A week ago Friday was Avery's Preschool Halloween Program. They have a little parade and then sing several fun Halloween songs. They kids are always so cute all dressed up and singing. I was impressed at how well Avery knew the songs, it was adorable!
Avery strutting her stuff during the parade at the beginning...
Isn't my little tooth fairy adorable!? :-)
Here are a couple videos of a couple songs they sang...
This second one isn't very long because my memory card was full and so it cut off during the song. By the time I deleted enough pictures it was already over. They sang several other cute songs as well that I didn't get recorded.
Every Summer our fun neighbors the Yarro's host a neighborhood food fight. It's pretty fun to watch but I haven't been able to convince my kids to participate yet. They prefer playing on the playground and just watching. Maddy fell and hurt his arm right before they started so that didn't help the situation at all. Then a little bit of whipping cream splashed on him and he had a bit of a melt down (he was already super tired from our little sleepover and the Macey's carnival.) Needless to say we didn't stay very long.
Here is a short video of part of the food fight...
Maddy has been learning how to read in preschool. He caught on really quick and is doing awesome! I'm so proud of him! He finished all the Kindergarten Saxon books and is currently reading the first grade books. He is reading number eight in this short video...
On Thursday the kids had their Patriotic Programs at school. I love that they are taught this and their performances were so cute. Maddox's class was up first (he's on the bottom row, first one on your left)...
He is still pretty shy but participated a lot more this time. The other day he came up to me and put his hand on his heart and recited the "Pledge of Allegiance" all by himself. I was pleasantly surprised and so proud of him!
Next up was Avery's class (she's on the top row, third one in on your right)...
During her previous school performance (which was also her first one) she didn't sing at all and just stood there. Before she went to school I told her that we were so excited to come watch her sing and I told her to not be afraid and to sing for us and she did... :)
Here are some short videos (I took video of almost all of the performances so there are quite a few)...
Maddy's...
Avery's...
P.S. Some of the pictures were taken with Steve's phone so they aren't the best quality.
Maddox turned 5 on Thursday 12/16/10. I can't believe he is already that old! He is already so grown up. He has been so excited for his birthday for months. I told him earlier this year he could have his first friend party this year. He was involved in planning his party every step of the way. Of course he wanted a Ben 10 theme and loved looking online with me for party supplies. He even insisted on putting all the invitations in the evelopes and hand delivering them himself. After I came home from the hospital on Friday several people asked me if I was still having his party on Tuesday. I didn't even think twice about canceling or rescheduling... he would've been so dissappointed! He was counting down the days at that point. I was really excited for him and it was a great distraction and I had fun getting ready for it.
Tuesday morning (the day of his party) he insisted on opening one of his presents from us... he couldn't wait any longer. He was very specific with what he wanted and he was so excited to finally have "Ben's car."
He seriously played with it all day long and transformed it back and forth between the car, submarine and jet. He didn't even want to go to school when it came time. He wouldn't even put it down during most of his party later in the afternoon.
Moving on to the party...
Birthday boy...
Guests...
Decorations...
Details...
As soon as everyone arrived (everyone came except the 3 that had previously rsvp'd) we played musical chairs...
Got to love technology... I totally used my phone to get on youtube and play the Ben 10 theme song :)
Next we opened presents...
... it was complete chaos! Everyone wanting Maddy to open their present next and Maddy opening them like he was never going to receive a present again in his life. I failed at trying to slow it down and it was all said and done within 5-10 minutes.
As you can see he was totally spoiled and got lots of nice things! Thanks everyone, it already feels like Christmas around here.
He also picked out some more Ben 10 things at the store with birthday money he got from cousins and grandma's.
After the present frenzy all the guests picked out a Ben 10 alien mask and we headed out to the garage for some pinata fun...
Maddy taking the first swing.
I gave the kids the choice of either taking a swing or choosing a string to pull. We only made it through 3 kids and the lucky string was pulled...
Since Maddy had a Ben 10 cake last year I convinced him to have cupcakes this year. We got Ben 10 rings to put on them and Jamie volunteered to make the cupcakes. She surprised us and also made Maddy his own little Ben 10 Omnitrix cake. He was so excited. Thanks so much Jamie-you are awesome!
Time to sing to the birthday boy and have some cupcakes and icecream...
The party was suppose to last for 1 1/2 hours. I thought we would run out of time. I was so wrong... it was crazy and everything happened so fast with so many young energetic kids. Luckily I had my sisters Jamie and Stacy and Steve there to help me (thanks for helping and thanks for taking pictures Jamie!) When we were done doing everything we still had about 1/2 hour before the kids parents would be picking them up so we decided to throw in one of Maddy's Ben 10 movies for the kids to watch. It worked like a charm and they finally calmed down for the most part...
On Thursday morning (his actual birthday) the first thing he said before even getting out of his bed was "I'm five!" I could hear him from my room. He then ran quickly into my room to tell me. It was so cute and he was so excited. Since his actual birthday was on Thursday we saved a few presents for him to open that morning.
Some more Ben 10 figures from us...
The Ben 10 Galvanic Gunship (aka "Ship") from Nana (which he was also so excited about)...
We also left up the decorations and saved his Omnitrix cake for his birthday and lit the candle and sang to him again after dinner (and ate cake of course.) He liked it so much he had us sing to him again the next night.
Maddy, We want you to know how much we love you! You are the light of our lives and we can't imagine our lives without you! You are very sensitive and have such a sweet spirit and are such a well mannered boy. You are a natural pleaser and do your best at everything (you are a bit of a perfectionist.) You excel at school and are already learning to read. You make friends so easily and your teachers adore you. You are very easy going but determined at the same time. You have become very independant and quite the helper. You love your sister and do such a great job taking care of her and making sure she is happy. Your Dad is your hero and you can't wait for him to come home everyday to play with you. You are very affectionate and give me so many hugs throughout the day. You still insist on getting hugs and kisses from everyone before bedtime. You are a heavy breather and sometimes snore when you sleep. You have a very sensitive stomach and as a result are already concious about eating healthy. You constantly ask me if things are healthy or if they have lots of sugar. Sometimes you like to sneak into our room during the wee hours of the morning and lay at the bottom of our bed. You are constantly making all kinds of sound effects when you are playing. You love the color green, gum, Ben 10, Max & Ruby, Bakugans, Hot Wheels, Legos, taking pictures with the camera, school, church, coloring, baths, swimming, playing games on the computer, playing with friends and watching movies and TV as a family. You are so curious about everything in life and are full of questions all day long. You are at such a fun stage in life and we can't wait to watch you learn and grow more (just slow down a little.) Love, Mom & Dad
Thursday the kids had their Halloween parties/programs at school. They got to dress up and sing some songs for us. Again I had Maddy go as "Ben 10" instead of his costume we bought for Halloween this year. He is still shy up on stage but he is starting to sing more and it is so cute!
They walk around the room and do a little costume parade for us before they start their singing program.
Singing and doing the actions...
Here are a couple of the songs his class sang...
Love the wave at the end!
Up next was Avery's class. She was shy just like Maddy was last year and didn't sing at all. However some of the kids in her class were hilarious! We were all laughing throughout! The little girl in the front that is a witch was singing her heart and soul out and let the teacher know if she was unhappy about singing a particular song because she didn't know all the words. Also the little girl in the blue dress, third from your right on the top row blurted out (during the very first song) "Mom, I'm really tired of this!" and sat down all upset for a couple songs. They definitely kept us laughing and when it was over one of the teachers said it was definitely the most entertaining performance they have ever had from a "Sweet Pea" class. Got to love kids!
Tuesday was Maddox's preschool graduation ceremony. The kids sang a bunch of fun songs (videos at the bottom) and received their diplomas. They all looked so cute.
After they sang songs (and before receiving their diplomas) we all watched a slide show of pictures of the kids. They were all so cute and like yelling out the names of their classmates in the pictures.
Maddy receiving his diploma from his teacher Miss Kami.
All the kids threw their hats before Maddy knew what was going on. It worked out great because by the time I got close enough to take a picture most of them had already threw them. I made it just in time to get this picture of him throwing his.
Maddox, We are so proud of you! You know (and can write) all of the letters and you know most of the sounds of all the letters. You do a great job writing your name and have learned so much. You have learned so many other things in school as well. Great job!
Here is some video footage of the kids singing. Maddox sang quite a bit more during this performance, I wish he would've been more visible. He is on the top row, fourth from your left. After the first song his hat started sliding off and he pretty much spent the rest of the time trying to get it back on correctly. The second and third videos cut off before the songs were over because my memory card was full and I had to stop and delete some pictures before recording more...
This is my attempt to make tribute to my "little wonders and big miracles" and have a little fun along the way... Feel free to leave comments-I love hearing feedback.
My little Wonder! Maddox is 6 years old. He loves his sister, the color green, Transformers, Ben 10, Beyblades, dinosaurs, playing DS, swimming, learning in school and church, playing outside, playing with his friends, making sound effects, pretending and trying to do everything by himself.
My big Miracle! Avery is 4 years old. She is a former 25 weeker weighing in at 1 pound 9 ounces. She spent 90 days in the NICU growing but breezed through with no major complications or any surgeries at all. She adores her big brother, loves the color blue, "babies" (dolls), Hello Kitty, Diego, coloring, climbing nonstop and learning in school and church. She is very determined and feisty.
Avery and Maddox are only 15 months apart. They are already best buddies. They love pretending together and are always busy doing something. One thing's for sure... they keep me very busy!
