Sunday School

I just want to document that I am teaching Sunday School this year again. This past year, we only had Atticus and one other little girl, Elliot, in the 2 & 3 year old class. But, I enjoyed it and decided to teach again and this fall we have had a total of 8 kids coming to Sunday School in that age group! It has been really fun to watch them and see them each week. I am also the Parish Ed chair for the next two years and that has been a very time consuming, but rewarding job. There are such a great group of dedicated moms, although we are small in number, that work on Sunday School events. So, it's been a real treat even though sometimes it seems like I am always in a meeting or typing something up or running a Sunday School errand. But, hearing Atticus tell me he wants to go to church or even when he throws a fit when we have to leave church, it makes me happy to be involved!

So, I just have to post this picture of Atticus with Kendall and Maci Nash at Rally Day this year. These girls are the sweetest and have taken Atticus under their wing. I credit them with getting him more comfortable in church. He would never go to Kingdom Time (the kids part during the late service) until they went with him. Now, he goes all by himself. Plus, we just love Matt and Kristi, their parents, and are so happy to go to church with them!

I also have to post a quick picture of a few of our couples friends from church. Just recently, we feel like we finally have friends from church to hang out with on a regular basis. It's funny how you can go to church with people who seem like family when you are attending church and church functions but because everyone works at different places or kids go to school at different schools or live in different neighborhoods, you rarely hang out with any of them outside of church. But, we currently have about 6 or so couples who get together regularly. It all started with a "Mama's Night Out" organized by our friend Mindy. Then, of course the men wanted their own "Guys Night Out" so each month we get one of each. We love hanging out with the Nash's, Langfords, Rolls, Souths, Tatums, Marriots at church and on our nights out! In September, Jamie and Eric hosted an annual Oktoberfest party at a german restaurant in downtown Bryan and invited us all as well. It was a lot of fun! See a picture below!

A little Aggie Football & Huey/Powell Time

Aggie Football started off with an exciting win against South Carolina this year! Everyone has been wondering how this season would go without Johnny Football, so it was sure fun to see a big win to break South Carolina's winning streak early on. As the season progressed, we didn't play as well and ended with a record of 7-5. Ugh. But, as always, we support our Aggies and I never let myself get too down on them. There's more to being an Aggie than football....well except during the months of August to December. ha!

So, early in the season, our friend Russell, gave us tickets to see Lamar play. I was so excited because this is the ONLY year the stadium will ever look this way. It is only half finished with the major renovations that began because we joined the SEC. They have finished the student side and filled in the areas of the south end zone to make it one big circle. They have a GIANT screen to watch the game on too. It is very impressive! So, we were excited to go. We got a sitter, went to the game, saw Coach Sumlin's swagcopter (what he takes to recruit players) and even tailgated a little. The only drawback was that there was about a two hour delay to the game beginning because of lightning in the distance. We only made it to halftime before we left. We had to get home to stop paying our babysitter! But, it was really fun!

Later in the season, our friends, the Hueys and the Powells came into town (November 14-16th) and the men took the 4 older kids up to tailgate as well. It was a really fun weekend in general to see all of our friends. Todd, Vic and Mandee were good friends in college and then as all of them met their spouses and then we all got married and started having kids and have continued to be such good friends. The Powells (Mandee, Derek, Beck and Ben) are in Orange Grove while the Hueys (Todd, Emily, Haley, Camden and Leighton) are in Austin, but we try to get together at least once or twice a year to see everyone. The Powells came in for the entire weekend and stayed with us but the Huey's just drove up for the day. The kids played so well together and we all got to visit, despite the chaos of kids running around, yelling, playing and moving toys everywhere. I will note that Atticus took to Haley as soon as she got there. I think this might be because he is used to the older girls at church giving him so much attention and loving on him. Haley is a little older and according to Emily, is also in a stage of trying to get kids to play with her and leave Camden out (siblings!). So, Atticus was drawn to her and they played all day! At one point, we realized they were in the circus tent while Beck and Camden were playing elsewhere. They are just chatting away and of course, I was curious what they could be talking about. So, I snuck over to get an earful. I should preface this with another issue of the day where the kids became obsessed talking about poop. And since they left, it has continued to be an issue with Atticus and we are on him all the time about talking about those things and how it is only appropriate in the bathroom. It's just gross. Anyways, here is the conversation:

Haley: "Does your GG have poop on her face?" (they both have GG's) and laughs
Atticus: Laughs and says "No".
Haley: "Well then what does she have on her face?"
Atticus: "She just has boo-boos on her face because she's old".

And that was the end of the conversation. I laughed so much because 1)I couldn't wait to tell GG; she has taught him that she is old and has wrinkly skin, etc. 2)He was so protective and naïve the way he answered her as if it was no big deal, but just a fact. It was so sweet to hear him!

So here are some Aggie pictures and Huey/Powell weekend pictures below.

 

We attempted to get a picture of all 7 kids together before everyone left for home or headed to bed. I was really proud we got this one! They are left to right: Beck (3 1/2), Haley (5), Leighton (18 months), Ben (2 and he also had a broken leg!), Camden (3 1/2), Atticus (3 1/2), and Grace (20 months).

 Also, we have a precious picture of these three boys when they were only 4 and 5 months old so we decided to re-create it. We plan to make them do this until they are at least 18 years old. Of course, this means we have to keep this chair that long as well.

 Ah - the peaceful, fun, goes-back-a-long-time group of myself, Vic, Todd, Emily, Mandee & Derek.

 And then we have real life....kids in tow!

I love this picture of the boys tailgating with their oldest kids. With A&M Kingsville and UT (Derek and Emily) also being schools within our families, I'm sure we won't get all the kids to go to A&M. But, wouldn't it be fun if they did?

Mayonnaise, Mustard, Catchup!

A long time ago, on my friend Cecilia's blog, I remember her using this phrase and it has stuck with me ever since. So, today, since I am MONTHS behind on blogging our Seidel lives, I am going to use it! Mayonnaise, Mustard, Catchup! That is what I plan to do the best I can over the course of the next week. So, be prepared - lots of pictures and updates coming!

Atticus Starts Preschool

I decided earlier this year that I wanted to put Atticus into preschool this fall. Around Bryan/College Station, you have to get kids on the lists early, so in March I paid my fee to secure him a spot. I had gone back and forth deciding whether to do this. Part of me thought "why a I going to be a stay at home mom if I'm going to send my kids to preschool?". The other part of me thought "Atticus needs to learn to be away from me" since we tend to have some separation anxiety when it comes to church or playdates or anything that does not involve family. And, I always wonder if I am teaching him enough or giving him enough variety of things to learn. So, I decided for all of these reasons, 2 days a week at preschool was the way to go. Last Tuesday night, all four of us loaded up and we headed to Sonshine School at A&M Church of Christ for Meet the Teacher Night. I have been talking about preschool and we have been reading a book about preschool and we've really been getting excited and telling him how much fun preschool would be. So, he was very excited when we got there!

But, do you want to know the crazy part? As we were walking down the hallway to his room, amongst tons of other kids and parents and teachers, I got choked up. I had tiny tears, but worse I had lump in my throat that I wasn't sure would go away before I had to say "Hello" to his teacher, Mrs. Meghann. I have no idea where it came from. I have not been sad about sending him to preschool; I have been excited. But, for some reason, my heart and head were not communicating. My head said "no big deal" but my heart said "my little boy is going to preschool....without me!!!" Thankfully, I made it through an introduction to his teacher and we went inside.

I knew that we would be with him in the classroom for 30 minutes and then leave him with his teacher and classmates while we attended a parent meeting for the next 30 minutes. To be honest, I was expecting a meltdown when we left. I was certain he would start to cry and get upset. But, to my surprise, I told him we would be back in a little bit and we walked out the door and he continued to do a puzzle he was working on and just said "ok.". The good part was that there was lots of fun things to do in his room to keep his attention away from his leaving the room: toys, play dough, puzzles, books, colors, and it was decorated so cute and fun for little 3 year olds!

We went to our meeting and then upon returning to the classroom, we find Atticus in his teachers arms bawling! She assured me it had started in the last minute and thinks it was because parents started coming to get kids and he got upset when he didn't see us right away. Otherwise, she said he had done great! So, we calmed him down and gave him hugs and headed home. Thankfully, he told us he wanted to go back to preschool!

Atticus is only attending Tuesdays and Thursdays this year. So, he had to wait a couple of days and then off we went to his first official day of preschool on Thursday. I tried to take some pictures, of course, before we left. He wasn't too interested and was just ready to get to preschool. Oh and I love how he calls it "preschool" instead of school. It makes him sound so grown up to be so specific. Anyways, we got to school, with Grace in tow (Vic was at work) and dropped him off. I went through the whole "lump in my throat" process again but quickly recovered. We dropped off his backpack and lunchbox and he walked right into the room as I snapped one quick picture (apparently, they didn't really want parents lingering to avoid kids tears). I signed him in and left him there for his first day.

It almost happened too quickly for me. It was such a quick exchange giving him over to his sweet teacher, and leaving him to learn about apples, the color red, rectangles, his family and his school (the themes for the month of September). In fact, as much as I was excited to just be with Grace and run errands with only Grace, I was anxiously awaiting to pick him up to hear about his day. Seriously - when did I become such a "parent"?

When I did pick him up, he was being silly and told me he "didn't like preschool" but then after begging for information, I learned that he played with kids named Elliott and Marshall, talked about the color red, ate lunch and went to music. And he wanted to go back again. Otherwise, the answer I got when I asked questions was "nothing" or "I don't know". He also told me that one kid was crying and when I asked him if he helped make the little kid feel better, he said "my teacher, Mrs. Meghann, took care of that". He also told me "a kid named Aubrey hit me in the stomach, but I didn't walk away; I just played with him." Note: I have told him if he gets into situations where someone is being unkind, he needs to walk away and tell someone. I'm assuming the hit was not intentional or a big deal if he went right back to playing with him. But I thought it was funny that he told me that. Oh and some parenting thoughts: 1) I was happy that he remembered what we told him about walking away. and 2) How do you teach handling problems to kids? I want him to walk away and tell someone if necessary, but I don't want him to be a tattletale. Lots of learning to do!

Here are some precious pictures of his first day at school! Also - notice the daily schedule. I love, love, love how many things they get to do each day!

Here are some fun pictures below.

 This the night of "Meet the Teacher". The rest are from the first day of school.

 

It's finally Aggie Football season!

So, a few weeks back, Daddy came down so he and I could attend Brazos Valley A&M Club Coach's night. I had been to Chalk Talk for Women a couple summers ago and it was so much fun! We got tours of facilities, got to be on Kyle Field, and heard all the coach's give us a "how-to" for football as well as talk about the upcoming season. There were probably 1000 women there and it was so much fun! So, I originally thought coach's night would be similar. It was slightly different. Apparently, it is held at all of the larger A&M clubs in Texas with dinner, auctions, and most importantly a talk from Coach Sumlin about the upcoming football season. It is a big fundraiser for scholarships. So, while it was different than I was expecting, we both had a really good time! And this one was the biggest of them all with hundreds of people. They even auctioned off a football helmet signed by Johnny Manziel - I think it went for $15,000 or so? Anyways, the talks were good and Daddy even asked a question to Coach Sumlin during the Q&A session about if he planned to continue the fast paced offense! (the answer was yes which was exactly what Daddy wanted to hear!). It was really fun and so nice to spend time with just me and my Daddy. I have always loved being with my Dad. We have spent lots of time over the years, before I had a family of my own, driving in the pickup truck to check cattle or work cows or go to goat shows. That is where we had lots of important and special conversations. I'm glad that he is always there to visit with and I love him much more than he knows! Oh and it was also special that night because we got to see Reveille! See our picture below!

So I've said it before, but while football season is always fun, there is something extra special about being in Aggieland on game day. The town is full of excitement. This year, our first game was away and we beat South Carolina stopping their 18 game win streak! But, this past weekend, we had our first home game of the season against Lamar, who we defeated 3-73. And, we got to go to the game! Our friend Russell has company tickets and shared them with us. We were excited because A&M has just completed year 1 of 2 of revamping Kyle Field to be the biggest and best in the country. They are halfway done with tearing down and rebuilding the East and South ends of the stadium. So, we were excited to see it! We headed up around 4:30 to tailgate with some friends and even saw the swagcopter (or swaggercopter?) that Coach Sumlin uses to travel to watch possible high school recruits play. Our seats were 1st deck, 14th row and 35 yard line. The game started at 6:30, but ended up with a 2 and a half hour weather delay due to lightning in the distance. So, when halftime was at 11:00 at night, we had to head home to relieve our babysitter. But, it was really fun to be there and have a date with Vic and be on campus again for a home game. Vic usually makes one game a year with friends, but otherwise, I had not been to one since before Atticus was born. It was a great day to be a fightin' Texas Aggie!

Sibling Love in San Diego outfits

Recently, when Grandpa and Granny Janny visited, they brought Atticus and Grace some clothes from San Diego. They are super summery and cute! I finally got some cute pictures of them one day when I had them dressed alike. See below! Oh and yes, Grace loves to brush her teeth. So, she just happened to still be brushing as we headed outside.

 

"Scwap"booking and GG

GG came in August for a visit to help us with kids while we did swim lessons and to just for fun! We did a lot of the usual - visiting, playing, shopping, and taking pictures! The funniest thing was when we started scrapbooking one night, Atticus decided he needed to scrapbook too. I truly thought he would be interested for about 5 minutes, but no. He wanted to keep scrapbooking. He wanted to use all the tools, even though some are not toddler appropriate, and I think he really liked putting pictures and stickers and paper down. He did his very own pages one night of he and his friend Austin picking strawberries and then he helped GG a couple other nights scrapbook his birthday party. I think part of it was fun because it gave him a reason to stay up longer at night, but he also just likes doing anything with GG! And here are a couple of bonus pictures too!