Life is Beautiful...: April 2013

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Noah's First day of Preschool

I have been putting preschool off for months. I have come up with every excuse possible...until now. Yesterday Noah packed up his "things" and headed to preschool for the first time. It was a long process trying to decide on which school to send him to. By chance a good friend of mine mentioned the preschool her son was just starting to attend and she was already raving about it! Casey, Noah, Gabriel and I visited a total of 5 different preschools all of which had been recommended by friends. Two of them were a definite no, 1 a maybe, but then we had the hard choice between the last two. One we absolutely fell in love with, but Noah had to be completely potty trained and he couldn't start until the fall. The other we liked, but they accepted him immediately and would work with us in the potty process. So, the decision was made on our like not love...

Once the decision was made I called Pastor Mike (the director) and arranged everything to bring Noah in on Wednesday April 3rd!! So, Mommy filled out all the paperwork, picked out his first day clothes, packed his back pack with diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes. We were all set.

Wednesday arrived and I woke up SO nervous! LOL... I made homemade waffles, eggs, cut up fresh fruit and made sure Noah had a bountiful meal before his first day!! He gobbled up his waffles and fruit, pushed the eggs around and drank his entire sippy of milk. We got all dressed, hair done and shoes on. We were out the door by 8:15am.

I watched Noah in the rear view mirror as we drove to school. I was sad, nervous and excited all at the same time. I was sad that this chapter was closing, nervous because I wanted to be sure I was placing him in the right hands, and excited because I KNOW he is ready for this next chapter! When we pulled up yesterday we watched a little girl dash across the parking lot to one of the teachers and jump into her arms... good sign?? In my book that is a big fat YES!!! I settled down a bit about placing him in the right hands. Noah jumped out of the car, put his back pack on and headed to school. I had to beg him for a couple of pictures and was surprised when he gladly posed and smiled for me then said "mommy can we go in now???". Hmmm was it me or him stalling... I think me.

Pastor Mike's wife greeted us, introduced us to his new teacher, and "shoved" us out the door. No tears were shed... except by Mommy on the drive home. Noah didn't even notice we left. I watched him for a minute through the glass window and he was smiling at the teacher...not Mommy. He was talking to her...not Mommy. I felt a tug at my heart, but I know this is the right thing for him.... His teachers said he had an amazing first day even making a baby chic picture with purple feathers (his favorite color). He didn't even notice we were gone until 11:45... 15 minutes before we were to pick him up.

I can't wait to see how Noah blossoms... I'm sure it will be amazing.

Noah eating breakfast...

On our way.. blanky and all...

Outside preschool... posing for Mommy..

All set to head in...

Doesn't he look too tiny for school...

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Easter 2013

We spent Easter 2013 in Fresno with Grandpa Frosty, Grandma Coco, and Uncle Bill (Casey's Great Uncle). We headed up Thursday night and stayed through Sunday evening. Friday was spent running a few last minute "Easter bunny errands" and Grandma Coco and Mommy grabbed a pedicure while they were out! :-) On Saturday we headed over to a community Easter egg hunt where there were bounce houses, fire trucks, police cars, a puppet show and of course an Easter bunny! Saturday afternoon we played in Grandma Coco's pool, dyed some eggs and had Easter dinner. When we woke up on Sunday we had been visited by the Easter bunny! The boys found bubbles, coloring books, new flip-flops, a new chuggington train and of course a little bit of candy! After breakfast we headed to New Covenant for church and Sunday afternoon we headed to Grandpa Wood's house for yet ANOTHER amazing dinner! The boys had a great time! Happy Easter to everyone!

Friday we celebrated Gabey's birthday with Grandma Coco...

Blowing out the candles...

Gabriel dying some Easter eggs

Noah dying Easter eggs... yes this is a clothes off process...

Noah testing out the pool... a little COLD for my taste!

Uncle Bill headed out to watch the boys dye the eggs

Not sure what to think about the baskets...

Whoa!!

Thank you Daddy!

LOL... these are their "happy" Easter faces..

Heading to church...

I had asked for a happy face...lol...

Grandma coco and her boys..

At Grandpa Wood's

Walking through the orchard...

Mommy: "Noah please go put your arm around your brother so I can take a picture"...

Play time with Grandpa...

He got to ride in Grandpa's "big truck"...

Monday, April 1, 2013

Happy 2nd Birthday Gabey!

Yesterday we celebrated Gabriel's second birthday. We can hardly believe our baby is 2! He is such a sweet, gentle and funny little guy. When we first found out we were "expecting" Gabriel I was shocked and not sure how I felt about having another baby so soon after having Noah (he was only 4 1/2 months when we found out!). I was just starting to settle into being a Mommy to one let alone being a Mommy to two so quickly! I was scared, nervous and tired!! My pregnancy was tough at the beginning with horrible morning sickness until the 5th month. The 5th, 6th and most of the 7th month were a breeze. At 7 months our obstetrician thought she had found a "mass" on his kidney. Needless to say it was at that moment I realized how much I loved Gabriel already. I was devastated that he could be in any sort of danger or pain...and I didn't even "know" him yet. I prayed and prayed that he was fine and by the miraculous grace of God we saw the perinatologist and he informed us that Gabriel looked perfect. Five weeks later Gabe made his debut (3 weeks early). I went into labor on March 25th at about 10am and he was born at 4:08pm weighing in at 8lbs 6oz and 20 inches in length. Gabriel is a gentle little soul, sweet, charming, a social butterfly and definitely a blessing from God! He has the biggest blue eyes and I think I could stare at him for hours. He will quietly sit and play with toys until big brother Noah comes to harass him and then....oh then... does that little man become verbal! He is gentle and quiet until you mess with his things. He loves to walk around with little cars or trains in his hands while also trying to tote around his blanky, mickey mouse, and of course his sippy with water. He loves to copy Noah and will do just about anything Noah tells him to do including "naughty" things. Those two are two peas in a pod and I'm not even going to start imagining what they will be like in a few years! They already sit in the backseat of the car and make each other crack up with Gabriel saying "funny funny" if Noah does something amusing. We are so so blessed to have Noah and Gabriel! We love you to the moon and back Gabriel and way way more than choo choo trains and bubba gum!

Gabriel had an amazing birthday day despite being sick. He started by climbing into bed with Mommy while Daddy got ready for work. We came downstairs, had breakfast and then headed out for some Mommy and Gabey time. Thank you Grandma Seuss for watching Noah so we could do this! We went to Toys R Us and picked out a few things, then to Party city to pick out our themed plates and balloons! Thomas the Train was what he picked... after the balloons were blown up we picked up a cake and headed home... Grandma Sue, Noah, Daddy, Mommy, Sandra, Aunt Bethie, Uncle Sean, Maura, and Kellan all came over for pizza, cake and presents! Thank you everybody for coming over and helping us to celebrate Gabe's 2nd birthday!