It's that time of year again...Going to Kindergarten!

Braden has been so excited for kindergarten.  All summer all he's done is talk about how we need to get him a lunch box, and a back pack.  We got to go and meet his teacher on Thursday before school started.  He seemed excited about his teacher Ms. Turner.  The weekend went by fast and I was doing pretty good with the whole "my baby is going to kindergarten" thing.  I think that is because of pre-k and because of Aubrie, I am so ready to be in a good routine with her. 

Sunday night Braden started complaining of his stomach hurting and we figured it was just nerves or something he had eaten.  We were not to concerned over it.  Sunday night about 1:30 or so Braden woke us up and had gotten sick.  Monday morning he said he felt ok so we sent him to school.  Brad and I both took Braden to school.  We got to walk him to his classroom and help him find a seat.  I have to say it was a bit unorganized, but I wasn't worried that would inter fear with him at all.  This first week of school has been really hard.  Braden doesn't like school, his teacher...he really doesn't like any part of it.  He has been stressing over everything.  Bed time is a long drawn out process.  We have tried everything we can think of to try and help him adjust.  I have called Dr. Mann and he recommended that we give Braden a light dose of Benadryl before bed to help him relax.  We have also gotten him an alarm clock that plays the ocean, forest, and wind noises and then wakes him up to a happy good mood CD.  We tried all of that last night and so far so good, we still had some difficulties but nothing like it was the previous nights.  We also got him to tell us why he thought his teacher was mean, he said that she snapped her fingers and pointed to give direction instead of asking nicely.  I can only imagine that with 20 kindergartners some times asking nicely is out of the question.  I sent his teacher a note asking her to call me so we can get some things straightened out and get Braden on the track to loving kindergarten.  I will keep you all posted about it. 

These are pics from his first day.

Here we come Dr. Mann

On Monday after we dropped Braden off for his first day of Kindergarten we took Kinsley and Aubrie to the dr.  Kinsley had her 2 year check up and Aubrie had her 2 month check.  Both girls did good and they both got shots.  Kinsley got 5 shots and was not a happy camper during the process, but she turned those tears off just as soon as they got the band aids on.  I was very proud of her.  We started taking Braden to lunch after shots so we did that for Kinsley as well.  Aubrie got 3 shots and an oral vaccine, she was way worse than Kinsley in the tears department.  She cried and cried and cried, Braden and Kinsley usually settled down pretty quick at that age but Aubrie was going to make herself heard.  Both girls did great.  Here are their stats:

Kinsley:   30 lbs (82%)
                 35.75 inches tall (86%)

Aubrie:     10 lbs 2 oz  (33%)
                  22.75 inches tall  (67%)

*I may have my "little" girl after all!

Happy Birthday Monkey!

My little monkey turned 2 this summer. Kinsley is definitely my monkey, she is my handful of a child. She has a mind of her own and knows what she wants. She is all about taking matters into her own hands when she feels the need. On the flip side she is so sweet when she wants to be. She has pretty good manners and I just love when she looks at me with those big blue eyes and says "I hold you" and crawls up in my lap with her thumb in her mouth and her blanket in her hand. She always wants her hair done and her shoes on, and she loves to go places, however when we get there she has her hair bows pulled out and her shoes off. For her birthday we just had her a small family party out at my mom and dads and let the kids swim. It wasn't anything huge and spectacular, but she had fun and that's all that matters, right?!?!

Aubrie Kay Burroughs

We welcomed Aubrie Kay Burroughs to the family on June 22, 2011.  She made her arrival at 1:52p.m. and weighed in at 8lbs 1oz (exactly what Kinsley weighed)  She was my longest baby at 21inches.  She is perfect, her reports from the doctors were way better than the other two had received.  The first night was a little stressful, not because she wasn't doing very good, but because I wasn't getting any sleep.  Between her waking up to eat and the nurses coming in to get vitals on me or her, or the lab techs coming in to get blood work, I hardly got any sleep.  I remember waking Brad up crying that night, and just wanted him to offer to help or even just say something positive, and all he did was tell me to send her to the nursery.  That was not what I wanted to hear, but after about another hour or so of NO sleep I did just that.  It was about 3am or so before I actually sent her and they brought her back around 6 to eat.  The second night wasn't much better but she only made it down to the nurses station though.  There were so many babies born on the 21st and 22nd of June that we were on the 3rd floor and the nursery was on the 2nd floor.  The nurses just loved holding her and playing with her all night, I can only imagine that it is pretty boring sometimes on the night shift.  Plus being that we were not on the labor and delivery floor, we were on the women's floor so these nurses didn't see babies all that often.  She pretty much only woke up 1-2 times a night from the first night we were home and started sleeping through the night at about 6.5 weeks old.  She doesn't nap very well during the day, but I think that is because of her very helpful big sister. 

Braden and Kinsley were the first to hold her once they brought her to the room after her initial trip to the nursery.  Braden was just as we expected, he loved her from the get go and treated her very sweetly just as he did with Kinsley.  We didn't really know what to expect from Kins...but she did great too.  She held her and loved on her and when it was time for my dad to hold Aubrie, Kinsley didn't want to give her up.  It was so cute when she held her hands up and asked for her back.  Kinsley is very good at telling us the obvious..."Aubie Kay Cryin"  "Aubie Kay sleep" "Aubie Kay eatin"  "Aubie Kay..." She loves her little sister and I am so excited for the sisterly bond they are going to have.

At first Kinsley didn't want to share her room with Aubrie, but I think she is coming around to that idea.  Kins loves to sit in the baby swings and play with the baby things, I even catch her with a passie every now and then.  Braden loves to hold her and kiss on her, he is such a good big brother to both of the girls.  Over all the adjustment to a new little one in the house is going smoothly.

Here are several pics from the hospital and the first few days at home with our new addition.

Summer 2011 Recap

Wow, what can I say...This summer was pretty crazy at our house.  We have had an unusually hot summer this year and with finishing up my pregnancy with Aubrie and having an infant we have spent most of the summer indoors.  We have been able to be more active with our play group, which we love so much.  We have done things like make ice cream in zip-loc baggies, Tour HEB, have an ice cream party at chick-fil-a and the kids even had their first shot at bowling.

Braden and Kinsley love to go to Nonna and Pawpaw's or Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house and swim in the pool or the lake.  I have two little fishies.  Braden is getting very good at swimming without his life jacket or floaties and Kinsley can't go outside without her life jacket because she is fearless and doesn't know she can't swim on her own.  They love the water and being outdoors.

*Being pregnant and having a new baby this summer we did not go to the lake as much as we would have liked, and therefore I don't have any pics from my camera of the kiddos swimming in the lake this summer :(  I know there are some pics, only I do not have any!

Pre-K wrap up

Braden learned a lot in Pre-K and I am so glad that he had that opportunity.  He loved Mrs. Batla, Mrs. Garza and Mrs. Cambreo.  He stayed on orange most of the year and we were very proud of him for that.  I was able to attend all 3 of his class parties with him, and Brad was able to attend take a parent to school day.  We are so blessed to be able to be there for him during these years at school. 

Braden and Mrs. Batla at the end of the year party

Braden and Mrs. Garza at the end of the year party

Braden and Mrs. Cambreo at the end of the year party

They learned their ABC's and their ZYX's (they can all sing the alphabet backwards) they learned to count to 30 and all of their shapes and colors.  They would sing some cute little songs every day and even had a pre-k program where they preformed their songs at the PTA meeting one night.

T-Ball

Braden played t-ball for the first time last spring.  He loved his coach, Coach Reed, and his team, they were the Oakland A's.  His favorite part was sliding.  He would slide at first base, second base, third base, and of course every time he crossed home plate. The first few games he slid into every base, regardless of the fact that he was supposed to continue on to the next base.  He didn't care to much for outfield...we caught him sliding out there too.  During one game he even took up cartwheels at short stop. He was only 4 when the season started but turned 5 not long into it, so what can you do?

One day as we were pulling into the parking lot before his game we had passed the field where the Texas Rangers were playing and Braden just calmly says "I hope I get traded to the rangers soon"

Braden received a trophy and the A's award for outstanding performance and dedication and the Rookie of the year award at his end of the season party at Peter Piper Pizza.

We are gearing up for fall ball now.  He has the same coach, but only 4 of them were on the A's last season.  During the fall season they get to pick their own team names, and this season we are team Wolf-pack.  We haven't started games yet, but practices are well underway.