Is Kindergarten REALLY ready for Reece?

Is Reece really ready for Kindergarten? Either way I guess it is going to happen so I guess we better be prepared.


We went to Kindergarten round up today so Reece could learn the ropes and Mommy could gather all of the information necessary to prepare him for school and sign him over so they could declare him a genius in 13 years (something I already know).




I show up, go and get him from his Pre-K class and to the commons we go. He is very excited about this until the part where they tell him that someone else will take him to the Kindergarten room. By this point he is done and not having any part of it unless, I go with him. I take him to his Kindergarten room where poor Mrs. Fager is happily (or at least pretending) waiting for another BRESSLER boy to grace her room with his presence. He is very nervous and not at all sure that he wanted to be there. I tell him that I will be back to get him when I am done with my part and he hangs on a little tighter. Mrs. Fager, being the super trooper that she is gives it a good shot at trying to distract him with her butterfly experiment that didn't appear to go to well, if you know what I mean. He wasn't all that impressed because they did that in pre-k, so she broke out the next big thing... talking about fishing. I managed to sneak out and off to my meeting I went. Walked back into the commons where they (Mrs. Yorgenson the Principal, Mrs. Ferris, the secretary, and Mrs. Davis, the school nurse) were all very proud of me for not crying on this very big day in the life of one of my children. I guess they all know me a little too well. They know that leaving my children is not an easy thing for me to do and letting them grow up is even tougher.


So we learned what they needed to know, we learned how the bus was going to work, we learned about the shots they were going to need and we learned that Oatville is a fabulous place for our children to go to school. Of course, we all already knew that Oatville is a fabulous place for our kids to go or we wouldn't be sending them there, right? OK, I wouldn't be sending my child there if it wasn't fabulous!


I went back in to pick up Reece and he appeared to have had a great time. We walked out, I asked him how it was and he politely told me he thought he would just stay in Pre-K and that kindergarten wasn't going to be any fun. So for now I guess we will float through the summer, work on all that we need to work on and see how it goes on the first REAL day of Kindergarten in August. Poor Mrs. Fager!!!!

Does this look like a face that isn't ready for Kindergarten?

BABY STELLAN

YEA!!!!! BABY STELLAN GOT TO LEAVE BOSTON CHILDRENS' HOSPITAL TODAY!!!!!

All of us in our house (including my husband) are just thrilled that baby Stellan and his Mommy get to go home. GOD has big things instore for this little guy. I just know he does!!!

More proof that God intended for us to laugh and cry all in the same day!

This is the outfit that Reece sported on our Mommy-Son trip to Dillons to get ice cream. Shin guards, shoes that were two sizes too big, and mismatched clothes. LOVED IT!!

When we came home from Dillons we discovered that Dad had found the Bumbo chair in the closet. Ellee discovered that she liked seeing the world from this view, and Mommy thought to herself very quietly, "Don't shed another tear because she's growing fast, smile because you get to be there for it and because she is perfect in everyway."

My nerves or his nerves?

Today was the BIGGEST day yet in the life of a seven-year old boy. I woke him up and as I was helping him get his belt in the belt loops of his baseball pants I thought to myself....When did you grow up? I realized that he has gone from playing "SANDLOT" baseball with the neighbor kids, when there were no houses around here to trying out for a 9 and under baseball tournament team in what seems to be overnight. My nerves kicked in and I asked him if he was at all nervous? With confidence in his voice he said, "nope". So I decided I would just be nervous for him and all would work out the way it was supposed to work out.

We get to the ball field and get him registered, we go through the whole "This is what is going to happen, this is how it is going to work, it's not a perfect system yet, etc." speech and FINALLY they tell us what field we will be on. Off he goes running full speed ahead ready to show the world what he can do. Reece goes to play on the playground behind me, Ellee is sound asleep in her stroller, and I am sitting in my chair watching my oldest son living his 7-year old dream. My eyes welled up with tears because he had more determination than any grown man playing in the Majors. I quickly wiped them away so no one would see and watched proudly and listened even more proudly, as people who didn't know he was my son talked about him. He made an amazing throw from third to first and I yelled, as any proud Mom would do, "Good job Caden!" and this man (I don't know the guy, so for blogging purposes we will call him BOB) sitting on the bleachers asked if he was my son. I'm sure I was beaming from ear to ear and proudly I said, "He is my son." They said, that he was so small and asked me how old he was and I told him that he was 7 and as many times in the past they said, "Seriously?!?!" I said yes and Bob continued to tell me how amazing he was to watch and that he looked like a miniature Chipper Jones. Being the Baseball Mom that I am have heard the name before, but had absolutely no idea who Chipper Jones was or is, but if that is who Caden reminded him of and the way he was previously talking about Caden (before Bob knew he was my son) then I decided it couldn't be all bad.

So Caden did his thing; He fielded the ball, threw the ball, caught the ball and now it was his time to hit the ball. He got up there still swinging his T-ball bat, stood on the left side of the plate, and hit the ball 3 times towards the 2nd baseman like it was no big deal. Then it was time to bunt...Oh no! I thought, "This makes me nervous." He got up there moved his bat around and hit 3 of those, too. My pride got a little bigger and Caden just stayed Caden. The amazing thing about him is he thinks that every kid in the world is just like him and can play baseball or any sport that he plays for that matter, as well as he does and he doesn't even realize that he has a gift.

So when it was over, I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief, shoved all of his stuff back in his bat pack and we headed for home. On the way home I asked him how he thought he did and he looked at me and said, I think I did ok and they told me we would know in a week or so who made it and who didn't. So for one more week I will sit with my bundle of nerves for him and for one more week I will sit and try to think of motherly wisdom to tell him, should he get the news that he didn't make it. Hopefully, I will be wasting my time on the motherly wisdom part, but if I'm not I can honestly say that I couldn't be more proud of him not because he is an amazing athlete (which I am proud of, too) but because he is Caden, the amazing kid with amazing heart.

You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little kid in you.

Brothers are they!

They fight, they play, they extemely dislike, they love, and sometimes they decided that after along day of doing all of these things, watching The Incredibles in Mom and Dad's bed is the best way to end the day. Sometimes they never even make it through the previews!

Sometimes being a BROTHER is even better than being a superhero.

2 BIG milestones in one day....How can a Mommy be so happy but so sad at the same time?

You see my baby girl is a mere 3 1/2 months old and decided today that she was going to roll over to get a different view while playing on her toy mat.

Made it over with little effort

But what do I do now that I did it?

She has decided that turning over really isn't so hard (she has done it a couple of times today), however, the being on our tummy thing really isn't her favorite position to be in. So this little milestone made me very excited for her (just ask my friend Dina who witnessed it all) but at the same time I was very sad inside because it is just one more sign that she is getting bigger and the baby days are that much closer to being over.

So if the rolling over wasn't enough to put a Mommy through in one day she decided that laughing was a pretty cool trick too. We were at my friend Tracy's this afternoon and I'll be darned if she didn't let out a few. As exciting as this was to hear those first little giggles and no matter how many times I wanted her to keep doing it (yes, I did all of the stupid voices...You know the ones that all of us do when we are talking to babies?) it made me sad all over again. Two tricks in one day....Seriously, how much can a Mommy take in one day when it comes to milestones and seeing that her baby is growing way to fast? After a few tears shed when we got home I realized that I am so blessed to be able to experience all of these things with her and that I should not be sad because she is growing but be happy that she is healthy and able to do all of these things. I am so very blessed and never knew that being the Mommy of a little girl could change my whole world.

Ellee,

Thanks for these memories today!

I love you baby girl ~ Mommy

Praying for Stellan

Stellan is a little boy from Minnesota who suffers from SVT. He is 6 months old and is undergoing a very risky surgery. So we are praying for Stellan in Wichita, Kansas today.

Dear Jesus,

We pray that you will be with Stellan today and hug him real tight. Make his heart all better so that he and his Mommy can go home soon to play with his brother and sister and so he can see his daddy.

In Jesus Name we pray - Amen

My Monday Favorites

New Shoes make very happy Sons!

This hair-doo is an everyday favorite!

Reece: Mommy, this picture is of me and Tucker. I made him little because he is smaller than me.

Love the faux hawks at bathtime

Survival tool for every favorite day!

Soccer Tournament in Kansas City

...Or was it mud wrestling? Either way it was a good time had by all in Kansas City. We played on Saturday morning at 7:00a.m. in the pouring rain and lost. We spent the rest of the morning doing laundry and getting uniforms washed back up to go back out to the field at 1:30. We won that game 5-1 playing on this very muddy field. They had trouble standing up, they had trouble making the ball move, however, they didn't have any trouble diving into it when they won that game. I guess they figured they might as well do it up right and they were already muddy so what the heck!!!

Games were cancelled for Sunday................So we enjoyed the morning and afternoon with Uncle Bro, Chelsea, Pa and Iya. We went to Crown Center and Bro got to experience a restaurant picked by kids. He was not to fond of Fritz's but he survived and was a pretty good sport about the whole thing.

It was hard to leave but we were very glad that they all made the trip to Kansas City to see Caden play. It's always good when Uncle Bro gets to come visit.

We love you Bro and wish you lived closer!! Thanks for making Caden's weekend!

As long as I have Reece laughter will always exist

My conversation with Reece just now...

Setting.....He's been outside playing and hates to come in the house to go to the bathroom. (On-going battle)

[Door Slams]

Reece: Mommy I pooped in my pants

Mommy: Well I guess you are done playing outside for the night and tomorrow.

Reece: (Looks at me with a very serious face and knowing he is in trouble) Mommy I didn't do it a BIRD POOPED IN MY PANTS.

Mommy: (Trying hard not to laugh) What?

Reece: A bird pooped in my pants.

Mommy: Oh really!

Reece: Serious Mom!

Mommy: I guess you better go to the bathroom then.

Reece: I hope you bought some OXY Clean.

Reece,

I love you to infinity and beyond,
To the moon and back, Forever and Ever,
and I hope you will always be
as funny as you are today.
Everyday you remind me that life
is too short to take seriously.
God knew that there would be days
that would be trying with you,
days that would be frustrating beyond words,
and he knew that sometimes
laughter cures it all...
and of course he was right!!
It truly does cure it all and I'm glad
you are the person who reminds me of that.

So, he has been sitting the bathroom this whole time I have been writing this post (I didn't want to forget any of this conversation) and the following is the conversation we have had while he has been on the toilet.

Reece: Mommy why would you leave a kid sitting here this long.

Mommy: Because I'm busy and you shouldn't have pooped in your pants.

Reece: I've been sitting in here for 1000 minutes and I need to go back to my old life (which he says often).

Mommy: What was your old life like?

Reece: I could play outside.

So now it's off to the bathroom I go to tackle another childhood issue..........LOVING BEING A MOM!

I know this woman....

who is middle aged but refuses to grow old. I know this woman who lives a life that hasn't always been easy, and man does she have stories to tell. I know this woman who sacrificed so much to raise the family that she raised. I know this woman who has little confidence in herself, but yet has so much to be confident about. I know this woman who has worried, and apologized, and fretted and stressed about the kind of mother she was, when really she was the mother that GOD called her to be. She has always been strong when she needed to be and stronger yet when she felt like the weakest person in world. She has over come the death of family, she has over come the loss of a child, she has witnessed first hand how hurtful words and actions can be, and through it all she has worn a smile and learned to rely on faith when faith was so hard to grasp. I know this woman who would do anything for her husband, her children, and her grandchildren even if it meant keeping the distance for the air to clear. I know a woman who is beautiful both inside and out. I know a woman who NEEDS to be proud of what she has accomplished, and all that she has yet to accomplish.

I know this woman....She in my MOTHER!

Mom,
You are amazing. Thank you so much for being who you are and for being the mother that I hope and want to be. Thanks for coming this week and taking care of me, taking care of my children, and taking care of my house. I don't know what I would have done without you.

When you are doubting yourself remember:

There is no way to be the PERFECT parent, but a million ways to be a GOOD one.

I love you to the moon and back!
Trasie

Continued

More conversations with Reece.....Love him!

Reece: Oh man! I spilled milk on my new clothes

Mommy: (sigh) Here let me wipe it off.

Reece: You should get some Oxy clean.

Mommy: (giggle) I should get some what?

Reece: Oxy Clean

Mommy: Where did you hear about Oxy Clean

Reece: T.V.

Mommy: Oh really!

Reece: It makes your clothes nice and shiny!

10 Minutes later:

Reece: Mommy I want to have my birthday at the Old Abandoned Ski Jump.

Mommy: Where?

Reece: The Old Abandoned Ski Jump

Mommy: Oh Really! (common phrase when talking with Reece)

Reece: Just kiddin' mom, I want to have it at the park.

LOVE THAT KID!

Easter

ON THE 3rd DAY HE ROSE AGAIN

Enough Said.

The BUNNY EASTER arrived

Ellee Bean in her first Easter Dress

2 Boys and a Little Lady ready for Church

Reece and his curiousity

Conversation with Reece
(He is sitting in Ellee's room in the rocking chair and I am painting the hallway)

Reece: Mommy is there a man that lives in our body?

Mommy: HUH?

Reece: Is there a man that lives in our body?

Confused Mommy: What are you talking about?

Reece: You know mommy, the man that's made of bones and has a head.

Trying not to laugh Mommy: Do you mean a skeleton?

Reece: Yes, a skeleton. He lives inside my body. (with mommy laughing he turns and goes on with his business )


Later in the afternoon....

Reece: Mommy can you tape this to my wrist?

Mommy: What do you want to do that for?

Reece: It's my remote.

Mommy: Your remote for what?

Reece: My cave?

Mommy: Cave? What cave?

Reece: Where fireman live.

Mommy: But where is this cave?

Reece: My bedroom.

Imagination!

The next morning....

Mommy: Reece you need to get a hoodie so we can get to school?

Reece: Ok Mom.......(yelling) TO THE CAVE!

Iya

...these are for you. Hope you enjoy them!!!

I love you Iya! ~Ellee Bean

Hey Batter Batter Batter.....

Go to my playlist on the side scroll down until you get to the baseball song and click on it.

This song is about my Caden and brings tears to the eyes of anyone who knows him and the heart that he has for baseball

All of this equipments weighs more than he does when you put it in his bag

It's full blown baseball season. It has finally arrived and we have all of the gear and we are on our way to another fabulous baseball season. Caden, is playing on 2 baseball teams this summer and we will be calling the yard our home for the next 3 months and our actual house will be here mainly for showering purposes only. He will be playing catcher for his 8 and under machine pitch team along with a few other positions. GO HEATERS!!!!! They are amazing. If you get a chance, come out and watch them play!!! They will be sporting their navy jerseys with orange lettering and numbers, white pants (car washes make great laundry mats for white pants) with orange belts and orange socks so they can't be missed on the baseball field. I promise they won't disappoint. He will also be playing on a 10 and under kid pitch team and will be pitching and catching for them as well. This makes his mommy a little nervous but I try not to let on too much. He thinks it is going to be awesome and can hardly wait to stand on the mound. GO BONECRUSHERS!!! Sounds like a tough name huh? Wait until you see their logo!!! Iya, you won't like it but you will be oh so proud of your grandson, I'm sure of it!

Stay tuned for the after season picture of cleats.

You gotta be a man to play baseball for a living, but you gotta have a lot of little kid in you.~