Halloween '09

We had a great Halloween! Alex wanted to be an "army man" and Emily found a Curious George costume in a catalog that she liked. It was an easy year for Halloween costumes! The kids both racked up on lots of goodies that they are still munching on! We will probably still have Halloween candy left at Christmas time. Alex is giving super cheesy grins in these pics, but I can't blame him....he had a virus on Halloween weekend. I gave him some Children's motrin before heading out to trick-or-treat to try and combat his fever. "Army man" was going to have a serious melt down if I had told him he couldn't go trick or treating! He survived the virus and trick-or-treating!

More birthday pics

Alex turns 6!

Can you believe my baby is six years old? I cannot believe it at all! But at the end of September Alex turned 6 years old! Alex wanted to have a LEGO party this year. At first we were going to have a LEGO party at our house, but them Alex started listing off who he wanted to come to the party. When he got to boy #9, I said, "I don't think so." We went to plan 2: The LEGO store at Concord Mills in Concord, NC. We told Alex he could pick 3 of his friends to go with us (that's how many would fit in the car with us) and we would go to dinner have cupcakes and then go to the LEGO store for an in-store party! It was awesome! Alex picked a Star Wars LEGO theme and the boys built a clone walker lego machineThe boys had a great time and it was so easy. The hardest part of the trip was being the outnumbered female for the hour long drive up to Concord and back home on a Friday night! : ) Then the week following Alex's birthday, we had our family over to the house for a family get together. Celebrating with family and friends was so much fun! And Alex was thrilled.....I think every gift he opened was a set of LEGOS......he and Ryan built new sets for at least 2 weeks following his birthday! His train table has officially been converted to a LEGO table. He builds all sorts of cars, buildings, airplanes, and anything else his imagination can think of! Here are some pics of my big baby boy.

Beginning of School

Alex's first year of school is going great! He loves it and he has adjusted well to being at a new place and even having mom around all the time! He got his first report card this past week.....he has no clue what a report card it, but basically he is your average kindergartner who is doing a great job learning all that his wonderful teacher is teaching him. He and I have both adjusted to having the other one around...he knows I pretty much ignore him when he comes to library and is always saying mama, so he has gotten pretty sly and now calls me Mrs. Allred if there is something he really feels the need to tell me! It is pretty funny! His favorite part of Kindergarten besides recess and PE is Writer's Workshop. I never would have imagined Alex would love to write, but he is doing an awesome job writing and illustrating books every week. He gets to choose the topic of each book and they have ranged from stories about going boating with dad to more nonfiction books on Water animals, or African animals. He also has stories on Star Wars and Monster Trucks!

We are so proud of him and cannot wait to see what else he accomplishes this year!

Playing Catch-up as Usual

Well, I can't seem to keep up my blog as of late...... Things are a little hectic around here and everytime I think I might have time to catch up this blog, other stuff keeps popping up. Things at church have kept Ryan hopping the last 3 months and school stuff always keeps me busy. Not to mention soccer games for Alex and chasing Emily around wherever we are! So, I guess I am going to do a blog info dump this afternoon and try to catch everyone up on the last 3 months. I promise to try and do better at this blogging thing as we head through the holiday season! I love reading everyone else's blog and always feel bad that I've left mine sitting for so long! So here goes....the Allred Catch-up since August.

Boating

One of the highlights of our summer is being on the lake in the boat. This year we have had lots of fun because Alex has been trying out skiing! He is so close and today was probably his best effort yet! He was up out of the water and let us drag him a bit before he turned loose and fell! Here are a few pics from one of our recent outings!

Kindergarten here we come!!!!

Alex then....

Alex now...

It is hard to believe that in 2 weeks I will have a child old enough to start school. I cannot believe that 5 years has already flown by so quickly. It truly does seem like yesterday that Ryan and I were anxiously awaiting the arrival of Alex! We have not had one dull moment since he came into the world! He is a super sweet boy, who is wild and rambunctious at times, but he loves life, loves people, and has approximately 1 million questions that he wants answered in 1 millisecond! He likes to try new things, but he wants to be great at whatever it is immediately....a quirk he got from both me and his dad. We are going to have to work on that one...you don't get it right the first time, every time! He is very competitive (another inherited trait, I am afraid)! All I have to do is tell him I am timing him and anything gets done quickly! He is trying out the world of soccer and baseball and seems to love both! I am hoping that he will pick one someday so that we are not running around like chickens with our head cut off trying to get from one sports practice to another!

I know that when kids get ready to start to Kindergarten, parents are filled with all kinds of emotions! Since I teach school, I have seem many of those emotions play out year after year on the first day of school. Some are excited and send their kids in with hugs and kisses, others linger outside the classroom door to see how their child will do once inside, others are crying for days leading up to the first day of school and have their kids so freaked out that mom is crying all the time that they spend the whole first day or two in tears as well, some don't care one way or another, they are just glad to have some free babysitting for the next 7 years of their kids' life, and then there are those who I have probably had the most contact with.....the ones who refuse to let go of their sweet baby and let them go in their classroom so they hang out in the classrooms, the hallways, and anywhere else they can find a spying point to watch their kid. I have seen those the most because they are the ones that I am usually trying to help get back out the school door to their cars and off school property until dismissal time!

Now though, it's my turn...what kind of kindergarten parent will I be? Granted, my view point is a little different. I have been surrounded by the school world my whole life. My mom is a teacher, I am a teacher, and Alex will be starting Kindergarten in the school where I work. I have moments when I watch Alex do something or say something and I do get quite teary-eyed that my first baby is growing up, but come August 19th I want to be the mom that sends him into his classroom excited with hugs and kisses (more likely it will be high-fives because he probably want let me kiss him in front of people...we can take bets on that part and I will let you know how it goes!) encouraging him to do his best and be his best with the talents and gifts God has given him! I'll let you know how it goes!

My prayer has been and continues to be that God gives Ryan and me the wisdom we need to give Alex the best opportunity to become the man God wants him to be! Every day is a new adventure and I am sure there will be many new ones as we face the real world @ school!

Just a side note: Because I do actually have to work the first day of school, and that usually means I end up directing CRAZY parent traffic for at least an hour and a half (because the parents who are so happy school has started won't leave), Ryan is actually going to bring Alex to school and do the whole drop-off routine! So it may be August, 20th that I have to be the mom who sends him off with hugs and kisses! Does that mean I can cry like a baby on the 19th? I guess I could, but I doubt it! I truly cannot wait to see how Alex embraces school, friendships, and dealing with his mom "always being down the hall! There will probably be many more blog posts to come about what happens when your kids goes to the same school where you teach! Good idea?.....we will have to wait and see!