Little moments

Our Brandon is very sweet natured and kind hearted, but doesn't always want to give out hugs and kisses. I usually take 'em when I can get 'em. I have noticed something the last few days while we are waiting for the bus to take him to school. He sees the bus coming around the corner and gets excited, jumping up and down, and then with arms stretched out wide he turns and gives me the biggest hug and a kiss! Because he wants to!! I just love it!! Little moments like these mean so much to me and tug at my heart.

Kids are so honest

Anna and I were enjoying our one on one time together this afternoon while Brandon was at school. We were eating our lunch and talking about her day at preschool. She told me they played outside, sang songs, but didn't paint (she can't wait to do this). She then began telling on herself. Here is how the conversation went...
Anna- "I didn't get a sticker today."
Me-"Why not?"
Anna-"I didn't listen."
Me-"Why didn't you listen?"
Anna-"Mrs. Crawford asked me to clean up the toys and I didn't listen, so she said I didn't get a sticker."
I really wanted to laugh when she was telling me this because she was just being so honest and was so serious (and she doesn't like to clean up her toys at home either). Instead, I used it as a teachable moment and told her that she needed to always listen to her teacher and I thanked her for telling me about it.
Now, this was her second day of preschool, so hopefully, she will be getting lots of stickers from here on out.

Brandon's big day

The big day had finally arrived for Brandon. Kindergarten. Wow, time has flown by. It just seems like yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital and now we were sending him out into the real world. Nervous, excited, anxious, happy, proud are just some feelings that I had as his mom, but he was all ready to go. He had decided he wanted to ride that big yellow bus to and from school, which kind of caught me by surprise, but at the same time I was so proud of him for wanting to do this.

Now, that was also the hardest part for me on the first day. Watching him get on the bus and ride off to school. Praying he would do okay and also make it home on the right bus. He did and he "liked the bus the most because you don't have to wear a seatbelt."

Here is to a great kindergarten year and many more times ahead when we as parents have to let them go and watch them fly!!

Preschool here she comes...

Anna's first day of preschool had arrived and she was ready to go. We had been to orientation and saw her classroom, met Mrs. Crawford, and she had her special nametag. She had picked out her own backpack and had a new outfit and shoes.

Now, big brother, Brandon, has been through this before and he was there to support her and make sure she was okay.

Hugs and kisses, love you's, and she waved bye.

She is our big girl!!

Hard habits to break

When Anna was just a couple months old she figured out how to get her thumb to her mouth and the thumb sucking habit began. I thought it was so cute and she was able to comfort herself when she needed to. Other people would tell me their stories of how hard it was to break their kids from doing it and I knew I would just deal with it when the time came. Well, it still is cute to see her sucking her thumb, but the time has come (or at least I think so). Now, she is not ready, but we are going to work on it. The other day I told her she could only suck her thumb when she was in bed or in the car. Have to start somewhere right? I haven't made it to putting yucky tasting stuff on her thumb yet, but I might have to go to that next. Now, the funny part is when she went to her room the other day and had been in there a little while. I asked her what she was doing in there and she told me she was laying down. I asked her if she was tired and she said no. She was in her bed because "I can suck my thumb when I am in bed." Oh Anna, you are too smart! I got a good laugh out of that one. Yes, we do have some work ahead of us.

Best of friends

Bedtime at our house is full of routine and always special times with the kids. Along with the usual getting pajamas on and brushing teeth, we do a devotion time and then say our prayers. After that, Matt usually reads the kids a story (or he has been known to make up his own) which is good "daddy time." Now, I have to write about bedtime a couple nights ago because I think it is so sweet. I think the story was about friends, which lead to asking the kids who their friends were. Anna responded that Brandon was her favorite friend, which didn't surprise us (she doesn't know what to do when he is not here). Brandon being his usual analytical self said, "I can't be her favorite friend, I am her brother." Too funny! So we went on to explain that you can be friends even though you are brother and sister and we hoped that they would always be the best of friends.

unique

I have heard a few times, "Does she belong to you?" or "Wow, I didn't know they were brother and sister." Yes, my kids are very different in their looks and their personalities, but I love it! Brandon has been called a "vanilla Matt" which is so funny. He is our "Brandon man" or as Anna calls him "Bubba". He is just like his dad. He loves to build, whether it be with k'nex, legos, lincoln logs, or anything around the house really. I am always finding stuff hooked together. Now, Anna is our little princess or "tootsie" as she is called a lot of the time. She likes the girly things, but will get dirty and likes to play ball. She is sensitive to others owies, isn't that right Uncle Mike? I can't wait to see what will interest them as they grow up. I have some ideas, so we will just wait and see.

Becoming a blogger...

I am giving in to the pressure of becoming a blogger. It didn't take much pressure really. I have been thinking about it for a while and when my sister-in-law, Sarah, suggested I do it, I decided to go for it. I have not done a good job as a mother when it comes to recording the special moments in my children's lives. I do take pictures and try to capture memories that way, but I really need to write down these things. Since I have been thinking about doing this blog thing, special moments pop into my head that I think, "I have to write that down", so now I am going to follow through. So, thanks Sarah for thinking of me.