Randomness

This morning, Drew awoke in his usual way--we hear the pitter patter of his feet coming into our room, just before the alarm clock wakes us up.  It's amazing his timing, almost daily, he awake just before and comes in for his morning snuggles.  He is an especially snuggly guy, and likes to lay on my tummy and just melt into my arms while I scratch his back.  He loves it, but I love it more.  I know so well from my other boys that these times are fading, and he won't be my sweet little guy much longer.  He will be sweet, and little, but he won't want lots of mommy hugs and kisses.  Davis won't let me kiss him anymore, and he wipes them off his cheeks because he says that he's too old for them now.  I have to remind him that he is never too old for me!

Anyway, this morning, while laying on me, Drew looked up and asked "when I was a little baby and lived in your tummy, when you ate food, did it hit me in the head?"  I had to let out a loud laugh at this, but quickly caught myself.  It was so funny and innocent how he is trying to figure things out, but I didn't want to embarrass him by laughing!  I explained that no, he was in a different part of my tummy {really, how detailed can you get with a four year old about these things??}  He then wanted to know if other babies in their mommies tummies were hit with food when their mommy ate.  It was so cute, and I thought a good question.  For all he knows, it sure sounds like it would happen that way!!

Last night, Drew stayed up a little later than usual.  School has been wearing him out, and when he naps, he usually isn't quite sleepy yet at bed time.  We sat in bed together and watched videos on my iPhone of the kids.  It was so fun to see them throughout the last year!  I forgot that most of those were on there, and my heart melted seeing my sweet little Drew just a year younger.  Oh I love that voice and his innocence, smile, and giggles!  He has the best giggles!!

On another note, I ran across a good idea about asking your children a series of questions to see how they answer.  Davis was first, and it was really funny to see what he came up with, how well he knew me, and what he didn't know about me...here goes:

1. What is something mommy says a lot?     Do your homework
2. What makes mommy happy?  I don’t know, snuggling you?
3. What makes mommy sad?   Getting sad faces at school
4. How does mommy make you laugh?   Tickle me
5. What was mommy like as a little girl?   I do not know that
6. How old is mommy?   34
7. How tall is mommy?   I don’t know that one.  Mmmm5 feet
8. What is mommy's favorite thing to do?  Snuggle me
9. What does mommy do when she's not with you? Go to work
10. What is mommy really good at?  Being a photographer
11. What is mommy really bad at?  Playing football 
12. If mommy was famous, what would it be for?  Taking pictures
13. What is mommy's favorite food?  Salad
14. What makes you proud of mommy?  When you give me candy
15. If mommy were on TV, who would she be?  One of the peoples that cuts food
16. What do you like to do with mommy?  Puzzles
17. How are we alike?  We are in the same family and both light skinned
18. How are we different?  We do different things, our eyes are different colors, and mom's a girl and I'm a boy
19. How do you know mommy loves you?  I just know, because you snuggle me and hug me and kiss me
20. Where is mommy's favorite place to go?  Red Bowl

I have to say that I am happy that he knows that I love him, and even happier that he feels the snuggles, hugs, and kisses that I give him!  He's a sweet kid, and it was fun to do this with him!

Family Pictures

Yesterday, we took a family adventure to try and knock out pictures of my OWN children!!  Seems like I am always taking pictures for everyone else, and before I know it, another tooth has fallen out, someone gets a different hair cut, or they have just grown!  It just so happened, we had no plans on Sunday, and had a chance to take care of business and get a few pictures, at my begging!  Ashley was super helpful, and we went from pictures like this: 

forced "cheese" smile...need I say more... to this:

 all out hysterics in just a matter of moments!  Only moms and dads of boys will understand this, but little boys think gross and disgusting things are SOOO funny!  Can you guess??  Ashley is just behind me singing a little song to them..."when you're climbing up a ladder..." I won't finish it here, but I am sure some of you know why that was so silly!  They couldn't get enough of it, and it was just the little bit of silly unexpected that we needed to capture some real smiles!  I won't share our favorite yet, well, mostly because I haven't decided which one it is {we were lucky enough to get a few great ones this time!!--thanks to daddy!!} but I just love how when I look at that one, I can hear their giggles and laughs!  Priceless!!

Oh, and I caught a rare natural smile from my nine year old!  I cherish those in photographs, because so often, he gives me the plastered on grin.  I LOVE his real smile!  Such a handsome boy!

School and Sports

School has been in session for five weeks now, and we are officially in the chaos of the school and sports season!  Homework hasn't been too bad for Davis, and Jackson's is manageable for a fourth grader!  

Drew started Pre-K last week at our church pre-school { the same one he's been at for a few years } and he LOVES it!  He is so excited to be a big boy, pack a lunch for late stay, and go to school everyday!  It's so fun to watch his excitement and enthusiasm, although, I feel pings of sadness watching my "baby" grow up!!

Baseball is in full swing for Jackson, and he was so excited to finally get his uniform!

The boys rotate positions throughout the season, but his favorite is pitcher this, which makes me a little nervous, but he really likes it.  That's him on the mound below!

I asked him if he gets nervous out there, and he said no.  He said it doesn't bother him when the other team chants, sings, or yells, but he does like it when we cheer for him.  I'm so proud of him and how he's grown with sports.  He speaks up for himself now, and will even call out plays to the team { when the ball is coming and they are covering a base }.  He's always been a soft spoken child, and he's opening up now.  

Davis started soccer last week too!  I haven't pinned him down yet to get some pictures--although this is coming soon because his front teeth are loose, and I HAVE to get some pictures of him before this happens!  I know he will look so different once he looses those baby teeth!  He loves soccer, and has two buddies on his team.  He practices Mondays and Wednesdays, and last Tuesday, when I asked him if he had a good day, he said "no, because I didn't have soccer practice."  I'm glad he has found a sport that he enjoys!!  Lord knows that he has the energy for all of that running!! 

We also got an email from Jackson's teacher last week.  It's a surprise, but he has been chosen as Terrific Kid for his class for September.  He has won this before in the past, and it's an honor to be recognized, not just as a good student, but also as a good friend and classmate.  I'll post pictures after the ceremony on Friday.  We are excited for him!