mommy at school

it's difficult for me to be present in the boys' classrooms regularly with wyatt having therapy every morning. it takes some coordination and hoping that our beloved babysitter is able to come and help wyatt out while i sneak over to school. well, lucky me, i was able to do this for both isaiah and mikey last week. both of them were thrilled that mommy was coming to school. maybe since i can't do it often, it's becomes something special and more exciting for them. i'll keep telling myself that.

isaiah had been working on his first big presentation for about a week. his assignment was to teach his class a lesson for 15 minutes. it could be about any topic he chose, or he could even teach them how to make a craft of cook a simple dish. he chose to teach his class about one of his passions - brazillian jiu-jitsu. we are taking a hiatus from the sport right now, but before the break he had been practicing for 4 years. so he was excited to share one of his favorite sports with his class.

he had his outline and notes and was a nervous wreck beforehand. it's horrible of me, but i was certain he would bomb it. but as soon as he got up there, it was like second nature to him. he spoke so clearly and confidently and had his audience engaged and participating the entire time. when he asked for volunteers, lots of hands popped up.

his classmates got out of their seats to watch him demonstrate some moves and he was just thrilled. 

and so were they. 

i watched from a distance and he didn't once look up at me for reassurance or approval. but i could feel him telling me, "it's ok. i got this, mom." and he sure did. as soon as he finished, he was still up in the front of the class, but he looked right at me with a huge grin and gave me a thumbs up. i was so incredibly proud of him and the confident, enthusiastic young man he is becoming.

the next day, i spent the morning with mikey and his class for kindergarten field day. now this little guy was so excited that i was going to help out, he woke up every morning 'til and counted down the days. "good morning, mommy! two more days 'til field day!"

finally the day came, and he was a happy little monkey.

it was fun seeing him interact with his friends and also meeting some of their moms.

there was lots of racing.

and jump rope snakes.

and bubble blowing.

and sidewalk chalk drawings. 

and parachute play.

'twas a fun, fun day shared with mister mikey.

so happy i was able to be there with him.

smoothie and yogurt pops

My boys love "go-gurts". I'm sure you are familiar, but if not, they are those super-convenient tubes of yogurts perfect for lunches and on-the-go snacking. I loved to freeze them and put them in school lunches because they would act as a cold pack to keep their lunch cool, but would also be thawed just in time for lunch at 11:30.

Well, once we started this "real food" journey, I read the ingredients on a tube of our beloved go-gurts and learned that, yes, they have yogurt, but they also have tons and tons of sugar and other preservatives in them. I took the suggestion of the 100 Days of Real Food blog and ordered these reusable ice pop molds from amazon. 

I can make my own "go-gurts" for the boys using plain Greek yogurt, which has one ingredient: cultured Grade A milk. We mix in some honey for a little sweetness.

I also fill these molds with smoothies. Liam, in particular, is loving these in his lunches. He is even doing a great job of bringing the molds home each day.

 

I love smoothies for so many reasons, but mostly because I can sneak in all kinds of good-for-them things and they have no idea. Nothing but fruits and vegetables in there....

I'm still working on them drinking carrot juice straight from the juicer. So far, Mikey has been ok with carrots and oranges and I'm happy with that - baby steps!

The official Adams Boys seal of approval..

hangin' out

We spent some time at the park yesterday and I was happy to get some pictures of my crazy kids. No more babies here...playtime yesterday proved it. 

Here's my "baby" ready to hit the monkey bars. 

He grabbed onto the first bar all by himself and he is actually hanging by his own strength here. It kind of looks like his feet are on the platform from the angle...but they're not. When did this happen? And I was slightly worried but, obviously, not worried enough since I decided to snap a picture instead of helping him. Mother of the Year. Yep. But you knew that already.

Liam could barely fit into the swing. I practically had to butter him to get him out of it when he was done.

And Daredevil Mikey over here...jumping off of a four-foot-high ledge. Fabulous. I'm happy to report there were no broken ankles or other injuries sustained. That's all that matters, right?

Now, this. This moment was my favorite of all.

A little history...from when Liam was about 10-months-old to 3 years, I have very few pictures of him because he refused to sit still for a camera. He didn't just not sit still, he would burst into a fit of stubborn frustration no matter where we were. 

Let me tell you, it's strange, yet relieving and exciting to see how things have changed in just a short year. I tried to go all ninja on him and snap a picture as he came down the slide, mostly because I didn't think he'd let me take one of him if I asked. But when he heard me snap the picture, he said, "NO, MOM! Let's do that again. I wasn't ready!" and proceeded to go back up the slide and slide down again. Then he stopped himself at that very spot, threw his arm over the side of the slide, positioned himself in a pose that he deemed acceptable and said, "Take it like this, Mom. This is a good one." Followed by, "Now, post it on Facebook, ok?" Oh, how that last request killed me. I about passed out from joy right then and there, but I didn't want to get tan bark in my hair.

This last picture, my friends, is just for the Mister. He hates this cheesy heart-y overlay so, of course, I had to take a pic of us...and use the overlay. Duh. And then post it on Instagram and blog about. Double Duh. What kind of wife would I be if I didn't? Love ya, Babe!

embrace the camera ~ aug 22

i'm embracing the camera with my kindergartener and third grader today!

and this is how daddy likes to embrace the camera with his boys...

i just could not wait for school to start. last week was their first week, and with the temperatures hitting nearly 1,000*, i was happy that they were in their classroom doing something fun {under someone else's supervision} and not at home nagging me about who's coming over? or whose house we are going to? or what are we doing today? or whyyyy can't we play outside and attempt to get heat stroke?

i hope all the kiddos have a great start to their new school year!

skool is kool

the big boys started school last monday, so this post is a little late. what's new, right? (btw, i realize i haven't posted in over a month. but i'm just going to start right up again and pretend like my unplanned hiatus never happened. ok, thanks. i knew you'd understand.)

isaiah started third grade and, well, he's pretty much over me. i'm no longer allowed to walk him to class. i have to stop a minimum of three doors down from his classroom and use sign language to tell him "goodbye" and "i love you". then, i have to discreetly separate myself from him as to not draw any attention to ourselves in the hallway. i do all of that, as directed by my 8-year-old baby boy, and also shed sad tears of longing as i turn and walk down the hallway toward michael's classroom. i'm totally exaggerating. sort of. maybe.

michael started kindergarten and he was really excited about that. he hit the ground running when he stepped onto that kinder playground and was ready to take on the world. {insert sinister laugh here} i'm excited that he's excited. his excitement for school is all i could ever ask for. and at least he still lets me hug and kiss him goodbye. that's really all i can ask for.

mikey and baseball

mikey started with the summer baseball program a couple of weeks ago and had his first game last week. despite playing in 104* heat, the kids had a great time and they were so much fun to watch.

mikey was particularly entertaining to the spectators. it's not possible for mikey to just play ball. he has to do tricks, too. like sliding into home plate...except he didn't quite make it to home plate. he stopped about three feet short of it. then he kinda just sat on the dirt all confused, like he didn't know where he was. it was too funny.

he even had a chance to play pitcher. except it's tee-ball, so he didn't really pitch. the pitcher's job it to get the ball back from outfield after a play and throw it back to the umpire. 

of course, mikey couldn't just throw the ball. he had to do this spiffy, backward-over-his-head, throw-the-ball-without-even-looking smooth move and almost popped the next batter on the head. 

but the crowd went wild. and that's what mikey loves - to make the crowd go wild.

thanks for being so awesome, buddy.

i really love to watch you play.

on-tism

conversation between me and mikey earlier today....

me: you know, we found out yesterday that wyatt has autism like liam.

(moment of silence. wheels obviously turning in mikey's head as he formulates a response.)

mikey: on-tism must make kids really fun. because liam, wyatt and all the kids at liam's school that i play with at summer camp are so so fun. i want on-tism.

oh, mister mikey. i don't know how i would ever get through my days without you.



to my dearest wyatt,

i won't always be the perfect mommy. i won't always know what to do, what you want or how to respond. but please know in your heart that i will never ever give you any less than my best. i will be the best mommy, advocate, teacher, therapist- the very best anything - that i can be to help you become the very best you that you can be. together we will learn and stumble and fall (a lot), but there is nothing we can't get through. i love you more than the stars in the sky.

love, mommy

#2 goes to kindergarten

mister mikey had his first day of kindergarten bridge camp today. the kinder teachers bring in the incoming kindergartners for one week early in the summer to get them familiar with their future teachers and classrooms.

mikey dropped right in and was super excited to get his day started.

i was a little sad to send him off because it means he is growing up. but i was more excited for him and the things he will learn. he has been in preschool for three years and was beyond ready for this transition.

i picked him up and he came running into my arms, "i LOVE kindergarten, mommy! it was soooo fun!" that is the best reaction i could ever ask for.

embrace the camera - jan 12

the bigs and i checked the weather online this morning and then couldn't resist some morning sillies in front of the camera.

isaiah and mikey are into exposing the whites of their eyes. 

but they aren't skilled enough to do it without using their hands...yet.

i love how liam is getting silly with his brothers in these pictures.

on another note, he is transitioning to full-day preschool today - 9a-2pm! 

wishing my sweet boy an extra great day.

embracing the camera with the anderson crew!

thankful

ever feel so blessed and thankful that your heart feels like it's going to explode?

i do. right now. 

and it's because of these happy, smiling faces that light up my days.

disneyland!

even as we approached the main entrance, i remember shawn and i being so nervous about surviving a disneyland trip with four kids, one with autism. we were whispering to each other our game plan of what to do if liam (or any of the kids, for that matter) had a meltdown at some point during the day. we whispered that we'd remind each other to take deep breaths and reassured one another that the memories we'd make for the kids would be so worth the inevitable stress that we'd experience. we reminded each other to just not care about onlookers and not care what other people think - this is my biggest difficulty when it comes to liam and his meltdowns in public. we were giving each other this pre-game pep talk and the only thing missing was to put our hands in the middle of the huddle then yelling, "goooo team!" 

we survived. there was crying. there was bickering. there were meltdowns in the middle of main street for cotton candy. there was stress. lots of it. but there were also lots of smiles. lots of laughs. lots of moments of pure wonder in their eyes...and it made every anxious moment worthwhile.

i think i still look a little nervous in our first picture upon entering. heehee

a good friend mentioned that we could get a "guest assistance pass" for liam, which is basically the pass for people with disabilities to skip the lines. i felt guilty about it at first, but then i had just had to realize that we needed it and families like us are one of the reasons they even provide that service. liam has a severe aversion to crowds, loud places and loud music, and not to mention, waiting, so there was no way he'd be able to wait in any lines. before we knew about the pass, we just figured shawn and i would have split up while one of us takes the big kids into a ride and the other stays outside and waits with liam. well, thanks to the pass, this was not the case. liam was able to take part in everything that the big kids did. we were able to do and see everything as a family and actually enjoy the park together. this was huge and i was so incredibly thankful. i remember being in tears at every single ride, when i'd look at liam and just see the wonder and curiosity in his eyes. never, until that day, had i ever truly experienced the magic of disneyland. 

liam was intrigued by goofy and the other characters he saw around the park. too funny.

my boys had zero interest in sleeping beauty's castle or anything princess, actually. sigh. but, i made them pose in front of the castle anyway. because i'm their mom and they have to do what i tell them.

isaiah even got to participate in a jedi training class.

and fight darth vader with his newly-acquired jedi skillz. 

on the boat, about to enter "it's a small world". liam wasn't sure what all the excitement was about and was far more interested in what was up his nose.

this is the first time i'd been to the park during the holidays. "it's a small world" was absolutely breathtaking. 

my favorite picture of the entire day.

my silly boys.

liam, studying his map intently.

this is also the first time i've seen the park decorated for christmas. everything was so beautiful. it's a completely different place during the holidays. i don't think i'd ever want to come at another time of the year ever again!

we were able to watch the fireworks later in the evening. they played christmas music and the fireworks were holiday-themed. and at the end of the show, it snowed on main street! this might not be new to others but, like i said, this is the first time i'd been during the holidays, so i was taken completely by surprise and that was when the waterworks started. i was in tears - it was such a memorable and magical experience for so many reasons. i will never, ever forget it.