Wednesday, May 21, 2008

End of the Year Program and Picnic

Today was Brannon and Alex's end of the year program and picnic at Day in the Son. They have both had a great year! All of the teachers, helpers and kids there are all wonderful! Here are some pictures and videos from our beautiful day!


This little bit of video if from the boy's program. Unfortunately the pictures I took inside didn't turn out very well. During the program, Shawn and I had a hard time finding Alex. He would be in one place for a while and then disappear. This is video of him dancing and disappearing. Where's Alex? Now you see him, now you don't! :)

This is Brannon's best friend at school, Ben. They enjoy playing dinos together and driving their teachers crazy! ;) I have gotten to know Ben's mom really well this year because she has subbed most of the year for one of the second grade teachers I work with at NPE.

This is Taryn, Brannon and Ben. For the past 2 years, these 3 and Cora Mae have been the 4 amigos in their mom's day out classes. From what I hear, they play together all the time. Today was no exception. They were so funny running around together from place to place.

Yummy lunch!

This is Brannon getting a snake painted on his face. Taryn is watching very closely, because since Brannon got a snake on his cheek, she wanted one too. Her mom tried to convince her that she should get a nice pretty flower, but she insisted on a snake like Brannon. :) I figure that if she would have gone first, Brannon would have probably ended up wanting a flower on his cheek like Taryn!

Brannon and Cora Mae

And of course Alex didn't want to be left out of a picture with Cora Mae!

Here's Brannon's snake.



This was SO cute. The two big attractions for our kids was the bounce house and this wagon. They had a ball pulling each other around in this wagon. This is a video of Brannon pulling the two girls. :)


To go fast enough for their two princesses, Brannon and Ben had to use some team work!

The two beautiful princesses! ;)

Turnabout is fair game!

Buddies!


This was SO funny. Alex was trying to hula hoop!

This is Alex getting a snake on his arm....imagine that...Alex doing something that Brannon did!? ;) The girl doing the painting is Alex's teacher. :)

She did a really good job!


Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Not Being "That Parent".....

As you may have read in Rebecca's last post, on the way to Brannon's t-ball game he made it known that he did not want me out on the field next to him. He said he wanted me to sit on the other side of the fence. Now, Brannon is an independent child - there is no question about that. :) But it took me off guard because it was only his second game.

Regardless, I have never wanted to be one of "those" parents. You know the ones I am talking about I hope....the ones that always blame the coach or the umpire for their children not getting a full ride to an ACC school even though they are playing on a 12 year old traveling team. Luckily, my dad was a fantastic example for me in being a sports parent. I remember one time when we had our end-of -the-year Little League awards and I didn't win MVP but won the Sportsmanship trophy again (for the umpteenth time). When we got in the car I openly proclaimed my disdain for never winning the cool award but always winning the boring one. My dad let me know, quickly I might add, that the Sportsmanship Award was the one he thought was the most important and was the one he hoped I would always win. He told me it's not always about being the best, it's about giving your best. That stuck with me.

So back to Brannon.....once he told me that he didn't want me to be out there with him, I said OK. I wasn't going to push it. More than anything I want him to learn to love the game that I love so much (just like my Dad taught me) and to have fun. Once we got to the park, we hung out until the game before us was finished. We then all walked onto the field and they began to warm up. After they got some initial instructions I asked Brannon again if he wanted me to sit on the other side of the fence. He said yes. So I took my lawn chair and became a spectator. :( Brannon played really well and looked like he had fun. We never talked about me being a spectator until he went to bed. As he got ready to be tucked in I told him I thought he played really well and asked him if had fun. He said he did have fun. I then told him that I liked watching him play t-ball but that it was hard not to try and help him. I said that I enjoy being close to him and watching him have fun and play. At that point, I said that I would really like to be out on the field with him next time, but it was his choice. He looked at me and said (and I am paraphrasing) "OK Dad, you can be with me next time."

And there were shouts of joy on the inside.......until he changes his mind next week. :) Just as long as I never become "that" parent, just like my Dad wasn't.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Pirate Boys

This afternoon, the boys tried on their pirate scarves and posed for me like pirates. They are a trip! Read Alex's shirt. It says, "I don't have an off button". Boy was that true today! Alex was crazy hyper and off the wall, and Brannon was winy because he is getting a cold. What a lovely combination!





Nate's Birthday

On Saturday, Alex and I went to Nate's birthday party. Brannon didn't get to come because he had a t-ball game at the same time as the party. Shawn went with Brannon, and I went with Alex. Brannon did a good job at his t-ball game, and Shawn said that he hit the ball the farthest out of everyone who hit! (That made his Daddy really proud!) Unfortunately, Brannon asked that Shawn sit out in the bleachers instead of being out with him and the rest of the boys and Daddies. As hard as this request was, Shawn obliged and sat and watched instead of helping. They talked about this later, and Brannon said that next week he could help out again :)

Alex and I had a really fun time at Nate's treasure hunt birthday party. Nate turned 3! Shelley, Nate's mom, had set up a scavenger hunt around the cul-de-sac (I have no idea how to spell that). In the cul-de-sac where they live, there are 10 kids from 5 years old to a few months. Only 2 of them are girls, and the rest are boys Brannon and Alex's age. That is how it is with our group of friends. There are a ton of boys!


Here's Alex riding one of the boy's bikes. He did surprisingly well. Unfortunately for him, he kept on riding in a circle. :) Over the past week, he has really started getting the whole bike riding thing, but he still doesn't get that he needs to steer and peddle... at the same time!

Alex was waiting so patiently for Nate to blow out his candles. I really didn't know what he would do, sitting so close to the cake and candles. He could of blown the candles out, stuck his fingers in the cake or licked the cake. Lucky for us, he didn't really do anything. I guess he's growing up. I really think that he might have thought that this was his birthday and cake since he didn't sing and just watched everyone else sing. Happy Birthday is one of his favorite songs to sing!


They all started eating cake outside, and then had to come in because it started to rain. One of the boys said, "Pirates don't care if it rains and they get wet!"


And the hunt begins! Shelley had put a scroll at each destination that gave a clue to where to go next. This was the first clue. Tony (one of the Dad's) took charge and read the clues to the boys. They kept on chanting, "TREASURE HUNT! TREASURE HUNT!". He also reminded them what a pirates favorite letter is...rrrrrrrrrrrr!



There go the boys...off on an adventure!

Clue number 2!

Clue number 3!

Alex is showing me his pirate's coin he got. There was a stack at each clue.


THEY FOUND THE TREASURE...or as Tony taught them...
the BOOTY!





Here are all our pirates! They were saying, "rrrrrrr!".

Doesn't he look like a pirate? The chocolate around his mouth makes him look like he has facial hair.

Nate and Bryce are enjoying their treasure! Yummy!



Alex LOVES suckers. I had to get him saying lollipop. It was SO cute!

These pictures on the swing set make him look like he is a real pirate on a ship! I'll have to get some video of him saying, "Ahoy there matties". It is so funny!




At the end of the party, Nate was kind enough to share his new toys with his friends. Nate loves Buzz Lightyear, so he got Buzz Lightyear toys from his mom and dad. I asked Shelley what he wanted, and he said, "Buzz Lightyear toys and bouncy balls".


Thursday, May 15, 2008

Looking Back

While I was getting Brannon's T-Ball pictures together, I started looking at his baby pictures. Wow! I can't believe that almost 5 short years ago Brannon was a tiny 9 lb. baby. He has changed SO much! Here are a few of my favorites that I came across.

Here's Brannon right after he was born. What a chub!

Brannon's about 3 or 4 months old here. What a sweet angelic face.

This looks a little more like Brannon now, in the face.

Brannon is about 6 or 7 months old here. This was during my Spring Break, and he had just learned to sit up.

Brannon used to LOVE smushed bananas. That's what's all over his toothless face. :) Notice how his eyelashes are kinda stuck together with banana goo.

Here's Brannon and PaPaw on his first Easter. This is the age that I think Brannon started to take on a "pixyish" look for a while. I have always thought that it is so weird how some kids look one way, and then almost over night their faces completely change.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day we went over to my mom and dad's house for lunch. We had a wonderful steak on the grill...mmm...yummy!

Here we are opening presents. This is a key chain Brannon made me at school. I also got the movie P.S. I Love You. If you haven't seen that movie yet, get a box of kleenex and watch it some night when you need a good cry.

Here's Brannon and Nana. The boys made Nana a flower pot that she can put pens and pencils in. I think it turn out really cute! The picture that Brannon drew is of him and Nana.

Brannon and I are looking at the movie Nana got.

And here's my Alex...what a handle full of loving craziness!

Monday, May 12, 2008

First T-Ball Game

Last Saturday (5/10/08) was Brannon's first T-Ball game. I must say that this event in Brannon's life was well documented. I had my camera and my Mom and Dad brought their camera (with a huge telephoto lens) and video camera. Below are just some of the over 175 pictures and videos!


Here is Brannon on the way to the game. He really wasn't all that excited about it. We were more excited than he was. Nana got him a Batman at a garage sale, and that is what he is holding. After the game he couldn't wait to show all his friends this new Batman!

Here is Brannon and I walking to the baseball field. They play at the baseball fields next to Mount Vernon High School. Notice what number he has on. Shawn went to pick Brannon's jersey up at his coaches house, and he was so excited that Brannon was number 3 that he had to call and tell me as soon as he got back in the car. :) For those of you who don't know, Shawn's favorite number is 3.

Here is Brannon greeting Nana and PaPaw.

Here is Brannon talking to his friends Colton (#6) and Jude (#1 - he is the one in Brannon's preschool class). Notice their ears. Their hats are too big, so all the little boys ears stuck out. I thought that was so cute!


Here's Brannon is his baseball stance.

I thought these pictures were so cute. This is Brannon and Daddy playing outfield.


Here's Dad and I with Alex watching the game.

"I Got It...It's My Ball!"

Priceless!

Brannon and Jude

Here comes Brannon up to bat. During the game he watched Shawn clean mud off the ends of the bats in the grass before the kids started to bat, so Brannon wanted to do that every time he came up to bat...and in between swings...gotta be like daddy!

Taking in some good advice from Daddy. Brannon was really good at remembering the three things you need to do when you are batting. (keep your eyes on the ball, make sure your feet are in the right place and hold your bat right)

SSSWWWIIINNNGGG!



Here is the video of Brannon at bat.


Ok...this was the funniest thing! I wish we would have gotten it on tape, because it would be great for America's Funniest Home Videos! After hitting the ball and going to first base, Brannon decided to put the chin strap in his mouth. When it was time to run to second base, he must have gotten it stuck in his mouth because he ran with his mouth open like this.

Then at second base I guess he got a little bored, because he decided to "dive" into his chin strap.


Now this was funny enough, but he got caught with his arms through his chin strap and had to run like this to third base. His arms were flopping all over the place! When he got there, a coach from the other team had to help him get his arms untangle from his chin strap. That's my boy!!!!!

What a sweet face!

Here's Jude and Brannon posing in the dugout.

After 3 complete innings (1 inning too long for a bunch of wiggly 4 and 5 year olds), the team all got together to yell, "White Sox!"

Here's Brannon having his snack after the game. Notice his turtleneck. It was a little cool that morning, so we had to put something on him to keep him warm, and the only long sleeve white shirt just happen to be his Cubs turtleneck.;)