Archive for the ‘Brayden’ Category

My “baby” went off to Kindergarten today.  I was totally over dramatic about it, but he looked so big in his uniform, and he was so grumpy about getting up so early.  Definitely brought me back to my school days!  However, he is only going half day, so by the time I wake up, shower, feed the baby & the toddler, get them dressed, make coffee, and change diapers 2 seconds before we have to walk out the door, I realized he really isn’t gone for very long.  How am I going to survive next year?

He was nervous & quiet this morning, and whispered to his dad, “I don’t think I am ready for Kindergarten…” What 5 year old says that?!   But I think they jam-packed the day with new rules and fun stuff (he brought home a book from the library, so he was pumped!) so his nerves vanished quickly, and he was SO HAPPY when I picked him up.  We talked on the way home, meaning that I asked very directed questions, because at 5, he already has the “nothing” answer down pat.  My last question was, “Are you excited to go back tomorrow?”  He immediately said yes.  Now I just have to work on the very sad 2 year old who woke up crying because he couldn’t find his big brother this morning…

In honor of his first day of school, I have started 2 new traditions!  First, is the chalkboard.  I put the year, the grade, the school, the mascot, and the teacher’s name on it – and took a picture at our house before he left.

1stDay_0012

And the second tradition is a photo with all his current favorite things on it.  I quizzed him when he got home, and this is what we came up with!

1stDay_0020favorites

Hope you had as much fun on the first day of school as we did!  Have a great school year!

The boys and I had a little fun in our basement studio yesterday!  I don’t think this will be able to be a permanent fixture in our home, unfortunately, but hopefully one day I will have a space where I can do this all the time!

Happy Valentines Day from my home to yours!

Spring!

March 24, 2010

It is spring!  Soccer season is now underway, and boy, what a difference 6 months can make!  But, I don’t claim him….

And meet the hottest HEAD soccer coach in Independence :)

Welcome Spring!  Oh how I have missed seeing green and wearing capris and fun shoes!!!

view from my desk….

December 17, 2009

Even on the most i-want-to-bang-my-head-against-the-wall-kind-of-day, how could you NOT smile at this?

What are YOU thankful for?

November 26, 2009

There is sooooo much to be thankful for this year!  My beautiful new son and niece, the ability to start up my photography business, my new assignment at work, and the pregnancy of my best friend.  And also the unfortunate moments – thankful my Grandfather lived a very long and fulfilled life, thankful no one was seriously injured in the car accident Nolan and I were in, thankful my Dad has a job but is still stuck in New York, and thankful that we were able to give our precious dog, Aly, a wonderful home for the short 5 1/2 years she lived.

I am thankful for my husband, and our ability to live and give our children a comfortable, happy, and safe life.  But most of all, I am thankful for my boys.  BB may be a rambunctious 3 year old, and Nj may be the exception to EVERY rule in the book, but they are ME, they are MY LIFE, and I will forever be eternally thankful that I am their mama.

What are YOU thankful for?

Frankenstein’s Big Weekend

November 6, 2009

As I sit here looking at our Halloween decorations, and wishing they would put themselves back into storage, I am staring at this cheap, felted, dirty Frankenstein costume.  It needs to be thrown into the garbage, but the 3 year old won’t allow it.  Because he is the Halloween king – and he takes after his Papaw.  He is a pack rat already.  He tells me that he wants to be Frankenstein again next year.  I try to explain to him that this costume won’t fit him next year, and of course, he has a comeback, as he always does…”But Mom, Nolan can wear it in a couple years“.  Darn 3 year olds and their sensible logic.

Halloween was a blast for BB as usual.  Friday they came in costume to visit me at my office, and BB had a big time as usual – we then had an awesome photoshoot with our best friends (pics to come later!!!) and dinner, Trick or Treat on Saturday, and Max’s 1st birthday party on Sunday (pics coming on that one too)!  Whew – I am still exhausted!

Our crew:

The Shadybrook Trails gang

Mamas boys

If you know my eldest, you know that 365 days a year, we talk about Halloween.  What we are going to do, what his costume is going to be, how we are going to decorate, and of course – the candy he is going to consume!  So this is his favorite time of the year, which we kicked off with a trip to the pumpkin patch.

(I apologize that the colors in these photos are off – I was playing with a different lens before we left and forgot to change my settings back :( )

Stay tuned for more Halloween event posts, in continuation of BB’s favorite time of the year!

Preschool!

September 13, 2009

This week was BB’s 1st week at his new preschool.  And we ALL love it!  If you have a 3-4 year old and haven’t picked a preschool yet, they are still taking applicants!  Tell them we sent you :)  Gloria Dei Preschool in Lakeside Park.  They have creative play, music, spanish, ect. class every day!  And they switch rooms for each class, which I think helps keep the kids attention.  I can’t stress enough how much I love this program.  Next year, BB will also go on Mondays for their Whole Language program.

Back to the first day:

Doesn’t he look older than 3 here?  Brings tears to my eyes!

Breakfast with Mom at his favorite place, First Watch!

BB and Mom at his new school!

Can you tell he was done with pictures at this point?

I dropped him off for lunch with Mamaw Beth when school was over, and he came home with these :)

I can’t explain how proud I am of this little guy.  He is going to be the brains of the family!  He is really close to being able to read.  We went on a walk the other day, and he blurted out ALL the letters in ALL the signs we passed.  He just loves learning, and I think that Gloria Dei is going to be a great start to his academic career!

I have been taking product photos for Anne Marie of Ambernee Crochet on Etsy. (More about that on my photo blog a little later) But it was a great excuse for me to take pictures of MY KIDS!

Here are Nj’s 6 month pictures:

And some cute ones of BB

And let’s not forget Miss Leigh :)

She is sending new hats for BB and Leigh – in the style of Nj’s above – so be on the lookout for some more pics :) In the meantime, shop her Etsy store for your own!

Bend it like Beckham

August 31, 2009

And so it has begun.  I am officially a soccer mom!  And for at least the next 18 years, I will be toting kids and sports equipment back and forth at least once a week.  At least.  For now…at least.  Every year it will get busier, but if you know me, I thrive on chaos, so bring it on! 

I love watching BB interact with other people.  Mostly the adults.  The first thing he said when he got to the field yesterday was, “Hey coach, how are you today?”  He is such a social butterfly.  But the next David Beckham?  I think it is safe to say, he is not :(   There goes mama’s dream!  He doesn’t like to take the ball away from someone, and will happily run the other way, as to get out of theirs!  And why even bother getting the ball because “they just take it away from me mama.”  But nonetheless, it is ADORABLE.

1st throw in

1st corner kick

The closest he got to scoring a goal!

They didn’t quite get the “lineup and walk” part of the shaking hands at the end

 The hottest assistant coach in Independence :)

 

 You would never believe me if I told you – kids in white from left to right:

Brayden, Aiden, & Caiden.  Yes, I promise.  I am not lying.

BB’s 1st teammates!

Dylan, Olivia, Wyatt

Brayden, Caiden, Aiden

BB and Cooper!

And yes, I am still smiling and giddy.  My baby is playing soccer and I love every second!

 

Cumberland

August 7, 2009

We were all counting down the days to the lake trip for what seemed like months.  It was the first trip that the whole Wolff family (all 4 boys, significant others, and Nick & Kathy) could attend TOGETHER.  All of us, in the same place, at the same time, on VACATION!  It was such a great weekend, minus the clouds.  Hopefully we can do it again soon.  We stayed at a new “resort” in the making, called Ft. Wahoo.  They were very nice cabins, and had a huge play area for the kids.

BB hammin’ it up

Cathleen with the happy baby, can you believe he is already 5 MONTHS OLD?!?! 

Nate’s Idea (the name of the boat!) - notice the clouds and the long sleeves :(

Liz & Cathleen decided it was a good idea to jump off a cliff – ask them if they would do it again…

Papa Nick and his baby boy

Leigh and Nolan (man, my kids have big heads!)

They are fighting already…

BB refused to show off his swimming skills :(   Nate made him go down the slide with him, and the only thing he would touch for the rest of the weekend was the raft :(

I love this picture of Mike

There are many more pictures here :)

Lucky :)

July 14, 2009

I am the luckiest mom ever :)

What you can’t see from this photo is the prompting it took to stage it…

Confidence.

July 14, 2009

BB has started swim lessons.  These aren’t your run-of-the-mill swim lessons where all they learn is how to blow bubbles in the water.  These are Infant Swim Resource lessons (ISR for short).  These lessons teach water survival skills.  In my opinion, these lessons should be taught at EVERY pool, and every child who can crawl/walk should take them.

This is what he has learned in just 2 WEEKS!  Before these lessons began, he would not leave the steps of the pool, much less go under the water.

I have been amazed by BB since he started these lessons.  Not only is he learning how to swim and save himself if he ever fell into water, but he is showing confidence in every part of his life!  Here is a list of things he has done since starting these lessons:

Rode his Big Wheel!

Rode the Tide Go Cart at Nick & Kathy’s!

Begged to play out in the rain/Ran through the Sprinkler (I know these are things all kids do, but not my kid!  He was too afraid of getting dirty!)

Rode every ride at the summer festivals by himself!

So a big KUDOS to Heather Jackson and the ISR program (And to Amanda for introducing us to the program!).  BB is a different kid, and by the end of this month, he will not only be able to swim, I will never be afraid of my child drowning because he will know how to SAVE himself if he happens to fall into water.

Celebrating the 4th!

July 6, 2009

The rain didn’t keep us down!  We had a GREAT weekend :)   I have been home since last Wednesday, so having to be back in the office on Monday was pretty depressing.  I miss my boys!

Friday night we went to the Independence celebration with the Woolridge’s and the Murphy’s.  BB and Shakers had a big time riding rides!

 

Mr. Grant :)

As tradition, we headed to Nick and Kathy’s for the Edgewood Parade.

My babywearing entourage -  All 3 babies fell asleep during the parade!

Max Attack! He is getting so big, I can’t believe he is already 8 months old.  He is crawling like a champ and is DYING to walk already!

It rained the rest of the day :(   We hung out inside, but BB was dying to go outside and play in the rain.  I put swimtrunks on him, and he ran downstairs screaming, “Uncle Dennis, get nakey and play in the rain with me!”

So the night of the 4th, we went to Bubba and Sugar Tit’s to play the Wii.  Sunday it continued to rain, so we had a lazy day and then headed to dinner and the Edgewood fireworks.  BB even rode in the go-cart (entry to come) We had a wonderful weekend!

…means picture time :)

Daddy took this one!

And I guess we can call these “Nolan’s almost 4 month pictures” – ha!  I can never do pictures on time.

I am in T-R-O-U-B-L-E

June 16, 2009

They are already talking to each other non-stop.  I am going to have to invest in earplugs, because I am sure this will turn into yelling before I know it…

Sneak Peak!

June 16, 2009

We had a great time on vacation.  Thanks to Nick and Kathy for making it possible!  I am not quite finished going through pictures yet, so here are a few to hold you over :)

It started out just like this :)

Brayden loved the sand!

And the pool – but wouldn’t get anywhere near the ocean.

Nolan, on the other hand, didn’t mind where he was…

More to come!  Including pictures from our trip to see Shamu!

Promises, Shromises

June 4, 2009

I PROMISE to have more pics of MY kiddos on here soon.  Cross my heart and hope to die.

In the meantime, here are a few of BB from the past couple months that I have yet to share:

 

 

And if ya’ll are good, I will post a video later today.  Anything to get out of cleaning and packing for vacation!

Brotherly Love

April 18, 2009

1st bath together 

Nolan’s 1st trip to the zoo

Their Easter photoshoot :) Unfortunately, it lasted all of 30 seconds.  B was too excited about Easter.