Back to School!

I realize that this blog post is just a tad late seeing as how the boys started school 7 weeks ago!  But they both had parent/teacher conferences this week so it gave me a reason to tie it all in and finally get some of the first day of school pictures on the board.  Many of you have already seen most of these but for prosperity's sake, I need to post them on the blog so my kids can see what a crazy woman I was for staying up late some nights to document all of their achievements.  But I digress...

The first day of school was great!  Jack was SO EXCITED to go to big school at Hick's Canyon that he just bounced into class and never looked back.  He's such a big kid now...sniff, sniff.  I guess I shouldn't be shocked about that because he always loves a new adventure.  He wakes up every day so happy to go to school.  He also has tons of friends, loves his teacher and looks forward to his homework every day. I swear, I'm not making this up.  At his conference his teacher had awesome things to say about him.  But beyond the academics what made me the happiest was when she called Jack one of her Anchor Students....the kind of student she can always count on to follow the rules, do the right thing and to set an example for the rest of the class.  She said he's a natural leader and all-around great kid.  I thought that was pretty cool!  He does need work on he letter recognition but he's kicking butt in math!  Overall I am so extremely proud of this kid.  I couldn't ask for anything more from him.

Gavin actually surprised us all on his first day.  We had taken him to his new class for a few trial runs so the first full day wasn't much of a shock to him.  So when we got to school that morning he just walked right in and got in line to go outside for the prayer and pledge of allegiance.  He just gave us a huge smile and waved and that was that.  I got a little choked up because he just seemed so happy and grown-up.  It was definitely a pleasant surprise!  He's had a few days since then where he cried but his teachers are so wonderful and always comfort him. So for the most part, Creator's Corner Preschool has been a really positive experience for him...and us! 

Gavin is difficult to read sometimes so we don't get a lot of information out of him.  But every once in a while he'll sing a song from chapel or talk about a new friend at school.  So we know it's making an impression.  And his teachers are really great about telling us cute things that he does.  They say he loves music time and is always the first one up to dance!  At his review they said he's such a sweet little boy who loves playing with the other kids and who is a great helper to his teachers.  They also said all the other teachers in school adore him and think he's just the cutest and funniest kid ever.  The one thing he needs work on is remembering his last name.  We've called him Gavin James for so long that he thinks his last name is James....how cute is that?! I'm so proud of my little man for standing his own and making his way without his big brother.  He's really come a long way and I couldn't be happier!

So here are a few pics from the first day and some from Jack's class.  I know I don't have a lot of Gavin but the kid hates getting his picture taken.  It's like pulling teeth!  Even his teachers tell me that can never get a good picture of him.  So please don't think we're favoring Jack here.  I figured the pictures speak for themselves so there is no need for captions.  But I should point out that Jack's kindergarten teacher is the amazing Mrs. Baxter and Gavin's teacher is the wonderful Mrs. Johana!

 

 

 

 

 

Gavin James is 3!

  

 

Our little firecracker, Gavin James turned 3 last weekend!  Man, I love this kid!  He keeps life very interesting for us on a daily basis.  He is so, so, so funny and seriously cracks us up.  He's also super smart, affectionate, cuddly, sweet and so darn adorable.  We all know he can be a bit of a pill but it's just so hard to stay mad at him when he flashes that smile and those baby blues....which are usually hidden under his shaggy blond locks that he refuses to let me cut.  

 

Gav has a very dynamic personality and people just love him....especially his teachers and other moms in the neighborhood. They think he's so cute and hilarious and they always want to hang with him.  But he just does his own thing and he really doesn't give a hoot what anyone else thinks about him.  He's going to be that cute boy in school who all the girls love but he won't pay them any attention.  He's definitely going to break some hearts.  Hey, you gotta respect a kid who stands on his own and is true to himself.  But underneath that tough exterior is my sweet little guy with a sensitive heart.  I have such a soft spot for my pint-sized rebel with the baby soft voice.  I want to bottle up that sweet voice and save it forever!! 

 

The other day his buddy Jaxon skinned his knee and was bleeding.  He wouldn't stop crying so Gavin went over to him and put some pizza sauce on his own knee and said, "Look Jaxon, I have blood on my knee too."  Well, this made Jaxon crack up, so Gav proceeded into a 5 minute comedy routine consisting of singing silly songs and dancing without his pants off.  Jaxon forgot all about his skinned knee and we all had a good laugh.  Sometime we all focus on the crazy stuff that Gavin does and we forget that he really is an amazing kid who loves his family and friends.  I thank God every day that I get to be his mom.  I can't wait to see what awesome adventure his life will be!

 

For his big day, Gav chose to go to Pretend City, a children's museum right here in Irvine.  It's the coolest place.  Its set up like a real city with a kid-sized grocery store, post office, fire station, farm, house and lots of other great little areas.  All the kids loved it!  They had so much fun dressing up, building things, dancing and pretending to be doctors.  It was the perfect place for Gavin because he has a short attention span so he could just run all over the place and go wild.

 

After Pretend City, Gavin got his favorite food....Pizza!  And for some reason he had it in his head that he was getting a birthday donut and there was no way we were going to talk him out of it.  So while the rest of us got delicious Casey's Cupcakes, Gav had a chocolate donut.  What can I say, the kid marches to the beat of his own drum.  But that's what make him so special!  Here's a few pictures of our sweet boy celebrating his 3rd birthday...

 

We had his birthday party with my family the weekend before and he chose a Toy Story theme...  

 

 

 

Here are my two little white boys taking a turn at the piñata.  Don't ask me why Gav is not wearing a shirt.  I hardly notice these things anymore...

 



 

 

Enjoying the fruits of his labor...

Gavin shared his birthday celebration with Papa Joey.  I'm sure Joey was thrilled at the lovely décor!  But these two really love each other so they had a ball celebrating together...

 

 

Gavin gets SO excited about every present and is so appreciative of everything he gets.  I could watch him open presents all day...

On the morning of his birthday we gave him presents from us as well as a new scooter and Spiderman helmet from Gigi and Papa.  As you can see I couldn't get a good picture because he was too busy playing...

Our annual picture at 10:05 am!  He loves hearing his birth story and keeps telling everyone that he came out of my belly.  I love him so much!!!

 

Ok, I just had to share this little gem of Gav when he was first born.  He was seriously the cutest baby I had ever seen.  Can we just rewind 3 years so I can snuggle with this adorableness again...

 



Ok, back to reality.  Here's Gavin rocking out at the Pretend City Theater!  He's obsessed with guitars.  The next Jimmy Paige perhaps...

 

 

"Cutie," as Gavin calls her, got in on the action.  My kids love to dance and perform for us so they spent a lot of time on this stage...



 

 

Giving his sissy a ride to the gas station...

 



 

Officer's Jack and Gavin ready for duty...

I think this was their favorite part because they got to play dentist and torture mommy with the giant toothbrush.  You know what they say about payback...

Nurse Dylan was not enjoying her scrubs...

Doctor David pulling the guts out of daddy!  The kids really loved playing doctor and dentist for some reason...

I don't see construction work in his future.  He doesn't look all that thrilled here.  Maybe the hat is ruining his hair...

Happy Birthday to my baby boy!  Only you would make me put a candle in your birthday donut...