Lawn Aqua Family Night 2010!

Yeah for Lawn Aqua Pool....especially this summer since it has been literally a million degrees almost every day single since June! And also, yeah for family!!!! Because of a great family and a nice pool to cool off in, we have had a great summer!!!

Tonight, Aunt Julie, Uncle Ben, Adeline, Aunt Katie, Uncle "Bibby," Daddy, Jack, and I all went to Lawn Aqua for a little family fun! And as always, what fun it was! We swam, ate pizza, and watched Uncle Ben and Uncle Bibby have their now annual race to see how can hold their breath the longest under water! I should mention that Uncle Ben was the winner!!!

This year we also had two little special surprises! The first was that Aunt Katie and Uncle Bibby officially asked everyone to stand up in their wedding. We all sort of unofficially knew we were going to be matrons of honor, groomsmen, a flower girl, and a ring bearer, but tonight it became official. Aunt Katie and Uncle Bibby asked their little flower girl and ring bearer via pink and blue cupcakes. It was very cute! And it goes without saying that the infamous Sweet Mandy B's cupcakes (primarily the frosting!) were a hit, both the the babies and adults! The second little surprise of the evening was that my little man ventured out of the baby pool and swam in the Junior pool for the first time! He also went down the water slide in the Junior pool!!! Granted, he is not even supposed to be in the Junior pool until he is out of diapers, but we made an exception and snuck him in since it was the end of the year and we wanted to give Jack a little taste of life in the "big boy pool!" Needless to say, he loved it and made yet another quick transition! Even though the water was up to his chin, he was not scared a bit! I say this frequently, but I have such a big, brave boy on my hands!!!! He had a blast with the whole family at "his" pool. And as always, I just have a blast watching my man being so happy!

Here are some shots at Lawn Aqua Night this year! We are already looking forward to family night 2011!!!!

Jack's First Day of School

Well, today is the BIG day......my (not so little!) man's very first day of school! I can't believe it! We have been preparing and talking about it for weeks and his big day is finally here! I am both excited and very sad because Jack is just growing up far too quickly!!!!

I am thrilled to say that we both survived infamous "drop off" this morning. He certainly did better than I did! He was laughing and playing and this momma just could not hold back the tears!!! It is all day school which I originally thought might be too long of a day, but his teachers strongly encouraged me keeping him there all day to see how he does. They said they keep them on a pretty strict routine so it is best to stick with it because it really works for most kids. So, I listened and let him eat lunch there AND nap as well. On his daily report card I received, his teachers said he "slept and rested quietly," "ate almost everything," was "energetic and friendly," and even "shared so nicely with the other students." That equates to straight A's in my book!!! He had a remarkable fist day and I couldn't be more proud of him!!!!

Here are some shots of him that I snapped quickly just before we left for his very first day. As you can tell, he was quite giddy to be embarking upon this brand new milestone!!! I am very happy for my sweet baby boy!

Our First Ever "School" Night

I can't believe it, but my little baby boy starts school tomorrow! I mean, wasn't he born yesterday?!!?! I think we are ready....as we can be anyway!!! We bought all of his school supplies yesterday, have been talking about going to school for the last couple of weeks, picked up the physical form from the pediatrician's office, packed extra outfits and diapers, and signed about 100 permission forms! I can't believe my guy is hitting this exciting milestone already. I am really excited for him though. When Jay and I brought him to the school to view and evaluate it last spring, Jack came with us and quickly made himself at home. He fit in and immediately played with the other kids and teachers. We feel like he is really going to thrive with this type of routine and structured learning environment. I am going to have to keep in mind how good this is going to be for him and what a wonderful opportunity it is tomorrow morning as I am likely going to be driving away in tears!!!! Ugh, I can't even think it right now:(

Speaking of school, I need to again immensely thank the family members who have been helping with with the TRIP (Tuition Reduction Incentive Program) that we enrolled Jack in for when he starts at St. Catherine's. I received another quarterly statement that outlines all of the gift cards we have purchased for the period. Would you believe that we have collectively spent $20,250? All of this on everyday purchases (groceries, gas, haircuts, pizzas, etc., etc.) that we would be making anyway? Anyway, I just want to let you know that purchasing the gift cards through St. Catherine's really, really helps us and we are absolutely grateful for your continued participation in this wonderful program. This period we have earned $385 towards Jack's tuition!!! This is amazing!! I think that will be enough for about 2 months of tuition!!!! This is wonderful news and I am just so thrilled and grateful for your support!!!!

This summer has been great and we certainly have been enjoying it (and still are!!). But after a while, all good things must come to an end. As you can see from the photo below, even Jack is getting a little tired of all of this summer fun we have had! So, I am hoping he is ready to embrace some fall changes......first and foremost like starting school tomorrow. We still have lots to do to prepare for the big day. Please wish us luck tomorrow morning! I just know my lil man will do great!!!!

23 Months Old Today!!!

Happy 23 month B-day to my sweet lil' man!!! This will be the last month that I can say I have a "one year old" because we are almost there......well on our way to the wonderful (not terrible!) two's!!!! I actually love this age. My favorite thing is having very in depth conversations with my sweet boy. Every day, we discuss anything from Ralph (Falph), cars, swimming, eating different foods, helping Mommy in the garden, airplanes, the moon, etc., etc. Our conversations are endless and always very entertaining, to say the least. Every day, I have the wonderful experience of hearing a deeper and deeper vocabulary on this little guy. I am just so proud of Jack and there is nothing in the world I enjoy more these days other than having numerous conversations throughout the length day over a snack and juice box. Ahh, the simple pleasure in life.

One more month till the big two year old birthday! The countdown is on! I am well underway planning his party which is going to be so much fun! We are going with a "plane, trains, and automobiles" theme this year since those seem to be his favorite things in the world right now! I was thinking we would have a "Blues Clues" party for his second birthday, but planes, trains, and and any type of automobile have certainly surpassed Blue lately. More to come on the second birthday party. For now, we are just hanging on to the precious youthful summer days as long as we can.

Here are some recent pics of my precious 23 month old.....enjoy!