B's 8th Birthday ...

Sorry this blog has been such a SNOOZE lately! Just hard to keep up with everything ... blogs, Facebook, Etsy ... kids, etc. Anyhoo ... in case you haven't heard, BRETT IS NOW EIGHT.

We celebrated with an awesome pool party. Brett was in heaven... he probably went down the 2-story slide 109 times.

Here were the highlights of his Birthday Celebrations:

The banner [well, maybe not a 'highlight', but a tradition].

The treats.

His buddies.

The slide.

Legos & his new Jaguars shirt [thank you Gays].

His new bike.

And a self-inflating whoopie cushion [he's sitting on it]. We couldn't possibly forget that. :)

He has had an awesome year ... and I know this next one will bring even GREATER things. We love you Bretty-Brett! Happy 8, Big Guy!

Soccer's in Full Swing

Yep ... it's soccer season again. Brett had a double-header on Saturday with back to back games & Davis [with Kyle as the coach] had one game in the middle of it. So fun. We camped out at the soccer fields for a couple of hours. Brett even got a GOAL. It was the 1st goal of the 2nd game, so it was pretty special. It was awesome. He was on cloud 9. :)

First Day ...

The boys had their 1st day of school on Wednesday. Davis is now in Kindergarten & Brett's a 2nd Grader! It was pouring rain, so we had to do our "back to school" photo inside on the steps.

We then headed off to school, dropping off Brett at at the main school ... ... and then we headed over to the other side where Kindergarten in is. I pulled through the carpool lane as usual & like a gushing mom of a new Kindergartner, I asked if I could hop out "real quick" to take a photo ... as I asked, I quickly looked to see if there were other cars lined up behind me. You know. I didn't want to be "that mom" clogging up the carpool lane. Well. There was nobody behind me. I quickly realized I was the ONLY MOM doing a drop off on the 1st day of school. As you'll notice in the photo, um... it wasn't just moms doing a walk in.

It was dads, grandpas, extended family. :) ha Luckily, Davis didn't care or notice. My sister Leah & my nephew Eli were visiting us so I came home to these 2 little guys. They enjoyed playing up in the boys room without the big boys.

Later that morning, we switched visitors with my older sister Becky. Leah and Eli went up north to stay with the Lewis Family and my parents came down to stay with us. I told my parents about being the only bad mom this morning at the Kindergarten drop off , so they helped me make up for it at pick up. We arrived with not just mom & sister, but grandma and grandpa. Grandma even had her camera. We got a lot of comments from people with our big welcoming party, so I feel like I did redeem myself. Since the 1st day was just a 1/2 day, we then went to Winsteads for lunch, followed by a trip to the park.

Happy New School Year! :)

Up with the Boys!

Today Libby went to "school", aka PDO [Parents Day Out] ... so I took the boys to see a movie.  We went to see "UP".  We split a large popcorn & a large soda ... $11.50?  Whatever.  :)  We don't get to do stuff like that very often ... Libby's never been in a movie theater.  [if you see the post below with her sassy shouting, you'll know why]  Also, Brett's not really a fan of the dark ... I had to really talk him into it.  Davis helped, too ... I told Davis to help make Brett feel comfortable & happy about going.  Davis was so sweet ... on the way in Davis tried to make Brett feel better by saying "You're the best kid in our family!"  :)  I thought it was so sweet he was trying so hard.  Once we got in & got settled ... we all enjoyed the movie & treats.  :)  

cREaTing awareness ...

I am using Autism Awareness Month to spread messages of kindness, understanding and diversity in honor of our Bretty Brett.  You can read more about it on my cREaTe blog, by clicking here ...  I am selling some special Quote Canvases in my Etsy store with all the proceeds going to F.I.R.E.

Please help spread the word.  It's for a great cause, in honor of a wonderful little boy ... and the artwork's not too shabby. (unless you hate color, quotes, wall art, etc., in which case yeah, you'll hate it.)

The Mystery Photo ...

Well, you were close.  Perhaps a cubby was cleaned out at school.  I'm not sure.  But what I am sure about is that this entire pile [previous post] came out of Brett's backpack.  You can imagine my surprise.  I unzipped it and it nearly exploded with 387 pieces of paper all crumbled up (some were in tight little balls).  This entire heap came out of ONE BACKPACK!  It was like Mary Poppins' bag & George Costanza's wallet, combined.

ONE MORE FUNNY BRETT STORY ... 

Tonight we took Kyle to the airport.  Brett kept asking when Kyle was getting back & I kept saying "Friday".  So finally, I quit giving the answer because I knew he knew.  Instead I said, "Brett, you know.  I told you what day Daddy was getting home.  What day did I say ... it begins with an F..."  and Brett said "Fursday". 

Fursday.

The Blue Angels Flight Instructor

 

Brett & Kyle at a Blue Angels Air Show, NAS JAX - October 2004

Those of you that know Brett, this will be of no surprise.  He loves any opportunity to take center stage.  [that's a Twenter Trait]  Last Friday I got a call from school.  I dreaded answering it - hoping it wasn't the BAD kind.  It was Brett's Para & she assured me it was a GOOD call. 

She said she & Brett were standing out in the hallway & when the Spanish teacher walked by, she said "Oh my gosh... those Kindergartners wore me out, they were so wound up!  I don't know if I can go in & teach these 6th graders..."

Brett said "Well, I'LL DO IT!"  

They went into the classroom & Brett took over teaching.  He talked about the Blue Angels.  He drew pictures on the board - leaving certain things out & asking "Now, what's missing?"  He asked if there were questions, etc.  

His Para said any other 1st grader would be totally intimidated by a classroom full of 6th graders, but ... NOT BRETT.  She said it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen.  

That kid... 

Brett's Last Soccer Game

This past Saturday was Brett's last soccer game! Weather improved a lot since the night before (Davis's game) which was nice!

We were all amazed at how well Brett did this season!!! He finally got the concept of the game & really enjoyed himself! Occasionally, we had to remind him which direction was his team's goal (they switch at 1/2 time which doesn't help), but this is a major improvement from 2 years ago when he'd often be found in the back of the soccer goal playing with the strings of the net. Or when he enjoyed watching his shadow run more than he liked watching for the ball. :) ha

But here are some pictures of our little Soccer Stud.

*Click on these 2 photos to get a good luck at his tongue! :)


Brett running in off the field!

I loved how he did this! :)

And here are some of his cheerleaders that came to root him on for his last game!

Davis, Mimaw, Pappy & Libby

Brett's Robot Party

Here is a link to the pictures of Brett's Robot Party! Click here to see all the photos up on Snapfish! Also, you can go to to my cREaTe blog to to read more than you ever wanted to know about the party details - everything from the decorations, to the menu & the activities. :)

How Brett spent his Big Day (10/16)

He got cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Went to school where he was treated like a King.
Mommy brought cupcakes to his class.
He got to pass the cupcakes & napkins out to his friends.
He got to wear a crown at school.
His friends each made him a card - all were adorable & featured Brett's favorite things. [We saw a lot of snakes, Blue Angels, robots, & I even saw a whale.]
After school I took the kids to Baskin-Robbins where Brett got to cash in on his "Free Birthday Scoop". [not a member of the Birthday Club? Click here...]


He got "Quarterback Crunch" in a cake cone, but wasn't thrilled with it, so he asked if he could have mine.
I let him.
We then went & window shopped at the Brookside Shops.


When the kids begged to go into the Toy Store to play with the marble run, I let them.
When we got home, Brett took the obligatory "Birthday Banner" photo.


Mommy's friend, Miss Karah, had bought him a balloon, card, lollipop & toy car!
We played catch in the backyard.
He got lots of phone calls & people singing "Happy Birthday" on the voice mail.
Had dinner.
Opened a few presents from us - including a Blue Angel.


I'd say it was a great day. :)

{Birthday Party photos coming next...}

Happy Birthday BRETT PATRICK!

(My apologies... Brett's Birthday was YESTERDAY 10/16... and I had started this post, but never got around to finishing it. But here it is... another one is coming & another one after that. So don't worry... you'll get your Birthday fill!)

Our little Bretty-Brett turned S*E*V*E*N today (yesterday). Brett is our only film child, meaning Davis & Libby were born in the age of digital cameras. (or at least that's when we got ours)

Davis & Libby's photos are all saved on the computer, so I often get to see photos of them as wee little infants.

Brett's so old that I have to pull out the scrapbooks, albums & boxes of photos in order to see photos of him as an infant. So this morning after I dropped him off at school, and I thought about what I was going to write about on his big Birthday Blogpost... I went to get his huge, thick scrapbook of his 1st year of life. (Davis has 4 pages done in a scrapbook, Libby has no scrapbook. They're getting i-books)

So, as I looked at the photos I put myself way back to the Rachel of October 2001.

And I remembered what it was like to have just Brett. He was the 1st. He is our baby. He was our 1st draft of parenthood. :)

He brought pure joy to the lives of the grandparents, his great-grandparents, the aunts & uncles. {he was the 1st grandchild on both sides} He had the coloring that I adored in people - red hair, brown eyes (perfect combo of Kyle & me). He kept me company for 6 months of his 1st year of life, while Daddy was deployed. (which forced mommy to take a lot of lame photos of ourselves & do a lot of lame things - which will be its own post on another day)
This little guy ROCKED OUR WORLD.

And here we are 7 years later to the day he was brought into this world & he still rocks our world. Happy Birthday, Brett Patrick! We love you!

Sharp!

Here is Brett this morning... the 1st Graders go to Mass with the rest of the school on Wednesdays!

We almost had an emergency... NO PANTS. I was kicking myself because I was at 2 stores yesterday & almost bought some navy blue uniform pants, but didn't. (waiting for a sale) His pants from last year got cut off & hemmed into shorts when all the knees ripped out! Luckily, I remembered he did have a couple pair of corduroys. August doesn't exactly scream for cords, but it's actually been nice lately. So cords it was. And I'll be getting those uniform pants sooner, than later... sale or no sale.

Anyway, doesn't he look so sharp? I know the shirt should probably be tucked in... but I knew when he went potty it'd come out anyway. So I let it go. He is only a 1st grader after all!