First Day of School - Fourth Grade

Summer has officially ended for my dear son Kaleb.  Today was his first day of school.  He was nervous, and excited to take on this new adventure.  He picked out his new outfit from the clothes he got from the scavenger hunt adventure he had last Saturday.  He is styling in a Neff t-shirt, Levis 511 Supper Skinny jeans, a Spit Fire backpack and a thrifted Fedora his nana gave him for Christmas a few years back.  Kaleb's homeroom teacher is Mrs. Brown and one of the newest things he gets to experience in fourth grade is changing teachers for a few specialized subjects.  The coolest part of school for this year according to Kaleb is that his homeroom gets to pilot a program I-Pads for learning.  Only three classrooms out of entire school were selected.  He is supper excited to get his hands on the I-Pad.  Learning is going to be so much fun for him this year. 

As I took his first day of fourth grade pictures this year I reflected on how much Kaleb is maturing.  He is more self sufficient, more willing to help (though sometimes with a little attitude) but overall he is still the same sweet little guy with such a tender heart (despite all the teasing Olivia gets).  He is still a cuddle bug (on his on terms) and still values approval from his mommy.  I am flabbergasted about how fast time is passing and how big my baby is getting.  When I look at him I still am brought to tears in appreciation for his beautiful life.  I am so grateful to God for my precious Kaleb, my first born, and most cried after baby as he was my first premature baby.

Kaleb this is a poem I often share with you now but would alway recite to you as a baby and toddler.  It's from one of my favorite books we shared when you were a baby.

I like you for always

I love you forever

As long as I'm living 

My baby you'll be

How true is this.  No matter how much you grow deep down in my heart you are my first little one that rocked in my arms my precious.

Love,

Mommy    

And here is a little recap of First Day Pictures 

1st day of Kindergarden

1st day of 1st Grade

1st day of Second Grade

1st day of Third Grade

1st day of Fourth Grade

Wow look how much you've grown  over the years my sweet love. There is one thing that hasn't changed - your style.  Kaleb, you are colorful and bold and a true skater in heart and spirit!

Enjoy your journey! Have a fantastic 4th Grade.

I love you!!

    

Last Day of Summer - Family Swim

To commemorate the end of summer and Kaleb returning to school we went to the YMCA for some family swim time.  The kids had a blast with both mom and dad in the pool.  We even let Nathaniel enjoy some swim time - a rare occurrence because of the feeding tube and his lack of insulation (fat).  Nathaniel giggled as he splashed around in the water. He truly believed he could swim and would try to let go of me and set free in the water.  It was great to see his confidence in the water but a bit scary for me.  The kids raced, tumbled in the water and played catch.  We had so much fun playing together.  After we swam we had dinner at Islands and enjoyed a nice tribute to summer.  We talked about all the fun activities that we enjoyed together during the glorious lazy days of summer.  

  

Scavengere Hunt - Getting Kaleb Excited for School

Kaleb had been feeling a little apprehensive, and a bit anxious for school to begin.  He'd heard from several school mates that fourth year was going to be very hard.  I'd been feeling his lack of excitement for days and truly started feeling sad for him.  So, one of the mornings that we dropped him off at Jr. Lifeguards Olivia and I went on a shopping spree for back to school clothes for him.  She was so adorable helping me pick out different outfits for him at Tilly's, Kaleb's favorite store.  So the Saturday before school started I drafted up the clues for Kaleb to begin his quest to find his treats scattered around the house.  

The scavengere hunt began with a note on the door leading him to clue number one in the oven.  He had a blast finding wrapped gifts of jeans, t-shirts, button ups and socks throughout the house.  It was a perfect way to get him excited about school.  After the hunt, I gave him the option of returning any items that he didn't love.  He was so cute because he wanted to check what was at Tilly's but was afraid to hurt my feelings if he told me he didn't love an item.  I proposed we take the bag full of clothes and have him browse around.  Funny thing is after walking around Tilly's we only exchange a few things for bigger sizes and changed up a few colors.  I did a pretty good job in picking out skater clothes according to Kaleb.  He even told me I was a cool mom.  It was so much fun to put a smile on my big guys face before school began.

Shirt in the oven

Jeans in the guest room shower

Button up in scrapbook office

all this equates to one happy, stylish ready to learn Kaleb!

Water Play - Baths Outside

So the rules at our house change a little bit during the summer.  We become a little more relaxed about schedules, dinners, bed time and even where we take baths.  
Saturday was a perfectly warm summer morning and the children had been plenty dirty from Friday.  But because we got to bed really late we'd skipped out on baths.  So, what's a mom to do but bathe her kids in the morning however kids are already outside drenched in water.  So my best option was enjoy the sun and get the shampoo and soap and get tan while bathing the little ones.  As a mom you gotta be flexible and go with the flow. 

Breakfast at Moonlight Beach

Today was Kaleb's last official weekday before school starts as well as his last day of Junior Lifeguards.  We dropped him off at Moonlight Beach and found our own perfect little oasis  close enough to watch him and his group and close to the water.  We enjoy pancakes, bananas and orange juice for breakfast while watching the waves crash before our eyes.  It was so relaxing and beautiful.  After breakfast we brought out our sand toys and built castles and dug deep holes in the sand.  Once our skin got nice and hot we frolicked in the surf, splashed in the waves and enjoyed the cool ocean water.  We all had such a great time but the cutest part of it all was the amusement that Nathaniel got each time a wave would crash on his legs.  He first would giggle and then let out a huge belly laugh. Olivia also was adorable, she was very protective of Nathaniel making sure he held her hand and jumped as the wave came close.  It was a perfect day to delighted in the warm summer sun, cool water and sand between our toes.  

Hullabaloo Summer Concert

The Quail Botanical Garden in Encinitas hosted Hullabaloo in concert in their Seeds of Wonder Childrens Garden.  We love being entertained by this organic kid folk group.  Their music is simple and very interactive.  The kids danced and sang along.  We had so much fun!  After the concert we went to the dinosaur play area and Nathaniel and Olivia transformed themselves into dinosaurs. It was a perfect way to spend a summer afternoon!   

Bonfire at Moonlight Beach

Angela and I are always looking for a good old adventure to partake in.  Anything for the kids to have fun!  So, we packed our cars up and met up at Moonlight Beach for dinner and dessert.  The kids and I arrived before Angela and upon our arrival I realized that neither of us had really ever started a bonfire.  The amazing thing is when you ask for help when carrying a baby in one hip and a preschooler on another hip most people are willing to help.  I found a group of young guys that were supper sweet and help me start the fire.  They even offered us extra wood to keep the fire burning long past dinner.  After our fire was up and running we began with cooking up the hot dogs on the open flame.  Ouch this was supper hot and hard to do.  The nice thing was that there was a  church group right next to us and they started singing worship music.  This helped put me at ease and not feel the burn as much.  It was so beautiful to watch the sunset, listen to crashing waves, with worship music in the background.  It felt like heaven on earth.  Kaleb, Carson, Jack, Esean, and Cameron went boogie boarding, while Olivia and Caden played in the sand.  Once dinner was ready we all sat around the fire pit and enjoyed the food.  For dessert we had s'mores.  Olivia opted for only roasted marshmallows.  Once her marshmallow was roasted she asked the funniest question, why is it burnt?  I told her that she asked for a roasted marshmallow and she replied,"why would someone eat a burnt marshmallow when they taste perfect as they are?"  Olivia's logic. 

We had a lot of fun hanging out with our good friends!     

Cottonwood Park - Reflections of being a SAHM and A Prayer

Today we spent the morning at Cottonwood Park in Encinitas.  It was amazing to get some focus time with my little ones.  I got to play and watch them enjoy the outdoors.  We've had so much stress with all that we have going on with the house cleaning, prepping for showings, and open houses etc that unfortunately a good portion of my day is spent just trying to keep up with the house and not playing much. It's been so hard on me because my favorite part of being a stay at home mom is the teaching, coming up with activities, and playing together. 

And today as I watched my little ones play freely at the park for several hours I could not help but meditate about how blessed I've been for the last four years to be a stay at home mom.  During these last four years I've had the privilege of playing, teaching, watching, feeding, signing, and loving on my babies.  This has been the greatest gift that I could receive from J.J.  And this gift has benefited my children so much.  The kids and I have such a strong relationship together.  I know my children so well including their feelings, desires, and fears.  And during this moment I just prayed that God will ignite a desire in J.J.'s heart to want to provide for us, that he blesses him with a job that continues to allow me to be a stay at home mom.  I prayed that my children wont have to raised by a childcare center, or have to be placed in after school care.  I know that no one can do as good as job as I at raising my children.  No one can possibly come close to loving them as much as I love them.  And no job could ever give me the satisfaction that raising my children has given me.  I love my children so very much and I enjoy the hard days, the chaos, noise, dirty diapers, cleaning bums, attitude, tantrums, just as much as I enjoy watching them slide, climb, play in the mud, learn and discover and all the encounters of the day to day of motherhood. I pray that God grants me this desire of my heart.