The End of Crazy May

May was such a crazy busy month - all the end of school activities were a big part of that. Matt graduated from his PreK class and is moving on up to kindergarten! He's grown and learned so much this past year...

We are really going to miss seeing Miss Janette and Miss Andrea...they've been so wonderful and VERY PATIENT with all those crazy 4-5 year olds!

At the end of year party, we got to hear them say the Pledge of Allegiance, count by 2's, 5's, and 10's, read their sight words, and sing some songs. I especially enjoyed this one...

It's just so Matt Mo to have to wipe up his slobber in the middle of the song - he's notorious for his drool!

Afterward, we got to have lunch with our preschool friends one last time...

The following week was Ben's end of year party and awards. He was awarded for having the best handwriting in his class...

 All the kids with their awards and sweet Mrs. Teague...

 After awards, they got to play a bunch of games and run around outside. Ready for duck, duck, goose...

They even got to have their faces painted! Ben makes one cute little pirate...

He has really learned a lot and grown up so much this past year. He's becoming quite the little smarty pants!

On to new adventures in 2nd grade!

Matt Mo is 5!

I felt so bad about leaving Matt Mo on his birthday (for our DC trip) that as soon as we got back he managed to guilt me into our first ever "friends" birthday party (I know, I'm such a lame mom!). We kept it VERY small, but he was thrilled all the same. He was very clear that it needed to be a Star Wars theme, so I did my best with the very little time I had...

All the little jedi's getting some energy out while waiting for the pizza to come...

The goofy birthday boy...

Lunch time!

And opening presents...

The Star Wars pods were a huge hit with all the boys...

And there was cake and ice cream too, of course!

We got to continue the celebrations with my family the next day. Matt Mo and Pops share a birthday and cousin, Cash, has his a week after theirs. There was lots more cake, ice cream, and fun presents, but somehow this was the only photo I managed to take...

It's no secret that 4 is NOT my favorite age so I'm looking forward to all the new things that Matt Mo will learn as a big 5 year old and kindergartner this year!  Despite the stubborn, whiny, and frustrating "4's", there have still been so many sweet and good things too, of course. Here are some things that stand out about our Matthew Maurice:

• He has a tender heart and can be the sweetest kid ever.
• He can also flip a switch and be the most annoying twerp you've ever seen - he knows exactly what buttons to push and loves to get a reaction.
• He says some of the most thoughtful sincere prayers at home (he gets shy in front of others though).
• He is great at giving compliments and often tells me how pretty I look or that he likes something I have on...gonna be a lady charmer!
• 99% sure he is left-handed (every once in a while he uses his right hand just to throw us off).
• He LOVES games, especially on the Wii or dad's iPad.
• He has very vivid dreams and is a great story teller (which sometimes translates to flat out lies - we need to work on that one). One time he told his preschool teacher a very convincing story of how Sadie broke her arm and had to go to the hospital...not true at all! I've also heard him tell his friends stories about going to Disney Land or some other place he's never been - I guess he has a little bit of a need to compete or "1-up" his friends!
• He is VERY particular about certain things. For example, at bedtime his fan needs to be on medium (not high or low) and he has to have his blue blanket on first with the white one on top, etc. He will also call us in to his room after he should be asleep for something as silly as telling us to fix the rug on the floor because it's crooked. I think it's mostly a stalling technique, because (thankfully!) he's not quite so OCD about the rest of his day or his things.
• He enjoyed his first year of soccer and is continuing to improve his skills.
• He will argue something to the death if he thinks it's so...perhaps a future lawyer like his dad!
• He has an impish grin and a nervous giggle. They come out when he's anxious, being naughty or getting in trouble - sometimes I can't help but laugh at it and other times it makes me furious! 

All in all we love our Matt Mo and are so thankful he's part of our family. Happy birthday, my big 5 year old!

Preschool Party

Eek! June is more than half-way over and I have yet to post about Mo's end of preschool party, so here goes.

While we were waiting for all the moms to arrive, Miss Andrea's son, Tyler, offered to read the kids a story. It was pretty much the cutest thing ever...

 Then we gathered around to watch a slideshow of all the fun they had this year...

When an up-beat song came on toward the end, the kids just couldn't help themselves and a dance party broke out...

Miss Janette also made the cutest memory books for each student with photos, art work, and other projects. The last page was an interview with some pretty hilarious Q&A's. Some of my favorites were:

What is your mom's job?  She always gets to go shopping all the time. (Ha! If only, little man!)

What is your dad's job?  He plays games with me. 

Who is the President of the United States? My daddy. 

What is your favorite thing to do? Play games with Ben. (Sweet, even though this almost always ends in fighting and tears.)

After the party, he requested to go to Taco Bell for a celebratory lunch. It's hard to turn down those big brown eyes...

Matt Mo is 4!

We had another birthday celebration... Matt Mo turned 4 this past week! On his actual birthday he got to share some treats at preschool, have a special lunch at Gatti Town, and go swimming at the Natatorium that night. Then we got together with family this weekend for presents, pizza, and CAKE...

He requested a Buzz and Woody cake...sad I didn't have time to make it myself, but he didn't mind!

Guess he was too excited to make a wish...he was blowing out the candles as soon I got them lit!

Licking the frosting off Buzz and Woody...yum!

So excited to be 4!

He came home with quite a loot of new toys too...

What a fun day! I love seeing my children so happy and excited...it doesn't take much. Matt Mo is such a sweet kid with a tender heart. Of course, he can be frustrating too (typical for this age), but we sure do love him. Happy birthday, Matt Mo!

Mo Sings!

Yep, it's another video. I'm really on a roll today. 

Matt Mo was too cute singing with his preschool class at their Easter party today. You can also see Sadie Lady putting her new walking skills to use in the background!

Haha...love how she tried to steal some of the kids' eggs. Can't blame her for trying :)

The Week Before Christmas = Parties & Puking

The week before Christmas was full of parties... preschool, kindergarten, and an adult only white elephant exchange. Unfortunately, Ben came down with a stomach bug the day of his party and had to come home from school. He was sad to miss it, but thanks to a sweet neighbor who stopped by his classroom for me, he was able to enjoy his goodies once he was feeling better. Luckily, John was able to come home for lunch and hang out with the sicko so I could go party with Matt Mo at preschool...

We made this graham cracker (gingerbread) house together. Well, truthfully, I did most of the work while he ate the candy. They also got to make another shirt like they did at Thanksgiving... so cute!

The next night was the annual white elephant party hosted by some friends in our ward. We ate yummy food and laughed the whole night long. This year I made a redneck "brief"case to give away...

And I filled it with all your redneck essentials...

A Slim Jim, "Totally Ripped Abs" body spray, Cheese Whiz, duct tape, sunflower seeds, a bandana, and a wife-beater.

And the lucky recipient...

Here are a couple other favorites that night...

Curt and Shandi's sweet Christmas's past photo album. It came with the stipulation that whoever got it has to add their old pictures and re-gift it next year!

Brianna got a hilarious CTR, ahem, "slingshot".  Enough said.

Good thing we got to live it up that night because the next day, John and I were both hit with whatever bug Ben had and we were pretty miserable. At least we weren't sick on Christmas day though!

Dickens of a Christmas

The weekend after Thanksgiving we took the kids to the old downtown square for the "Dickens of a Christmas" celebration...

They had so much fun with all the different activities. They won some treats on the "cake walk", rode the carousel, and took a train ride around the square...

I think their favorite part was the petting zoo...

The goats were the friendliest, but there was a little baby piglet that was so cute I wanted to take it home. It didn't compare to my own cute little piglet though...

Dinosaurs!

We had some gorgeous weather at the beginning of fall break, so we decided to go see the dinosaurs again at the Heard Museum...

The boys were really into it this year, although they're still a little wary because they look pretty real...

Since it was Sadie's first time, we thought she should get a real good look at the huge T-Rex...

Our attempt to offer her as a sacrifice didn't phase her one bit, but the boys sure got a big kick out of it!

Thanksgiving

Both the boys got to have "Thanksgiving Feasts" at their schools before fall break. Matt Mo's was first and Miss Janette fed us well with all the traditional fares...the kiddos even helped her make some pumpkin pie!

They made the cutest little turkey t-shirts out of their hand prints too...

His teacher kept telling him that when he put his painted hand down onto the shirt it would turn into a turkey. He was really excited, but when he lifted his hand up he looked over at her like she was crazy and said, "that's not a turkey, that's my hand." Haha! I guess he was expecting some kind of fancy magic to happen, but I think he was satisfied after they painted on the face and feet.

Later that afternoon, I headed up to Ben's kindergarten feast and program. They sang some cute songs dressed up like little Indians and the teachers were dressed like pilgrims...

Afterward they got to sit with their class and parents to have their feast (just a snack they brought from home)...

I might be a tad biased, but I think Ben made the cutest little Indian there!

We had a fun week off from school and were lucky enough spend our Thanksgiving with my family. We are so blessed and thankful for all that we have!