More Pics from August

Here's some more pictures from our August.

Vance and his loot.
(His "theme" this year was a Pirate Party.)

Probably Vance's favorite gift of the year.

Isn't this a great picture?!
These boys are BFFs and I LOVE it!
This is how Vance reacted to Joel's gift.

These (there were TWO) torture devices, I mean toys,
were from Pa- bless his heart! Not only are they
megaphones but they also twist and distort
voices too- did I mention we have TWO?!
Fun times- or something. :)

Pirate Joel

Joel is my tender sweetheart.
Love my two boys!

Around Vance's birthday the boys also got to go on individual dates with Nama to Build a Bear Workshop. Vance also got to go to lunch with Nama- all by himself! Joel got to go to the candy store and play with Nama.

While Joel was at school one day Vance and I
went on a quick field trip with our friends'
Carter and Jonelle to the Natural History Museum.
It was a rush trip but so fun!

Isn't that a funny cheesy face from Vance?!
I love that kid!

Jonelle started work recently and before her nanny started
the boys and I watched our friends Carter and Annabelle.
Isn't Joel so cute feeding Annabelle?!
It's so great that our friends keep us supplied
with babies and friends to help and play with. :)

First Day of School

The day after Vance's birthday Joel started school! He was so excited- and so was I.... mostly. The boys spent the night at the hotel with Nama so I was able to get ready and have my little emotional breakdown before they came home. Then I was able to just be excited for Joel!

Joel's first day of school 2011
Kindergarten

Joel and Mommy

So it's been a bit since he started school. He LOVES his teacher, Mrs. J. His first day of school he came home and said, "I have the nicest teacher EVER" and I believe he's probably right. I got to go to Back To School Night and get an overview of his class' year and I'm so excited for him! I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I get to volunteer in his class for the first time. But more about things going on with us later..... hopefully not too much later. :) He's doing really well and loves to come home and tell us about the letters they worked on that day, how many friends he has, and all the highlights from the class. He's a great student and really tries hard to focus on his homework. His handwriting is already improving. I think it's going to be a great year!

Vance Turns 4!

You know it's been a long time since you've blogged when you have to go back and read what you last posted so you don't double post. But I'm finally getting around to blogging about our August- which was quite eventful. Starting with Vance's birthday!

This year Vance turned 4! How is possible that my baby is four?! Tj's mom flew in for several days to help celebrate. Vance really wanted to go camping for his birthday like we did for Joel's birthday. I told him we would do that for his 5th birthday. So his next request was Chuck-E-Cheese. I am not a huge fan of C-E-C! But, what are you suppose to do?! So we invited a few friends to meet us for lunch at Chuck-E-Cheese.

Vance enjoying the rides at Chuck-E-Cheese

Vance tuning into his roots.
This boy is our cowboy!

Chuck-E-Cheese helping Vance open his gifts.

Vance enjoyed his cupcake!

Vance and friends at Chuck-E-Cheese

At four Vance continues to keep us rolling with laughter. We took him to the doctor for his yearly visit. He's now 29 pounds and 38 inches tall. He handled the eye chart and hearing tests like a champ. He didn't LOVE shots but he muscled through them, bless his heart. The doctor wasn't thrilled with his growth the last year but since he's always been petite and he eats such a well balanced diet and isn't nutrient deficient we're going to wait it out and see if his growth goes the next six months or so. I'm not worried- that kid can put away almost as much food as Joel some days. He's such a busy kid.
Vance loves to dress himself and while his outfits are often inventive and his pants (and underwear as well) are often on backwards. He LOVES his overalls and wears them whenever they're not covered in grass stains or food. It's not for nothing that his nickname is Pantsless. He loves swimming and while he can do it without his life jacket he needs encouragement to do it. However he still insists on wearing it when Tj flings him into the deep end. I'll have to get video of it- great entertainment at the community pool. :) He's started preschool and enjoys going to school twice a week. He loves reading books, coloring, writing (mostly scribbling), playing with Joel and helping me around the house. He's a great helper!