Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Mesquite Championship Rodeo

This past weekend we celebrated Auntie Ashley's 30th birthday at the Mesquite Rodeo. Ashley LOVES the rodeo. She has such a passion for the animals and the sport. She even used to raise animals and show them. I'm pretty sure she and Wyatt have something in common because he loved the rodeo! We talked about going to the party for at least a week. I asked Wyatt early on if he would be interested in Muttin' Bustin' which meant riding a sheep and he quickly said yes. So we talked about it lots (because I'm an over-explainer) and he even practiced staying on the sheep/Daddy at home.
 
When we got to the rodeo the party started with a nice Texas-country dinner and hanging out. The kids had a blast playing with each other. They couldn't wait to see the REAL COWBOYS. They even dressed up like real cowboys/girls.
 
Let me pause here to tell a story. Below is a happy cowboy named, Wyatt. He totally looks the part. He's rockin' the vest, a button-down, jeans, and real cowboys boots. He's happy, his mouth is full of food, and he's showing off some sort of cowboy move. An hour before this he was on the living room floor in a FULL OUT TANTRUM. It. Was. Bad. Why? Because we made him wear his new boots!
 
So, I have to back up again. At Easter Wyatt needed boots/nice shoes for his Easter outfit. I didn't want to spend much money on a one time pair of shoes. The resale shop only had one pair that would fit Wyatt and look okay with his outfit. The only problem was they were girl boots. You couldn't really tell because they were black and the rhinestones would be covered by the pants. So I got them and came home and explained that on Easter he would wear what we told him to without any fits and he'd only have to wear these shoes ONE time. He wore them and then decided that they were his FAVORITE pair of shoes. What?! He hates most shoes. Not this pair, he begged me to wear them every day. Some days I gave in and some days I hid the shoes.
 
For the rodeo, I told him he could get real, cowboy boots. So I got him this nice pair. He loved them in the store (he usually does). When it came time to put them on and get out the door. It began. I'm pretty sure before we left Wyatt, myself, and probably even Chris were crying. It was a parenting FAIL with lots of screaming on everyone's part and finally ended with buckling a screaming 5 year old into his carseat, boots flying off in the back seat, and 20 more minutes of tantrum. I ended up telling Wyatt when we got there he had to wear them.... and he did. And this is what he looked like...
 






 
After Wyatt got boots that day, Kenley had to have a pair of her own. We found her some cute pink ones. She loves them, as she loves all shoes. She will wear shoes too big, too small, she does not discriminate when it comes to shoes. Thank the Lord. We can't handle 2 with shoe issues.
 


After the dinner we went to our seats that were right by the shoots, cowboys, clowns, and animals. It was perfect. The kids were in awe the entire time.



The cowboy kept pulling the horse right up to the railing and letting the kids pet it.




Early on in the evening we put Wyatt's name in the drawing to Muttin' Bust. Out of all the kids that entered, 8 got to do it, and Wyatt was one of them!!! It was so exciting. This experience was one of my proudest Mommy moments. He wasn't really sure what he was getting into so I know he was a little nervous, but trying not to show it. They gathered the parents and kids, we signed liability papers (uh oh), they explained what we were going to do, and then off we went for them to suit the kids up. They put vests and helmets on the them. Now, the kids were nervous and excited, they've been put in armor suits, so what do they do... start bumping into each other, wrestling, and goofing around. So cute! These little boys and girls felt like stars! The kids had to walk back to the shoots and the parents walked onto the arena. I was SO proud of Wyatt for going and not getting scared.

Here he is walking up the steps to the top of the shoot. Then they announce  the child's name and city over the loudspeaker, the gate opens, and the sheep comes running out. Eventually (like after a 2 seconds!) the kiddo falls under the sheep and the sheep (who is bigger than what I expected) tramples over the kiddo, and...



Then this little cowboy jumps up, throws his arms up in the air, and  runs over to us for high fives! He loved it! And we were so proud of how brave he was.



The kids got trophies and everything! And to top off the night, that cowboy behind Wyatt in this picture came over and congratulated him and called him a cowboy!



It was such a fun night and perfect party to celebrate Ashley. I think it might need to be a yearly tradition. Both big kids are already asking when we get to go back.

Kindergarten Open House {Wyatt}

Wyatt and I went to visit his new school and meet the teachers. He felt so grown up being at the big school and I think our visit helped ease his worries about leaving the preschool. He saw a friend from preschool that will be with him and this super cool mascot and those 2 things helped quite a bit, too, I'm sure.
 
 

 

Last Day of Pre-K {Wyatt}

We have been so blessed to have found out about Promiseland Preschool from our friends 2 years ago. Wyatt absolutely loved everyone there. They prepared him for elementary school and gave him a wonderful Christian foundation to carry with him to public school. I will truly miss going there... until the year after next when Kenley will start. Spending the afternoons sitting in the grass with my friends watching the kids play on the awesome playground they have will always be some of my best memories. Wyatt loved hanging out with his friends after school. And Kenley has been fearlessly climbing the super tall climbing structure since before she could walk. Okay, so not quite but seriously this girl started climbing that thing super young and I remember standing under her ready to catch her if she slipped and 50% unsure if me standing there was going to do any good if she did slip.

Even though I'm sad to come to the end of this chapter with Wyatt, I am so excited for what's to come and feel confident that he's ready. We are so fortunate to have wonderful schools all around us and an exceptional church home so I know next year will be just as great.

The last day of Pre-K was an extra special day full of fun, games, and even a bounce house obstacle course. I was "working" the bounce house station and classes rotated throughout different areas so I saw Wyatt during his class's turn in the bounce house and luckily a sweet friend got plenty of pictures of Wyatt throughout the day.

He and Aidan caught the same fish!







See those blurry feet? That's because these kids come flying through the end of the obstacle course that has no bumper and sprint around to do it again. My job was to "catch" kids at the end and it cracked me up all morning. They would look like the weren't going to stop (well, because they weren't) so I'd get in front of them to catch them and they would pretty much do whatever to get around me - dart to the side, try to leap over me, whatever they could. Basically, they had this down and I was just in their way. 


Sack races


And then back in the room we had a pizza party and the teachers passed out awards.


That precious girl in the back is who Wyatt says he's going to marry. Her mom and I laugh because that would be one crazy household. She might even have more energy and spunk than Wyatt, if you can imagine that! 


Posing with Mrs. Christy. She and Mrs. Martin gave Wyatt the "Whoppers Award" for always telling great, elaborate stories. This boy can talk for hours! He always told them about hunting and Daddy's hunting trips. I'm sure they learned more this year than they ever needed to know about hunting. 


Wyatt, we are so so so proud of you. Your kind heart, fun filled spirit, and enthusiasm for life and learning make us smile every single day. You are such a hard worker. You want to know more and more and then teach others what you know. I can only imagine all the places you will go and things you will do. You are such an adventurous, creative, and curious boy who melts our hearts. You can be stubborn and a limit-pusher, but we know that God gave you these characteristics to do great things with one day. We wouldn't change a thing about you. We love you!

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Reagan loves to be outside!

Reagan loves being outside. We go to Stroller Strides several days a week and she loves riding in the stroller and then playing afterwards with her little friends. I could watch her play with her little friends all day long. I love this age where babies just seem to blossom into little people. She can choose things she wants.
 

We've also been swimming several times already and she is a water baby. I don't have any pictures from swimming because having 3 kids in the water is never a convenient time to be getting a camera out, but this is her after swimming. I think she had fun!

8 Months {Reagan}




(It was getting well past 8 months when I decided to throw the 8 month sticker in my bag and try and get a picture on the run. Reagan wasn't really into taking pictures this day so this was the best I got.)


At 8 months Reagan...
 
Is completely content sitting up and rolling from place to place and has no interest in crawling.
Still has no teeth and very little hair, but lots and lots of smiles and energy.
Is sleeping like a champ through the night and for naps.
Loves to eat. She is still breastfed and eating baby food, big people food, cheerios, and tries to steal brother and sister's food all the time.
Has a reach of 5 times what you would think it is. This girl can grab anything. She's ready for the WNBA.
Talks some baby talk and babbles on and on.
Still thinks her brother and sister are hilarious until they bump in to her.
Is super sensitive... and dramatic. :) If anyone bumps into her, another baby grabs her, or probably even looks at her the wrong way she will cry the most drama-filled cry you've ever seen. It doesn't last long, and it's so funny to watch. And so not typical of a 3rd child.
Loves playing in water, snacks, being held, being rocked before bed, holding her own drink (usually prune juice and water), her toys, and her family.  
 

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