September Field Trip - Tracy Aviary

As I mentioned in the earlier blog, Kaden (and me) had his first school field trip on Wednesday, September 24th. His class was studying the letter "B" and had been talking and learning about different kids of birds. So, his first field trip was to the Tracy Aviary where they got to go in the Amazon Adventure and feed the birds (I think they're parrotts?). As usual, I forgot my camera but luckily, one of the other moms was nice enough to take some pictures of him so thanks Melissa! Next month's field trip is the Cornbelly Maze and pumpkin patch at Thanksgiving Point which should be lots of fun and really get us in the mood for Halloween (my least favorite holiday). Enjoy the pics.

Our Funny Jackson

I just wanted to share some funny pictures of our sweet Jackson. He just turned 20 months old and he's still such a sweetie. He's a little more mellow than his brother but also a little less sensitive but he really is just such a happy kid all of the time, unless he's sick or there's something else wrong.

I have to share the story of the first two pictures and why he's wearing a Jazz hat. I got a call from our office in Houston and was requested to deliver Deron Williams' personal tax returns to him for signatures at his home here in Utah (Murray). For those of you who might not know who Deron Williams is, he is the point guard for the Jazz NBA team and is a very big deal around here and was a big part of the U.S. Olympic basketball team. So, needless to say it was pretty exciting but I was pretty nervous. It will probably be the closest I'll ever come to meeting a celebrity in my lifetime. Anyway, I took a nice Jazz jersey and a child's Jazz hat to his house with me and he was gracious enough to sign them so Jackson is wearing Kaden's signed hat below...doesn't he look like such a homeboy?

"What up?"

And, being as tempermental as almost 2-year-olds can be, we went from happy to ticked off, in a matter of minutes!

This is what happens when independence kicks in. But, what can you do....you just have to brace for the mess. Luckily I wasn't home and Ray got to clean up the mess!

Lately, he really likes to pull his shirt up and show his six pack abs, especially when he meets new people and is around strangers...not sure if I should be worried or not.

First Day of School!

Kaden started pre-school on Wednesday, September 3rd. His teacher is Miss Bev and he goes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 12:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. He has about 11 kids in his class and so far, he absolutely loves it! But, I never realized that pre-school (emphasis on the "pre") was going to be so hectic and make my life even crazier. Some of the things that I now get to add to my list of to-dos:

• Provide the theme related snack once a month (apples for the letter "A", muffins for the letter "M", etc.)
• Monthly field trips - parents required
• Monthly book orders - helping Kaden understand that we can't order every book on the 3 4-page, front and back, book orders that are sent home
• Mandatory parent volunteer hours
• Weekly show and tell (every Friday for the boys)
• Other special class events (funny feet day for "F" and bring small pumpkin for decorating)
• Examine every store-bought package for some type of savings that can go to the school (example: Box Tops for Education, saving old ink cartridges, etc.)
• Parent teacher conferences

I really honestly thought that pre-school would be just something fun for KADEN to do but it's a family affair...but I guess it's good practice for the next 13 years? And, I've only got one in pre-school right now so it is beyond me how I'll ever juggle more than one kid in school at a time. I think I'm going to have to start watching Jon & Kate plus 8 and take some of her organization tips into account. But, to see how much he's learning and how much fun he's having and to hear his teacher tell us what a kind, polite boy he is and how much she loves having him in class (I'm sure she says that to every child's parents) makes the extra work well worth it. We just went on his first field trip so keep reading to see how that went...it was a lot of fun. But, on a setimental note, I did tear up after I walked him in on his first day which I was a little surprised at because I've been dropping him off at daycare for the last 4 years but he just looked so grown-up and I think I realized that this was the start of a different phase for him.

Balls Family Reunion

Well, I know I'm only about 6 weeks late on posting...again...but think how much fun it is to blog on and see so many new things rather than just one update. The week after I posted the last blog, Ray and Kaden went to Washington for the Balls Family Reunion. Jackson and I stayed at home because it was extremely busy for me at work and I really didn't want to spend at least 24 hours in a car with Jackson in a 4 days period. Kaden did so great on the drive...we made sure he had his Leapster, coloring books and crayons, and dad's iPod with movies and the portable DVD player with lots of movies...Ray was so impressed with how well he did and they had a great time. They played in the lake behind grandma and grandpa's house and got to slide off the pontoon slide.

But, I was very anxious to have them home safely late Sunday night and you don't realize how lonely and quiet the house is when everyone that's supposed to be there isn't. I could tell that Jackson really missed his big brother and it was actually harder to watch him without Kaden there because he wanted my attention all the time without brother there to play with him. Enjoy the pictures of their end of summer vacation back up to the Emerald City.

Kaden with his favorite Aunt Katie. We love you Katie!

Hiking

Skipping Rocks

Wading