Family Activity Update

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.

Brady's 1st Sleepover

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!

Maps of the World

Connor prepared a map of the world as a school project to show that he knew all the continents and their placement. He was also required to write out all the names and sign and date his project. He did a great job!

As many of you may know, Brady is obsessed with the maps of the world. He comes home daily with a completed map of the world, continent, United States, or something geography related. When he saw Connor's project, he INSISTED that he prepare one also. He did a great job also and then his took a different form when the boys started adding the train in outer space!

Mommy "I have a question"

Every night for the last few nights, Connor asks me if he can ask me a question. He then proceeds to ask me how Claire was today - was she active today, did she kick me a lot, did she try to kick off my right hip (a common occurrence these days). It is so sweet that he cares so much about his sister and how HER day went. By the way, I get no questions about how mommy's day was. He is just thrilled to know that she is thriving. He also likes to hear all about my doctor appt. updates, so he will be excited to know that I have one tomorrow.

He won't stop talking....

It has been almost two months since Connor became roommates with Brady and moved to the top bunk. For a couple weeks, Connor has been complaining that Brady won't stop talking when he is trying to go to sleep. We assumed this was when they were first tucked into bed and have told them that is the best part about sharing a room with your sibling - you get to visit for a few more minutes before you go to sleep.

After experiencing a few late night visits from Brady this week, we now know what Connor was referring to. BRADY TALKS IN HIS SLEEP! Actually, he doesn't just talk in his sleep - he counts (21, 22, 23, etc.), he laughs and giggles hysterically, and he talks to people. I think he gets his dream patterns from his mommy, where he is probably reliving his days through his dreams.

Sorry Connor...daddy said that is pretty annoying. I wouldn't know since I am a talker also and I also sleep very deeply!

So Sweet!

While Connor was home sick this evening...he made a comment that was so sweet and precious that I had to share. We were watching TV together and they showed a baby being held. Connor commented "I can't wait until Claire Katherine is born so that I can meet her and see what she looks like!". It was so sweet....I really hope it was the love for his unborn sister talking and not the fever talking.

I believe the boys are going to be some great big brothers...very helpful and protective of their little sister. They talk all the time about how they are going to help us out or help her. I can't wait to see how they are all together....I predict some strong sibling bonds.

Pictures with his true personality....

This year, we had a friend do a photo session with Connor instead of the typical JcPenney route for his 5-year pictures. She spent over an hour with him trying to get some good shots of him. Connor instead proceeded to goof off, make faces, whine, and complain (even with lots of bribing from the parents). However, once I received the pictures, I realized that she caught some of Connor's true personality. Here are a few of my favorites.....

Connor...School Update

Recently we made the official decision to leave Connor at Montessori for kindergarten even though that would have been the perfect opportunity to save money by sending him to public schools. There are two reasons...one, we just learned that he will be at Oak Hill Elementary beginning in Fall 2011 which would have put him at Scott for only 1 year before changing schools. Two, he has learned so much just in the last few months of Pre-K that I am really looking forward to what he will learn in kindergarten at Montessori.

Just last week, he sat down and was reading random words from books and magazines by sounding out each letter. You could see him saying the phonics of each letter over and over again until it clicked and he knew what word they were making. You can ask him how to spell a 3 or 4 letter word and he will sound it out in his head and then tell you (usually accurate or close enough like thinking it is a "c" instead of a "k"). You can also tell him how to spell something and he can write it without any issues. This new development is so amazing to me - to think he can spell, read, and write.

His math skills are improving also. He can count to well over 100, do simple addition and subtraction, and can recognize most number combinations. In fact, this ability could get us into trouble. Just tonight, we announced it was bedtime. He looked at the clock and said "No, it's only 7:57 and our bedtime is not until 8:00". So, much for the early bedtimes we would occasionally sneak in.

Oh yeah, he won't let us forget that he has also learned how to snap (with both his left and his right hand). I think we made the right decision...looking forward to what the next year brings for our little man!

Baby Room Update

For several weeks now, we (which really means Chris) have been making slow attempts at getting the baby room painted. I have been anxious to get this step done so that we could get the furniture in place and I could start going through my baby bins to see what I have and what I have that will work for a girl (and what I don't have). Connor is very excited to be sharing his crib and baby furniture with her and can't wait to tell her that.

After a couple failed paint color attempts, we finally have the room painted and I really like it (Thanks Kelly for all your suggestions). The boys first comment was "where is the pink, girls like pink". The top color is a mauve/dark pink color, not red as the boys will describe it.

Now, we are ready for all the finishing touches to be added and the baby to be here!

Happy Birthday Connor & Carac - the "Classmate" Party!

About 6 months ago, Connor started inviting all his friends and classmates to his 5th birthday party that would be at Pump it Up. Since it was the "BIG 5" birthday and verbal invites had already been delivered, we had no choice but to deliver. At the same time, his best friend and classmate was planning his own birthday party for Pump it Up (their birthdays are a little over a month apart and the parties would have ended up being close). Luckily us moms think alike as we got the bright idea to combine the birthday parties since the invite list was exactly the same and the boys excitedly agreed. We were very excited to be sharing in the party planning (and to save some money).

In addition to the classmate party, Connor requested that we have the "regular" party of family and friends at our house which we had close to his actual birthday. When it came time for the classmate party about 2 weeks later and 2 weeks before Carac's birthday, there was a lot of confusion for the boys about what birthday this really was. "Am I 6 now or still 5?, Is Carac now 5 even though he doesn't have his birthday yet, Why am I having 2 birthdays?, Is Carac going to have 2 birthdays". Who would have thought that 2 birthday parties would be a bad thing!?!

The confusion didn't last long as the boys were very excited on the day of the party. To add to the delight, we received 7 inches of snow in Evansville the night before which was not the norm nor expected. Luckily, that did not deter their classmates from having 90 minutes of bouncing and sliding fun with them as about 20 kids arrived to celebrate their birthday. It was nice to put faces and names together with some of the kids and the parents. Some parents participated in the fun too and I think were glad to have a place to take the kids on a cold, snowy day.

Overall the party was a huge success. The birthday boys, and Brady, were so excited to have some of their friends from school there celebrating with them. We let the boys open one gift at the party and take the rest home. The friends were very generous and Connor got quite a few new things to keep him busy such as Lego kits and coloring kits. He had a lot of fun after the party preparing (or I should say signing) the thank you notes! He remembered what each person got him as I would ask him first and then write it on the note for him.

Baby Bump Update - Third Trimester

January marked the month when I entered my third trimester with our baby girl. It goes by so fast especially when you are trying to keep up with so many other things in your life. Thank goodness that I have had some energy with this pregnancy! I attribute my energy, my sanity, and my controlled weight gain this time to two things....1) it's a girl and 2) my continued devotion to my weekly hot yoga sessions. The picture below is at 29 weeks...I have the same shirt I had on at 19 weeks and Chris claims there isn't a difference (LIAR).

As far as preparations for the baby, we are starting to get the room ready now that Connor has moved to Brady's room. Chris has been working on painting the baby's room and bless his heart, is working on round 2 of painting since round 1's colors didn't turn out. I am anxious to get the furniture and bedding in place, so I can finalize the decorating and go through the boys things to see what I have (or don't have). I know I have plenty of time....but it goes by so fast!

Warning....don't take both boys to the doctor together!

With Connor's birthday in January, he was due for his annual checkup with his pediatrician. Brady has been complaining of leg cramps for a couple weeks and had also developed a bad cold. I got the bright idea that we would take them to the doctor on the same day with back to back appts (I'm all about convenience you know). BIG MISTAKE!

I had to leave work in a rush and deal with getting TWO boys to the doctor's office on time. We get into the room with the nurse, and later the doctor, and they talked NON-STOP to them and over each other. I am not sure if the doctor got all her questions answered or not after all the talking and "guess whats".

Then came the BOMB...Connor is the lucky recipient of 4 shots now that he is 5 and going to start kindergarten in the fall. We took a break for the bathroom first and Connor decided to use that as an opportunity to stall. I finally had to force him back to the room and he tells the nurse that he isn't ready. It ended up taking 2 nurses and me to hold him down for the shots - that is too much for mom or brother to handle! Next stop was to take Brady to get blood drawn, which I could only imagine how that was going to go. While Connor was whining and complaining about never walking again, Brady was showing his courage about the blood draw and he delivered. He sat there watching with great interest and made sure to point out to Connor that he didn't cry.

Afterwards, I delivered on my bribes and promises of Coldstone ice-cream. They each made an unusual mix and then took them home as a side with pizza. All was well for the remainder of the evening. Oh...and Connor was perfectly healthy and passed the height for future amusement park fun. Brady's leg cramps are a result of growing pains and is due for a growth spurt any day.