Nate's Kindergarten Grad, a late mother's day gift and my sweet nephew

It was a good couple of weeks around here.

Nate graduated from kindergarten, my sister and her little boy came for a visit and I finally got my custom made necklace from the vintage pearl. For yays. Fun!

This is Nate with Melody... his crush he's had all year.



Problem is, his best buddy Joseph ALSO has a crush on her. Ha. Kindergarten love triangle at it's finest.



Ms. Harbster is a first year teacher, and just super adorable. We loved her so much. She was so patient with Nate and helped him overcome ADHD challenges and go from barely recognizing half of his letters at the beginning of the year, to full on reading and writing by the end. So proud of him and just LOVED her!



This is the "lip"... his new maveauver to get me to do his bidding. Here he was wanting me to go sit on the floor next to him.



Walking across "the stage" ha



I love this little guy



So proud



Nate & Mommy (TERRIBLE pic of me BTW)



with some of his classmates





Again with the lip:



And now for my sweet nephew Chase eating mash taters at my mom's house. Garsh I lurv him soooo much!

Dear Santa (I've been a good girl)

Such a fun afternoon, that I had to sit down and blog.

Isn't Christmas fun? If you don't agree... just remember back to your own childhood, then get down and look at it through your kid's eyes. That's what I've been doing lately, and I promise that magic of the holiday is back with me full-force.

Today was the kiddo's Christmas parties at school. (Pictures later I promise... although I forgot to bring a memory card for my Nikon D90 and had to use my Olympus P&S instead... dumb mommy photographer moment that I will continue to kick myself for I am sure).

First I headed to Nate's party... complete with Christmas Tree shaped "Little Debbies", colored Goldfish crackers, and Capri Suns. Mmmmm Kindergarten gourmet fo'sure. :)

He was one proud little boy showing off his mama to his class. I think his smile was in danger of cutting his face in two. He was shining as bright as a new package. Man that made my heart warm. There were only two other mom's in attendance. One little girl kept crying "I want MY mommy" the entire party. I felt really bad for her. Parents --- take a two hour lunch and go to your kid's holiday parties at least once during the year. Seriously easy way to make your kids feel valued and important. (Okay, off my soapbox now)... Next, I was asked to play DJ for the "Musical Reindeer" game. (Think Musical Chairs, but everyone sits on the floor in a circle and passes a stuffed reindeer from person to person around the circle until the music stops, whoever is holding at that point is "out"... ad nauseam. We played about 5 times. Mariah Carey on repeat for that long with screaming 5 year olds is enough to give anyone a headache, so I refuse to blame it on the sinus infection I am starting to get. (hahaha) No, but really... it was a lot of fun and I got to see a portion of Nate's day that I don't normally get to. Priceless.

Next I was off to Jenna's classroom on the other side of the school (after getting lost by turning down the wrong hallway... TWICE.) Her class was more structured and tame in comparison, but throw in a couple pieces of candy, a cookie and a robust game of "Christmas Words Bingo" and the noise of a roomfull of second graders could rival the 5 year olds anyday. I was again asked to be DJ (what, do I look like the loudmouth out of the group of parents or what?). As I called out words like "Santa" "Tree" "Sliegh"... I couldn't help be amazed that my sweet little girl was READING this year and writing letters to Santa (all. by. herself.) Where has the last 7 years gone and who is this little lady that says "please" and "thank you" and "yes ma'am" without having to be reminded now? I have to say... I am one proud but nostalgic mama. I kinda miss that curly-haired little girl that wouldn't leave my sight for more than 1 minute.

My favorite was reading her letter to Santa. As a photographer, I have to say its fun to see her interested in the same stuff I am and asking for a digital camera for Christmas (shhhh... don't tell her, but I have it on good record that Santa will be getting her exactly what she wants this year!)

And it was fun at the end of the party when she said "Mom, can you give me one of your business cards, my friend and I want to schedule a playdate and she's going to give it to her mom." So grown up.

Where is that pause button again?

Stop to Taste the Rain

Its been another crazy and busy month in our household. We had two more birthdays in our family. Nate turned the Big 5, and well I got another year older too. No need to reveal my REAL age. Ha.

Speaking of age, I have to tell you something funny that Jenna said to me the day before my birthday. She was asking how old I was, and I asked her "Can I just pretend I am still 29?" Her reply was "But you aren't and that would be lying."

I paused and thought a moment. I mean, yes, honesty is the best policy and all of that, but isn't there room in their moral upbringing for a little "white" lie? And the lesson of when to affectively use it?

"What if I just stop having birthdays this year and then we won't count them anymore? That way when someone asks me how old I am, I can just say 'I have celebrated 34 birthdays."

Oops, I guess I just told ya how old I am. Hmph.

Anyways, Jenna tilted her head sideways and grinned. I could see she saw the sneakiness of my logic, but was approving. "But MOM, you are YOUNG... why don't we keep having your birthday until you are 59 and then you can stop," Jenna stated. I chuckled in response and asked why 59 was the magic age. "Because that is how old Nonna is [my mom] and she's still young too."

Wow, she was really buttering up two old gals today, wasn't she?

But really, that's just how Jenna views the world... she knows how to stop and enjoy the moment. Relish whatever stage you are at and not rush to the next one. She is a lot like me that way. Always looking ahead, but not forgetting to look around either and appreciate what is right next to you.

For Nate's birthday, we drove to Florida again. The visit was shorter, but just as much fun. One day at the beach, some dark clouds rolled in and we waited until the last possible moment to pack it up and head in for the day. All at once the clouds opened and dumped rain on us. The kids came running in from the tide and as I waited, I watched Jenna stop, turn her head into the rain and stick her tongue out. She had stopped to taste the rain.

Of course Nate was dripping wet from playing in the ocean, but still felt the need to run from the pouring drops as if each one was going to scald his skin. That's my boy... he tends to run away from new experiences. He likes the comfort of home and routine and will avoid change like... well like the rain on a pretty day.

I can learn something from both of them however. Jenna in her innocence, stopped to take the rain in, rather than run from it... and like her, I want to learn to enjoy what is around me, find peace and joy in things that scare me or disrupt my day. Nate, he is more attached to his routine and is afraid of change, but there is something to be said for caution in life, because there are times when the storm is coming in and you SHOULD seek shelter from it. The key is learning to find balance between the two.

Amazing what you can learn from a 7 and 5 year old. Even at 34. (And hopefully even when I am 59, and stop having birthdays).