Dates :)

As I mentioned before, on Wednesday, September 19, I got a text in the morning (after I had finished Body Step) from Papaw asking if he could take Joshua for a little while was Mamaw was out to lunch with her friend. I said sure, so long as he had the Bean home in time for his pictures that afternoon. Papaw came with me to pick up Joshua at school, and they left from their to go to Joshua's favorite "King Burger" and then back to their camper to play some baseball catch with Joshua's new glove.

In the meantime, I left to go pick up Caleb at soccer shots. That afternoon, I dressed them all in their soccer shirts and headed to JCPenny's to get Joshua's 6-year portraits, along with a couple of Ryan for his 15-months and Caleb (why not, since we were there?). She took a couple with the boys and me as well. I always think Audry (or is it Audra?) does a great job! These pictures are from that sitting, along with the others with these shirts that are in different posts.

We weren't sure if we would see Shawn's parents at all that night since we hadn't seen them much this visit, but Papaw confirmed that they had other plans. So, I sent a text to our babysitter asking if she'd like to watch the boys while we go to dinner and thankfully she said yes. We had a partial gift card leftover from a gift from my friend for my birthday that we used, and we both ordered drinks with dinner (something we haven't done in awhile). It was a beautiful night out and we enjoyed the food and the company. It was a particularly fun night. When we got home, I put Ryan to bed while Shawn got the other two to sleep.

Thursday morning I went to Gymboree and saw my friend Karisten there (what are the odds!?!?). Her son came running up to me, "JOSHUA!" he said excitedly. Only, I didn't have either of my older buddies along that morning. He was a little disappointed.

That afternoon after I had picked up both boys from school and gone to Body Attack, Grandpa Georgia asked if he could take Joshua out for his birthday. He had already given him a bell for his bike, but wanted to do something since he had missed his party. I explained to Dad that I wasn't okay with him driving Joshua around since his eye sight is so bad, but I offered to take Joshua somewhere or have Grandpa and him have some special time here. He said okay, but I could tell I had hurt his feelings. I know he drives normally, but I'm not too sure about his eyes these days and I'd rather him not have an accident with my kiddos in the car. I told him that if he'd like to go to McDonald's (which is literally two turns, both of which are in our development), I would help get Joshua buckled. I didn't want him going anywhere else, and Dad agreed. I also mentioned that Joshua needed to be home in time for soccer practice. They had a fun afternoon together. Joshua ate 1 and a half ice cream cones - WOW!

 When Joshua got home, I helped him get ready for soccer practice. Shawn called me and said he was picking up pizza on the way home since he knew we were pressed for time. What a great husband! Indeed, we raced to get home and Shawn beat us. We enjoyed dinner as a family and Mamaw from her house arrived to watch the boys while Shawn & I went to parent night at Joshua's school. We heard about the school theme song and other (somewhat boring) information from the principal. Then we went to the classroom with the other kindergarten parents and met Mrs. Vogt and listened to her speech. We were back within an hour to relieve Mom. :)

On Friday, September 21, I took the boys to "Little Ninjas" again like I typically do on Monday and Friday afternoons. The boys say "Ay-yah!" as they hit or kick, which the instructor explained was to make sure that their belly muscles are nice and tight so they don't hurt their core as they land their punches or kicks. They do great with it (even Caleb who's normally quiet gives a great big "AY-YAH!" as he goes!). As they were showing me at home what they had done, I noticed that Ryan was getting into it, saying his own "Ay-YAH! AY-Yah!" Haaa!!!! So sweet!

We had been invited to a play date at Stoner Park that afternoon, but we didn't make it. Ryan had his 15-month well-child check-up at the pediatrician, and Joshua had his 6-year well-child check-up following that appointment (both of which I believe I've blogged about already). All three kids got their flu vaccines while we were there as well (and I've gotten mine from Millersville, so it's just Daddy's turn now).

Joshua's birthday excitement didn't end there, though. Nonie & Poppy came to pick him up on Saturday morning at 10 am to take him to the Hands on House and then out to lunch at Isaac's. They had planned this time awhile back, working around soccer schedules and choir, etc. and he was SO excited to go! He had a great time - THANKS!