Bradley's 1st day of Pre-K

Good Morning sweet boy!
Good Morning baby boy!

Good Morning sunshine!

Look at my cool dragon backpack!

handsome pre-k boy!

ready to go in!

making himself comfortable on the classroom rug!

(doesn't he look nervous?!) :)

Bradley's 1st day of pre-k was today! We are so happy that he got to have the same sweet, patient, wonderful teachers that Rachel had. Ms. Jan and Ms. Kim truly have a gift for working with 4 year olds and I know Bradley is going to love this experience! The entire class seems very sweet and all the parents I've met so far are friendly too.

We've been talking about the 'big day' for some time and Bradley was more than ready. He wasn't nervous or anxious at all and I think part of that is because he's seen Rachel experience school and see how much she loves and enjoys it. He was so excited about carrying his "how to train your dragon" backpack and wear his new skechers. "Mother" Rachel did her best to prepare him for Pre-K too. She told him what to do if someone wasn't nice to him. She said first he needed to tell the other kid to "stop!" and if that didn't work to tell the teacher and just walk away. Great advice, I thought. Bradley did have a great first day although he didn't share too many details. We've been very spoiled by Rachel and her elaborate details of each day: what they did and how everyone acted, etc... The first thing Bradley said was, "we didn't get to play in the gym." I said, but you got to play on the cool playground, right? Yes, but we didn't get to play in the gym. I know he was REALLY tired when we picked him up and then we told him we were going to get McDonald's for lunch (YES, we eat it way too much!). He immediately perked up at that news. Once he got in the car, he just started chugging down his juice and was sorta in a daze. I asked him if he had made any friends and he mentioned one boy, Logan. I asked him what they ate for a snack and he said cupcakes and cheezits, but he couldn't remember the girl who's birthday they were celebrating with cupcakes. He did remember several of the instructions or rules that Ms. Jan had told them, so at least he was listening well. I guess Bradley got tired of answering my questions, because he started saying, "I went down the slide, the end." Or, "the weather was cloudy, the end." I thought it was funny that he didn't want to offer any more details and thought "the end" was pretty blatant that he was done talking. We definitely missed our sweet boy while he was gone, but I have to say teaching just Rachel (with Trenty playing around us) was much easier. I think we're going to get so much of Rachel's schoolwork done while Bradley's at pre-k and we can save the fun stuff like crafts, cooking and science for when Bradley is home. I'm so proud of my precious son and what a kind, sweet boy that he is! Yay for Pre-K!!!

Siblings Rock!

My children are so blessed to have each other! I know their bond is like no other bond they'll have for the rest of their lives! I'm so thankful that they have each other... for play and companionship now, but also to hug and love on each other and teach each other things. Of course, their relationships will change and they will love and support each other and be close to each other at different times and in different ways as they grow older and more mature. I've always felt so blessed to have both a brother and a sister! I'm thankful that my kids will get to experience the same joys that I have! Siblings Rock!!

(these pics were from Bradley's birthday morning when he got to open a present from Rachel...they were both very excited and Trent picked up on it too.)

The Spider Man cupcakes

For Bradley's actual birthday, we ate yummy Spider Man cupcakes from Sam's club. We thought they looked so cool in the store with their vibrant blue and red color! I didn't really think about how extremely messy they would be. But, they were! We enjoyed them anyway, but took a bath shortly after eating them!

Dixie...still going strong!

Dixie is a survivor. She's the most low-maintenance, sweet, laidback, self-sufficient dog I've ever heard of. We think she's about 10 years old and she's still hanging in there. No problems that we can see and she just gives us no trouble. And, this poor dog is usually ignored, by me at least. Obviously, the kids love her; particularly Rachel and Trent. Bradley is more or less indifferent. Anyway, Dixie sure is a good mutt and she's been a perfect family dog...perfect with the kids and tolerant of their kid treatment. We love you Dixie!

Bradley's Pirate cake (FINALLY some birthday pics!)

We had a great time celebrating Bradley's 4th birthday! From the awesome presents: an awesome new bike, a sword, a pirate costume, cars and stuff, books, coloring books, a Toy Story flashlight, a bug catcher, etc... to the super cool treasure hunt, to the sprinkler, a pirate ship pinata, and finally a yummy pirate cake...we had a BLAST!

I am such a mess!

Whether we're just playing around, eating a meal or actually trying to clean up or do dishes, Trenty likes to be in the middle of it all. This was what he decided to do today while I was standing at the sink washing dishes and loading the dishwasher. Little stinker!!!!!!! We love having him around to "mess-up" everything, though!!

"Shots are not fun!"

Poor Bradley had to endure the painful rite of passage of being a 4 year old...the check-up.

We're so thankful for our healthy little boy. He's growing at a wonderful rate and is just right for his age. He was quite charming, sweet and compliant at the doctor. That's right, Bradley LOVES going to the doctor. He likes the nurses and Dr. McCorkle. He enjoys standing on the scale and seeing how big he is. He even thought it was kinda cool when he had to give a urine specimen and pee pee in a cup. (Although later he said it was "disgustin' "). He did his vision test and was precious reading the symbols on the chart...cup, star, heart, hand, circle...they all sounded so sweet. And, it was cute watching him "cover" his opposite eye with his fingers so separated that his "covered" eye was being used just as much as the one being checked. We had to show him the proper way to cover his eye so we could accurately check his vision. Anyway, he did so well and was enjoying himself so much. But, he had been very concerned about whether or not he was going to get any shots. I had been telling him I just didn't know. That had been enough to satisfy him for awhile. We felt bad about not telling him, but honestly, Bradley is not one that would have been better off knowing he was getting shots. He wouldn't have wanted to go to the check-up at all and wouldn't have had nearly as much fun up until the shots. As soon as the pediatrician finished his exam, we told Bradley that he was going to have to get shots. He immediately started crying. He kept saying, "No shots!!" We (It was not an accident that I brought Nick and left Rach and Trent with Gege!) did get him to settle down and be happy till the nurse came in with her 4 shots. Then, the tears started again. And, truthfully, these shots burned. He got 2 in each of his upper arms and bandaids to cover them. Unfortunately, Bradley's legs didn't "work" after he got his shots, so Nick carried him to the car. (This happens alot after a traumatic situation...Bradley won't use his legs/arms/fingers/etc...if he thinks it will trigger any pain.) He's very dramatic! Bradley kept saying, "Shots are not fun!"

After a few more tears in the car, he thought McDonald's would make him feel better. So, we drove to McD's and felt better immediately when we saw that they had NEW Superhero Squad toys!!!!!!! Bradley still didn't want to talk about his shots or let anyone see his bandaids till the next day, but thankfully, his legs started working again! :) We love our dramatic, precious, charming little boy! And, the awesome news...NO MORE SHOTS till he's 11 years old!!!!!! YAY!!!