Baby Boy goes to school

Today was Matthew's big day and it was a success! Matthew is going 2 days a week to the Mother's Morning Out program at Nate's school.  It was a last minute decision to enroll him...I didn't want to lose Ms Jennifer...but she was ok with the new schedule and I really think it will be good for Matthew to have more interaction with kids his age.  So, school it is!

Burning off some steam before school

I tried to take pics this morning but they both just ran around the yard in different directions....that is until a lady down the street walked by (with her two funny looking little dogs) and the boys became entranced.  So she let the boys pet them in an attempt to corral them.

Puppy Trance....

Matthew seemed to do ok on his first day...I handed him over and he ran off in the direction of the kids/toys and didn't even look back.  When I walked to his classroom this afternoon he was walking around still playing with toys....but when he saw me he ran to me, arms open wide, and started crying.  The teacher told me he had been happy all day and had done really well.  But given that he doesn't get his morning nap when he is there, I have a feeling he will be beyond exhaustion by the end of his school days.  Needless to say, he crashed in the car on the way home. 

So these are our 1st day of school pics 2011...Nate, Matthew and 2 little dogs!  Happy school year everyone!

The End of Summer

This summer has felt strangely long...maybe it is because it is the first time I have been home with kids full-time with no school, maybe it is because I started my job mid-way through so it felt chopped in two halves, or maybe we have just crammed a lot in this summer.  Either way, I think both Nate and I were ready for school to start today! 

We had our orientations and meet & greet last week and I thought he might be a little resistant to go back once he realized he was going to a new class, new teacher and new friends...he only has one boy in his class that he knew from last year. But he was surprisingly up and at 'em this morning and seemed excited...that is until he saw the outfit options I had laid out (he insisted on a t-shirt...I picked my battle on this one and gave in) and realized I didn't buy him the shoes he tried on this weekend (that didn't fit).  Oh the fickleness of a 4 yr old.  We soldiered on though and made it to school...jumped right out of the car at carpool...and was EXHAUSTED when he got home.  I had to wake him up or I think he would have napped right through the night!  I think it will be good to get back in to our normal routine...and he seems excited about his new class...yeah!  And now, tomorrow is Matthew's big day (wish me luck getting my little momma's boy settled)!

My sweetie boy - with his "fresh" new haircut. And the outfit he selected...

I always love seeing him with his giant backpack...especially loaded down with school supplies!  He actually seems like he has grown in to it a little better this year!  He feels like such a big boy with it on.

Mom, please...enough pictures...

As I was loading these I realized I had a bunch of random pics on the camera so I thought I would provide a picture recap of the last weeks of summer...(this might be in no particular order)

Nate and I started our gardening experiment back in late spring...my uncle had tomato plants he had started from seed so he gave us a couple and we gave it a shot...amazingly our little starter plants grew into 4 ft tall plants and managed to thrive most of the summer in pots on our deck.  And as you can see, we had a small harvest...Nate helped me keep them watered and loved picking the ripe ones...that is until the squirrels found our plants (it was heartbreaking every time I would see a beautiful ripe tomato on the vine only to find it had been gnawed on)...I think I threw away more than we actually got to enjoy thanks to them.  But it was still fun...and I won't mention the squash plant we also attempted...we got a bunch of little squash but they didn't seem to like living in planters as much.

We didn't get to the Sprayground this summer until we had a birthday party there one weekend...and then the boys wanted to go all of the time.  Luckily Ms Jennifer didn't mind taking them!  I remember the first time Nate went how cautious and curious he was about each fountain...Matthew ran laps around the park running through every spray and loving every dump of water on his head.

I am pretty sure they like it there

Nate went to Summer Camp at his school and made these cool glasses...that he wore for a few days afterwards...he loved the attention it got him in Publix.

I came across this picture when I was cleaning off my card...it's still tough without him...Nate has made comments out of the blue, as recently as yesterday, that he misses Cameron and wants a new puppy.

 And miscellaneous phone pics!

Michael and I spent the weekend at the PGA tourney when it was here...that's Phil Mickelson if you can't tell :)

Ms Jennifer takes him on Nature Walks to get him out of the house and he makes "art" with what he finds...did I mention I am loving our new nanny??

I love this picture...he took a break from bike riding to inspect bugs...

...and he found a caterpillar that he named "Cleaner".

That is what we have been up to...or at least what I have pictures of...my camera hasn't been with me as much as it normally is.  It's been a fun summer but we are ready for Fall!

Goodbye Bonks

We had to put our sweet crazy pup down last week.  We knew the day would come but it is more sad than we had even imagined.

He turned 13 in May...he had a long and happy life.  Michael got him as a puppy - he said he was the calmest in the litter.  Boy did Cameron fool him!  He was there as we started our lives together and as we built our home and family.  Before kids he went every where with us...the only trips he didn't join us on were the ones that involved airplanes.  He was our first furry child.

He has slowed down the last couple of years but he always had that goofy panting grin on his face so, despite his greying beard, he always seemed so full of life.  But the last few weeks got progressively worse...a couple of weeks ago we found out he had a large mass on his spleen, that the vet didn't even recommend treating or removing, and an infection...we thought the antibiotics would at least clear things up a bit and buy him a little more time but we only got a week. 

He had different nicknames given to him over the years...Camerino, Koo Koo Cameron, Bonkey, Bonks.  He has had countless tennis balls thrown to him.  He couldn't control himself around water - he was drawn to it.  Even though he took a backseat to the kids the past few years, he remained a huge part of our lives and our home...and the house is not the same without him.

Nate has had more questions than he even thought of with our last two funerals.  When I told him Cameron was gone and that God took him to heaven he said "but he's ours, he can't take him"...and then he looked at me and grinned and said "you are just playing".  Talk #1 didn't go well.  At bedtime he asks a million questions about heaven (mostly involving airplanes and elevators)...and then said that Cameron needed to come home.  He said "God needs to take his temperature, make him better, and bring him home".  He misses his pup but I think the permanence is starting to sink in.

Right before we took him to the vet, he went outside and laid under a tree - which he had never done before.  He laid there for a while and seemed so peaceful.  He was ready, you could tell, which made letting him go a tiny bit easier...but it was still hard.  We all miss him terribly and pray he has found lots of mountains and water in Heaven to be a crazy dog in again.