once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a mommy who did a great job blogging every single moment of her one and only little guy's life...well we have no idea where that mommy went but she is apparently not blogging here anymore! 

So here goes...SeVeRaL wEeKs ago the following events took place...

Grandma Wanda came to visit and she was supposed to get to see Dalton play in his second soccer game...well that didn't happen!  Instead Grandma Wanda had to go to a car show...a nice car show with lots of stuff for kids to do and have fun but nonetheless she had to go to a car show...bless he heart!  We even drug Dalton's other Grandma Beverly and of course Pa went willing because he LOVES cars as much as Dalton does!  After the car show we ate at Freddy's Frozen Custard...another one of Dalton's picks...but it's better than McDonald's!  The rest of the day we just hung out and played with Grandma Wanda and the kids in the neighborhood while daddy mowed the lawn..."a man's work is never done!"  Dalton loves when Grandma Wanda comes to visit him and especially when she reads him his bedtime stories...she never takes a short cut and reads that book from cover to cover.  And he is always so excited when he wakes up and she is still here the next morning!  And when it was time for her to go he said "I'm going to miss her"!  And for several days after he said he missed Grandma Wanda...and we hope to see her again soon.  We are planning a trip to Western Oklahoma in the near future to visit her and Dalton's "Uncle" Dee he misses him too...every once in awhile out of the blue he mentions "Uncle" Dee he does have lots of cool stuff for BIG and little boys to play with at his house!

The car show is free to get in but on the way to the car show you walk through a maze of games for kids to play...that costs money...of course!  Nothing like having a bouncy house all to yourself! 

This always cracks me up...rarely do you go to a kids festival, etc. where they don't have temporary tattoo's!  It was a BIG decision...but he chose the smiley face tattoo!

Dalton looking like he's about to have a heat stroke...bouncy house not such a good idea on a hot/humid day like this was!  Luckily we ran into an ice cream stand not far from here!

More fancy cars...

Dalton spotted the sign for the ice cream cone...don't you know he made some of those car owners nervous with his drippy ice cream cone and sticky fingers around their prized automobiles...he he!

Another funny moment...Dalton was coming down the slide saying WEE WEE WEE...the rubber on the soles of his shoes were holding him back and it took him forever to get down the slide it was like S L O W  M O T I O N!

Grandma Wanda and Dalton...

Being a gentleman and helping Grandma Wanda to the car with her suitcase...reluctantly because he wanted her to stay...but it's always fun to pull the rolling suitcase:)

BIG HUG! 

did i mention that dalton is playing tiny tot soccer?

First rule of soccer...NO HANDS!  So funny that I was able to catch this on film!

Second try to take the ball down at practice...much better foot work this time:)

Score...during practice!

Some game time action...

Well we aren't really sure if we are or we're not?!?!?  He wanted to be on a "team" so we signed up with the YMCA to play soccer...it's all he talks about for weeks!  A couple of his play date pals are on his team, we get the gear (shin guards, jersey, soccer cleats, soccer ball) we go to the practice which is the 30 minutes prior to the game and he has some interest and of course all of his family other than his out of town family were there to cheer him on and then when the game starts he plays once maybe twice and then "no thanks I don't want to play!"  And then the whole week after the game he says "I don't want to be on a soccer team"...everyday he tells us this...we think he will change his mind so we invite his Grandma Wanda to visit so she can watch him play!  He doesn't change his mind...then it's like do we make him play something he has no desire to do because we signed him up for it when he is 3 years old...do we force him to play like some of the other parents are doing while the kids are crying, etc.  We decided...NO!  We skipped the soccer game that next Saturday and decided that we would continue to ask him if he wants to play and if he does he does and if he doesn't he doesn't!  Our plan so far is working...the third Saturday he wanted to play soccer so we go...we don't invite the whole family...just mommy, daddy and Dalton!  If you haven't noticed he's not really big on lots of attention or big gatherings of people...partially why he's not cRaZy about soccer...YET!  Practice was great with the help of his play date pal Wesley and his mommy who is one of the coaches...they always tried to include him!  Then the game started and the I don't want to play soccer started again...so we told Dalton it was fine if he didn't want to play but he would need to sit and watch his friends play and cheer them on...good sportsmanship lesson!  They continued to ask him to play he continued to scream "No!"  Then mommy reminded him about the donut he had asked to have after the soccer game...and that if he doesn't play in the soccer game he doesn't get a donut!  Well...all of the sudden a soccer star was born...he got to throw the ball in, kick the ball, run with the kids, get high fives from the coaches, thumbs up from mommy and daddy on the sidelines and he even took the ball all the way down to score and stopped right in front of the goal...he still thinks that he scored!  We haven't told him any different he's only 3 right?!?!?  Was it wrong to bribe him with a donut!!?!?!?!  I don't know but he got in there and played without tears and had a great time and has been talking about playing again this Saturday ever since!  We even went and at sandwiches after the game and daddy was telling him how proud he was of him and Dalton says "I'm proud of you too daddy!"  and of course daddy asks why and Dalton says "because you cheered me on you too mommy"!  I thought I was going to shed a proud mommy moment tear right there in the restaurant!  

WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU DALTON THOMAS!  Stay tuned to see how well the rest of the season turns out!

first day of mdo

The Thursday after Labor Day was Dalton's first day back to MDO...he's going two days a week just like last year!  He is so big...the day before I asked him if mom's stayed at MDO or just kids and he said "just kids...I will be brave mom!"  OHHHHHH....that melted my heart and boy was he ever brave!  The night before we packed his Lightning McQueen backpack and lunch box and had his clothes sat out ready to go.  And the next morning he woke up and had a special request breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese and ham at his little table in the living room watching TV!  And eventually we met our neighbors at the front desk at the MDO/Preschool...his friend Jonas who isn't quite two was having his first day too!  We walked him to class and then headed upstairs where the BIG BOYS are and it was a little bit chaotic...lots more people in a smaller space making the hallway hot...it was making me queasy and Dalton had a different look on his face too!  The door to his classroom came open shortly after we got there so luckily we didn't have to hang out too long.  He remembered where to put his lunch box, his backpack and where to find his name and how to velcro it on the tree so they would know he was there!  Then he headed to one of two tables set up to play and to his surprise they had a whole section of scissors (one of his favorite activities), paper and glue sticks.  He was so impressed and sat right down and got busy and mommy was trying to keep it together...I was SO PROUD of him!  Then another little boy started crying and I could see Dalton's face change a little bit so I knew my window for getting out without some hesitation was closing so I asked him if he was ready for mommy to go and he fumbled with his words a little bit and then said "yes momma" and reached for a hug...it took all I had not to cry!  My neighbor was waiting for me outside his door and we both quickly exited the building...we ran in to my sister who is a teacher again this year at Dalton's school with her kids on the playground and bragged about our accomplishments!  

Then we headed to Starbucks for a latte...we had great conversation and both were a little sad about our boys and hoped they would have a great day and on the other hand were happy to have the freedom to get a few things done without the help of our favorite little boys underfoot! This mommy got a lot of errands ran and had lunch with my sister and got an update on how Dalton's day was going!  She said he looked like he was having fun and his teachers said he was doing great...YAY for Dalton!  2:45pm arrived before I knew it and there mommy was in line to pick him up...the teacher said she wished there were more like him in the class...AHHH!  And that we had done a great job with him...I guess he must have been on his best behavior or something...he he!  He can be quite a charmer when he wants to be and I am glad that he is following the rules and being a great example to the other kids in his class!  We just hope it lasts!

Just a few pics...

He actually agreed to let me take his pic...love this little boy:)

Greeting his neighbor Jonas...

Time for a quick pic of the boys...

Went right to work when he spotted those scissors...our lefty!

Markers and glue too...this class is pretty cool!

We started this last year...Eileen's cookies to celebrate the first day of school!  Quite a selection of cookies to share:)  He always picks out the lady bugs!

Both mommy and Dalton survived the first day of school...YIPPEE!