First Days of School

Paige's first day of school was yesterday. She was SO excited to start pre-K ... in a great mood and very positive ... right up until we were about to walk into her classroom. Then it hit the fan, so to speak. I'll spare you the gory details, but when I left, she was laying across the table screaming! I called a 1/2 hour later and she was fine ... she did GREAT this morning when I dropped her off and her teacher said she had a good day--guess it was just first day jitters?! Here she is before we left the house:

Nicholas started 1st grade today and everything went off without a hitch! He was nervous and didn't want to eat breakfast, but Brian talked him into it, and they even had time to play Wii before we headed to the bus stop! He got on the bus without a second glance--such a big boy! When he got home, he was very excited and couldn't stop smiling and saying what a wonderful day he had--a first for him! Here's our big 1st grader ... where have the years gone!???

Boys vs. Girls

The kids have some of their best conversations while we’re driving in the car … I don’t often remember to mention them but there is a first time for everything! On our way to the library yesterday, Nicholas was playing with his Bionicles—they were battling, complete with menacing dialogue, when Paige says, “Nicholas, why can’t they just say, ‘Hi, you’re my friend! Let’s play together nicely!’?!?” Nicholas growled at her and went back to his battle, but I thought it was the perfect example of the difference between girls and boys—at least the difference between my girl and boy!

Nicholas and his battling Bionicles

Also, we were at our friend’s birthday party Sunday night, and there was a clown there that painted faces:

My beautiful butterfly and my scary (but handsome) snake … another wonderful example of the differences between genders in the Wiard house. We’re EXTREMELY grateful for both!

Drama ... the water kind!

We’ve had a slightly dramatic week in the Wiard house … it stated with my poor dental hygiene practices, landing me in the dentist chair for 3 hours Tuesday morning (and Brian home with the kids while I was at said appointment) and costing us over $800. Then yesterday after dinner, the kids came out of the laundry room declaring there was a “big hole in the wall”. Crazy, right?!? Wrong. Brian went back there, and sure enough, water was dripping from the ceiling ... the floor was covered in water and the ceiling was saturated to the point that plaster was falling down … obviously we had a leak coming from somewhere! Ugh. Brian immediately turned off the water and we called a 24-hour plumbing service; around 10:30 last night, Keith the plumber showed up to look at our leak. He had to cut out a bunch of the ceiling to look at the pipes … have I mentioned that the master bathroom is directly above our laundry room?

(our bathtub drain)
(our shower drain)

What Keith found: there is no leak coming from the pipes … it’s somewhere in the shower—water is apparently getting through the grout between the tiles so we need to call a grout company. NNNNNIIIIICCCCCCCEEEEEEE. Just what we want to spend our money on right now … isn’t that always the way it goes?! The good news is the pipes don’t need to be repaired, and the plumber really wasn’t that expensive. However, the full cost is FAR from realized and we have huge holes in our laundry room ceiling AND we can’t use our shower. Plus, I have a ton of clean-up ahead of me this rainy Thursday morning! We know it’s all just part of owning a home and things are bound to go wrong eventually. Besides, how often do you get another chance to look at the piping in your house? The last time we saw those pipes was about 8 years ago, when our home was being built. Oh well ... my laundry room needed a good cleaning anyway!

(the contents from our laundry room floor transferred to our entryway!)

Piercings for Paige

My dad made me wait to get my ears pierced ... first it was going to be when I was 16, then he changed it to 12, and then, with a little help from Cheri, it happened when I was 8! Because of the big deal and the torture of waiting, I have always said that I wanted my daughter to get her ears pierced when she wanted it done, regardless of her age. Brian didn't feel the same--especially when she was 2 years old and telling me my earrings were "pretty" and that she wanted some, too. So, everytime I think of it, I ask Brian if Paige can get her ears pierced ... and everytime he says "NO!". He has even managed to sway Paige against it by telling her it hurts. That's the background to my story.

We're in Colorado visiting my parents, and like I usually do when I'm thinking about it, I asked Paige if she wanted to get her ears pierced--thinking it would be fun to do when we were on a "girls day out" while the boys went to a Rockies game. Paige answered with her normal, "I don't think so--because it will hurt!" and I came back with my usual, "Oh, only for a few minutes and then it will just be pretty ... yada yada yada ...". Then something out of the ordinary happened: PAIGE SAID SHE WANTED TO GET IT DONE! WOO-HOO!! (I realize it sounds a bit like I'm a pushy mom trying to live vicariously through my daughter--I just want to clarify that I would have been fine had she waited until she was 18 to do it--if you know Paige then you know there is no "pushing" her into anything so that could have very well been the case!). The next challenge was convincing her father. That actually wasn't as difficult as I anticipated--I was just told that I'd have to deal with her not wanting to sleep on her ears, whining about them hurting, etc. I'm OK with that--I deal with Paige's whining on a daily basis anyway, so what's one more thing for her to whine about?!? ANYWAY (I'm sorry I can't keep a short story short!) Paige was PSYCHED about getting it done--Friday morning, all she did was ask if she could get her ears pierced--"When are we going?" "Can I get my ears pierced now?!?", and so on and so forth. So, after lunch, mom, Paige and I head over to Claire's at their closest mall.
Paige was in a great mood--she had already decided on pink earrings and couldn't stop talking about them. The girl that greated us was SO nice and VERY PATIENT with our squirmy girl while she marked Paige's earlobes (and patient with her picky mom that had her change the right dot a few times so they would be perfectly even ...). Here's Paige just before they did the deed:

After Paige was properly marked up, another girl came to help so that they could do both ears at once. As my heart raced, they counted to 3 and pierced Paige's ears! NOT ONE SINGLE TEAR FROM MY BRAVE GIRL! Her eyes got real wide and she said, "Mommy, it hurts!" but that was about it. Here she is immediately after the piercing:


And here she is with her piercers ... such nice girls--they made the experience even better!


About 5 minutes after it was done, Paige's ears weren't red anymore and she said they didn't hurt. We went to Cold Stone for ice cream after leaving Claire's--I think that was Paige's favorite part--along with the fact that Monna let her pick out anything she wanted while we were still at Claire's (one of Paige's favorite stores!). It was a fun day, and Paige has done very well since--she likes to turn her earrings after I get the solution on them, and she remembers to do the solution when she first wakes up and before bed. I'm proud of our brave girl--and so excited that it all went so well!

Our Trip to the North Pole (in Colorado)

When I was growing up, we had a tradition--my grandparents took me and my brother, Jason, to the North Pole, located at the base of Pikes Peak, just west of Colorado Springs in Cascade, CO. We always called it "Santa's Summer Home", and it was a summer tradition! We'd pack up the RV and off we'd go for an over-night adventure! This year, while we're here in Colorado, my mom and dad thought it would be a fun tradition to continue with their own grandkids.

So yesterday, we all piled into the van and headed down to the Springs. After about an hour and a half in the car, we finally pulled into the parking lot--I was GIDDY with anticipation! I started to remember the smells and sounds associated with the trip--I couldn't wait for my kids to experience this unique amusement part in it's entirety! They WERE NOT disappointed! After a slow start on the sky ride, we went on the tilt-a-whirl and all sorts of stomach-dropping rides (my kids come by it honestly--Brian and I love that stuff--although it was a little harder on me in a high altitude--or at least that's what I'll blame it on, rather than age!)...


They sat with Santa and told him the things they want him to bring in 6 months ...


we rode the highest altitude ferris wheel in the world (the view from the top was breathtaking)...


we saw deer, reindeer, llamas and geese ...


the kids got their faces painted ...


we played in the arcade and ate the amusement park foods, complete with a funnel cake for dessert! What a great day, full of fun memories. Nicholas asked, when we got back to Denver, if we could go again next time we're out here--I couldn't have expected anything more from this fun day. The lightening show on the way down the mountain was just icing on the cake ... a beautiful day all around!

My Niece & Nephew

Allow me to digress from talking about my kids for just one post so I can talk about my brother's kids, Abby & Jon ... with whom I'm comletely smitten! My sister-in-law, Anne, & the kids spent a few days with us at the end of May, and I just had SUCH a good time with with them! My niece and nephew are beautiful children, and I love seeing them grow and change--both physically and socially.

Abby has always been a serious girl--if you know Jason & Anne, then you know she gets more than her looks from her mom! Over the past several months, I've noticed a big change in Abby--she's gotten a lot more talkative, and I've seen her smile SO much (although I wasn't able to capture any of that on camera!). Selfishly, I think what I love the most is that she has several personality traits that appear to have come from her Aunt Jenn. Since she was very little, Abby has been a girly-girl--she loves make-up and jewelry--which is not something that she is really even exposed to because Anne isn't a big fan of either--who knew those things could be passed on in her genes?! This next picture is one Anne sent me a few weeks ago on my cell phone with the caption that Abby has all her classmates pull her around but refuses to reciprocate ... "who's child is this?!?" it said:


I LOVE IT! Abby is a princess and she knows it. That's my girl!

Speaking of princesses, Abby was the flower girl in her Uncle AJ's wedding on May 30th. Because the ceremony took place right around nap time, Jason had to bribe Abby down the aisle with candy (she loves candy? wow, we MUST be related!). Abby looked BEAUTIFUL and did such a great job ... we caught her coming down the aisle and finishing up some candy after the ceremony:


We have had a lot of people tell us that Abby and Paige resemble each other a lot. I don't always see it, but Jason noticed at the wedding reception that the girls have the exact same color of eyes--kind of a bluish-gray. He also said that sometimes Abby will have an expression on her face that instantly reminds him of me (most likely because it reminds him of Paige and Paige is my mini-me) ... I'm under no pretense that this girl look like anyone BUT her mom, but I'll take what I can get--ornery expressions are fine!

That brings me to Jon ... he's had my heart from the day he was born, and somehow got it even more when he began to smile! I wish I could have captured it on film, but Jon has the BEST mean face, ever! The first night they were here, Anne was having to reprimand Jon at the dinner table and he gave her the DIRTIEST look ... it made me laugh so much I had to cover my face because I knew he was in trouble (not for the look--for hitting or something like that). I wish I could explain it ... it's like he's SUPER pissed, but there is also a little pout there, like he could break into tears at any second. It's a look of utter, innocent defiance. Maybe one day I'll be able to capture it for you. The cutest thing EVER! Here's Jon determined to get some water out of Anne's bottle at the park, and one of the pictures from a little photo-shoot he and I had at the house (have I mentioned that I'm in love with this kid?!?):



Where Abby looks like her mom, Jon is his dad through and through! If you compare Jon's to any of Jason's baby pictures, the main difference is that Jason had dark hair when he was born that slowly turned to blonde, but Jon's has been blonde from the start. When we were in Farmington Hills for Jason's Ordination, my Dad took a picture of Jon hanging out with Jason while he was practicing for worship:


The kids love their cousins, and the feeling is mutual! Anne's mom said that Abby kept saying, "I need to see MY Nicholas and Paige!" before we got to AJ's wedding ... even with a few years between them, they have a special bond! Anne is expecting she and Jason's third child (in February) so we'll all have to make room in our hearts for yet another one ...


There's room!!

Summer, HERE WE COME!!!

On May 27th, Mrs. Morey (who teaches only AM kindergarten) had an end-of-year picnic at Brookschool Park. We brought our own food and Nicholas was able to play with his classmates, then Mrs. Morey had a graduation ceremony for the kids. Nicholas was last (although one of three “W”’s!) and they all seemed so proud of their accomplishments! Here are a few pictures from the ceremony:

Nicholas gets his Diploma

Mrs. Morey talking to her class

Nicholas with his friend, Sarah

Nicholas & Mrs. Morey

So, the school year is over and our sweet Kindergartener is now a big 1st grader! I can hardly believe how quickly the year has gone. Nicholas really grew under Mrs. Morey’s watchful eye—he now reads and loves math. He’s matured, too—in some ways better than others—but overall, our boy has grown up a lot! Here is a picture from Nicholas' first day of school, back in August 2008, and one of him on his last day of school a few weeks ago; he looks more grown up to me now:

August 11, 2008                                                               May 28, 2009


I know I’ve mentioned it before, but she’s just so good that it stands to be brought up again. MRS. MOREY IS THE BEST TEACHER EVER! Nicholas was SO blessed to have Mrs. Morey for his teacher this year—she’s kind and loving and treats our son with such love and compassion! The first few weeks proved to be a tough adjustment for Nicholas; the way Mrs. Morey eased him into it loved him through it all won us over immediately. I say Nicholas was blessed to have Mrs. Morey but it was really a blessing to our entire family—it made the transition so much easier on us all! When I told Nicholas that we should buy Mrs. Morey something nice to give her for the end of the year, I asked him what he thought he would like to do for her. He replied, “Oh, how about a nice ring or something?” I told him that wouldn’t be super easy to get for her but we could try to find a necklace (he’s really good at picking out jewelry, as evidenced by both his grandmother’s birthday necklaces!). Here is the necklace he picked for Mrs. Morey—I took a picture because I thought it was so appropriate—he didn’t even know what a great choice he made!

Last but certainly not least, Paige’s last day of school was on May 28th, as well. She picked out some very colorful flowers for her teacher, Mrs. Gue, who has also been an excellent teacher this year! We’re hoping that there is a chance Mrs. Gue will “move up” with her class and also be Paige’s teacher this next year, which will be Paige’s last year of preschool. Here is Paige with her beautiful bouquet—a bouquet that completely exhibits her personality; I’m sure Mrs. Gue would agree!!