Kindergarten Here We Come!

Last Thursday Ethan finished his last day of Pre-K! He is now a kindergartner, and I can't believe how fast the last 3 years have flown. He no longer will be under my wing on the preschool hallway. He his so excited to go to the Elementary hallway! I have included a few pictures to take you down preschool memory lane!

First Day of Pre-K

Last Day of Pre-K

Very First Day of Preschool

Our backpack lasted 3 years! I have promised him a brand new Kindergarten one for next year!

Ethan has grown so much and is learning and changing everyday. Recently he has learned how to tie his shoes. He is so excited. I have to admit. I am not as thrilled as him. It takes us double the time to get out of the house. He insist on tying them himself! Takes great patience for me!

He is sounding out words and starting to read. Lately his new found interest is drawing super heroes. I have found all different kinds of super heroes on the back of school papers in his backpack. Reminds me so much of my little brother who used to get in trouble in Kindergarten for drawing Superman on the backs of his papers. I have promised Ethan we will make a book this summer of all his super hero drawings!

So I guess he is ready for the promotion to the new hallway. Kindergarten here we come, but first we'll enjoy a few months of summer!

Redneck PJ's

Ok, so I will laugh with you about my new pj's!

Ok! Now you can stop laughing at me!

I am a mommy who loves kids pj's! It is a pretty bad obsession. My big boys have 3 drawers full of cute pj's with trucks, sports balls, dinosaurs, and superheros on them. Callen has almost 2 drawers filled himself with the same. One of the neat things about having all boys close in age is that you can pass down clothes for several years. You would think this would decrease the amount of pj's in my house. WRONG!! It seems that in our house they have multiplied by 4!

When Callen had his cast put on, we had to get a little creative with his attire. It's a good thing it is the warmer months of the year because he is getting to wear all the cute little jon jons that I love and fun little tank tops! But when it came to pj's I didn't know what to do the first night. If you haven't noticed his cast is HUGE! I mean could they of found a bigger one! Nothing fits over that thing! I could not bring myself to cut any of our cute little pj's (and I had many to choose from that I could have cut)... so a little white t-shirt had to do. We found four little white t-shirts in the bottom of Will's drawers (that I think where Ethan's at one time, but not totally sure!). We cut one arm hole out of them and a few white onesies and there you have it.... REDNECK PJ'S!
Each night he has his pick of a white tee and any cute bottoms we can find in his drawers.

Not sure if Callen should ride his four wheeler down to the local Wal-Mart or be the newest cast member of Swamp People! But one thing is for sure... he is the cutest little redneck baby I have ever seen!

Cast Update: We have now had 2 new wraps and a new color. His pin decided to "back out" and come through the cast. So that was taken out this week. He didn't even cry. Just sat there and watched the doctor the whole time as he very slowly pulled the pin out. Mommy did great too! We have 2 more weeks with our "club" and then it is off! We are heading to the pool the next day for a fun time of splish splash! Hopefully the chlorine in the pool will remove the stinch from his hand and fingers!

High SIX!

Callen was born with an extra thumb on his right hand. In medical terms it is called preaxial polydactyly. Doctors say there is no real reason why. Just happens and does happen frequently in many births. Callen's extra digit was a little special with a joint and bone. So because of this it could not be taken care of at birth, but instead he would require surgery. Of course being the mommy, I had wondered what happened during pregnancy to cause this. What did I do? That is the question I have asked many times. When we had our first visit with Callen's hand surgeon, I asked do you know the cause of this. I have read and researched it and of course it is not heredity and there are no other abnormalities associated with it. The doctor answered my question by saying that the hand and finger buds are formed before the 6th week of gestation. Which made me have goose bumps when he told us that. How many of us even know we are pregnant before 6 weeks! Reminded me of how precious and miraculous the beauty of life is. God is so awesome and powerful! Because the formation of the hand happens so early during gestation the research is very little and cause is unknown. Some say it might be caused by a virus the mother might of had during pregnancy. The fact is we don't know why or how our sweet baby was born with an extra little thumb, but what I do know is he is special for more than one reason and I love that little thumb! My favorite thing is to kiss it! We have nicknamed it Hook and of course he gives High Six instead of High Five! One more extra is always better, right?

Callen loves to suck his little Hook! Check out Callen's "Cool" thumb!

We made a little ink hand print of Callen's hand to have for a memory. Don't worry, I used a non toxic ink pad!

So the day came when our little baby boy would have surgery to remove his extra thumb. Like any mommy, I was anxious and worried about my baby going to surgery. We were in great hands (no pun attended) and at one of the best hospitals. This was my first experience with Texas Children's Hospital. It is a cheerful place with children everywhere, but in many ways so sad. I was so anxious and stressed over my little one's surgery, but when I looked around the food court and witness all the children with so many "other" sicknesses....I was so humbled, thankful, and reminded just how blessed we are.

My mom and mother-in-law came to be with us on the day of surgery. I was so thankful for their presence. What a lucky little buddy to have such wonderful grandparents! My mom has stayed all week with us to help with Callen. I am also a lucky daughter! Friends came to visit us while we waited, called, and texted us. Prayers were said on our little baby's behalf all day. What a blessing to be surrounded by the Lord's family and cared for by so many!!! Thank you! We are so grateful and love you all!

Callen's surgery was a success from the words of his doctor. He was in surgery for about 2 hours. 2 hours that seemed like 24 hours for this mommy! He is now the proud owner of a very BIG red cast. This should be an interesting 6 weeks! He had some trouble coming off the medicine in recovery, but after about 4 hours in recovery we were able to come home. Nursing has been interesting, but with every time we get a little better. The cast is just so big and heavy. He looks like a lobster with a claw when he crawls. I just hope he doesn't figure out how to use it as a weapon on his big brothers! I will keep you posted as we unveil the new thumb!

In his Texas Children's PJs!

Hugs as we wait to go in! A little playtime as we wait.

Hugs and kisses from my grandmothers!

Not so happy on the car ride home!

All smiles showing off his new cast today!

Cowboy Boots...Hay...Pigs...Cows...Tractors

You aren't a true Houstonian until you have been to the Houston Rodeo! We took the boys to their first Houston Rodeo this Saturday. Once upon a time before David and I had children, we LOVED going to the rodeo. We went several times while it was in town to see the rodeo and concerts, but then babies came and well you know what that means. My favorite part of the rodeo is the calf scramble and eating all the yummy food!!! Every year since we have had kiddos, Ethan has had his visit from the asthma fairy during the month of March and going to the rodeo was never a great idea. Hay and asthma equal disaster! This year Ethan has had a great March! Which we are so thankful for! So off to the rodeo we went. Well sort of! We just took them to the Livestock show and children activities. Next year when Callen is a little older we'll take them all to the BIG RODEO and maybe a concert! Would love to of seen Will watch Sugarland in concert and sing his favorite song right along with them! He loves to sing Stuck Like Glue and we love to listen to him sing it! Maybe next year, but we did have a great time this year. Minus the amount of money that is missing in our wallet! Park tickets for 5 people, parking fee, yummy food for 4, and a very expensive face painting for two cute boys equals a broke mommy and daddy!!!!

The boys and me at our Western Day at school

Baby Cow

This is how Will walked through the entire Livestock show. Guess he hasn't become the TRUE Texan just yet!

The boys planting seeds.

John Deer Tractors...Don't you just LOVE Will's boots!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came to the Rodeo

Check out Ethan in the background getting a little up close and personal with the bull!

Happy Callen came along for the ride. He learned how to clap recently and loves to shows us his clapping hands.

See you next year cowboys and cowgirls!

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

take me out to the ballgame

take me out to the crowd

buy me some peanuts

and cracker jacks

i don't care if I ever come back

oh it's root root root for the home team

if they don't win it's a shame


for it's 1...2...

3..... strikes you're out

at the old ballgame

Hello Spring

Winter 2011 is wrapping up around here, and I am happy to see spring around the corner. Don't get me wrong... I love winter time. I like the cool air, wearing turtle necks and scarfs, eating a big bowl of yummy soup for dinner, and I want to subconsciously live where you have to shovel the snow out of your driveway each morning. But this winter proved to be a difficult one for our family, and I am ready to feel the sun on my legs and break out the flip flops.

So what did winter look like around the Bozeman house.....

We had a few Winter Weather Alerts and even got our for a snow day. The only Winter Weather we saw was one little icicle hanging from the yellow Tonka truck on our back patio and the only snow that was spotted on our snow day was in our play room. We do however have a few brown plants to show for our Mystery Snow Day.

My little boys didn't get to build a cute little snowman with a felt hat like some of my other friends who live a little a bit more up north, but they can sure make a cute paper one!

David had a little New Years project he wanted to make.
The Before


Almost Done
DONE!

I think he did a great job. I was pretty impressed with his new found skill. We love having the new built in.

The boys played

and played


and played


Callen learned how to do this

and this

and this

Baseball games, planting new flowers, Saturday afternoons at the park playing, longer evenings, riding our bikes after dinner, and wearing shorts and flip flops are just around the corner.....Thank you God for the change of seasons and the beauty that comes with each one.