Happy B-day Daddy!

End of Summer

Well, it's hard to believe by the summer is over! We ended it with a great bday celebration for Mommy (Durham Bulls game and Mellow Mushroom) along with a nice trip to Kure and Carolina Beaches. The kids are enjoying the beach more each time we go. Aidan got in the water this time while Madeline still reserved herself to playing in the sand. We hit the aquarium at Fort Fisher to see the Albino Alligator and got some family portraits taken too. Fun times for all!

Aidan goes to Kindergarten

Well, I knew this day would come, but it came way too fast! After five years, it's time to let my Aidan go to the big school. He started Kindergarten today at St. Thomas More School. We did lots to prepare for this big day. Saturday we attended to new families ice cream social and there were four other families from our neighborhood there. This was awesome! Sunday we went to the open house at school to meet Aidan's teachers and see his classroom. He is in the apples class like his Aunt Katie was many years ago. (I was a butterfly....long, long ago!) His teachers are wonderful and the room was very cool with a scavenger hunt for us to do and a bubble name for Aidan to color for the bulletin board. He took the most time to color his name and it definitely shows when you look at all the names! That's our boy!

On Tuesday, Mom and Dad attended an open house. I had to leave early due to work but was able to get back to school at the end of the day to sign up for some parent volunteer tasks and meet the aftercare director and teachers. Aidan is pumped about this. They play lots of sports in a "real gym" which is definitely to his liking. On the way home, Aidan complained about a stomach ache. I think it was nerves setting in...and believe me, my stomach was hurting too! I did not want to cry. This is a happy occasion and a wonderful day for Aidan, please don't let me ruin it!!!! Aidan and I made a deal that we would both be brave on his first day of kindergarten. A new baseball bat may even be in order if no tears are shed...what the heck?! You only do this once, let's do it right! Aidan went to sleep easily with no problems last night. I tossed and turned most of the night. Why is this so hard on us moms?

When the alarm went off, Aidan was all smiles. He had his peanut butter toast with sprinkles while watching sportscenter. (The morning ritual for Aidan.) I got ready, Ryan got ready, Madeline got ready. Then we all loaded up into Ryan's car. The parents were instructed to drop off our children and "let them go" which was easier said than done. I decided this was a one time thing and I couldn't just let him go without walking him inside. So Ryan drove up and I climbed out with Aidan. The teachers told me to get back in the car and I quickly told them I didn't want to miss walking him in for his first day. I don't think they liked this much but oh well. This was good for Aidan and for me! I did laugh as I saw the principle, Sister Catherine, dressed up as a construction cone. Thank goodness for a few laughs before I turned into Mrs. Waterworks!

We got inside and Ms. Kuczynski (Aidan's teacher) was standing inside with a big KA sign and two other children in their cute plaid jumpers. I told her Aidan had to go to the bathroom and whisked him off quickly. After his completed his business, we started walking back to the KA area. I told him I couldn't stay and hugged and kissed him. Immediately, I felt the tears well up in my eyes and made a bee line for the door. Ofcourse, with all the school construction, I found a door that wouldn't open! Get me out of here before he sees me crying!!! I finally found a door, raced to where Ryan was parked with Madeline and hopped inside. Then I let it all out. Ryan was great and Madeline even said "Don't worry Mom, I won't tell Aidan you cried"

Once I got to work, things were fine. When I arrived at school to pick Aidan up the butterflies were ready to go. The apples were lined up and coming up the sidewalk to the church. I saw my Aidan, all smiles with his red backpack. He waved and I took a few pics. He told me about his new friends, the awesome playground and all the big trucks he saw doing construction at the school. We headed to lunch to celebrate his first day at CheeseCake Factory with Aunt Katie. The day was wonderful, just as I had hoped it would go. A wonderful memory for me as a mom, and I couldn't have asked for anything different!

Gymnastics

We attended Kate and Addison's 3rd birthday party at Bull City Gymnastics. The kiddos both loved it! In between all our other activities, I imagine we will work gym time into our schedule! Madeline especially was a big fan!

Durham Bulls

We've had such a great summer attending Durham Bulls games. We've enjoyed watching great baseball with good friends and enjoying some awesome scenery at a beautiful ballpark. A few of our favorite games have included special events with Sponge Bob Square Pants, Wool E. Bull's birthday party with his mascot friends and meeting Lucky the Wonderdog. Aidan has added to his official ball collection as several bulls have thrown him balls while returning to the dug out. We love our seats because we are so close to the dugout and all the "action". We've even had meetings with special Durham Bulls who used to play baseball for Texas Tech....Jon Weber #11 and Joe Dillon #15. They went to school when Ryan and I were at Tech. What a small world!

Butterfly Tea Party

Madeline and I attended a Butterfly Tea Party. Our first tea party together! It was quite fun and so neat to do as a mother-daughter duo. Our neighbors recently ordered caterpillars to grow into Butterflies. They had the party to "release" them after the entire process was complete. A few pics are attached to highlight the experience. Madeline loved having one land on her finger, too!

Aidan's 5th birthday

Aidan announced to us a few days before his birthday that his new favorite color is red. Yippee, Mommy's favorite too! We celebrated Aidan's 5th with Moe's and ice cream cake on his birthday. I surprised him by joining him for lunch and throwing him a spider man party atthe preschool. The following weekend we celebrated in Atlanta with a Braves game, trip to Georgia Aquarium (the world's largest aquarium!), World of Coca-Cola and "hotel sleepover." Madeline called the hotel "fancy" which Ryan and I found a hoot! We also laughed very hard when the tour guide at the Coca-Cola museum referred to our kiddos as "Hansel and Gretal". For birthdays, we are trying to enjoy "experiences" rather than gifts galore because the kids have so much and can learn from adventures like the one we had to Atlanta. Buckhead is a lovely area with some wonderful shops and restaurants. We found a couple of our favorite Mexican places (Papasitos and Uncle Julios) are stuffed ourselves! It was also tax-free weekend which made it fun for Mommy! What a great way to celebrate Aidan's five years!!!

July 4th

We had a wonderful July 4th vacation to cooler temps in Door County. Some highlights included golfing, trip to the Dairy to have ice cream, the independence day parade at egg harbor, fire works on the boat. The kiddos did not like the loudness of the fireworks and covered their ears. The sunsets and cooler temps were just beautiful. It was a great break from the heat of NC summers!

Duke Chapel

We attended a friend's choir concert at Duke Chapel recently. Beautiful scenery, but we're still big TARHEEL fans!!!!

Aidan's graduation

Well, it's official.... Our first graduation (of many, we hope!) for one of the children. Aidan is a member of the graduating class of 2009 at the Children's Center on Carol Woods campus. Headed to STM for Kindergarten in the fall. Way to go SON! The spring celebration featured performances from each class. Madeline's class sang "Peanut Butter and Jelly" and did the cute motions to go with the song. Aidan's class did YMCA....not Ryan's favorite song after it was overplayed at too many Frat parties in college.