New School Pics!

Here's the boys Fall 2010 School Pics. The morning before these were taken I had asked the boys to show me how they were going to smile for their pictures. I was, of course, met with silly faces that included fingers stretching the sides of the mouth, tongues sticking out, and crossed eyes. I told both the boys - and their teachers - that I was actually totally fine with them making funny faces for their pictures because that would truely capture their crazy personalities. So, go figure, with permission to make silly faces, we end up with these perfectly sweet smiles. Works for me = )

Ch-Ch-Chia!

Okay, so it's not really a Chia, but that is what this totally reminds me of. For one of their science experiments, Gage's class grew grass from seeds. Their awesome teacher had the brilliant idea to take close up photos of each child to place on their cup. LOVE the result! Such a cute little Chia-Gage = )

A Day at the Lake ... IN NOVEMBER!

It's not too often you get to spend a lovely day at the lake in November, so we took full advantage of the beautiful sunshine and fantastic temperature enjoying a little nature hike around the water.

Me ... and my shadows = )

One of the boys' favorite activities - throwing rocks. At least out here they got to do it to their heart's desire without getting into trouble.

Not sure who had more fun with all of the gourds on the ground ...
Riley and Gage throwing them or Katie chasing after them =)

Gager working hard on building up a small pebble castle = )


Taking a break.

The 3 Amigos.

A man on a mission - Gage was searching for a walking stick, he eventually found it, but my batteries died and I didn't get a pic. Too bad, he was super cute hiking around with it!

This is just a totally random picture I'm throwing in. The boys picked what look to be the last of the flowers from my wildflower garden this weekend. They were so sweet when presenting them to me. They just simply said, "These are for you, momma" and each gave me a sweet little smooch. With my rough and tumble guys, these tender moments are few and far betwee so I have to savor (and document!) each one. Love those guys = )

Brothers: Portraits in Love and Silliness

These photos were taken Sunday - in the crisp of the morning - in a span of about 5 minutes.

Love, love, LOVE all of their expressions = )

Halloweeners!

Halloween was a blast! We went to a family friendly party Saturday night at a friend's farm. They had it totally "spookiefied" and the kiddos loved every minute of it! I thought they might get a little scared in some parts of the "haunted house" with lots of things that were motion activated such as flying ghosts, cackling witches, talking skulls, and a vampire that sat up in his coffin. But nope, they thoroughly enjoyed. In fact, Gage liked that part so much we ended up spending a majority of the night going back and checking out all of the Halloween stuff! Riley really enjoyed running around the farm with several boys his age including his best buddy Kohen and chilling by the big bonfire. Good times!

On actual Halloween night, the boys were super stoked to go beg for candy. They did a really great job and were mostly pretty polite. There were a couple of times that Gage thought he didn't get his fair share because he didn't see the people put the candy in his bucket because he was so busy taking in other things. He made sure to let them know, too. The first time I assured him that the lady had put one little piece of candy in his pumpkin, but he was not convinced. As we were walking off he kept looking into his candy pail to see if he could notice the extra piece in there, then would look back at the house and frown. That boys seriously loves him some candy! Thankfully, Riley and Gage both pooped out after about 2 blocks and we headed home to inspect their goodies. They were both super happy with their Halloween booty = )

Riley - Anakin Skywalker the Jedi Knight

Check out those moves!

And some more light saber actions!

Gage - Optimus Prime from Transformers

One tough machine!

Only 2 pictures of Gage because he was off on a mission and couldn't be caught in a still moment = )

Oh, my Riley-boy ... he sure keeps it entertaining!?!

I so love my Riley-boy. He is my first born. He has these deep, dark brown eyes than can just melt your soul. He is a determined thinker and problem solver. He is the protector of his brother and friends against bullies. He is my sweet boy that loves to snuggle. He genuinely loves to "help" with almost any task and is really adept at most household chores. He can also, at times, be more stubborn, outgoing, opinionated and "helpful" than is good for him.

Last week Riley had an exceptionally trying week at school. In his class at pre-school, they have what they call "centers." Each center has a specific function or activity: building/construction, puzzles, reading, art, dramatic play, writing, housekeeping, etc. When Riley was in a center he really enjoyed (building/construction, puzzles, dramatic play and housekeeping) he would thrive and be just a model student. His lead teacher even made sure to express how he really excels in areas that require fine motor skill and following specific directions (such as constructing cars, helicopters and buildings either through imagination or following blueprints.) However, when he is in one of the other centers that he doesn't like as well he would deem them "stupid" or "boring" and not want to participate. He would even try to escape and go "help" other kiddos that were in centers more to his liking. Occasionally he was even going into full meltdown mode trying get his way. Unacceptable.

Then, to top things off, during a discussion regarding farm animals, Riley decided it would be a great idea to pull his pants down and announce to his friends that, "My private looks like a cow's 'gutters'!" Oh boy. Even though I actually find that pretty comical, it is obviously not appropriate and we had to deal with that along with his disrespectful behavior. This meant being super strict with him and even a couple of spankings - which I totally hate - and so does he - but sometimes that is the only way to get through to him. We also did a lot a role-playing at home to help him learn to make better choices. His prize or punishment, depending upon his actions on Friday was getting to stay for the school Halloween party or him having to leave with me and not get to participate.

I went to his school on Friday at noon with the worst feeling in my stomach. I really did not want him to miss the party. Seriously, how terrible would that be? How did I get to be this mean mom? I just kept reminding myself that he was aware of the consequences and we had talked many times about how he is responsible for his actions. I had the best surprise ever when I walked in to see him being such a good boy and the teachers said they would love it if he could stay and celebrate with them. Yay! He has, for now, mostly continued this good behavior and even got a "Star Student" award on Monday for once again being so awesome!

Lord knows I am all for a little dissent here and there. I definitely do not want to raise a little robot who blindly follows whatever those around tell him. It's good to question routine and authority now and then, as long as it's done respectfully. I sincerely hope that I can find a way to teach this to both of my boys and be a good role model. In the meantime, though, let's hope and pray that this good boy sticks around!!!