The mommies had plans one Saturday and decided that the boys could all hang out together. We figured that the distraction of having Carac to entertain our boys would make it easier for Chris. They spent the afternoon playing Wii and Ben unlocked several new levels on Super Mario (since Chris and I have not really played and the boys were still stuck in the first few worlds). They were thrilled and had a fun afternoon!
A couple weeks ago, I was giving the boys my weekly doctor appt. update on how the baby was doing. Connor then proceeded to go get his doctor equipment so that he could do his own assessment. They were so cute pretending to listen to the baby and feeling for the baby. Connor then told me to get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and take it easy. Okay - thanks Dr. Seaton.
In mid-March, we had some very nice weather that made a zoo outing ideal! This was our first for the new year and first of many to come for the year as this is the boys' favorite weekend activity. This particular outing was a little hard on mommy since I was 8 months pregnant and I think it was a little tiring for the boys also. We moved at a snail's pace and enjoyed the afternoon outing. The most exciting part was to see the baby jaguars that had been born last fall.
Connor has entered a new milestone in his life...he is starting to read and he is also writing more words!
He is given a worksheet with key words from a book and then the corresponding book. He first has to write the words that are on the worksheet to gain familiarity with them. The first week he brought home a series of "home-made" books that he would bring home to read to us. It was so amazing to watch him sound out the word one letter at a time. Sometimes he would use the worksheet as a cheat sheet of some sort - I guess a memory jogger. After the first week, he then graduated to the phonic series of books for short vowels. This part has been a slower progress for him mainly due to interest level. He is supposed to practice reading the book until he can read it with ease before returning the book back to school and for some reason that has been a de-motivator for him. He enjoyed the quick read and take it back for the next book.
We won't push it as I know this is really early for him to be reading, but I am very excited about the "new world" that awaits him once he is reading regularly. I remember getting really excited about the ability to read billboards, signs, and notes home.
Ever since Brady had his 1st sleepover with Carac (because Connor was sick), Connor has been asking when he could have his 1st sleepover. Brady, of course, also wanted a sleepover at a different friend's so we compromised and made arrangements with Mimi. We finally made the arrangements for March 13th...it was torture for them to have to wait until that date arrived. We were asked daily for the countdown.
We dropped the boys off for their sleepovers and we took advantage of the opportunity to spend some time together and sleep in the next day. Connor and Carac had fun playing the Wii, legos, and the drums. They fell asleep about 9 pm and no nighttime calls...in fact, Connor said that we knew he was going to sleep so he didn't need to tell us goodnight. You can judge the success of a sleepover by how hard it is for the child to leave the next day. Brady really enjoyed his one-on-one time with Mimi and Papa also and I am sure talked their heads off.
On Sunday, my boys announced they are forming a rock band...Connor on drums, Brady on keyboard, and Carac on guitar. We have been invited to be the audience at the concert once they can get together and practice some more. I believe this is a strategy for future playdates and sleepovers...
As I mentioned, Chris and I attended a school fundraiser last weekend. Several items are donated and several more items are classroom art projects that are then auctioned off at the event. For the quilt project, Brady's class theme was "Things that make me Happy". Upon review of Brady's quilt square, I commented that it was a family portrait including his soon to be new sister. Chris quickly corrected me and said that it was a picture of the Mario characters on Super Mario Bros and Mario Kart....Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, etc. Really???
While the classroom quilts went for a very high price, we were able to bid on and won the framed pictures of both the boys' classroom quilts. We had them on the counter to show the boys and Brady quickly confirmed that he drew the Mario Bros. characters because that is what makes him happy. Did I mention that Brady is a Wii addict??? Connor's class theme was "Bugs/Insects" and he chose to draw a spiderweb of spiders (see below).
I can't believe how fast the last month has flown and that it is already mid-March! I guess we have had a busy month with a few sicknesses thrown in for good measure. After Connor started getting better, we went to Chuck E Cheese (aka germ factory) for a friend's 3rd birthday party. The kids had a lot of fun, but it led to me and Brady being sick over the next 3-4 days. Brady had strep throat and literally slept ALL day in our bed one day. Somehow Chris escaped getting sick...I sure didn't but I'm sure my immune system has been compromised from pregnancy!
By the weekend, we were all back to normal and the boys' postponed sleepover at Gma Darla's was back on. Even though their cousin wasn't able to join in the fun, they seemed to have a nice time visiting with Gma and getting waffles in the morning. Chris and I enjoyed a nice dinner out at a new place, Bar Louie, and then a movie. The following weekend, we had tickets to a Soiree put on by the boys' school as a fundraiser. While we enjoyed an evening of visiting with fellow parents/friends and bidding on silent auctions, the boys spent the evening with Papa Terry. I think it was an educational evening for Papa - Brady taught him how to navigate Disney.com (including printing coloring pages) and I think Connor was showing him how to operate the TV remote. They reported that they had a nice evening.
It is very nice to have our parents so close and available to spend time with the boys on occasion. I know the relationships with their grandparents are very valuable to the boys.
A few weeks ago, Brady had the opportunity to experience his 1st sleepover at a friend's house. I never would have thought that my preschoolers would be ready for this and especially my youngest, but the situation presented itself and we went for it. It was a Friday night and Connor was really sick. Some good friends of ours offered to take Brady for the evening to spend with Carac, his and Connor's best friend, in hopes of isolating him from Connor
After much discussion with Brady to make sure he understood what was going to happen and how the evening would go, he was taken over to Carac's house. It probably helped that the sleepover got a late start (7:30ish), but yet they still had some time to play together before going to bed at a reasonable time. They had a camp out in the bonus room and everything went great. No calls, no potty accidents, and apparently nothing to worry about. When I called to check in that evening, Brady wasn't even interested in talking to me.
The next morning, I met Brady, Carac, and Carac's mom at the YMCA pancake breakfast. We enjoyed a nice morning together of pancakes, magicians, and balloons. When we were leaving, Brady tried to abandon me and go back to Carac's house. He said that Connor was still sick and he needed to stay gone all weekend. I guess that was a good sign of how well it went! We ran a few errands which included a stop at the Toy store for a birthday present. Brady convinced me that we needed to get Super Mario Bros. Wii game, which apparently he learned to play at Carac's. This just turned into a very expensive sleepover!
The new game has been fun, so no complaints there. Brady is ready for his next sleepover and Connor is ready for his 1st sleepover. Connor will get to stay at Carac's this weekend....hopefully it goes as well as Brady's did and we don't get any late night calls. As a bonus, Brady will be going to Mimi's for some one-on-one time and a sleepover. We have the house to ourselves!
