"Pop" by Ben Mundy

A great week of school

I'm happy to report that both boys have had a great first week of school. Ben is excited to go every day, though I can tell it's really wearing him out (he's looking forward to the weekend). Sam has still cried on the bus several times, but when I ask him about school he can't stop smiling. I ask him about his friends, the playground, toys, snacktime, his teacher, and walking at school, and he grins and responds excitedly about it all. I think both boys are worn out and ready for some down time this weekend!

First Day of School

Here are a few pictures of the boys heading off to school. Sam did great until we buckled him into the bus seat, then he screamed. Ben was totally brave, but gave me a really big, long hug before I left his classroom. I did alright. I wish the bus drivers had been sweeter with Sam. Now I just have to wait (and fold laundry)...only three more hours until Sam comes home! :-)

Scary Dreams: First Day of School

Every once in a while, I still have the dream where I'm late for school, I'm racing to find my locker, but can't remember where it is, don't know my combination, and can't remember which class to go to first.
One week from today, I'll send both Ben and Sam off to school. Ben to Kindergarten, Sam to Liberty's Early Childhood Program. So I woke up at 5:30 this morning in a panic after having the "mom morph" of that dream. It was the first day of school, almost 9:00 am, (Sam starts at 9, Ben at 9:05) neither boy was dressed, I'd made no lunches, nobody had been fed, and Sam had already missed his bus. And on top of all that...I was racing around our old house on 73rd street trying to get them ready when I realized I was late for school too! It was like a combo nightmare!! :-)
It probably doesn't help that I'm sleep-deprived thanks to Michael Phelps and Shawn Johnson. Any one else staying up too late watching the Olympics??

Sam and his walker

Lately, Sam has been a little more cooperative when it comes to using his walker. We shot this video during therapy. He was complaining almost the whole time, but he's walking! He did smile a couple of times. We go to Target, or somewhere like that a couple of times a week so he can practice walking. He's getting pretty fast when he's motivated, although his form isn't too good. We'll work on that later. We are so proud of him!

All the glory...

In the car today, Ben was ranting about not having a friend over among other things. His rant ended with this statement: "I do not get any of the glory!" Trying not to laugh, I asked him a couple of questions about how he could get more glory in his life.

Later, also in the car, he said our phone number all by himself, from memory. I was so impressed since we haven't really worked on that. I said, "Ben, that's awesome! You totally get all the glory for that!".

He said, "I know."

Big Boy Biker

After seeing a friend ride without training wheels, Ben begged Dad to take his off. Dad complied, and within a few minutes, Ben was riding big-boy-style. Check out these pictures and video. He is so proud, and having so much fun.

My Triathlon

Last Saturday, some friends and I aquired the title "triathlete" together. We raced in Cameron, Missouri after several weeks of sweating and training. I don't have my final time yet, but it was somewhere around 59 1/2 minutes for a 200 m swim, 8 mile bike, and 2 mile run. It was a lot of fun, and a great way to stay motivated to exercise. My sister Rebecca, neice Emily, and brother in law Jeremiah raced, along with a bunch of ladies from church. Here are some pictures. Three of the ladies in our training group (including my neice) got medals in thier age categories...go girls!