Blog on...

So, this summer has been so fun and busy, with so much to blog about, that I have just become way too overwhelmed to begin. (And I'm also really bummed because I downloaded like 800+ pictures from Sherrie's camera from their visit with us, and now they are no where to found. Suck.) I'm too frustrated to recap, so all you're gonna get is... summer was fun... see slide show below.

BUT. As Jaden says, and I'm not sure where he got this from... "Socci's never quit!" I will blog on. One cool thing about each kid. Let's start with...

BRADLEY'S BIRTHDAY


Bradley turned 1 year old this month. We had a little party at my parents' house, which was extra special because my 2 long lost sisters and their families were in town that week. So here we have the cousins running around, partying, and... burying their Aunt Alli in balloons.


We started with birthday presents because the cake was going to be a mess! Bradley actually did a pretty decent job opening some of his own gifts.


Next we went to the cake. I've kind of gotten into this crazy habit of... instead of buying a cake, or even baking it and then just throwing on some sprinkles... actually trying to freehand, without any instructions or patterns, some kind of design that describes the kid in some way or another. It started with Jaden's Nemo cake, and then Kaleb's Basketball cake, followed by Mickey Mouse, and Cars, and even the annoying little character Caillou. Well this one didn't turn out as well as the others, but Bradley really loves books. Not necessarily to listen to... but to eat. It's one of his most entertaining church toys. So, I thought it would be appropriate to make him one that he could really eat. I know, kind of lame, but here it is.


And he actually dug into his cake. Jaden didn't like to get messy, and Kaleb, didn't mind too much, but Bradley got into an messed up over half of the cake. Big improvement for my family!


And he was also sweet enough to share. :)


Okay, next we have...

KALEB GETTING POTTY TRAINED


Oh boy. This has been something I have been seriously dreading. He's not the most compliant kid on the block. We have more timeouts with him than we can even count. And so trying to bring in potty-business into the mix was definitely NOT something I was looking forward to... at all. Plus we had so much going on over the summer, that it really was difficult finding a good stretch of time where we could actually focus on HIM. Well, the time came. Ugh. But he's doing alright. Here he is checking out his work...


And here he is showing off his Buzz Lightyear underwear.


The amazing thing about the potty-training experience is that he has had a major attitude adjustment. You remember that little video where he says "I hate you!" to me? Well ever since we started training him and giving him huge amounts of attention and praise, he has become so much more loving. I'd say that for every "I hate you" we get, it has been preceded by at least 40 "I love you"s. He says it all the time. It never gets old. Amazing what a little more praise and attention can do.

And lastly...

JADEN STARTED KINDERGARTEN


He only gave me goofy smiles. Punk.


Starting the short walk to school

Already tired and wanting a ride.

Lining up and saying goodbye.

Jaden said he had an "ok" day that first day. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that his parents had a mix-up with the pick-up time and were about 10 minutes late. Oops! "No one likes to be the last kid to be picked up." (cringe) Sorry Jaden. It could have also been because he wasn't feeling well. That night he became really sick and missed the next 2 days of school. :(


And here's a bonus:

The kids found the Halloween costume box and had a little fun.

One Of The Boys

After a harrowing 10 months of having to watch his older brothers get to wrestle with Dad, Bradley has finally crossed over and reached his rite of passage. Unfortunately I only caught the end of it on camera. Welcome to the fight club Brad, (ha!) and watch out for Kaleb... he's vicious.



Kaleb has also given Bradley a new nickname. I'm not quite sure how to spell it phonetically, but the teacher in me is screaming for the correct phonemes to be represented.

(Bryce, maybe you can help me out with this one.)

It's not pronounced as an over-the-shoulder-boulder-holder, but the name is Bra-Bra. As in Bradley. How do I make that last A in his name say it's short sound?

I know the English language has rules... [along with way too many exceptions] such as... when a word is CVC, the vowel is short. "cat, picnic, moss..." Or if the word ends in a vowel that is not silent, it will make the long sound. "domino, me,"

Sooooo, if it is not CVC, and it has a vowel at the end, and I don't want it to say the long sound, how do I spell this correctly? Brah? No... Bragh? Probably not...

Thank you. I will expect an answer on my desk by morning.

What Little Boys Love

Sports
Well Jaden is definitely on a roll with scoring goals his first season of soccer. He has scored 4 goals up until now. One for his team, and 3 for the other team! Here is his latest OG. But watch how he tried to turn the ball as he kicked he in. You may also notice that Charles was the coach that day.



One day this week, Charles and Kaleb went outside to play in the rain. I didn't want to get the camera wet, so I took these videos through my window upstairs. Recognize the ball, Melanie and John? Kaleb loves it. He calls it his Christmas Ball.





Here is a glimpse of the Kaleb that I am very anxious to have join our family. Meet "Patient Kaleb." I was seriously amazed at how long he shot that ball without getting too frustrated and throwing a fit. Good job, Buddy!



Bugs
Kaleb discovered Roly Polies. Now the boys are always looking for them in our backyard. I love the way Kaleb says their name! :)



Rough Housing
Here is one of the many ways the boys like to Rough House. They love to stand still and have us try and knock them down with pillows. Some days it it too much for me to watch. I cringe and gasp whenever someone looks like they got hurt or is about to get hurt. But I guess I just need to get used to it. A family full of boys is bound to bring on the broken bones and stitches!



Helping Dad
The boys are also good little helpers... as long as it doesn't involve cleaning! Here are some pictures of the boys hard at work! Little boys, AND big boys. :)

Mowing the lawn

Ripping out baseboards

Pulling out nails

Uh... "vacuuming the wall" Nice work, Kaleb!

Cutting tile... (Poor Dad was having major issues shaping that particular piece, but even though he was super frustrated, he still had a smile on his face. Unlike Charles, who when I asked him how he was doing, reponded with a crude hand gesture. lol)

Laying tile

Here you can kinda see how the tile turned out. I'd say they did a rather fine job!

Painting (Here is a more appropriate expression from Charles)



Creative Play
They used the tracks from their race track to make a "city of freeways."
And here's Bradley... just because.