Last Day of Preschool/Mom Meltdown Day

I know this will come as no surprise to most of you, but my baby isn't a baby anymore.  Davis is headed to Kindergarten in the Fall (actually, next month!!!) and it hit me a little hard on the last day of Preschool.  I think the photos are a little blurry because I was crying so much I didn't notice.  Yep, I'm that mom.  I even had Ms LaDonna crying, too!  She's had a Beilman boy in Preschool for the past four years, so we've gotten pretty close.  We'll miss those days of Play Plans, centers and 2 1/2 hour school days (well, maybe not that last part). Our sweet little boy is growing up & we couldn't be more proud.  Love you, Davis!  

 Davis got his diploma a day early since we left for Estes Park instead of going to the last day of school.

 This was when the waterworks started...

 He was so proud of himself. 

 We took a field trip around the neighborhood afterwards & had a little play time in the park.  Bear Blankie got to come along which was a huge deal!

 Big Man on Campus

Mimi & I had to leave early for an appointment, so Grampy accompanied Davis on the second half of the field trip.  Go Grampy!  He & Davis both did well! ;-)  

Preschool Drive-In

Our Preschool teachers never cease to amaze me.  Today they put on a "Drive-In Movie" experience for our kiddos.  Another mom & I helped provide the extra hands needed.  Davis and his buddies got to pick out "cars" and decorate them and use their money to buy movie tickets, popcorn and water for the show.  Of course, they watched Frozen.  It was such a fun morning!  

 Getting his car ready for the Drive-In!

 I was the ticket taker.  These guys were so excited to buy their tickets.  Too cute!

 Getting their snacks before the show.

 This crew had a blast!  Thank you teachers!

 Did I mention we got to take the car home?  ...it has a red Solo cup for a cup holder.  Everyone needs one of these!

Chuck E. Cheese for Breakfast

Davis's preschool class went on a field trip to Chuck E. Cheese last week & I got to tag along!  I was kind of dreading it, but with only 16 kids in the place it was surprisingly fun.  Davis was ecstatic and told me that he wished we could live there. (Yikes!) I think he had permagrin for the entire two hours...it was so stinkin' cute.   The point of the outing was to tie in the theme of "celebrations" that they are doing in the classroom right now; the kids ordered & paid for themselves and then were responsible for some of their usual classroom routines while we were there.  As a side-bonus we got to eat pizza at 10:00 in the morning.  

 Davis telling Ms. LaDonna what prizes he was going to win. 

Going over the game plan.

 Making our pizza books.

 Davis was thrilled to meet Chuck!  You'd have thought the kid had never seen a life-sized mouse before! ;-)

 Getting ready to order!

 I did it all by myself!

Time for games!

Carter was kind of upset (gross understatement) that his field trip was to the local Arts & Entertainment center for a play.  Other than that, it was a really fun day!

Bear Blankie's Back

Bear Blankie, Davis's prized possession, has been missing for the past couple of months.  He's been MIA before but always turned up after a day or two.  We had absolutely no idea where he went this last time & Davis handled it pretty well.  At bedtime, he would sometimes ask me if Bear Blankie was ever going to come home and we started telling him that Bear was on a big adventure.  That was a good enough answer, but it was still very sad because Davis would try to be brave and not cry, but it's hard to be brave at bedtime without your favorite bear...especially when you're four.  Then last week, we got a mysterious delivery at our doorstep!  Bear Blankie was back & he brought Davis a card explaining that he had been on a trip to the Bear Hospital.  They took good care of him there: fluffed and cleaned his fur, and sewed up the rip under his head so he looked almost NEW again!  What a relief to have this special guy home with Davis!  They have been pretty inseparable since. 

These two have been together for a long time, so we are all very happy to see them reunited!

Davis & Bear (2011)

*If you ever find yourselves in a similar situation, ebay is a great place to look for special friends who may be missing on their own adventure...

Keeping Life Interesting

Let me tell you, raising two boys means there's never a dull moment...

Jedi-fighting before breakfast

*Meet Don Hicklin: Last week in the car, I said something to Davis and he replied: "Davis isn't here anymore.  I'm Don Hicklin."  I dug a little deeper to see what he was talking about.  He told me that Don Hicklin looks just like Davis, they're twins.  I asked him what I should know about Don (I was getting a little worried at this point.) and he told me "Don Hicklin speaks Spanish & he loves trampolines."  I mean, the kid did not skip a beat.  He just launched into these characteristics and as if it really were Don in the car.  Crazy. Then, I stopped to get the mail & when I got back in the car Don was gone and Davis was back.  I asked where Don had left and Davis told me "He ran away because he had to blast off in his spaceship."  When I asked him about Don with Carter in the car later that afternoon, he repeated everything about Don just like he had earlier...I thought maybe he would have forgotten about Don. (Carter was not impressed with Don or his bilingual abilities.)

On Monday, while we were out to lunch, I decided to ask Davis if he had seen Don lately or (horror) if he were at the table with us! Davis immediately replied "No, he's not here.  He hates ice cream and whiffed cream, so he would never come here."  (The boys were having ice cream sundaes after lunch as a treat for good behavior.)  I have to admit, Don kind of creeps me out.  I hope he stays in outer space where he belongs!

*Rocks?
Yesterday after Preschool, Davis was playing with his buddies outside.  I spotted him holding a small green plastic bag and went over to investigate.  He said "Look Mom, I found some cool rocks!" Actually, it was a bag of rock-like doggie poo that fell out of the trash can nearby.  Now, try to wipe that image out of your brain...I'm still working on it.  That was our cue to high-tail it back to the car and bathe with some antibacterial wipes.  We now know to stay away from little green bags.  GROSS!!!!!

Davis Turns FOUR!

I cannot believe our little guy is FOUR years old!  Seriously, where does the time go?!  Davis got his very own birthday party this year, for the first time ever...he was so excited!  We decided to keep it "simple" and just invited his entire Preschool class (16 kids).  Most of them were able to come to the party, so it was a lot of fun to see them interact outside of school.  But, we started the day opening a couple of presents:

 Brothers!

 Getting ready to go to the party! We had a "Turbo" theme (you know, the racing snail). :-)

 Playing on the trampoline slide with his friend, Ella.

 Here is one of the better group pics.  It's hard to get an action shot of 12 Preschoolers!

 (Proof that Carter was actually there.)

 Pizza break with our friends.

 Time for cake! 

We had a great time with our friends and feel so fortunate to have so many nice folks come celebrate with us. It was a fun night!

First Day of Preschool, Finally!

That's right, my baby is in Preschool!  Davis had "Meet & Greet" with his new teachers Ms LaDonna & Ms Teresa last night.  He was thrilled to be in the same classroom that Carter had last year and jumped right into the Centers.  It was hard to get them out of there!  (At one point he had a necklace, two bracelets and a pair of pink slippers on.)    

We are SO happy to have LaDonna again this year!

Carter was happy to see his favorite teacher and know that she will be just down the hall from his new classroom.  He made LaDonna a special card to wish her a happy school year.  :-)

 Davis surprised me by saying he wanted to be an Engineer, like Daddy, when he grows up!  We'll see... I see him as more of a cross between Bill Clinton and Adam Sandler.  Time will tell!

 These two guys were so excited to go to school today. When I picked him up, Davis told me "Mom, this was the funnest day of Preschool EVER!"  Love him!

Diaper Free!

Davis surprised us all by getting himself potty-trained over the course of three days.  I used some serious bribery (a remote-controlled Thomas train) and he climbed up on the potty, went #1 & #2 and that was that...off to Toys-R-Us we went to get the train!  He has had a couple of accidents here & there, but nothing out of the ordinary.  He has been insisting on wearing undies for nap, but will let us put a Pull-Up on him overnight.  He's able to stay dry during nap and has recently been staying dry overnight, too!  We are thrilled.  I love not having to change dirty diapers and he is so proud of himself for wearing "big boy undies".  Way to go, Davis!!

Thankful For Davis

I still can't believe that my baby boy is THREE!  It was so fitting that his birthday was on Thanksgiving day this year, because he gives us something to be thankful for every single day.  He is such a little spitfire...funny, resilient, optimistic and a little mischievous (okay, maybe more than a little).  But, he is our sweet boy and we would not change a single thing about this little stinker.  We love you to the moon and back, Davis!

Checking out his new bike!  Now he can pedal along with the big kids!

Grandad helped him get on the new ride.

And...he's off!!

Grandma Nancy & Dezo were safely hanging out in the dining room, away from crazy cyclist.  Carter & Grandad played with Legos while the birthday boy did puzzles, in an effort to keep little boys out of the kitchen.  

Davis with the Thomas cake he talked about for weeks.  He was so excited!!

Blowing out candles and sharing some extra frosting with Carter.

Playing with his new horse, Bullseye.  Giddy-Up!

Carter got to open his belated gift from Grandma & Grandad--Buzz Lightyear!!

...and Buzz's friend, Woody!

Three real cowboys...Cowboy Davis, Woody & Grandad!  We had a great time celebrating our little boy and are most thankful for what he brings to our family.  He couldn't be more different from his big brother, but they are each special and completely loved.  Happy Birthday, buddy!