly and so
gross within about 2 days that we had to throw it out
way before Halloween.
I will know better next year on how to keep the pumpkin mold free.

On the day of Halloween, we took a fun
family outing to the Arboretum.


They had trick or treating there that day
which we didn't even know they were going to have.
That of course was an extra fun surprise for the boys.
Evan just dropped to the ground in the middle of the
walkway and starting pulling out the chocolate-
I totally understood his chocolate enthusiasm.




Evan loves to go at his brother's face. Hayden is entertained...most of the time

Yes, I had to get my annual matching tees from Janie and Jack.


Hayden loved the Frog water spray fountains.
Evan... not so much.
It is always sweet to see him run to Daddy though for shelter.

Hayden Singing "5 Little Monkeys"

This was taken on the way to the State Fair. Hayden loves singing his songs learned in Kindergarten and Evan appreciates his big brother teaching them to him too!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Steve took the day off work so we could attend Hayden's first
Kindergarten field trip to the Pumpkin Patch.

We were assigned to this adorable little crew to supervise.

The boy huddle clearly having a blast.

The boys found the smells
of the animal covered wet grounds gross
yet entertaining at the same time - so cute!
We all enjoyed a trip in the hay wagon around the farm.

Hayden and his buddy, Kerry.

Apparently the peace sign is popular with the kids.
I saw it several times that morning when trying to snap shots.
You could not catch these boys not smiling.

To say that it was muddy was an understatement - we could barely walk without our feet sinking into the mud. We all left with what appeared to be mud shoes. Hayden hiked his pants in the patch to try and keep his jeans out of the mess.

The "mud shoe".
Steve got a stick and tried to help several kids
scrape some of it off with some success.

Hayden picks out his perfect muddy pumpkin.

Pumpkin was a bit misshapen but had
a very proud owner none the less!


Daddy of course felt the need to give the
last bit of the feed to the beloved longhorn
or should I say "Longhorn!"

Me and my "mini-me" - so happy I got to spend that morning with him!

Hayden and his teacher who we love.

We had a great day- mess and all! :-)

Back to a new season of Soccer!!

So we have had another great season of soccer (realizing it is now almost over as I post this.) The same group of boys have stayed together for many seasons and, well, the Raptors dominate!
In all seriousness it is a very special group of boys. Hayden adores his teammates and looks forward to games and practices each week (on the special occasion when it hasn't
rained this fall).
The coaches are wonderful with the boys and have truly made it fun
for them. I think that is why they keep coming back season after season.
Kids need to be kids and I am so thankful a positive and encouraging spirit
with the boys has remained consistent each season.

A little pre-game warmup.

One of the first games they played the Longhorns.
Steve was only a tad jealous that the uniforms
did not belong to our team of course.
Oh, well, Hayden has his number 12, right?

Hayden sometimes makes the funniest little faces when he goes in for a kick.
Go Hayden, Go!

Hayden's First Day of Kindergarten

How have the almost past 6 years gone by already? Is it really time for Kindergarten?!!
Hayden was so proud and eager for the day. I, on the other hand, shed many
tears the night before. What a glutton for punishment was I to start
looking at old videos from when he was a baby the night before his first day?!
This post includes a tiny bit of memory lane...

From Hayden first day of preschool - Fall 2005

What a beautiful, sweet son we have in Hayden.
August 2009

He was so excited to sport his brand new Stars Wars lunch box
Aunt La La bought him.

Evan helps Hayden proudly display his brand new Star Wars lunchbox.

Hayden and I in Malibu in Summer 2005...

Me and my favorite kindergartner now.

We all drove together and walked Hayden into the school.
My eyes stayed dry. I think I had gotten it all out of my system...almost. Tears didn't start flowing again until later that day when I was driving with my sister and she asked me to sing the Fred the Turtle song to Evan. That song was my favorite from the first "Mommy and Me" music class I took Hayden to when he was just over a year old.

Hayden and Steve in Laguna Beach, June 2006.

Love, love pics of Steve and Hayden holding hands.
melt.my.heart
I am so happy to know he can always count on his Daddy.
That has never changed a moment the past 6 years
and I know it never will.

I'm okay, Mom, see. You can go.
I am pretty sure that is what he was thinking.
So there we are - on to the next season
of his precious life.
I don't want to forget a single moment of his joy.