Child #3 started Kindergarten last fall. He's always been my happy boy, his nickname is my 95% boy because he literally is happy 95% of the time... that other 5% can be mindbogglingly terrifying to behold. He is also a total social butterfly. EVERYONE knows his name. We went to Fall Carnival at their elementary school last year and within 5 minutes of being there we literally had 50 different people say hi to him by name.
Several months ago he happen to mention in conversation that he had a girlfriend.
Hubby and I looked at each other... really?!? A girlfriend.
I asked him "does she know?" because honestly just because he likes a girl doesn't mean she knows who he is. Right?
"Oh yes."
What's her name?
"S-".
Yep, she exists and she's his girlfriend. We bumped into her mom at a school event. She knew ALL about Child #3 because her daughter talks about him a lot because he's her boyfriend.
ACK!!
He's SIX!! And so is she!! Holy cow! And he brings home little hearts and notes with "I heart U" on them from her. It is so sweeeet. Thankfully her parents think its sweet and funny too.
He wrote their initials in the sand in a heart at the beach last month.
Their kindergarten teacher Ms. C told me that they have these deep intellectual conversation together too. So it isn't just they think each other are cute. They love each others amazing and creative intelligent brains too. They were tested for the Talented & Gifted program together.
Both of them wrote in their end of school memory journals that they will always remember each other and each other are their "special" friend.
Her mom sent me this picture from Field Day at school last week.
Today is the official first day of summer vacation.
We decided to go to the Cedar Park Farmer's Market. Hubby has been craving one of the cherry danishes from Sweetish Hill Bakery. We load everyone up and head over there.
It was hot, not unbearable but none the less hot. We weren't there 20 minutes and Child #3 suddenly doesn't feel well. Like "spit yuckies" feel bad. So I quickly steered him out of the middle of the food vendors over the one of the grassy medians of the parking lot behind the vendor tents. I held him kind of hanging in my arms over some grass in case he actually had to throw up. Thankfully he never really did only gagged slightly and moaned a lot.
Yeah. Sick child on the first day of summer vacation.
Needless to say we headed straight home again. We thought he might be dehydrated after all the running around outside he did yesterday.
At least Hubby was able to snag the last cherry danish before they sold out.
Once home the boy layed down on the couch. Everyone else was outside playing when Child #1 noticed that he looked hot. He spiked a 101.8 fever. Lovely. He proceeded to crash and sleep on the couch for the next couple of hours. He never did throw up but did have to visit the bathroom several times for "other reasons". Poor buddy.
He seems to be recovering with lots of rest and light eating. He went straight to bed without the slightest complaint.
We ended up missing Hubby's best friends promotion celebration party but alas can't take a sick child out. Here's to hoping no one else gets sick.
Hubby got home about mid morning right before it was time to take Child #4 to Pre-K. She didn't hear him come in so when I called her downstairs she squealed on the middle of the stairs and launched herself into his arms. Yep, she was happy Daddy was home.
After taking Child #4 and a friend to school, Hubby and I went to lunch. Then it was time to hit the End of the School Year class parties. Four of them. This year and next year are the only years where all four kids will be at the same school at the same time. Next year they will be in for the same hours since Child #4 will be in full day Kindergarten (she better get Ms C!!!).
All four parties were outside for part of it. In that lovely Texas heat! Thankfully it was only up to 94 degrees while we were outside. Seriously were they trying to give us heat stroke? Could have been worse, it hit 100 degrees two days earlier. The older three were surprised to see Hubby since they didn't know he was going to be home so early on Friday and he doesn't usually get to come to the school parties.
It's official. The 2010-2011 school year is now OVER!! It's summer vacation.
Child #1 is very happy! She doesn't have to wake up early in the mornings.
Child #2 is also happy because he doesn't have to wake up early or do "reading" anymore. Little does he realize he will still be doing reading this summer.
Child #3 is conflicted. He LOVES school so much. He loves his teacher, he loves his classmates and his special friend, and he loves learning. But he is happy about not having to wake up early.
Honestly who are they kidding?? Okay so I'm not waking them up at 7am, they are all awake by 8am anyways. Okay Child #1 will sleep in later if the boys don't wake her up.
Child #4 is indifferent in that classic Child #4 way.
Report cards came home and were awesome all around. Child #1 ended up with straight A's for the year. She was quite proud of how well she was able to bring her grades up from the B's of last quarter. Child #2 was able to show marked improvement all around and his teacher was so impressed with how much progress he made in reading & writing. Child #3 maxed out in just about everything just like we knew he would... my little brainiac. Child #4 improved her oral language from 6 yr 4 months to 10 years 2 months! Which means she has the vocabulary of a 4 grader! She's not even 5 yrs yet! We definitely saw that learning spike in her speech... she's always been a talker once she decided she wanted to talk but its increase exponentially this year. Seriously get her alone and she will overwhelm you with her constant stream of verbal conscientiousness. She'll make your ears start to hurt and your head spin.
Sadly we will be missing Child #1's teacher Mrs. F. next year. Between the budget cuts and the soon arrival of her first child she won't be returning to Jollyville next year. So wrong that we lose those amazing young and vibrant teachers to the budget just because they were the most recent hires. I'm hoping that in a few years she'll be back...
So now its time for sleeping in (HA!), loose schedules, lazy & carefree days, fun in the sprinklers, and lots of trying to not kill each other days.
So today was the dental appointments for Child #3 and Child #4.
Both did great. Both do a great job brushing and flossing.
Child #3 sadly has a lot of cavities... between his teeth which are very tight together. The oral hygienist commented on what a great job he's doing brushing because there wasn't plaque build up at all. Unfortunately it looks like Child #3 has the oral bacteria that is more prone to cavities. At least he's the one who enjoys brushing and flossing his teeth and he has that meticulous nature so maybe we'll be able to keep new cavities away.
Both left feeling positive about going to the dentist. Score!
As I walked up to the pickup line for the kids after school today... Child #3 walks up to me with his first tooth in his hand. It had come out a few minutes earlier. Literally while he was walking out to the pick up line.
Didn't even know the tooth was loose! Bottom front center.
We had another snow day today. An INCH! Okay so that doesn't sound like a lot but it is a record for us. Previous record was 1/2 inch in 1906 at Camp Mabry. Now there are other places around Austin that have recorded larger amounts over the years but that is one of the official weather stations. It is located in an area surrounded by lots of streets and tons of cement/asphalt which holds the ground temperature heat in.
Anyways, the kids enjoyed it. Well Child #4 lasted about 10 minutes then she was done... ready for some hot chocolate and a blanket inside.
Snow Angels.
Snowball fights with the neighbors.
And of course the ubiquitous snowman. Okay so he wasn't huge but hey we only got an inch or so of very very dry powder. It didn't want to compact at all.
I've currently got a Turkey roasting in the oven. Stuffing, mashed potatoes and rolls... Just like Thanksgiving... seems appropriate since we have real winter weather today.
Hubby took Child #1 and Child #3 camping to Enchanted Rock last night. They all had a good time and enjoyed hiking up the Rock this morning... until Child #3 fell and landed with his hand in a prickly pear cactus.
Then he was done and ready to go home. NOW!
Needless to say wasn't the greatest ending to a fun trip but at least he does still remember having fun.
A sweet young 1st grade girl was told that girls aren't allowed to like Star Wars by the boys at her school.
That is so wrong on so many levels. All four of my children love Star Wars. We are a proud Star Wars family... my two young boys would NEVER think to tell a girl that Star Wars is only for boys. They love it too much to not include everyone.
So to show our support for Katie all four kids wore Star Wars shirts to school today.
Only a week until... only 5 more days... only 4 more days... only two more days until...
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1
This is going to be hard. I don't know if Child #3 is ready to see Deathly Hallows. Each of the movies has gotten darker and darker themed as they go, very much like the books. I'm not sure if he's ready to watch it. He is only six. Admittedly he is a strong six who isn't easily frightened or scared. Especially by movies. He is known to tell me "its not real, its just a movie". While I love that about him I also don't want to push it. But he wants to see it soooooo bad. He is sooo excited about it. More that Child #1 and Child #2 combined... and Child #2 wants to see Voldermort (his favorite) really bad.
Maybe I'll take Child #1, who isn't frightened by movies... she LOVED the orcs (eeew they are ucky!!) in Lord of the Rings and the "boneheads" (skeletons) in Pirates of the Caribbean when she was three, to see it first and I'll be able to decide if Child #2 and Child #3 would be able to handle it in the movie theatre or if we should wait until it is released on DVD. Easier to cover eyes when you know whats about to happen ahead of time.
Its been about a week since Child #3's birthday and he is already 60% completed on Lego Harry Potter. Yeah he's a junkie... and he's quick to pick up stuff. Seriously he's SIX!!
Think we might need to monitor how much time he gets to play... he'll have it completed in no time. LOL!
Well, I think the Hogwarts Celebration Feast was a success. At least by all the happy kids after wards. We had a really big turn out. Somewhere around 16+ kids. Wow talk about a lot of kids.
Child #3 was beside himself. He had a lot of fun and had a great time. He made sure every child got to choose a wand of their very own.
I think he was quite pleased by his presents too. Lots of Legos and of course the Lego Harry Potter game for the Wii. One of my mama friends came with her sweet daughter and rocked the "bestest" present... a small electro-static plasma globe thingie and a wand with a light-up tip and makes a whooshing sound. Child #3 was practically giddy. He loves sciency kind of stuff like that and of course a wand... that makes sound!! Lots of "Stupdify" was being yelled upstairs.
Hogwarts-mania has officially hit our household. For years I've had different friends tell me I just had to read the Harry Potter books. I never did, they just didn't sound appealing to me. Maybe it was because I didn't have as much reading free time. I don't know I just never thought I would read the books.
So over the summer Hubby makes an unusual comment. Maybe he'll read the Harry Potter books. What?? This is the man that doesn't read fiction. Like ever anymore. I think I've seen him read 2 or 3 fiction books in the 17 years I've known him. It isn't like he doesn't read, he does. Lots and lots of history, military history, political and such. Just not a big fan of fiction. He read lots of SciFi when he was young but had pretty much given it up by the time we met.
So for him to suddenly without any prompting from me decide to read fiction? Mind blowing. Anyways, right around that time ABC Family channel was showing the Harry Potter movies over the weekend. We ended up watching most of them. The kids watched them with us. They really enjoyed them. So gradually I was sucked in and I bought the books for the kids. We recently started reading the books out loud before bedtime.
While Lego Star Wars is very popular on the Wii around here... Child #3 is seriously obsessed with wanting the Lego Harry Potter game for the Wii. Its almost all he has talked about for months. Needless to say I suggested that his birthday was coming up.
In light of the recently Harry Potter obsession, Child #3 decided he wanted to do Harry Potter as the theme for his birthday this year. You would think since the newest movie in the series is coming out in Nov there would be lots of Harry Potter stuff in preparation. Hell no!! Nada! Zip! Zilch! Everywhere online was sold out (was from the previous movies) and nobody local had any party supply items for Harry Potter. Seriously! It is insane. Thankfully a friends who's son used Harry Potter for his theme over the summer still had a few things leftover that she let me have. Good thing I'm kind of "crafty" too.
Since I couldn't find invitations, I made some up and printed them on card stock. They came out pretty good... considering I had to replace the ink cartridges in the printer after trying to refill them and it still not working. Seriously. Those ink cartridges are a total pain in the ass. I sent the cards to school for Child #3 to pass out to all his classmates. I couldn't find any rubber bands so I improvised with some brown satin ribbon. Really came out awesome with the cream card stock and brown ink. Very dramatic.
For the party favors I made: Wands out of thin wooden dowels found at the craft store. Some painted white, some tan, some grey, some black, some brown. Then decorated with some sharpie marker to create some different designs. A Snitch made from a Styrofoam ball and felt wings for decoration. I came up with a "Honeydukes Candy" store theme. Typically I don't do candy for birthday parties (just cupcakes) but this time... lot and lots of sugar! Candied Pineapple pieces Lemon Drops Sour Gummy Worms Gummy Bugs, Caterpillars & Slugs (from Willie Wonka) Chocolate covered Spiders (actually pretzel pieces) Molded Chocolate Frogs Licorice Floss JellyBelly Jellybeans
Needless to say, lots and lots of sugar. Sorry other parents.
Cupcakes will be Chocolate with Chocolate Icing topped with Chocolate dipped ice cream cones to look like wizard hats. Also a batch of Yellow cake cupcakes with Chocolate Icing. "Since not everyone likes chocolate cake".
Drinks will be Fruit Juice punch, Ice water and Butterbeer. I found a recipe for Butterbeer online. It is basically Root Beer, Cream Soda with caramel syrup and whipped cream. Very very sweet.
Other decorations ideas I came up with: Hedwig (Child #3's owl from Build A Bear) The Sorting Hat (from Elope) Box set of the Harry Potter books in hardcover in a very cool spiffy cardboard box "trunk"
Sadly, I have run out of time to create "brick castle walls" out of large rolls of newsprint paper and paint. Creating bricks using sponges. Or make the felt peak style hats the students wore in the first two movies. Maybe next time. Somehow I don't see Harry Potter losing any interest around here any time soon. Especially from the boy who wanted a Mickey Mouse birthday two years in a row.
We are having it at one of the neighborhood shady parks with has a nice sized gazebo with a large picnic table under it. Lots of shading trees surrounding the fun playscapes. A very nice park to have a party at when the heat gets up there like it is known to do here in Austin.
It is that amazing day today. All FOUR children will be in school at the same time and at the same school... well for the next two years then Child #1 will shift to 6th grade at Middle School.
HOLY SNIKIES!!!!
How did I suddenly have four children in elementary school? How did this happen? Where did all the time go? Wasn't my oldest just starting school the other day? Heck wasn't my youngest just born a couple of months ago?
What?... that was over 4 years ago? GET OUT!!! No it wasn't. It wasn't. I deny that statement. Can't possibly be true... can it?
So I couldn't get to sleep last night, too many things running through my head. Not to mention that big ole pile of paperwork from Meet the Teachers night that I had to fill out. Talk about getting writers cramp... filling out school district info in QUADRUPLICATE.
Blargh!! My poor widdle hand was sore. Child #1 set her alarm apparently at 6 AM (WTF?!?) and she came in and woke The Hubby up around 6:25AM (5 minutes before my alarm went off) to let him know it was time to get ready for school. I got up and went into the boys room to wake up Child #2 and #3. The Hubby for some unknown reason decided to wake Child #4 up. Why? Neither of us has any clue. Her class doesn't start until 11:45 AM and she certainly didn't need to be getting up at 6:30 AM.
Everyone got dressed and was downstairs for breakfast. I made breakfast and packed lunches for everyone to take to school.
So after a tasty breakfast of toasted bagels, apple slices, oatmeal and fruit smoothies we loaded everyone up and headed up to the school. We parked on the backside and walked up. It was so weird it was about 7:30AM and there weren't very many cars around, the car line was empty and there just didn't seem to be hardly anyone around.
School starts at 7:40AM and it is usually a mad house of cars lined up to drop off kids. There weren't very many of the school safeties manning the dropoff spots either. It was just kind of weird.
Child #1 turned and went off down the main corridor through the big double doors to her new area of school. All the 4th and 5th grade classes are on the other side of the school with the gym and cafeteria between them and the rest of the school.
So off she went strolling down the hallway with her backpack slung on her shoulder... like a teenager heading off to High School or something.
Very very scary.
I'm not ready for her to grow up so fast.
We walked the boys to their classes. The halls still weren't very full, there were only 6 other kids in Child #3's class. It was like everyone forgot to come to school or something. Just very weird.
Child #2 almost walked into his old classroom (old habits) but then slide right into the groove of the morning routine... drop lunch box into the basket, remove papers from backpack, hang up the backpack on the hook... go sit down in at the table. He was even helping some of the other kids. Hopefully that will be something he can do though out the year, be a leader and help some of the other kids out.
Once the boys were in their classes we headed back to the house with Child #4. I went back to sleep for a while and Hubby and Child #4 hung out and enjoyed the quiet morning together for a while.
Then it was time for Child #4 to head to school. She was excited but also nervous. She was trying to hide the fact that she was a little nervous.
It was a mad house in the front hallway with all the parents milling around waiting to drop off their kids. They were so loud and noisy just milling all over the place.
One of the first things it said in the packet of papers we received on Meet the Teacher night was that the first day of school we were to take the kids back to the classroom then everyday after that we would meet her in the front hallway before class. NONE of the other parents were following the directions. So we just walked on in and went straight back to the classroom... the rest of them started to follow a few minutes later.
Child #4 was intently watching everything that was going on in the class.
Again, I think all the parents milling all over the place was making her nervous, I noticed quite a few of the other kids seems to feel the same way. Finally it was time to say our goodbyes and let the class get started.
We walked up to the front hallway, I wanted to wait to get a picture of the "Duck line" when they all heading over to the cafeteria in a few minutes. It took over 20+ minutes for the class to come out because I'd say at least 75% of the parents wouldn't leave the classroom. I get how hard it can be to leave your child but come on people, they tell you over and over again that it is better to do a quick goodbye instead of standing around getting in the way of the class getting started.
Finally the class was able to leave and head to the cafeteria for lunch. Of course I didn't get a very good picture of Child #4 walking in the duck line. But she seems to be perfectly happy and didn't seem to be upset about being there.
The Hubby and I decided to go and have lunch. It was nice. We had gyros which were quite tasty. Then because we were so full we went back to the house and took a nap. LOL! It was a totally funky day... rush rush to get the kids to school... slow quiet time... rush rush to get #4 to school... lunch... slow quiet time nap... go to pick up the kids and wait in a 20+ minute barely moving car line after the release time. Everyone was there to pick up their kids it seemed like. The car line went almost 1.5 blocks up the next street... it was totally insane. It is rarely more than a couple of cars past the entrance/exit into the school parking lot but it was down the block, around the corner and down the other block. INSANE!
Last night was the annual "Meet the Teachers" night at JVE. We went up to the school and got to see who was going to be academically molding our children's minds for the next year. We were able to show all the kids where their classrooms and desks were going to be. Also dropped off the various school supplies that I'm so glad to have out of the house before someone feels compelled to open and use some of them.
Child #1 will be entering 4th grade. We met her teacher last night. Apparently she was a floating substitute at JVE last year because she knew Child #3 (while he was in PreK) really well. Of course everyone who meets Child #3 remembers him... he isn't nicknamed Mr Personality for nothing. LOL! One of Child #1's best school friends is in her class, they were so happy to see each other they were practically attached at the hip all evening. They want to be in Girl Scouts together so it looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of this friend this year. Thankfully she is a very sweet and genuine child.
Child #2 will be staying in 1st grade again this year. While it was a difficult decision I do honestly believe it was the right one. He needs that little bit of extra time to truly find his footing. He is excited to be in his class. He has Child #1's first grade teacher this year. I really liked Mrs. B when Child #1 had her. She worked with Child #2 last year when they would rotate the kids who were at the same levels between the 5 classes. So she knows his "tricks" for various things already. She can be very no-nonsense when it is needed so I'm hoping that will help to keep him focused and on track.
Child #3 got the Kinder teacher Mrs. C. I was so hoping he would get. She was the student teacher in Child #1's Kinder class then she hired fulltime and got her own class the next year. She knows his PreK teacher really well and understands his IQ level and will definitely keep him occupied and interested. Its wonderful to have a young excited teacher. Hopefully he will go into the TAG program next year.
Child #4 starts PreK this year. HOLY SNIKIES!! She is so excited and Mrs. W. can't wait to have her in the class. She was sad to see lose Child #3 (he is such a charmer) but was resilient because she was getting Child #4. I think all the parents in the classroom was a little bit intimidating for Child #4, she isn't usually around that many very loud adults in a small area. Once we were back out into the hall she was all smiles and bouncing along.
Looks like we have four strong teachers this year. Yeah!
So we needed to walk to pick up Child #1 & Child #2 from school because Hubby took my Discovery to work today. As we are walking along, Child #3 just reached out and took Child #4's hand. No prompting from me but just because he loves his little sister.
Child #3 has had a lovely cough for the past couple of days. After a wonderful day of presents, both Grandmas being here and a tasty meal it was bedtime.
Child #3 wasn't feeling up to par and started to complain that his ear hurt. None of the ear drops I had made if feel better so off to the ER we go since MeMa (my mom) was staying the night and I could leave the other three kids to sleep.
Since we are in the middle of Flu Season here, he got to wear a face mask to keep from spreading his coughy germs. He thought it was kind of neat. It had Mickey Mouse on it too.
Yep, slight ear infection. We'd like a script for the numbing ear drops please. Thank you very much... honestly the only reason we went to the ER was to get that script, not the antibiotics.
Only took about 45 minutes too. I love our ER. Its close and quick.
Earlier I was listening to the foursome singing offkey and a smash version of Jingle Bells, Rudolph and a song I can't quite put my finger...
So I just spent 5 minutes chatting with Hubby on IM and Child #3 and Child #4 just wiped out an entire 2 POUND container of strawberries!! Seriously!?! The entire container? You'd think I never feed these hooligans.
So I pushed child #3's party to the weekend of Oct 2nd because the weekend of the 26th (his actual birthday) was suppose to rain the whole time... not a single drop all weekend. Beautiful blue skies and very warm. Okay yeah it was pretty hot that weekend but it didn't rain.
It was only suppose to be a 10% chance of rain for today... it was overcast all morning. We got to the park... a family favorite because of the awesome huge sandpit with buried dinosaur bones... got everything all set up down under the sunshade and not 20 minutes later...
Torrential downpour. Not just a little light rain. Wall of water pouring from the sky rain.
We quickly grabbed everything and ran up to the covered shelter areas. Thankfully the group that had reserved one side of the pavilion was finishing up (they were just waiting for the rain to ease up to leave) and graciously offered us the use of the area. The other group (which had NO ONE there yet and never did) was totally giving us dirty looks when we all first ran up to the area because we'd invaded their space. Yeah my little band of about a dozen people that were all huddled at two tables on the side away from them were just totally cramping their non-exsistant party guests style... and of course at least another 15+ people who had been out riding or running on the trails that suddenly ran for cover. Some people are just so classless.
While it was extremely wet and caused the cupcake icing to melt a bit and the oreo "Mickey ears" to slide off the cupcakes the kids still enjoyed them.
Even with all the rain (which caused at least a dozen people to cancel) and not too many guests showing up (thank you thank you thank you for those brave few that did!!!)... he had a great time. He is just such a happy boy. Truly happy. My 95 percent boy... he is happy 95 percent of the time.
My mom was able to drive over from Houston and spend the day with us. All the kids were so happy to get to see her and hang out together.
Everyone was wet and chilled by the time we got home so all the kids went into a warm bathtub while Mom and I snuggled in a couple of warm robes. We ordered Chinese food and watched Monsters Vs. Aliens again. Overall a success.
For four years now we've done Marathon Kids. I have to say that this year was the most disorganized year to date. Every year they have called everyone down by grade. Why they always started with fifth grade, then fourth, then third... then kinder, first grade and finally second. Why have the oldest start first never made any sense to me. Yeah have the youngest kids with the shortest attention span wait longer than older kids who have patience.
Yeah that makes A LOT of sense... NOT!
This time instead of having everyone sitting in the sections by school (per previous years) and calling everyone down by grade is was done by section only. Which turned into a free for all. VERY POORLY planned!
This year thankfully we didn't have the heat to deal with like two years ago but it was misty rain most of the time. The only time it wasn't rain... when they were doing the non-stop speeches. While I understand how much work it takes honestly a bunch of elementary students just don't have the patience to sit through 45 minutes of speeches... most of which you couldn't really hear anyways.
And they only had the kids run 3/4 of the lap this time, in the past they did almost 2 laps. Really didn't feel like much of a run for them.
Five years ago today Child #3 burst forth into our lives. Literally. My bag of waters only broke when the OB popped it as he was crowning (Child #3 was nearly born in the caul). The Boy nearly shot out past him once it broke. The nurse squealed and threw her arms underneath the OB's to make sure he didn't slip though, it was that suddenly.
My labor was pretty quick... about 6 hours. Half a dozen pushes... He was born at 41 weeks plus 3 days... (give or take a few days)... because you know they only really determine EDD by throwing a handful of chicken bones into a corner. ;-)
So we were blessed with a second son as our third child. "Fiery one"... oh so appropriate. He has a fiery love of live. He's my 95% boy... he's happy 95% of the time... just have to watch out for that 5%, its wicked!! The only other name that might have been appropriate for him would have been Calvin... as in Calvin & Hobbes. He's got the thatch of blond hair too.
So since it was HIS day, he got to decide where we would go.
First stop was the Downtown Farmers' Market. We enjoyed Bacon & Blue Cheese Quiche, Caramelized Onion Quiche, Raspberry & White Chocolate Scones and the all time favorite the delicious Ginger Scones. I craved those scones my entire fourth pregnancy! Soooo tasty. We also enjoyed fresh lemonade and hibiscus iced tea. We ate under the almost 2oo year old Texas Live Oak trees. Beautiful day in the shade. Otherwise it was HOT! It got up into the 90s again.
After the Farmers' Market we did a couple of quick errands and then it was off to Terra Toys. The kids all love going to Terra Toys which is this wonderful local toy store. Its nothing like ToysRUs. They carry all these amazing toy brands that are just awesome. There are tons of things to play with so you get to try out the toys. Since it was Aidan's birthday he got to pick out a special toy. He picked out these 5 magnet balls. They are about the size of a large gumball. Everyone else got a little treat too.
Then it was back to the house to pick up the 6 qts of soup so we could then go to the Soup Swap with several of my Mama friends. The kids all played outside with some of the other kids that were there. Its so wonderful to see the kids playing with other children of all different ages. Especially younger kids. Child #1 is sooo sweet with some of the littles. Lots of fun was had by all... good snacks, good wine, good conversations and lots of good soup with my wonderful Mamas.
Then it was dinner time. Child #3 picked going to Culver's for dinner. Hamburgers, root beer and frozen custard! Happy happy boy.
He was so sweet as soon as we all started eating he was offering bites of his hamburger to all of us. Then after dinner it was custard time. We got three custards to share. One Vanilla, One Lemon Ice with raspberries and a Chocolate Heath Crunch which was the birthday boy's choice. All three children happily offered bites of their custards to each other and shared them all around with Child #4 .
Makes a Mommy's heart so proud... my littles are turning into such kind and generous little people.
Finally it was back to the house for presents.
Overall, I think it was a very good day. Next week we'll have the birthday party with lots of friends... it was suppose to rain all weekend so I pushed it back a week... not a drop of rain today and doesn't look like it for tomorrow now either. UGH!
