First day of Kindergarten

Jax started Kindergarten on Thursday. I can't believe my baby boy is getting so big! When he woke up that morning he couldn't wait to go to school. He kept telling Nick and I that he wished Kindergarten was all day instead of half day. He couldn't eat breakfast and get dressed fast enough because he was so excited. He got his backpack all ready and was standing by the door, waiting to leave. As soon as he got in the car, he got quiet, I asked him what was wrong and he said "I might be frustrated at school because I don't know any of da other kids." I explained to him that on the first day, a lot of kids don't know anyone else and that he was going to meet a lot of new friends. He said ok, but he was still really quiet on the drive there. When we were getting out of the car, he asked me if I was going to stay with him. I told him that I was going to stay while he played on the playground but that when the teacher rang the bell, I was going to give him a kiss and hug and he was going to go in to the classroom and that we would be back to get him in just a few hours. He was happy while he was playing and he came running up to me and told me that he had met a new friend, he was so excited. Then the teachers came out and rang the bell for the kids to line up to come inside. He got a nervous look on his face and told me to stand with him for just a minute until it was time to go in. When it was time to go inside, I gave him a big hug and kiss and told him we would be back soon, when I started to walk away he yelled MOMMY and came running over to me. The teacher said I could walk him inside and tell him goodbye there...yeah right! When we got inside he was even more upset and he had a death grip on my hand. He was crying saying he didn't want to be there. I tried to talk to him and get him to settle down, which wasn't working. After about 15 minutes of me being in there with him, I had to go out and let Nick take over because it was breaking my heart and I didn't want him to see that Mommy was upset too. I handed him to Nick and told him that I had to leave, he was crying for me to come back saying "I want mommy" which made me cry because mommy's don't like to see their babies upset. Nick finally got him to calm down and told him he would sit with him for a few minutes in the classroom. Fortunately, they started coloring and Jax was distracted enough for Nick to sneak out, he told the teacher we would be outside for a few more minutes in case Jax got upset again. The teacher came out to set up some things for their treasure hunt and told us that he was having fun in there and it was ok for us to leave. When school was over, he came out with a smile on his face saying that he had fun. Yesterday when I dropped him off he still got a little upset so the teacher said to come inside and sit with him for a few minutes. I was able to sneak out after a few minutes and after school he came out with a grin on his face again. His teacher said that I can plan on coming in with him for a few days, until he is a little more comfortable. He has made some new friends and he says that Kindergarten is fun, I think it's just a little bit intimidating for him right now but I know he will love it! I'm so proud of him and he is growing up so fast!

Colorado

We went to Vail Colorado last week with Nick's parents, needless to say, we had a blast! We did so many fun things. We did some shopping, ate yummy food, went on a cave tour, swimming, Jax and Nick rode on a mechanical bull, Jax and Ella got to go on a pony ride (Ella didn't like it at all!) Jax got to jump on one of those trampolines where they hook you in to a harness and you can jump really really high...he loved every minute of it! It was beautiful there and it was actually warmer than we thought it was going to be. One of Jaxson's new favorite things to do is play 'Go Fish' we played several games and it was really fun! The kids loved that they could wake up every morning...EARLY...and go out to the family room of the condo and see Grandma and Grandpa. Of course they were also spoiled by grandma and grandpa all week. We were sad to have to leave and come home to reality, we had so much fun! Since there were so many pictures I decided to save time and do a collage again, I just didn't want to leave any of the pics out! Click on the collage to enlarge the pictures.

Lake Powell

Nick and I took Jaxson to Lake Powell over the weekend. My Mom, Colby, Dani, Derek, Gabe, My Aunt and Uncle and some of my cousins had already been down there since Monday. We decided that Ella was still too little to come so Nick's Mom was nice enough to come all the way from Chicago and stay with Ella...and spoil her to death! I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to leaving my little girl for the weekend, I knew I was going to miss her like crazy, which I did. But she had so much fun with her Grandma and I knew that she was being very well taken care of.
Jax couldn't wait to get there and see all of his cousins, this was his first trip to Lake Powell so he didn't know what to expect and he was confused when we told him we would be staying on the houseboat since he had never seen it before. He didn't much care for the long drive and he constantly asked "are we there yet?" luckily he had some DVD's to watch. It was late when we got down there so he really couldn't see the lake, but he did walk all around the houseboat looking at everything. He spent a few minutes playing with his cousins and he was upset when we told him he needed to get to bed so we could have fun the next day. He was a unsure about swimming in the lake at first, but after a little while he was like a little fish! All the kids had fun riding in the tube, taking turns on the waverunners, playing in the sand running around the houseboat like monkeys. They all had to live in their lifejackets, they only took them off to sleep but they didn't seem to mind them much.
We surfed behind the boat...actually everyone else did...I just looked like a giant spaz when I did it. We even got Nicky doing it and he had a lot of fun! I got to do the kneeboard for the first time in several years, I had forgotten how much fun it is. The weekend went by way too fast and we were sad to have to go home, but we missed our little princess and we couldn't wait to get home to see her. It was so much fun to be down there with family and we had a blast!

Birthday Princess!!

Our little princess turned two on Friday! Where does time go? I can't believe my little girl is no longer a baby! NO that does not mean we are going to be having another one any time soon!!! We had a 'Princess Party' for Miss Ella Jo on Friday with some family and friends. Ella loved all of the princess decorations and she especially loved being the center of attention! She also loved opening all of her presents, she even enjoyed the cards, which most kids don't really get into. She wouldn't even let me read the card to her before she ripped it out of my hands and said "Ella's card!" I was surprised princess let some of the other kids help her open the presents. In addition to turning two...she also developed what someone referred to as the "2-tude" as if she didn't have enough of an attitude when she doesn't get her way! But for the most part she is still our sweet little angel and we don't know what we would do without her. Happy Birthday Princess Ella! Mommy, Daddy and Brother love you so much!

I'm a big girl now!

So apparently now that princess is almost two, in less than 24 hours :-( she thinks she is big enough to do things all by herself, or as she likes to put it "Do it by Ella's self" in addition to flipping out when I don't have time to let her try and get herself dressed, which takes several minutes, she informed me tonight, with her princess attitude that "Ella brush own teeth, Mommy!" Not only did she yank the toothbrush out of my hand, she did it with a don't you dare try and stop me look on her face. I thought I was the only one around this house that knew how to pull that look! She wouldn't even let me touch her toothbrush, I tried to help her at the end to make sure she had gotten all of her teeth. This backfired. Princess Ella has mastered the art of throwing temper tantrums, and she proceeded to throw one. Since I have dealt with one too many tantrums from my beautiful princess today, I decided to let her have her way. It's a good thing she is so cute!

That's the "Ha Ha I got my own way" look.

Baseball with daddy

Jax: "Hey Dad! Do you wanna come play baseball with me? I even found my glove and my ball from last year when I played T-ball!"
Nick: "Of course I do buddy!" (like he could refuse the sweet look Jax had on his face)
Jax: "Ok Daddy! Lets go outside! Hey Dad, what hand do I put my glove on?
Nick: "On your left hand big guy."
Jax: "Uh...Mom, Daddy said to put my glove on my left hand...is dat right mom?"
Me: "If that's what dad says then it's right, daddy used to play baseball when he was younger."
Jax: (shrugs) Ok mom. Daddy are you ready to come outside with me and play? Mommy I think you better come and watch dis cuz it will be pretty cool."

Could he be any cuter!?! Doubt it.

Swimming update

Jax has been taking swimming lessons since the beginning of the summer and he is doing great! When the lessons first started he was a little apprehensive about putting his face in the water...actually that might be an understatement...he REFUSED to do it! He was afraid, and as his Grandma Bonnie puts it, he is like a little old man, he over-thinks everything! He started practicing in the bathtub and pretty soon he would put a very small part of his face in the water at swim lessons. I decided to make him a deal, there was a "bumblebee" shooting arm (Transformers for those of you who aren't as in to that movie as we are around this house) that he wanted really bad. I told him that if he would start putting his whole head under the water without plugging his nose, then I would take him to the store and buy it for him. Last week Jax decided he couldn't wait for this toy any longer so, he put his whole head under the water, without plugging his nose, and figured out that it's a lot of fun to swim under water! He was so proud of himself! As soon as swim lessons got over I took him straight to the store for his well-deserved toy! Today in the pool he was like a little fish! His daddy and I are so proud of him for being such a big boy!

Nick and I decided to have the swim teacher start working with Ella for a few minutes in the pool. I wasn't sure how she would feel about getting in the pool with the swim teacher, but she jumped right in and started kicking her feet as fast as she could! She even put her face in and blew bubbles! Apparently she has been paying more attention to the kids lessons than I thought. She got a little scared when he had her float on her back, but he is such a great teacher and buy the end she was doing it. She didn't want to get out of the pool!