Adios Kindergarten!

Today was Joey's big day. Kindergarten graduation!! I know every parent says this but I can't believe the school year is {almost} over and he's going to be a 1st grader! I'm amazed every day at the things he's learned and the progress he's made over the past year. We are so proud of him!!

Before graduation, his class had a short music program. Joey was so nervous. I thought for sure he was going to get sick but fortunately he made it and once it was over, he was all smiles.

Joey with his good friend, Ryne

Joey with Grandma Shayne. He was so happy she could be there. 

Proud Mommy and Daddy 

Joey with his teacher, Mrs. Weiser. He loves her (and we do too)! 

Joey and Tommy have been friends since they were 1! 

Joey in front of his self portrait. It's hard to read, but it says "After I graduate, I want to...  sqt (skate)".  I know, laugh all you want. Apparently, when you say your kids will never play hockey, it means both of your kids will be obsessed with hockey. Lesson learned.

Joey with the principal, Mr. Sheldon. All of the kids LOVE this guy. 

Time to celebrate!

My Baby is Growing Up!

Last weekend we celebrated Sam's 4th birthday. Let me just point out a few things to illustrate his excitement for this day.

• He's been talking about his birthday since last October.
• He struggled with picking a theme. Important decisions for an almost-4-year-old. First it was Mickey Mouse, then Batman, then Monster Jam then Backyardigans, then back to Batman. Then at the last minute, he went back to the Backyardigans. 
• His birthday celebration started on his actual birthday, then continued for the next 3 days until his party. He insisted we sing Happy Birthday to him every time we ate a piece of leftover cake.
• Walking into his birthday party, he started jumping up and down, squealing "I so happy, Mommy! It's my birthday party today!!" 
• A huge grin appeared each time someone wished him a Happy Birthday. 
• He had zero interest in getting or opening gifts. All he cared about was having a party with his friends and, of course, being the center of attention. Oh, and balloons and cake are a plus too.
• Tonight he asked if we could have another birthday party tomorrow. I had to break the news that birthdays only come once a year so we will have to wait until next year. BUT his Adoption Day is right around the corner and that's a fun day to celebrate too!

My Birthday Boy! I can't get enough of his sweet smile!

His birthday breakfast. 

He loved his cake!

Make a wish!

Time to party!

Balance beam

Joey and Khai racing across the balance beams.

The pit!

My attempt at getting a group photo.

I'll end this post with a funny story... "I love you to the moon and back" is something Sam and I always say to each other. The other night he was upset about having to go to bed and after I told him I love him to the moon and back, he said "Mommy, I love you to the moon but NOT back."

Christmas

This Christmas we had 5 fun-filled days of celebration with family and friends. Josh's brother, Aaron (from NJ) and sister, Chelsea (from NC) decided at the last minute to visit the week before Christmas. It was great to see them again and the kids loved having them here. Aaron was able to come to Joey's class to help with gingerbread houses and they were both able to come to Sam's class to see him sing Rudolph and decorate cookies. We also made a stop at Santa's village to see Santa, decorate cookies with Mrs. Clause and even got to see Santa's reindeer! The rest of our time was spent shopping, eating and playing games. And that was only the start of our holiday fun...

We went back home the weekend before Christmas. We spent time with Josh's side of the family the first night. The boys had a great time running around with their cousins, playing with their new cars and checking out Papa's bear skin rug. The next night we went to my aunt's house. Santa and Mrs. Clause made a quick appearance and we had a birthday party for Jesus. The next night was Christmas Eve mass followed by food, gifts and fun at my parents house. We drove home on Christmas morning and had a final celebration with Josh's mom. She made a delicious meal! It was a busy time but we feel blessed that we were able to celebrate with so many of our family and friends.

On to some pictures...

Sam with his teacher, Ms. Mandy at his Christmas program.

Joey with his teacher, Mrs. W at his holiday party at school.

Joey was pretty excited to have mom, dad and uncle Aaron come to his party at school.

Joey (at aunt Linda's house) showing Santa his missing 2 front teeth.

Sam was excited to see the big guy but a little more excited to see what was in the package.

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus

Santa's Village

And a two of my favorites...

Elf on the Shelf meets the Tooth Fairy

Joey's 2 front teeth have been loose for several weeks now and yesterday one finally came out (with the help of his friend). He's become somewhat of a pro lately when it comes to losing teeth so he was pretty excited knowing the Tooth Fairy would be stopping by. 

I thought it would be fun to incorporate Freddie into the whole Tooth Fairy thing and was pretty excited with the idea I came up with. That is, until he woke up at 3:00 am, noticed the note from the Tooth Fairy and came running into our room, ready to find Freddie (and his surprise). Needless to say, caffeine was a definite requirement this morning.

Here he is... minus his front tooth. Still cute as can be.

The letter left by the Tooth Fairy

Freddie with Joey's special surprise... an origami basket (made from a dollar bill) along with 2 gold dollar coins. 

Potty Training Fun

I'm happy to announce that Sam has officially completed day 2 of potty training... with underwear and no accidents. Getting to this point has not been easy. You see, Mr. Sam is about as stubborn as they get. If it's not his idea, he's not doing it. Period. He doesn't really care about being a "big boy" and he also doesn't care that "so and so" goes potty like a big kid (two tricks that worked like a charm with Joey). Needless to say, I'm relieved he's finally coming around. This morning, I asked him which underwear he wanted to wear and he insisted on wearing his Batman underwear... from yesterday. I stood my ground on that one.