Ethan's Birthday Party-H2Oasis

Lounging......like a couch potato. In the water.

Best brother buddies!

Dakota's best buddy since birth, Ethan, had his 5th birthday party at H2Oasis In October. Since Koda started Kindergarten, we haven't been able to go have fun at toddler swim (it's M-W-F mid-morning!), and he's been pretty bummed about that. Koda and the kids had a blast, and it was Brayden's first time at H2Oasis. Brayden took a bit of time to warm up to the idea of a pool that wasn't quite as warm as his bath, but after the initial "shock", he was LOVING it! However, he wouldn't *smile* for the camera!!! But at least he's not screaming, so that's a plus!

Bathtime

Just a few pictures of the boys in the bathtub. I can't wait until Brayden is a bit older and able to sit up in the bath and play with Dakota! I LOVE being a mom of two adorable boys....I can't imagine my life without them!

Happy Birthday, Dakota!

Dakota's 5th birthday was September 19th, which happened to fall on a Saturday this year! He decided he wanted to go to Bouncin Bears, and then come back to the house for cake and ice cream, and his pinata! My mom and I (mainly my mom!) made a baseball pinata and filled it with some candy, sticky hands, and small nerf-like sports balls. He loved it! More pictures to follow, as all I have at this time are pics from Bouncin Bears!

Brayden!

Dakota started soccer a couple weeks ago, so we all accompany him to his practices/games. It has been outdoors (we had our first indoor practice 2 days ago), and Anchorage has gotten a bit colder lately. The past week, I've really had to bundle Brayden up in order to keep him warm and happy (or at least attempt to keep him happy!) during practice. I managed to stuff him into the cutest little blue corderouy coat, and took a few pictures of him. Unfortunately, Brayden wouldn't smile for me, but he does have the cutest big blue eyes and a little puzzled look on his face! He couldn't be cuter!

Dakota's 1st Day of School!

This year was a bit of a challenge to get Dakota into Kindergarten. The past 2 years, he's been attending New Horizon's Preschool, which he LOVED. It was only a couple days a week for a few hours, but he learned so much. When I talked with the Anchorage School District, they let me know that not only was Dakota past the age cutoff date (I knew that....his birthday is September 19th), but he was also inelidgible to be tested for enterance into Kindergarten because he missed that cutoff by 4 DAYS! No exception, no way to do it. It doesn't matter if your child is a genius (not that I claimed that....but he is a smart cookie!), if your child can do algebra as a 5 year old....they don't care! Soooo.....I looked into private schools in the Anchorage area. I researched virtually ALL of them, met in person with some of the administrators, toured the school itself, etc. I decided to not consider the religious schools (for our own reasons), which left only a few options for us. I went to the Montessori school, found out it wasn't for us, which left us with one viable option (which I didn't like NOT having other options). I met with Pacific Northern Academy, and instantly fell in love with the school and the people. Besides the expense and the location (it's across town with no bus service!), there's nothing I'd ever change! Dakota, George, and I all love the school. It's an Early Kindergarten through 8th grade school, but everyone knows virtually everyone else. Besides his own class, Dakota also knows everyone in the Early Kindergarten class, as well as a good chunk of the kids in 1st-5th grades! There's just a great sense of community there, and it makes for the best atmosphere. Dakota's even made some really good friends there, sisters Isabelle (in Koda's Kindergarten class) and Emily (in the Early Kindergarten class). We've had a few after school playdates, and I've even made a friend out of it, Felicity (the girls' mom). They moved here from Great Britain a little over a month ago and know nobody, and it's so great to be able to become friends with their family!

Anyways, Dakota's first day of school was great. He was so excited to use his new backpack and lunchbox. They wear uniforms there at school (just khaki's or navy pants with certain colors of polos), which are absolutely adorable. And, there's no early morning fights about what Dakota is wearing (which is my favorite part). Here are a few pictures of Dakota's first day at Kindergarten!

Labor Day at the Cabin!

Every Memorial Day and Labor Day, the family heads up to the cabin in Sutton. Originally, my great grandparents homesteaded on land right past Sutton. My grandmother and one of my great uncles also ended up building homes there. Since, only my great uncle's wife remains on the property full time. BUT....when my grandmother sold her home about 7 years ago, she kept around 5 of the "back" acres. Our family friend, Dan, and my uncle, John, built a small cabin on that property, overlooking a large "pond", which now houses what we call the beaver "condo". It's much to large just to be just a beaver dam! Spending time up at the cabin has become somewhat of a regular tradition Memorial Day-to kick off the summer-and Labor Day-to say farewell to summer! Now that Dakota and the twins are old enough, they enjoy going 4wheeling. This spring, my parents bought the boys a gas powered 4 wheeler, and although the power is still a bit too much for the twins, Dakota has been practicing on it quite a bit! Brayden was introduced to the cabin this year Labor Day weekend. We didn't camp out (I don't think everyone else wanted to wake up to a crying baby!), but spent the day there. Brayden quickly found his "spot".....too cute. He loves the hanging chair, and slept amazingly well that afternoon!

Best brother buddies

Daktoa has been so great with Brayden....sometimes a bit too eager to help! But I suppose that's better than the alternative! Dakota is constantly wanting to be with Brayden, giving him kisses and hugs, and helping me out by retrieving spitty cloths, throwing away diapers, and putting Brayden's clothes away. It's been such a blessing having 2 amazing boys.