My First Kindergarten Baby

How can it be his first day of Kindergarten?

 Lets be honest...I've been counting down the days! And so has he. We've gone school shopping. We've gone to Kindergarten Roundup. We've met his teacher, Ms Chapman. We've lost a tooth. We've learned how to ride a bike. We've exhausted all efforts of mom teaching Peyson the alphabet...Peyson learning the alphabet from mom...and failing together. We've made each other completely crazy. 

We. Are. Ready. 

We all woke up with great anticipation and excitement, got ourselves ready, took 700 first day of school photos, and off to school we went, little sister tagging along. The kid was not scared. He put his things away for the day and never looked back. Big boy. I only cried a little as I walked back home. I didn't think I would today. And it wasn't because I didn't want to leave him all day. Because I definitely did! But my first baby is growing up. He is on to bigger and better things. He is excited. And I am already becoming the mom a little less needed. 

Little Ainslee girl missed her brother all day long. When is Peyson coming home? I want to play with Peyson. She was not so excited about this day.

Finally we found him again. He played hard. He learned hard. And he was tired. So tired, he needed the stroller to get home more than the little lady :)  She was happy to help.

I am excited for him and his new adventures. I'm excited to see him learn and be excited about it. I'm excited to see him make new friends and interact with others. I'm excited for him to grow. And I'm excited to be his biggest cheer leader! Happy First Day of Kindergarten!

Already?

The Tooth Fairy is now a frequent flier at our house.  Peyson lost his first tooth.  

 

 

It was to the point where he could breath and it would wiggle!  ;)  He went into the bathroom to look at just how wiggly it really was and when he came out it was in his hand.  And he has seen enough TV to know that losing teeth means $$$.  So we sat down at the kitchen table to write the Tooth Fairy a note.  It says-

 

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I lost my first tooth.  Please come get it and bring a surprise.

Peyson

 

He put his tooth in a baggy and tucked it and the letter under his pillow.  It was good and tucked BTW.  The Tooth Fairy really had to work at getting it without waking him.  But she managed.  And he woke up to find a little note covered in pink writing and glitter, with a $1 bill rolled in dental floss.  He really thought that was silly.

 

 

Riding a Bike

 

Peyson is sort of really REALLY scared to try new things.  And. . .he's kinda sorta a lot like me in the fact that if he doesn't achieve success the FIRST time he does try something new. . .he kinda sorta has a melt down.

 

Just getting him to try to ride a bike WITH training wheels was quite the task.  It even frustrated Derek, Mr. I-Don't-Get-Frustrated. . .Ever.  But eventually he got comfortable with that. 

 

With school coming up I decided I should work with him on losing the training wheels so he could be a big boy and maybe ride his bike to school.  Or feel big.  Or proud.  Or something. 

 

So with this bright idea, I, being HEAVY with child, in the Amarillo heat, worked with Mr. Peyson every day for nearly a month.  A mom from church told me about those glider bikes that have no pedals.  And that her 3 year old learned in like a day or something.  And since I didn't want to buy one because we already had a real bike, I used the concept and made the real bike work the same way.  We took off the training wheels, lowered the seat as far as it would go, and we worked on gliding.  Up and down the block, time after time after time.  Maybe 20 minutes every day, or until we were all dying a horrible, sweaty death.  When he felt like he could glide without falling over, we practiced one sided pedaling.  With one foot he pedaled from the top of the range of motion to the bottom, while his other foot stayed down to the side to keep him upright.  When his pedal hit bottom, he would stop and switch feet.  Time after time after time.  Then he just did it faster, putting the same motion to play, with less time stopping in between. 

 

I kept encouraging him and telling him he needed to show Daddy what he could do.  And then one day, literally ONE DAY, Daddy came out and did the whole "I'll hold your seat while you pedal" thing and that was the end of it.  He was riding his bike down the walk.  I was screaming.  Ainslee was cheering.  And he was yelling- 

This is Awesome!

I did it!  I did it!

I rided my bike all by myself!

 

And the best of all. . .

Now I can go to kindergarten!

:)      

 

Swimming Lessons

Peyson started swimming lessons this summer.  I guess I can't remember what swimming lessons were like when I had them, but I didn't realize they don't actually teach you how to swim in the 1st or even 2nd session of lessons.  But he got very comfortable in the water and that makes me happy and confident in his ability to learn when he gets there.  The lessons were 45 minutes each, and of that 45 minutes at EVERY lesson, I'm sure Peyson spent at least 10 climbing out, running walking to the restroom, then running walking back to his class, and getting back in. 

You've seen the signs.

This kid follows the rules!  :)

 

After two sessions of lessons he felt like he didn't need water wings anymore.  Ha!  Sweet boy. . .you didn't actually learn how to swim :)  His side-of-the-pool dives were pretty amazing belly flops.  They made me giggle and cringe all at once.

 

He really loved doing his own thing without me there helping I think.  And even in the hot Amarillo summers, he still came out of the pool in full on body shivers, with teeth chatters big enough to knock some out.  But after two sessions he was a boy with no fear.  And I was fine with that. . .so long as his water wing accessories were along for the ride.

 

T-Ball

Peyson is a pretty athletic little guy.  And he has A LOT of wild energy.  So we signed him up for T-ball.  Let me tell you. . .it. is. PAINFUL!!! 

So there are about 12-16 little 4, 5 and 6 year olds who know NOTHING about the game, the rules.  Nothing.  They had 3 practices before the games began and it was just enough to bridle them in. . .get them organized just enough to pay enough attention to hit, run, chase the ball and throw it where ever they felt like it.  But they are REALLY good at playing in the dirt, taking potty brakes instead of playing pitcher ;) and the snacks after the game are the BEST part.

I think because I've known the rules since forever and because I get a little teensy weensy competitive, it is so stressful to watch these cute little distracted kiddos have no idea what they are doing.  But I keep cheering and trying to help Peyson learn and improve.  And I just have to giggle when nothing anybody is saying is being heard.

Daddy had time last weekend to work with him on how to line up his feet, and how far away to stand from the tee, and where on the bat he needs to hit the ball.  It helped.  And then he forgot :) 

It is hot.  It takes forever.  They don't know what to do with the ball after they get it.  They don't know they need to run to the next base as soon as their team mate hits the ball.  They want to climb the fence.  They want to swing the bat around even if heads are close.  They see the playground near by.  They see airplanes and helicopters in the sky.  They see puppies running around.  They see new friends they want to play with.  They see EVERYTHING except the purpose of their being there.

Although on occasion, something they have heard or learned will click.  They will get an out.  They will hit it to the outfield.  They will make it home.  And it is AWESOME!  And we get to cheer really LOUD.  And they flash their beautiful smiles and you can see the pride swell inside them.  And it is no longer painful, but beautiful.

Go Sharks!

An Amarillo Tornado

It was 11:00pm.  I just got out of the shower.  Derek was sleeping on the couch.  I woke him up so we could go to bed.  I got a drink and thought I heard sirens.  I opened the back door and sure enough, sirens were blaring.  I had no idea bad weather was coming.  All afternoon the wind was blowing like crazy.  The wall of dust left a nice surprise in our front entry way.

Our new tree was trying to touch the ground.  The wind chimes blew off the hook.  It rained some.  And then everything stopped.  The calm before the storm I suppose.  So the sirens took me completely off guard.  I asked Derek to check the weather.  He told me to get the kids but I didn't want to wake them up and freak them out.  He told me again to get the kids.  So we each grabbed a babe and took them to our bed until we could figure out what to do.  Derek turned the weather channel on and stepped outside to check things out.  I watched the news.  They started showing a map of the city.  They said our area needed to take cover NOW. . .that we were in IMMEDIATE DANGER!  Our only rooms that aren't on exterior walls are the bathroom and the laundry room closet.  We grabbed the crib mattresses and laid them across the washer and drier and climb in underneath.  It was really hard to NOT freak out!



Imagine me and Derek in there with them.  Tight fit FOR SURE.  Except for the second I had to run Peyson to the bathroom, we were in there for an hour.  The TV kept cutting in and out and as the storm moved through town the reporters got more and more excited.  Hail was reported. 

Taken at the hospital

We heard what sounded like a bit of hail.  And then the storm expired.  We crawled out and found everything just fine.  Except for the trampoline.  The trampoline took flight. . .we would have to find it in the morning.  We laid the mattresses on our bedroom floor for the kids to sleep on and we all spent the night in the same room together. 

The next morning I decided to step outside to see if anything in our small little world changed.  And that is when I saw it.  Just across the street.  Lodged up against our neighbor's fence stood our flying trampoline.  All I could do was giggle.  So I grabbed my phone and the kids and we went to see the damage.  Peyson was CRUSHED!  He was ready to plan a funeral.  And a replacement.  Poor little guy.  We left it there for a better part of the day.  It was pretty windy and I didn't want to blow away trying to move it.  Eventually I dragged it across the street and in between our house and the neighbors.  Daddy was able to salvage everything but the net and bars.  And now it is tied up to the fence.
That night we tried to figure out how it flew over our house and across the street.  And then we found the evidence of its path.  It tore the end cap off the roof trim.  Scuffed the trim in a few places.  Tore off a few shingles on our roof and our neighbor's roof.  It did a good bang up job on the fence where it landed as well.  We can't figure out how it missed the 3 windows and our fence.  Weather is wild!  We didn't get hail.  We didn't even hear it.  It was just our trampoline taking flight!

Fun New Toy

In the early years of our marriage, Derek wanted to buy a motorcycle.  We found one for sale and went to test drive it.  It was a cute little cruiser bike and we both loved it.  We planned to buy it the following day.
The next day was the last day of Derek's spring semester at UW.  After his last final he stopped at the Institute and picked up some of their awesome popcorn and some soda so we could "celebrate."  ;)  And as soon as he got home we were off to buy a motorcycle!  He road his bike to campus and on the way home he had a little fall.  He got off the sidewalk to make room for some pedestrians.  After they passed he tried to get back on the sidewalk but there was just enough of a lip to grab his tire and toss him.  He flew over the handlebars and hit a light pole.  With his head.  He was out for a short time.  A man found him laying on the ground and helped him up.  He kept Derek talking until they could get to student health.  He called me from there and nothing he said really made any sense.  He gave me enough information to find him.  I got there in time to watch him get his eyebrow stitched.  Ewww.  His sweater was blood stained and he was a little dopey.  AND. . .the motorcycle was ancient history.

"If I can't ride a peddle bike, there is NO WAY I'm buying a motorcycle!"  So we didn't.

But every time we get a little chunk of money, he starts his search.  And he always finds a reason to talk himself out of it.  And so we've never had a motorcycle.  So it took me by surprise when he actually set up a test drive. . .and followed the guy home. . .and road away on his brand new, fun, little toy.  I was for sure he would find some reason to walk away.  But he didn't. . .and now the green machine is ours!  Peyson boy LOVES it.  Ainslee girl is scared to death!  And I think it's totally HOT!

He Wasn't Done

When I prayed to Heavenly Father and told him I would have another baby RIGHT NOW if He would take care of everything, I thought he was done taking care of everything when we filed taxes and got a crazy insane amount back!  We put money aside to cover prenatal care and hospital expenses.  He wasn't done.

A few weeks ago our first prenatal bill came in the mail.  $376.  No worries :)  Mailed it in.

Today I had my first appointment WITH my doctor.  Derek was able to come with me.  He scrubs in on surgeries with Dr. H as often as he can.  All the nurses are in love with Dr. H.  Derek said there was no better doctor to see than Dr. H.  So I go to Dr. H.  When we signed in we went over our financial agreement, at which point I paid our remaining deposit in full.  Over $750.  The visit was nothing out of the ordinary.  As we were leaving, setting up the next appointment, the receptionist excused herself momentarily and went to the back.  When she came back she informed us that Dr. H wished to only bill insurance and that all expected moneys we were to pay out of pocket were now voided.  Nearly $1200 was wiped clean.  He wasn't done. 

When our tax return was enough to cover a problem free pregnancy and delivery, my worries were met with peace.  I did my part and He did His.  The issue, that was no longer an issue, was far from any thoughts crossing my mind.  And then this blessing snuck up on us.  It was totally unexpected, yet it confirmed the power of a loving Heavenly Father who answers prayers with richest blessings we cannot dream up.  This baby is supposed to come NOW.  It is part of God's plan for our family.  And time and time again that command has been confirmed and our faith has been strengthened.  We are blessed.

Easter

Some ladies from our ward put together an Easter Egg Hunt the day before Easter.  Everybody brought 20 eggs for every child they had and we all met at one of their homes.  The kids played in the back yard, while the daddies played Easter Bunny.  We waited too long to have dinner and with morning sickness I had to have dinner RIGHT NOW!  So we made a not so fast stop at McDonald's and then tried to navigate our way through the tricky neighborhood to find the hunt location.  We nearly missed it.

Ainslee had been sick for most of the day but seemed to be feeling well enough to hunt for eggs.  Peyson woke up early that morning with me to go work at the Young Women garage sale.  He was in desperate need of a nap. 

I think the pictures tell the story well :)

That night I felt too sick to stuff eggs and prepare baskets.  So I didn't.  And I didn't wake up early enough to do it before kids woke up.  So I tried to be sneaky and take all the empty eggs, the baskets, and the candy, and stuff them real quick before kids realized what I was doing.  But of course, Mr. 5 Year Old decided that NOW of all times would be a great time to come see what I was doing.  I yelled to him to GO AWAY. . .that I'd be done in a minute.  He ran away crying.  AwEsOmE!  So I finished my not so sneaky business and took them their baskets.

Here's to hoping they will soon forget the year mom ruined Easter.

It doesn't end there.  On the way home from church Peyson told me the Easter bunny wasn't real.  What?!?  Yep. . .ruined. 
He also told me that his teacher told him that the Easter bunny comes during church. 
CRAP!  He for sure did NOT come during church.  So Mr. 5 Year Old was totally convinced. . .there is no Easter bunny.  :(
I didn't know what to say, so I tried to distract him until nap time.  Nap time was when I would fix Easter and Mr. 5 Year Old's innocence.  I printed bunny pictures and made a picture trail from the kids' rooms to the back door.  I filled MORE eggs with MORE candy and laid them in the grass in the back yard.  And then I waited.  Peyson woke up soon after, but he DIDN'T see the pictures.  Ainslee woke up and FINALLY he noticed the bunnies on the wall.  They followed the trail and ran outside.  Both were gathering eggs by the armful.  Ainslee kept yelling MO MO (more more!).  Peyson went to get the baskets for their new treasure and when he came back out he said, "Mom, you were wrong!"  What was I wrong about?  I was NOT the one who said there was no Easter bunny!  Remember?!?  He said, "The Easter bunny DID come and he IS real!"  (sigh. . .)

Holidays are so not cool when you are pregnant.  But it's even more NOT COOL to forget. . .because your kids will remember!  And they will be crushed.  Don't let them be crushed!

His First Graduation

Teaching 5 little boys is. . .always interesting.  And unless you have a passion for teaching. . .it gets really old really quick :)  As the year progressed the moms all decided we should just be DONE with preschool as soon as we finished the letter Z.  But then we thought. . .maybe they need a review of the alphabet.  Maybe we need a PARTY!  Maybe a graduation?  So naturally, my brain started turning. 
If there is going to be a graduation, we need caps.  And if we are going to have caps, we have to have diplomas.  And if we are going to have diplomas we have to have a march.  So I made some graduation caps out of painted paper bowls and yarn tassels.  I got on Picasa and created diplomas.  Then I thought. . .these diplomas need folders.  So I got together with Allyson and we created some pretty cute folders. 

The boys had review day the same day as graduation.  So we had to bribe them with party food to get them to be still long enough to have a little pomp and circumstance :)  The recording camera almost died.  The caps kept falling off.  The boys had no idea what they were doing.  And it was hilarious.  We got them to sit still just long enough for distracted pictures and then we gave up.  It was time for yummy snacks and the real issue at hand. . .PLAY TIME!  That's all they wanted to do really.  All.  Year.  Long.  And so they did. 

After a week of no preschool I definitely started to miss it.  Not so much the teaching part.  But the two hour break two times a week.  And the MOM conversation before and after drop off and pick up time.  I think Peyson is well prepared for kindergarten and pretty excited to go. 

I'm so glad we had this opportunity, because without it, we would have been insane crazy at our house.  Never mind the lack of alphabet knowledge :)  Yay for preschool.  And yay for preschool being over :)

Obedience Brings Peace, and Pregnancy ;)

When I was pregnant with Ainslee I was miserable.  It was far worse than when I was pregnant with Peyson.  I thought, it would be great if I was done.  So I prayed a lot to know when our family was done growing.

The day I had Ainslee, before they even had her cleaned up, I knew there was another baby waiting to come.  I knew I wasn't done.  Crap.  I pushed the whisper away and tried to enjoy this new baby girl.

Maybe a month later, I was mid postpartum depression, losing my mind.  I had both kids out for a walk, a 3 year old, and a newborn.  A thought came to my mind--have a baby.  Not--I should have another baby right now, or I want another baby right now--just--have a baby.  Name it Emerson.  Boy or girl. 

Seriously???  I just got over puking my face off for 9 months!  I just HAD a baby!  I'm not even over that one!  I am depressed out of my mind.  My kids probably have a mom complex.  Emerson??? Where did that come from?  And GO AWAY!

It never went away.  From the very first impression, the minute I knew there were more baby Ewell's that were to be had, all I could feel was major anxiety.  Anxiety that there was another one just BEGGING to come.  Anxiety that I knew what I felt, and knew what was to come.  Anxiety because I didn't want to listen.  Not yet at least.  Major anxiety.

We moved to Texas and that adjustment was HARD.  Residency started and that adjustment was HARD.  I was a crazy mama with two crazy children.  I had no patience for even the thought of another baby.  I have a husband who won't be around enough to be of any help.  What?  No!  No!!  NO!!!

No?  I talked to Derek about it.  He also said no.  Not only no but. . . . . . . .no!  I waited.  We talked some more.  No.  Crazy!  No.  I waited. 

I was in the shower one night, stressing over the fact that I knew what we were supposed to do, and knowing it was not what either of us WANTED to do at that very minute.  So I prayed.  I told Heavenly Father fine!  I would have another baby.  But he had to provide the way.  Financially.  Mentally.  Emotionally.  Guess what happens when you do that?!?
 
We talked.  We'll see. . .hmm. . .hmmmmmmm. . .o. . .k. . .  OK! 

The birth control stopped.  The baby making resumed.  The baby making happened.  All within a month!!!  I guess we were supposed to have another baby?  Like. . .5 minutes ago?

I felt a little crazy through the whole process.  And as soon as we chose to obey. . .as soon as we started trying. . .I was no longer anxious.  I felt complete peace.  I still do. . .even though the thought of 3 kids should freak Laura out.  The thought of postpartum depression should freak Laura out.  The thought of up all night, then again all day should freak Laura out.  But it doesn't.  And I'm guessing that it won't.  Because obedience brings peace.  The Lord will provide a way.  And he has.

Another Birthday for Baby Girl

This girl is so grown up.  Being tall doesn't help the fact, but everybody always thinks she is older than she really is.  They say she is so mature.  It's true.  She could probably already be potty trained if mommy was into it.  But I'm not :) 
She talks all the time and other people can clearly understand most everything she says. 
She loves her big brother.  If it were up to her, they would hang all day every day.  He has other ideas :)
She is sassy.  If you ignore her, she will yell till she gets your attention.
She loves to paint fingers and toes.  "I want pink on."  Every day.
Her favorite lunch is mac n cheese.
She loves her daddy.
She loves to sing.  And dance. 
Her favorite bedtime song is Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  She calls it "up abuh" and sings "how wa wa, up abuh."  (How I wonder, and Up Above)  She also likes "Popcorn Popping" and sings "popone popone."
She has an obsession with shoes.  Anybodies shoes.  If we are shoe shopping, she will stop and ask, "my size?"  No matter how big or small.
She can almost dress herself.  Shirts are still tricky.
She loves getting her hair done and always asks for a bow.  She is my girly girl.
She loves to play in the dirt and jump in puddles and play with boy toys.  Still a bit of a tom boy.

We love this little princess.  Her first two years have been precious.  Her smile is contagious.  Her voice is sweet.  This little Ainslee girl is an angel.  Kisses baby doll.

A Blizzard

This last weekend the weather man said it was supposed to blizzard in Amarillo.  14-16 inches.  Snow hardly stays in Amarillo for more than a day.  And when more than a few inches is predicted, we are lucky if any sticks at all.  So I was not expecting waking up to mass chaos Monday morning.

 

I was supposed to teach preschool at my house this week.  Sunday night, one of the moms asked one of the other moms if we should cancel.  At this point no snow had fallen.  I was teasing them about it and said, "If your front door is blocked by snow, you DON'T have to come to preschool."  This is what we woke up to.

 

We did not have preschool :)

 

The town was shut down!  Stores were closing early because they were out of groceries.  The night shift labor and delivery residents had to stay and work the day shift because they couldn't get home, nor could the day shift get in to work.  Clinics were closed.  People stayed HOME. 

Derek didn't have to go into work for 2 days!  I had no idea doctors got snow days.  So it was pretty awesome.  And since we don't have a snow shovel we couldn't go anywhere.  Not for a lack of trying.  Derek tried twice Monday to get out.  He couldn't make it anywhere in the alley.  Last time it snowed the serpentine belt busted.  It took him 6 hours to put a new one on. . .so we avoided that catastrophe and let the car rest.  We borrowed a shovel from our neighbor and Derek worked all afternoon to clear our drifted snow hill driveway.  I played with the kids.

 Cute little pink marshmallow!

 

I dug a snow tunnel for Peyson.  Through the drift on our driveway.

Then we found this HUGE drift across the alley.

And this was what the side of our house looked like. . .

There was snow everywhere.  And there still is.  Though it's starting to melt.

Because it doesn't snow a lot, or often her in Texas, there isn't much of a need to employ or pay for snow plows.  I guess when there is 0 visibility they don't do much good anyway.  So while the snow flew and the plows waited, this is what happened. . .

People couldn't see.  Got their cars stuck.  Abandoned their cars.  And waited for morning.  And plows.  Who couldn't plow.  Because of abandoned cars.  Funny I think.

 

Tuesday, Derek headed to the store and stocked up on shovels.  He spent most of the day helping cars get unstuck on our street.  And shoveling out our alley.  He's pretty amazing.  I kinda like him a lot.  Today is business as usual.

 

Birthday Boy

Peyson turned 5 last month.  It's kinda weird having a 5 year old.  But man am I excited for KINDERGARTEN!!!  :)

 

This kid is all things superhero.  He couldn't decide on one hero for the party so I asked him if we should just do all of them.  He was ok with that. 

 The week before his birthday, I realized I hadn't even thought about the party. I woke up in a bit of a panic and started googling for any and all ideas. I found a blog that had superhero masks and free templates to make them!

I made a pinata and instead of candy, I put the masks inside. This year the pinata was a pull string instead of the kind you beat with a bat :) That was a bit scary last year. . .

 

The pull string DIDN'T work. . .so I ended up just ripping the bottom out. . .but at least all the little kids got a turn!

We also played "Spiderman Tag" with silly string.  Major party fail!  I got the string from the $Store.  It was more of a fiz than a string.  Ainslee was screaming.  Another little sister was crying and crazy scared.  Half the boys couldn't even push the sprayer hard enough for it to work.  And the mess. . .oh the mess :)  Fun times.

 

I didn't have to worry about decorations.  When you have a bazillion superhero toys, they ARE your decorations.

The cake was not my favorite.  It was a lot cooler in my head.  Execution was not so great. 

But Peyson thought it was totally awesome. . .and it tasted like cake. . .so whatever.  I found the perfect tutorial for the perfect cake on pinterest. . .about a week late!  Oh well. . .the cupcakes were amazing, I know this, because there were left overs after the party. . .and I ate them all. . .at one

time. . .no guilt. . .yum!

 

I think the party was a success.  Peyson was totally spoiled.

 And he got two parties because Daddy had to work on his actual birthday. . .or rather sleep through it.  Nights are a pain!  But we made it work.

And I think he had a good time. . .

And if I have to see another superhero ANYTHING I might barf! :)

 

Happy Birthday Peyson Bug!