I just got home from dropping off paperwork, so I can now officially announce that Sutton is going to be starting a new preschool too! Starting on August 17th he will be going to preschool with his best buddy, Hattie, on Mondays/Tuesdays/Thursdays at a school that is right down the street from Sawyer's school (YAY for not having to drive the boys in opposite directions at the same time anymore!!!). I would love for him to be able to go to Sawyer's school too, but they won't accept him until he's 3-years-old and fully potty trained, so he will likely start going there next summer.
It's bittersweet for me to have him leave Traci's house, because she has been so great with our boys and is very close with them, but ever since Sawyer left to go to his new school things just haven't been the same there for Sutton. I think that with both Sawyer and Hattie starting new schools Sutton was starting to feel sad and left behind, and he just wasn't having as much fun as he used to have. When we told him that he was going to get to go to school with Hattie at her new school his whole face lit up, and if it were up to him he'd start there today!
I'm sure that there will likely be some transition issues as he switches from a home daycare to a larger school/learning center, and I'm a little worried about his first couple of weeks as he's making new friends since Hattie doesn't go there on Tuesdays, but I know that he's ready and willing to make the change. I'm just so grateful that we have the opportunity to allow him to do so. With work picking up for me again, it'll be nice to have both boys in school on the same days so that I can have three kid-free chunks of time to get all of my stuff accomplished. I'm nervous, because change is hard for me, but I'm also incredibly excited. I'm so proud of my boys, and I love that they have the chance to thrive in creative and educational surroundings.
P.S. Holly posted a bunch of cute pictures from last Friday's trip to the water park on her blog HERE!
Aug 6, 2009
Aug 5, 2009
Outdoor Art: Mural Painting
A few years ago I ran across an amazing too-good-to-pass-up deal on 36' wide x 1000' long (yes, you read that right - a thousand feet long!) rolls of red kraft paper. I think it was a pricing error, but somehow I managed to run across it at $7.99 a roll, and because I am a sucker for a good deal, I bought two. Even though it feels like we use the red paper all the time, here we are three or four years later, and we've barely made a dent in the first roll. Clearly we will be wrapping every birthday and holiday gift for the next 200 years in plain red paper ;)
Sawyer: "I gotta little paint on my hands. Can I use my fingers?"
They decided that painting is the most fun when you just apply a ton of paint directly to your hands and go crazy on the canvas.
Today we decided to take advantage of the unseasonably cool weather we've been having here (they're predicting a high of only 79 tomorrow!), and we pulled out the good old red paper for some outdoor painting fun.
Sawyer: "I gotta little paint on my hands. Can I use my fingers?"
Mr. Copycat
They decided that painting is the most fun when you just apply a ton of paint directly to your hands and go crazy on the canvas.
Sutton was a little confused as to why his bright colors kept turning into a dark greyish puddle in his hands
"I'm all done!"
"Me too. Look at my messy hands."
Clean up time with the hose and the water table. I wish I had taken more pictures of clean up, because it was just as fun as the painting was!
Sawyer was so excited for Daddy to get home and see his artwork (the left side is Sawyer's work, and the right side is Sutton's).
We cut a few of their favorite pieces out of the mural for their art display frames that hang in the play kitchen area. They are always so proud of their work, and they love it when I deem a new art piece worthy of framing!
Aug 3, 2009
Week in Review
We finally managed to get unpacked and settled back in from our vacation, but now I have a whole week's worth of blogging to catch up on! Here are a few of the highlights from our busy week:
We finally hit up Maidu Park at a time where no one was swinging on these cool red lounge-style swings. The boys have been dying to try them out, but EVERY time we are at the park someone else has already staked their claim (and they stay on them forever!!!). They were so much fun that we didn't even make it to the other side of the park to watch Daddy's softball game!
Sutton actually got thisclose to falling asleep in his swing!
The cutest Home Depot worker you'll ever meet ♥
We made a massive banana bread castle bundt cake...and the boys devoured the entire thing in less than 2 days!
Of course, it wouldn't be a normal week without some painting time. Sutton will quite literally paint anything that you stick in front of him. In this picture he's painting a napkin and a cardboard drink carrier - at least I'm recycling for our projects! 
No matter how much or how little water is flowing through the rings, Sawyer always holds his breath and scrunches his eyes closed when he runs through :) 
My sister, Kari, painted me this amazing painting for my birthday. I absolutely LOVE it!!! I wish you could see the detail better in this photo, but it even has pearlescent and silvery strokes to make it look both realistic and magical. For anyone who might have had their doubts, here's absolute proof that I am NOT the artistic one in my family! Creative, yes, but definitely not artistic! ♥
I absolutely adore the way that Sawyer can't pass by a yellow dandelion without picking it for me. He seems to get such joy by giving me flowers and compliments - his dad has him trained well ;)
We took a walk on the nature trail and watched the trains go by
Kari, Me, Krista and Jessica celebrating at Kari's bridal shower this weekend. 
I made Oreo truffles too. You really should be jealous that you're not here to enjoy them with us!
We finally hit up Maidu Park at a time where no one was swinging on these cool red lounge-style swings. The boys have been dying to try them out, but EVERY time we are at the park someone else has already staked their claim (and they stay on them forever!!!). They were so much fun that we didn't even make it to the other side of the park to watch Daddy's softball game!
Sutton actually got thisclose to falling asleep in his swing!
The cutest Home Depot worker you'll ever meet ♥
We made a massive banana bread castle bundt cake...and the boys devoured the entire thing in less than 2 days!
Of course, it wouldn't be a normal week without some painting time. Sutton will quite literally paint anything that you stick in front of him. In this picture he's painting a napkin and a cardboard drink carrier - at least I'm recycling for our projects!
On Friday Holly and I took the kiddos to the water park. It was perfect 84 degree weather (for August, in Sacramento??? Unheard of!), and the kids had a blast.
No matter how much or how little water is flowing through the rings, Sawyer always holds his breath and scrunches his eyes closed when he runs through :)
My sister, Kari, painted me this amazing painting for my birthday. I absolutely LOVE it!!! I wish you could see the detail better in this photo, but it even has pearlescent and silvery strokes to make it look both realistic and magical. For anyone who might have had their doubts, here's absolute proof that I am NOT the artistic one in my family! Creative, yes, but definitely not artistic! ♥
I absolutely adore the way that Sawyer can't pass by a yellow dandelion without picking it for me. He seems to get such joy by giving me flowers and compliments - his dad has him trained well ;)
We took a walk on the nature trail and watched the trains go by
Kari, Me, Krista and Jessica celebrating at Kari's bridal shower this weekend.
I made Oreo truffles too. You really should be jealous that you're not here to enjoy them with us!
Jul 30, 2009
Super Summer Swap - Thank You!
Our Super Summer Swap packages have arrived - yippee!!!
Sawyer's package arrived while we were on vacation, so I kept it hidden from him until we could get settled back down and unpacked (mostly because I didn't want to add to the vacation mess we hadn't put away yet. Actually, it still wasn't all put away yet, so excuse the random clothing and package of tp in the background of the pictures!). I gave it to him on Tuesday after school, and he was SO excited to have something of his very own to open. He kept asking me, "Is it mine? Is it from Bekah?" He had so much fun putting Bekah's package together, and from the way he was talking about it, you'd think that Bekah was one of his nearest and dearest friends that he's known all his life!
I couldn't get a picture of everything that came in the package because he kept grabbing stuff away from me, but this is most of it :) There were also the dinosaur stickers and some really cute shaped crayons that actually managed to survive the 104 degree heat without getting too smushed and unrecognizable!
We had fun going through the "My First Words" flashcards, and I was amazed that he actually knew almost all of the words on them. I thought for sure he would get tripped up on some of the words like nest, mushroom and snail that he doesn't use very often, but the only three he had trouble with were Earth ("moon"), quarter ("money") and wind ("bubble bath" LOL).
He got the word flashcards (which also came with a sheet of stickers), marker/watercolor paper (which he promptly claimed as "Mine! Sawyer no use it."), Thomas stickers (which made him squeal with delight, "My choo-choo stickers!"), and his favorite thing of all - a dolphin squirter. He really loved everything in his package!
Hopefully our pals receive their packages soon too! We can't wait to see if they like their goodies as much as we liked ours! Thanks again Bekah and Andrew (and their mommies, of course!) :)
Sawyer's package arrived while we were on vacation, so I kept it hidden from him until we could get settled back down and unpacked (mostly because I didn't want to add to the vacation mess we hadn't put away yet. Actually, it still wasn't all put away yet, so excuse the random clothing and package of tp in the background of the pictures!). I gave it to him on Tuesday after school, and he was SO excited to have something of his very own to open. He kept asking me, "Is it mine? Is it from Bekah?" He had so much fun putting Bekah's package together, and from the way he was talking about it, you'd think that Bekah was one of his nearest and dearest friends that he's known all his life!
His favorite thing in the package was a pack of dinosaur foam stickers, which he promptly opened up and dumped all over my bed ;)
He was thrilled with the activity books, and he was especially excited that one of them came with a sheet of stickers. He liked the book about colors the most, because it has his most favorite activity in it - drawing lines to match up pairs.
I couldn't get a picture of everything that came in the package because he kept grabbing stuff away from me, but this is most of it :) There were also the dinosaur stickers and some really cute shaped crayons that actually managed to survive the 104 degree heat without getting too smushed and unrecognizable!
Thank you Bekah!!! We loved your package of goodies!
Sutton's package from Andrew arrived yesterday, and he couldn't wait to open it. He ran inside from the mailbox and didn't make it more than three feet inside the door before he tore into it! Sawyer was more than willing to help him open it and take everything out, since he's a seasoned package-opening veteran now ;)
We had fun going through the "My First Words" flashcards, and I was amazed that he actually knew almost all of the words on them. I thought for sure he would get tripped up on some of the words like nest, mushroom and snail that he doesn't use very often, but the only three he had trouble with were Earth ("moon"), quarter ("money") and wind ("bubble bath" LOL).
He got the word flashcards (which also came with a sheet of stickers), marker/watercolor paper (which he promptly claimed as "Mine! Sawyer no use it."), Thomas stickers (which made him squeal with delight, "My choo-choo stickers!"), and his favorite thing of all - a dolphin squirter. He really loved everything in his package!
Thank you Andrew!!! You were a great Summer Swap Pal!
Hopefully our pals receive their packages soon too! We can't wait to see if they like their goodies as much as we liked ours! Thanks again Bekah and Andrew (and their mommies, of course!) :)
Jul 28, 2009
Tahoe Photos
We had a great time in Tahoe - in "our new little house" as the boys called it. It was surprisingly hot there this weekend (91 degrees when the average July temp is 76!), but we still enjoyed every minute of it. The boys definitely didn't want to leave! No matter how many times we reminded them that we were just on vacation and that we were going back to our "real big house" after the weekend, Sawyer kept telling us that "we moved out of our old house" and that we were going to live in the cabin forever. I'm sure he would have loved to stay in Tahoe for at least another week or two!
The first thing we did was hit the beach to see if the water was cold (it definitely wasn't!)
Aaaaah, so nice to be on vacation!
Nothing like swings, sun, and sand at Regan Beach!
Hiking the kid-friendly Rainbow Trail at Taylor Creek
View of Mt. Tallac across the meadow
Sutton loved hiking!
Time for a hiking break! Sawyer was totally exhausted at this point *insert whining and begging to be carried here*
This kiddo would have happily hiked all day long
We spent a long time off the trail at Taylor Creek splashing around and throwing rocks
At the mid-point of the trail there is an underground cavern where you can watch the fish swim around in the creek through a glass wall. This time of year there were very few large fish, but the boys still thought it was really cool to see a few rainbow trout swimming around. Apparently in late September the whole creek is usually filled with spawning bright red trout.
We hit up a craft faire where the biggest hit of the day was the rubber band gun shooting booth
Naturally we came home with a rubber band gun and target of our own!
They both have pretty good aim (and thankfully they both caught on right away that they're only allowed to shoot at the targets)!
Time to relax and hang out in "the new little house" for awhile. We rented movies - Balto for the boys and Transformers for the grown ups.
Sawyer really liked the kids' bedroom that they stayed in.
The boys brought mini LED flashlights so they wouldn't be scared to sleep in an unfamiliar room
Back to the beach for a fun-filled sunny Sunday!
There were SO many geese on the beach, and they kept coming right up to our beach blanket looking for food. The boys took it upon themselves to become official goose chasers, and they had a lot of fun trying to scare them away.
I also have a cute video of the boys playing in the water, but I need to edit it a bit since it's pretty long...I'll post it up later!
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