Annabeth - 5 months

Last Sunday was Annabeth's 5 month birthday!! Let's see what all she has been up to in the past month...

Eating: She's getting some variety these days, as we've introduced a few solid foods. So far, she's eaten baby oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and applesauce. Her absolute favorite is the applesauce! We're making our own baby food this time, and it is really easy so far. Annie still gets milk 8 times a day, and she is doing well with bottles at daycare. She's always happy to see Mama and get the "real thing" though! I realize that last month I said that I would like to eliminate the middle of the night feeding, and we have not accomplished this yet. Sleep deprivation seems to be a semi-permanent part of our lives!

Here's our cutie trying her first sweet potatoes:



Sleeping: Hmmm. The good news is, she takes 2 good naps at home on the weekends. The bad news is, she does not really nap at daycare. She's only been there for 4 weeks, and is having a bit of a hard time adjusting to all of the loud noises. We're also working through some nighttime issues... sometimes she goes to sleep well, wakes up briefly to eat, and goes back to sleep smoothly. And sometimes she wants to sleep, just not in her bed. And sometimes she does not want to sleep at all! This is just a phase, right?

Growing: Oh my goodness, she is getting bigger every day we think! She weighed 15 pounds, 3 ounces at her most recent doctor appointment. She wears mostly 3-6 month clothes, and outgrows the length of her outfits first. Her eyes are still blue, but are a dark blue, so we'll see what God has planned for her!

Enjoying: Life! I love this stage (despite the lack of sleep)... she is at the age where she gets excited about everything! Daddy, Cade, and Sarge bring the biggest smiles. Annie also still loves singing and being outside. She is also at the "grabbing" stage - anything in her reach will be pulled on and brought to her mouth if at all possible. She loves being part of the action, and is happiest when "her people" are all in view. The daycare ladies have noticed this too; apparently Annie can get pretty fussy there if she is not getting attention! We are hoping that she will be happier at daycare once she can sit up for longer periods of time and turn her head towards people and get her own toys. She is working very, very hard on sitting, and she sure looks cute doing it!

Party, Party, Party, Party

Two weekends ago we had FOUR birthday parties to attend! How exciting! We looked forward to the parties all week, gifts were bought and wrapped, cards were made, and Chance's parents agreed to come over one afternoon to keep Annie during one of the parties. Everything was all ready to go! Then Saturday came, and Cade was a little tired and not too enthused about the parties. Here's where I should have stopped, listened to what he really wanted to do, and perhaps changed or toned down our plans. But that is not what I did...

His spirits lifted when we got to the first party - Conner's 6th birthday party at Powersports. Lots of fun was had by all of the Friendship class kiddos running around like crazy. I have to admit that I wanted to attend all of these parties not only to celebrate with the kids, but also to reconnect with their parents. The other families from Cade's preschool have all become good friends, and I really miss seeing all of them in the mornings! The kids' siblings have even gotten attached to little Annie. Here's Caroline playing with Annie, and Cade with Conner.



Sweaty boy!



First group picture of the day



Although a little tired, Cade was still all smiles here. But after eating a little bit of cake with Conner, it was time to scoot off to the next party. Cade was not thrilled about this. But, we had already RSVPed for the 2nd party, so I drug him out of Powersports to head to the pool (what a terrible Mom I am!).

The next stop was Kayla's 6th birthday party at the Rock Prairie pool. This was the same group of kiddos as the earlier party, so they were all set for more fun together. Cade's energy was really fading by this point (waking up at 5:00 am in anticipation of parties makes for a long day), but he managed to have some fun splashing in the pool when Chance surprised us by getting off work early and coming to the party! I didn't get any pictures because Annie was also getting pretty sleeping and I had to keep her out of the sun.

Then it was time for cake. There was some kind of incident involving someone sitting in Cade's seat, Cade taking a new seat next to Garrett, and Garrett pinching Cade. Who knows why, or if it even actually happened, but we had one screaming boy on our hands after that. Then it was time for the 2nd group picture of the day.



Isn't that the most pathetic picture you've ever seen? Cade is pouting, Garrett is hiding his face in his hands because he is in trouble, and Jaden is just happy to see his two buddies!

So we went home about 2 seconds after this picture was taken. We got a good rest that night and were ready to go to the next 2 parties on Sunday. Or so I thought.

Sunday afternoon took us to Olsen Field for Jake and Luke's 6th and 4th birthdays. Cade played on the playscape for a little while with Will and Luke.



Soon after this, though, a very quiet voice said to me "I'm ready to go home. My body wants to be at home right now". At first, I was incredibly frustrated. Chance's parents had driven all the way to our house to stay with Annie, and I was looking forward to catching up with my friends from work at this party. But when I finally consented and told Cade that we could just go home, his whole face lit up. Sometimes, all our boy wants is just to be at home with his family. How can you argue with the innocent sweetness of that? May he always love being with us this much.

After a little rest time, I asked Cade to honestly tell me if he wanted to go to the next party or not. He said he did. So, borrowing from my YogaFit training, I let go of all expectations and loaded up for the 4th and final birthday party of the weekend. Whether we stayed for 5 minutes or the whole time, I was going to let Cade call the shots, and recognize that these parties are not about appearances or adult time; they are simply about kids having fun. He was very excited to see his friends when we got there and started bowling right away. This was Radley's 6th birthday party at Grand Station, and it was great!

The parents and kids from the Weekday School really have become like family. We all pitch in when others' kids need drink refills, another piece of pizza, or shoes tied. I'm thankful for all these people!



Since Annie is starting to eat real food now, she dined on sweet potatoes while we were there. In a bumbo. At the bowling alley. Am I crazy?



Two successful group pictures, a little time in the arcade, and it was time to go.



If you ever have the chance to take your kid to four birthday parties in one weekend...DON'T :) But I'm glad we did, because I learned an important lesson - Listen to your kid. He knows what he needs. His needs are different that yours. And that is OK.

School Daze

No, that is not a typo in the post title. "Daze" is quite appropriate for our lives right now... between football season, other work responsibilities, and each one of us being sick at some point, the past week has been a little foggy! But overall, everything is fine, and we are getting settled into a new/ busier routine.

Last Friday was a family picnic at Cade's school. This was a fun thing to do while Chance had an away game that was too far for us to go to. Cade and I enjoyed a Sonic picnic on our blanket while Annie practiced her newest trick - sitting up all by herself!



I had really hoped to meet some of the families from Cade's class at the picnic. Unfortunately, none of them were there at the same time as us. Cade did play with some bigger kids on the merry-go-round, and of course we spent some time with his good buddy Garrett!



This week, the kindergarten classes have been learning about colors, so each day the students are supposed to wear a certain color. Tuesday was a day for the history books... ORANGE day! Cade was so happy to be dressed head to toe in his favorite color. We did make him leave his orange light saber at home, though.



And here's a glimpse into this mama's world... this is what my front seat looks like on Mondays. That pile is a diaper bag, karate bag, my work bag, my lunch bag, Annie's bottle bag, bag of car snacks, bag of pump parts, Cade's backpack, and Cade's lunch box. Thank goodness we got a bigger car.

An Ode to Nana and Oma

These two ladies are AMAZING. They provided care for Annie the week that I went back to work before our little girl had a spot in daycare, and have both pitched again since then to help during school functions or when we were sick. It is extremely hard for me to ask for help, but both my mom and Chance's mom offer assistance so graciously that I am realizing that it is OK to admit when I need another set of hands during football season. We got so spoiled with them keeping Annie at our house... not only did they give her lots of love and affection, but they also did laundry, dishes, let Holly out 1000 times, picked up food for us, and gave Cade the energy and attention he needs after school when I needed to feed Annie. There is something so special about the attention that kids get from a grandma... I remember it so fondly from being with my Oma, whether it was going to her office after school or playing at her house on the weekends. We are so incredibly grateful for all of the help we've received from our moms and know that our kids cherish the time with them.

Before all that school stuff started...

We actually had quite a bit going on right before school started. To make sure none of those milestones or fun events were lost in the school prep, here's a recap:

Cade is doing great at Tiny Tigers! A few weeks ago he earned his orange headband and his Tiger patch. We are so proud of him for listening so well, learning so quickly, and always trying his best.



Annie had her first taste of oatmeal! At first she really didn't seem to know what was going on, but after almost 2 weeks, she now has the hang of it and seems to like it.



We had a fun visit with Uncle Russell. Russell introduced Cade to the idea of french fries at breakfast, but then redeemed himself by practicing sight words with him :)



We're gearing up for a fun weekend of FOUR birthday parties, so look for pics of those soon!

Go Cougars, Gig Em, and Good Night

We Did It!

We finished the first week of school!! It was quite a whirlwind, and I think I am the only parent of a school-age child who did not post pics on facebook of our first day. I was a little emotional about all of the events and was crazy busy at work with the beginning of the semester. Our church actually has a sermon series about all of this... apparently we are in "transition time". Yeah, no kidding.

Here's a run down of our big week!

Monday, August 26 - Cade's first day of Kindergarten, Chance's first day of his second year at College Station High School, Alyssa's first day of her 8th (yeesh) year at Texas A&M, and Annie's last day of being the center of attention before she started daycare.

Here we are:



Our big boy all set for school with his orange shirt (his choice) and his backpack with orange on it (also his choosing).



And with Annie in Nana's loving arms, Chance headed off to his campus and Cade and I embarked on our first journey to his new elementary school. He was so excited... he had actually been standing at the door with his backpack on since 6:45 am! I pray he always has this enthusiasm for school! I, on the other hand, was full of nerves. Would he like his teacher? Would he listen? Would he eat his lunch? Would he know where to go after school? Would he and Garrett ever get to see each other? Would he be OK? When we got there, we parked about a mile away (and we wonder why they don't let parents walk kids in after the first day) and walked up to school. He already seemed to know the way!



We found Mrs. Brown's classroom easily and had one more photo op by the door.



Once we got in the room, his excitement faltered a little. At the Meet the Teacher night, the kids found out where they would sit in the classroom. Cade was seated next to his friend Calvin from daycare at the ORANGE table. What luck!! Unfortunately, there was some shuffling around in the next week, because we now found Cade at the red (although it looks a little pink) table without Calvin. Oh dear. This teacher apparently does not know Cade very well. Thou shalt not change a routine, especially when it involves his favorite color. The kids were supposed to sit down at their tables and color quietly until all of the students were settled. I also seem to have the only 5 year old that cannot stand coloring. Give the kid a blank paper and a marker and he is happy. A cheerful black and white outline of a school bus and a box of crayons is not his idea of fun. His sweet little face looked up at me and said "Mama, please don't leave". By some miracle, we both held it together for one more hug and when I peeked back in the classroom he had reluctantly picked up an orange crayon. I will admit to all of our wonderful blog readers that my drive to work was very tearful! I am thankful for all of my mom friends that were also taking their babies to kinder that day... there was a flurry of calls and texts all day!

Picking him up from the after school program was one of the happiest pick ups we've ever had! He was having an awesome time playing in the gym, and I got the best hug ever. I was full of questions about his day, and he was so happy to see Annie in the backseat of the car.

This is what he told us about kindergarten:

Lunch - chocolate milk, a juice box, chicken nuggets, and katsup (Then we had to have a discussion about healthy choices)
Classroom - lots of sitting still and being quiet
Kids Klub - the best part about the day!

We are so proud of him!

Last Tuesday was another really big day - Annie's first day at daycare! I will not even try to describe how emotional this day was for me, but the lack of pictures makes it pretty clear. I did manage to get one of both Cade and Annie that morning, and I just love how happy they are together!



I know she is in excellent hands at the same daycare that Cade attended the past 4 1/2 years, and I'm thankful that the staff and other families there are all familiar and comforting.

Fast forward a couple of days and we find ourselves getting ready for the first real Friday night football game at Chance's school! Go Cougars!



This year, the school has added the "Cub Club", which offers bounce houses before the game and the chance to run through the big helmet to lead the team back onto the field after halftime. What fun!


(Who knows what the girl next to Cade is doing.)

This was Annie's first real game and she did great! She slept through the entire second half, which made everything go much smoother than I anticipated. Cade had fun at the game too, and his reunions with Chance at the end of the game are always so sweet. As much as he loves Daddy's football, he loves being with Daddy so much more. Even though the picture is blurry, I think you can see how glad he is just to be next to Chance even while Chance is still busy congratulating his players on their big WIN!



And the next day, after a wonderfully short work day for Chance, we got ready to support the Aggies at the first game of the season! Yes, we all dress in Aggie gear to watch the game on TV. We were also at a friend's house celebrating my friend Ledric's birthday. And we left almost immediately after this picture was taken because Annie informed us it was naptime. But weren't we all cute while it lasted?



And there you have it! One of the biggest weeks ever in our Locklear family history. And now it is Sunday night and we are getting ready to do it all over again!