Mason goes to Kindergarten

It's so cliche to say, "I can't believe my kid is old enough to be in kindergarten." Everyone says it, and well the reason is because it's true. I have found myself over the past few weeks wondering where the past 5.5 years went. They grow too fast.

Mason started kindergarten on August 20th. He was totally ready and really looking forward to it. Jake and I were pretty ready but a little part of us was sad too. I figured I would cry and Jake told me he would be fine as long as I didn't make a montage of pictures over the past 5 years... I agreed.

So we all got up and got ready to go that morning. We all trekked up to the school and made our way back to the playground where all the kids were lining up. There were millions of them I swear. Pretty soon we spotted Mason's teacher as they were marching in the building. He gave a few quick hugs and he jumped in line and he was off. No tears were shed by him, by daddy, OR by mommy!!! (Let me tell you though there were lots of crying mommas there!) It was bittersweet but overall we were so happy for him. We knew he was more than ready for kindergarten. He is always eager to learn and that made it so much easier on us knowing he would probably enjoy his time there.

That evening I picked him up from his after school program and he was very quiet. I asked him how it went, he said, "good." I asked if he liked it and he said, "yes." I asked what he had for lunch and he said, "a hamburger." I asked if he had recess and he said, "no." I then explained what recess was and he said, "oh yah we did." I asked him if he colored and he said, "yes." I asked lots of questions and got lots of one word answers. I then asked if anyone in his class cried and he said, "I did." Apparently he ended up in the wrong line leaving the lunch room and ended up in the gym. Luckily he found his way back and it wasn't too traumatizing because he was eager to go back on day #2. So basically what I have figured out is that he likes school and he's a typical male that doesn't feel the need to give his mother any of the details she so craves. He did spend more time telling Jake about his day, but when I asked Jake was he said, his response was, "I don't know he just told me about it." Wow... now I know where Mason gets it. ha ha.

Day 2 was somewhat exciting because Mason rode the bus for the first time. So far so good, he likes riding the bus, he likes his teacher and he's met a few new friends. I am still working on him for some details, but I won't hold my breath as I am sure they may never come.

Neighbor boys at the bus stop

And he's off...

Sutton is a potty machine!

Apparently my boys have some strange genetic trait that once they turn 28 months something clicks and the little voice in their head says, "it's time to start using the potty." A bit of background is probably necessary here.

So when Mason turned 2 I bought into everyone else scrambling around me who said you must start potty training. This went against my better wishes as changing diapers wasn't really that big of a deal to me (heck I had a 5 month old too so it was just part of the routine). Needless to say at the age of 2 he peed his pants a lot, over and over. I finally said forget this and gave up, I figured we'd resume by age 3. So I was shocked one day when Mason came home from daycare at the age of 28 months and asked to use the potty. I put him on there and sure enough he went. Then he asked for underwear, so I gave him underwear. A handful of accidents happened that first week but it was pretty minimal. Poof... he potty trained himself. At this point I thought I was the luckiest mom alive. Not only did I not have to do anything but he was really young "for a boy" as everyone said.

So child #2 turns 2 and there is NO WAY I am even thinking about the potty. I figured the first one did it on his time so this one will do it on his time too. The kid turned 28 months and just like his brother asked to go on the potty one day, and he went. I then gave him a choice of underwear or a diaper and he chose the underwear. Wow, and I thought I was lucky before. Now Iwas doubly lucky. I had 2 kids potty train themselves at 28 months, pretty ironic. Of course with Easton nothing is quite so simple...and he wouldn't poop on the potty. He went for a month peeing like a big boy but everytime he needed to poop he requested a diaper. And I gave in...until I got sick of it and we told him if he was big he had to start pooping in the potty. Lots and lots of sobbing on the potty occurred but eventually he did it and we were good.

Now baby #3 as you all know by now has a mind of his own. He does things his way, on his time, and really doesn't take much direction from anyone. So once again as people were asking about potty training, I said I was gonna let him do it when he was ready. I figured I was due for a kid that would be about 4 since I got so lucky the first 2 times. Last weekend we took a trip to the Cardinals game in St. Louis. At one point Sutton asked to go on the potty at the game and I said no you have on a diaper. (Yes I encouraged him to pee his pants). So Sunday night after we arrived home he asked again to go on the potty. I agreed and put him on there and he went. So I gave him the choice of the diaper or underwear and he said, "underweeer" in the cutest voice ever. (sidenote: I make him say underwear alot because it's so cute how he says it.) So if you are wondering how old Sutton is, well of course he's 28months! And he's only had a few accidents this past week so I think it is safe to say we are pretty much done with diapers in this house! Definitely exciting.

Because he is just learning he of course has to take off ALL his clothes to go potty. We also let him pee outside, and yesterday was our neighborhood block party. Sutton was constantly naked and peeing somewhere. He was the entertainment, especially because he bends his legs and leans back and occasionally scratches his butt while he's peeing. It's quite humorous.
So I wish I could say I am a super potty trainer and quite an amazing mother... but really it must be genetic. Now I just need to teach him to put his pants back on and to quit drinking a gallon of Crystal Light Lemonade a day and I will really be able to enjoy this!

Blogarific

So I have spent a great deal of today trying to catch up on all the things I meant to blog about since APRIL!!! I still have a few more but scroll down (and you even have to go to the next page there are so many) for lots of reading and check back again soon.

New neighbors

What could possibly keep the interest of 3 little boys for more than 5 minutes? Yep if you know the Koller boys you know it's heavy machinery. They broke ground next door to us and we will get new neighbors this fall. Of course getting new neighbors is nerve racking, what if they are weird, what if they think we are weird, what if they hate our kids, what if they hate us? Lots of questions go through your mind. We were pleased to find out that our new neighbors are gonna be great fun. As we were all chatting in the middle of the street one night Mason comes pulling a wagon with nearly all the kids he could fit into it. I knew Rachel (new neighbor) was awesome when: 1) she didn't freak out that her kids were gonna get hurt and 2) she actually let Mason get in the wagon and took her turn pulling it! Stay tuned for more adventures with the soon to be new neighbors!

Soccer Mom

I gave new meaning to the term soccer mom this year. As we were signing the boys up for activities I decided they should play soccer. I had to register Mason and Easton separately because they were in different age groups. When I called, the guy told me they were really in need of coaches and asked if I would be willing to help out. I reluctantly said I would be the assistant but not the head coach, but only if they absolutely needed me. (and I stressed the absolutely) Little did I know when you volunteer they jump all over it. So I got 2 phone calls telling me I would be the assistant coach for each team. It was quite an adventure for both me and for the boys. So lesson #1... don't ever hesitantly say yes to coaching they take it very definitively.

Mason: I requested Mason to be on the same team as his friend John that lives in our neighborhood. Little did I know that this team of boys were superstars and my poor kid had barely ever even kicked a soccer ball before. The other boys had been playing together at least a year and maybe 2. So not only did they know what to do they were very competitive and most of them were really amazing. It should probably be noted that one of his teammates is Dan Gable's grandson and another of his teammates is Wes Obermueller's son (he was a professional pitcher), and while my son is my son... you know I was an all star in High School at soccer, oh wait yah NO I was terrible but had fun trying. ha ha. So it was a learning experience and in the end we learned he could be good if he tried but he wasn't real into it. He did score a goal in one game which was a proud moment for us all...too bad daddy was at home with the naughty little boys.

Easton: Now this was a completely different experience. Easton along with most of the team were 3 years old and had never played a day in their life. We did have at least one girl and one boy who had played the year before and boy was it obvious! Mostly Easton followed me around the field and payed no attention to what was going on. At one point I told him he needed to go after the ball and he replied, " I don't like all that wrestling." He was referring to the mob of kids all kicking at the ball and each other. Can't say he's not logical. It was challenging to say the least to get him to even get out there but in the end he did a good job and I think enjoyed it some. He also scored a goal at one point... but for the other team.

Safe to say neither of these kids will be playing for the World Cup... Sutton is my only hope.

Preschool Graduation

Mason has accomplished his first official educational milestone. He graduated from preschool this spring…two times! He attends 2 different preschools. At Creation Kids they had a little ceremony where they sang a few songs (he looked less than thrilled), and then each child said what they wanted to be when they grew up. We eagerly anticipated his turn and placed bets on whether he would say semi driver, dump truck driver, or concrete truck driver. As the children came up the girls seemed to have their heads on straight and many wanted to be doctors, there was one little boy who wanted to be a Transformer, but a majority of all the boys in the class wanted to be… a cop. Mason concurred. One of his classmates has a father that is a police officer and apparently he’s been pretty influential.
Next up Kinderfarm graduation, he got to walk up the podium and shake Mrs. Shoemaker’s hand. She was one of his teachers this spring. He even made his own graduation hat. He's thoroughly enjoyed Kinderfarm, it's like a dream come true to be able to take care of the animals while at school. Now it’s onto kindergarten and he couldn’t be happier. He is ready, we are ready…and we even got word he’ll get to ride the bus which is probably the thing he is looking forward to the most. Way to go Mason Man, we are so proud of you!

Our mom has an unhealthy obsession with dressing us alike.

It’s no secret that I love to dress the boys the same. Although it started because I thought it was cute, I have actually found it to be quite practical as well. For example, when I go into a store to buy new clothes for the boys I don’t have to figure out what I am buying for who and I don’t have to look around much. I just buy 3 of the same thing, convenient and quick! But the other more practical part of dressing them the same is that some day when we are in public one of them will disappear, wander off… who knows which one, that could change by the day. And when the police come to question what they are wearing I will simply point to one of the other boys and say, "he was wearing that!" The funny thing is that Mason now enjoys dressing the same and often he picks out everyone's outfit the night before and lays them out on the dresser...he hates it when Easton doesn't want to match (yah he's my mini me, ha ha) Here are a few of my fave matchy match outfit pics.

We have hit a milestone... they no longer fit in a regular bathtub together, it's my whirlpool or our walk in shower these days for getting clean.

I am the comedian and I LOVE my paci:

I often refer to Sutton as comic relief in our house. He is always doing something goofy and making every one laugh. Sometimes it's on purpose and other times it's completely accidental but still hilarious. I guess he has realized his role in the family. He’s not only the family comedian but he is still after all the baby. One night I found him taking advantage of the small amount of time he has left with his paci (I think he was maximizing his time with paci at night since he doesn’t get to have it during the day at school). Funniest part was that he acted as if this was very normal to just have 2 pacis. This has become yet another way he gets us all to laugh at him and big brothers often promote it by finding him 2 pacis.

The incredible climbing kid

My kids have all been climbers compared to many other kids their age. However Sutton has taken it to a new level so to speak. Other parents often gasp when in the presence of Sutton because he is often up on top of something he shouldn’t be. While I usually stand there watching calm, cool, and collected just shaking my head, I can't tell you the number of times I have heard someone say to me, "he's making me nervous." I guess I should have expected this when at the age of 11 months he could easily climb out of his crib. Here are a few places I have found him lately:

Nothing in the pantry is safe anymore:

He can get in the fridge He's crafty...ladders are necessary when there are no lower shelves to start on.

And his latest was climbing up the outside of the staircase, luckily he thought just sitting on top of the banister would be sufficient.

Happy Birthday to Sutton and Me!

Happy Birthday to Sutton and Brooke. Here we are on our shared birthday, he turned 2 and I turned 31 years more than him (gasp).

The previous weekend my parents got me my very own cake! Most of you who know me know that my favorite part of my birthday is the cake and I was less than thrilled to have to share MY day with my youngest son when he decided to steal my birthday. Thankfully I have been spoiled each year thus far (yah I know it's only been 2 years) with a cake of my own!
The next weekend Sutton had a Wonder Pets Birthday Party, he and his brothers are obsessed with the annoying show and I am counting down the days until everyone grows out of it.

He of course got way too many gifts. One of his favorites was golf clubs. Of course not only can you hit a ball with them they also make choice weapons for hitting your brothers! Sutton also got a great new picnic table and the box it came in was quite the hit as well. We then went out in the yard and played with one other present, a very cool bubble machine that makes millions of bubbles.

Easter

We started off Easter a bit early with an egg hunt in Grandma Lana’s basement. The boys had fun racing around trying to find as many eggs as possible.

Next up coloring Easter eggs. We have pretty much adopted a fourth son that you will soon get to know very well through the blog. Last November we got new neighbors (the husband was one of my high school friends) their son Chase has become our fourth son. So the 4 boys spent time coloring eggs, and the table… oh and Sutton ate part of a color tablet. The Easter bunny stopped at our house and brought some new jammies, sidewalk chalk, and the crowd favorite of all boys in our house Cadbury eggs. Then it was off to Chase Eisenbach’s for an outdoor egg hunt. After a long day, I found all 3 boys snuggling on our very large sectional (wonder how long that will last?).