Paging Dr. Henry

I had some medical issues earlier in the week and was bound to the couch for much of the following day.  My mom was worried about me being able to fulfill my normal, daily parental duties, but I assured her I was in very good hands.

At least I was when he wasn't messing around on his "phone"....

Out to the Ballgame

Our family was long overdue for a Cardinals baseball game, so when the request showed up on the Summer Fun List, we had to oblige!  My dad was able to score some decent tickets so to the baseball game we went!

And we were pretty pumped about it!

Amelia seemed to think that if she covered up her Cardinals shirt, the other team's outfielder would throw her a ball.

Henry was very serious about the wave and named it as his favorite part of the game. I was just glad we made it that long!

Teacher Gift 2012

It is HARD not to look at Pinterest and want to appreciate a teacher on a daily basis.  There are so many brilliant, simple ideas! Amelia's first grade teacher this year is also a first time teacher.  So of all the choices, wishing her a "smooth year" seemed most appropriate.  So a ribbon and three Bath and Body lotions later we had a sweet gift to share on the second week of school.  And although it probably won't be all smooth all the time, at least she will smell good during it.

And.....It's Here!

Well despite my very best efforts, summer has ended and first grade has come.  First grade sounds SO. MUCH. OLDER than kindergarten.  It seems like at the start of each school year, I go into a short depression period.  Incidentally, I also experience this at the end of the school year as well.  It is such a bittersweet experience watching your children grow.

 See?  Watching Amelia eat breakfast with her backpack on that first day of first grade reminded me of the picture I had of her first day of preschool.  Wow.  It is a little sad looking at these pictures side by side.

Amelia was ready to get to school, as usual.  I feel so lucky to have a kid eager to start the school year every year!  I hope that her brother will follow right in those footsteps!  Not only did First Grade bring new friends and a new teacher, it also brought individual desks and lockers!

It is going to be a fantastic year!  (I can say this with great confidence since I am playing big time catch up on the blog right now).

It's Coming!

First Day of Preschool

With mixed emotions, I decided it was time for Henry to head off to pre-school.  He is lucky enough to have a winter birthday (Did you hear that?  I just identified a winter birthday advantage!), which in our school district allows him to attend a program called "Minds in Motion".  It's for children who are at least 2 years, 6 months when the school year begins.  Being a boy (and a mischievous one at that), I figured an extra year of pre-school certainly wouldn't hurt him.  He will attend (with his super cool Lightning McQueen backpack) school on Mondays only for 3 hours each week.  Just right!

Man, I love this picture.  Henry's face is priceless.  Amelia starts school a couple weeks after Henry so she was around for his first day festivities.  We only had to remind her a couple of times that it is HENRY'S special day.

He was pretty excited to have a special place for his backpack.  After the first day, his picture was on this tag too.

He immediately attached himself to this tractor and not surprisingly it has remained a favorite on into year 2 of pre-school (one of the few advantages to being so behind on this blog is that I can make comments like that).

He got a glowing review from his teacher after day 1 (she called each parent to let them know!).  We celebrated with a little trip to the park after pick up.

And despite it being Henry's special day, Amelia declared it the perfect day to cross the monkey bars from start to finish all by herself! A special day indeed for both Ward children!

First Ever Sleepover

Amelia was so pumped to have her BFF over to spend the night! It was her first EVER sleepover hosted at OUR house!  So exciting!

I told her we could bring out her "spa set" she received as a birthday present and Amelia ran with that idea!  Her excitement was contagious.

We started the night with manicures and pedicures and some fancy snacks and drinks.

And some hair glitter too, of course.

These girls are two peas in a pod.  They could NOT have been cuter together!

After the girls got beautiful, we did one of our favorite summertime activities and loaded our snacks and blanket to watch a local outdoor movie. It was the Wizard of Oz and they had so much fun together!  The girls were up till about 11 (although the movie lasted until 10:15 or so) and they "slept in" until about 6:45. 

We couldn't have planned a much easier first sleepover.  Hopefully they are all like that.  Ha!

Magic House Redo

After a failed attempt at the Magic House earlier in the summer, we headed back to try again.  This trip did NOT disappoint and everyone kept their breakfasts in their tummies.

Summer Reading

Love my little bookworms.  The one that reads in his underwear...

And the one that can't make it all the way down the stairs without stopping to read some more Harry Potter.

Stylin'

We have a family friend who is a bit on the flashy side.  He is single and enjoys all of the bachelorhood glories that go along with it.  A decade or two ago he went through a phase of wearing a button down shirt daily. Except instead of buttoning it like a normal person, he'd leave the top 4 or 5 buttons undone and pair it with a thick gold chain.  We always got a chuckle out of that look, especially after sitting across the arena from him at a St. Louis Blues Hockey game and seeing his gold chain gleaming in the lights from so far away.

Anyway, it is rare that I can see that bare chest, flashy necklace look and not think of this particular man.  So, when Henry unknowingly did his best impression of this guy, I had to snap a few pictures.

I especially love the added look with the blow dryer since I'm quite sure this individual uses a blow dryer to make sure that his hair is styled just right, every time.