Pre-k

I cannot believe my big boy started pre-k today! I am so excited for him... he could not wait! He is going to Sonshine Preschool (which is about a mile from our house... awesome!) and he will be going Monday thru Thursday from 9-12. It's just 3 hours but I can already tell it's going to be really quiet with just me & Slayden around the house, although I am really looking forward to spending some special one on one time with him.

Here is my big boy on his first day. He did so good. He was a little shy but he was completely fine with me leaving and when I picked him up he said he had a great day. He already made a new buddy! He couldn't remember his name on the first day but he said it was the boy in the spiderman shirt ;)

When did he get so big?
My big preschooler is soooo handsome!

mommy & Hunter outside his school

daddy & Hunter

I am so proud of my Hunter and so excited for this new adventure ahead of him! I am also so very thankful he has Friday's off so that we can still do some fun stuff together during the day! He has been my best buddy these last 4 1/2 years and it's a little odd not having him home with me all day... I am definitely not ready for all day kindergarten... let's live this year in slow motion!!

Half

As of today, August 6, Slayden is the exact age that Hunter was on the day he was born. Hunter became a brother when he was 2 years 2 months & 16 days and that is exactly how old Slayden is today. I can remember 2 year old Hunter so clearly & its so crazy to think of him being Slayden's age & how long ago that feels. It's almost impossible to imagine a time when we didn't have sweet Slady-bug with us. Today also means that Hunter has officially lived more of his life with his brother than without, although I highly doubt he can remember a time before Slayden either... in his mind he has always been there.

Here is my sweet Hunter on the day he became a brother
I am pretty sure this image of Hunter walking in to meet his brother will forever be engraved in my mind. He is such an amazing little boy.

It's funny to think that Hunter has doubled in age since that day and that the little tiny baby we brought into the world that day is now the exact age of his brother on that day. I'm so thankful for my boys, and so very aware of how quickly they are growing up. They play hard, they fight hard, and they are best friends... just as brothers should be!

Weekend of Firsts

Hunter had been asking for a while to stay in a hotel. Sadly, he had never stayed in a hotel! We had stayed in condo's before, but that's a little different considering the boys had their own room to sleep in. I hadn't yet been brave enough to stay with us all four in one room - Scary! I like to sleep a little too much. Finally, me & Chris decided that we would just take a random trip to Oklahoma City for the weekend, and stay the weekend in a hotel. We really wanted to visit some of our friends from Blanchard, and figured that we would just goof around the rest of the weekend.

Friday night we made it to Blanchard & hung out with the old gang. It was really fun to get to see everyone. We see them every now & then but we almost never are able to get the kids together so it was a blast to watch all of them play & basically destroy Trent & April's house in a tornado of toys. Hunter tried to be shy for a second (their boys are 5 & 3) but in a matter of minutes they were all dressed in super hero outfits & chasing bad guys like they were old buddies. We didn't get back to the hotel til late & I was really nervous about how long the boys would take to settle down (especially since Slayden still sleeps in a crib), but they did great. I tried having the boys sleep together but quickly realized Slay was not ready for that (poor Hunter wanted it to happen so bad, but Slayden wouldn't quit jumping all over him.) Once we seperated them they were out in no time. Both nights went wonderfully... not sure why I was so convinced we wouldn't sleep :)

We decided to go to a movie the next day.... Slayden had never been to a movie theater & still doesn't watch movies at home really, so I was so pleasantly surprised with how well he did. We picked Winnie the Pooh because I heard it only lasted 65 minutes & I figured that was a good starter movie. He never tried to get up & was fairly quiet for the whole movie; I was so proud of him. Probably didn't hurt that he nearly ate a whole small popcorn by himself and then had quite a few runts... snacks are what make the movie! :) So, that was a fun first for Slayden { 1st movie - July 23, 2011}. The rest of the weekend was pretty much spent eating a lot, swimming, and Chris & Hunter riding go carts. Super fun little unplanned weekend!

"Awwww, Maaan"

A few weeks ago Grandpa Pat & Alex came down for a few nights. Alex (former foreign exchange student) was visiting from Germany & wanted to go to the mall. Pat called & said he would come down & watch the boys if I would take Alex to the mall..... that's a no brainer! Pat & Alex had just arrived that morning & I was getting ready to leave & Slayden realized what was happening & said "Going?" and I said "yes, me & Alex are going to the mall" & he said "You, going?" - Again I said yes & he looked up a little sad & said "I going?" & I told him no that he was staying with Grandpa and he looked up at me for a minute & said "Awwwww, Man!" We DIED laughing. The way he said it was hilarious. From that moment on he has said it pretty much every time we have told him no. I still think it is hilarious every single time! It's the cutest thing & I wish I had it on tape. Honestly, its been kind of nice because these are the times he would normally through a fit about something & now he just blurts out his "awwww man," sucks it up & moves on. Love that little guy.

He has pretty much all of the sudden decided to be a full time talker. Took him a while, but there is no turning back now.... I guess he was finally ready!

Mirky waters

The boys love getting to use a color change tablet in their bath & I almost always let them each pick a color & we watch & see what color the bath water is going to turn. Slayden got a few bottles of the color change tablets for his birthday, so the bottle we were using was fairly new & full. A few weeks ago they were getting ready for their bath & as Hunter was reaching in to pick his color Slayden slipped in the water & knocked the WHOLE jar right out of my hand. I'm guessing there were probably 30 tablets left in the bottle and they all fell in the water... which resulted in this midnight blue bath :)


I also like to call it the $4.00 bath considering the whole pack of tablets were wasted on this one bath. ;)

Squish

I am so glad I just remembered to blog about this because I would be so sad to forget it... it may be one of my favorite things Hunter has ever said. :)

The kids birthday month's are always a little emotional for me because I can never believe they are actually about to turn another year older. So, the month before Slayden's 2nd birthday I was talking about it a lot & how I could not believe my baby was going to be TWO. One day, still a few weeks before Slayden's birthday, we were all sitting in the floor & we were all talking about Slayden's upcoming birthday & party & I am sure I said something about being sad that he is getting so old & Hunter said "mom, when Swayden turns 2, I'm just gonna squish him back to one." Cutest thing ever. I would have never thought to say that but its exactly what I was feeling. I love watching them grow but I sometimes wish I could squish them back little! Precious Hunter... such a great big brother.

lake fun

The Anderson's got a pontoon boat this past Spring so we have been enjoying some nice afternoon/evenings out on the boat. The boys love it! Hunter & Aiden have enjoyed tubing on the double tube some, and Slayden enjoys secretly ravaging through the cooler in search of cookies or candy or any other sweet he might be able to sneak away. Slayden is not real big on getting in the water (unless he can touch) but is getting more adventurous each time. Hunter & Aiden would swim around like little fishies all day. Its been so much fun & we can't wait for more lake fun this summer!!

3 very sweet, very tired boys at the end of the evening

party time

Slayden's birthday fell on a Saturday this year so we got to have his party on his actual birthday. We had a baseball themed cookout at my dad's house. It had rained all week so I was very thankful for the beautiful day we were give. It was a really fun day spent with our friends celebrating the coolest two year old I know :)

These pictures are not in the right order at all, but I know if I wait to make it perfect this post may never happen... so I'm just gonna go with it!

Kisses from the handsome birthday boy
The boys with Grandpa Pat & Nanny
candy from the pinata


such a sweet heart






Slayden & Sisa

You can tell he's saying that he is "two" but the 2 fingers just aren't happening. He now says two but puts up 3 fingers, someday he'll get it!

My Slayden is one chill dude. While all the other kids jumped in the bouncy & played in the water & ran around like crazy little children do at a party, he sat in his chair with adults. He shifted from lap to lap (mostly clinging to his Sisa) and just enjoyed all the adult attention (and all the birthday sweets they were allowing him to have!) At one point I was sitting on the steps talking to some of my friends & watching some of the kids play on the slip & slide. I knew there was a kid sitting beside me but it didn't hit me for like 10 minutes that it was Slayden. Mandy said he had his hand on her leg the whole time :) What 2 year old just sits & watches & listens at a party while the other kids play! I'm telling you, when Hunter was barely 2 & I was big pregnant & chasing that wild, active little man around everywhere (he never sat still!!!), God definitely heard my prayers for a calm child..... Amen, thank you, Jesus. Although I could have used the laid back child when I was humungo pregnant... we take what we can get!!!

It was a really great day celebrating a really special boy. Happy 2nd birthday Slayden James! Not sure how 2 years have already passed from the moment they laid you in my arms, but it has been such a JOY to be your mother!!

TWO

My baby is TWO! Yay Slayden!! I feel like I've written so little about Slayden on this blog the past year. Hunter had so many milestones documented & I really regret that I didn't do as well this time around. I'm going to try to do as much catch up as I can so that I can remember as much as possible about my sweet & naughty little 2 year old!

He is definitely the naughtiest little thing I've ever met, but the scariest thing is how easily he seems to get away with it. He is such a charmer! He knows exactly how to suck you in and make you forget about how ornery he is! I'm scared for all the little girls out there who want to date him some day... he is such a charmer ;) That little guy can throw a serious fit for what he wants, but he has grown out of the fit throwing quite a bit over the last 6 months. Although he can be so so naughty, he is also the sweetest little guy. He is such a snuggler & loves to cuddle & kiss & sit on our laps. He is not much of a talker at all. Six months ago I was really thinking he would never talk, but he his talking has improved so much over the last 2 months. Like night & day! I guess its hard because I always compare his talking to where Hunter was & every kid is different! Hunter could talk in short sentences & sing multiple songs when he turned 2, plus he always talked very clear. Slayden says very few things, and most of them are things only we would understand :) but I know he will get there in his own sweet time, and his brother definitely talks enough for the both of them right now! Geez!

Slayden is really good at cleaning up his messes. He likes to dump things out, but when he is asked to pick up he almost always will sit there & pick up as long as it takes to get it all. For a long time this past year Slayden would follow Hunter to the potty. Actually Hunter would encourage him to come with him because for some reason he got scared to go by himself for a while. But Slayden had his own little seat he went to every time & just sat there til he was done, whether #1 or #2... moral support I guess. I always liked the idea because I figured that much watching someone go to the potty had to teach you how to go! Slayden has told me a few times he's wanted to sit on the potty but so far he hasn't went yet, but I know he isn't ready yet so we have not even begun the whole potty training process.

When Slayden was about 21 months he all of the sudden became OBSESSED with elephants. He pointed them out everywhere! I remember one day me & him where at Target & I was looking at something & he kept making his elephant sound & I wasn't paying any attention to him & I guess he finally got desperate & he yelled "elle-font" (which is major coming from my kid who doesn't talk!) and I turned & looked & sure enough there was an elephant on the kleenex packages. That kid could find them everywhere! His Grandpa & Nanny were down for Hunter's bday in March & Nanny took Slayden to hobby lobby & sure enough he comes home with the cutest stuffed elephant. He loves that elephant! He sleeps with it every night & carries it around as much as I will let him! Elephants are definitely a major stop on our many zoo trips now!

This kid is also so obsessed with toots & burps. I mean, I know most boys are, but he is OVER the top. Any time he toots (or anyone else) he dies laughing & then he will squeeze & squeeze until he gets another one out... it is ridiculous. I swear, boys are born disgusting! He loves my talking tom app on my phone & he basically just makes that poor cat toot over & over... never gets old to him. As a matter of fact a few months ago before he was talking much he would just bring me my phone & make a tooting noise to let me know he wanted talking tom. Such a boy.

He still sleeps in his crib and I don't imagine he will start trying to climb out any time soon. My kids are so different from each other! Hunter climbed out of his crib for the first time at 14 months & was climbing out easily by 18 months & we had him in a bed by 22 months (because he was climbing AND we needed the crib for the new baby!) Hunter did great transitioning to a bed, but I'm just not ready for that with Slayden. The crib is so easy! I'm so thankful he doesn't climb & I am going to try to keep him in there for as long as possible. He still takes one long nap in the afternoon, usually about 2-3 hours, and goes to bed at 8:30 every night. He goes through different wake up cycles. He will go through a period where he wakes up at like 7:15 every morning & then the last few weeks he has slept til about 8:30 every morning, but I'd say the normal is 7:45 or 8. He sleeps with his monkey pillow pet, his elephant, his blanket, and of course, his bebe (binky's). Oh dear, he loves his bebe's. I mean, Hunter loved his too & I let him keep them for way too long because we kept them in his bed & he only slept with them, but I'm not sure what we are going to do with this kid! He wants them non-stop, and if he doesn't have one he doesn't forget about it, he will whine & cry & ask you every 2 minutes for his be-be. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, I know I should just take them from him, but I'm just not sure I"m ready for that yet ;)

Another way Slayden is so different from Hunter is that he has such an attention span for things. Hunter is SO not ready for any kind of sports because he gets so bored of anything so fast. He will hit the baseball off the tee 2 times & then be over it, or shoot the basketball a few times & moves on to something else. He really doesn't have any interest in sport related things yet, so I'm not pushing it, but Slayden on the other hand LOVES them. He will play catch with you for as long as you are willing. He will hit the ball off the tee over & over & over... he doesn't even care to have to chase his own ball, put it back on the tee, and then hit it each time. He has a pretty good swing too... practice really does make a difference, he is going to bypass his brother very quickly if he doesn't start showing some interest ;) Slayden also LOVES to shoot the basketball... the goal he got for his birthday is a little tall for him but he has already improved so much. He usually doesn't get frustrated too much when he misses over & over but just keeps trying until he makes it, and then he expects everyone to stop & cheer for him. Gladly :) He also likes to sit on the couch & watch sports with Chris, which Chris enjoys!

I love my big TWO year old so much and we are so thankful to have him in our lives. He truly has completed our family. Hunter & Slayden are developing such a neat brotherly bond and its so much fun to watch it form & grow. They definitely fight like brothers, but they really, really love each other, and look out for & protect one another. They are the little loves of my life & that little 2 year old charmer has my heart & has me so wrapped around his finger that its scary! Love you Slayden James! We are so excited for the Terrific Two's!!

Pearly Whites

Hunter had his very first dentist appointment this past week. I have been meaning to take him for the past year, but kept forgetting! We brush his teeth really well, but I still had that fear that he was going to have a lot of cavities, but thankfully there were none. He did an excellent job, just as I expected. He is so mature in situations such as these, even when he is nervous. He listens well, and takes everything in, and always does exactly what is asked of him. I'm so thankful for that because I was too busy making sure Slayden stayed out of everything and didn't get to be as supportive of Hunter's new experience as I would have liked, but he rocked it out anyhow. I have a slight fear that Slayden will not be as easy in these situations... I'm already picturing him biting the dentist or spitting on them or something just as embarrassing. Although, had I pictured Hunter going to the dentist when he turned two I would most likely be just as scared. A lot of growing up goes on in those next few years. Most of the time Hunter handles himself with such poise, even though I know he had to be a little nervous. I was really proud of him!! (and thankful for no cavities!)

I sent Chris this picture of Hunter from the dentist & he couldn't believe how old he looks laying there with his little legs crossed. Love this kid :)