ice cream social

hayden's school had an ice cream social on friday evening so we packed the family up and headed over.
besides the ice cream they also had a clown that made balloon animals for the kids and they had a raffle for a dog webkinz and a tiger webkinz. i decided we would get hayden 5 tickets which would make the webkinz half off if he actually won. when you purchased the tickets you got to pick if you wanted to try to win the dog or the tiger. i asked hayden if he wanted to split them up but he insisted he ONLY wanted the dog. so he put all 5 tickets into the bucket next to the dog.
we waited in line for our ice cream where we saw hayden's friend zachary from his preschool class 2 years ago. his mom actually works at the cake shop that did the cake for jessica's wedding. we also ended up seeing hayden's friend julianna from 2 years ago as well.
surprisingly, hayden moved pretty slow with eating his ice cream. even talan had only a few bites as he was VERY interested in watching the clown make the balloon animals.
at around 7:25 the announced that they were doing the webkinz drawing. hayden started pumping himself up telling us that he was going to win and how badly he wanted to win. i had to let him know that he might not win because there were a lot of people trying to win but only 1 person could get the dog. then they called his name. great for him, but not so great for future raffles when he thinks he always will be the winner!
he started jumping up and down, spinning in circles yelling "i won! woooohooo! i won the webkinz dog!"
on the way out to the car we asked what he was going to name this dog. he has two others and named them fetch and rayden (because it rhymes with hayden). he came up with them all on his own which we were quite impressed with since he doesn't have the greatest imagination with things like this. he told us he was going to name this one "little brown dog." dave had to explain to him that that was a description, not a name. so we went through several options and he eventually decided to name the dog percy, after percy the train.
i have been informed that the next webkinz he gets will be named thomas.

julianna, hayden and brendan:
balloon animals:


the dudes:
the winning ticket:


hayden shared his new dog with talan for a bit so he could go run:

the new david beckham

this morning hayden played in his very first soccer game through the daca in livonia.
i was told about this soccer "league" by a mom from hayden's bowling league last year. when i called to sign him up in the spring they were already booked for his age group. i called around to try to find another soccer league and found one through redford. i ended up not signing him up because it was a little more intense than i was planning on getting this early on. it was pretty much a true league and the kids had 2 one hour practices each week and then the games on saturday. we weren't even sure if soccer was something he'd like so i wasn't about to make that big of a commitment just yet. and just thinking about having to drive back and forth 3 days a week for 5 year old soccer was a little more than i could handle. and at the time i didn't even have my minivan so that just wouldn't have worked.
i called the other month to check on the daca fall league and found that they were just starting to register. there are 3 different age groups. hayden is in the 4 and 5 year olds. they split each age group up into two teams and they just play against each other each week. it's every saturday for just over a month and it's 1/2 hour practice that morning and then a 1/2 hour game. perfect!
we went out yesterday in search for some shoes as hayden has pretty much outgrown most of his shoes anyway. i figured i'd get something that i liked so he could wear them outside of soccer since this he'd just be playing this time around for a month.
it was quite the frustrating venture as we couldn't find any shoes and ended up having to go to the mall and pay $50 for a pair. ridiculous what they charge you for a pair of kids shoes these days. but at least we got some. and they're cute and something i'd have him wear anyway. dave wondered if we really needed to get any but i don't think the coaches would have liked him showing up in sandals or converse.
we headed over to devon aire park in livonia this morning and picked up hayden's green team shirt. a little bit later, dave joined us after his football game and mom, dad, jessica and justin (who just got home from jamaica last nite) came to watch as well.
it was shocking to see how well hayden actually listened to the coaches and how he did everything they told him to do during warm up.
when the game started, hayden was the first group on the sideline. he sat pretty patiently and even cheered for his team. then it was his turn out on the field.
now, you have to understand that we've never really explained anything about soccer to him. we have told him he can't ever touch the ball with his hands, but other than that, we haven't said too much.
so that explains why he got all excited and did a goal dance the two times he kicked the ball PAST the net. after explaining it, he eventually understood that it's only a goal when it goes IN the net. but he did that twice too!
hayden's team ended up winning (which i don't think they really made a big deal of or even pointed out) with a score of 3 to 1...hayden scoring 2 of those 3 goals!!! he did GREAT and LOVED it out there! when the one goal was scored on his team he put his hand on his forehead and just shook his head. we're all about the competition in this family.
so we're now 2 in 2 with sports that he's just picked up and done well at immediately. he told mom yesterday on the phone that after soccer he's going to play basketball and after basketball he will play football. i knew about the football thing as we found a place that had little kid flag football but i had no idea about the basketball. i'm just trying to find some good tennis lessons for him.
he's gonna make us some money somehow. right now we're just trying to figure out what our best bet is.




stretchin' it out:



watching from the sideline:


game on:




you can't see it very well, but this was one of hayden's goals:
i have a feeling he's going to be a bit of a ball hog:

first day of kindergarten

today was hayden michael's first day of kindergarten! he couldn't WAIT to walk to the bus stop this morning.
there were only 2 other kids at the bus stop. yet another day and another reminder that yes, we are sending our child to redford schools. there were mullets and tails and smoking and talk of how he's not afraid of cops. cops around here think you should be afraid of them just because they have a badge, but he's not. and one time a cop wanted him to go wake his daughter up and he said "i ain't waking my daughter up! you can if you want her that badly."
oh. and did i forget to mention that one of the little boys names was legoless? i just thought it was a horrible name. like maybe these people didn't have enough money to buy the dream set of legos they wanted right around the time she gave birth. then when we got home, dave informed me it's even worse than i imagined. it's the name of a frickin' elf from lord of the rings.
oh hayden, i'm so sorry.
so anyway. the bus stop is just 2 doors down from us, on the same side of the street which is great. it was supposed to come around 8:44am but it didn't end up coming until just after 9am. when school starts. dave was even able to go into work late so he could see hayden off on his very first day.
hayden went right on in and headed to a window seat where he sat and waved goodbye to us. i only had a couple of tears in my eyes...not nearly the emotion that i had last year when i sent him off on the bus for preschool. i was glad i had gotten it out of the way last year! but it still was sad to think that this is it. he is now officially in school. i can't just let him skip a day to go pick apples because it's only preschool. dave seems to think that i can still take him out for a reason like that, but i'll try to set a good example.
when the bus pulled away, we headed back home and hung out in a much quieter than normal house. i had forgotten what it sounds like with just talan around! after a bit talan and i headed out to toys r us for the big train sale to get some early christmas shopping done. something i didn't forget is how great it is to be able to go shopping with a kid that has no clue and won't remember that he actually played with one of his gifts in the cart the day you (or santa) bought it.
we came back home and waited around for hayden to come home and hear all about his day. i had gotten a phone call before we left for the store telling me that the bus was actually going to be dropping him off at our house each afternoon around 12:18pm which is perfect.
i waited outside, armed with my camera, and the bus pulled up probably about 12:25 or so. hayden came bounding happily off the bus showing me his new and improved name tag. the first thing he said? "i gotta go in and eat lunch now! i'm starving!" yeah, right.
he told me he had cinnamon graham crackers for snack and that 3 kids from his old class are in his kindergarten class. nicholas, elijah and hailey.
when i asked him if he learned anything he said "yeah, lots" but didn't go into specifics. i asked if he learned any letters today and he told me "no. and i already know all of my letters, mom!" stupid me.
he did tell me he got a little warning when he went down the slide before waiting for the person in front of him to go off but his card still stayed on green and didn't move to a yellow. AND he didn't even push anyone today! ahhh, progress.
in his backpack was a little rhyme from his teacher about letting him go off to kindergarten which made me tear up more than the bus actually did. and at the bottom was a picture of his whole class. how great are digital cameras?!
all in all it seems like hayden had a great day! now he'll start soccer tomorrow and get ready for a full week of school next week!


thanks for the new backpack, jessica and justin!:



the long walk to the bus stop:

waiting for the bus:

here it finally is:



he tried opening the window at first:
taking my baby away:
home again, home again:

this was the giant leg hug i got:
first day of kindergarten? check!:

kindergarten orientation

despite the fact that most all of the other schools in the area started school on tuesday, redford, or at least redford's kindergartner's still haven't started.
today hayden and i headed to his new school, macgowan, for his kindergarten registration. and tomorrow will be his first day of school.
we received a call this morning tell us his bus schedule. he will be picked up 2 houses down from ours around 8:44am and will be dropped off around 12:20pm. our days won't be too much different from his preschool years, they just get started a little later which is fine by me!
dad came over to watch talan so i could just be with hayden and not have to worry about a growling, running around baby. we found hayden's classroom (the koala room) and lined up outside where he will line up every morning before school starts.
we met his teacher, mrs. holmes, and the assistant teacher, mrs. arnett. both seem really nice. poor teachers.
when we walked into hayden's classroom we were sent on a scavenger hunt to find things like the housekeeping area, blocks on a shelf, bathroom, cubby holes, etc. when he found everything on the list he was able to pick a sticker and a pencil.
hayden was then able to play with some of the toys that were set out on the tables for a bit.
he knew one little boy from preschool last year, but unfortunately he will be in the afternoon class instead of morning with hayden.
while the kids were playing i was able to look around and realize that we really were in redford. one mother was there dressed up nice and fancy in her rose colored sweatpants. one mom brought not only her kindergartner, but also her 3ish year old with a pacifier and her two babies that were dressed in nothing more than a diaper. awesome.
after the kids cleaned up they all sat on the rug and played a little game with the teacher and then moved over to the reading area where they sang two songs, read a book and the teacher wrote them a little message on the board.
from there, all of the kids went outside while the parents stayed inside and heard a little more about what they would be doing in school this year.
after that was probably hayden's favorite part, the point where he got a popsicle while leaving.
he seemed to have a good time and was really excited about starting school tomorrow. he was already more than willing to throw his hand up and answer questions whenever they were asked. and even when they weren't asked.
i haven't been too emotional about the whole thing and i'm hoping that i got it all out of my system last year when i put him on the bus for the first time. it still is a big step knowing that it's kindergarten though. so we'll see how it goes. i do think we are both ready for him to start back to school though!

waiting to go inside:

at least he's raising his hand. although he doesn't realize that not EVERYONE gets called on so he got a little upset about that:
found his cubby...and his name was even written in his favorite color! he was quite excited about that:
hayden's kindergarten classroom:


play time:


circle time:
mrs. holmes. she has no idea what she's getting herself into this year:
"hello hayden" "hello mrs. holmes":

singing time:
he has all the answers:
story time:

in the car on the way home he asked if he could have a popsicle at home. "but i haven't had a popsicle at home yet" was his logic: