Beau, our scholar

Well, no pictures to post from this week, mostly because Mom forgot the camera for our Saturday visit to the State Fair. Ah well. It was fun. Both kids enjoyed it, and thankfully Brenlita never made an appearance and she actually stayed in her stroller.

But I will brag a bit on our son. We had his first parent teacher conference Wednesday evening - a month into the school year. I was ready to pounce on the puny stuff they have been giving my son to work on at night. It's ridiculous. But they started off with how great his behavior was, and how kind he is, and his great manners..........so I warmed up a bit. Then they told us what he scored on their assessment tests.....and I warmed up some more. And basically they told us that he reads like a second grader, and he will be put in a "level" that gives him more access to library books and pushes him to read more and harder books. And his math, and spelling, etc. they said they will look for more ways to challenge him, because he is well ahead of some of the other kids. Whoo Hoo.....that's my boy! :) Seriously, though, it's from his all day private school Kindergarten. I wouldn't have done it any other way. It started him off on the right foot, that is for sure.

Tonight, we were reading a level 2 reader book, and he was rockin' it! He knew words I just new he wouldn't know or even recognize, but he got it. I think I was smiling the whole time he read it to me. Our hearts are filled with pride over how smart and kind he is. He is so special.

This week, he is Star of the Week in his room. So he'll be taking lots of stuff to school to tell the class about himself. Oh to be a fly on the wall to hear those stories!!!!!!!!!

Football Weekend

Beau played in his first flag football game of the season on Saturday morning. He is a member of the Eagles and is playing in the Maize Recreation Football League. It's real cute. Brian is helping our friend, Dusty coach the boys. And we have some ringers on the team, let me tell you. A third grade boy on the team is a force to be reckoned with. Helps that his Dad is the defensive coordinator for one of the largest high schools in the state - Maize. Good football genes.

Anyway, our guy did real good. Big improvement over last year. And he had fun, and we had fun watching.

So we celebrated with a quick trip to Stillwater to watch our Cowboys take on the Houston Cougars. Well, the game ended on a sour note, but nothing like watching a football game outside in the rain! Even with the loss and the rain, we had a memorable day and were able to snap some great pictures. It was a great family Saturday!!

Hot Mama with her Hot Rod!

Tell me who can't love this face?! See - this is why we put up with Brenlita..........so darn cute!

Brenley May - 19 months old

Brenley May is a mess. We took her and Beau to the zoo today and we had to leave early because someone was throwing a fit - and it wasn't Brian or Beau! She wanted out of the stroller. She wanted my drink. She didn't want anyone to hold her. Then she wanted to push her own stroller. She wanted to stay and look at snakes, while we wanted to go. She only wanted to do what she wanted to do and that was it. So after screaming from the gorilla's to the exit, she just decided to stop and was fine as a fiddle. At this point, we were all exhausted and embarrassed so we climbed into the truck and went home.

This is the animal lover that at 19 months old can do the sounds of almost every farm and zoo animal in her large board book. The book that she SHOVES in our face to read 30 times a day.

But Brenley May..........oh how we love her. Because she can turn on the charm in a minute and you forget about "Brenlita" (her alter ego name we have given her when she throws fits, screams, and cries come out).

Let's see.........our 19 month old can say a few more words. The cutest ones are apple and baby. But her famous line still is, "where did it go?" She has gotten in her two eye teeth. I think she is working on some more in the back, because lately she has had her fingers or something in her mouth constantly.

She goes to bed at night so easily. Runs down the hall into her room and we just put her into bed and she rolls over and goes to sleep. Wonder how long that will last? Beau did the same thing when he was about that age - but it eventually stopped.

We resigned the highchair to the basement and she now sits in a booster seat to eat with us at the kitchen table. She can feed herself pretty well with a spoon. She LOVES fudge Popsicles. And when they melt down her arm and onto her white shirt......just don't worry about it, otherwise the rath of Brenlita will come out.

That's it for our little Lita. We love her. We are charmed by her - alter ego and all.

Now for our big 1st grader. He has successfully completed 3 weeks of school. Forgotten his backpack only once on the bus. He takes his lunch on "not so good" food days. He is making new friends. He likes computer lab and PE. He is just so big and grown up. We are very proud of how well he has done in the transition of kindergarten to first grade. Our school conference with his teachers is in a few weeks so we will find out more.

He has started flag football. Brian is helping coach. First game is next Saturday!! Then we are taking him to a Cowboy football game later that day. Go Pokes!

Well, that is it for now. Labor Day weekend draws to a close tomorrow. Brian and Beau are headed to the golf course. Not sure which one is more excited. Lita and I will stay home and chill. Certainly not headed to the zoo!

The Lesson I Learned about Silence

I guess I should have questioned sooner why it was so quiet in the house. Brother, being the good child, was playing in his room. Sister, being the ornery child, was having fun pulling out all the Kleenexes in the bathroom. When I found her and said, "Brenley May!" she just lowered her head and pulled more out - as fast as she could! Ugh.......what lies ahead for us.......???.!!! :)

Oh, and the black remnants on her face..........Oreo cookies that she discovered tonight, thanks to big Brother. Ah well........just call me Mother of the Year!

Nephew Luke's 1st birthday party!

Perfect weather for a 1st birthday party Saturday afternoon! Our nephew, Lucas Cooper Grant, turned one on Thursday and we celebrated his big day on Saturday afternoon. It turned out to be a very mild August day and we had a lot of fun being outside playing and helping him celebrate. Here are some cute pic's from the event! Hard to pick just one! He is just so cute!!

We got him a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cabbage Patch Doll! He seemed to like it!!
Awww.........likes his cousin, Beau!
Mmmm......cake.
Mmmm...........Luke really likes cake!

And here are some cute pic's of our kiddo's. Our hot mama, Bren.....

Kyle and Kate's niece Lauren pictured here with Beau. They first met each other at Kyle and Kate's wedding almost six years ago! My how time flies and babies change! :)

First day of School - Beau is in the 1st grade!

Well, another milestone was reached today by Beau. He rode the bus to first grade! It was a great and fun day for him and he was quite the big boy!!

We had already met the teacher and took his supplies to school last Tuesday, so it was nice to have that out of the way. So Sunday night we talked about his daily routine that his teacher had given us when we met her. After reading it to him, his comment was, "I really think I am going to like 1st grade more than Kindergarten. I really like this new routine." Well, he liked the 3 recess routine I think the most, but whatever gets him excited........

He woke up on his own this morning, bright and early. He was ready to start his day. We got around, snapped a few pictures outside and jumped in the car. His bus was planning on being at the school for the first pick up of the day at 7:40, so it was no day to be late!

We had a lot of stuff to take in because Brenley also moved up to a new room so she had her own school supplies to bring. We got Beau dropped off in his "staging" room, got Brenley settled into her new room, and then we waited for the glorious yellow school bus to arrive.

And sure enough.......right on time, here it came. To make sure they had the right kids on the right bus, one of our administrator's was there to read off the names and one by one they got on the bus. And a few got off the bus - oops, wrong bus. But Beau did so great. He marched right on. No tears, big smiles, and one wave good-bye as he was squished in the middle of his friends Ben and Reid.

Now, what I haven't talked about is my feelings about this whole thing. I have been quite a wreck. My stomach was churning last night, I was so anxious this morning, and I boo hoo'd after that bus drove off. I cried all the way to work. Just hard knowing that he isn't a little boy anymore. Mama can't do everything for him. It will be up to him to make a lot of his own (and hopefully good) choices. He is growing up and I'm trying to keep up. I know he is ready for this next step and I guess I am too (although I am kicking and dragging my feet a little bit). But as far as he is concerned, his parents couldn't be prouder of him.

So off we both went in the rain. Thankfully the rain didn't start until after he loaded the bus and then it stopped mid morning as all I kept thinking was.........oh no, he won't get his 3 recesses in with this rain!

Both Brian and I couldn't wait for our day to be over. In fact, we both left work early. Beau's school doesn't dismiss until 3:58, so we weren't sure what time that put him back at Northridge, but we got there around 4:45 and he was just finishing up snack with his new Latchkey friends. He was ready to go home with us. So we got sister and went home to hear all his new and fun stories......until the next milestone, I suppose. Sniff Sniff