First Family Chiefs Game

We took the kids - all of them - to their first Chiefs game tonight!  This was a preseason game and thus a much more tame crowd so I felt comfortable taking them (they won't go to a regular season game for a loooong time - way too rowdy there, for my liking!).  We met up with our neighbors to tailgate for a bit before we all headed in together.  Bailey was nervous at first because our seats were up high and she's afraid of heights. She was also leery about the loud noises/explosions in the pregame ceremony.  Once the game started, they all did great! We only stayed for half, though - it was a school night!  

Here are some pictures of our fun:

Trouble times two

Now that Bailey and Bentley are both in school all day, I'm home with "only" two children.  I miss my "big" kids being home with me already - they're growing up too fast for me.  They both LOVE school, though, and I am grateful for that. It makes me happy to see them thriving socially and academically.  

It's no secret to most that Brooks has been our most mischievous little guy.  He was our first (and second!) call to Poison Control.  He's the one who will look you straight in the eye (his blue eyes twinkling all the while) and do something you just told him not to do. He's that kid.  I've heard other parents with three kids mention that their third was the most challenging and, so far, that's definitely be true for us.  

However . . . most of our friends don't have four kids. So what about the fourth?  Up until recently, we always commented that Bowen, being the fourth baby, had to be mellow and go-with-the-flow because he was just along for the ride!  In the last few months, as he inches toward the "terrible two's", Bowen is starting to give Brooks a run for his money in terms of keeping us on our toes!

Here's a sampling (from just this month) of what I mean:

Bucket head

ON the table

He drug this toy to the back door . . .

To climb up and try to unlock it!

Using the stool to reach things

Using the stool to climb on the table to play with the karaoke

Getting into the dishwasher

This time he used the desk to climb up

He got daddy's toothbrush stuck in a glue trap

Climbing/reaching

On the table AGAIN

Trying to unlock the front door

A cord in his mouth

Sitting ON his highchair tray

And again

Pushing his highchair around the house

Trying to unlock it after I put the brakes on the highchair

Playing with the REAL phone at the doctors

He moved a chair to climb ON the counter

See what I mean?!  And he's not even two yet!  Good thing he's so darn cute!

4-year Check-Up (Brooks)

Brooks finally had his four-year well check-up today! I say "finally" because usually I schedule them immediately following the birthday but, in this case, I dropped the ball and it's been nearly two months since his birthday. 

As a reminder, here are other, relevant posts that may be of interest (to reminisce and compare):

• Brooks' three year check-up
• Bailey's four-year check-up
• Bentley's four-year check-up 

Since both Bailey and Bentley are in school now, I only had two boys to take to Brooks' appointment today.  They were both pretty well behaved.  The nurse took Brooks' measurements and then we entertained ourselves in the exam room while we waited for the doctor.

Getting his blood pressure checked

This boy is into EVERYTHING, EVERYWHERE!

Here are Brooks' current stats:
Weight: 35.8 pounds (48th percentile) Length: 41.9 inches (75th percentile) BMI: 10 (? percentile) Heart Rate: 112 beats per minute Blood Pressure: 108/70

He's gained almost five pounds in the last year, which is similar to Bailey's weight gain from three to four years. His exam with the pediatrician was unremarkable.  He has had a little congestion the last couple days and the doctor thinks it looks more allergy-related than viral (cold).  He hasn't been at all bothered by it so we're not going to treat it (symptoms), unless it becomes an issue.

I went ahead and gave the okay for him to get his Kindergarten shots today, even though we're pretty certain he won't start Kindergarten until the year after next.  But at least they're done and out of the way now!  He got four shots in his legs, a finger-poke and had to pee in a cup (which he was excited about, LOL!).  He was sore tonight when we put him to bed, but I expect a full recovery tomorrow.

First Day at Parents Day Out (Bowen)

Bentley started Kindergarten earlier this month and now, today, Bowen started "preschool" (remember we refer to the Parents Day Out program as "preschool").  I have ALL the feels. It's definitely bittersweet. 

If you want to stroll down memory lane (I always do!), here are the other kiddos on their first day at PDO:
Bailey - 8/1/12
Bentley - 8/7/13
Brooks - 8/19/15

This is Bowen's first experience in a formal class.  In an effort to prepare him, I took him to the school last week to see his classroom.  He played in it for a bit and enjoyed the toys there.  Still, I wasn't sure how he would do when we dropped him off today.  We had also been pumping Brooks up, now that he's the biggest brother/Buck at preschool. I wasn't sure if he would be upset about going now that Bentley isn't there.

Of course, I took pictures to commemorate the occasion.  Unlike the other kiddos on their first day, poor Bowen doesn't have a backpack yet (fourth baby problems!).  I'm waiting for them to go on clearance. Ha!  He doesn't know the difference so I don't feel too guilty about it.

 

As it turned out, they both did fine at drop off. We took Brooks to his room first. He has the same teacher that Bentley had last year, Mrs. Michelle.

Bowen is in the classroom right next to Brooks and his teacher is Miss Hattie. None of the kids have had her before but she seemed very nice. Bowen went right in and started checking everything out.

A real bunny!

We made a point to discreetly leave without saying goodbye because he was so content. He did notice that we left and he stood by the door for a while but he didn't cry.  Hopefully they both had a great first day!

Now I'm home in an eerily quiet house, getting the blog updated during the daylight hours. It's weird! I miss my crew.   

Here they all are starting PDO through the years:

Back to School Night 2017

Not to be confused with Sneak-a-Peek, tonight was Back to School Night at the elementary school.  This event is for the parents to get information about their childrens classrooms routines, rules, etc.  It's intended for children only.  We had tickets to the Royals game tonight so Bob took Brooks to that.  As for Bailey, Bentley and Bowen . . . they had a babysitter! A real, non-family-member, babysitter (first time ever)!  Her name is Mikayla and she is our neighbor (literally).  The kids already LOVE her.  Here they are watching out the window for her to come over tonight:

They stayed home with Mikayla for about an hour tonight while I went to the school to meet with their teachers.  They had a great time with Mikayla and my meetings at school were good, too.

Here are a few pictures from Bentley's classroom:

And some from Bailey's classroom: