Dear Brayden,

This morning we dropped off you for your very first day of preschool. This day marks the first day, for at least the next 15 years , that we will be sending you to school. The first day in your short 3 1/2 years of life that you will be in someone else's care besides your family.

This day comes with mixed emotions, of course. I am so excited for you to have your own experiences, with new friends and new adults to love and care for you. But, you are my baby and part of me wants to keep you close, always. I imagine this feeling never really changes...which is why my parents cried when I was 18 and they dropped me off for my own adventure at NAU. After all, wasn't it just yesterday that you were only this big?

And now you are a big 3-year-old (or 4 according to you!), with a lunch box and new shoes...and no idea of what life has in store for you. All you know is that school will be fun, you will play games and paint pictures, make new friends and have a snack.

We are so proud of the boy you have become and can't wait to see what's next!

Rub A Dub Dub...

both boys in the tub!

I have been a little nervous to stick both boys in the bathtub at once, as Brayden still doesn't understand the fact that Caleb is a baby and not his 3 year old playmate! I started slow, pretty much just long enough to snap a few cute bath pictures...and then they came out as quickly as they went in!

Whatever you do...

don't take the phone from the baby!

For all of you who have been waiting to see Caleb do something besides smile....

Project: Arts and Crafts...Take 1

Brayden has recently shown an interest in coloring, gluing, cutting, etc. This is huge for him, considering his idea of fun consists of running around chasing someone, wrestling, playing at a park, running again...you get the idea! My inner-teacher was so excited, so we ran out to Joann's yesterday and bought some fun art supplies.

What I thought would be a morning full of fun projects and educational moments, turned out to be a complete flop. See the following exhibits below:

Exhibit A - Cute Tiger Mask

"Isn't this so cool Brayden?"

"No Mommy, I wanted to make a puppet. This is a mask"

Clearly my mistake.

Exhibit B - Requested Tiger Puppet

"There's your puppet Brayden! Ready to play with it?"

"No Mommy, I wanted a sock puppet. This is a regular puppet."

Duh Mommy

Exhibit C - Sock Puppet

As you will notice, this picture is taking with me (not Brayden) holding it. This is because moments after putting it on his hand, he threw it off and said "Mommy, I wanted a sock puppet with holes for the fingers!"

I can't win...

Last but certainly not least...

Exhibit D - orange marker

While battling Caleb to take his morning nap, I come out of his room looking for Brayden. I find him with this marker in his mouth. After examining it, I notice the tip is no longer a nice shade of orange, but more of a shade of white. Meaning = he sucked the ink out of a marker!!

After a phone call to poison control, we now know that even markers not labeled "non-toxic" won't do more than give a child a tummy ache!

Reminds me of the Tommy Boy quote "Did you eat paint chips as a kid?"

Guess who won't be left alone with markers anymore??

Maybe we will have better luck on our next attempt at being creative!

Joining the Club

Because there are so many pictures and stories of my family on my blog, I've decided to do the smart thing and make my blog "private." This is kind of funny because I'm not totally sure how to do that, but I'm sure I can easily figure it out! I hope this doesn't stop any of you from reading! All you have to do to continue reading about the crazy adventures of the King family is put your email address in the comment section of this post! If that doesn't work for some reason, just email me (kking04@cox.net) and I'll add you! I will wait a week or two, so don't worry!

Can Everybody Just Look at the Camera Please?!?

The boys all looked so adorable for church on Sunday, I just had to snap a "quick" picture before we headed out the door....10 minutes later we finally headed out! Getting 2 kids to both smile for one picture shouldn't be this hard!

"The camera is over here boys!"

Quick position change...but doesn't stop Caleb from grabbing the dinosaur

"Brayden, please put the dinosaur down for one minute!"

"Please let go of your brother's hand and look at Mommy!"

"Mom, we're bored" - Brayden and Caleb

"Can you take the picture already, I'm tired of smiling!" - Corbin

Now the dog isn't looking...I give up!

Side note: It is a coincidence that Corbin and Caleb's shirts are so similar...I'm all about matching my boys (the 2 smallest ones!) every now and then, but purchasing matching Daddy/Son shirts is a little much for me!

Objects May be Smaller Than They Appear

Let's face it, it's extremely hot here in AZ during the summertime...but it's a dry heat right?  Whatever.  It's hot.

So what do you do with a 7-month-old and 3-year-old all summer when it's so hot you sweat just thinking about going outside?  You buy this and hope for hours of fun:

Take a close look at the picture on this box.  These kids are about 5 right?  The boy is literally sitting under the dinosaur head (which is a decent size bigger than his own head).  2 others are on the slide at the same time, with ease I might add.  Hours of fun.  Unless when you take it out of the package and blow it up, and it actually looks like this:

The sprayer is not on in this picture because when you turn on the hose, the head immediately flies backward and sprays the rest of the yard.  

Here is Brayden "playing" on the slide:

Lesson learned:  You get what you pay for!  He actually really has a good time, so the ultimate goal has been accomplished!

What about Caleb you ask?  

Happy as a clam (weird!) in his $5 pool :)