Campfire Fun!

We only got one campfire cookout in at MaMaw and PaPaw's this summer. But Braylon made the best of it. He was in a silly mood, actually we all were. It was really dark when all of these pictures were taken so you didn't know what you were getting until you took the picture and then viewed it on the camera....

They turned out pretty hilarious!

First Day of Kindergarten

Braylon was so excited to be starting Kindergarten.

Waiting for the bus.

As excited as he was, when the bus pulled in he got real scared. He cried and clung to my leg and even started shaking. But with a little coaxing, he got on. What broke my heart, was when he got to the top step and turned around to wave. With tears running down his cheeks he let out one last Maaaaammmma! I didn't want to let him see me cry so I held it together until the bus doors shut, then I cried. And then I thought about him all day and cried some more. But when he got off the bus at the end of the day, he was all smiles. He loves it!

Mommy/Braylon Days, Day One.

The first day Braylon and I spent together before he started Kindergarten, we took Lando to the dog park and went on a scavenger hunt. The night before, Bray and I made a list of things he wanted to find on his scavenger hunt, it was as follows:

1. Bear fur
2. Deer fur
3. Deer antlers
4. Snake skin
5. A dead chipmunk

While there Braylon said, "you know what would be cool?...if we found a squirrelmunk...with the body of a squirrel and the face of a chipmunk!" We didn't find any of these things so we took Lando back home, met April for lunch, and then went to the park.

After the park we went to the open house at Bray's school. Notice the one glove Bray is wearing below...he insisted on wearing it in to meet his teachers. I was wearing a ring that Braylon made for me out of curling ribbon. We looked fabulous...I am sure that his teachers could not wait for their school year with us to begin!

Since we had no luck at the park, we went on a hike/scavenger hunt on the trail out at Prickett's Fort.

We didn't find the items Bray wanted, but we did find a few treasures.

We made it back to the car just as it started to rain. We hung out in the back and played with some of Bray's toy animals. He thought it was so fun and wants to play in the back of the Honda all the time now...even when we are at home.

I love this kid more than I can put into words! He is making me so proud at Kindergarten. I knew he would do fine, but I didn't expect him to love it as much as he does! He is always so happy about his day when he gets home and not once (so far) has he complained in the mornings about having to go. And even more surprising, from what I have been told, his behavior has been wonderful, although he is apparently a bit of a social butterfly!

Mommy/Braylon Days!

I took the two days before Kindergarten off to spend with my little man. We had a blast! These pictures are from day two. We also spent almost 3 hours at the indoor playground at the Morgantown Mall...Braylon loves that place. I took a book and just let him play as long as he wanted to. After three hours he wasn't finished, but we had to get home to pick up Spider Pig!

At the Geological Museum in Morgantown.

Fossilized tree stump found in a WV coal mine.

Dinosaur skeleton found by a WV crew in North Dakota.

Bray took this pic of me...he is a pretty good photographer.

Busy, Busy Bee-killer!

Braylon has a new hobby. He is in love with killing little bumble bees. He spent over an hour in the yard this evening finding and killing these things.

A few comments:

1. I hate bees, but about 22 dead bees into it, as Braylon continued to stalk the clover blossoms, I kind of started to feel sorry for them.

2. I was always terrified of bees (actually I still am)...In true Braylon fashion he is not at all scared of them.

3. So far this Summer Bray has been bee stung 4 times- twice at school, playing on the playground and twice while on his bee-killing adventures....and he still is not one bit afraid of them.

It's A Boy Thing!

It is no secret that my son is a hoarder. He has a "treasure" drawer in his night stand where he stores his valuables such as balls of lint, popsicle sticks, rocks, feathers, gum wrappers, price tags, etc. But my most recent discovery (pictured above) topped them all. At some point-I have no clue when-Braylon sneaked into the kitchen, got himself a zip-lock bag, returned to the yard and filled it with deer poop, then proceeded to store the poop next to his bed for who knows how long! How do you respond to such a thing?

Father's Day 2010

We had a great Father's Day weekend with both of our fathers, but I didn't get any pictures. Once we returned home, I did get to snag a few pictures of Braylon and his Daddy in the pool that evening. Braylon is so lucky-he has a wonderful daddy! Braylon's daddy has been away at a conference for a week. Bray has been missing him like crazy. On Monday, the first day he was away, Braylon told me on the way home from school: "Well, I told everyone that my daddy is going to be gone for a long time...longer than 20 days." Five days feels like 20 when you are five years old and you miss your daddy terribly!

5th Birthday

We had his preschool graduation that evening so we didn't have much time. I opted for one of my favorite birthday traditions when I was growing up....pizza with a candle! We took him to Valley Worlds of Fun the day before and he had a blast, but I did not remember to take my camera.

Preschool Graduation, May 26, 2010

The Graduate!

This was not just the part where he held up his sign (for that second he held it high above his head), this is how he held it throughout the performance, covering up his shy little face.

Again during the next song.

Now he did play the guitar where he was supposed to, but as soon as that part was over he even put the guitar in front of his face.

Getting his "diploma". Even though he did hide his face for much of the performance, he knew all the words and signs for the songs and did a wonderful job. We are so proud of our little graduate!

New Do!

What makes you go from this hair...

To this hair?

Answer:

This hair!

Five For Friday

1. I can not believe that my little man is 5 years old!

2. He went in for his yearly physical on Tuesday and got his "Kindergarten shots"...no more vaccinations until his teens!

3. He is 41 pounds and almost 44 inches tall (that is just 4 inches shy of 4 feet!).

4. This past year he has become a thief, pocketing small toys from preschool and screws/washers from hardware stores...just yesterday he had to return an item to a local hardware store and apologize for stealing.

5. This past year he has also become so smart and creative and independent! He has become more outgoing/less shy. And somehow he has made me love him even more!

BOY OH BOY!