I will start with- Babysitters love babysitting for us. (So they say anyway...) We only have one child, who doesn't need a diaper changed, who is happy to play wii or watch a video with his babysitter the whole night. He pretty much puts himself to bed. He doesn't cry or whine, and he LOVES BEING BABYSAT! I feel like a cheapskate paying the actual price for just one child, and even less after he is asleepwhile they get to chill at our house and watch a video, so I pay too much. Other moms go ahead and send the hatemail, it's okay, I deserve it.
Anyway, Jaxon LOVES LOVES LOVES all of our babysitters. As in, is IN LOVE with them! Every time we have a new one, he falls in love with her. Some more than others, but there is always love there. We just had a new babysitter last week, and Jaxon is SO SMITTEN.
Here is the conversation she relayed to me when we got home.
Jaxon: (With a sly smile) "...you're a girl..."
S: "yes!"
Jaxon: "That's GOOD!"
S: "Thanks!"
Jaxon: "I really like you! What's your name again?" (that one is particularly funny to me!)
S: (says her name...)
Jaxon: "Well S___ , I really like you. You should come hang out with me again sometime!"
HAHAHAHA! As if she wasn't there as his babysitter, just a cute 12 year old girl chilling with a kindergartener!
The next morning Dave and I asked him if he like the new babysitter and he said,
"YES! Can she come again? Like, TONIGHT?"
"No buddy, tonight is Sunday. And we have a family party...with cousins!"
"Well, why don't you and Dad go without me and I'll just stay here with S___"
On to Kindergarten drop off. Jaxon is STILL insistent that I walk him to his classroom, watch him play on the kindergarten playground, and then watch him as he walks up the ramp into his classroom when his teacher opens the door after the bell rings.
I.
Love.
This.
There have been a few days where I have to leave him early so that I can go teach a class at the gym, and he does NOT like that. Even on those days, he will not let me drop him off in the drop off line. I have to get out, and walk him over.
The part that is still tugging at my tender heart strings is that when I am walking away, he yells, "BYE MOM! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU MOM!" And then I have to yell it back...until I am out of sight or until he is all the way into the classroom. This morning when I had to drop him off at the playground to make it to a class at the gym, he followed me back out to where I was walking away and started shouting "I LOVE YOU MOM! YOUR THE BEST! I LOVE YOU A GOOGLE MOM!" Seriously, it makes me grin from ear-to-ear. It also makes me wonder how a little boy who doesn't care who hears him yelling I LOVE YOU to his mom at the top of his lungs can possibly be ready for kindergarten.
On another note- his brain is fine, and there have been no more incidents of anyone standing on it. :o)
"MOM!!! HE WAS STANDING ON MY BRAIN!!!"
Obviously I thought this was kind of funny, but I did my best not to smile as I tried to get the rest of the story out of him. We were sitting on the benches where I walked to pick him up, and while he was struggling to remember the order of events that things happened, his teacher walked over and say by us....between She and Jaxon, this is the story-
There is a naughty little guy in Jaxon's class that wouldn't leave him alone today. In Library he pushed Jaxon down and then stood on him- one foot on his chest, one foot on his head!! Jaxon pushed/punched him to get him off. The naughty boy got sent to the principal, and Jaxon got an "S" for hitting.
Right before leaving school when Jaxon's teacher wrote the S on his chart, Jaxon raised his hand and said, "Ummm...I think I know what happened... When he was standing on my BRAIN, he was standing on the part that reminds me not to hit...so it made me forget!"
SERIOUSLY! When his teacher told me that, she had to put the folder up between she and Jaxon and whisper it to me so he wouldn't hear, and wouldn't see her laugh. She told me she thought it was so hilarious and clever, that she wished she could have just given him the O.
We talked with Jaxon about how you don't put your hands on people, and just to call for help, but for PETE SAKE! The kid was standing on him, so I can hardly be mad. My question is, especially to mom's of boys, what is your stand on fighting, fighting back, standing up to bullys, etc? I don't want Jaxon to be a fighter, but I also don't want him to lay down in the library with some jerk standing on his head until a teacher notices. What do you do???
First Day of Kindergarten
Well, it came. The world did not end...but for me, it has certainly changed. Jaxon has been looking forward to/been worrying about the first day of Kinder all summer. We could tell he was pretty nervous, so we talked about it all the time. What he was looking forward to, what he was nervous about, and how to handle it all. We had several Family Home Evenings about being a good friend, being a good example, and making good friends. Making friends was what he was mostly worried about, being liked, etc. And it makes sense, isn't that a major concern of all of us? How do we be true to ourselves if people don't like the real us? We just drove home the fact that kids will want to be friends with someone who is kind, fun, and MAKES GOOD CHOICES. We also talked a lot about how kids who don't make good choices often want their "friends" to get in trouble too..and that's not a real friend. (Jaxon is not a naughty kid, but he loves a good laugh, and often finds the naughtier kids funny...this is NOT Something we want to encourage...so we talked about that too!!)
Anyway, On Tuesday night we laid out Jaxon's clothes, and Dave gave him a beautiful back-to-school blessing. Jaxon was pretty happy about everything and went to bed without a hitch. Wednesday morning, Dave and Jaxon went down for breakfast while I got ready for the day. Before Dave left for work he started a video for J so I could finish getting ready, and this is always how our mornings go. I finished up and went to get Jax to put on shoes, do hair, get folder, water bottle, etc.
I.
could.
not.
find.
him.
ANYWHERE!!!!
I was seriously freaking out. His video was running, and he was no where to be found. I was running through the house screaming his name, and nothing.
I was seriously in heart attack mode.
I ran to the garage and opened the door, and I heard a muffled yell, "MOM!!!"
Jaxon was locked in the car.
I opened the door and my poor little guy was sobbing his eyes out. His shirt was soaked with tears, and his face was beet red from the heat. He clung to my neck for dear life. He explained that he had come to get a craft out of the car that he had made for his teacher, so he could put some finishing touches on it. Somehow the door closed and locked, and he didn't know how to unlock it. As far as I can tell, he was locked in there sobbing and sweating to death for 10-15 minutes. SERIOUSLY!!?!?! This day was already going to be emotional for the both of us...and this was the last thing we needed.
After a lot of consoling, and hugging, (And a few hidden tears on my part) we got everything together, and took some pictures out front. Please note the red eyes and nose, and the lack of true smile. That is what back-to-school pictures look like when you've been accidentally locked in your mom's car on the first day of Kindergarten...
Smiles are not too bad on these first three...
As I walked away in my hat and sunglasses...the tears started to roll. I didn't want anyone to see me crying, but as I quickly looked left and right, there were lots of others with silent tears rolling down as well. (please note, there was NOT ONE kindergartener crying, or even remotely concerned.... I thought that was pretty awesome!)
Anyway, On Tuesday night we laid out Jaxon's clothes, and Dave gave him a beautiful back-to-school blessing. Jaxon was pretty happy about everything and went to bed without a hitch. Wednesday morning, Dave and Jaxon went down for breakfast while I got ready for the day. Before Dave left for work he started a video for J so I could finish getting ready, and this is always how our mornings go. I finished up and went to get Jax to put on shoes, do hair, get folder, water bottle, etc.
I.
could.
not.
find.
him.
ANYWHERE!!!!
I was seriously freaking out. His video was running, and he was no where to be found. I was running through the house screaming his name, and nothing.
I was seriously in heart attack mode.
I ran to the garage and opened the door, and I heard a muffled yell, "MOM!!!"
Jaxon was locked in the car.
I opened the door and my poor little guy was sobbing his eyes out. His shirt was soaked with tears, and his face was beet red from the heat. He clung to my neck for dear life. He explained that he had come to get a craft out of the car that he had made for his teacher, so he could put some finishing touches on it. Somehow the door closed and locked, and he didn't know how to unlock it. As far as I can tell, he was locked in there sobbing and sweating to death for 10-15 minutes. SERIOUSLY!!?!?! This day was already going to be emotional for the both of us...and this was the last thing we needed.
After a lot of consoling, and hugging, (And a few hidden tears on my part) we got everything together, and took some pictures out front. Please note the red eyes and nose, and the lack of true smile. That is what back-to-school pictures look like when you've been accidentally locked in your mom's car on the first day of Kindergarten...
Smiles are not too bad on these first three...
At this point....this is the best he could muster...
Not even attempting a smile in this one... (but OH SO PROUD of his Mario Bros folder!!!)
We got to school, found his room and took a few pics by the door. It's hard to see the sign, but Jaxon's room is a "Peanut and Treenut Free classroom." This is in part thanks to Jaxon who is allergic to peanuts, but there are 3 other nut allergies, a seliacs disease, and one girl who is allergic to bleach! It was interesteing to note that at least 2/3 of the classroom doors at school had the peanut/treenut sign. I think nuts and nut products are going to have to be banned at schools very shortly... anyway...I digress...
After drooping off his folder at the ramp, Jax went to the kindergarten playground to play. He hopped right in, and did his thing. He had been warned by his cousin that Kindergarteners are NOT allowed to do the monkey bars until after Christmas, which made him sad, becuase he is a Monkey-Bar-MAN! So, he did them as many times as he could before he was officially told the rule!
He was a little shy...as you can see in this picture...
Look at this serious face....playing is SERIOUS BUSINESS!
(I know I'm biased, but man he is GORGEOUS!!!)
When the whistles blew all around it about scared the pants of Jaxon! He ran to me and grabbed my hand, and I of course, loved it! We walked to the ramp, he picked up his folder and water bottle, gave me a kiss, and ran to line up on the ramp.
Mrs. Bornowski came out and told all the kids to turn and wave and blow a kiss to their parents. We of course were all clicking pictures and trying not to cry....yet! Then she had them say, "Bye Mom and Dad! I'll be okay! See you in 3 hours!!"
Then she had them all look at her for their first set of directions. Not one kid was crying.... but there was one kid who was still looking at his Mama instead of Mrs. Bornowski....can you spot him???
Checking to make sure I was still there....
Be. Still. My. Heart. There he goes....my baby. No more looking back...
Anyway, I had a fun and LOOOOONG breakfast with some other moms, and by the time it was over, it was time to pick J back up! The time with friends helped me not think too much about Jax, and I was surprised how quickly the time went. When I picked him up he said his day was awesome, but that he didn't remember much. This is totally Jaxon's M.O. I dragged a little out of him including that they visited the library, and there are "Over 25,000 books in there! Or....13,000....or maybe 1,000" He couldn't quite remember, but he was impressed by the number anyways!
The first thing he told me when we got in the car was, "I GOT AN "O"!!!" We had talked a lot over the summer about the behavior chart he would get and what an O- outstanding, S-satisfactory, and N-needs improvement means. It was very important to Jaxon to get an O, and several times in the previous week he would help me with something and say, "Mom! If you were Mrs. Bornowski, would you give me an O right now???"
That was the first thing he told anyone who asked how kindergarten was, "GOOD! I GOT AN O!!!"
At the bank our favorite bank guy was asking J about his teacher and JAxon said, "She's very nice, AND she's VERY beautiful!!" I was cracking up, becuase she IS very beautiful! She looks like a greek goddess! And a 5 year old having a little crush on his teacher and wanting to impress her daily is NEVER a bad thing!
Now we are 2.5 days into the school year, and he is loving it. He LOVED PE and thought the teacher was hysterical, which he is! On the way to school yesterday (Second day) out of the blue he said, "Mom, did you know that Kindergarten is TOTALLY AWESOME???"
It made my heart so happy to hear him say that! We've talked a lot about how being successful in school means really liking it, and finding the good in everything you do, even if it is hard or takes a long time, so we are hoping it sticks!
Anyway, now here I am, sitting at the computer while my only child is being taught by someone else. I'm still having a lot of mixed emotions about it, but since he is loving it, it is all getting a little easier...
Get ready for it....
There are 21 pictures attached to this post.
yes, seriously.
These pictures are from our 4th of July trip to Wyoming, which means I am only one month and 2 days late doing a blog post about it...THAT'S PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED EARLY FOR ME!
Okay, off we go!
Here is Jaxon, seriously SERIOUSLY excited to be getting on a plane with his cousins and grammie and Grampie!
Here are the kids with AM in Billings at a park. Mom and Dad, me, Tyler, and Amber drove around to our old homes, schools, ward buildings etc. We couldn't all fit, and let's be serious, our spouses and kids didn't care, so AM, Brandt, Dave and the kids stayed at this park to play!
(Please note how gorgeous my little guy is in this picture.... I don't know what it is, but it melts my heart!)
We drove to the Billings Temple which is new since we left. A few weeks before we left for this vacation we had a family night on temples. We watched a slide show of all 126(ish) temples, and then let Jaxon pick his favorite to display in his room. He just happened to pick the Billings Temple, and was seriously excited when we told him he would actually get to see it in person! It did not disappoint. It's absolutely stunning.
Grammie and Grampy with all the kiddos at the temple
Friday afternoon we left Billings and headed to Cody Wyoming. My mom did a lot of her growin' up years here, and it holds a special place in all of our hearts. We often traveled here for the 4th of July, and I swear it is the most down home, country, patriotic place you could possibly be Independence Day! IT WAS AWESOME!!!
Here we are in front of Cody's claim to fame- Buffalo Bill Cody!!!
Grammie was so excited to show Jaxon the statue, and he was appropriately impressed!
Saturday (these pics are a little out of order...) We went to the kids parade down mainstreet in the morning, and to the RODEO in the evening!
Let me tell you a little secret... RODEO'S ROCK! SERIOUSLY!
This was a PRCA (Professional Rodeo circuit) rodeo, and the biggest Rodeo in the US held over the 4th, so these guys were GOOD!!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, yelling, cheering, cringing, gasping, and YEE-HAW-ING with the best of them!!! Even Jaxon loved it!
Here is Jaxon and his best buddy Hailey, looking quite angelic...
Though to be honest...they usually look a lot more like this....
Jaxon continued to wear his cowboy hat everywhere (to my GREAT pleasure) and continued to have his picture taken. (Much to his DISPLEASURE!)
At first he tolerated it....
Then he got pretty tired of it...
Then he decided to let me know how he really felt about it...
The kids got to sit on a REAL BULL!!! They are much more docile when they aren't being Ridden by a cowboy and don't have their....well....we all know how they get those bulls to buck... YIKES!! But seriously....look how HUGE this guy is!!!
Sittin' pretty!
4 cousins on, NO PROB! Brennen refused to actually get on the bull's back, but was content to stand next to it!
Here begins Saturday morning at the kid's parade along Mainstreet. A fantastic time was had by all I tell you, BY ALL! The weather was great, and the kids were excited! Candy was thrown, what more can you ask for?
My Patriotic little buddy, ready to go!
Sporting our fashionable cowboy attire....
Just the girls...minus mom. She was sitting on the curb with all the kids, and wouldn't have moved for the world!
I.
Love.
This.
Picture!!!
All the boys just hanging out! My brothers love to wear their BYU attire just to annoy Dave, and bless Dave's heart, he sported some Cougar Blue just for the occasion!! (HA.HA.) He did keep his Devil spirit alive with the hat though...
Grammie in all her glory with the Grandkids!
Sunday we went to church and then went to Heart Mountain, one of the largest internment camps during WWII. There really wasn't much there to see but a few plaques... I guess the US doesn't want people to go see proof of some of their darkest days.
...Moving right along...
Sunday afternoon we made the 1.5 hour drive to Burlington, the town where my mom lived on a ranch during the summer! We visited the old ranch every summer growing up in Billings, and were so saddened to hear when it burned down a few years ago. The familiy sold most of the land, but still owns a few acres, and "the tank" is still there. It is just that, a metal storage tank, that holds all sorts of antique treasures, junk, dust, and spiders! AnnaMarie and I had a great time going through some old boxes, but we would need much better light, tools, and time without kids to really explore all of it's wonders!
Is this sign not awesome??? A town with 250 people? I LOVE IT!!!
Here are the boys lighting off COPIOUS amounts of fireworks....all legal on private property in Wyoming. This takes me straight back to when we were kids and lit major fireworks in Wyoming...the only difference is this trip, we DIDN'T start a major fire!
On Monday morning we went to the BIG parade down Mainstreet on the 4th of July! Again, it was awesome. Slightly sunnier, but no big deal. I think it was about 30 degrees cooler than it was in Mesa. And that, is a little slice of heaven!
Here is Jax with his best buddy hailey again...
And I had to save the best for last! Jax and Grammie waiting for the parade. Don't you love that little hand on Grammie's cheek? LOVE.
I left out a lot, like daily dips in the freezing outdoor hotel pool (Tyler and AM from Minnesota thought it was downright delicious, but the rest of us froze our buns off!) Hysterical and frustrating dinners where restaurants in this tiny little town tried unsuccessfully to accomodate a party of 19, and playing games in the hotel hallway until late. It was one of the most fun vacations we have ever been on. We seriously loved it. I wish we could make it a tradition...but I don't see that happening any time soon... I don't think Cody can handle the Ferrell Clan every year!
yes, seriously.
These pictures are from our 4th of July trip to Wyoming, which means I am only one month and 2 days late doing a blog post about it...THAT'S PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED EARLY FOR ME!
Okay, off we go!
Here is Jaxon, seriously SERIOUSLY excited to be getting on a plane with his cousins and grammie and Grampie!
Did I mention they were excited?
We all flew into Billings where we met Tyler and AnnaMarie. You may or may not know that I was born in Billings, and lived there until I was 8 years old. The first night we just ate dinner, put the kids down, and hung out a little at the hotel. Also, some people in the family may or may not have gone to Baskin Robbins and NOT brought me my favorite ice cream in the whole world, while getting themselves double scoops of said favorite ice cream... Just sayin.... ;o)
Here are the kids with AM in Billings at a park. Mom and Dad, me, Tyler, and Amber drove around to our old homes, schools, ward buildings etc. We couldn't all fit, and let's be serious, our spouses and kids didn't care, so AM, Brandt, Dave and the kids stayed at this park to play!
(Please note how gorgeous my little guy is in this picture.... I don't know what it is, but it melts my heart!)
We drove to the Billings Temple which is new since we left. A few weeks before we left for this vacation we had a family night on temples. We watched a slide show of all 126(ish) temples, and then let Jaxon pick his favorite to display in his room. He just happened to pick the Billings Temple, and was seriously excited when we told him he would actually get to see it in person! It did not disappoint. It's absolutely stunning.
Grammie and Grampy with all the kiddos at the temple
Friday afternoon we left Billings and headed to Cody Wyoming. My mom did a lot of her growin' up years here, and it holds a special place in all of our hearts. We often traveled here for the 4th of July, and I swear it is the most down home, country, patriotic place you could possibly be Independence Day! IT WAS AWESOME!!!Here we are in front of Cody's claim to fame- Buffalo Bill Cody!!!
Grammie was so excited to show Jaxon the statue, and he was appropriately impressed!
Saturday (these pics are a little out of order...) We went to the kids parade down mainstreet in the morning, and to the RODEO in the evening!Let me tell you a little secret... RODEO'S ROCK! SERIOUSLY!
This was a PRCA (Professional Rodeo circuit) rodeo, and the biggest Rodeo in the US held over the 4th, so these guys were GOOD!!! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, yelling, cheering, cringing, gasping, and YEE-HAW-ING with the best of them!!! Even Jaxon loved it!
Here is Jaxon and his best buddy Hailey, looking quite angelic...
Though to be honest...they usually look a lot more like this....
Jaxon continued to wear his cowboy hat everywhere (to my GREAT pleasure) and continued to have his picture taken. (Much to his DISPLEASURE!)At first he tolerated it....
Then he got pretty tired of it...
Then he decided to let me know how he really felt about it...
The kids got to sit on a REAL BULL!!! They are much more docile when they aren't being Ridden by a cowboy and don't have their....well....we all know how they get those bulls to buck... YIKES!! But seriously....look how HUGE this guy is!!!
Sittin' pretty!
4 cousins on, NO PROB! Brennen refused to actually get on the bull's back, but was content to stand next to it!
Here begins Saturday morning at the kid's parade along Mainstreet. A fantastic time was had by all I tell you, BY ALL! The weather was great, and the kids were excited! Candy was thrown, what more can you ask for?
My Patriotic little buddy, ready to go!
Sporting our fashionable cowboy attire....
Just the girls...minus mom. She was sitting on the curb with all the kids, and wouldn't have moved for the world!
I.
Love.
This.
Picture!!!
All the boys just hanging out! My brothers love to wear their BYU attire just to annoy Dave, and bless Dave's heart, he sported some Cougar Blue just for the occasion!! (HA.HA.) He did keep his Devil spirit alive with the hat though...
Grammie in all her glory with the Grandkids!
Sunday we went to church and then went to Heart Mountain, one of the largest internment camps during WWII. There really wasn't much there to see but a few plaques... I guess the US doesn't want people to go see proof of some of their darkest days.
...Moving right along...
Sunday afternoon we made the 1.5 hour drive to Burlington, the town where my mom lived on a ranch during the summer! We visited the old ranch every summer growing up in Billings, and were so saddened to hear when it burned down a few years ago. The familiy sold most of the land, but still owns a few acres, and "the tank" is still there. It is just that, a metal storage tank, that holds all sorts of antique treasures, junk, dust, and spiders! AnnaMarie and I had a great time going through some old boxes, but we would need much better light, tools, and time without kids to really explore all of it's wonders!
Is this sign not awesome??? A town with 250 people? I LOVE IT!!!
Here are the boys lighting off COPIOUS amounts of fireworks....all legal on private property in Wyoming. This takes me straight back to when we were kids and lit major fireworks in Wyoming...the only difference is this trip, we DIDN'T start a major fire!
On Monday morning we went to the BIG parade down Mainstreet on the 4th of July! Again, it was awesome. Slightly sunnier, but no big deal. I think it was about 30 degrees cooler than it was in Mesa. And that, is a little slice of heaven!
Here is Jax with his best buddy hailey again...
And I had to save the best for last! Jax and Grammie waiting for the parade. Don't you love that little hand on Grammie's cheek? LOVE.
I left out a lot, like daily dips in the freezing outdoor hotel pool (Tyler and AM from Minnesota thought it was downright delicious, but the rest of us froze our buns off!) Hysterical and frustrating dinners where restaurants in this tiny little town tried unsuccessfully to accomodate a party of 19, and playing games in the hotel hallway until late. It was one of the most fun vacations we have ever been on. We seriously loved it. I wish we could make it a tradition...but I don't see that happening any time soon... I don't think Cody can handle the Ferrell Clan every year!
Swim Lessons 2011
Jaxon took 3 out of 4 summer swim lessons (and is signed up for the Saturday lessons in August and September) with the City of Mesa, and THEY. WERE. AWESOME!!!!
He started the summer, quite leary of the water, and now seriously swims like a fish. He loves to jump off the diving board and go down the water slides--- ALL BY HIMSELF!
This picture is Jaxon and his first swim teacher (and FIRST LOVE) of the summer! Miss Norelle and Jaxon had a LOVE-LOVE relationship. I could not have been more thankful, because Jaxon loved swim lessons from the get go! At the end of our two weeks with Miss Norelle, Jaxon insisted on getting her a present, which we did, which made her love Jaxon even more, which Jaxon LOVED!!!
(Luckily on the day I brought my camera, we also forgot Jaxon's goggles, so I think these pictures are even more hilarious and cute!
Saved the best for last!!!
He started the summer, quite leary of the water, and now seriously swims like a fish. He loves to jump off the diving board and go down the water slides--- ALL BY HIMSELF!
This picture is Jaxon and his first swim teacher (and FIRST LOVE) of the summer! Miss Norelle and Jaxon had a LOVE-LOVE relationship. I could not have been more thankful, because Jaxon loved swim lessons from the get go! At the end of our two weeks with Miss Norelle, Jaxon insisted on getting her a present, which we did, which made her love Jaxon even more, which Jaxon LOVED!!!
(Luckily on the day I brought my camera, we also forgot Jaxon's goggles, so I think these pictures are even more hilarious and cute!
Saved the best for last!!!
Dave and Jaxon and the Batmobile
A few months back, my nephew in Scottsdale won a visit from the ORIGINAL BATMOBILE! It was pretty sweet. All the kids in the neighborhood, ward, and cousins were invited, and we jumped at the chance! Each dad got to drive their kids around the block, honk the hork, beam the bat-light, etc! Of course, the kids thought it was fun, and the dad's thought it was even cooler!
Dave, Jaxon, and random neighbor ready for their spin around the block!
Inside with all the bells and whistles...literally!
Ready for his ride!
My 3 favorite guys!
The whole crowd that gathered!
Dave, Jaxon, and random neighbor ready for their spin around the block!
Inside with all the bells and whistles...literally!
Ready for his ride!
My 3 favorite guys!
The whole crowd that gathered!
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