Daniel's Birthday - A Month Later

Daniel turned 4 on August 25th and I just don't know where these last four years have gone.  I guess because he is my "baby", I always think that he should be just that; a baby!  But, if it's one thing that being around Daniel will assure you of, it's that he is definitely NOT a baby anymore.  And with him starting pre-K this year and being gone all day, I actually find myself thinking that he's actually older than he really is.

Now, if you know Daniel, this will come as no big surprise, but this year, he requested a Lightning McQueen cake.  Shocking, I know.  And once again, his birthday was pure craziness.  His birthday now falls directly on, or a day or two after, the first day of school (for the boys and for me!)  Plus, with him being in school on his birthday, it wasn't just his cake that I had to prepare that day, but I also had to make and deliver cupcakes to the school for him and 18 of his closest friends (plus the two teachers.)  By the time the boys got home from school, I had just enough time to finish decorating the cake, send Dylan and the boys out to pick up pizza for dinner, eat the pizza, open what seemed like 100 presents, and enjoy a tiny slice of cake on my way out the door for my class.  Phew!

But, overall, I think he had a great birthday.  Now, if only I can convince him that he is 4, not 5!  Every time I ask him how old he is, he tries to insist that he is 5.  Please, oh please, stop trying to grow up so fast.  Your Mommy's heart just can't take it anymore!

The cake.  It's not my best work because I was in such a big rush to get it done, but definitely fine for a 4 year-old's standards.  From now on, I have decided that Daniel's cakes have to be done the day before his birthday since the day of is just too, too busy!

Posing with his cake.

So excited to see all of his presents!

Singing along to "Happy Birthday".

Blowing out the candles - make a wish!  Happy 4th Birthday, Daniel!

I'm sure he's ready for soccer, I'm just not sure soccer is ready for him!

What do you think?  Maybe he's trying to tell me how far he's going to kick the ball?  Or maybe he's just being Daniel.  All I know is that these are the poses I got after the first smile when I asked, "Show me you are ready to go play some soccer!"  It's almost like he's saying, "You know I'm ready, but the real question is are YOU ready?"

Our Week Away

This year, we went to the beach with my parents and we tried somewhere new.  We went to Avon, NC and it was wonderful!  It was secluded, but still had lots of nearby entertainment.  And most importantly, the beach was beautiful and God blessed us with wonderful weather for the entire week.  We took my nieces with us so that the boys could have a week with their best buds at the beach and everyone had a great time.  My sister and brother in law joined us for the last two days and we got to celebrate my Mom and Daniel's (a few days early) birthdays while everyone was together.

All the beach bums: Daniel, Laura, Jacob, Emma, & Sarah

There was a sand bar there most of the week - the kids loved it because they felt like we were letting them go out far, but by the time they made it to the sand bar, the water was only up to their ankles!

Even Daniel got to enjoy the sand bar!

We headed to the Hatteras Lighthouse one day since we were only staying about 10 miles away.

We made it! Some of the kids and I at the top of the lighthouse.  I was shocked that we all made it, to be honest.  You cannot lift or carry anyone inside the lighthouse, which meant all 5 kids (and us 4 adults!) had to climb each and every one of the 248 steps to the top.  Phew!

Mom and Sarah even made it all the way up.  I think Mom may have almost completely conquered her fear of heights since last time we climbed the lighthouse in 2005, she would only climb to the top, but wouldn't come out of the stairwell.

After the lighthouse, we rode the ferry over to Ocracoke Island and had lunch.  The kids loved riding the ferry!

Apparently, Daniel was VERY excited about being on the ferry!

Dylan & David rented a kayak on our last day there.  The kids had a blast riding it, but I think the grown-ups enjoyed it the most.  ;)

David pulls the kids out across to the sand bar.

Daniel got a turn, too!  He stayed in the "shallow end", but he still had a blast.

Jacob and Dylan after their ride.

This picture cracks me up every time I see it.  It looks like Jacob is the navigator, while David does all the rowing and Princess Laura is just along for the ride. 

Daniel goes for a walk with one of his best buds, Pop-Pop.

This picture pretty much sums up our week.  Just best buds all hanging together.  I love getting the chance to get away for a while and it makes it even better to have my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and all my nieces with us.  I already can't wait for next year!

We've had a great summer and I can hardly believe that it has already come to an end!  Every summer, I find myself in awe of how fast our time off goes by.  After school let out, we spent a week up at my sister's hanging by the pool.  Then, we headed to my Mom and Dad's for the 4th of July.  Every year, we go to the 4th of July Parade in Brandermill and then go to a baseball game there in Richmond.  This year, after the game, they let the kids go out and run the bases.  The boys had a blast doing this and I was surprised how quickly they were able to run since it was almost 10 pm by the time the game was over!  Here is a picture of them getting ready to 'round first base:

After the 4th of July, we headed back up to my sister's house to house/dog/cat sit while they were on vacation.  I was worried about the boys being bored since the girls weren't there, but they really had a blast.  By the second day, Daniel finally went into the pool with just his floaties (no ring) and this made Jacob really happy since now he had someone to play with in the pool.

Just two best friends, hanging by the pool.

I still think Jacob's favorite part of the week was taking care of the cat and dogs.  The poor boy needs a dog like you wouldn't believe, but he's not getting one!  I loved being around animals again, but it was also a reminder of how much cleaning you have to do when you have them.  Jacob will have to do with just visiting animals for now.

After we came back from my sister's, Jacob came down with what I first thought was just another case of strep throat.  Nope, it was MONO!  And let me just say: It. Was. Horrible.  He just laid around for a week and took naps.  His glands were so swollen that they had to put him on steroids because he was having trouble breathing and swallowing.  Here are a few pictures of just how swollen his neck got:

I cannot believe he found the strength to smile for this picture.  He really was quite a sad sight.

By the time we were done surviving mono, it was almost time for our week at the beach and then for school to start.  Those posts are coming soon!  I hope everyone had an amazing summer and that it didn't fly by as fast as ours did.

School's Out!

Daniel finished up preschool last month.  Dylan and I attended the end of year ceremonies where Daniel did exactly what I predicted - nothing!  He walked in with his class and they stood them all up on the stage.  They sang some songs and recited their class verse.  Well, everyone but Daniel.  To be fair, there were one or two other children in his class that didn't sing or talk, but even some of them were at least doing the hand motions.  Oh, well!  He still looked handsome!

Here he is with Ms. Shawna, his assistant teacher.  Ms. Debbie had to leave early and we didn't get to get a picture with her.  :(

Jacob finished up school last week and 1st grade is officially over!  They held an awards ceremony for the honor roll students last month and we were so proud!

Of course, Daniel had to get in on the picture action.

Jacob, receiving his award and medal from his principal, Mrs. Arnold.

Showing off his award and medal.  He received an award for being on the Principal's List for the entire year (having all A's).  So proud!

The end of the school year was also the same time as the end of the baseball season.  This was Jacob's last year doing coach-pitched and will move up to machine-pitch next year.

Playing first base.  Yes, he caught that ball!  He really improved leaps and bounds from last year.  He's a fast runner, good hitter and great catcher.  I can't wait to see what next year brings!

Sliding into home plate on the last play of the season.

Dylan was an assistant coach this season and I think the two of them really had a blast spending time together on the field.

Jacob getting his trophy from his favorite coach - Dylan!

It was a great school year and baseball season.  We are enjoying summer so far and will definitely enjoy our time off, but I can't wait to see what next year (& seasons) bring.  The boys are just getting bigger every day, but so is my heart.  I have truly been loving being a Mommy!

Drum Roll Please...

I know, you've been sitting on pins and needles waiting for the pictures of our new grass.  No?  Oh, well - you're going to have to look at them anyway!

First, here are some pictures that I took while the work was being done:

Putting in the drainage pipes.

More drainage pipes. They went ahead and connected both our downspouts and our foundation drains from our basement while they already had everything dug up.

This is what it looked like when they were done with all the grading.

The 15 tons of compost they brought in. 15 tons doesn't look nearly as much as I thought it would be - it's pretty much just one dump truck load.

After they spread out all the compost, they put down a ton of lime and fertilizer and tilled it all together using a tractor.  Then they went through with rakes and did the "fine grading".  There was a man that we called "bucket boy" because it appeared that his only job while he was here was walking around and picking up all the rocks, roots, and debris out of the dirt before they put the seed down.  Well, when it came time to put down the seed, "bucket boy" went around with his bucket full of seed and flung it around they yard.  By hand.  I thought, "This is crazy - it's going to take forever."  Let me tell you, if you ever need your yard seeded, I'll get you "bucket boy's" number.  That man had some mad skills when it came to throwing down seed.  It was quite impressive.

And after a lot of watering....

Ta-Da!

Look!  No more rocks!

And no more rivers!  Yay!

This picture cracks me up!  I don't think I've ever seen Dylan so happy to cut the grass.  I think he was just happy because now we actually have grass.

We still have to wait another week or two before we put our swing set and trampoline back up, but I can't wait!  The boys will finally be able to play outside on a regular basis and I won't have to keep buying an insane amount of stain stick and laundry detergent.  The way our backyard was a few months ago, if it rained, we had to wait a good 2-3 days before it would be dry enough for us to go outside.  Now, they should be able to go out almost as soon as the sun comes out.  Hooray!

Don't worry - I promise to post something more exciting (or at least cuter) next time!