Isotopes Baseball

A few weeks ago I won 4 tickets to the Isotopes baseball game through our local library. We had been wanting to go to a game all summer, but its been so dang hot, and everything is just a little more expensive these days. So free tickets, hurray!!! The boys were soooo excited about it the whole weekend. Unfortunately, we woke up to one of the very rare gloomy, rainy, Albuquerque days. It rained on and off all day, which was a wonderful change of pace but not the best when planning to go watch baseball. When we got there, it was pouring, and the game was delayed about 30 minutes, but that was ok. It was 50 cent hot dog night, so we enjoyed some hot dogs while waiting for the game to start.

We had fabulous seats on the upper level of the field, and the boys loved it! Mason was a champ too. We were a little worried about him since his bedtime was the same time as the game starting, but as usual he was very content if I was holding him. He loves being outside too, and is almost always happy outside, so it worked out perfectly. Here are a few pictures:

My littles and I. :)

The boys were fascinated by the covered field

Waiting out the rainstorm!

Cover was coming off!!

Our amazing family

These boys have the best daddy to learn from

Once they finally got the field uncovered and the game underway, the sprinklers came on. Ooops!!!

Of course, ice cream in a baseball helmet!

It was a great night!! We had fun and the boys did too!!!

School Days...

As a parent there are THOUSANDS of decisions that need to be made starting on the day your baby is born. Actually, from the moment you find out you are pregnant. Should I drink soda while pregnant? How much caffeine is too much? Prescription or over-the-counter prenatal vitamins? What color should we paint the nursery? What should we NAME our baby? On and on and on. Obviously some are more important than others, and some have more long term consequences than others. But the bottom line is that you, as parents, need to evaluate each decision and weigh the options for your individual child and family. Each family is different, and each child within that family is different. What might be right for my first child might not be right for my third...etc. Anyway, that being said, one of the biggest decisions that Miles and I have faced so far in our parenting journey is school for the boys. Miles V is 3 1/2 years old, and he is very smart. Of course I think so :). But truly, he loves learning, he absorbs things like a sponge, and is constantly asking questions about his world. That is one of the things I adore about him. About 6 months ago Miles and I started praying and talking about options for Miles V for school. Of course our main options were public school, private school, or home school. Most pre-schools in town start pre-K at age 4. We also did a lot of reading about putting boys in particular into school too early, vs too late, etc. I've always felt that I didn't want to homeschool exclusively. I had a horrible expeirence with a homeschooled roommate in college (NOT you, Char!!!) ;) and I also know my personal limits as far as teaching goes. While I know that I could home school if I set my mind to it, I just didn't think that full-time homeschool was for me. Miles and I have since found the perfect school for our boys. Oak Grove Academy is an accredited private school in Albuquerque which is a combination of homeschool and classroom time. Starting in pre-K (next year for Miles), the kiddos will be in the classroom for full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while we 'co-teach' at home on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Miles and I attended the informational meeting about Oak Grove this spring and we fell in love. We love their classical, university style of teaching, and we were super impressed with both the curriculum and what we got to see by sitting in on some classes.

Anyway, this brings me to this year. Since Miles won't be four until January, he wasn't eligible to attend Oak Grove this year. We still felt like he was ready to start pre-school this year. So we did some research and enrolled him into a Tuesday/Thursday program at a local church. We LOVE the program that he is in. There are two teachers per classroom, each classroom is about 15 kiddos, and it is the ideal place for Miles right now. He started school on Tuesday and was not ready to come home when I went to pick him up.

As I mom, I have to say I have struggled with this decision. Most of my struggle was based off the extreme guilt that I felt for 'turning him over' to someone else 8 hours a week. After all, he has been with Miles or I at home all but 4 hours a week since he was born. OF course, occasional trips to Grandma and Grandpa's houses don't surround me with guilt as I am confident the boys are in good hands... but I struggled with turning him over to strangers for sure. As we dropped him off on Tuesday and spent a very unusual morning at home, the guilt was large and present. But God has given me a peace about it, and I really enjoyed my time today with just Max and Mason. I think the 'break' from Miles as big brother will be good for Maxwell. It did break my heart dropping Miles off on Tuesday, and having to tear screaming Max away from his brother's classroom. It is incredible what great buddies those boys have become, and their relationship to each other has exceeded all my wildest expectations. I am so so so thankful that God gave us these boys!

And so, I leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from his first day!

First school lunch

 

Little brother wanted some of the action :)

I adore this little boy!

2 yr & 2 mo well checks

Today we saw our pediatrician for Mason's 2mo well check and Max's 2 year check. I'm so happy when I can get two of them in at the same time!  

Miles and I both think that Mason is a little chunkier than the other two boys--we don't remember either of them having those adorable little fat rolls on their legs. But, we were wrong. Mason at 2 months weighs 10.8lbs, which is the 30th percentile, and his height is 22 1/2 inches which is the 25th percentile. This is consistent with both of this brothers. Max has always been tiny, but it wasn't until his 9 month checkup that his weight went off-the-charts little. Today, Max weighed 20.2lbs and was 32". His weight was again off the charts---this time negative 10th percentile. He has gained consistently though.. his 18 month check was 17.9lbs and 30 1/4".  

I love my small babies so much!!  

Brothers:

Coloring while waiting

Mason got three shots plus his oral rotavirus vaccination... this is my third baby but seeing him get shots was just as hard as my first. But once I picked him up he was back his happy self again. And Max received one shot, and he didn't even flinch. I was so proud of him--no tears, just utter facination with his 'Bunny Bugs' (aka Bugs Bunny) bandaid. In fact, all that Miles and Max could talk about on the way to Chick-fil-a were their 'Bunny Bugs' bandaids!! Thanks to the smart nurse for giving big brother a bandaid too. :)