Are You Ready for Some Football?

What a great start to the season! Caldwell beat Bellville 26-0, and we were so proud of the coaches and players. Cade was very well behaved and had fun seeing Daddy and the Big Hornet.

Caldwell fans:





Cole and Cade drove cars and motorcycles when they were bored with the game.



So happy to see each other!



Adrian shows Cade how to hold the football



We're off to some more Friday night fun this week!

Also... please notice Cade's new shoes! This is the first time he has worn something besides Crocs or sandals since May, and he was NOT happy about wearing tennis shoes to the game. But I thought they would be safer than other shoes for climbing up and down the bleachers. Cade finally decided the new shoes were OK when he realized that they make an louder stomping noise than his Crocs. The louder the better!

The First Day of School...

was a success! We were so proud of Cade for getting right back into his routine, and his teachers said it was like he never left.

Here is his traditional first day of school pic in front of the door, just like I had when I was a kid. I have to admit that his smile is not a result of the idea of going to school, but due to the new dinosaur I gave him yesterday.



When we got to school, all of Cade's little friends bombarded him with toys and asking him to play. He wasn't too interested in interacting with them yet, so his wonderful teacher set up a quiet coloring station for him at the table. When I picked him up, he was so excited to show me his chair and the big lions he got to play with.

Happy to be home with his toys!

Last Week of Summer

This is it... our final week of summer fun! When you ask Cade if he wants to go back to school, he says "I don't wanna be a Bumblebee (the name of his new class), I don't wanna see my teacher, I don't wanna see my friends!" So... understanding that he has really enjoyed summer and doesn't want to give it up, I planned an extra-special activity for each day this week.

Monday: Children's Museum with Kelsey, Natalie, and 11-day old Henry

Notice who is painting on the paper and who is not...



Baby Henry peeks out of the sling to see the dominos



More creative expression



Looks like a serious discussion in the box!



Tuesday: Last day of Powersports gymnastics











Crawling to Mandy in the block pit (this turned ugly in a hurry)



The kids each get a stamp on their hand when class is finished.



Cade is very interested in picnics and camping these days, so we had a picnic lunch at home that day.



Wednesday: First, we visited Cade's school to drop off his supplies and things for next week. That was NOT the highlight of his day :) So, we enjoyed a tasty lunch at Chick fil A.



Yippee! I finished my nuggets!



Thursday: To the pool! Cade had so much fun splashing, swimming, and jumping. We are so excited that he loves the water so much, and the huge smile on his face when we get to the pool is precious.



After the pool, we went to the library to check out some books and pick up Cade's next prize for completing a reading log. He absolutely loves these very small (and therefore, easily lost) frogs, and he picked out a camo frog to replace one that made an unfortunate leap into the fireplace.



Cade spent Thursday night with Nana and Papa so I could get a head start on my work before I officially go back on Monday. He had so much fun with them and did not want to leave when I got there on Friday afternoon!

Friday: Luke and Jake's birthday party! Luke turned 3 and Jake turned 1, and they had a fun and very relaxing Nemo birthday party. Cade had a great time, and I was so proud of him for interacting with the other kids so well. Cade and Will especially found each other hilarious.



Happy Birthday, Jake! Your brother moves too fast for me to get pictures of him!



Denise, Leah, Alyssa, and Beth (the girls of PEAP)



Nemo cake and ice cream! It doesn't get any better than this!



Saturday: Daddy Day! This is Chance's last Saturday at home until football season is over, and we are making the most of it! Cade will not let his precious Daddy out of his sight, and it is so cute that they are so happy together. This morning we went to Brothers Pond to feed the ducks.



More jumping!



Here, Mama! I picked you a flower!



We love you, Chance! We can't wait to go to your first game next week.



This has been the most amazing summer. I am so thankful for all of the time we've spent together, and I especially loved getting to see Cade learn and grow at home. He was a good little errand runner and loved going to the pool, but he was always happiest at home, doing things like hide and seek, playing in his tent, and reading. While most of the craft projects I planned didn't pan out, we also loved seeing his creativity develop, especially towards the end of the summer when he stared making up stories with his animals and cars. We also love that he is beginning to really show affection. The other day, he told me "Mama, you're my best friend ever". How sweet!! I'm already looking forward to spending more time together at Christmas. In the meantime... first day of school, here we come!

Family and Friends Weekend

Summer is winding down. Boooo! But, we are having lots of fun with our last few days of freedom. Chance coached the Hornets' first scrimmage last weekend (don't ask him about the score), so Cade and I made one more trip to New Braunfels. We can't go there without Cade and Opa spending some quality time in the pool!





On Saturday morning, my friend Jenny hosted a get together at her beautiful new house for several of our girl friends from high school. Her husband showed us a "lovely" collage of our old Student Council pictures from a loooong time ago, and we spent most of the morning chasing our kids and being amazed at how much our lives have changed since those StuCo days.

Here are Emily, Jenny (with Walker and baby Clark, who is due in October), Alyssa and Cade, Jennifer (with Fischer and Hayes), and Noelle.



When we got back to College Station, we visited Lindsay's house while Papaw, Melly, and Wade were moving her in. We never actually saw Lindsay, because she was finishing up her last week as a counselor at Pine Cove. She returned to College Station on Sunday afternoon and started sorority work week on Monday. She is one exhausted little Aggie!

Cade had fun charming all of Lindsay's roommates, especially once they showed him all of the cool hiding places in their house. Their house is so cute... it makes me really miss college and all the fun times with my roommates!



Almost all of the Locklear boys at dinner.

Summer Fun

Many of the cute, fun summer programs in our community drew to a close last week. I guess it is time to get ready for back to school! :( While I love my job, I have enjoyed our family summer so much, and I am not really looking forward to it ending. But, Chance has been back at work for over a week already (hot, hot, hot two-a-days!), and I know I'll have to get ready for my classes eventually. But, enough about that! Here are some pictures of the fun summer programs Cade has participated in this summer.

We did mainly music again at First Baptist Church, and it was just as great as last year! For $2 a session, kids learn great songs, rhymes, and dances, and get a snack at the end. How great is that!

Here are Cade and Natalie doing some funky dancing.



The feather song



My feet are jumping, jumping, jumping!



The last day of music is always a splash day. Here is Cade's reaction when the teacher said that it was not time to go to the water yet.



Splash time!



Our library also offers a summer reading rewards program. Kids earn prizes like toys, free kids meals at restaurants, and books for reading a certain amount of time each day. Cade absolutely loves reading right now, so he has racked up the prizes! Here he is getting to put his name on the library wall for finishing his reading log.



Cade's favorite books right now are the Shrek book (a seek and find book that is challenging for ALL ages!), Going on a Bear Hunt, Bad Dog Marley, and Alexander's Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. I am so happy that he loves reading, and it is so sweet to read with him every day.

Welcome home, Nana and Papa!

Nana and Papa returned home last week from a 3 week vacation to Seattle and Alaska. They had a great time and really enjoyed the cooler weather and scenery. Cade and I picked them up at the airport, which was a very exciting adventure for a boy who loves airplanes.

First, we had a picnic lunch at the airport. This was maybe the second time ever that Cade got to have juice somewhere other than a birthday party, so he knew it was a special occasion.



Waiting, waiting, waiting for the plane. A 10 minute delay is an eternity to an excited toddler!



Look! There's their plane!



Hi Nana and Papa! We missed you!



Jan and Bill only had about a day to rest before Zoe and Xavier came to town! They stayed for a week and we all had a lot of fun together.

We all tagged along to Zoe's horseback riding lesson at Carousel Acres. She is doing a great job!



While she rode, we walked around the property to meet the rest of the horses.



Everyone came to our house a few times and played outside.



Since it was sooooo hot outside, we also had fun playing at the mall playground. Xavier loved the slide!



I love this picture - Zoe was jumping from tunnel to tunnel, and Cade offered his hand to help her. How sweet!



It is always so great when the Kunoviches come to town. We love hanging out with you!