10 on Tuesday

If you've been following my last 2 weeks of 10 on Tues, then you will not be surprised to see that this week is about Sean!  I title this:

10 {poses} of Sean.  Because... well... he poses for me all the time now!  Stinkin cutie!

   

notice the hands on the hips in several of these? love it!

my handsomes

For years Sean would run from my camera.  The eldest son of a photographer and at 2 years old he had his fill of getting his picture taken.  But, being the loving mom & stalking photographer that I am I kept prying.  And now at 5 (and a half!) he poses for every picture! Sometimes I have to ask him NOT to pose if I'm trying to get an action shot.  He is SOOO cute!

And the reason Sean isn't running from my camera anymore is because I believe he has passed the baton off to Nolan.  On any typical day it takes great amount of bribery to get him to stand still long enough to look at me, let alone smile.

But as you can see, this day was different.  The boys humored me enough to get some adorable shots of both of them.  A little bit silly and a whole lot of cute, and it only cost me two little packets of Smarties.  I wouldn't trade them for the world!

1st day of kindergarten!

Well, in one hour (at midnight) it will officially be one week past my due date!  Little guy sure loves his momma and where he is ;) Ha!

So in the meantime, I need to share about Sean's first day of kindergarten, which was such a bittersweet day for this momma!

I'm not sure whose idea it was to be almost 39 weeks pregnant on Sean's first day of school, but I woke up that day crying.  Oh man.  I wasn't sure if I'd be ok!  I was thinking of the past 5 years and all the time I've spent with Sean, wondering if I made the most of it or if it was wasted.  Things that I'm sure are needless worries, but I still thought about.  We got up & got Sean ready for school, then of course had to head outside to take some pictures!  What's a first day of school without a ton of pictures, especially when your mom is a photographer? ;)  My poor children...

I'm not sure if you can tell or not, but Sean was a little excited to go to school! Ha! Dathan was able to take an early lunch break and join us as we brought Sean to school for the first time (he is in afternoon kindergarten so he goes from 10:50am-2:10pm).

I did great dropping him off at school!  No tears until we turned around to leave & I saw another om crying, then they all came out.  Luckily Sean didn't see, which was my goal!  It's amazing to watch your children grow up & see them become who God made them to be.  I am so proud of Sean & the little guy is has become.  He is smart & happy & funny & loving, I couldn't have picked out a better oldest child if it was my choice!! 

So far he is doing great at school, really only having a hard time because he is finishing his work too quickly then doesn't know what to do with himself.  So I'm a proud momma!

happy birthday sean!

I was doing SO good about blogging every day and then WHAM... I've missed a week!  Whoops!  That's what happens when busy life gets in the way ;)

Last Sunday we celebrated Sean's 5th birthday (as well as our 7th anniversary, but we will do something probably after the baby comes for our anniversary).  I LOVE celebrating my children.  Their lives are such a gift not only to Dathan & I but to everyone they meet.  God has truly blessed us and the least I can do is celebrate them :)

Sean has always been our gift.  He is a special treasure to us.  He not only is our firstborn, but we found out we were pregnant with him on Christmas Eve, so he was our Christmas present.  My very first ultrasound just happened to be scheduled on my birthday, so he was my birthday present.  And then he was born on our anniversary.  What a neat way for God to introduce one of our greatest gifts to us!

He is so creative and smart!  He will sit and follow directions step by step for Legos or Transformers until he figures out how to do it... by himself... without any help.  He is so loving & compassionate.  I always tell him that God made him the oldest child because He knew that Sean would be the best at that job.  He brings SO much joy to everyone he meets!

We woke him up on the morning of his birthday with some special gifts... his soccer gear!  We signed him up for soccer so we got him the shin guards, cleats, & soccer ball he needed & wrapped it up for him.  He was SOOO excited.

We had donuts for breakfast and then went to church.  After church we came home & Sean asked for quesadillas for lunch, so that's what we had ;)  Then the boys had their rest time, because at 5:00 that night we had his party!  Knowing I would be very pregnant on his birthday & that it would be very hot, we made the decision months ago to do his party at his favorite pizza place (that has a whole arcade inside) and just invite a few of his friends.  It was the best decision ever.  Not only did we not have to worry about cleaning up before or after, the kids were entertained, and with coupons we spent LESS than we did for Nolan's "small" pizza party at my parents house!!!

The day after Sean's party last year he told me he wanted a Star Wars party for his 5th birthday.  He never changed his mind, and so that is what we had!

Sean had almost all of his uncles there.  His real Uncle Timmy "Uncle B" (his other real uncle lives in England).  And his two pretend uncles- Kellen & Swanny. He is so spoiled & blessed with so many people in his life that love him!

Dathan & Swanny went early to decorate the tables and make the balloon light sabers.  Sean asked Dathan the day before his party if he could buy the long balloons and make light sabers for everyone, so of course Dathan did ;)  The kids loved them, and even doubled them as hats.  Too funny!

Sean's request for his cupcakes was "chocolate with Oreos inside" so that is what I made.  They were yummy so it was a good choice for him!  I used this recipe for the cupcakes, and just added the cut up Oreos to it, and then used this recipe for the icing.  I also bought some Star Wars rings to decorate the cupcakes with.  Simple & fun.

Of course what is a party without presents?  The lighting was awful in the pizza place so I didn't get very many good pictures, but here are some of his fun gifts.  Our gift to him wasn't pictured, but we got him a comic book Bible, which he loves & asks to read every night.

Sean & some of his buddies.  These pictures crack me up because they are eating the chocolate cupcakes & it looks like they are missing teeth! Ha!  Like I said the lighting was bad, so I didn't get every kid that was there (what's funny is all the pictures of the girls turned out blurry) but here are some:

Sean, Nolan, & Ethan

Seth, Teagan, Nathan, & Noah

We had such a good time!

And the day after his birthday this year... well, he asked for a Transformers party for his 6th birthday.  Check back next year to see if the little planner changes his mind ;)

our preschool grad!

I cannot believe Sean has graduated from Preschool!  We were so proud of him!  He worked so hard and learned so much during the year.  It's amazing to see how much he's grown that it almost scares me to send him to Kindergarten in September.  Ha!  I said that I feel like a "real" grown-up now that I am going to have a kid in "real" school.  

Sean's Preschool grad was so cute & fun.  They all came into the sanctuary dancing to "I Like to Move It." Sean was rocking out, it was hilarious!

Then they all led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, as well as the Pledge to the Christian flag.  Growing up in church programs and also teaching Kindergarten for a year at a Christian school, I knew the pledge to the Christian flag.  Dathan, however, did not.  It was so funny!  He was trying to make up his own words...

Then they sang LOTS and LOTS of fun songs for us.  Sean knew all the words and hand motions, and had such a good time.  You gotta love kids singing on stage!

When they were calling the kids names for the graduation part, Sean kept leaning forward and waving at us.  See him in the front?  He's so cute!

Calling his name & accepting his diploma.  Yay!

:)

While they were recognizing one of Sean's teachers because she is retiring after this year (so sad that Nolan won't have her) Nolan decided he wanted to be on stage.  Such a silly kid.

They showed a video at the end with interviews with the kids.  Here is when Sean was talking about how he loves to play with his friends at school.

Miss Amy & Miss Robin- Sean's fabulous teachers!

After the graduation they had a huge BBQ and water party out in the park for the whole school.  The boys had so much fun!

Before we left we gave Sean his graduation gift.  I had to document his face while he was getting it because it was something he has been wanting for awhile.  So thankful to have gotten these expressions of him... and he loved his "Light Saver."

Showing Nolan how to use it in the back of Daddy's truck (don't you love Dathan's bumper sticker? Ha! It's SO true!)

And here is Sean on the first day of Preschool & the last day of Preschool.  So much growing in 9 months!

happy unbirthday to you!

I hope everyone had a fun 4th of July weekend!  4th of July is one of my favorite holidays and we had the best weekend!  On Saturday we went to a pool party for our Marriage Matters class at church, Sunday we went to the Homeland patriotic musical at our church, and yesterday we went back to the fun parade we went to last year, then headed to my best friend Erin's parent's house (like last year) for their annual party.  Once I get all of my pictures uploaded I will share with you all the details, but until then...

I will share about Sean's un-birthday party.  Since his birthday is in August, he got to have a pretend birthday party in his class the last week of school.  He told me he wanted Star Wars cupcakes and when asked what kind of cake and frosting he wanted, he answered chocolate to both (just like his daddy).  I have been making cupcakes from scratch recently but I just didn't have the energy/desire to make these from scratch so boxed it was!  I did throw in a little extra, and used Pioneer Woman's tactic of throwing Hershey's kisses in the middle of each cupcake.

I couldn't find Star Wars cupcake toppers anywhere, so I improvised.  I found these stickers and cut out each one (so that I didn't pull the sticker off the back).  Then I put a little dab of school glue on the back and stuck a toothpick in it.  When they dried I stuck them in the middle of the decorated cupcakes.  Go me!  Simple & inexpensive ;)  The best part was, the kids were so excited that their cake toppers were stickers and immediately peeled them off & wore them.  That's much better than just tossing it in the trash ;)

On the day of the party I took Nolan and headed to Sean's class, and my parents met us there.  When we got there, they were doing story & song time on the floor and Sean had Nolan come sit with him.  He immediately put his arm around him and sat like this the whole time.  It was the sweetest.

Sean got to pick 5 friends to sit at his table (because he will be 5 on his birthday) and the first "friend" he picked was Nolan.  Ummm... way to melt a mommy's heart buddy! He was so excited to blow out his candle!

And Nolan just couldn't wait to dig into the cupcake (or more so, the icing!)

As we were leaving after the party I noticed a picture on the wall that Sean drew, with a narration written by his teacher.  Oh my goodness it had to be one of the best drawings I have ever seen in my life ;)  We took it home & I want to frame it to hang in their room!

Now Sean can't wait for his "real birthday" because he didn't get any presents at his un-birthday party! Haha!

exciting news + haircuts!

SO EXCITED!!!!

after 13+ months of having our stuff in storage...

5 months living at Dathan's parents house...

8+ months living at my parent's house...

if you ask me, far too long for a family of 4 (or the parents the family of 4 are living with, I'm sure).

But today, that all changes because...

WE ARE (finally!) MOVING INTO OUR OWN PLACE!!

Like right now.

Probably as you read this.

Imagine me lifting heavy boxes...

Ok, imagine me telling all of our male helpers where to place the heavy boxes.

It has been quite the year.  God promised us a year of change in 2010.  That's what happened.  We moved out of our house, walking in obedience to that change.  Then moved to California, also walking in obedience to that change.  This year, God has promised us that it is our year to plant our roots and grow.  7 days into the year I found out I was pregnant (the "grow" part of our promise) and now we are moving into our own place (the "plant your roots" part of the promise).  I love how God is always so good & faithful to keep His promises!  (as a side note, a few years back Dathan & I started asking God to reveal His promise to our family for the upcoming year.  Every year we have done this He has given us a promise, and every year He has been faithful to fulfill that promise.  He is SO good!)

So anyways, I don't have any pictures (yet!) of the new place (an adorable townhouse!), and obviously of us moving in, so today I am leaving you with pictures of the boys haircuts they got last week :)

The place we take them to gives them the option to put color in their hair after it's cut (just the spray-on washable kind).  Sean was not about it, but Nolan was all for it, and he picked orange.  He is so funny!

Silly faces!

Sweet brothers!

Stay tuned for updates! :)