"Gradulation" Congratulations!

I remember something people said to me a lot when I was pregnant with Jonah and when he was a baby. I heard these things often, and scoffed just as often. They were common, cliched phrases that just seemed like "small talk" things to say. And they drove me crazy every time I heard them.

"Enjoy every minute, it goes by too fast."

"They grow up so quickly."

"Before you know it, he'll be in kindergarten."

etc., etc.

Yeah, well, they were right. And now, I get it. Time goes into hyper-drive when you have kids. Then when you have 2, it just gets down right ridiculous. I was in no way prepared for it! Sometimes the days drag on, but boy do the years fly by.

Tonight, my baby "graduated" from preschool. He starts Kindergarten in the fall, and I have no idea how we got here! He's excited, I'm......excited. Honestly, I am. It's a little bittersweet, but knowing he's ready, and looking forward to it, makes it much easier. I don't know what I'll say come September when that big yellow bus comes down the road with my little man waiting to hop on....but hopefully, I won't be standing in a puddle of tears!

Anyway, unbelievably, Jonah had his "gradulation" tonight as he called it, and I couldn't be more proud. I love this kid!

Cowboy Jonah!

Jonah had his picture taken at preschool on a pony. Yee Haw!!

My son wants me to brag a little bit....

I told him that if he read this whole book, I'd put it on the blog.





Well, he did, so I am. To be fair though, he couldn't get the word bureau. But really, who calls it a bureau anyway?

It's a good thing she's so cute.....

Have you met my little angel?

Oh, little girls....made of sugar and spice and everything nice. Sometimes I think the shipment of those things was sent to the wrong place when Reagan went through the production line. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore Reagan! She can be the sweetest thing....and her voice!! It is too much sometimes. She has the sweetest little voice. And, she can be the most hilarious person ever. She is literally insane....in a crazy cute kind of way.

Well, there are times with Reagan that I feel like a first time parent all over again. Jonah has been a really easy kid. Aside from potty issues, he's pretty much been a breeze (I am knocking on wood as I type). Well, Reagan has definitely claimed her role as the strong willed child. She's always been more feisty, stubborn, demanding, and just plain mean. She yells, she screams, she hits, she occasionally bites. Fun times! There are parts of me that hate it as we engage in frequent power struggles. There are also parts of me that love it in a backwards kind of way. This child would totally cut off her nose to spite her face. To watch her sit for 30 minutes through dinner without taking a bite with her "mean face" on to try to prove a point, is amusing to me. To watch her shove a dirty tissue in her mouth to keep Jonah from taking it to throw away (because apparently that would be tragic) is ridiculously funny. Again...funny in a weird way...and perhaps more so after the fact....but funny nonetheless.

I can only hope that down the road, these qualities will serve her well....perhaps a toned-down version of them anyway! I hope that her stubbornness will help her stand her ground. I hope she is fiercely protective of her values (or something other than dirty tissues anyway). Let her slap her mean face on and let everyone in her midst know where she stands...and what she likes and doesn't like. Let them see her for who she is...and know without a doubt what will and will not fly with her. She wears her heart on her sleeve for better or worse. You know when Reagan is happy and you know when she is not. It is really refreshing actually....no games, no questions, just truth. It's hard, it's challenging, but it's awesome. I'll try to keep reminding myself of that. And in the meantime, I'll probably do some catching up with Dr. Dobson. :)

Recent Trips

April was a busy month for the Middleton household! We spent spring break in Duck, NC with friends for a wedding and then Rush and I were able to spend some time in New York City last week.

The beach was great. Although the weather wasn't fabulous, we were still able to get out on the beach a few times for the kids to play. I think Jonah is now officially a beach bum. Reagan on the other hand took a while to warm up to walking on the sand. We also got to celebrate Reagan's 2nd birthday while we were there! Click here for some pics! There are also some here from her birthday party once we got home.

This past week Rush and I were able to get away to NYC for 5 days. What an awesome trip! We stayed just a few blocks from the Empire State Building and had a great time! We saw Mamma Mia, went to a Mets game, checked out the Bodies Exhibit (amazing!!!), took a little cruise, walked the Brooklyn Bridge, went to the WTC (of course), the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park, the South Street Sea Port, Chinatown, and lots more! I think Rush's favorite part was eating....boy did we have some good meals! You can check out our pictures here and here! There are just too many to post here on the blog! (And no, we didn't catch the swine flu despite heading to Queens, riding the subway and flying! Also, ironically, we were in lower Manhattan the whole day of the now infamous Air Force One debacle but never saw or heard anything! )

In other news, I went and registered Jonah for kindergarten today. It's so hard to believe he'll be heading to "real" school in the fall. He is super excited about going! I felt good at the school....of course everyone was really nice and helpful. Also, the kids of both his preschool teachers from the past 2 years go or have gone there and they have great things to say which is reassuring. He will know a few kids that will also be starting there....I am really hoping there's at least one in his class to help with the transition. Although at this point, I think the only one that will have a hard time with that transition is me! We have a parent night on Wednesday and I am really anxious to check things out!