Two-Wheeler

Last weekend we took Tyler out to try to ride his bike without training wheels. We weren't sure how it was going to go as sometimes he takes things with no problems and other times he says he wants to try something and then changes his mind. I am happy to say he did very well. We started off in the grass and after a few times when Justin let go Tyler kept riding! Then we went up to the sidewalk area of the park. He did very well at one point and rode a long way by himself. However he forgot how brake and ran right into some bleachers (see the video).  He did get back and try some more, but he wanted to mostly work on braking at that point. We are still working on braking and he has yet to get on and start by himself for he did very well for his first time. I just wish we had a better area at home for him to practice more. Hopefully we can get up to the park again this weekend and have him practice some more.

Celebration

For Tyler's birthday this year  we thought we would let him have a real party. He wanted to do a bowling party at Mr Biggs, where he went for another boys party last year. When I asked him who we wanted to invite, he still hadn't been in Kindergarten that long, so he named a bunch of boys from his preschool class last year. He did invite one boy from his Kindergarten class,but I never heard back from his mom (Kindergarten is a completely different when it comes to knowing the kids and their parents).  On the day of his birthday he brought cookies for his class, and then we had a family movie night where we watched Evan Almighty.

The next day was the party day.  We had 7 boys there all together and I think they had a blast. After one game of bowling (which seemed to go slow) we had some cake, opened presents, and then bowled some more. There was a lot of running around, a lot of laughter and being silly, and all in all a great time.

6 Years Old

First, I need to apologize that this is a week late Tyler. Things have been busy around here. I can not believe that you are 6 years old. I know I say that every year, but its true! You, once again, have grown up so much this year.

You finished your last year of preschool and started Kindergarten and you dad and I couldn't be prouder of how well you are doing in school all day long. You had more confidence than I ever thought you would when you just walked into your classroom with no problems at all. I have gotten back a progress report with how you are doing, and while I was happy to see that you are right where you should be, or not ahead in all the academic areas, I was most excited to see that you are doing great with behavior and social as well.

You still love all things sports and you have gotten so much more athletic in the last year. Two years ago we had you in PT for your tight muslces in your legs that made it hard for you to run correctly. This year you ran two .5 mile races and did it super fast. You have quite the arm when it comes to both throwing a baseball and football and you can knock the ball off the tee out of the park (or at least our backyard). You have learned how to skip and even ride your bike without training wheels.  Not to mention your wrestling tournament where you wrestled your heart out, never gave up, and got second place.

While you are starting to make new friends, you still love to come home everyday, have your snack, and then hang out with Carter. You boys have your disagreements, but for the most part you love to play together. Whether its Star Wars, jumping on the trampoline, or playing with cars, you almost always welcome your little brother to join you. You are starting to realize too I think, how much he looks up to you and are becoming more and more sensitive to him and helping him rather than tattling on him.

While Carter may still be your best friend, you are one of the greatest helpers in the world when it comes to Olivia and Nolan. You and Olivia had an instant bond it seemed. You are so happy to finally have the baby sister you have always wanted. You love to call her your "princess" and are always giving her kisses and hugs. She seems to calm down whenever you get near as well. You also love to help out with Nolan. Helping him to walk,talk,and play with him, he loves it when you are near.

Tyler you have become quite the silly boy this last year, always trying to make people laugh. You still have the most helpful attitude I know and loving heart. You have the best manners - the office ladies at school even commented to me on how great they are. You still love to make up stories and play on your own if needed to. You are learning to read and you are always eager to do your homework and go to school. Most of all though you are just a great boy and your dad and I couldn't be more proud to be your parents. We love you Tyler bug - happy birthday!!

Avery's Party

So we also went to Avery's 2nd birthday party in the last few weeks. On our way up there we stopped by the park in Larkspur that Tyler and Carter just love playing at. It was great timing too as Nolan was napping and Olivia needed to eat and then the boys got to play for about 30 minutes or so and right when it was time to leave, it started raining, like I said great timing. Once we got up to the party the boys loved running around all the grass and playing in the water. It was so much fun to see everyone and some new babies that we hadn't gotten to meet yet as well. We then had some yummy food and yummy cupcakes, which Nolan really dug into.  The boys also got lollipops, their favorite part. Another great family day!

1st Day of Kindergarten

Well the day finally came - the 1st day of Kindergarten. At first I was most anxious for Tyler, worried that he would be scared to death, but quickly learned I should be more concerned for Justin and I. On Tuesday Tyler got to go to his classroom, meet his teacher, and turn in his school supplies.  He was so excited to go and showed no signs of anxiousness when we got there. He loved looking at his whole classroom, and found his spot right away. Which according to him, is the perfect spot because he can see everything. He also liked that his room has computers in it and the playground in right outside his door.  Justin and I were both amazed at how well he was doing. That night we got his backpack ready and he helped me pack his lunch. He went to bed pretty easily after Justin cuddled with him (he was missing Carter who was with Nana and Bapa).

On Wednesday we got up nice and early and Justin made him pancakes for breakfast. Carter was with Nana and Bapa still, so we loaded Tyler, Nolan, and Olivia up and headed off for the first day of school. When we got there he didn't want to play on the playground, just hang out with me. Although he didn't really seem that nervous either. He stood in line where they are suppose to line up and went in with no problems. He waved bye, blew me a kiss and then he was gone. Justin and I on the other hand had a few tears once we were home. When we picked him up he had a big smile on his face and had he had a great day. He did have an accident at the end of the day, because he was to nervous to tell his teacher. He didn't really remember an of his friends names, but one boy did have a cool Star Wars towel. He did fine at lunch and ate most of the things we packed for him. He said he had a great day and wanted to go back - a good sign I would say! I still can't believe I have a Kindergartner, one who is gone from me as much of the day as he is with me - 6.5 hours is a long time! But mostly he amazed me with how grown up he has become. The fact that he went right in with no problems just tells Justin and I we made the right choice by holding him back a year. I love that he has so much confidence and I couldn't be more proud of my boy.

In Love

The boys came to the hospital the next day with Oma to meet their new little sister. They brought her flowers and were so excited to give her hugs and kisses. Well Tyler and Carter were anyway, Nolan was just very excited to see me.  The older two boys are just smitten. Especially Tyler. He wants to hold her, give her hugs and kisses and wants to know whenever she is awake so he can talk to her. Carter also is taking a lot of interest and has sung her cute songs to sleep, reads books to her, and wants to help feed her. Nolan is having a little harder time adjusting. He is a mama's boy and doesn't seem to like sharing my attention. We are having a few more tantrums and he really doesn't like not getting the bottle she is getting. I guess my assumption that, like it did with Tyler, having him off the bottle before she arrived would be easier.  However I know after a couple of weeks he will too adjust and hopefully they will be friends within the year.  Just yesterday he thought it was the funniest thing to push her in the swing, so its a start. I am loving watching them all interact and can't wait to see their relationships grow.

Last Tee-Ball Game

On Monday the boys had their last game of the season. While they have a ton of fun I must admit I am glad to have our nights back. I must say though, the last game was the best game. Both boys have improved over the season. Hitting the ball harder and fielding better. Carter still doesn't really field but by the last game he would occasionally run after the ball and he at last stayed out there the whole time with no complaints. His favorite part was the snacks at the end and the running thru the tunnel the parents made with their hands.  Tyler loved every part and I loved him watching him cheer on every teammate and just being so positive out there. He was really improved and during the last game he was playing first. He actually caught the ball while he was standing on first, so if outs counted in tee ball he would have created his first out (it was also a first for the team). Very exciting and he knew he had did great too and was so excited. Even more exciting - the news was there and we will be the game of the week next week. I hope that I can get a link to it off once its aired.  We will see who plays next year. they will once again be in different divisions and Carter isn't so sure about playing without Tyler. We have a year to convince him at least.

Lost Tooth

Besides being our nation's birthday it was also a big day at the Pederson's house on the 4th for another reason. Tyler lost his first tooth! It had only been loose for a couple of days and at breakfast it fell right out. When he first noticed it was loose he got very scared and didn't like it at all. However Toby, who has already lost a tooth, explained to him that it would be fine, he got over it and was pretty excited about it. He was also excited that the tooth fairy came and gave him a dollar. I just can't believe my baby boy is big enough to lose teeth already!

VBS

Once again I am behind on blogging....The last week of June the boys were in their first Vacation Bible School. Our church does it so that VBS is going on in a bunch of different neighborhoods around the city. It turned out that Carter's preschool teacher from last year, Mrs. Bradley, would be the house the boys would get to go too. Carter was very excited about this and ran to Mrs Bradley and gave her a big hug the first morning I dropped them off.  The boys went there Monday thru Thursday where they got to learn songs, do crafts, and jump on her trampoline. On Friday there was the celebration at the church where the kids were able to perform the songs they learned. Carter was very funny about this. When we got there all he wanted to do was get on stage, however as soon as it was time for them to go up, he refused to do so. Tyler went right up and did his songs with the rest of the kids. After the performance the celebration began. The boys got ice cream sundaes, jumped in the bounce houses, got tattoos, made more crafts and watched a movie with pictures of them in it about their week of VBS. Very fun and the boys loved every second of it!

Rain Day

For the most part it has been a very dry hot summer so far. One day we got a nice relief from the sun where it seemed to rain on and off all day. Tyler and Carter absolutely loved it. The found that their side walk chalk they left outside, when wet, acts more like paint. They had  a blast "painting" everything. They also of course had fun just splashing in the puddles and mud, finding bugs in the yard, and once it started thundering, counting how far away the lightening was. Very fun day indeed.

Tee-Ball

The boys are officially in the swing of their tee-ball season. We missed the first two practices while we were in Maryland, but they seem to be doing just fine anyway. The are on the Blue Jays this year and very cute in their uniforms. The love going to the games and are always asking when the next game is.

At the first game Carter got upset because he never got the ball. Tyler, who was playing first base, let Carter catch one, and then all was better. During the second game they actually got to play 3 innings (they usually only get 2 in within the hour time limit) and Carter did not want to keep playing. However when told he wouldn't get snack unless he played the whole game he got back in there.  He also got to play pitcher during one game, but since he doesn't run for the ball he only got it once. Once he did though he was so proud and shouted "I caught it!". He does seem to get bored during the games and not really pay attention or even run for the ball like the rest of the kid while they are in the field, but he says after the fact that he has fun and he gets very excited to every game. He seems to enjoy hitting and just being with all the other kids the best (besides the snack at the end of the game of course).

Tyler of course loves every part of the games. He has gotten so much more athletic in the past year. He hits the ball hard and far, fields the ball very well, and runs a lot faster than just a year ago. Since he is one of the oldest and played last year, the coach has put him at first base a couple times already. He does a great job of getting the ball and throwing it back to the catcher. He is also great at encouraging all his teammates, telling them great hit or great throw. He also is very good about encouraging Carter and helping Carter out.   So much watching them both play together!

Summertime!

The boys are enjoying the warmer weather and everything else that comes with it. While they are enjoying going to church on Mondays and Wednesdays, they are also seeming to enjoy being home during the day and playing outside almost the entire time. We got a trampoline for them and they are constantly on it. If they aren't on the tramp they are playing baseball in the backyard. We also planted our flowers, went to the fountains to play in at America the Beautiful park, and have rode our scooters around the park. If it wasn't so hot we would be doing a lot more, but it just zaps my energy so quickly. Luckily the boys have been behaving well and seem to be ok with our low-key summer.

Race Number 2

On Friday before we headed off to Maryland we made it to the last race of the year for the running club. The boys were very excited and Carter decided he could run it himself (at first he wanted Justin to run with him). Right at the start of the race is started raining. Once the horn sounded we headed over to the finish line to watch them finish. We noticed that Tyler seemed to be in the back as we were walking over and we knew there was a kid pile up right at the beginning but we weren't sure if he was involved in it or just stopped and waited until all the kids got out of his way. When he came to the finish line though we saw he was most definitely involved in the pile up. His face was all cut up with blood running down his face. As soon as he crossed the finish line he started crying, but was fine after he got a drink. We found out he had tripped over a kid who fell and then over kids fell on top of him. However he quickly got up and finished with no problems. He finished only 5 seconds slower than he did the first race coming in 9th out of 30 kids. We were very proud. Carter did awesome as well. He ran the whole thing by himself and he fell once but got up and finished it with no problems (it was a very little fall). He finished 21st and came in at 5 minutes 41 seconds - much faster than his first race.  We are so proud of our boys for doing their best even when they fell down.

Clean Teeth

Both big boys had their dentist appointments today. I was a little concerned for both of them as Tyler got knocked in the mouth with a bat the other week and Carter complains about his teeth hurting when he eats sometimes. However there was no reason for my concern Once again both of their teeth look great with no cavities. She did give Carter some sensitive toothpaste to see if that helps him or not. Of course the boys favorite part was getting their new toothbrushes and pinwheels and stickers. Glad for healthy strong teeth!!!

1st Race

On Friday night Tyler and Carter were in their first running race. Tyler has been asking to be in one for a while and I found a kid running club that did races so we signed them up. It was a half mile trail race at Bear Creek Park. The boys had a ton of fun (for the most part) and we found out that a few friends from Tyler's class and from Carter's class were running in it too! We got there a little early to register them and they got their numbers pinned on. The boys ran around some and then we walked the course so they knew were to go. I got as little worried at that point because its a true half mile and towards the end of us walking it Tyler was saying he was tired. However once we were done walking it we found his friends and they were so excited to go wait at the starting line. They sounded the horn and the boys were off. Justin and I walked over to the finish line and waited for our boys to appear. Tyler got 7th out of 35 preschool boys with a time of 4:35. He did great and didn't even seem tired when he finished, but was excited to get his lemonade and snacks and his ribbon. We then waited for Carter, which seem to take awhile. I started getting nervous when he finally came in sight, holding a lady's hand. Once he saw us he let go of her hand and finished strong. He finished 30 out of 35 with a time of 6:58. But then he told us what happened - he fell and hurt his hand. He was totally fine, but I guess a little tired because he cried a bout it for the next half hour, refusing to let us clean it or anything. Once he finally got a band-aid on it he was fine again and says he wants to run again next week. We are hoping to make it, but we do leave for Maryland very early Saturday morning so we will have to see. Either way we are very proud of how they did during their first race. Tyler for doing his best and running the whole time, and Carter for getting up and finishing. Even if we can't do next week I am sure we will try to find more this summer to get them involved in.

Graduation Video

Here is some video from Tyler's graduation ceremony!

My Graduate

Tyler graduated from Preschool today. Justin took the day off so that we could both see his ceremony.  He got to wear a little hat and they walked in to Pomp and Circumstance playing. It was very cute and I must say it made me tear up a little. The class then sang us songs about all the stuff they learned throughout the year. Including their days of the week and month of the year songs, a song about the fruits of the spirit, and the books of the Bible. They also recited all nine of their memory verses they learned throughout the year. The aid in his classroom, Mrs Powers, gave each child a Bible on it with their names engraved in it. Mrs. Goodman then said a few words where I once again teared up and then all the kids got their diplomas along with a devotional book. We then had a potluck lunch and Tyler said bye to all his friends. It was a great year and we couldn't be happier with his teacher and his class this year. We are so proud of how much he has blossomed this year and can't believe that he is now a kindergartner!

Boys Singing

Here are the videos of the boys singing during their mom's programs - enjoy!

Field Trips

I am way behind on the blog, but Tyler's class has been busy with field trips. A few weeks ago they went to the Fountain Creek Nature Center. Since it was on my last day of MOPs of the year, Justin took the day off to take Tyler. Tyler's friend Bryce from his class also got to ride to and from the field trip with Justin and Tyler which was very exciting for the two boys. Justin tells me they had a lot of fun. They got to walk around the pond, watch a puppet show, and learn about the different animals they could find around the city. Tyler also correctly answered why beavers slap their tails in the water (to inform other beavers of danger). It was also nice for Justin to get to watch Tyler interact with his friends.

On Monday, Tyler's class went to the fire station. Tyler walked with Bryce and his dad and as usual loved the fire station. He got to sit in three different trucks, see their work out room, watch a fireman go down a pole, and get a sticker which he wore for three days straight. Needless to say he loves going on field trips and is already asking if he will get to go on some next year in Kindergarten.

Moms and Muffins

Last week I got to have Moms and Muffins in the morning with Tyler's preschool class and then have a Mother's day Tea that afternoon with Carter's class. Both were very cute and fun. For Tyler's we got to eat some muffins, watch the class perform a song, hear a story and receive our gifts. The story Mrs Goodman read was Guess How Much I Love You, which is  book that I have read the boys many times. When the last line was read "I love you to the moon and back" Tyler tells everyone "that's how much my mom loves me".  He then gave me a photo holder that he painted for me.



For Carter's they provided us a light lunch to eat with our kids. The class first performed a couple of songs and then read a story, then it was time to eat. Carter was very excited to eat his chocolate sandwich (nutella). He gave me a little jewelry box he painted with a heart shaped pin he also painted and decorated inside of it.  It was very sweet and I loved spending my morning with my boys!