"I want to be everything!"

"I want to be everything" is what Madeline answered when asked what I should write as her future career. You want to be everything? What does that even mean?

"Well, Mom, I really want to be president, but I think you have to be older to do that. So, first I'll be a teacher, maybe a doctor too. I know I want to be a Mommy and I also want to help children that are not mine. I could be anything, so I will be everything." 

My wish is that this amazing little girl always has these colossal dreams. The world is a scary place, it gets scarier by the day. That only means I need to push even harder to help her grow into this powerful girl that she dreams of becoming. Heck, she's already so strong and independent that she surprises me daily. 

When asked what she was most excited for today, she replied recess and lunch. That's our social butterfly...ready to soar. I will miss her so much, as she goes off to school each day. But, school is her happy place. She longs for the independence, social interaction, and filling her brain with new information every day. 

Happy first day of first grade to our little bug! You will do great things!!

 

And please, please, please, ALWAYS blow me kisses.......

Goodbye, high school!

So, it's been an entire school year since I've blogged. It's been a busy year, an emotional one, it's had ups, downs, and everything in between.
It's the end of a very long chapter, yet also just the beginning for Joshua, as he completed 13 years of school. A very proud, yet emotional time in our lives, as we watch him piece together the path he will follow.
These years are the hardest. It's hard to let go and embrace that this is their choice.
When you look at your 18 year old, you do not see an adult...you see your baby. So, when you look at these pictures, you may see a bearded man. I, however, see my goofy grinning, wrestling, spider-man undies wearing, silly little sweetheart of a boy.

Graduation pictures:::::

And THIS is the real us. HAHA!!!!

Joseph takes on Preschool

I'm just going to start off by saying I will never forget the look on Joseph's face as he lined up to head into his preschool class this morning. The look on his face said it all. "I've been waiting 2 long years to walk down this hallway". It's true. We had many hard mornings when he couldn't line up and go to preschool with Madeline. So, I wasn't sad this morning. I didn't sob. I'm happy and excited for our little dude. He gets to spend every Tuesday and Thursday from 9-11:30 being a "big kid" by himself, making his own friends instead of being the little brother, being silly, learning to follow school rules, singing songs and creating artwork, discovering what it's like to be his own leader, having his own thing.

Joseph is such a fun little boy that loves the outdoors, being barefoot, running and chasing, playing with friends in our neighborhood, and loves his role as the goofy little brother. He loves trucks, especially fire and trash trucks, and wants to be a fireman when he grows up. He's caring and sweet, has this little voice that melts our hearts, and definitely keeps us on our toes. Our little guy is quick to ask us to lay with him and cuddle. As much as he loves to be active, he also appreciates down time with a movie or his favorite show, Beat Bugs. His favorite accessory is his cowboy boots, which he definitely wore today. He requested "pikey" hair and wanted to pick out his own clothes. The excitement on his face was priceless as he got to hold the chalkboard and have his very first day of school picture taken. And before this whole adventure, our little sweetheart made sure to plant a big kiss on me.

 That face. My heart.