Soccer, Slime and Sleeping Bags

Our weekend started off Friday evening with Will's first soccer game of the season! Here's my cute soccer player before the game.

 Will with Coach Dan.  

Sweaty boy!

And some field action.  

Pep talk for the Soccer Wizards at half time.  We didn't win this game but hopefully we'll score more goals next week!

Today Henry decided he wanted to make slime!  They made it at Sunday school and he told us it was just made out of glue, water and the Lorax. We figured out pretty quickly that Henry meant borax and we got to work on our slime this afternoon.

Yellow slime for Henry.

Blue slime for Will.  

The slime was awesome!  The boys played with it for a good hour.

The last big fun of the weekend was getting new sleeping bags (and a tent) for our upcoming camping adventure in October.  The boys were so excited about their sleeping bags that the slept in them last night!

Soccer, slime and sleeping bags...  all together, they made for a perfect weekend!

My Four-and-a-Half Year Old Boy

My boy...

...is four-and-a-half years old today!

...is one of the most polite kids ever. Henry says please, thank you and excuse me completely unbidden.  He clears his dishes and puts away his shoes without reminders from us. I love that!

...talks all.the.time.  Seriously, he always has something to say. I love my little chatterbox.

...has a really positive attitude. Even when faced with an unpleasant situation, like the stomach bug that hit our house over the weekend, he just calmly says that it will be okay. He can and does find the positive in a bad situation. (I should take lessons from him!)

...tries to do everything his brother can, and this has made him a really good reader (he knows at least 25 sight words and doesn't have to sound out words when he reads). Henry is also really good at basic math facts, probably because he practices with his brother every day.

...adores the art museum and was heartbroken to hear that his favorite tree installation is coming down soon.

...is growing like a weed! Friends who haven't seen him all summer comment on how BIG he has gotten. 

...has so much stamina when it comes to running and riding his bike. He can bike for 3 miles without complaining or tiring.

...loves to play outside. The heat doesn't bother him at all!

...is slightly obsessed with computer games (Bloons Tower Defense especially) and Daddy's new tablet.

...can be a huge goofball, just like Will!

...is one of my favorite people. I just love spending time with this kid.  

My boy is one happy, fun, sweet four-and-a-half year old!

My Six-Year-Old Boy

My boy...

...has been six years old for an entire month now.

...is a fantastic speller. His teacher recently told us that she's never seen such a good first-grade speller. Will says he "takes pictures" of the words and then sees them in his head. Huh.

...still says his favorite food is lemon. He has loved lemons since he first tried them at 18 months old!

...loves to be outside and hike, but only if the weather's not too hot.

...reads non-stop! He loves books. His current faves are Junie B. Jones and his Children's Encyclopedia.

...loves to play Monopoly. His strategy is simple: buy all the properties you can afford and build on just one color at a time. It works well for him and he wins a lot.

...finally loves soccer now that the weather is a bit cooler. He can't wait to play in the first game of the season tomorrow night!

...is a goofball, especially when he and his brother play "Pookies," which is a crazy-silly game they made up.

...thinks doing math is fun.

...is a sweet, loving, sincere, earnest, sensitive, smart, wonderful little boy.

My boy is one amazing six-year-old!

Darth Vader

Will had his first mini-project of the school year this week. He had to decorate a doll in costume, as for Halloween. He immediately chose Darth Vader, of course, and we got to work on the project this afternoon. Since Will is not a fan of coloring, he cut out the doll with an overlay of black construction paper and just glued them together. Then he made the lightsaber and shapes for Darth Vader's chest while I found a mask on the internet. You can't really tell in this picture, but Darth Vader also has a black construction paper cape.   There will be a writing project to go along with the doll.  I can't wait to see what they do!

Can you guess what Will wants to be for Halloween?

Anteaters

Yesterday was HISD's fall holiday. We had planned to go to the zoo (Will's choice) but it stormed pretty hard in the early morning hours so we decided to head to the science museum instead.

Will climbed up on the caterpillar in the butterfly center and asked if I had my camera. I wonder how many pictures I have of the boys on this caterpillar?

Can you guess what Henry is so excited about in this picture? Hint: read the title again!

Every time we visit the butterfly center, the boys are entranced by the video of people eating insects. The museum also has a vending machine full of edible bugs! On this trip, Henry begged to try some. We chose chocolate-covered ants for our first foray into eating insects.

Henry was so excited!

Will thought it was "ridiculous" to buy bugs to eat, but he couldn't resist trying them.

The verdict from my anteaters? Yummy and chocolate-y, with just a little crunch. Henry's already asking for more.

First Grade Open House

Will's school had open house last Thursday night. Will was so excited to show off his classroom and all the work he's been doing in first grade.

His class worked on a super-top-secret hallway project that he wouldn't tell us anything about.

It was a guessing game! Each student wrote clues about themselves and the parents had to try to figure out which kid was which. We knew we'd found Will when we read that his favorite songs are from Star Wars and his favorite food is lemon.

Open house was a wonderful opportunity for Will to show us all about first grade!

Week in Review

Now that school is back in session, the lazy days of summer are but a distant memory. We are BUSY!

Will started soccer last week with two days of practice each week and weekly games starting soon. He doesn't love it just yet but I blame that on the heat. It was so hot last week during practice!

Henry is loving his new class at school and already has made new friends. We are loving the schedule too. With three afternoons off each week, we are having fun! Last Friday, Daddy joined us for lunch and a visit to the art museum. Henry loves the MFAH and asks to go back all the time.

Yesterday after school, Henry and I made paper lanterns. He had a vision of paper lights on a stick and this is what we came up with. It's nice to have some one-on-one time with my little boy to do projects and visit museums!

Our weekend was jam-packed too. Henry had two birthday parties to attend on Saturday and we spent time with family in between the celebrations. Best buds reunited at the parties -- Henry and Kalino are in different classes this year!

The much-anticipated cool front arrived in Houston on Sunday and the weather was glorious. After Will went to his first CCE class (Sundays are now busy too!), we packed up a picnic lunch and headed to Memorial Park. It was the perfect day to be outside in Houston.

And since my boys are now avid hikers, we hiked around the Arboretum after lunch. We saw turtles, dragonflies, and butterflies and thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time outside without sweating buckets!

Fall is busy but it is definitely my favorite time of year. And of course it's all better when I get to spend it with my favorite three guys!

First Day of Pre-K

Henry's first day of Pre-K was yesterday!  He is in the Honeybees class this year and goes to school five days a week (three half days and two "long" days).  He wore his very favorite Star Wars t-shirt and new Star Wars sneakers.  We packed up a yummy lunch in his new rocket lunchbox and Henry was ready to go!

Henry was just a tad nervous when I dropped him off but he didn't cry and had a great first day at school.  His favorite parts were playing on the playground, "naptime" because he got to read books, and playing with marbles during free play in the classroom.  

I am so proud of my big boy!

Monsters, Monopoly and Little Matt's

Our Labor Day weekend was a fun mix of work around the house and yard, crafts and play for the boys, and parties with family and friends!

Here are a few quick snapshots of our weekend:    

first icees at Little Matt's,

a rousing game of freeze tag at Will's school, 

an intense game of Monopoly at Nana and Pop's house 

(some of us play to win!),

and a monster craft from Highlights High Five.  

Three-day weekends are always perfect!

The Week in Review

Will's first week of school was a busy one but he is excited to be back at school and is enjoying first grade. He sees all his old buddies at recess and is making new friends in his class. It's been tiring but not quite as exhausting as the start of Kindergarten. (Note Will's Notre Dame shirt for College Colors Day yesterday!)

Meanwhile, Henry and I have been soaking up the last of summer. On Thursday, we took advantage of a beautiful, breezy and relatively cool morning to head up to Kingwood. We took a long bike ride on the trails and then replenished with dried cantaloupe and lots of water at the park.

Then Henry played! We were outside for a good hour and a half and it was surprisingly nice for the end of August.

Friday was Henry's meet-and-greet in his new classroom. He has not been too sure about this going-back-to-school thing (he even told his new teachers that he gets nervous about school!) but he settled right in, played with Play Doh, built tracks with his buddy Noah, and met another Star Wars fan. After spending an hour in the classroom, Noah and Henry wanted to check out the new and improved playground. Playing on the playground did the trick and Henry is now excited about starting school again. Fingers are crossed for a tear-free Tuesday!

After the meet-and-greet, Henry and I crossed the street to his favorite lunch spot, the Cafe Express at the MFAH. Henry actually really loves the art museum, so we took about 40 minutes to look at art too. He was enamored of a video projection of a tree changing through the seasons in the Law Building, and the James Turrell tunnel is always a favorite.

Now we are gearing up for a (hopefully) relaxing Labor Day weekend. The best part is welcoming Daddy home from Nigeria this morning. We have missed him this week!