First Day of Kindergarten

Caden had a great 1st day of school on Monday. She was so happy to be at school and was not scared at all. I was happy, but I still cried like a baby when I left.

Caden in front of the school.

Closer Up!

On Monday, Grandma sent an email with the following picture saying 'remember this!'
(I think that I cried that day, too.) I love that I have a picture of her holding the same thing in this picture and in the one below it.

1st day of Childrens Day Out - Summer of 2006

1st Day of Kindergarten

Caden in her chair at school

Caden with her teacher Mrs. Coggins

Thank you to everyone who called to give us your support on Monday. I have the best family ever and it felt great to have everyone to talk to on such a hard, but happy day. I love you guys!

Now I am getting nervous

I have been asked a few times about how I feel about Caden starting kindergarten soon. My response has usually been that I am okay with it now, but I am sure the reality of it will hit closer to the first day of school. Last night reality hit and I am so nervous. We went to the school to meet her teacher last night and even though things went great, I am still nervous.
Actually, I should be feeling great after last night. The kindergarten enrollment was not as large as predicted so at the last minute the teacher we thought Caden would have for the year was moved to Pre-K. That turned out great for us because now her teacher is the wife of a co-worker of mine. I still do not really know her, but some how it makes me feel better. Maybe like she isn't a complete stranger that I am leaving my child with all day long. Does that make sense? Besides, Mrs. Coggins seemed really nice and she said she would take care of my baby for me. That always helps.
One thing I have been worried about is the fact that Caden will have to make all new friends. At least that is what I thought. Last night we found out that a little girl on her old soccer team as well as one on her current team are in the same class! I don't know that they will be best friends or anything, but she will know a couple kids.
Monday will be a hard day. I am worried about the school being so big. Drop-offs and pick-ups scare me and she will be eating in a huge cafeteria for lunch! I hope she doesn't feel lost and scared, but I am sure she will be fine. It will probably be like the first time I dropped her off at childrens day out when she just took off running into the classroom without a second thought or a 'bye momma'.
Yep, Monday will be a hard day.

Birthday Celebrations

I am about two weeks behind with this post! My little girl turned 5 years old on the 12th. Can you believe that? So, I know I have probably already said this thousands of times, but I cannot believe how fast time flies when you have kids. It is crazy. And this little girl is definitely crazy spoiled. Caden pretty much had 3 birthday celebrations this year.
The first was the weekend before her birthday. Grandma, Shandra, Airiana and Shayne came into town to see Caden's soccer game, build-a-bear and just celebrate. I did not get many pictures from the weekend, but I did get one of Caden blowing out the candles!

Everyone had to leave to head back to SA after the 'party' but we wished they could have stayed longer.
On her birthday, Caden received a candy basket from Granddad! This thing was huge and had so many goodies packed in there. It was way cool!

For dinner we met Grammy and Papaw at Chick-fil-A. Yummy! Once again I forgot to take pictures. Brent saved the day by pulling out his phone and capturing this one.


Brent and I got her a bike for her birthday and so Grammy and Papaw got her the matching helmet and knee & elbow pads. We thought it was funny that she didn't even wait to get it out of the package before trying it on.


Later that week we decided to try out the new slip-n-slide that Grandma bought her. Caden and Jace both loved it. The following pictures pretty much sum it up!



The weekend after Caden's birthday, my sisters and their crews came in from SA to celebrate. We had originally planned on a party at the park, but it got rained out. We ended up at Double Dave's instead and I am glad we did. It turned out to be a great spot!
Finally, I remembered the camera for this one! I could not get blogger to work with me on the order of these pictures so they are in a weird order.

Opening Barbie #1

Opening Barbie #2

#3 was a Ken doll and I think that Caden was almost as in love with him as Grammy was - almost. I was cracking up at the store when my mom bought it. She thought the Ken doll had gotten alot more handsome since she was a kid!

Barbie #4 is a Birthday Barbie
I guess by now you know that Caden is way into Barbie.

The whole crew - well most of them anyways. I do not see Jace in there but he is quite the little toot these days and he doesn't sit still for long - especially not in public.

Even though we just 'showed up' for a party a Double Dave's, they took the time to send a guy out with pizza dough to 'teach' the kids how to make a pizza. They also got to do a little pizza dough toss. We were very impressed that they did this for us and the kids loved it of course.

Finally we get to the goodies! We had SpongeBob cupcakes!

Overall, Caden had a wonderful birthday this year! Thanks to everyone who made it so special.

Transition to the Big Boy Bed

Since Jace was some how finding a way to get into his bed on his own (probably with the help of his sister), we figured it wouldn't be long before he found a way out - on his own. So Brent set up his big boy bed that we bought him for his birthday. He loves it!
I am not sure how we got so lucky, but we have not had any major problems with him sleeping in his new bed. The first night he slept in the big boy bed Brent put him down because I was at my parents house. Brent said he cried because he wanted me, but quickly went to sleep with out giving Brent any problems. The next few nights were about the same. I would put him to bed and he would go right to sleep. The past few nights Jace has been either walking out of his room acting like we never put him to bed (smiling SO big) or calling Momma over and over. It doesn't last too long though so I still believe we are lucky.
A few times I have gone in to check on Jace and found him on the floor. I am not sure if he fell off or if he got out on his own. At least the bed is not very high off of the ground!
Caden used to be the one that woke us up early on the weekends, but now it is Jace we hear coming in our room so early!

Whoa...

Has it really been a whole month since I have posted?
Even though April Fools Day is not one of my favorites, I had a pretty good day today. This morning I had a parent/teacher conference with Caden's preschool teacher. Mrs. Rankin said such great things about Caden which made me so proud. Caden had improved from last semester on all of her skills. It was really a short conference because there were not any major issues which is a good thing. At the end, Mrs. Rankin said that she will miss Caden next year and she hopes that she will get to teach Jace eventually. I had to laugh a little and tell her she was in for a surprise when Jace gets to her class. She just smiled and said she was sure that she would love having him in her class even if he was nothing like his sister!
At work we had one of our project meetings with the owner. We never have really bad meetings with this owner which is great. This meeting was really relaxed and we laughed a lot. It is just kinda weird that the meetings can be fun. They never get heated like some of the meetings that I have been in with other owners. We had a couple of people try to throw out little April Fools jokes, but nothing anyone took seriously. I don't know why I always worry so much before the meeting about how it will go.
This evening I have been listening to Jace talking away. He is learning to put two words together and I love how he leaves words out. For example, he will be looking for Caden and say Pie Pie..... Are you? or playing peek-a-boo and say I you (instead of I see you)! I also love when he says hold you instead of hold me. I know that most kids say the same things but for some reason it is just so precious to me when they come out of his mouth.
Oh and we had pizza for dinner. Of course food would be part of the reason I had a good day!

Better Than Just A Couple Pictures

I am so excited that Cricket has decided to start a blog. Now I will get to keep up with what is going on with the Blake Family of Four (Nick, Cricket, Bailey & Dakota, the pup)! Click over to her blog and check out all of the cute pics of Bailey. She is adorable.
Oh, and while you are there wish Cricket a Happy Birthday, too!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Today Jace turns two years old! He is not a baby anymore. Jace is growing up in so many ways. He is finally starting to really talk and trying to say new words everyday. Now that he is in Childrens Day Out, he is learning how to interact with other children and new people. We have only had one bad report so far. Jace did some pushing at school and had to have a time out. They said that it broke his heart, but he hasn't done it again. At the V-day party on Thursday, he was a little upset about one of his friend's mom trying to help him with his food. He just takes awhile to warm up to strangers, but I do think that he is getting better. I pray that he does not turn out to be shy like his momma. Jace is also getting so tall. Most of his pants get too short before they even fit in the waist!

Although he is still a momma's boy, I feel like I finally have a happy baby - oh, wait he isn't a baby anymore. Anyways, he is more independent these days and such a silly boy. He has been giving us this silly eyes look that makes us crack up laughing. He can be a flirt when he wants to. Jace LOVES bath time and to brush his teeth. However, he hates when it is time to put lotion on and get pjs on after his bath.

Today I am going to attempt to make some Elmo cupcakes. If they turn out okay then I will make them for his party next weekend. Jace loves Elmo so we are doing another Sesame Street party this year.

I have been a really lazy blogger lately, but I have plans to catch up. Coming soon...

Pictures of Baby Bailey, LeighAnne's Wedding, Fun at the Ranch

Happy Valentine's Day!

1/2 Snow Day!

The weather is horrible in Lubbock today if you have to get out in it (but quite pretty from inside the warm cozy house). Lubbock ISD did not cancel school today so neither did Caden & Jace's school. I got brave and took them to school and headed to work. The roads were really not too bad at that time. However, once lunch time rolled around and I had to pick them up from school, I noticed that the roads had gotten worse. So I have decided to take a 1/2 snow day!

View from our front door after lunch today

We hope everyone has a happy and safe afternoon.

Good School Day

Today was Career Day for Caden. Last week when we talked about what she wanted to be when she grows up, she decided she wants to be a chef. She came up with this one all on her own, too. So we borrowed some things from Grammy & Papaw's house and dressed Caden up as a chef for school today. The chef hat is actually a Santa chef hat, but I think she pulled it off well!

Jace wanted to be in these pictures, but didn't want to smile. Little toot.

However, once we got him to school this morning he was great! He walked right into his classroom this moring, ready for a fun day. He did not cling to me and he did not even cry! I was amazed and so proud. Yay! He likes going to school now.

Tagged

I was tagged by Ashley! You are supposed to pick your 4th picture folder & display the 4th picture.

On my laptop I have a picture of baits! If you needs some head over to alluringbaits.com. Hehehe!


I also checked the 4th pic in the 4th folder on my computer at work and found this one. Amber, me and Ash - I believe it was taken Easter weekend in April 2006 and Amber was pregnant with the twins.

Bailey Morgan Blake

She is here! Bailey Morgan Blake was born at 11:23 this morning! She weighes 6lbs 3 oz and is 19.5 inches long. Cricket and Bailey are both doing great.
Congratulations Cricket and Nick! I can't wait for the pictures!!!!

Big Dad's Santa Land

On the Eve of Christmas Eve, Caden and Jace were invited to Big Dad's Santa Land! Halle, Chad's daughter, invited them and other friends to her Grandparents house to look at the lights and Christmas blow-ups. Caden was so excited to get to spend some time with Halle again. The last time they played at Halle's house they had such a great time.
The entire trip over to Big Dad's house, Caden was trying to remember Halle's name. She would call her Sally or Holly - everything but Halle. However, by the time we got there she was saying, "I know her name is Halle, right?" Later that evening we found out that Halle had a hard time remembering Caden's name, too. She was calling her Kate! I thought it was perfect!
Halle took Caden and Jace out to the backyard to show them the lights and the blow-ups. They loved them. My favorite was the leg lamp - too funny!



Caden and Halle in front of Mickey Mouse.
The dog loved trying to lick the candy cane off of Jace's face!

The kids spent most of the time in the swing.

This is baby Tess, Halle's little sister. I think she looks like her Daddy!

Enjoying the hot chocolate.

This picture was taken on the way back to the truck. I just love the pigtails in the wind!

The kids had a great time playing and I had a great time catching up with Chad. We do not get to talk much anymore since we are working on different projects now. Thank you to The Henthorns for thinking of us and having us over. We enjoyed it!

Baby Bailey

I received an email last night letting me know that my college roommate will be having her baby girl really soon. Cricket will be induced on Tuesday, January 20th - unless Bailey decides to come earlier! I am so excited for Cricket and Nick. I hope to have some pictures and updates by the end of next week!

Remembering Jerod

See Ashley's blog for more.

We Made it Through

Tuesday morning was hard on me. I dropped Jace off that morning for his first day of school (actually it was Childrens Day Out, but we call it school since Caden goes to preschool there). His teachers were great at diverting his attention so that I could leave the room, but as I was walking out he started crying. He was crying pretty hard when I walked away. Debbie, the head of CDO, gave me her cell phone number so I could call and check on him later. So, I walked out of the building and sat in the truck trying not to cry, trying not to go back inside. Instead I called my mom. Things are always better after I talk to my mom. She assured me that Jace would be fine. Later, when I called Debbie she let me know that Jace had stopped crying and that he was doing fine. At the time I called his class was singing songs and dancing.
When I went to pick him up at noon, he was happily playing. He did not look unhappy or uncomfortable which made me really happy.

While I was getting all of his stuff together, I asked him if he had a good day and if he liked school. He said yes! Less than one minute later, Debbie walked by and asked Jace the same thing and he said No! Little toot!

Jace was in such a good mood and I really do think that he had a good time at school. He was excited to find Caden's classroom. He had a little hop in his step, like he was feeling like a big boy going to school!

I am so glad that we both made it through that morning! Tomorrow is his second day at school. I am wondering if it will be easier because he knows what is going to happen or if knowing what will happen will make tomorrow worse. I might have to try letting Brent take him to school. He will probably be better for Brent - that is the case with everything else!

On the other hand, Caden couldn't wait to get back to school. She loves it and never looks back when I drop her off. Most of the time I have to stop her and asks for hugs and sugars before she goes in her classroom.

Today was Horrible Hair Day at school. Caden loved her hair and was so excited that she was giggling all the way down the hall to her classroom. It was so cute. She couldn't wait to see her classmates and for them to see her.