Down on the Farm

Kindergarten field trip day. 132 Kindergartners. Oy.

Overall, it was tons of fun. I have some huge issues with the way their school runs things (such as having someone's Dad, that the other children have never met, alone with 3 other little girls ALL day on an enormous farm). Seriously..the more I think about it, the angrier I get. It was an unstructured trip- meaning you were NOT with your class or teachers all day and on your own with "your" kids you were in charge of. None of this info was relayed to parents..I am sure they had NO idea and assumed their child was being watched by their teacher. Nothing like having a man (or woman!), that hasn't been background checked and is NOT an employee of the school, alone for multiple hours on a farm with a few 4-6 year old girls. Gross. They are in charge of lunch, bathroom (and "my" girls DID need assistance), etc...and there are TONS of places to wander off on that farm.

ANYway, I am sure I won't let that go. :) AND it's a damn good thing I can chaperone all field trips myself.

I digress. :) Back to the farm. Well damn skippy Neve was in MY group..and we had her little friends with us too so she was happy as a clam. It was Neve's first school bus ride too so she was super excited for that alone!

Neve's best school friend is Kristina, the girl with the dark hair next to her.

 

This is Neve's teacher, Mrs. Smith. Her regular teacher is on maternity leave for another month. Neve loves Mrs. Smith. :)

 

The bus ride back to school- we made it! :)

 

Meanwhile, back at the elementary school, Nate was having his "Halloween party" with his class and I made it back just in time to pop in and spend time with his class too.

Nate's Autism class went door to door to the classrooms to trick or treat.

 

I rarely pop in Nate's class during the day as it really stirs him up. He kept taking off running down the hallways..lol..well I guess he DOES have a cape on. :)

 

Nate's scarecrow he made.

 

Nate with his teacher, Mrs. Tan.

 

Ok, I think that covers Halloween festivities! Oh wait, I still have pumpkin patch..and Disney pics too. Guess I better get with it! :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



TRICK-OR-TREAT!

Neve is in love with the new Disney movie that came out this summer..BRAVE. It's about an independent, strong willed girl. We can relate. :)

Neve decided long ago that she was going to be Merida from Brave, and I really was helpless to stop her. Long gone are my cutesy days of picking out her adorable costumes...welcome to the land of Disney influence I suppose. We decided to make Nate a "Wee Dingwall" costume to go along with Merida. Wee Dingwall is one of Merida's would-be suitors...he doesn't say anything at all in the movie and looks unassuming, but when provoked, he attacks. Hahahaha..sounds perfect.

 

Wee Dingwall and Princess Merida

 

Neve quickly realized that the "older" generation handing out the candy at certain houses were not exactly "up to date" on their Disney princesses. They kept calling her Ariel...which pissed off our little Merida. Ha! Good thing she had foam arrows. ;)

So here are pictures of the movie characters for those of you reading this that need a BRAVE lesson.

This is Wee Dingwall.

 

...and this is Princess Merida.

 

Nate was so cute about it all this year. As soon as Neve put on her wig, he ran over to play with her wig and said, "BRAVE!". It was super cute. I think he really likes trick or treating..especially being outside at dark.

 

 

 

 

 

We had a successful Halloween-yay! Grandma Ding even completely surprised us and drove out here to trick or treat! The kiddos were thrilled to have Grandma here too. Yay for Halloween!

 

 

 

 

 

 



She's Got Game!

It's that time again...SOCCER SEASON!! Yes, It's still 8000 degrees here in Phoenix, but we just pretend it's not. :) I still put on jeans and grab a coffee and head to the fields. I am pretty sure if I keep pretending I live back East, Aaron will get the hint and move us back already!!! (..and the constant complaining and whining seems to be working too.)

This season we are still on the 4 yr old girl's team (U5)...we are royal blue and the girls decided to be called The Blue Mermaids.

This is Neve with two of her fellow Blue Mermaids, Addison and Camila.

 

 

Warming up..or River Dancing. Not sure which.

 

The pre-game huddle. Very intense.

 

GOOOOOO MERMAIDS!

 

 

The girls discussing strategy..or favorite colors..or something.

 

 

 

 

This was the response after Aaron told Neve to pay attention to the game. Precious, isn't she?

 

High fiving Dad on the way back in to play. Nateman plays IPAD most of the time, but when everyone claps he joins in too!

 

There's still a LITTLE hand holding going on..BUT for the most part, Neve is all business...offensively aggressive, throwing elbows, and not giving up. That's our girl! :)

 

SHE SHOOTS.....

 

SHE SCORES!!!!

 

High five to coach.

 

 

 

Here's to a great season!!!!

 

Also, for our fam and such, here is a link to all the first game day pics. :)

PORTNOY FAMILY SHUTTERFLY PAGE

 

 

 

 

Better late than never, right?!

Happy 7th Birthday Nateman!!

Last month our little guy turned seven. Wow. Such a cliche, but damn, that went fast.

Nate really isn't the birthday party kind of kiddo, so we booked up a trip to a local water park resort instead.

Nate had been home sick from school on that Friday, but he seemed to be turning the corner by Saturday so went ahead on our trip. We checked in and my monkeys immediately started jumping on beds.

Then we let Nate open some presents from family.

 

 

 

Thank you Granny E, Grandma Ding, Grammy and Grampy, Uncle Brett, and Aunt Alisha!

 

We hit the water park and had a great day. Nate loves the pool and lazy river.

We headed out for his birthday dinner later that day and I guess the day caught up with Nate. He had a fever and started going downhill rapidly at dinner. By the time we were singing him Happy Birthday over a bowl of fruit, he was done with it all. He had his head on my lap and wasn't eating...and that boy does NOT turn down food!

 

 

Aaron took Nate to bed and Grandma Ding and I took crazy pants for ice cream..

 

Things went from bad to worse that night and Aaron and I ended up at an all night Urgent Care with Nate. His asthma was out of control and his nebulizer wasn't doing the trick. SO, after a doc visit with the Asian guy from the Hangover (seriously- EXACTLY like him) , Nate had some steroids and such in him and could breathe.

So much for a birthday getaway. :(

 

Nate has come so far this year!!! Aaron and I were reflecting on how many big things he has accomplished this year...The biggest of which is NO MORE PULLUPS! That is HUGE for us. He even still goes to bed at 6:30pm, stays dry ALL NIGHT, and holds it until 6:30am. Amazing. Kids with Autism are all over the place with potty training. You hear stories in every direction with all sorts of outcomes..Nate is considered on the "severe" end so kept hoping but also prepared ourselves for a forever thing if need be. I couldn't be happier to be wrong. :)

 

Happy Birthday, Nate! We love you so much..and keep surprising us!!