WMS Kindergarten Graduation 2009

In 2006, I started this blog immediately following Graham's Toddler graduation ceremony. I decided that Graham's Kindergarten graduation was the perfect time for me to reappear on the blogger scene after my hiatus.

On May 21, 2009, my sweet first born son, Graham Anderson Braunstein, graduated from kindergarten. All week long, I was afraid I was going to absolutely lose it, but I didn't until the very end when they told the kids it was time to find their families and eat some cake. He came running to me and literally knocked me over when I bent down to hug him. It was THE SWEETEST thing ever. I cry just thinking about it. Talk about a memory I'll never forget.

Graham is a fortunate little man who had lots of people there supporting him on his big day. Not only did Aaron's parents drive in, my mom took off work, Beverly took off work, and his Baylor sitter Kelsey and her boyfriend Brett came. (I can't imagine what Aaron would have said to me when were dating in college if I had said "Hey, want to go to a kid's kindergarten graduation with me?") It touched my heart that so many people were there for him.

Cake, Graham's favorite part. Graham is the one with his head leaning on another kid's shoulder.

Waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin.

His class performing "The World is a Rainbow" which celebrates cultures around the world and how they come together. It was so sweet.

His hat being placed on his head. Look at that concentration. He was so excited to have a real hat this time. He kept saying "they were just paper in the Toddlers class."

Apparently it needed a little adjusting.

Receiving his diploma from the Head of School.

Graham and his wonderful teacher, Ms. Tita. He has come so far in her class. He still LOVES reading, and his writing skills have greatly improved from August. When I compare journal entries from the first week of school to the most recent entries, I'm blown away. She's done an outstanding job teaching our boy. He had his first multiplication lesson today! (They aren't officially out of school until 5/29, so it's pretty much business as usual.)

Graham's Peeps!

Brett & Kelsey. She's leaving for her mission trip to Kenya in two weeks. She'll be teaching VBS at an orphanage. We love her and will miss her while she's gone.

His "other Mother", Beverly. Nice icing on the mouth, buddy.

Graham with M.J. I'm not kidding when I say that I can remember when I graduated from her kindergarten class so many years ago.

Graham and Mimi. Have no idea what has him laughing so hard.

Graham and BPaw.

When we got home, he opened a few gifts. Here he is testing out his new rocket launcher from Mimi and BPaw.

He's using an air pump as a gun, I think. Brooks seems intrigued. I felt like saying "run, Brooks, run!".

Reading his special card from Kelsey.

For old times sake, I thought I would throw in a family picture from his Toddler graduation.

Graham, age 2 years and 10 months.

Graham, age 5 years and 10 months.

The post-graduation family picture. We thought it would be best if Brooks stayed home so that we could enjoy the ceremony without chasing our fast moving baby around the gym. What a great day! Think Graham will hold it against me if I blow up a few of these pics to 8x10s and have them out for his high school and college graduations?

Christmas Cheer

Okay, yes, I've been MIA and catching serious heat for it. I have been taking pics, and one of these days when I'm caught up in other various aspects of life, I'll take a stroll down memory lane and post them. In the meantime, here are a few I took today of the boys. Merry Christmas!

A napping boy makes for a happy boy.

...and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

Please, Santa. We've been good boys this year. Can't you see it in our eyes? No mischief here. Nope, not a bit.

The Boys at the Pumpkin Patch

I couldn't take one boy to the pumpkin patch and not the other. After all, they had cute matching shirts to wear! (I will not be able to dress them alike for very long, so I have to do it while I can.) The Pittmans joined us for a little while to take in the pumpkin scene.

Mattie and Graham - too sweet!

Henry - what a cutie!

Aren't they precious? It won't be long before they are giving each other bloody noses. I'll enjoy the sweet moments while I can.

I bought tons of pumpkins, and Graham picked out a tiny one especially for Brooks. We put them out on our front porch, and the next day, this is where we found B's special, tiny pumpkin - in the tree care of a hungry squirrel!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

Brooks' playgroup made a trip to a local pumpkin patch a few days ago. It's funny to attempt to pose several children ages 3 months to a year for a picture. This isn't our entire group, but I had to take pics and run while Brooks was still in a happy mood, so not everyone had arrived as of yet. As you remember from earlier posts, the boy does not like being in the car. I had to get on the road while the gettin' was good.

Thumb? Paci? Is there a difference?

There it is!

A real smile for the camera!

Recent Pics of Brooks

Here are some new pictures of Brooks. Still can't capture the smile, but we'll keep working on that.

Yes, I'm Back!

Enjoy the many, many new posts. You are now up to date on the happenings in our family. Don't be surprised if it takes me another month to catch up after this! :-)

Brooks' Baptism - October 12, 2008

October 12 is a very special day in the Braunstein house. Both of our boys were baptized on this date - Graham in 2003 and Brooks in 2008 wearing the same suit and with the same candle lit on the altar. Graham's baptism was in Austin (even though we lived in Waco) at the church where Aaron and I were married, and Brooks' baptism was here in Waco at the church where we have been members for several years.

Wade, Tracey and Emily, as well as Aaron's parents and my mom were here for the big day. It was so special. The weekend in general was full of lots of activities and fun. While the rest of the crew went to the Baylor v. Iowa State game on Saturday ngiht, Aaron and I went to an event at the HOT Fair & Rodeo. Aaron volunteers for the rodeo, and he recently worked with them on their new website. Tracey was kind enough to stay home with the little man. (Thank you!!!)

Here's how we found the family when we got home from the rodeo. For those of you that have read my blog for a while, you may remember a similar picture from July 2006.

Below are a few pictures from the service. Thank you Julie for being the photographer.

And in an attempt to get the perfect family photo...

While the adults had an incredible catered meal care of my friend JoAn (like I was going to cook. yeah right!), the kids opted for Sonic and then they spent a little, okay a lot, of time playing Wade's Wii.

There's that precious smile!

WMS Loved Ones' Day 2008

Loved Ones' Day is an opportunity for the kids to invite family and friends to the school to see what they do each day. It's a lot of fun, and this year, my mom was able to find someone to cover her class and come for a portion of it. Graham was so happy about that.

They were in charge of serving their guests snacks.

They performed for us, and then we all had the wonderful fortune of doing the Chicken Dance together!

Playing a little football with Daddy on the playground.

This little girl is a former student of his teacher who has moved on to elementary school. Her little brother is in this class, and she came back to visit. In true Montessori fashion, she's doing a work with Graham in a mentoring type fashion.

Big Brother Wade Turns 40

My big brother turned 40 on October 1, but trust me, he's still a kid at heart. We went down to visit him for the big event. A few of us went in on a gift that every 40 year old needs...a Wii. He loves it! Graham kept correcting Emily when she'd say "my Wii", he'd say "no, it's your DAD's Wii, not yours."Wade and his wife, Tracey.

My mom's birthday and Wade's birthday are just a few days apart, so we sang to them both. Brooks was quite content like this all night.

Wade and his best friend from childhood and college roommate, James. Honestly, from the time that I have memories of Wade (we're six years apart), I have memories of James in our house.

Graham had to bring his mini-football teams (the Steelers and the Patriots) to play with Wade. This was pre-Wii.

He had no idea what he was getting, so the look on his face was hilarious. In the picture below, the kids are telling him exactly how to play the Wii, what games are cool, etc. He was a little overwhelmed, I think.

Hanging with Brooks.

Tracey and Brooks watching the kids play. By the time B can play, there will be a new, cooler, more sophisticated "must have" gaming system.

Flag Football

Aaron gave Graham the choice to play soccer or flag football, and G chose football. And personally, I don't think I'm cut out to be a soccer mom (Aaron's sister is one, and I swear, the woman is SO busy driving all over creation to game after game, but I'm sure I'd do it for my children if they loved the game the way hers do.), so flag football was fine with me. It's even better than t-ball if you ask me. Kind of a semi-controlled chaos and hilarious to boot. By the way, Graham is #1!

Praying before the game.

blocking

Brooks cheering on his big brother and the Wildcats.

Brooks - Three Months Old (Sept. 29, 2008)

Brooks is developing a real personality. It's too cute. He's a big talker and makes the most precious sounds. He loves the bath and kicks like crazy which is very different from Graham. G was so laid back in the tub, and he always looked as if he was just tubing down the river on a lazy summer day. Brooks, not so much. He kicks and kicks. Perhaps, we have a future Micheal Phelps? He makes us laugh every day because his smile is too cute. Unfortunately, it's hard to catch it on digital (that whole delay thing is so annoying). I'll keep trying.

We're still working on the whole sleeping thing. As for daytime naps, they're mostly spent in his car seat with me swinging, rocking, etc., and I have the calluses on my hands to prove it. I'm seriously considering bike gloves to help with these nasty things. Brooks' sitters told me that they get a good workout when they come over and put him down for his naps - in the carseat, of course. As for night time, we're still not sleeping through the night, but his time between feedings has seemed to increase, at least for the last two or three nights. Knock on wood that it continues.

Despite the lack of sleep and utter hatred for the car (still), we're having a blast with this little guy. Graham is such a great big brother and is always looking out for Brooks. Of course, he would prefer that B didn't cry so much in the car because that really gets in the way of hearing the High School Musical soundtrack.

Four months is just around the corner. I'll have stats on weight for that post.

How Cute am I?

Baylor Football 2008

Fall would not be fall in the Braunstein house without Baylor football. Here are a few pictures from the first couple of games.

Brooks first BU game...Baylor v. Wake Forest.

Cheeeeeesseee.

My boys in their Baylor gear before the Baylor v. Northwestern State game.

First Day of School 08-09 - Kindergarten!

This was no ordinary first day of school - it was the first day of KINDERGARTEN. Yes, my baby is all grown up. Graham changed classrooms this year (even though in the Montessori way, a child usually stays in the same room for three years) and he's loving the new, smaller class. He truly loves to read, and he gets very excited on the nights he brings home his readers. He's working hard on his writing skills, but between his quest for perfection (have no idea where he gets that trait) and being a lefty, he has struggled a bit with it, but he's improving. We're quite proud of our little scholar.

Just like last year, I thought a trip down "Montessori first day of school memory lane" would be fun...

2005-2006 (Toddler Program)

2006-2007 (Early Childhood/Preschool)

2007-2008 (Early Childhood/PreK)

2008-2009 (I was tempted to go back to our old house to take the traditional first day of school picture.)

End of Summer Pictures of the Boys

Here are some fun pics of the boys at the end of the summer.

Bonzai t-ball.

This is how Brooks watched Graham play in the backyard. He looks entertained, doesn't he?

It's bed time, boys!

Graham likes to use my new Swiffer. Here he is cleaning the playroom. Now, don't get the idea that he does this every day or anything amazing like that...

Graham absolutely loves his little brother.