Little Maddie

What Can I Say

Justin's Birthday

Justin is 5 today. I don't think its possible to have a favorite child, but each one holds a special place in your heart, and creates a different relationship with you. Justin of course was my first, and that will always be special to me. He showed us what joy children bring to your lives, he showed us what it meant to love someone so unconditionally, and so much, you didnt think possible.

Justin is the sweetest little boy, he loves his brothers and sisters so much, and is always looking out for them. He takes a lot of responsibility on his little shoulders and seems to love doing it. I am so proud of him, I can't believe how big he is getting. Even as I look at these pictures, I remember and treasure every moment, but man has it gone by fast.

Justin started in a young 5's Kindergarten class and seems to be doing very well. The teacher told us that he writes his name very well. Josh and I could not be more proud of him. He is practicing letters M,O, W, H, A, & L, and is also learning sight words "IS" "THE" "DAY"! It's going to be a very exciting year!

For his birthday today, we are allowing Justin to pick where he would like to go for dinner and a fun activity we can do as a family. I will be sure to post all about it!!!

Stress

It's been a while since I have posted, and I apologize to any of my avid readers - ha ha! Don't get me wrong, a lot has happened, and I hope to share some of our fun. However, this post is trying to get some tips on some good stress relievers.

Although I did not change jobs, my job responsibilities changed at the beginning of July. I was really looking forward to the new challenge, but man is it stressful. I feel overwhelmed at times, and lose focus of what I am trying to accomplish. I always like to think of myself as someone who can handle pretty much whatever comes my way, but this has been a difficult adjustment for me. I still love my job, ok, most of the time I love my job.

Josh and I were talking about some things that we can do as a family for stress relievers, and then things I can do myself. I love scrapbooking, and have always thought of that as a good outlet for me. However, lately, I am way too over critical with my own work, and find myself stressing out about the perfect page......so, thats not working out too well and I have put my scrapbooking career on hold for a bit.

I am going to be starting up tennis soon. I love tennis, its exercise, and what better way to relieve some stress than hitting a ball with all your might. I might even picture a few of my co-workers and direct reports on the front of that ball as I am smashing it across the net. I will let you all know how tenniw works out for me.

Please, please, please, send any suggestions you may have.........i need HELP!!!

Ode To Jakey

Happy Birthday Jakey

Jacob Michael

Leo

August 18th is Jacob's birthday. He is turning four years old, and has a ton of energy. Jacob loves playing guys - Spiderman, GI Joe, Superman, Batman, whatever he can get his hands on. He loves playing sports, and swimming. Jacob will try anything and loves helping daddy "work"!

Jacob is anxiously awaiting pre-school, and does really well with counting. We are working on writing his name and practicing letters. Jakey is a little sweetheart, and a bit metro-sexual at times. He has to "get ready" every morning, which includes doing his hair, brushing his teeth, putting deoderant on, and he even tries to put in contacts just like daddy. He often comes downstairs smelling like daddy too, he has learned how to spray the cologne.

I can hardly believe he is turning 4. Seems like yesterday we were bringing him home to meet Justin.

On The Move........

Madison decided this week she was tired of sitting still. First when we went to get her out of bed one morning, she was sitting up waiting for us. We have never seen her sit up from when she was laying down.

So then this morning, I put her on the floor and noticed she has started crawling as well. She kind of drags one leg, and crawls on the other knee. Hey, whatever works. It was kind of funny because she has been looking like she was gonna start crawling for a while now, but never got the coordination to get it done. Well today, Josh left out of town for three weeks for work, and it figures that today is the day she picked to make it happen!!!

T-Ball

One of the things I have looked forward to with my kids, is for them to start playing sports. This summer, Justin was finally old enough to play t-ball. If anyone has ever watched 5 year olds play t-ball it is one of the funniest things to watch.

First of all, nothing fits the poor kids. The shirts are huge, the helmets are huge, the bats are too heavy. Second, half the kids don't know which way to run when they do hit the ball......When the ball is hit, the entire team of kids all run to get it, leaving no one on any of the bases. And usually the kids are kicking dirt around, or playing with the grass, or looking in the sky not paying any attention to what is going on in the game.

Regardless, it has been so much fun to watch him play this summer, and he has loved it. He is on the Orange Team and they are the Cubs. He plays on the same team as his cousin Brian, so that has made it even more fun. Here are some pictures!!!