Last Day with Miss Lisa

As I finished up my third year of teaching, the boys had their last day of daycare with Miss Lisa. We love her, but having daycare 20-25 minutes away from home just isn't practical. Thanks Miss Lisa for all the love and care you have given our boys over the years. We will miss you!

Sam is FIVE years old!

On May 25th, Sam turned FIVE years old! He was so excited for his birthday and was counting down the days for weeks. He had a birthday wish list about 30 items long, but we surprised him with something not on his list...a bike! He was thrilled with his surprise and loves going fast so he can "feel the wind". Sam also shares a birthday with his Grandpa Gary, so, Peter planned a special surprise for Gary and Sam...a Twins game complete with fireworks! Neither Gary nor Sam had been to Target Field before, so it was a fun and memorable night for them both. Even with his late night, Sam still enjoyed his Spider-Man themed party the next day:)

Sweet Samuel, at age five you:

*have a definite sweet tooth.

*love playing Rescue Heroes, and your current favorite is Captain America.

*are so excited to go to kindergarten in the fall.

*are learning how to read and write.

*adore your little brother and frequently say that Charlie "is the baby you always wanted".

*like to refer to Charlie and Josie as "the kids".

*love to play baseball with Dad.

*are becoming a little more outgoing and even want to go outside to meet new people when you see them walking by our house.

*love to help Mom in the kitchen (usually because you want to taste test everything).

*no longer take (or need) naps.

*enjoy arts and crafts - your current crafts involve making Super Hero accessories.

*have become very good at cleaning up your toys...which Mommy and Daddy appreciate!

*love, love, love to ask a million questions each day. You are so curious about everything and often stump Mom, so we have to look up answers on the computer:)

*rarely ask to listen to kids' cds in the car...you now prefer the radio and sing along to many of the songs.

We love you little buddy, and we are enjoying watching you grow up and discover your own interests and talents! We are so proud of the great kid that you are!

Sam checking out his new playground at Kindergarten Visitation

Easter

This was Charlie's first year helping with dyeing Easter eggs. He did a fabulous job! Both boys also helped make our delicious Easter cupcakes too:)

On Easter Sunday, we had an Easter egg hunt for the boys, attended a beautiful Easter mass, and then had most of my family over for Easter lunch and playtime at the park. It was fun hosting our first holiday in our new home!

 Grandpa Roy and the boys were all dressed in yellow and khaki:)

Swimming Lessons

Last year, when Sam had his first swimming class without a parent in the water, it took a couple weeks before he could enter the water without tears. This time he was the first one in the water, full of smiles, chatting with his teacher, and even dunking his whole head in the water (something he didn't even come close to at age three). What a difference a year makes!

The New House

We are all unpacked and settled into our new home. It is definitely nice to have some more space for the boys to play and for our "stuff" to live. Currently, the boys have their own bedrooms, but once Charlie moves to a "big boy bed" sometime this summer, they will share a room once again. They would really like to have bunk beds in their outer space themed room. This, of course, is Sam's idea, but Charlie seems just as enthusiastic about outer space! There are more projects to do around the house - building a deck, getting blinds, finishing the basement - but for now we are just enjoying the newness of the house and getting to know our neighbors and neighborhood. There are tons of kids around, and Sam has even gotten together with a few of them to play. He's becoming more outgoing - he'll see new people walking by and say "hey, let's go meet them"! It's fun to see him get so excited about all the changes that have happened recently.

Moving Day

The boys playing in their empty room for the last time

 Empty closets are a great place to play!

 Of course, it had to snow on a moving day, luckily it was done by mid-morning.

 Laying down on the job!

Sam labeled his own boxes:)

Countdown...14 days

Only 11 days until we close on our new house...and 14 days until we move in! We finally have all the paperwork done (whew!), and our current home is...well, organized chaos. We've been sorting, donating, recycling, discarding, and packing little by little over the past few weeks. It's been awhile since we've moved, and I've forgotten how much work it is! Of course, the work won't end when we move, but it's always a little more fun to set things up in the new place then pack up the old place. I've been busy with the packing, and Peter has been busy with running moving related errands and getting things set-up, such as internet service at the new house. This was a 53 minute phone call today, and I don't think Peter has ever talked to one person on the phone for that length of time before!

Sam excitedly talks about moving every day. He really loves outer space, and there are some space pictures that were in one of the bedrooms that were written into the purchase agreement, so he can't wait to have a "space room". As excited as he is though, he's also a bit emotional about the whole thing. It's a big change for the little guy. He asked where a lamp was from our living room. The lamp was badly damaged, so I had gotten rid of it. When I told him this, he burst into tears saying that it was his favorite lamp. Hmm. I never knew of this attachment. I also realized that he was keeping track of boxes. When I was about to label a box of toys for Charlie's room, Sam burst into tears saying that Charlie already had two boxes of toys with his name on them, and he only had one. He's asking constantly about what comes with us and what doesn't (Is my Batcave coming? The refrigerator? The walls? The tv?). Of course, as mentioned in a previous post, Charlie doesn't seem to have any idea that anything is changing. I'm not sure about Oscar...he has just been barking constantly lately, so I think he senses something strange is going on.

Here is the formal dining room of the new house, though we will instead use it as a den/family room for now!

Well, blogging was a little break from my packing today, but now I better get back to work!