Cole is 7!!!

My baby is 7... and looks every bit like it!  As I watched him play his first soccer game of the season that birthday morning on August 22, I couldn't help but think... who is that striking young boy? I loved watching him run the field with such intensity and play so hard... he's everything I wasn't at that age.  He was confident, fast, skilled and such a go-getter.  Watching my boys do what they love makes me happiest and that morning was no exception.

 Picking a team name... the Sharks!

 Meanwhile, my littlest man was playing on the sidelines with Daddy... melting my heart with each passing second...

 A new dragon knight castle from Mommy and Daddy!

 Cole had a really fun party at the Mad Science Lab.  It was such a cool place and the scientists did a great job engaging the kids!

 Making super bouncy balls.

 Cole wanted me to make a cookie cake for him. :)

 Slime kit party favors I made

Max and I also took Spin pizza to Cole at school the day before his birthday and he happened to be Star of the Week at school that week too!

 Chess set from Grandma and Grandpa!

 A couple non-bday pics at the end... our summer reading program chart... we ended up reading over 100 books... each dot represents a book!  And below is our monthly brunch with the Bitter's... we had little superheroes that day! :)

First day of First Grade!!!

I can't believe my baby is a 1st grader!!!  I've shed lots of tears this week mostly because I'm sad that he will be away from me all day this year.  It's only the 2nd day of school today and I miss him so very much.  I can't believe he is going to be in school all day from now on.  It breaks my heart.  But he is so ready and excited.  He had an awesome day yesterday with Mrs. Mahurin.  He said several times how nice she is, he loved recess and lunch (and especially liked seeing the boys from his class last year at recess).  He only has 1 boy in his class this year that was in his kindergarten class.  It is a  friend of his, but he isn't in school yet because they spent the summer in India.  Cole also said math was really easy and he is all excited about a class behavior chart where if they get a bingo for doing a good job, they get a popcorn, jammie or movie party.  I was worried he might be worn out after the day, but he really wasn't.  He wanted to have friends over after school already, but I said not the first day.  I am so proud of him and look forward to a great first grade year!

 With buddy, Charlie

 Backpack night 2 nights before school started when he got to meet his teacher

 My sweetest little happy helper... Max is so easy and fun to be with and is happy to run errands and help Mommy do whatever we need to do.

He loves this puppy outside the shop next to Trader Joe's. :)

Last Week of Summer/Lake/Topeka

We had such a great last week of summer, although summer went by way too fast!  Our last week of summer we did a screen-free week and week of service/thinking of others.  I didn't get pictures of most of the things we did to help others, but we took a meal to friends who are moving, had our cousins over for dinner and helped with their laundry as they are between houses, we took flowers to our elderly next-door neighbors, collected and donated puppy items at Wayside Waifs.  The boys did great and I think I only got asked about screen time a couple times.  I loved having the time with them to really be in the moment and listen and focus on each other.

 Showing off new school shoes!

 A trip to Topeka with Kappa friends to ride the train at Gage Park zoo and visit the Children's Discovery Center

 Evening Farmer's Market... the boys LOVE corn on the cob!

 Summer art club with buddies at Kookiedoodle Krafts... they did sand art that turned out really neat!

 Cole and Craig went to the Ozarks for their annual boys trip with Reid and Cooper and their dads last weekend and Max and I got to go to Topeka and hang out with GG, Poppy and the Roth crew.  We all had a great time!

 Root beer cheers!

 Cole was so excited that they roasted and ate the fish he caught!  He has ALWAYS wanted to eat a fish he caught!!

Max and I had so much fun in Topeka, we got to ride the train with cousins, Uncle and Poppy and go to the awesome pool in Topeka with the lazy river and slides!

We stopped by the Beyers the day before school started to say good-bye to Shelby, our favorite babysitter and wonderful Beyers family!  She is leaving for Baylor next week.  We will miss her but hopefully Wes and Grayson will do some babysitting for us!

Max high dive

Both boys are going off the high dive now!! Cole went off the high dive for the first time a couple weeks ago and Max did yesterday.  They are so brave... much braver than me!!

Cole high dive

Mommy's Birthday and Fun with Friends

We went with our Eckert and Hass buddies to Frog and Toad at the Coterie a couple weeks ago and had a very fun time!  They always put on a good show there.

 Maxy's pretzel pup!

 Cole's art garden he made at a class at the Nerman Art Museum

 Doing a painting project from the book Auntie Sarah gave us

 Mommy's birthday... the boys took me to lunch at Nordstrom Café and then we had to ride the carousel, of course.

 Pool party at Healthridge for Mommy's birthday with all my boys

 Craig and I had a getaway my bday weekend to the Elms in Excelsior Springs.  We went to a fun winery and had peach and rosemary pizza, which was delicious.  We loved the Elms, great spa, pool and restaurant.  It was such a fun and relaxing weekend!  GG and Poppy were nice enough to stay here with the boys.

 Pool time at Youngs... Cole went off the high dive for the first time that day

 Riding the ferris wheel at Scheels... Daddy and Max were in the car in front of us.  The boys loved it but I was pretty scared!

 Taking our buddy, Noah, to the movies!

 In Topeka at Katherine's with Elizabeth in town from Austin... got to meet and hold Katherine's newest baby, Isabelle

 Took Reid to Old Town Pizza after the last day of spy camp

 Making snacks at Ronald McDonald House with the Boswell clan