Austin is a Preschooler!

Austin is officially a preschooler at Hope Lutheran Preschool!  He just completed his first official day.  I've been anxious about this day for weeks, not sure how to sort through my emotions of my one and only growing up.  As I lay in bed last night I was coming up with all kinds of potential reasons why maybe he just wasn't ready yet - why he needed to be with me for another year.  This weird thought plagued my mind for days, "Once he starts school there's no going back for 20 years!"  A part of me still wanted to keep him all to myself, unsure if I was ready to share him with the world.  I know, I know...it's only preschool.  But I know how fast these 3 years have flown by and I can only imagine at what mach speed he'll bust though elementary, then junior high and on to high school.  Seriously, look at those blue eyes!  They melt my heart and provide constant joy in my life.  How can I part with them?  But, it's not about me.  It's about Austin and he's ready to be a big boy.  His brain needs stimulation from a new environment, new kids, new experiences.

We've been prepping him for preschool for about a week.  He always seemed positive about the idea, never voicing any reservations.  Whew.  At back-to-school night he made himself at home with all the new toys in his classroom.  The cowboy inside him is still very much alive and he hunted down some farm animals and a mini barn the minute he got in the door.  Last night we read "The Night Before Preschool" (courtesy of Grandma Nagel) and packed his lime green monogrammed backpack (courtesy of Aunt Lish).  We went over the logistics one more time and tucked him in bed.  I sat down to fill out all the paperwork.  One question had me pondering for a while: "Describe your child."  Hum.  That's not easy to do in 3 lines.  Brett and I put our heads together to answer it. Our Answer: All boy! He loves to chase, wrestle, play "buckin' bronco" and anything cowboyish.  He loves cars, ropes and skateboards.  He has a tender heart but a fiesty attitude sometimes.  He likes to make you laugh - a jokester.  He likes you to watch his "cool tricks" but sometimes would just rather people watch.  He loves (and talks about) his cousins a lot (Jakob, Aaron, Ava).

I could have went on and on but tried to keep it to the 3 lines. 

On the ride to school I told Austin that I would be there waiting for him after school was over.  He didn't like that.  "No Mom! You don't pick me up! The school bus at my school will bring me home."  He loves school buses, apparently more than riding with mom ;-).  The drop off went well, so well in fact I could barely get him to stop playing for 2 seconds to give me a hug goodbye.  Well OK then, guess I didn't have to be a helicopter mom, even though I felt like being one.  So I got in the car and drove home, alone....and shed a little tear.  Sniff, sniff.

The pick up went a bit like this:
Me - "Hi Austin!  How was school today!?"
Austin - "I want a donut!" (in his signature whiny tone when he's tired)
Me - "Did you have fun?  What did you play today?"
Austin - "Mom, I'm very impressed so I want a donut!"
Me - Chuckle to myself...apparently he learned the word "impressed" today.  I'm sure the teacher was "impressed" with his artwork, "impressed" with his manners, and "impressed" with this cuteness ;-)...

Oh, so about that donut.  I broke down, chalked it up to "the first day of school" and just a "special treat."  I took him to the local Moxie Java and he picked the biggest cinnamon roll they had.  Brunch of preschooler champions!

Love you buddy!  Congrats on your first day!

Baptism

I surrendered my life to Christ and was baptised at Eagle Christian Church on August 14, 2011.  The range of emotions that went through my body before, during and now still after are overwhelming and emotional.  It's much too difficult to find the words that can describe the experience.  And the best part - my husband joined me and renewed his committment with full body emersion as well.  I made the best decision of my life with my best friend and loving partner.     
"I can do everything through him who give me strength." Phil 4:13 NIV

And we are so thankful for our dear friends and spiritual mentors, Dave and Hester Christensen, for sparking and guiding our relationship with Christ and our journey in faith.  

Bulson Family Reunion

 Bulson Family Reunion 2011! Wallowa Lake / Joseph, Oregon

A beautiful location...

A little bull and horseback riding...

A little time with cousins...

A little fishing...

A little wildlife...

A little two-seater bike action...

A little reconnection with my sweet cousin Sarah...

A little field game competition...

A WHOLE LOT OF FUN!

Busy June

We've had a busy June so far and are packing in as much fun as we can this summer! Here's a quick rundown of our adventures...

Kite flying in the park! Austin got a Toy Story kite from Uncle Mark for this birthday last month and its been put to good use.

Sno cones, balloon animals, a puppet show and kids concert at an event sponsored by Calvary Chapel Boise.

Austin's first movie! Brett and I had a pair of movie tickets that we were saving for a date night. Well, that never happened with his crazy schedule so I decided to take my best little buddy to his first "real" movie. Our choices were Kung Fu Panda 2 or Rio. I opted for Kung Fu Panda (and quickly regretted it). Austin was a real trooper. He stayed in his seat chowing down on his popcorn and candy for about an hour. Then he got restless and entertained himself on the stairs for the second half. All in all, he was a good kid in the theater but next time I think we'll stick with G movies at his age. Kung Fu Panda was too violent (in my opinion) for a 3 year old. Too much fighting, darkness and talk of evil. I know, you're probably all thinking...well duh...it's "kung fu" panda.

Eagle Fun Days Rodeo! Oh man, I don't think I've seen my child this excited in a long time! He was talking nonstop about riding horses the minute we got there and caught a glimpse of one. He and his cousin Jakob were glued to the gate the entire time. Aunt Lish even sweeten the deal by offering up cotton candy...another Austin first!

So, the morning after the rodeo I had a full blown cowboy on my hands! A very creative one at that. Who knew the $0.25 toy story look alike hat I found at a garage sale would become a key component to his cowboy attire. Score one for mom! Topped off with a jump rope lasso and snow/cowboy boots! This may be one of the cutest pictures I've ever taken of him.

More outdoor festival fun! He had this bouncy slide all to himself.

Face painting was a must-have this day and Austin insisted I follow suit. It's always more fun to share with those you love...like when we're at the Credit Union and Austin says to the teller "I need one [sucker] for my mom too" and then quickly tells me he needs to eat mine, too ;-).

This was a big day at the Emmett Cherry Festival carnival. Previously, Austin had been super scared of the carousel but I think the whole rodeo experience soften him up a bit. He had a blast on the ride with daddy. It was a fun afternoon with the family, expect when Brett got pulled over on the way home and got his first speeding ticket. Yeah, that sucked.

Swim Lessons! This summer Austin advanced from "mommy and me" swim lessons to big kid lessons on his own! He's in the beginner "Pike" level at the YMCA and swims twice a week. I can tell he's getting so much more comfortable in the water. He actually puts his face under the bath water now, something he would never do before. His teacher's name is Elizabeth and I'm always saying, "Make Elizabeth proud by..." and he's more willing to float, dunk, kick, etc. I use her name as leverage ;-).

Girl's Weekend

I was going through my pictures and realized I didn't blog about our girl's weekend in March. It was supposed to be a little get together to welcome Sadie back to the scene (post baby) but it turned out to be a much larger affair. We all met up in Boise for 2 days of good times. We chatted, we lounged, we ate, we drank, we bonded, and we even showed off a few of our bowling skills.


Here is Laura, Darcy and Margo showing off their bowling prizes...



The whole gang at Chandler's for drinks...

Marce, Elisha and Laura in the limo...

Sadie and I feasting on delicious salmon at Barbacoa...

The end.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Austin!

I can't believe my baby is 3 years old! He really is my best little buddy and I can't squeeze him enough sometimes. He is so independent now and wants to do most things on his own. We are having full blown conversations and he shocks me with the amount of information he retains and regurgitates. Lately has been talking nonstop about a new bike, hence the birthday present below! He's quite an avid sportsman already and loves anything to do with a baseball, basketball, football, golf ball, etc. He's actually pretty coordinated and surprises us with this athletic capabilities. He's active and on the move most of the time (which wears his momma out) so luckily our dog Bailey steps in to entertain sometimes. Unfortunately he gets the brunt of 3 year old actions but he's always a good sport.

Austin on his Huffy Rockstar bike!


Austin insisted we go to Jakob's house to show him his new bike. I have a feeling there's going to be a lot of miles between these two!

Austin's birthday party request was to go to the "foam pit." It's a gymnastics studio that has open play time and he absolutely loves to jump into the giant foam pit. We invited a few of his buddies and had a Toy Story themed party. Here's Austin all smiles in the pit.

Daddy couldn't resist jumping in with him!

A few super bounces on the giant trampoline.

The whole gang: Jakob, Aaron, Kalei, Ryia, Austin, Carter and Ava (Jake had to leave early)

And a birthday is not complete without a family celebration at home. Three candles top his strawberry cupcake!

We love you so much little man!

Easter

We had an eventful Easter weekend filled with all the things that make Easter special. Brett was MIA for most of the festivities, but more on that later.

Here is Austin and I in our Sunday best for Easter services at church. Mary bought him the most adorable 3-piece suit for the occasion, complete with a purple shirt and tie. He was a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e! Austin with cousin Ava at church.
The Easter bunny brought Austin a basket full of goodies PLUS a skateboard! He'd been obsessing about skateboards for over a month so I was so glad the Easter bunny put an end to that! One lucky kid.

My sweet boy anticipating the start of the egg hunt at church.
Another pic with the cousins, Jakob and Aaron... Eggs galore...over 19,000 of them!

And, they're off!

A full basket, egg hunt success!
Oh, and back to Brett. Austin was a bit wild and crazy the Thursday before Easter weekend. Brett was trying to settle him down for bed and brought out some books to read. Well, Austin was in no mood to read and threw one of the books back at him. The corner of the book hit him right in the left eye. At first I thought Brett was overreacting a bit but by the end of the night he was still in so much pain (silly me ;-). We took him to urgent care the next morning where we discovered he had a significant corneal abrasion. He laid in a dark room on high powered pain meds all weekend. Poor guy. He said it was the worst pain he's ever felt. I guess eye injuries are the worst because the pain medication doesn't work well for the eyeball. But alas, his eyeball is healing well and he's back to his old self. Austin was a bit out of sorts all weekend because he's a sensitive kid and he knew he hurt daddy pretty bad, but he's back to his old self again too. Accidents happen and I'm sure this won't be the last. This was a quick snapshot after a follow-up appointment with an eye doctor.