Lawson is 3!

On Tuesday the 21st, Lawson turned 3.  It was such a busy day (my night to teach my college class) and I was so sad I didn't really get to see him much, but my parents took good care of him that night.  Brad arrived in town today, so we're celebrating this weekend, and next weekend is his big birthday party with all his little friends from school.  Stay tuned for what I'm sure will be some epic pictures and anecdotes!

Every year on his birthday, I've made a little video of Lawson's pictures from the previous year.  They're a lot of hard work to put together, but I'm always pleased with the end result.  I hope you enjoy getting to see all of Lawson's cool experiences from his 3rd year of life.  Click on the link below to be directed to the video:

Lawson is 3

Party Time!

Back in July, I blogged about Lawson's friend, Mikey.  The two are still inseparable and have started refering to each other as "my best friend Mikey/Lawson".  It's so cute to watch!  I had no idea kids could be this close to a friend, this early. 

Today was another friend's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, a place that tends to freak Lawson out with all the noise and commotion.  But he had a blast today and played with all kinds of stuff he doesn't normally touch...mostly because his friends were there - especially Mikey.  What a fun day!

Playdate!

On Sunday afternoon, we had a playdate with Lawson's friend, Heath, from school.  Since it's still all-out summer here (highs in the low 90s), Heath's parents and I decided to take the kids to our local park that has a splash pad.  The boys had such a good time running around in the water and climbing on the playground equipment. 

Lawson doesn't like the shower, so this particular part of the splash pad took some warming-to.  This cracks me up:

I know, I know...

So, it's been another month since I last posted...  Sorry, we've been pretty busy here.  School has been wonderful this year!  I have an amazing group of kids and I really love what I'm doing.  But the first of the year is always a little crazy and then I've been coming home to a new house to unpack/decorate.  After an enormous amount of help from my family, the house is really looking great!  It's so nice to have more space!  I have a few small projects left to finish before I can declare the house officially "finished", but it's awfully close. 

There hasn't been a whole lot of picture-taking going on lately, but I did manage to get a few last weekend for Labor Day.  As we move into fall, I'm sure we'll have a lot more stuff going on that is "picture-worthy".  Stay tuned!

My folks found this gigantic bear at Costco and thought it would make a good "welcome to your new house" gift.  Lawson loves it!

Manly bonding over the grill with Grandpa:

Um, not sure what to write as a caption for this one:

The most fun part of the day for Lawson is when we were finishing up the setup for his bedroom, Grandma ran the vacuum...and let him jump on for a ride.  We all howled with laughter!

Back to Normal...

Boy, it's been a whole month since I last posted!  We've had such a wonderful summer.  The last two years have been a little different and it's nice to finally get back to the busy busy busy lifestyle I've enjoyed so much in my life.  Lawson seemed to enjoy it, too, which bodes well for his life with me as his mom. 

This summer had us roadtripping around Texas for a week in June and I was a bridesmaid in my friend, Heidi's, wedding in Buffalo, NY.  I did a short weekend visit to Vicksburg, MS, to swap out vehicles with Brad and came home and bought something new.  In mid-July, I left again for a week-long training course for my new job at the United World College in Montezuma, NM.  I learned a lot about the IB program I'm about to start teaching and got a chance to see a bunch of great sites around the area. 

I was home for less than a week and it was back in a plane to VA for Lawson and me.  We visited with Brad and his family - many of whom came down from NJ and Boston...even had a couple of family members who were here from Poland!  Oh, and a visitor from Italy!  Quite the family gathering....  I got a chance to see many of my friends and we even took Lawson on his first trip to Washington, DC.  He rode the subway for the first time and toured his first Smithsonian museums (Air & Space and Natural History).  We even had a picnic on the National Mall...  Great stuff!

There are so many pictures to share from all these adventures and they won't all fit on this blog...so I'm going to direct you to my Facebook page to see them.  Don't worry, even if you don't have a Facebook account, you'll be able to see my pictures if you follow this special link.  Just click on the top left picture and you can see them in a slide show.  Hope you enjoy!

 Album 1  and Album 2

The adventure continues as we move out of our 2 bedroom apartment this weekend and into a larger 3 bedroom rental house (complete with a much-needed backyard).  We're very excited about it!  And then, on Monday I start back to work and Lawson starts daycare again.  However, now that he's in the 3-year old room, it's really more of a pre-school environment and he's going to be learning some really great stuff.  Stay tuned for some great anecdotes!

BFFs....

Lawson has had many opportunites to play with kids his own age. We have playdates fairly often, but it's always been MY friends who have kids his age.  Usually the kids hit it off and much fun ensues for the kids and my friends and me. 

However, tonight, Lawson and I went on a playdate with his very best buddy from daycare, Mikey.  At school, the boys are inseparable and Lawson talks about Mikey all the time at home.  Their teachers say they're constantly looking out for one another and most days when I pick Lawson up, he and Mikey are over in a corner by themselves, having a ball.  Mikey's mom and I don't usually have a lot of time to talk at pickup time, but we seemed to hit it off and decided to plan a playdate.

Um...yeah.  It was a hit!  It was so cool to watch Lawson and Mikey fall into their routine and have the moms feel each other out and get to know one another...since it's usually the other way around.  Jen and I had a blast watching our boys do their thing.  She and I got along great and are ready to plan another one of these.  It was a late night, but totally worth it!

Home With Mom...

The summer is flying by!  Shortly after our road trip, I left Lawson for the first time and went to New York to be in a friend's wedding.  Since I returned, Lawson and I have just been enjoying a simple life at home together.  The schedule is about to get nuts again, but for now, we're just hanging out...and it's grand.

This morning, we made Rice Krispy Treats for the first time.  Lawson's such a big helper!

Later today, I was going through some old boxes of stuff trying to find fun things to put in my classroom for next year.  Lawson really enjoyed the Mardi Gras beads and the novelty hat my friends Tony and Amanda brought back from Scotland.  I left them out on my bed and this is what Lawson did to himself...honest!

Just a day in the life...  :-)

Texas Road Trip!

Last Sunday, Lawson and I embarked on a roadtrip across Texas.  The plan was to visit my friend, Tracy, and her 15 month old daughter, Samantha in Houston.  But I figured while were on the road, we ought to see some other people, too! 

Our first stop was College Station to see my friend, Lisa, and her son, Kaden (who was born just 3 days before Lawson).  The boys played so well together - it's too bad we don't live closer.

After that, it was on to Houston where we spent a few days.  Tracy took most of the pictures and hasn't had time to send them yet, so I'll post those later. 

We also stopped to see my friend, Heather, and her 3 kids.  We met at a playground made up of bounce houses - a kid's paradise!  Lawson, however, freaked out about the level of noise in the place.  He still liked some of the stuff, and he had to improvise a bit to find a way to climb around while his hands stayed firmly over his ears... 

He finally got over the noise...right before it was time to leave.  Sigh....

Lawson was doing fairly well on the road, so in a moment of pure spontenaity, we headed to San Antonio to see my friend, Mendy, and go to Sea World.  I was SOOO glad we went.  Lawson had a blast!  The dolphins were his favorite part.  Getting to feed them was the highlight of the day!

He also LOVED Shamu...the animal.  He loved all the pictures and statues of him and we even took home a stuffed version that he drags everywhere now.  But he really didn't enjoy the Shamu show.  It was as loud as a rock concert and it really bothered his ears.  He panicked a little and so we had to leave before the show was over. 

The noise scared him, but not the alligator feeding...who knew?  I was glad we caught this - the presenter said they only feed them twice a week.  They were some hungry creatures!

We finished up the day with the sea lions.  They were so cute and we got to feed them, too! 

I think I had as much fun at Sea World as Lawson did!  I'm so glad Lawson was such a good traveller - we'll have to do this again! 

Texas Scottish Festival

Yesterday, I took Lawson down to the Texas Scottish Festival in Arlington... we really are festival junkies.  They're so much fun!  Lawson didn't wear a kilt like he did last year because was a lot of hard work to make and he outgrew it so quickly.  My mom re-did the t-shirt, though, and he looked perfectly adorable in just plaid shorts. 

At the children's tent, though, they dressed Lawson up in an old-fashioned kilt - one that has to be wrapped around (not already sewn).  He thought that was pretty fun!  He especially liked the sword!

We had a great time!  Lots of good music, fun shopping and yummy eats.  They also had face painting, which he's never wanted before, but this time thought that a Scottie dog on his knee would be ok.  He was so proud of his doggie, he showed it off all day!  Here he is, trying to get the attention of the drummer in one of the bands. 

Lawson thought the drummer was the epitome of cool and so much wanted him to notice the doggie.  At one point, after one of the songs was over, Lawson shouted out "Hey!  Man!  I have a doggie on my knee!"  The drummer didn't hear (which was fine with me...) but we did get a chance to meet him later and Lawson proudly showed off his knee.  Turns out, the guy had a toddler at home and was more than happy to chat with my little boy.  Lawson nearly died from starstruck awe...  Too cute.  Yeah, I bought their CD.  I'm a sucker... 

After the festival, we visited with "Auntie Bef" (Mary Beth) since she lives so close and then had dinner with my friends, Jennie and Hoyt, who also live nearby.  Jennie just got a new kitten, Smokey, and we had so much fun playing with her.  Lawson was so excited and quite honestly, Smokey seemed to like playing with him, too!  Lawson thought this feather toy was hilarious and it wound up being the primary source of entertainment for the evening.  He kept telling Smokey to "eat it!". 

Memorial Day Weekend

We welcomed the unofficial start of summer last weekend by spending most of our time at my parents' house.  The backyard is the perfect spot for Lawson's pool...and he spent nearly the whole weekend in it.

Someone felt the need to ride in a boat...

But we didn't forget the true meaning of the holiday.  On Monday, we attended the dedication of our town's new Veteran's Memorial. My mom was on the committee to create it and they worked so hard to pull it all together into this very beautiful reminder of those men and women who have served this country so nobly. 

The fam:

At Lawson's feet is my dad's brick.  It reads:  Robert J Knight, US Navy - Vietnam 1963-1967

My Goofball...

Just some miscellaneous fun pics for you to enjoy while I sort through the ones from this weekend...

Lawson loves the way his hair looks after riding in the car with the windows down:

I let Lawson play with tape often.  It's cheap and he can do so many different things with it.  Well, one morning this week, he did this to himself while I was getting dressed for work:

Not sure how in the world he came up with this - I don't know if he's ever seen a tetherball pole....but he most certainly made himself into one!  Yes, the tape is wrapped all the way around his tummy and the ball is connected to it all.  I'm always in awe of his creativity!

Finally!

I spent so many months of Lawson's life worrying about how little he spoke.  He was evaluated by speech therapists and everything (they said he was behind in language, but not far enough to warrant therapy -phew!).  He has always "talked", it was just impossible to understand what most of it was.  But, he's never been the silent type...  Last October, he just kinda figured it out.  It really did happen "overnight".  Now, the boy talks constantly, it's so funny!  He has so much to say and now he finally has the words to do it, which is so nice.  We have amazing conversations! 

He also LOVES to sing!  He walks around the house singing for a good chunk of the day.  Unfortunately, it was always so hard to capture on camera!  He sang so many great Christmas songs, but I could never get him to do it on cue...  :(  But, starting this spring, he's been more open to performing and I finally captured just a few of his best songs...done in truly unique "Lawson style".  I present to you this montage of clips:

Lawson's Greatest Hits, volume I

Enjoy!

Scarborough

Let me start by apologizing for letting the blog go for so long.  After you read this post, be sure the catch the one below that I also posted today.  Just trying to finish up the end of the school year is making me a little nutty.  I submitted my grades for the college class today and only have 14 more school days left at the high school.  I get to be a stay-at-home mom this summer and I'm so excited to have all that time with Lawson!

Last weekend, Mary Beth and I took Lawson to Scarborough Renaissance Festival.  I love these things!  I took Lawson last year, but he was a little too young to get much out of it.  This year, he had a ball! 

He love the sausage on a stick!  I'm including two pics so you can see the best of the adorable shirt my mom made for him.  Yes, I push the knights and castles thing with him.  Fortunately, he seems to like it!

His first amusement park ride!  We played on this simple swing for quite a while - he really liked it! 

The shows are so much fun to watch at the Festival.  Here's "One Flaming Idiot" - juggling fire.  Yep - that caught Lawson's attention!

But the BEST part of Lawson's day was the jousting tournament.  He's still talking about the knights who crashed and fell off their horses.  He thought it was so cool!!!

Lawson McQueen

Best Toy Ever!  Or so Lawson feels right now.  Uncle Jim came to town and treated Lawson to this little surprise...definitely a home run! 

And the kid can drive!  He was maneuvering like a pro after about 15 minutes or so, deftly swerving right or left to avoid hitting things.  He can even switch it into reverse and back up!  Of course, every time I tried to capture his mad skills on video, he hits the flower bed...  So, I'm posting this anyway so you can see him enjoying his ride. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHo9kmkD3DY

Gymnastics

I mentioned in a recent post that I thought I'd sign Lawson up for gymnastic class.  Well, I did and we've had two classes so far, which were a great hit!  He was completely overwhelmed with excitement when we walked in the gym for the first class - I honestly think he liked it better than Christmas morning!  It's a "Mommy & Me" class, so I'm with him every step of the way.  These pictures are a little far away, but hopefully you can get a sense of what his typical class is like.

We start out on the trampolines, which he absolutely LOVES!  He calls them the "black bounce" and would stay there all night if he was allowed.  He does a seat-drop really well, but doesn't follow any of the other directions just yet.  Sigh...  We're in the middle, on trampoline #7.

Next up is the circuit rotations.  This is hard!  He does a mean sommersault since he's had lot of practice from his one class at daycare:

And he can manage the balance beam pretty well:

But beyond that, he has a hard time staying focused on the rest of the pieces.  He'd really rather run and do his favorite few things, so I get an awesome workout, myself, just trying to keep him on track.  This picture is a blur, but I love the sense of action you get.  He loves to jump!

And finally, the hour winds up with a long "swim" in the foam blocks.  This is awesome.  Lawson loves to run and take a flying leap into the blocks!  This night, they had a slide, which was pretty cool, too.  Someday, he'll get up the nerve to go at it Tarzan-style with the rope swing they have....but that won't be anytime soon.

So, hopefully, you get the overall idea.  It's a fantastic gym and we're looking forward to many more months of practice.  I keep hearing this is a great way to get kids started in athletics - they learn balance, strength, coordination and discipline early and it will hopefully help with other sports later.  For me, I'm just glad he has an outlet for all that energy! 

The Definition of Optimism...

Is this....

I keep forgetting to mention on here that we are embroiled in that great rite of passage (for both of us), otherwise known as potty training.  Lawson go this great, personalized Elmo-goes-potty book from his G-Daddy and Judy and he loves it!  I started off with a bang over spring break, trying the technique of putting him in underwear immediately and following him around all day, putting him on the potty every 30 minutes.  We had some success, but not enough to warrant doing another day of 10 pairs of underwear.  We switched to pullups and we're both happier for now. 

We've had good days and bad, but we're getting there.  I keep telling myself that all kids eventually figure this out.  It may seem like I'll be changing his diapers when he leaves for the senior prom, but I know that he WILL learn to use the potty much sooner than that...all in good time. 

Playdate

My friend, Brittni, and her daughter, Avy, came to visit us today for a fun playdate.  I know Brittni from a mom's forum I participate in online and we've been chatting since we were pregnant with our kiddos.  She's from a town about an hour away and although she lives at Camp Pendleton in CA, she's home visiting for a while.  We got together once before when the kids were about 13 months old...they've both gotten so much bigger!  Here's a picture we took when we met up before, outside Cracker Barrel.

Our first activity was to take the kids out to play in the famous Texas bluebonnets.  They were both too interested in wandering around - we couldn't get them to sit down for a picture together.  But at least I wound up with a fun shot of Lawson by himself:

When we were done there, we headed back to our house and made some springtime sugar/cutout cookies.  Lawson and Avy had fun for a while, but then got bored.  Brittni and I had a blast finishing them up!  However, all 4 of us enjoyed eating the yummy final product!

Poor Avy broke her leg a few weeks ago, so she's wearing a cast.  She's a tough little girl - she gets around just fine! 

Easter Fun!

Easter Sunday was so much fun for us!  We started with a trip to church, which was extra special since Lawson's friend, Claire, was there.

It got really great when the education director brought out balloons for all the kids.  She was trying to get rid of them and the kiddos were more than happy to take them off her hands!

When we got home, it was time to explore the backyard and see what the Easter Bunny left.  He got lots of candy and a bunch of of cars based on characters from the movie Cars.  It's Wednesday and he's barely touched the candy, but those cars aren't out of his sight for a minute!  Is this MY child???