Photo sharing

I have long wanted to and talked about having professional photos taken of the boys.  Beyond a few trips to Portrait Innovations, it’s just not something we’ve been able to do.  Many thanks to my Mom for offering to do this for us this year. 

I know many of you have seen some of the photos on Facebook and elsewhere, but now that I have the full CD, I thought I’d share more of them here.

All photos are copyrighted by Crescent Moon Photography.  We worked with Blakely (my college roommate my junior year) and she was wonderful!

She did such a great job of capturing their personalities.  She asked me what I wanted and told her I wanted candid, natural pictures of them being them.  I think she succeeded.

This is such a typical scene.  Both of them involved in a conversation, and usually it seems that it must be quite interesting…

This one I love because Thomas is being the great big brother he often can be.  They have come to a driveway, and as you may notice, he stuck his arm out to hold back his brother as he peeks to see if a car is coming.  It melts my heart!  Love it!

There are more, but those are some of my favorites.  Now if I can only decide which ones to frame!!!

Egg dye craziness, 2011 edition

For the past few years, we have managed to get the boys together with a few friends to dye Easter eggs.  It’s not something to usually holds their attention too terribly long, but it still tends to get quite messy. 

This year our two brothers hosted two other sets of brothers.  Six boys, 42 eggs, and 8 containers of egg dye equals a fun time with a bit of a craziness factor thrown in there. 

As with most things, Parker felt the need to make it a true hands-on experience.  Thank goodness for L’Occitane soap (though thankfully Thomas didn’t get it on his hands because that miracle-working soap causes him to break out in an awful rash of sorts—we think it’s the shea butter).  Nothing else was getting that stuff off his hands (wouldn’t be as big of a problem if he wasn’t a thumb sucker and every time he put his greenish blue thumb in his mouth, it would get wet and then put dye on whatever he touched next!).

I think at this point most of the other boys had run off to play upstairs, but Parker was still focused on coloring the eggs!

After sending a dozen home with both of the other sets of brothers, we were left with all of these.  Someone liked blue! 

I ended up making deviled eggs for the first time since I had so many eggs.  At least I was able to contribute something to our Easter dinner at my parents’ house!

Parker’s class Easter egg hunt

Today was Parker’s turn to have a class Easter egg hunt.  He was very excited about it and all the children in his class looked so adorable in the bunny ears they made especially for the big event.  Here is Parker with one of his school buddies:

As soon as he reached the playground and saw an Easter egg, he was off on a mission!

Like his brother, he wanted to stop and inspect his eggs.  In the end, he didn’t even get the minimum number that all the children were supposed to get because he kept stopping to see what he had!

He didn’t mind.  A large cookie and a plate full of yummies were calling his name!

This was the second to the last class before his teacher went out on maternity leave (well, she had the baby!).  Parker has loved Ms. Klauber this year and we have been so happy with her too.  Thomas also was in her class and we were so happy for her to have a baby of her own, but I was also glad she made it almost the whole year with Parker!

I posted the one above because he was actually looking at the camera, but this one shows more how he feels about his teacher.  L-O-V-E. 

It was a fun day and a perfect end to a busy school week (Thomas’ egg hunt and class party on Tuesday, brought doughnuts to Thomas’ class on Wednesday for his birthday (I didn’t stay to take pictures) and then Parker’s hunt and party today.  Whew!

Birthday celebration #1

Thomas’ birthday was yesterday, but his party is not for a few weeks.  There’s no way we (or he) could let his birthday pass without allowing him to open some presents and eat some cake, so that’s what we did.  Nannie & Papa and Aunt Beth were able to join us for dinner and cake (and Nana & Umpa joined us by phone to sing him Happy Birthday). 

And of course, as soon as he woke up he was ready to open gifts.  We had three gifts waiting for him and he was eager to get them open (and so was his little brother!).

Imaginext Fire Station was met with rave reviews.  Good.

He was “intrigued” by the Trio set (in other words, not sure what it was and if he should like it…but hey, I got it for free with the Imaginext toy, and he needs to work with things like this to improve his focus and fine motor skills, so whatever!).  And then the last of the morning three was a set of Matchbox cars (superhero themed though!). 

But what he REALLY wanted was the spy scope he picked out for a friend a few weeks before.  We had not procured the said scope in the morning, but while Thomas was at school, little brother made his way to the toy store and made sure to get exactly what Thomas wanted.  Thomas was quite happy!

Aunt Beth gave him a special card with her gift that included a sticker announcing his special day.  He was quite proud of that and wore it for a few days until it lost its stick!

 

After dinner (we gave the boys pizza – Thomas’ favorite – but we had grilled chicken and fixings….), it was time for cake.  Thomas had asked for a cake with red icing.  I thought that would take far too much food coloring, so I decided to go with a little bit of red and he was fine with that.

So proud of himself for blowing out his candles!

Homemade Mommy cake #1 (he gets another one for his party)

I still cannot believe he is FIVE!

Thanks to everyone for coming (or calling in!) to celebrate Thomas’ special day!  He enjoyed every minute!

Five years old

I can only imagine how I’ll feel thirty years from now. As Thomas just turned five, I kept thinking of a quote our minister used at our wedding. It was from the song "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof" (many thanks to my mom for remembering this for me and correcting my previous statement!) and it went something like this: “Is this the little boy I carried? Is this the little girl who played? I don’t remember getting old, when did they?”

Five years have flashed by in the blink of an eye. It does not seem like five years ago we were gazing at our little miracle baby sleeping peacefully in the bassinet:

I hope Parker understands one day, but there will never be a better moment in my life than the one when Thomas was born five years ago. After everything we went through -- the loss, the complications, the bedrest, the everything -- just to get him into this world, when he was born and he cried for the first time, it was a moment unlike any other. It was undoubtedly the very best moment of my life. I was in tears, but it was the most happy, joyful tears I've ever cried.

It is best summed up by 1 Samuel 1:27 -- "I have prayed for this child, and the Lord has given me what I asked of him."

Before long, he was our little chunky monkey, full of rolls and full of smiles and laughter. (here at four months)

And then he was one…

And then two (about two weeks before he came a big brother!)…

Then a crazy three year old…

Then another blink and he was four.

And now, after a busy year, he is five. Five. I cannot believe it!

This has been a big, big year for Thomas. We have moved twice, he has learned to write all his letters and has started reading simple words (he asks me ALL THE TIME what different words say and mean). He gave up training wheels and learned soccer and t-ball. He is drawing real pictures (sometimes) – more than just scribbling on a page. He still loves pizza, being outside and TALKING.

His teacher told us at his last review that Thomas is a very friendly child. She observed that he likes to greet everyone who comes into the classroom and that everyone likes him and wants to be his friend. At this point in his life, that is one of the most important things I want to hear! I remember a wise judge (not my father, in case you are wondering) telling the courtroom one time that you “have to get along with people.” I think it’s a really important trait and so far, Thomas seems to have it mastered. He loves talking to anyone and everyone.

He is still a picky eater, but follows my rule of trying at least one bite of everything on his plate every single night (and there is almost always a vegetable at dinner). He still doesn’t like chocolate, which is almost a blessing when it comes to his peanut allergy. I never have to worry about him eating a Reese’s cup or something because he would take one look at the chocolate and turn up his nose. Though with the allergy, we try to remind him never to eat things that we have not approved first. It is a challenge, on many levels, and I do hope and pray that somehow, someway he can outgrow this limitation one day.

He is still waiting for his official party next weekend, but he was mighty proud to turn five on the 20th (I’m backdating this post!).

He kept reminding me that there needed to be five candles on his cake and he was sure to doublecheck that I had followed his instructions properly!

It’s hard to believe that later this year he will start kindergarten and before we know it, five more years will pass and he will be 10. If I were to really think about it, I’m sure I would be in tears.

He is such a special, special miracle and I am so thankful for the blessing he is in our lives. He is a wonderful big brother and a loving son and we are so lucky. Happy 5th birthday to our dear, sweet Thomas.

Growing up too fast

Our big little boy turns five tomorrow. FIVE. How is that possible!?! He has been counting down the days for quite some time, and keeps talking about how he’s going to get bigger when he turns five. Tonight once he was in bed I told him I had to give him a special goodnight hug because it was the last night he would be four. He told me he’d probably grow a little by morning time and I laughed and said “Sure! You might be too big for your clothes!” He laughed and we said our “good nights.”

About 10 minutes later he appeared at the top of the stairs, I couldn’t see him at first, but I could hear the sadness in his voice. He was fighting back tears when he said to Trey and me, “I’m a little sad.” There was a pause as he was still fighting back those tears and we asked him, “Why?” He said, “Because tomorrow I probably won’t be able to fit in my fireman’s costume or my Buzz Lightyear costume anymore.” And then he completely lost it. He was sobbing.

Trey and I ran up the stairs to hold him and assure him that I was just kidding he won’t grow all that suddenly and everything will fit him just fine for a good while longer. And I promised him that when he did get to be too big for any of his costumes, we’ll get him a new one.

After more tears, he finally calmed down and soon after fell asleep.

But our sweet little boy will be five tomorrow. How can that be?!?! Now it’s my turn to cry!

4s Easter Egg Hunt 2011

Thomas’ class had their Easter egg hunt today at the house of one of his classmates. 

They started out with a sack race (boys went first, then girls – since there are nearly 20 children in Thomas’ class):

Thomas didn’t finish first, but he did finish (unlike last year at his 3s end-of-year picnic!).  And best of all, he had fun!

The girls cheered for the boys, and when it was time for the girls to jump, the boys were encouraged to cheer for them.  I love all the moms in the background with their cameras at the ready…

Then the kids had an egg race (walking with an egg on a spoon).  I’ve never seen these kids so focused!

Then the Easter Bunny made a quick visit while the hostess read a Easter story to the class (while the eggs were hidden!).

Of course, boys will be boys and Thomas and his buddies on the back row noticed that the Easter Bunny had a zipper on his back and they announced to the class that he wasn’t real and gave many reasons why as their proof.  Ahhhh, boys (see them in this picture staring intently at his back).

Boys are troublemakers!

Finally it was time for the big hunt.

They had to find a certain number of eggs with their first name, a certain number with their last name and then were allowed an assigned number of “plain” eggs.  Thomas was more interested in looking in his eggs as he went, but he still had fun.

Here’s Thomas and his best class buddy, Thomas.   I’m sad they won’t be at the same school together next year!

Then it was time for lunch (before we had to rush off and pick up Parker).  It was a warm, sunny day and Thomas quickly complained that he needed sunglasses.  What a kind mother I was to share mine!

This was our first event in a busy week (with Thomas’ birthday tomorrow and Parker’s class Easter egg hunt on Thursday).  I’m so glad the weather cooperated and Thomas had such a fun day with his friends!