Cody's First Day

Cody had his last first day of preschool today. Yes, I meant to write both last and first in that sentence, because this will be his last year in preschool...next year, it's on to Kindergarten! So today was a big day.

He was terribly excited all weekend after visiting his teachers and classroom on Friday. This year he has the same teachers and will be in the same room as last year, which is really great because he had such a wonderful experience in there. At least half of the class is returning as well, so there are many familiar faces and he has been missing his school friends all summer so it's nice to be back.

He didn't want to pose with his school bag this morning (he was disgruntled when I shot these because I had just informed him he wasn't having lunch at school...they only go until 12 all week to ease the kids into the schedule, and he was highly put out that he would only have school in the morning LOL) so there's not much to distinguish these photos of Cody from others taken on any random day, but I had to take a few anyway. Comparison shots at the end of the year are so fun. :)


And since this is a Cody post, I have a couple of recent Cody funnies to share:

1) According to Cody, if you exceed the speed limit while driving, you might be pulled ON by the police...so watch out for that. :)

2) A recent conversation between Anthony and Cody went something like this...
C: Who made me?
A: Mommy and I made you.
C: Who made Luke? Who made Jackson?
A: Mommy and I made all 3 of you.
C: Well, who made you?
A: My mommy and daddy did.
C: So Gramma and Grandad BUILT Mommy? (teehee!)

3) And finally, since this is a post about school...the lyrics to one of Anthony's favorite Van Halen songs go, "I've got it bad, bad bad...I'm hot for teacher." Not really appropriate subject matter for a 4 yr-old, right? Fortunately, Cody fixed it for us. His version goes, "You're so bad, bad, baaaaaaaad...you're NOT the teacher!" Way to go, Codes!

Ok, 2 down (or at least, 2 in school), 1 to go. Luke starts on Wednesday!

Codybration #3

Three years ago today, our then 21 month-old Cody had surgery to remove a brain tumor the size of a baseball. It's hard to believe that much time has passed. Back then, we were so worried about his prognosis and what long-term effects there might be.


He came through the surgery with flying colors and since then has had countless clean MRI's. We are down to only 1 each year now! And he is just the most amazing little boy: he loves everyone and is a joy to be around. As a friend put it to me today, he our living reminder of how precious time is. We appreciate every second we have with him, and enjoy all of our boys that much more as a result.

So today was our third annual Codybration! Each year on this day, we look back at Cody's health scare and celebrate how wonderful he is and how blessed we all are to have him in our lives.

We feasted on a fabulous Cody cake, complete with gummy worms.


And of course, per tradition, everyone was required to wear a silly hat. :)


We did something new this year. Everyone designed a plate to commemorate the occasion. I'll send them off on Monday, and in a few weeks, we should have a set of Cody plates to enjoy. :)


And here's a look at Cody with a few of the people who love him so much. (and yes, he's wearing his Bumblebee costume in a few of these...why not?)


Happy Codybration Day! We love you, Codes!

Aboo Gook!

Luke still likes to play PeekaBoo, but now he holds the object in front of his face himself. And as you can see by the tortilla he chose above, any old object will do. ;)

Also, he says his own version of "Peek-a-Boo" which comes out as "Aboo," and he calls himself "Gook." (rhymes with Luke)

Below, you can see what the big reveal looks like!

Jackson's First Day of 2nd Grade

Jackson went back to school today to begin 2nd Grade. He was completely blase about the whole thing, refusing my offer to walk him into his classroom (we'd visited it on Friday already so he knew where it was and who his teacher was for today) and not even seeming nervous at all.

He has some good friends in his class this year, although his main buddy who has been with him the last 2 years is unfortunately with another teacher this year. He's still going to be playing baseball with him, though, so they'll still get to see each other quite a bit.

How can my baby be in 2nd Grade? How can he be THIS big?

Here's to a great school year!

Priceless

Random assortment of Lego pieces: $5.99

Verizon FIOS allowing access to YouTube instructional video: $47.95 per month

Completed Lego Potty masterpiece: PRICELESS

New Shoes

Well, it's been a while since my last blog post because we were enjoying our family vacation in Colorado. Overwhelmed as I am by the prospect of organizing and uploading all our pictures from the trip, I'm cheating by jumping back into the blog world with a Back to School post.

We braved the first day of tax-free shopping this morning to hit Stride Rite for some new shoes. Yes, we still shop at Stride Rite for my guys because Jacks and Cody both have extra-wide feet. Not sure whose fault that is, exactly (*cough* Anthony *cough*), but only 2 brands make extra-wide widths: Stride Rite and New Balance. So off to Stride Rite we went.

After an official measurement, we learned that Cody has gone up half a size, while Jacks has gone up a full size. So once again, Jacks, at age 7, has bigger feet than his 4 year-old brother. For now.

Jacks chose tie-laces and pretty simple blue and whites. Cody went for the garish (read: hideous) Slimers again, complete with neon green splotches. I love how their personalities shine through in their shoe selection. And shine they do, as both pairs share bright silver accents. I recommend putting on sunglasses before attempting to stare directly at the shoes. :)

And with their shiny new footwear, they are now officially ready for school to start. Bring it on!

Road Trip

We left last Wednesday for our Vail vacation, which began with a 3 (ok, 4)-day drive. The boys have been looking forward to this all summer, so they couldn't wait to get started.

**caveat about photos in this post: all were taken with my iPhone, so forgive the less than stellar quality**

Luke drove with Gramma and me, while Grandad took the older 2 boys in the Suburban.


On our 2nd day, we got out of the cars for lunch and had to quickly unpack some sweatshirts and jackets, because it was only 61 degrees! It was hard to believe it was that chilly in Texas in late July. Luke borrowed a jacket from his big brother.


And Cody whipped out his trusty wink for the occasion.


Later on the drive, we visited Dairy Queen for an afternoon pit-stop. Nothing better on a road trip than a dipped cone! (or Dilly bar, or red Arctic Blast...or whatever tasty treat you choose)


We found some space to wander around outside one of our hotels, and the boys had fun climbing the hill and digging for rocks.


The boys were running pretty ragged by the end of the last day, but they really did a great job spending so much time in the car. And we'll do the same trip in reverse in just a few weeks.