Five, Six...

{...pick up sticks!}

Happy Birthday, Warren!

I can't believe how big you are. How smart and funny you've become.

You are our first born -- our inspiration for filling our house with more little ones!

Momma and Daddy love you so very much.

Your personality is a treasure I hold close to my heart.

Your wit constantly impresses your Daddy.

Your brothers look up to you and want to be just like you.

When I look at you I see so much potential, so much energy, so much love. I am SO proud of you, Warren. I am blessed to be your Momma. Know that your family is always here for you.

This is quite the ride getting to raise such a special little boy!

These past 6 years have flown by! Sometimes it seems you are growing so fast I want to hold you tight and plead for time to slow down, savoring these fleeting years where you...

say you can't sleep unless I give you a hug and kiss goodnight,
hold my hand walking into school,
blow me kisses from your booster seat in the back row of the mini-van,
draw me pictures with sweet little messages.

You'll always be my baby boy, no matter how big you get!

Here are some pictures from your class celebration at school:

{The treats Momma made for your class}

{Best Buddies!}

{Handing out the treats wearing your birthday hat!}

Sometimes, you just gotta say yes.

When Nolan not-so-subtly asked me for a doughnut hole the other day,

my first inclination was to say no.

"It will make a huge mess."

"Too much sugar."

"Will the other moms around think I am a pushover?"

"He might shove the whole thing in his mouth..."

But instead I just said yes and then sat back and watched as he thoroughly enjoyed every little morsel that actually made its way into his mouth.

And then I realized...

"He is really enjoying this moment."

"This is a new flavor."

"Messes aren't such a big deal."

Delicious!

Our Graduate!

That's right, Jack has a diploma! First year of preschool -- check!

He has made so many friends...

We are SO incredibly proud of our second born!

He is an AWESOME kid! With SUCH zest for life.

Jack, we are so privileged to call you our son. Each day we watch you do new things...

And blossom into this amazing little person...

A little man, who is as thoughtful and kind as he is spunky and smart.

Your good looks sometimes catch me off guard,

and I have to stop and just plain admire you!

Warren had just about as much fun as you did celebrating at the Family Fun Day following your precious little ceremony.

You played your heart out,

my little rock star!

BEST DAY

We just had Jack's preschool graduation and family fun day this morning.

The boys had an absolute blast! The best day of our Summer so far...

We are so proud of Jack for completing his first year of preschool. I will be posting all the adorable pictures of him soon.

Since we are now inside, sticky from snow cones, enjoying the air conditioning and resting, I wanted to share one quick photo of Nolan on the playground at Jack's school.

Enjoy...

I love this Seahorse he is sitting on. It's one of those scultpure toys on a giant spring and it is a fantastic shade of blue.

PEP TALK

Rah, rah, rah!

It is hard for me to believe that I am about to embark on our second Summer with all three boys. Last Summer is a blurr in my memory... I can only vaguely recall having a newborn and two rowdy older boys in my care. ALL.DAY.

But, I am not scared.

Really.

I am prepared.

Sisk, boom, bah!

The Summer Bridge and other workbooks are stacked on the table. And each boy has a binder to put his work in for Daddy to look at when he gets home. Warren and Jack have already started doing some of the work every day so I know there isn't going to be any problems with motivation. I explained to them that they need to keep their brains sharp and not forget everything they learned this school year. They will most likely come away from the Summer ahead of where they leave off when school closes next week. The boys each have a couple of goals that I'm sure they'll attain.

The boys' rec center activities start the week after school lets out too! Yay!

We have a new park in our town with a great splash pad, bouncy floor, and seriously awesome playground equipment. We will be living there this Summer.

I am so looking forward to a break from the hurried morning routine that goes along with getting three kids up, fed, dressed, groomed and out the door by 8am. It will be nice to wake up leisurely for a few months!

I have sought out and discovered some great outdoor locals for taking some pictures of my kids and hopefully some of my neighbor friends' kids as I continue to try my hand at photography. Can't wait to see how they turn out!

We are all stocked up on sunscreen and it is stashed all over the house, in my car, strollers, and diaper bags... now if I can just remember to put it on me too...

This is going to be a great Summer!

Go, Summer, Go!

PROOF...

...that we don't buy junk food very often.

Who knew that eating a fruit roll up was a life skill needing to be taught?

Clearly I didn't.

OUT TAKES

{Crazy hyper one minute, then contemplating life the next...}

I took Warren out yesterday morning for a photo shoot to capture his likeness for his birthday pictures and letter. I do this for every kid once per year to write down their milestones and share with friends and family.

Aside from encountering a very large Bull Snake in the drainage ditch on our way to this great tunnel, and dealing with 40 mph winds, it went great and I am happy with the results.

I gave him no direction really, just simply took him to a few different places outside and let him be himself!

Here are the out takes.

{He is not one to look at the camera directly, and if I ask him to actually smile, I get some interesting facial expressions... so we just go "candid style"}

{He put this flower behind his ear all on his own, I just looked over and he had done it!} {He puts his hands in his pockets and then pulls his jeans up! So skinny! Pants are constantly falling down...}
{This kid will never pass up a chance to blow a wish flower!}
It is funny how the pics didn't come out anything like I had planned in my head, and yet I don't think I could be happier with them.

A Message From Momma

Dear Ones,

Reach for your dreams.


And when you fall down, pull yourself back up by the shoelaces and try again.

Quickly

Jack, you seriously crack us up on a regular basis.

It wasn't long ago that when you were thirsty you would

simply whine for someone to get you some water.

I would recite Shel Silverstein to you,

of course subsituting Jack for Jane:

Nowadays, you are all big-boy-independent.

Grabbing whatever glass

{or stemware}

within reach from the counter and helping yourself.

We have become very cautious about opening the freezer.

You are growing up so quickly.
**********************************

On a completely unrelated topic, I have a new love:

{other than italian style polenta, which I made for the first time for dinner last night and then scarfed up the leftoevers for lunch today... yum!}

Thayers Rose Petal Witch Hazel!

I got a bottle from Whole Foods the other day. It is great! I haven't used an astringent since my age ended in "teen" -- rememeber Sea Breeze?!

But something about this product was apealing to me as we head into the sweaty Summer months of thick sunscreens. Highly recommend it!

Now I just need to go get some cotton balls, so I don't have to dust off t.p. remnants from my face after I use it anymore!

Our Walk

Just about every weekday, we walk to school.

It's not a long walk by any means, but there is plenty to see.

We stand on the bridge over the large drainage ditch, looking for alligators.

or seahorses.

or sea monsters.

We walk on the well-worn path,

making sure to doddle.

We stop off to check the grass for snakes.

Or squirrels.

We stomp on the corrugated metal pipe that shows above ground.

We stop and wait at the corner if we beat Momma to the crosswalk.

We have a chat after being apart at school.

We run at break-neck speed when Momma says "go!"

We take turns being in charge of unlocking the front door. We love keys.

I wonder how many times we've walked this familiar walk this school year.

...or how many times we'll walk it in total...