First Day of School 2011

Tyler's first day of TENS

Josh & Maddie's first day at Smiley 2011-12

First day of school came and went on August 10!! Josh headed into 2nd grade with Mrs. Ducey and Maddie into 1st with Mrs. Busi. (yes, we really do have rhyming teachers this year!) Tyler and my nephew Luke both began PreSchool on September 8 at Trinity Episcopal PreSchool. The 3rd Malak child to attend. Let's see if he can retire some teachers this year (they've been there forever!). There has been minimal crying and he is filfthy and exhausted when he sees me at pick up! I love it!!

Dare I say it .... ?

Just when I stopped thinking about it, and yelling about it, and bribing and threatening ... this stinker potty trained himself!!! Hip-Hip-Horray!!! Preschool here we come!!!

School is over!

The school year flew by (literally) and I now have a second grader and a first grader AND an almost preschooler!!!

Josh ended 1st grade with Mrs. Busi on June 2nd ... his class put on a wonderful play called "the Rainbow People". Josh was chosen to be the Narrator and he took his position very seriously!!! He was really on top of who did what when and who said what ... not to mention reading his part perfectly! He practiced at home for about 2 weeks and did a phenomenal job!!! Both Ryan & I were so proud!! He had a very successful year in 1st grade as well. Straight "O's" on his report card and is reading at a 3rd grade reading level. He tested very proficient in Math (did not get that from his momma!). I was pretty much in tears (yes AGAIN) over how I was able to produce such a smart and sweet child. Don't know how it happened but it DID!! Josh played soccer for AYSO in the fall (2010) and then took up swimming at the RHS pool again this past May. He will swim all summer there -- I really hope he makes the swim team this year because that is all he seems to be interested in. He doesn't care to play soccer again in the fall, which is FINE by me!!

My Maddie-Girl did a FANTASTIC job in Kindergarten this year! She had the same teacher as Josh did in K (Mrs Morris) and I will be sad not to see and help her in her classroom this coming year. She had a rough couple of months overcoming her "shyness" and at one point I heard that she was alone hiding under the slide at every recess until she finally met and became friends with the kids in her class. That almost killed me because that is NOT me (nor her brothers or father) and plus to see your child in an uncomfortable situation or position, you just want to run and make everything all better. But I couldn't make friends for her and eventually she did! Her best friend is Isabella (and still Gianna from preschool) but she and Isabella definately had a great year together!! We were worried about her social abilities at the first report card conference but after Christmas something just clicked and she ended up having a great year!! She had a perfect report card and also tested high in Math and Reading (I'm not kidding...WHERE did I get these smarty-pants kids?!)

Mad played soccer for AYSO like Josh (those were some LONG Saturdays in Sept-Oct-Nov!!) and then we switched her to a new dancing school in Redlands where she will be in her first recital this coming weekend. She's been dancing since about 20 months so I am estatic!! She is asking to add a tap class now in the fall so we will see about that.

So now we are into the summer and I MUST blog again (think I did last year too) about Tyler and his "Adventures in Potty Training" .....

Student of the Month!!

October 2010 ~ Yesterday I attended an assembly at Smiley where Josh was awarded Student of the Month for the month of October! I was so proud and I tried not to get all mushy (esp since my inlaws were sitting right there with me) as they called his name! Josh is the kind of kid who gets "overly" excited and you should have seen his face when he discovered that he was being called up on stage as he called it (there really was no stage!) And then, when his very good friend Morad's name was announced, he was more happy for Morad, than he was for himself. I don't think anyone clapped louder than Josh! What a good kid I have!! I am one proud Momma!!

Not Wanting to Forget ....

Tonight I stood outside Tyler's door and listened to him trying to fall asleep. I stood (well sat after a while) for a good 20 minutes while he sang "tinkle, tinkle 'lil 'tar" and "now I know my a, b, c, d's ... yay!" I love that he is starting to leave babyhood behind and become more of a preschool aged child ... but, I am a little sad at the same time.

I have been heard saying how I can't wait for him to grow up ... to be more independent ... yet there is a part of me that yearns for another baby. (shh! don't tell anyone!) I said for 2 years that Maddie was our last baby, then along came Ty, so I don't say that anymore. ha-ha! I know that I can't do all that baby business again! Tyler really did me in. But I love him to pieces and never want to forget that first baby cry, that sweet baby smell, those nights rocking in the dark, the snuggling in my bed when Daddy is out-of-town or at work late.

Although we call him "the devil in disguise," he is a sweetheart as well. Stay little for just a little while longer Ty ...

The Princess is FIVE!

Seems like only yesterday my Madeline was born. I remember how excited I was when we discovered that we were having a little girl. All I could think about was the pink, girly things ... the clothes, the skirts, the dresses, the bows ... the dollhouses, the 'babies' and of course ... the Barbies! This was the year she actually asked for a Barbie doll. I couldn't wait!! Now while it was her Godparents who supplied the coveted Barbie and Ken Wedding Party set, I will get to provide the Barbie Dream House at Christmas! I secretly can't wait to play.

Happy Birthday to our Maddie-Girl! Thank you for coloring our world pink and filling our days with so much joy and love with that silly laugh of yours that your Daddy just loves to hear. You will always be our Princess!

Maddie on her Birthday ~ October 8

The Tooth Fairy!

Josh finally lost his first tooth tonight! Before he went to bed, I asked to check and see how loose his tooth had gotten. It was pretty wobbly...so I encouraged him to wiggle and play with it as he got into bed. Lo and behold, 15 minutes later, out comes Josh, displaying in his hand the teeniest tooth I'd ever seen! He excitedly proclaimed, "there is not as much blood as Daddy said there would be!" ha-ha! Then he asked to call each of his grandparents. Aw!!

He is starting to ask a lot of questions about the Tooth Fairy .... questioning her ability to know when children have lost a tooth, how does she know where to go, how does she get in, where does she keep all the teeth ... hmm!! I'd better not be hearing Santa questions in December! I want a few more years of Santa power!

Did you know that the Tooth Fairy gets a special text message when a child looses a tooth??

Joshua's missing tooth ~ 9/26/2010