Setting up the Christmas tree & Great Grandparents lunch

On Wednesday, December 8th we had Great Grandma Evie, Great Grandma Jackie, Great Papa John and Nana Jana over for a Christmas lunch!
We set up our Christmas decorations that morning. (leaving it to the last minute.... that's me!) D:
Ryan picked up all our decorations at the apartment because they were still in storage from last year.  Then he went to my parents and picked up garlands some garlands that we got for decorations for our wedding (almost) 3 years ago!  John was just thrilled to have a Christmas tree-- even though he was looking at us like we were cracked while we set it up! haha  We had to edit some all but 3 of the ornaments from the tree!  We left all the glass/breakable ones in storage.  The tree was up for....wait for it.... 1 hour before it was tipped over and being dragged around the house.  We put the flower girl and ring bearer's garland from our wedding in John's room.  It is hanging on his window- he loves it because it has jingle bells on it-- the perfect garland for kids! :)
We still haven't got our lights up outside! YIKES- we really dropped the ball here...  we shall see if it gets done for 2010...

OOPS!  (HAHA) He didn't want to look up at us for our reactions.

(No, we weren't mad!!  Ryan and I were laughing- it was the first tip of the year, but not the last!) :D

Ryan and I: "John, what happened?!???"

John: "Bo Bo" (Broken) ...A picture is worth a thousand words!

*PRICELESS*

I did a terrible job of taking pictures at lunch! :/  And, John was not feeling the camera...

We had Carol Anderson's pasta salad, bread, apple slices and brownies for dessert.  Very casual!  John helped with the brownies- he did the red and green sprinkles. :)

And the gifts begin... these boys are so blessed- they have no idea how lucky spoiled they are!  GG Evie brought the boys money for their college funds, and Elmo book and Jingle bells for the door. Which John LOVES!  He carries them all around the house- They make such a cheerful sound, ahh the sound of Christmas.  And GG Jackie and GP John brought the boys frog stuffed animals in darling Christmas boxes.  John has been sleeping with both of the frogs- they are so soft and cuddly. 

Thank you Great Grandparents!!

Stephen is 6 months

Mr. Stephen is 6 months!!

Born June 3rd--  So, December 3rd means 6 months!  What a joy you have been!! Stephen, we are so lucky to have you as our newest member.  You have brought us pure happiness.  We love your smile, laughs, and absolute hardiness.
Stephen, you have just got your 2 bottom teeth- and, boy you love to use them! haha  You are figuring out how they work, the reaction you get when you "chomp down" and you are pretty proud of the power of your new teeth!
You love to do your tummy time, bath time and playing with your brother.  You are not yet crawling or doing a whole lot of "pushing up" on your arms, but are happily playing on the floor with toys.  You have a love for toys that is very special.  You really like to "play" with toys, some babies aren't very interested at 6 months, but you are!  :)
You are exclusively nursing, and not interested in solid foods.  We have given them to you -  but you don't seem excited/hungry/full....anything!  So, for the time being, we are just going to keep with nursing.  Fine by me!!  I love having all this time with you-  it is very special.
We took you for your 6 month well child- You are riding the perfect S curve!  Yahoo!   50% all the way!  You weight 17lbs 8.5oz, and are 27 inches long.  So, you have gained 11lbs, and grown 8 inches all in 6 months!!
We take you to ECFE on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday nights-  The teachers say you are a delight!  You love to interact with the other babies and kids and want to be in the middle of all the action!

Stephen with Great Grandma Evie

We had Christmas with the Great Grandparents on Ryan's side.  It was really fun!! 

We made a pasta salad, French bread, apple slices and COKE. (haha-Yep, I did host!)

It was very relaxed, the boys played, and we all got to hang out!  Thanks for coming!

Stephen with Nana Jana!

December 8, 2010

Hanging out on the couch, after our Great Grandparent's Christmas lunch!

 

Shows SJ's length- body shot!!

SJ in his 6 month picture- what a ham! <3

Oh Boy!! He's a Pick-Up MAN!!!

Well, we took Ryan's Acura to Lloyd's last week, and they told us that this winter we would need to put some money into replacing parts of the car that were getting old.... 

After weighing out our options, test driving quite a few trucks at different dealers, we ended up getting Ryan a Chevy Silverado! :D  Ryan, you have worked very hard these past couple years, enjoy your new truck!! XO

We actually met with your financial advisor/planner while Lloyd's looked at our truck to see if it was a good buy.  Makin' a list, Checkin' it TWICE!  Lloyd's gave us the thumbs up, and Gabe gave us the thumbs up, too!  He said we would still be able to retire on time! Woo Hoo! ;D

Lastly, this was just a super cute picture of Daddy and Stephen.  It is from last night (12/5)...

Ryan was looking up cars online and clearly SJ thought it was BoRiNg! haha

Coming home from AZ

This week I am working at Nativity.... Ok, so only 3 hours a day....  but! It has been hard with this going on at home-- (I very much cherish my time at home!!)

While we were in AZ, SJ seemed to be coming down with something.  He had a fever, was a little fussy and wasn't sleeping well.  I took him to the Dr. on Monday morning.  Yep! Double ear infection.  Stephen's first one-
The Dr. thought his lungs seemed "crackly" and he was maybe wheezing.  She did a Whooping cough test and told me to come back in 48 hours if he wasn't better.  We left with a Rx for Omnicef and I was pretty confident we were golden.
Well, I got home and started thinking about how long SJ has had a lingering cough, a low fever.... it has been over 3 weeks!!  EEk, I called the Dr and let her know this.  So, we went back today.
Well, 4 hours, a chest x-ray and lots of meds later.... my little boo is SICK.
He has whooping cough, pneumonia, a fever, double ear infection (which was looking much better today) and teething. 
Stephen is such a trooper!! He is now on Azithromycin and Albuterol (on top of the Omnicef).  :'(  Poor baby. 

SJ doing his Neb tonight before bed- BTW, how cool!? a Tootsie for the baby! Brilliant!!

Thanksgiving in Arizona!!!

We had such a great time!!!!!!!   ......We are Thankful!

On the Airplane at 7am..... Dad and I had pretty much pulled an all nighter... TIRED! :D

We did a great job getting through the airport with two little ones.  My dad dropped us off, we checked our one bag and car seats, used our stroller until we got to the gate.  We had some time to spare once trough security, so we made a pit stop at the Golden Arches-- "yum-yum" if you ask John.  (like father like son...)

The boys did an excellent job on the plane!! I went to the dollar store before we left and spent a small fortune on (trash) toys for John to play with.  Each toy lasted about 30 seconds.... good thing we had tons!  John started melting with 20 minutes until landing.  We rallied and pushed through! :)  Stephen, well, SJ you slept the whole time!! YAY!

After renting our car, we headed to the Phoenix Zoo for lunch and to meet up with our family!  Who came?

Nana Jana, Auntie Lauren, (Great) Aunt Julie, Cousin Chrissy (and her lovely kids) Christian, Isabelle, Katie, and Abby.  We had a great time looking at the animals!!  The weather was perfect for the zoo, about 60 and sunny- bliss!

Gotta love father-son bonding.  LOVE LOVE LOVE it! <3

The Patrick boys!!  Grandpa Steve, Ryan, John and Stephen

(John 23 months, Stephen days short of 6 months)

Ryan and John swimming in the hot tub- Nana Jana warmed it so it would be the perfect temp for John.  Thanks Nana!!!  ;D 

Momma and her crazy kids! It was so much fun to have all that family time- I wouldn't trade it for the world! 

John and Auntie Alana-  Alana flew in on Thanksgiving morning with Steve.  Just in the nick of time! ;)

Auntie Lauren at the zoo with Stephen.  So Happy!!

On Black Friday Ryan and I took the boys to the park.  They both had a lovely time-  John made friends with the other kids there.  They make sand castles, tried out all the slides, and chatted about life! hehe After the park, we went and had lunch at Grimaldi’s in Scottsdale.... Our new favorite!!!!

http://www.grimaldispizzeria.com/

Ryan and SJ at the park.  Watching John play with his new buddy, making "birthday cakes" in the sand.

At the Airport .... time to go home!  :'(  We had so much fun!!!! 

This is what it is ALL about--  John is giving Stephen a hug.  It is so sweet to see them together- John really loves SJ and Stephen loves JR. 

I really didn't take enough pictures!!  I have NONE of Thanksgiving....

Jana and Julie cooked an amazing meal: turkey, rosemary sauteed carrots, garlic mashed potatoes, Julie's famous stuffing, corn, and (to die for) sweet potatoes that Mac and Neil brought. 

Oooohh, how could I forget..... GRAVY!  Yummy!

It was a great meal, fun company and lots of laughs! We have so much to be thankful for- we are a blessed family. :)

On Saturday, the Beach family, cousin Lisa, Aunt Jackie and cousin Willie came over to the house to swim and hang out.  We had a homemade pizza lunch, the kids swam and the adults chatted.  It was wonderful to get to catch up with our AZ rellies! :D  We miss you here in MN!! XO

Thank you Steve and Jana for making it possible for us to come to AZ.  We had such a great time- it had been a loooong time since Ryan had been on vacation.  We loved it!

Some of Stephen's highlights:

He ROLLED OVER!!!  from back to front!  Yay! (Saturday, 11/27)

He also is cutting his bottom 2 front teeth.

John's new words:

Yellow

Blue

Alana

Neil

Please

Bubble

(and now I'm drawing a blank on others he said....oops)

I know I'm missing a lot..... I will update as I remember more.  My brain is fried tonight!



Ryan's BIG accomplishments !

Can I brag about Ryan!? ....being the proud wife that I am!! :D

Ryan is one determined, hard working, humble dad, husband and employee. 
I can't believe in the past (almost) 3 years all he has accomplished!
The past 7 months he diligently spent every chance he got studying for his CPA exams.  It was a long 5 weeks to wait to hear the news; he passed-  November 12th will always be a date Ryan remembers. :) 
And, Ryan was offered a job with 3M!  He is very excited to start the next chapter in his career life.  His first day will be December 13th-- can't come soon enough!  He will be doing the accountant work for the Display and Graphic division. 

I love you Ryan, you amaze me with all you have accomplished!  It makes it possible for me to be a SAHM- Thank you!

John and Stephen

First I will update you on our little rug-rats! :D

John has more new words!  Today at speech, he said "Bubble" (AAH!) 
And he has been saying:
HI

Bye-Bye

BEE-BEE  (Baby)
Bo-Bo (Broken/hurt)
ahhhhh, (more of a refreshing sound after drinking something, but it means he wants something to drink)
Num-Num (hungry/wants something to eat)
Pop
Choo-Choo (train)
Big (Chris his Speech Therapist says he can say it... I have yet to hear it...!)

John is crazy about Duplo-Lego blocks.  And, he is actually really good at them!  Ryan and I have been impressed at the towers, trains and things he makes, they are quite intricate.  He will sit and play with them for a looong time too! (15min) :)

When I go to get John in the AM, he always asks about "Bee-Bee" right away. And then goes running into SJ's room to find him.  Stephen is the apple of his eye-haha....for now at least!  (Wait until SJ is mobile and wants JR's toys!)  But, for now I am amazed at how sweet they are together.  John is very gentle with SJ, he kisses his forehead and helps me burp him too. 
One morning this week, I was doing laundry- so I was up and down the steps a lot, leaving them on the main floor playing toys.  Every time I came up from the basement, John had been "taking care of SJ" .... One time, SJ was doing tummy-time and has spit up a little on the carpet.  Well, JR to the rescue! He emptied out the entire cupboard of towels and rags.  Everyone last one was in the living room next to SJ and JR was "scrubbing" the spit-up. Might I add, JR was so proud of himself, he was even clapping for himself when I asked him what he was doing. 
4 loads later.... I had been talking to JR about how SJ was feeling a little "chilly-cold" and that I needed to find him a blanket. Well, when I came back from changing the laundry, SJ had a huge heap of hand towels on him.  Again, JR was very proud of himself, and SJ was, well ready for the laundry to be done. 
John really wants a stool for Christmas so he can climb much easier.  He now stacks things to stand on so he can get the "no-nos" off the counter.  ;D  Hopefully Santa won't be falling for his request.
John has a new sneaky smirk.  It is actually so cute!  He looks at us from the corner of his eye- what are we in for!?  He runs away from us when we tell him to come to us, he laughs when he is in trouble... eeek, I sure do love it though! :)
Ohhh, and John's favorite foods are the Pillsbury crescent rolls!

Stephen is getting his to bottom teeth!!!!  They are just about to break through! I am so sad that his drooly, gummy smile and red cheeks will be gone in a matter of no time.  It is heart breaking that these babies grow up so fast.  I have to admit though, teeth are giving me a lot of anxiety.... I am really hoping that his biting doesn't continue.  SJ bites me all the time, and I really want to nurse his until he is at least a year. Sigh, teeth.... 
Stephen has been getting solids too.  I wasn't sure if he was hungry or his teeth were hurting because he was grabbing at everything to get it in his mouth.  Really, I think it is a little of both. 
To date, Stephen has had:
Peas, potatoes, prunes, carrots, apples, pineapples and bananas.
He doesn't care for the rice cereal, but likes everything else I have offered.  I love kids that aren't picky eaters! I don't think I will have to worry about Stephen!
He has been doing tons-o-tummy-time.  He really likes to be in the middle of what John is doing.  This way he watches John's every move.  I have even caught him a couple times pushed up on straight arms! Yikes! I am not ready for crawling.  Stephen is a strong boy, a happy strong boy. 
Stephen is mostly sleeping through the night.  If we put him in his swing he will almost sleep until 5 am.  If he co-sleeps or sleeps in his crib (well, he doesn't sleep in his crib) he is up at least 4-5 times.  So, the swing wins!! He is following in John's foot steps....
Stephen is a very mellow baby.  He will just lay and watch, so long as people are paying attention to him.  As soon as I walk away, he screams.  My baby, spoiled?! Ya think??! :D

John blowing out my birthday candles.  My parents brought over these chocolate cupcakes- what a nice surprise!!  John loved blowing out the candles.... he thought he was the one blowing them out, but really Ryan was blowing from a distance.  What a proud little boy! :)

Stephen Joseph looking up to his Papa Joe! 

John playing hide-and-seek with Grandma Mitty.  So sweet! Grandma was hiding in the little tent.

Ryan and I took the boys to the Children's Museum on November 13th.  We strated out by splitting up- I took SJ to the Habitot Room, and Ryan took JR to the Earth Room.  It is so great to have one-on-one time!

This is John playing in the water area-it was a good thing we had a change of clothes!!  He was soaked!!

Stephen in the Habitot Room.  There were WAY too many kids there!!  We only lasted a little bit.

Mommy and John! XXOO

Lots to update about!

Check back!

I am so tired tonight, and SJ just can't seem to relax enough to sleep.  It looks like I will have to snuggle him up! :)  Good night all....  Big news to come! I keep meaning to update, but it just has not gotten done- sorry!

**Hint: Ryan has three new letters at the end of his name to smile about!!!! eeek!

Patrick Boys 1st Sled

On Sunday we went to Menard's to buy the boys a sled and get Christmas lights to put up on our house.  It was a mad house in there!!  But it was fun to have our first outing in the snow with the boys to be getting a sled.  :D
We bought a cheap-o blue one and some rope to pull it on flat land.  haha
However, you should see some of the sleds they make now days! -- They look like an ER visit.  Ryan and I were laughing that the sleds cost $25- But really you should add the $90 co-pay for the ER on to that, and in our case, $180!  $205 for a sled.... I think NOT!  ;)

Here is John watching the light-up polar bear.  He was fascinated by all of the lights, snowmen, and Santa's.

Precious Stephen, riding in the cart.  He looks like a little lamb.  <3

CLARK GRISWOLD!  BAAHAHA

Ryan was trying to figure out how he would hang the lights on the exterior of our house.  He actually thought he was going to talk me into thinking this was the answer!  Can you even imagine?!  Snow....ladder....lights....and a staple machine gun?!

Sorry Ryan, not at this Patrick house. :D

I do have a strict NO CHRISTMAS stuff before Thanksgiving.  But since we are going out of town... We wanted to buy lights before they were sold out.  Thanks for understanding! Haha

PS, We haven't used the sled. by the time we got home- it was past nap time and then the day light was gone... I'm hoping to get out there and sled soon! :)

This week.....

We kept busy (again) this week.

On Monday night we went to Nana and Grandpa's house for dinner.  It was nice to eat there with Jeanne, Mark and Joey Lombardi.  It is always fun to catch up with them- especially on a school night!! :)

John had 2 ECFE classes!  He does one with mom on Tuesday mornings and one with dad on Wednesday nights.  I went with this week to the first Wednesday night class.  It was very fun to expose Ryan to a pre-school classroom!! haha  I think he was a bit overwhelmed.  BUT he rallied and was leading the circle time songs and parent discussion time!  I was glowing-proud of him!!  :)
My parents, Sara and Mike watched Stephen while we were gone.  Stephen loved all the one-on-one, or should I say, four-on-one attention he got!  It was the best to come home to a Johnson's lotion smelling little snugly boy.  Thanks Sara, Mike, Dad and Mom!

We continued our weekly routine of going to Nana's for lunch on Tuesday after ECFE- Pizza and grapes.  John loves exploring Nana and Grandpa's big backyard while I feed Stephen after ECFE and before we eat.  Tuesday's are the best- I get time one-on-one time with both of my boys!  Ahh bliss!

Both boys made fun glitter and finger paint pictures for their Auntie Lauren to hang in her Colorado dorm room! It was very fun for them to make her some pictures- I know they miss her dearly!  Along with Auntie Alana who is playing college hockey for St. Olaf, Uncle Mark who is studying abroad in Greece and Uncle Ryan and Auntie Jinette working in Sioux Falls!  We have so many of our close family so far away... We sure miss having them so close!! XO

John helped me make the laundry detergent I posted a recipe for earlier this week.  He laughed the whole time we were grating the bar of soap- it was silly to him.  He helped me stir the soap and bubbles as it cooked.  Little did he know that the stove wasn't on...  making the detergent took 3 times as long to make.  haha

We are getting ready for the season to change- kind of!  I am really not ready for the boots, hats, mittens, snow pants, jackets, and wet trails through my house from snow covered boots.  OK, I am really excited to get the boys playing outside!  I can't wait for their reactions to the cold, white snow.  I am just not ready for the extra laundry and wet, dirty floors.  

Popcorn and movie night for Ryan and I tonight.  Hanging Christmas lights and going to the Shout House for my birthday tomorrow.  A GrEaT WeEkEnD!! :D  We are loving life at the Patrick's!!!!!  <3

Do you really really think we will be getting 5+ inches of snow!?!?!?  I'm not so sure....

Stephen Joseph

OUR ALL AMERICAN (MOMMA'S) BOY!!

Stephen is a delight!!  We love having him around!  He keeps everyone smiling- :D

Stephen is hit or miss sleeping through the night.  Sometimes I will wake up and it will be 6:30am and I will be floored because he will still be sleeping!  Other nights, he is up every hour to eat.  hmm...Stephen, you have me stumped!  I seem to have the best luck when he is in his swing.  I use the Bundle-Me cover to keep him toasty warm. 
 

Stephen is really good at the 'hand-to-mouth' skill.  When we give him a toy to play with, it goes strait to the mouth.  He gets very excited to play and be played with- he LOVES when John brings him toys to play with.  They make perfect brothers!!  Stephen has a great belly laugh--  he keeps us laughing!  If you repeatedly say "PEEEK" he will just keep laughing. 

In the last day or two SJ has started to enjoy his 'tummy-time'.  He is getting stronger at holding his head up enough to play with a toy. Before he would get an arm stuck at his side and not be able to pull it back up to prop himself up.  He finds it fun to be able to look around- he is proud of himself! And, we are too!!!

Tonight, SJ was sitting in his Bumbo chair on the counter.  I put a bouquet of flowers in front of him to look at while I was making JR his dinner.  I went to bring JR his food at the table (gone...30 sec...maybe?) and when I got back to the kitchen SJ had eaten a flower!!  HAHA He had the whole bouquet tipped over and he ate the flower right off!  JR was appalled that he would eat the beautiful flower!  I guess he was trying to tell me he is hungry.  Needless to say, we fed him banana and rice cereal.  :D Yummy!

Stephen loves his bath time, he is a busy boy in the tub.  Lots of kicking and doesn't mind too much when he gets water in his face/eyes.  SJ was weighed at about 4.5 months he's a big guy- 17lbs 1oz!!  Happy and Healthy! His nick name is "Beef-Cake" -- Because he is beefy! hehe

I got the Orajel out tonight,.... teething already,.... yay! Stephen is a very vocal baby-  He will be talking in no time.  There is almost a constant chatter coming from him.  I just love baby stories!! ;D

SJ does a great job tagging along with his big brother John- I can't wait until they can really play together!!

More pictures to come.... :D

Laundry Detergent

I LOVE this recipe!   It is from the Duggar family on TLC.  It is very quick and easy to make!  I thought I would share it with you all!  (Melissa, this one is for you)

And, the best part is.... it is about 6 cents a load!!!!

Laundry Detergent

This laundry detergent saves a huge amount of money. We buy its three ingredients for less than five dollars, and the resulting concentrate lasts our large family two to three months! It's a watery gel that produces low suds inside the washer. The ingredients are usually available in the laundry-products aisle of the supermarket — or order online. (Check recipes on the Internet; there's also a dry version of this laundry soap that's good for top-loading machines.)

Ingredients:
1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
Instructions:
Grate the soap bar into a small saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.
Put washing soda and borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry-detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.
For top-loading machines: Use 1 cup of the soap mixture per load.
For front-loading machines: Use 1/2 cup per load.

I do not make this all at once! Because we don't have 19 kids
......yet!!  HAHA J/K ;D
Here is a smaller family version...
This is what I use:

1/4th bar of fels naptha,  
1/4th cup washing soda   
1/8th cup of the borax
for 4 full bottles of detergent.

http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/18-kids-and-counting/recipes/homemade-laundry-soap.html

Feeling Lucky

We had a great weekend with our family!

Friday night, Ryan was exhausted from a long week at work and SJ not sleeping at night.  I don't think Ryan got off the couch after he got home from work Friday night- I'm so thankful for the long hours he puts in at work and then the longer hours he puts in being a dad/husband at home. 
My parents stopped by after the kids were in bed with a book for John, Planes.  Boy, does he love Airplanes! John was very excited Saturday morning to wake up to a new book!  John and Ryan read the book at least 20 times before lunch on Saturday! :)  My dad helped us set up our thermostat.  It was set too high so we needed good ol' Grandpa to figure it all out, once and for all!  Thanks Dad!!

I got to go to a special friend of mine's baby shower on Saturday too.  Sarah and Doug Richter are welcoming their first baby in January.  We are ecstatic for them!  What wonderful parents they will be-  Sarah is my dear friend, Katherine Olson's sister. This baby will bring their family so much joy and peace-  XO to you, Doug and Sarah!
Ryan and I had Kristine and Owen over on Saturday night for dinner.  It was SO fun to have friends over at our house!!  We had dinner, (the boys had) a few brews, Peanut Butter Cup cheesecake, and played some cheesy games! :D  We love having friends over, that way the boys could go to sleep in their own beds and be tucked in by mom and dad. 

On Sunday, we had a delicious family breakfast and lunch.  We just relaxed and hung out playing trains and reading books in the morning.  After lunch, we took a family trip to Post Road.  You guessed it!  Airplanes!!  We wanted to take Ryan with so he could see how excited John gets. 

A special HaPpY BiRtHdAy to MaRk OtIs!!!!!! 
Our Godson is 5 years old today!!  WOW!  We are very excited to see him on Wednesday!  We love you Godson Mark!

Pumpkin Pie

I took the boys to speech for John this morning.  They are working on getting John to pronounce the words he already knows very clearly.  He does "baby-talk" right now, so the hope is this would help eliminate that.  While we were there, Stephen was cooing up a storm!  It was very sweet to see Stephen want to be so involved in the conversation.  :)

This afternoon, John and I made a pumpkin pie while Stephen took a nap.  John loves to help with any cooking/baking he can get his paws into!  I wasn't sure if he would actually like the finished product or not... but.... he LOVED IT!!!!  I think it is his new favorite food. 

Airplane Watching with Grandma Mitty

Thursdays I nanny and it is my mom's day off work... we didn't plan well!  On Thursdays, after nannying I take the boys to watch airplanes on Post Road. 

 Today we picked up my mom to come with us.  We tried to sit on the hood like we did in the summer- but it was TOO windy and cold!  My mom brought fresh-from-the-oven-hot sugar cookies and juice boxes for when we were watching planes.  YUMMY

While watching the planes, we realized John and Stephen do not have a toy airplane.  So, we ventured to Target and found 3!  This was his new spoon- it was a hit at first, then he went back to the good old hands...

Thanks Grandma for our new toys!!! :D

I have been meaning to keep a running list of John's vocabulary... To date these are the words he can say:

Ma-Ma, Da-Da, Nana, No, Pa-Pa, Be-Be (baby), Purple, Bean, Bye-Bye, HI, Pee-Pee, more (kind of?)

I think that is where we are at... there was a day when he would say, "No way momma!!"  But, we can't get him to ever say it anymore... 

He started speech this week, so we will see how he progresses!!  I am very excited to see how he will keep picking up new words now!

John's Art and ECFE

John has been going to ECFE for about 6 weeks now.  He loves his classmates and all of the art projects he has been doing.  School has so many new toys and things to discover!  John has been doing really well 'seperating' from me for that part of class.  I was impressed at how well he did! :)
Every week they do a different book, art project, and theme.  This week was sensory themed- which is right up John's alley!  They had musical instruments out, lemon grass to pound with a hammer and then smell, a sand table and the list goes on.  A fun week for all of the kids!~

Here is John sporting his cherry nose!  Another thing they had for the kids to play with was smelly markers.  John loved the cherry (red) one... as you can see. :D

Here is John with his spin art plate, letter "J" picture, and his "bumpy" painting.  (AND Podo Bear ended up next to him for the picture!)  -I won't expand on Podo, but for those of you who know, know how sweet this is. :)

November 2, 2010

 

We are proud to be Americans!

When dad  got home from work, we all went to vote.  It is important to us that the boys came with.  We want to teach them how important it is to participate in an election!  I have to say, John thought the the stickers were fabulous.  At his age, he will do almost anything for a good old sticker. 
A cute story:  After we went voting, we stopped at Target and as we walking up and down the grocery aisles John wanted EVERY red "I VOTED" sticker he saw.  He knew he was apart of something, he knew the red stickers meant something special.  John is one proud American!

Halloween

We had a great Halloween!

It was fun to do an open house, next time we will have to pick a more family-friendly time!  It was hard for people to drive over during prime-trick-or-treating-time!  But, nice to hang out with our family and friends who did venture! 
I even had past students stop by!  Thanks Cy and Izzy!!  It was so nice to catch up with you! :)

John was going to be a Lion... but he wanted to be just like his dad more!  So, since Ryan was wearing a jersey, John wanted to also. 

Ryan teaching John how to show of your muscles!  haha  John would not do it for the picture last night, but right now as we are looking at these pictures, he is showing off his muscles!  His veins are popping out of his neck! haha  He makes his dad proud!

Kelli, Dan and little Stephen! 

Kelli and Dan made yummy pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to share. They even left a few at our house... I had one for breakfast with my coffee.  Aah, I love fall foods!! Maybe, just maybe, I can get the recipe from these two....  we shall see....

Nana was a peanut butter cup and so was Auntie Lauren! John and Ryan's favorite candy!  Yesterday morning I came downstairs to make the boys breakfast- well- John and Ryan looked at me like I was crazy when I offered to make eggs- They had already helped themselves to Peanut Butter Cups!  Ryan said, "It's Halloween!! Candy all day!"    OOKAYYY...  :)

Grandma Mitty and Stephen.  Stephen did a great job enjoying being a froggy!  He was so cute in his costume and did lots of talking with his sweet raspy voice. 

Ryan and Papa Joe.  Enjoying a few brews by the fire-  It was the perfect night for a fire.

We hope you all  had a safe and sugary Halloween!  What were you/your kids for Halloween?  I love to get good ideas... thinking about next year already.  :) 

Tricks and Treats with Great Grandma Evie

Tonight we went to Great Grandma Evie's condo, they do a Halloween party for all of the senior's grand/great grand kids. We dressed both of the boys up in their costumes and drove over to see her.  John was not to sure about his costume- we had to bribe him to keep it on using candy corn. (Our first time really bribing him... it worked like a charm...not a proud parenting moment....) 

John, Ryan and Great Grandma Evie.  John is eating candy- we will be doing lots of extra brushing tonight! :)

John had an "ah-ha" moment.  All of the sudden he figured it out- at each door you get more candy!  He had so much fun!! :D

John and Stephen, or should I say our Lion and Frog...  So cute!!!

John found a little plastic spider, so we all were singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider. 

Great Grandma Evie with Stephen.  He was telling her lots of stories! 

I didn't get a picture of it, but John made GGEvie a picture of a pumpkin patch, it had 3 pumpkins on it and then he finger painted green vines connecting them.  It is now hanging on Evie's fridge.  :)

Great Grandma Evie gave the boys a boost to their college savings accounts for Halloween.  Thank you Grandma Evie, that was very thoughtful of you!