Young Man

This is Jackson's "End of 2nd Grade" official school portrait. I'm not sure when they started taking 2 school pictures a year, but both of Jackson's turned out great this year. I like his confident pose in this one and his little smirk...he has really become more comfortable in his own skin throughout 2nd Grade, which is great to see.

Below, a letter to Dad (responsible for a lot of that confidence Jackson now has 'cause he's "the best encourager" LOL) that Jacks wrote in school...if you click on it, you can see a larger version so that you can actually read it. ♥

Last Day for Cody and Luke

What a big year this has been! Despite the rocky start, Luke's first school experience was overwhelmingly positive and he has grown so much in so many ways. He made some good friends, learned to sing and appreciate books (he LOVES being read to, now!), and he's now potty-trained. Plus, he NEVER stops talking! He started school in September still a baby, but now he is definitely a little boy.

And Cody! Oh my gosh, Cody.


This kid never ceases to amaze us. He is coloring, writing his name, counting, singing, drumming, building rocket ships out of MegaBlocks...he is interested in so many things, and he comes up with wild and creative ideas. We are so proud of how far he has come. It's hard to believe it's time for Kindergarten! Adios Preschool!

Here are their side-by-side comparison pictures...you can see how much they've both grown this year.


Congrats boys! Happy Summer!

Cody's Half-Birthday

Today was Cody's Half-Birthday, so he is now officially 5 1/2. He has been suffering from Middle Child Syndrome a bit lately, getting lost in the shuffle of Jackson's baseball season and Lucas' Terrible 2's. So we wanted to do something a little special for Cody today.

I decorated his bedroom door with balloons that he found first thing this morning. He was totally surprised!

Then we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I cut them in half and arranged them on his plate in the shape of "1/2."


He chose to wear a muscle shirt today (they're his new favorite, just in time for summer) and I pointed out how perfect it was because basically, he's wearing only HALF a shirt! And of course, he needed a mohawk for his special occasion. :)


We met one of Cody's best friends, Thomas, for lunch at McDonald's. Even this fit into today's theme, because Thomas is just about HALF of Cody's size! They are so wonderful together. Despite the fact that they are completely different sizes (Cody's always been on the big side while Thomas has always been a peanut, but to be fair, Cody is also 18 months older), they understand each other in a way none of their other friends do: T has dealt with seizures so he's had an MRI and spent time in the hospital. They've talked about how they have both had "sickness in the brain." It is amazing how they have connected, and it is so wonderful to watch them interact.


For dinner, we ordered a pizza. I snuck half the pizza out of the box before we sat down at the table. You should have seen his face when Cody opened the box! "Where's the rest?" he asked. LOL


We tried cutting party hats in half, but it didn't work terribly well. They looked weird.


Jacks sure had fun playing around with the hats, though.


Cody thought those half-hats were ridiculous and stuck with a regular one. :)


After dinner, we enjoyed half a cake. Luckily for us, it tasted a lot better than it looked!


We had told Cody there was one more surprise, and he was pretty excited to see what it was.


He just couldn't believe it when we rolled out his new "big boy" bike. He started crying he was so happy.


He couldn't wait to take "Bumblebee" for a spin! (There's that speed-inducing tongue again!)


It was a really fun day! Happy Half-Birthday Codes! We love you! ♥

Play Ball!

Jackson's 3rd baseball season has begun! Our team, the Round Rock Express, played their first game yesterday. Most of these boys have been together for the last year and it's great to see some familiar faces again. More than half of the team goes to Jackson's school, so he's lucky to be playing with some of his best friends.


Jackson has really gotten fired up about baseball recently so we've been playing catch in the yard almost every day, and we usually visit the batting cages over the weekend. He is really improving!

Jacks started off the game playing 3rd base.


When Jackson got his turn at bat, he was ready. We'd visited the batting cages that morning, so he was warmed up and feeling good.



For those wondering: yes, that's the magic bat. The 2nd bat we have bought for him this season, because we purchased a new one to better fit him after his 2nd grade growth spurt, but then our league changed its rules to allow the use of "big barrel" bats (wider at end so supposedly a better chance of hitting the ball). And these BB bats are NOT cheap. For the size he needs, since he's so big...we're talking $250-$300. For an 8 yr-old. To play a GAME. Seriously? Anyway, we lucked into one on sale and we had a coupon...but still, we are going to take VERY good care of that bat. Oy.


Now a word about Jackson's previous batting success. In his first season, he got ONE hit in the very last game but got out before he got to first. Last season, he again waited until the last game to show us what he could do, getting 2 hits in that game but never making it past first. (And, the joke is on me because before that last game, I said to him, "Jacks, I'll give you $20 if you get a hit," going for the last kind of motivation we hadn't yet tried but never dreaming it would work. Well, it DID...and I owed him $40 after that game. LOL)


Well, the first pitch was a strike. But on the 2nd one, he got a good, solid hit and took off running! (He's #26...his choice, since his birthday is 6/26.)


He got to first and then the first baseman didn't catch the ball, so Jacks was told to keep on going!


He made it to 2nd!


Then unfortunately, the next 2 batters struck out (we already had one out). But we're so proud of him for the great hit and getting as far as he did!

Later in the game, Jacks got a chance to play catcher.


And he played a bit of outfield behind first base, too.


The boys didn't win, but they played great and it should be a fun season. Go Express!

See the Love

I caught these sweet pictures of Lucas and Daddy the other night. For all his "being 2" and yelling that he doesn't like Daddy...Luke sure seems to like him an awful lot, don'tcha think? ;)


Flying high....


Gotcha, Daddy!


Awwwww. ♥

Jackson's Interview

Jackson has been working on a family histories project in PACE, and one of his assignments was to do an interview with a family member on a personal story, like favorite birthday, first car, etc. Jackson chose to interview me about the scariest thing that ever happened to me. Here is his finished product:

Look Ma, No Training Wheels!

A few days ago, I mentioned to Cody that he was getting a little big for his bike but that we would wait to get him a new one until he was riding without training wheels. It was kind of an offhand comment, so I didn't expect anything to come of it. But with the idea in his head, he couldn't think about anything else. So we decided to take the leap and took off the training wheels.

With Cody's balance issues, I anticipated that this might be a lengthy process. But I'm telling you, the kid was ready!


And after just a few runs up and down with me, he was doing this:


By the way, the Michael Jordan-esque tongue face in the first picture? Cody says sticking his tongue out helps him go faster. :)

I asked him how he felt about being able to ride on his own with no training wheels, and he said, "This is the BEST day!"


Daddy and I are just so proud of our Codes!


I just can't get over it. The little man who had a brain tumor at 20 months and who was diagnosed with "gravitational insecurity" at his last occupational therapy evaluation just up and decided he wanted to ride his bike without training wheels....and HE DID IT. He's almost a year younger than Jacks was. And he was scared, but he said it felt great. He loves it, and he can't wait to go out again tomorrow!

We are continually awed by how incredible this kiddo is! WTG Cody!