First Day of School!

The dreaded first day finally came...Maddox started third grade, Joey started fifth grade and Saylor started half-day kindergarten!

The boys...new shoes, old backpacks, new shorts, old polos....

Memories....Joey has Mrs. Battani (who told him that his hair looked like Uncle Kyle's), he got into the car and said this might be his best year in his entire life, he thought Mrs. Hunter was funny, he got new math curriculum, new discipline practices in the classroom, played football at recess....

Memories from Maddox...he is a mentor for a new kid, Jesus; he played football at recess; he likes Ms Jansen a lot, he went to Math in the 4th grade room and was worried about that, had the new music teacher and loved her, and overall had a great day! I took the kids to Chilis afterwards for big skillet desserts and Joey discovered a love for cheesecake!

Now, Saylor had her orientation for half-day kindergarten and then her first day came! She was super duper excited and not scared or nervous at all. She cannot wait to learn to read! She's constantly asking me what sounds certain letters make, and how to read or write words...I'm very ready for her to learn too! Saylor has Mrs. Basler, and both boys had her so I wasn't nervous either!

There's just something different about sending your daughter to school....I don't know what it is. Or, maybe it's that she's the baby. I'm not sure what it is....She will go to school every day this year from 8:30-11:40...which gives me a lot of time to get stuff done around the house, go to the gym, get groceries, etc. I work my butt off during those hours and am exhausted by the time I pick her up!! She loves getting to vote for the book Mrs. Basler reads every day, she loves the riddle of the day, she loves the tool man and using the tool bench, and she already knows how to read FIVE words (and loves to tell me about that). She's a lot more eager to learn than the boys were...and she's more eager to tell me all about her day than the boys were too! And, every day, I pick her up, she YELLS at her friends "BYE, BECCA! BYE JACK! BYE LAUREN!"

Here's to a great school year!!!

Saylor's First Day of Preschool!

Saylor was super excited to go to 4-year old school this year! This year, she goes four days a week at the same school all the kids have gone to- Shepherd of the Valley! Her teacher is Mrs. Grotzinger.  She couldn't wait for the first day to come! And, she had me take a picture of every little thing on her - it was so cute! The bad thing was that it was raining on her first day- but we were prepared with a rain coat and an umbrella!

Here's a few shots at school!

Nowadays, Saylor doesn't even hug or kiss us goodbye. She puts her bag on the hook and runs for her classroom. She is excited when I pick her up to tell me all about her day. She loves her teacher, and has made some good friends too! We're off to a good start!

School Days and Football

Just a couple pics from the kids school days and the boys football games!

And, as for Saylor and picture day....the school called on the day of pictures and said Saylor was refusing to take her photo and asked what they should do. Well, my first response was to start laughing so hard on the phone....which, I then kind of regretted because clearly they were trying to find a solution. I guess it's the third child thing- I probably would have cared if this was Joey's first school photo. I told them to not take the photo and move on! So, all we have of Saylor is her group photo- in which you can see that she is just thrilled to be in this photo too! God love her! 

Love Notes

Here are two reasons I love my boys!

Spring Update

Just a few spring updates from us....

The boys basketball season is over! It was fun....but it was looooong. They played 69 total games combined. As Joe and I noted, we probably didn't play 69 games total up until our high school years! Wow! But, the boys love it and are already looking forward to summer camps! And....baseball season has started!

Michigan's season is over....it ended sooner than what we would have liked but we cheered hard!

Joey presented his school biography on Harrison Barnes and I attended his presentation at school!

At school, "Cheese", a Harlem Globetrotter, visited Sacred Heart and addressed the students on the ABC's of Bullying Prevention. Two students from each grade was chosen for doing an outstanding job at always being courteous and kind to others, standing up for what they believe in and standing up for others. The students were recognized at a school ceremony in front of everyone. Joe and I were surprised to learn that BOTH our boys were chosen! It really was an honor and we were so proud. As Joe told them, this means so much more to us than any basketball trophy ever will! I could not attend the ceremony because I had mandatory meetings but Joe got to see the boys surprised with the honor at school. It was a proud parenting moment (um, we have so many moments that we're not proud of, so that one makes a difference!)

At school, we had Grandparents Day and my parents and Bobbi came to school mass and then went to the kids' classrooms.

 At home, we are reading Charlotte's Web which is one of my favorite children's books. It's so fun to hear the boys say "One more chapter, mom! Just one more!"  And, it's kind of nice to be able to read chapter books together that we both enjoy!

Saylor continues to grow up faster than I find necessary. We have taken down the side of her crib, ordered her new bedding and have plans to order her new bed. The diapers are gone, the bottles are gone, the pacis are gone, and now her crib is gone. Every trace of babyhood is leaving us, and it makes me incredibly sad when I think about it. So, I just don't think about it.  She's already off fighting crimes and often found in high heels.

For Joe and I....there's been a few changes as well, but that's for another post. This has probably been our unhealthiest winter on the record as a family, and also one of the coldest winters. Work has been very stressful for me, and Joe's work has had it's ups and downs, too. My next post will be about our first family vacation to Florida....!

Through Their Eyes

It was a big week at our house- my birthday and Valentine's Day but also a few happenings at school. Here's a peak at our week through their artwork!

My Happy Birthday Card from Joey: 

My Happy Birthday Card from Maddox: 

A prayer that Joey wrote to God in school. My favorite line is "I love my brother and cousins. They're loving and fun." I'm confident he accidentally left out Saylor. : ) 

It was Catholic Schools Week and the halls were lined with artwork from every class about why they love their school.  Joey loves playing with his friends at recess. 

Maddox loves that he can pray at school. 

Saylor was VERY proud to give us this Valentine she made at daycare. 

Maddox made us this homemade Valentine at school. He also made us a Valentine that says "I love you more than Wolverines. I love you more than honey on toast. I love you more than dogs. But I love you the most!" I got all excited and said "Maddox! You love me more than the Michigan Wolverines? WOW!" and he straight up looked at me and said "No, I was talking about the animal.....".  Gotchya. 

And, Joey had a school project where he had to take a bear named Corduroy home for the week. Here are a few photos from Corduroy's time at our house (he also got to go to Gma and Gpa's house!)

It was a busy week at our house! And, it ended with Joey having the flu at midnight on Saturday night. It's not a holiday at our house unless someone is puking....