Josey Goes to Kindergarten

I can't believe that it is December and I am just now writing about Josey starting kindergarten.  I think this has been the busiest few months we've ever had!  August seems like so long ago!  I wanted to write some things down so that I will always remember when my sweet little guy started school.
It is so awesome to have Josey at school with me.  I love seeing him randomly throughout the day :)

Here he is on the first day of school.  He was so excited and absolutely adorable! 

I have so many fun memories about his first semester of kindergarten.  Here are just a few things I don't want to forget.

1.  The way he was so confident going to school the first day.  He didn't cry or seem sad at all.  I had a few tears, but Mike dropped him off since I had to be in my classroom at the same time.  I did a pretend drop off before Mike took him so I could get a picture of him with his teacher and get to be involved to some extent.
2.  The way he smiled when I went to check on him at lunch that first day.  Just precious!
3.  How excited he was to get to be a car rider the first time Nana came and picked him up because I had a meeting.
4.  He figured out after a few weeks that there was run-walk in the morning so he started begging to get to school early so he could run a lap.  Early isn't my strong suit, so he has only done it a few times, but he loves it!
5.  I started coaching Girls on the Run every Tuesday and Thursday after school, so Josey also had a lot of fun running the track after school and hanging out with the girls.  They kind of adopted him like a little mascot. 
6.  After school he would sit in the car rider line and wait for me to come get him.  After a few weeks I let him go out to walker duty with me.  My favorite thing was how he would run in every day for weeks and hide somewhere in the library from me.  It was adorable and the librarian and library aide would play along :)  He would giggle so loud when I "found" him! 
7.  Josey and another teacher's little boy will follow the janitor around sweeping after him.  So cute! 
8.  I will always remember how much he needed a hug from Mommy after school when he had a rough day.  He has struggled with getting his work done and has been impulsive.  He got down on himself for a while, which was hard to see.  He has really improved since then though and I think he is going to be a great little student :)
9.  I love how excited he gets to read new words and count as high as he can.  He is really loving learning new things! 

Josey also started playing Upward Football, so that kept us pretty busy.  He had practice every Thursday night and a game on Saturday.  He really improved by the last game and finally pulled an opponents flag at the last game.  He was so proud....so were Mommy and Daddy!

Here is our little flag football player after his very first game.  It was definitely adorable watching 5-year-old play football!  It was crazy how well they played by the end of the season. 

 

Mommy and her big boy on picture day!  Love this kid so much!!

Josey's birth story

I can't believe Josey will be FIVE tomorrow!  I realized I had never blogged his birth story and I want to have it written out just like Gavin's.  My mom kept an awesome journal for each of our five boys' births, so I borrowed it today in case I forgot any of the details!  Thanks Mom!

On April 18, 2008 I worked all day teaching second grade at Salem Lutheran School in Springdale, Arkansas.  I had been dilated to a 5 for a week, but I just had to finish the week and make it through CPR training Friday afternoon.  During the training I was contracting a bit and was really out of breath.  One of my friends offered to drive me home, but I was ok and made it home safely.  Mike brought Subway home for dinner.  I was contracting pretty regularly, but I guess since it was my first baby and my due date was still three full weeks away  I wasn't sure if we should go in :)  I made Mike install the carseat and I finished up a couple of other things.  I wanted to clean the house and vacuum (so everything would be perfect!) but it was pretty obvious that Josey was on his way!  It was the most uneventful trip to the hospital ever, not dramatic or exciting like we had expected, ha!  We decided to stop by Walmart so Mike could get a few things.  I remember thinking as I walked very slowly toward the checkout "Oh wow, I'm really uncomfortable.  I think this is really happening!"  We got to the hospital and they checked me.  The nurse didn't really say anything so I asked if we would be staying.  She laughed and said "We normally don't send people home when they are 6 centimeters dilated!"  I called family at about 11:00 pm and told them we were going to be parents!  My mom, Laura, Mike's mom, and Deb showed up and hung out while I waited for something to happen.  I continued to dilate without any real pain at all.  Dr. Schmitz came in at 2:05 and broke my water.  The pain became intense in about 30 minutes.  Crazy back pain!  I didn't have any pain medicine AT ALL!  I was really set on delivering naturally.  Less than 20 minutes of pushing and I delivered our beautiful miracle boy, Josey Alexander Smith on April 19, 2008 at 3:52 am!!  He was 7 pounds 1 ounce and 19 inches long with a head full of hair.  I remember just looking at him in disbelief.  He was beautiful and perfect.  Mike said his first thought was that he was relieved he really was a boy, haha! 

It seems like just yesterday, and a lifetime ago at the same time.  I have said before that April 19, 2008 was the day when I knew why I was on this Earth.  It was the day I became a Mommy.  Josey has been with us for the best and worst moments of our lives.  He truly saved me when we lost Johnny, Jaxsen, and Asher.  Some days I was so grief stricken that I could hardly stand, but one look at my sweet Josey and I knew I could go on.  He has completely had my heart from the first moment I felt him move in my tummy.  I am so proud of the big boy he has become.  He is loving, smart, hilarious, goofy, sweet, and amazing!  Seeing him become a big brother to Gavin this last year has been wonderful.  He loves his baby brother more than anything.  He is gentle, patient, and kind eventhough it has been a huge adjustment after four years of being our one and only.  Bubba- Mommy loves you to the moon and back!  I am so proud to be your Mommy! 

Gavin is six months old!?

Gavin turned six months old and I just can't believe it!  He loves to sit in his exersaucer, jump in his jumperoo, and is trying to crawl already!  He can get up on all fours and rock back and forth.  Of course he usually ends up going backward instead of toward whatever he is trying to get.  It is crazy how fast he went from playing on his blanket and rolling around to all of a sudden army crawling all over the livingroom.  It was strange when I walked back in the room the other day and he was nowhere to be found!  He was all the way across the room trying to get one of his toys.  I panicked and moved all of Josey's toys out of the livingroom.  I hate to "kick" Josey out, but his toys have such little parts to them.  Everything Gavin touches goes straight into his mouth instantly, so we can't risk any tiny toys being where he can get them.  Gavin LOVES his big brother and wants to do everything Josey is doing.  Sometimes he just stretches his arms out and babbles, begging Josey to let him join in.  Josey is so kind and gentle with him.  He can make Gavin laugh harder than anyone.  I love when I catch them in a sweet moment together and they don't know I'm watching or listening. 

Gavin has started eating baby food.  He loves sweet potatoes and carrots....peas and green beans not so much.  He is totally opposite of Josey because greens were his favorite.  We haven't started any fruits or juices yet.  Just taking it slow and making sure most of his calories come from milk at this point.  He is so interested in our food though.  Gavin weighs about 18 pounds and is 26 inches long.  He is such a chubby little guy.  The happiest baby ever!  People are always stopping me to tell me how cute and happy he is.  Last night a waitress that wasn't even serving us came over to see him because she thought he was so cute.  Gavin just loves to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy too!  I love that!  Sometimes when I'm at work I just think about his sweet snuggles and it make me smile...and miss him a ton!  He has been saying Dadda for a few weeks, but I think I heard a Momma in there a few times :)  This little guy has just added so much to our lives in only six months! 

                                                           Sweet six-month-old!

Sitting up like a big boy!

 

Best buds!

Eating carrots for the first time!

Brothers on Valentine's Day!  Gavin had a ganster lean going on :)