Kindergarten Already???

Today we had Ashton's kindergarten orientation. He's my baby, so it just seems like he's still too little! He will be young for his class though, where Brayden was older for her class, so she seemed way more mature. But Ashton is definitely ready and just can't wait! (Me too, ha ha!) As crazy as he is, Ashton loves to learn, and thanks to his sister, he already knows a lot. He is starting to read, knows shapes that I don't even know what they are called, and loves doing math problems. That at least makes me feel like I don't need to worry too much about how he'll do...just as long as he can sit still and not talk too much in class!

During orientation, they divided the new kindergartners up into groups and they got a tour of the school while we were being spoken to by the principal and other teachers. Ashton came back with a book, pencil, workbook, and said he got to have milk and a cookie in the cafeteria - he seemed so pumped! It was funny, Brayden's current teacher, Ms. Cummings, ended up being the teacher in charge of Ashton's group. She came up to me afterward laughing at how night and day Brayden and Ashton's personalities are. I always thought it was going to be interesting for everyone at the school who knows Brayden to see the contrast between her and her brother! Knowing how Ashton is, I'm sure they will all get to know him really quick!

Here's my little stud muffin kindergartner with his stuff from orientation...

Yeah, he felt like pretty hot stuff after today!

St. Patty's Day

St. Patrick's Day morning the kids and Mike woke up to some little treats...

and me doing something unusual...cooking a hot breakfast at 7 in the morning! :) We had green shamrock pancakes!

Ashton has been insisting on wearing his chef's hat and apron all day every day...he says it's because he wants to make sure people know he's a chef!

The kids had fun making their own green milk!

After Brayden went to school, Ashton really wanted to do more cooking videos, so I let him do a special St. Patrick's Day one. It's so funny how serious he is taking this whole cooking show thing! Anyway, I'll post that one just because it's for St. Patrick's Day, but I promise I won't fill my blog with much more, cause I'm sure there will be a lot!

Then later, we went to visit Grandma for a little bit. She hasn't been feeling well lately, so I thought I'd bring my little leprechauns and a little bit of St. Patrick's Day love to cheer her up! The kids always think that going to Grandma and Grandpa's house is the most exciting thing. Ashton thinks it's so cool that "they live up on a mountain" and he tells everyone all about it. (They only live 10 minutes away from us!)

It's so funny how such a little holiday can change the whole mood of the day. The kids think it is the funnest thing ever! Who would have thought that a day of wearing green could be so exciting?!

Cook With Ashton!

Ashton has started his own cooking show! He's been wanting to do it for awhile, so I finally got him a chef's hat and apron, and we started taping today! :) I'm not allowed to help him know what to say, so this is ALL him...



Chef Ashton!

Happy Birthday to My Sis!

Happy Birthday today to my favorite little sister and best friend!!! It's funny thinking back on how bad we fought growing up. We didn't get along even up until we got married, then the minute we had our first babies (just a few weeks apart) all of that changed! We are still as opposite as ever, but becoming moms finally gave us something to have in common, and I think we both realized that we had more important things in our life to worry about than fighting with each other over silly things. Now we talk on the phone almost every day and are so much closer than I ever thought we would be. I am so grateful for the friendship we have now, and for her being someone I can always count on to be there when I need someone to talk to. I just wish she didn't live all the way in Seattle! Happy Birthday, Adrianne! Love you!!!

I thought it would be fun to put up a few pictures of us when we were younger...and I'm really okay if you laugh at our outfits!

"Just Give Me the Shots!"

Today I took Ashton to the doctor for his kindergarten checkup and to catch him up on some vaccinations. I'm always so nervous when it comes to immunizations, as I've written about in a previous post. But as worried I was about taking Ashton to get them, he made me feel better because he was sooo excited to go to the doctor, and yes, to get shots! He hasn't been to the doctor much in his life, so to him this was pretty exciting (believe it or not!). When we were at the office and they called us for our turn, he bounded through the door like he just couldn't wait! He didn't do so well on the eye exam...not sure if he was confused about how to do it or what, but we'll be taking him to the eye doctor soon just in case! Then, we went into the room where the doctor's assistant started asking Ashton questions. One of the questions was about how many times Ashton poops a day, so I asked Ashton if he could tell us since I wasn't sure, and he said proudly, "15!" After that question, he got bored of answering the rest of the questions pretty quick, and my so-not-shy little boy told the assistant, "Just give me the shots!" Then, in between me talking to her and the doctor, Ashton kept saying over and over again, "I just want my shots." The doctor couldn't believe how eager he was to get them! When Ashton started acting up, I even found myself having to bribe him with them saying, "If you can't be good, we're not going to get your shots!" and it actually worked! When it was finally time for his shots, Ashton was grinning from ear to ear, and even while getting the shots (he had 3, 2 in his thighs and 1 on his arm) he kept his big smile, just saying a tiny "ouch" but with a grin! It was the funniest thing to watch! I know it entertained the doctor and his assistant. They said they've never had a child come in so excited or so brave for shots! Seriously though, they probably thought he was a little nutty! Afterward, we met up with my mom for some Arctic Circle for lunch and then Yogurtland to celebrate
Ashton's bravery! Later, Ashton told Brayden,
"Too bad YOU didn't get shots today, Brayden...too bad."

Here's my crazy but brave little man...

Showing off what he got at the doctor's...