Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day!

Well actually it was last week but I still wanted share what we did this year. A week or so before Valentines, I started looking for ideas on Pinterest. (my new fav Co-workers of mine have me completely addicted to that website). And just in time to make cute Valentines for Jack and Dylan's classes.

Since Jack goes to 1/2 day Kindergarten and Kidstop we had the chance to make two different Valentines for his classes. We also made a special one for his teachers. I also joined him at his Kindergarten class party. He was so excited to have me there. It is hard to get away from work in the middle of the day but I made it a priority to come in and help. He is only going to be this age once so I need to soak it all in while I can. We played BINGO and a candy heart counting game. We opened Valentine’s from his classmates and had root beer floats. How fun!



Candy Heart Counting Game



Jamie had class that night so the boys and I had dinner together and hung out at home. And they gave me their gifts :) Jack made the plate and Dylan made the heart.



Here are the fun Valentines we made for school.



Jack's Kindergartent class got heart shaped crayons that we make out of chopped up old crayons and Target dollar bin heart molds. Jack loved helping make these. They were very simple and turned out very cute.



For Kidstop we made these cute Pop Rocks Valentines. Finding the Pop Rocks was not easy. I remember them being all over the place as a kid, but we did end up finding them at Party City.

This was another option I tried to do for Dylan's class but decided that 1-2 year olds probably would not eat Milky Ways. I tried to give one to Dylan and he had no interest. So Jamie took care of eating them so they didnt go to waste!

And for the teachers we gave them boxes of  Brownie Mix with a cute sign that read "Shooting for Brownie Points"

Me and Jack at his Kindergarten Valentine's Day Party

Back at it?

I have not looked at this blog in ages and I realized there were a lot of posts I never published so I just released them. They are old and out of chronological order but at least I have the event documented!

Let's get up to speed. The end of summer 2011 was overall great. Unfortunately my Grandma passed away at the end of August. It was hard on all of us. We struggled with when to tell Jack about it. He is a very emotional guy and he was going to be starting school the following week and we didn't want him to be affected by so much change at once. In the end, we decided to wait and tell him. I don't regret it because I was emotionally stable enough to talk to him about it and he took it very well. Similar to the pet Beta Fish, Mooky conversation, we told him that Great Grandmas went to Heaven and that even though we can't see here anymore she is still always with us and we can talk to her anytime. He understood and overall it went well.  

Jack and Great-Grandma March 2011

On a much lighter note, we enjoyed every last part of it before school started. Jack finished up t-ball, we went to the cabin and we got outside as much as possible!

Dylan enjoying his kiddie pool

 

Jack at the Anderson's Cabin

 

Labor Day - family time at the park up north

Fall was obviously a very exciting time for us. Jack was starting Kindergarten! Jamie and I got to join him on his first day of school which ended up only being about an hour. But we got to meet his teacher, see the classroom and get instructions for the year. Jack was thrilled!  He didn't seem nervous or scared at all. In addition to Kindergarten, he also attends Kid Stop in the morning and afternoon at school. He enjoys being there. Every day he gets to do new projects and activities. He is learning how to read, write and do math. It is amazing how much these little guys learn and the growth they show week by week!

Jack's First Day of Kindergarten

As we continue into fall, our little Dylan finally started walking at 17 months! Jack was a late walker too so we were anticipating Dylan to be the same. Now he is able to keep up with his big brother and he loves it. His vocabulary is still expanding and is repeating words when he is asked to. He is still in KinderCare three days a week and seems to enjoy it. He has an appetite that won't stop. I always say he must have a hollow leg because I do not know how a little guy at 25 lbs can put away as much food at he does! Right now he still loves his nuks, and his Mickey Mouse blanket. His favorite toy right now is his vacuum and he likes to play floor hockey and basketball with Jack!

Dylan at the apple orchard

Me and the boys at the apple orchard

We enjoyed Halloween. Jack was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Dylan was a Spider. We went out trick or treating in our neighborhood for the first time since we have lived there. Normally we go to Jim and Sharon's but we decided to stick around home and go with our nieces Mya and Tayor. The weather was nice and everyone had a great time!

Jack, Taylor, Dylan and Mya Halloween 2011

Hockey started back up in the fall as well. We are still in full swing of the season. Jack is playing at the Mite level and he his team is The Bulldogs! He has improved so much from last year and he continues to get better each weekend. Just last week he played at the Maple Grove High School hockey game and he even gets to play at the Wild game on his birthday this year! More to come on that.

The Holiday Season was great for us. Thanksgiving was good. We went to my parents and Jamie's parents just like we have been doing for the past eight years. In December, we decorated cookies at both my mom's and Sharon’s went to a holiday concert, and of course we had to go see the big guy Santa. We stood in line of over an hour on a weeknight, but it was all worth it. Jack was so happy to see Santa and tell him what he wanted. Dylan on the other hand didn't care too much for Santa! Christmas was extra fun his year since Dylan was old enough to open his own gifts and get excited. This year, instead of my side of the family coming to our house to celebrate, we went to my sister’s place. It was nice not having to host this year. Then on Christmas Eve we went to Jim and Sharon's like we always do. It is my favorite day of the year! And then of course Christmas morning we were woken up by a very excited 5 year old! We open the gifts from Santa and then we went back to Jim and Sharon's for Christmas dinner. It was a wonderful holiday season!

Jack decorating Christmas Cookies at Grandma Sharon's

Christmas Eve at the Henry's

Santa's Little Helper

Dylan opening gifts

 

So here we are into January. The weather has been very mild so we have been outside more than usual. The boys' birthdays are just around the corner so I will be busy planning that.

 

Did we just communicate? - February 2011

Last night I was feeding Dylan his bottle before bed and when he finished I flipped him over and rested him on my chest to burp him. (He burps on his own most the time but I still help him out a little :)

So I am laying there with him and he lifts his head up and shakes it back and forth which in our house means  no-no.  I said to him " what is no no?" He smiles and puts his head back down. I continue burping him. He lifts his head up again and starts shaking it back and forth. I asked him again" what is no no?" Then he taps me on the shoulder and shakes his head no no as if to tell me he did not want to be burped anymore. So just to test it out I continued burping him and he did it again, tap on my shoulder and the head shake. After that I stopped burping him and he put his head back down and fell asleep.

I sat there thinking did we just communicate? He is working on sign language but this was something different. It was amazing. It was the first time I really felt like he was trying to tell me something and I understood what he wanted. Amazing!


Here is a rare picture of him sleeping on my chest after his night bottle. He has never been a snuggler so naturally I am loving it!

T-Ball - July 2011

Jack started t-ball this summer. His team is name is Super Shining Dragons, or something like that. What ever happened to teams names like The Cubs or the Blue Team?

The first night the coach took the kids far into outfield, sat them in a circle and talked the entire hour. Hmmmm. Jamie and I were watching from a distance wondering what in the world they could be discussing for that long. This is baseball for Pete’s sake, aren’t you supposed to be throwing and catching balls and practicing batting? Apparently they were discussing things such as, we don’t hit our friends with bats, we don’t throw balls at faces, etc... Common sense stuff that normal parenting should have already covered but I guess some kids needed the run down.

We are now a couple of practices in and he loves it. I personally think he is a bit bored as it is not much of a challenge for him since he already knows how to throw, catch and hit. We always say that baseball will be his game. He is just naturally talented when it comes to it. Much different than hockey!

His first real game, against other teams is next week and we are excited.

Dylan - 15 months

I have been writing a lot about Jack but let’s face it; he is at the age where he is getting to do a lot of new exciting things. But fun things are happening with Dylan too.

He is now 15 months old. He says a few words like momma, dada, puppy, ball, juice and papa. He is not walking on his own yet, but he likes to walk around the furniture. He can go from crawling to sitting to pulling himself up like no one's business. He loves to stand up and then push himself back and fall onto his butt!

He loves to play catch and is actually pretty good at it. He will also get a knee hockey stick, find a ball and hit is around the house! He loves music and will start dancing the moment he hears it. He always wants to be in the mix and as long as he is where it is happening, he is a pretty happy guy.

He is a little stinker and will not drink milk so we have had to keep him on stage 2 formula for the time being. But only in the AM and PM otherwise he drinks water and juice and he LOVES to eat.  His favorite things right now are crackers, oatmeal, any find of fruit and pizza. We have also found out that he is a little boy who loves sweets!

He has 12 teeth and so far does not show signs of being a biter :)

He has been going to KinderCare two days a week and spends other two days at Grandma Sharon's. He gets her all to himself on Friday and we have come to the conclusion that he enjoys being "the only child" on that day.

He is at an age where he wants everything that Jack has but mostly just loves being with him. It is fun to see the two of them interact together and for the most part Jack is pretty patient with him and is always trying to help teach him new things.

His new favorite thing is to go on a bike ride. He loves when the wind hits is face, he will giggle when we get going fast. And usually before the ride is over he is fast asleep.

We are hopeful that he will be walking around on his own soon and expanding his vocabulary. Until then I will enjoy the little bit of baby he still has left :)

A big change for Jack - June 2011

This summer Jack started Kidstop which is our school district childcare program. We went back and forth on whether or not to do it for many reasons. One of them was the fact that Jack's "buddies" from KinderCare were going to be staying at KinderCare for the summer. So naturally Jack was very sad about that. We actually got an email from KinderCare on his last day it brought tears to my eyes. Here is the email below

Hi Deanna! I just wanted to check in with you to let you know what is going on here. Jack had a really good morning and really enjoyed our visit from RADD zoo, but is having a hard time since after lunch. He just started crying out of no where and when asked why he said that he didn't want to leave his old school. We did talk with him and explained that he can come back and visit us all the time and he can still see his friends when he comes with Dylan. He is doing better now, but still seems distracted and a little sad. He about had all of us crying too:) I just want you to know that if you ever change your mind or if there is anything we can do for you guys please let us know. We all care so much for Jack and understand your need to move on, but we will miss him greatly!

Jack has been at KinderCare since we was eight weeks old. The teachers there have helped and watch him grow for five years so it was a very sad day for all.

After discussing it over the weekend Jamie, Jack and I all decided that Kidstop would be the best idea. We sold him on the fact that his cousins Taylor and Mya would be there, that he would get to go on field trips, and that he would hopefully meet some new buddies that he would possibly go to Kindergarten with in the fall.

On the first day I followed my sister in law Kelly there so I could have some moral support :) Jack got out of the car with his little Lightening McQueen lunch pack and walked in like a big boy. I could tell he was nervous, but trying to cover it up. I on the other hand was trying to keep it together and not break down sobbing right there! We walked in and to our surprise a little girl from KinderCare was sitting there. I think I was more excited than Jack was to see her! I knew with her being there, it would not feel so foreign to him. We walked around the class room, met his teacher checked out his locker (which by the way he is so proud of!) and then I was off.

When I picked him up in the afternoon he was going a million miles a minute telling me about his day. I think the highlight for him was eating in the cafeteria and getting to pick out his own breakfast! He told me about the friends he had made and all the activities he did for the day.

We are now into our third week and he is still enjoying it. They have been on two field trips, one to Chutes and Ladders and yesterday was Brunswick Zone and there are many more to come! I am glad that we all made the decision to start Kidstop in the summer. I think it will make transitioning to Kindergarten much easier in the fall!

Easter 2011

We celebrated our first Easter together as a family of four this year. Last year, Dylan was born a couple days before Easter so he was at the hospital for his first Easter. Jack loves all of the holidays and he was especially excited for Easter this year. We woke up on Easter morning and Jack went running into the living room to find his basket. It took him a little while, but eventually he looked up and found it!

Dylan of course needed a little help, so big brother Jack happily went around the house again looking for Dylan's basket. We found it!

We went to Jim and Sharon's for Easter dinner and had a wonderful time.