Happy Fall!

Fall is a favorite time in our family!  It seems that every weekend is filled with some activity to celebrate and make memories with our boys and our friends.  This year did not disappoint!  Our little puppy and Sporting player kicked off the season with our church's Fall Festival.  It is a wonderful evening filled with games, candy, hayrides, corn maze navigating, and even fireworks!

The next stop was apple picking with the Burkins!  This event is proving to be an annual tradition!  We had a great time sipping cider slushies, eating warm cider donuts, roasting marshmallows, and of course apple picking!

Then it was off to Topeka for some quality time with Grandma B and the Burkins!  It was a very warm day but a blast nonetheless!  We have gone to Boo at the Zoo since the first year we moved to Kansas.

Of course there was pumpkin carving to do!  Logan and I cut, scooped, and carved but Easton wanted NOTHING to do with it!  He was pretty excited with the end product though!  This year was especially exciting because the Royals were in the World Series.

On Halloween we hosted our friends for dinner and trick-or-treating.  The kids and grownups all had a fun time!  It was fun to watch Easton try to keep up with the big kids this year.

Fall is for fun and family!  We are truly blessed!

Happy 6th Birthday LJ!

 Happy birthday to this big man!!  It is so crazy to think that it has been 6 years since he flipped our world upside down!  He is still our little thinker, lego-building, big guy.  He is HUGE!!!  He weighs over 60 lbs and is a little over 4 feet tall.

Logan had a really hard time deciding what kind of party he wanted to have this year.  He knew it needed to be Lego-themed but wasn't sure if it should be a slumber party, fire station, Legoland, etc.  Eventually we decided to take advantage of a giant padded room along with a private movie screening room!  

The kids had a blast running around, sliding, bouncing off walls, and swinging from ropes.  

 Once they were tuckered out we headed over to watch the Lego Movie complete with popcorn and candy.

 Logan was most excited to open his presents so halfway through the movie we had cake  and moved on to the big event!

 It was a great day to celebrate a really cool kid with our closest friends and family!

Kindergarten

Somehow Logan is old enough to be in Kindergarten!  He was very excited to return to Sunflower and have the amazing Mrs. Furlong as his teacher.  He is an official member of the Kingdom of Kindergarten and has made some really good friendships!    

However, after the first week of school Logan's anxiety got the best of him.  He woke every morning with a stomachache, crying about going to school.  It was extremely hard for him to separate from me as the school day began.  We were both pushing our stamina to the max as we adjusted to being at school full days.  My heart broke as a held his clammy hand down to his classroom.  

Eventually we put together a box of tools and strategies for him to use when he felt nervous.  We made sure that he applied his "calm down" oil from Miss Amy.  He carried a curled up photo booth picture of our family as well as a Lego minifigure.  

One of his biggest stressors was lunch.  He wasn't eating, having stomach pain, and loosing weight.  His rock star teacher made accommodations for him to eat in the classroom until he was able to rejoin his classmates.  

Finally, after our Thanksgiving break Logan started to look forward to going to school!  He woke up happy and got ready without being asked 104 times.  He couldn't wait to see his "bros" and play at recess.  This mama was SO happy!!

He still has a hard time on "special" days; pirate day, learning celebration, popcorn powwow.  Logan enjoys routines and schedules.  When his normal is altered he gets nervous.  It seems like it is getting easier for him and he has gotten better at self-talk, taking deep breaths, and praying through the anxiety.  

As a former kindergarten teacher I was thrilled for my son to begin his big adventure in K.  I couldn't help but feel frustrated as the things that brought the most excitement to most kinders caused him incredible anxiety.  Logan has always been my cautious little worrier and I have learned that I cannot change that about him.  It is what makes Logan, Logan and I love that kid more than my heart can handle!  

Birthday celebration kindergarten style!  

Mmm, cookie cake!!

Learning Celebration picnic, I love being at school with my dude!!

Bus selfie for Logan's kindergarten field trip

LJ and one of the bros, "J"

Another bro, "L"