Early Childhood Education

Brayden had his early childhood education screening today.

He did a really good job.  He talked to the adults and played all of the games and when another little guy was in the room, he didn't hesitate to ask him if he wanted to play a game with him.  I just told him where I would be waiting for him, and then he was just fine to go to other parts of the room for his "games".

All of the testers were very happy with his abilities!  Actually, the teacher who gave me the final report had a lot to say about how smart he is.  That actually, she felt like she was the one who was being tested.  When they got to the stuff that we have worked on at home like letters and colors.  Brayden got some of the letters wrong, but he would say the wrong answer and then look at her like "go ahead, I know the right answer, but I want to know what you have to say about this".  She recognized that in him right away because when she was teaching in a classroom, those students were always her favorite.  I told her how that was about how thing were going at home and she explained that I just wasn't challenging him enough and that he would do that at school too, so I would need to work with his teachers to recognize that there as well.  It made me laugh out loud that he didn't just "challenge" me at home.  It surprised me quite a bit that he would actually do that with someone else!

The things we need to work on rhyming and alliteration, and apparently challenging the little stinker!  :)

Brayden's birthday

It has taken me forever to write this.  I have had the pictures uploaded for weeks.

I have been thinking about it since before his birthday.  How would I write a birthday letter to my sweet boy?  The one who I always wondered if he would like to live inside my skin with me...or if there would ever come a day where this sweet creature would want to be independent of me.  And of course he has.  Mention his daddy or football or baseball or books to read and he is off.  And I am crushed, in the most delightful kind of way. 

Our sweet boy turned 4.

4 Whole Years Old.

We made him a game table for his birthday.

He was also the happy recipient of a goldfish

and a Curious George puzzle.

The gifts that make him the happiest are the ones where it means he gets to spend time with one of his parents.  :)

The gold fish made it less than a week (his name was Nemo) and the succeeding Kratt Brothers (Chris and Martin didn't last through the month.  Ick.  And my goodness, the tears!).

He loves to master a new skill, but is just so happy to have mom or daddy put his shoes on for him and get him dressed.  He is smart enough to know his alphabet and numbers and smart enough to hide that from me when we attempt homeschool/preschool.  He says "let me think about it..." and goes off to read a 20 page book and "I don't know" but can put all of the numbered pieces of a puzzle together.

He has a black tooth from bumping it on Jack's head.

Of course, that was the time that I told him, "Your fine, bud!  Go ahead and play!"  We are still waiting for that dang black tooth to fall out.

He is so, so excited about the new baby.

About his "sister".  He is DETERMINED she will be a girl.

And that she will sleep with him, in his room.

He comes more and more out of his shell every day.  At church especially, around family even more so.

He actually enjoyed his movie themed birthday party this year!

And gobbled up the hot dogs that I served begrudgingly.

How could I tell him no, when that is what he wanted for his birthday dinner?

I think he might have even enjoyed the attention this year.

Jack must be showing him how to do it!

We might have surprised him when we started to sing Happy Birthday,

but he made it through with a grin on his face...not even a thought of tears or where he might hide his beautiful little self.

He is turning into quite the cowboy, chasing Beaulla back into the paddock when she escapes.  He isn't quite as enthralled with the chickens or eggs as Jack is, but he is all about the horses.  I think this year he might turn Beaulla into a show pony at the county fair.

He is such a sweet big brother!

Jack adores him, and I hope, hope, hope they stay the way they are right now,

best of friends and lonely without each other.

Happy birthday big guy.

There just aren't words to tell you how much we love you,

or how grateful we are to have you in our lives.

You are one special little, BIG GIANT HUGE (in your own words) person.

December

We had a very wonderful and sweet December.

It was a very, very busy month, full of work in retail for Jeremiah and referrals from the TV show that I was on, both of which were very, very good things.

The boys were both so excited for Christmas.

The first night Brayden saw Christmas lights he said "Look Mommy!  They are so happy!"

I love to see Christmas through their eyes.

Jack wished us all a "merry Christmas" about 400 times per day in his sweet little baby voice.

The boys loved Christmas lights so much (Brayden begged his daddy to put the lights up this year, otherwise, we probably wouldn't have had them) that one night we went through the usual bed time routine and then went back into their bedroom, scooped them up with their blankies and took them on a tour of lights.  We even saw a house that was programmed to music.

I ended up taking the boys to the Sunday before Church service by myself because Jeremiah was at work. Brayden sang as a shepard and Jack was a sheep.  

It was enough to melt the hardest of hears, I swear!

Jack demanded to go sing, and more out of curiosity than anything else, I let him go with all of the kids.  And he marched along and was just fine until he got separated from Brayden.  One of the big girls came to find me to tell me he was scared and so I met them at the stage and helped them up and waved my proud mama, please be good wave at them.  And Brayden stood in the middle and sang and picked his  nose while his shepard hat twisted around his head.  Jack stood right on the side of the stage and watched the crowd watch him, while I snuffeled muffled proud tears.  

Halfway through the second song, Brayden looked at me with worry and shock and yelled "WHERE'S JACK???"  I pointed him out, which calmed Brayden and then at the end of the song, the nursery program director picked Jack up and put him right next to his big brother, where he seemed to gain about 5 pounds of confidence.

At the Christmas Eve service it was just us again.  Christmas Eve service is really small and sweet and one of the leaders reads a Christmas Story.  All of the kids go and sit at the front of the sanctuary and listen with wide eyed wonder.  Except this year, the stage the story teller was sitting on was lined with candles.

Very attractive to Jack candles and I was 3 rows back, too far to hurdle over and grab him.

Thankfully one of the other parents (Russ) sensed my distress at not being able to get there before he set our new church building up in flames went and sat next to him.  Unfortunately, it didn't stop him from rolling backwards and laughing at his new shoes up in the air.

I made my way up next to him after that!

Then it was time to ring the chimes.  

We had gotten there early with the hopes of being one of the families to get a chime and butter knife to clang it with, and we did!  We were number 12.

Unfortunately, this year, in our new church building, you couldn't hide out in your seat and ring your chime, you had to go up on stage to do it.  So the three of us headed up onto the stage (where  my fellas are always clambering to be).  The stage of course was still lined with candles, which Jack just could not ignore.  There was NO WAY I was going to be able to help Brayden recognize the number 12 on the screen and the right time to whack the chime with the butter knife while meshing with the other church goers playing Ode to Joy and keeping Jack's fingers out of the candles.

Just as I started to sweat again, Russ came to my rescue and grabbed Jack.  Thankfully, he was content to watch us from Russ's lap and Brayden and I only got one giggle out of the crowd at the end.  We love our church and the sweetness it brings to Christmas!

During some parts of December, I wondered if someone was slipping them crack cocaine, they were so cracked out on the spirit of Christmas.  It is just so exciting!  They also wanted to know what door Santa comes in.  They weren't worried about the chimney thing at all.

 

Some time in there, our hens started laying eggs!  The first day alone, 5 chickens laid eggs!

That hasn't happened since then.  It was so exciting.

Jack gets the most excited about the eggs.  He always asks if there is a baby wooster in there?

And then we have to be quiet (because he is screaming BRUDDER!  COME LOOK!  EGGS!) so we don't wake up the baby wooster.  :)

On Christmas morning, those little angels slept in until 8:00 am!

I was actually the first one awake.

Then we read the Christmas story.

and explored the presents!

I swear, the UPS guy has never seen one person in her pajamas so many times!

The boys were thrilled to get to open their presents with the Suggs Fam on Skype.

Griz and Peanut took to some of the new gifts exceptionally quickly, sleeping in them right away.

This year was all about camping.

They are always asking if they can camp out or make a fire (the picture below, they are making a fire and reading books by the fire!), so I made tents for their beds and 

we found Backyard Safari stuff for them to play with while they camp out.

The boys were spoiled relentlessly by both sides of the family.

We are so blessed by our families!

P.S.  Somewhere in there, Jack picked up hockey and decided just to go ahead and play,

and grizzly stopped being so neurotic and reminded us why we love him so much.