Zoo Day

The kids found out that I had upgraded our zoo membership this year (thanks to George and my parents as Christmas gifts). They have been so excited to go and get to ride the train and merry-go-round. This past Wednesday, we had beautiful 75 degree weather (in mid March??) and I agreed to take them. My friend Sarah and her daughter Claire joined us. They recently moved back here from Minnesota, so Emma and Claire just recently met (Ryan and Max were great friends). They have really taken to each other and it is really hilarious to see their little conversations!

We did the normal things - elephants, monkeys, playground, manatees, lions, etc. They had a great time. They were very disappointed that the train and merry go round were not operating until Saturday, but were happy when they realized that we get to come back again. Everyone was exhausted by the time we got home. Luckily for me, Ryan wasn't upset that he missed it and enjoyed hearing about it later!

I just love the grin on her face!!

Another Month, Another Post

February flew by for us. And nothing really to report! March is half way over and we are only seeing all the things that will be happening in the next month. I'm prepping again for a mom's sale to rid us of our spring collections and more toys. We have spring break coming up, my mom is visiting, a birthday party and oh yeah - a cruise in 5 weeks! The kids are busy with school, swimming, OT, PT, CCD, gymnastics and playing!

So here are the pictures and some more in depth updates. Emma and Nick finger painted this week. A first for Nick. He was very unsure, but after a few little fits finally gave it a go. Emma embraced it and made several pictures.

Ryan has been diagnosed with ADHD. He started on medication a few weeks ago and we are seeing some wonderful results. His teachers commented immediately that his handwriting was better and he had slowed down when working. Of course, it wears off around the time he gets home, so we aren't seeing too much of the effect, except for his behavior in church. He is still listening to his auditory therapy, but it is wearing on us. He resists a lot since he has to sit and listen for 30 minutes twice a day. Very hard for an overactive 6 year old!

Emma is doing great in school. She is so far ahead and has been ogling Ryan's workbook, since hers isn't hard enough for her. Once she finishes a few that are half way done here, we'll be moving onto the Kindergarten ones. She really needs more challenges. But she's not a 'player', she would rather sit down and color or work in her workbook than play dolls or toys (unless Ryan is home). She loves her LeapPad and plays it every day during her 'rest' time. She is being hard to handle lately. When she's upset, she doesn't hesitate to let you know by either screaming her head off or running away - which only really bothers us when we're eating. She does want to be the boss a lot and gets mad when Ryan or Nick don't live by the rules that she just made up (and usually hasn't communicated to them).

Nick is finally getting over all the sicknesses. We're in need of taking the paci away, but keep waiting because things come up. As of now, it will be next weekend, but we'll see. He seems so dependent on it. He is talking up a storm. He has favorite phrases, but they change week to week. For a while it was 'Outside pool closed - too cold', but is now 'I need a cup of wawa'. And he'll say it even if he's holding his cup! You can tell he's talking just to get some attention. He's doing well with all the milestones and seems to be really enjoying when we go out just him and me. He loves to give hugs, but isn't a cuddle bear anymore. I bought a lamp today which will almost finish his room off - he just needs wall hangings, which will wait until we go to PA. He loves to pretend to call Buppa and will have short conversations!

Long Winter Month

I know it's been a while since I wrote. But seriously, we haven't had much going on. Nick has been sick off and on. Ryan, Emma and I are all running colds right now. Ryan missed his first day of school two weeks ago due to a very quick stomach bug - so quick that by 11, I was ready to take him to school.

Ryan has been doing well in school. I am amazed at how far he's come in his reading and math since the beginning of the year. He completed Go, Dog, Go this week and Hop on Pop last week to a elated Dad and Mom. Ryan is still struggling with all the issues he has. We've been in the process of ADHD testing since December. While the teachers don't see the issues as much as we do, thankfully, our doctor knows what we have gone through for years trying to figure out what's up with him. After a few issues that came up one after another, we broke down and decided to try some medication to hopefully calm the kid down! We anticipate the results since we are starting tomorrow. He is still working with PT and OT on a rotating basis at Childrens. We had to quit speech because I was just too overwhelmed on one day (with PT and CCD). Plus he was exhausted and having a lot of problems the next day. Today, we are meeting to receive the splints we ordered for his shoes, which will hopefully, help to reduce his toe walking. Other than all of that, he is still an easily happy and excitable child!

Emma is doing great in school. I had her first parent teacher conference today. Her teacher told me that she is so extremely bright, way above what anyone expects of a 3 year old. She encouraged us to start working on rhyming and red words to help her read. Her one down point, was that Emma doesn't play with the other kids a lot. She doesn't mind playing with them, she just seems to like to play alone. She also really likes playing at the 'work' table - which is more learning than pretend play. Emma has been taking gymnastics class for 3 terms now and loves it, but did ask to do swimming next time instead. So we're back to the pool for that - I'm sure Nick will love that he will get to swim once a week! Emma adores her LeapPad and could play for hours. Her rest time is filled with that and she usually stays up in her room way past the hour time frame that is required. She is still a easily hurt child which needs lots of kisses, even if she can run away after the kiss as if nothing happened.

Nicholas is becoming a precocious toddler. Almost everything that comes out of his mouth starts with 'I need' as in 'I need cup', 'I need sleep', 'I need eat', etc.. He very much wants his needs to come across! Over the last week, I've noticed Nick trying to say a lot of new words - usually very quietly as if he's testing the word. He loves to dance and is finally trying to get his point across not to mess with him (to Emma and Ryan). I signed him up for preschool next year. He loves to be in Emma's school and I know he will enjoy his 1 day a week there (probably as much as I will enjoy those 3 hours without any kids). Nick has been sick quite a bit, I just hoping this winter will pass by! And he is looking forward to the waterpark being opened. Everytime we're at the gym he tells me 'Outside pool closed, too cold'. He knows! I love listening to him talk though! They way he calls Ryan 'Ya-ya' and loves to call them to come. He's been up a during the night for the last few weeks. Between the molars, ear infection and a cold, I can't blame him! Now I'm just waiting to be able to take the paci away - which I know will not be a fun fight! But I want to do it before he decides he wants to sleep in the big bed!

The pictures that are included are from the last week. We got a little snow, so Emma was out trying to catch them on her tongue! She helped me make cookies last week and Nick is loving the sunglasses. He thinks it's a peek-a-boo game, that we can't see him if they are on! That's what's going on in our world!

Happy Birthday Nicholas!!

My baby has turned 2! He's been saying he was 2 for a few weeks now and has been acting like he's 2 for over a month. That's when he's not thinking he's 5 and can do everything the other two can! I do feel bad for him though. Because his birthday is so close to Christmas and New Years I don't even think about it until the 2nd of January! At least I had his birthday gifts already and didn't have to figure that out - just what to do.

We decided to repeat his birthday from last year at Cici's Pizza. We told a few friends we were going and they decided to join us. The kids all enjoyed it - because they love Cici's. And the parents all had a great time together. Nick loved the two bite cupcakes that I got - especially that he was the only one to get two of them!

He opened his gifts with some help from his sister and friends - in a very Daddy like manner. Open one, play with it, then finally turn to the next one. Ryan and Emma have had a field day with all of Nick's new toys. I even wrapped and brought all the toys that had come in the mail from our families. He did great!

Overall, he had a great birthday!

Happy New Year!

We had another wonderful New Year's Eve with our friends the McDonalds. They have two boys that are the same ages of Ryan and Emma and our kids always have fun together. We had them over for pizza dinner and game night. We helped the kids play a few games and we played my new Scattegories Categories.

We celebrated New Years as normal - at 9pm! That way were able to get the kids to bed at a reasonable time and still enjoy our New Years. Of course, the real New Years was celebrate in our pj's watching the ball drop and remembering the time we went to NYC.

We hope everyone has a great 2012!

Merry Christmas!

We spent our Christmas this year in MI with my parents and sister. We've stayed home for the last few years and I was looking forward to seeing all of my family. And boy did we see them! My kids were overwhelmed with all the kids at Aunt Dawn's house (17 under 14). They all had a great time and were suprised by getting a few gifts! I was so glad to get to catch up with everyone!

After Aunt Dawn's, Kris and I took Ryan to church. We got there 15 minutes early and arrived to a completely packed church, overflow and overflow overflow! So we stood where we could watch on tv and still see in the church. This made it quite boring for Ryan who wanted to take a nap. Kris and Ryan took a walk and found some seats after communion of people who had left early (shocker!). My mom and dad took Emma and Nick home for naps and rest time.

We opened a few gifts after church and got a little rest in. My favorite gift was the shirt Robin got for Emma. It is a Wisconsin shirt showing hands doing the Big W. We all got our Christmas jammies. Then we got ready to head to Grandmama's.

We got to Grandmama's first (who knew!). We caught up with everyone once they got there and played our games. We all got some great stuff in our $5 game - Emma was happy to take her Hello Kitty ornament back home. We played LCR. Nick helped me but Emma came out the big winner. Even though she was mad everytime she had to give away a $1! She came home $51 dollars richer winning from me! After that we opened more gifts and had a (very) late dinner (it was 11:30 by then!).

We woke in the morning to find Santa had come to my parents. All the kids were so happy with everything they got. Ryan got his trumpet and drove everyone nuts for days. Emma got her teddy bear which she promptly named Panda. They both got LeapPads and a ton of games that entertained them for the rest of the day. Nick was happy with his books (they made noise).

We made a cake to celebrate Jesus's birthday which the kids had helped me decorate and was delicious. Which of course, came after a wonderful meal of turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes and the rest. Everyone was stuffed and of course, went to bed late.

The 26th, we celebrated Buppa's birthday. He is officially old! We went to Aunt Sally's house and got to meet Ava, Charlie and even Ella! The Williams were also there and it was so great to see everyone. It had been a long time! The kids were happy with MORE gifts, especially Nick with his Elmo guitar!

We spent the 27th driving home in the rain, stopping for lunch at Costco and some spinning. We came home to find Santa had come here as well. After a light dinner and unpacking the car, we opened our gifts from each other, Santa and all of Kris's family. Everyone made out this year. I even got a new iPod touch (since my old one was *gasp* 2 years old!). The kids will enjoy the old one. Kris got a Kindle Fire and all the stuff to go along with it. I'm sure it will be used during his many travels.

Since then we've been trying to make a dent in putting stuff away. The 4 boxes from my mom's are officially gone and what's under the tree looks manageable. As our anniversary gift, we bought ourselves paint. Kris is just finishing up painting Nick's room a nice chocolate milk. I'm hoping it looks nice when it's done! I've been entertaining the rest while being locked out of my room much of the time since Nick is sleeping in there.

Now we have to get ready for New Years!