Happy Birthday Daddy!

This post somehow never got published, so even though Robert's birthday was in May, I am posting this in September.  Oh well!  For Robert's birthday, the kids decided to wash his Jeep as their present to him.  Robert loves that Jeep, so it was a great idea all around.  It wasn't too warm that day, so the tomfoolery was kept to a minimum.  Here are some pictures of the kids doing a great job.

Carter turns 5!

Carter turned 5 this year! 

Carter is growing by leaps and bounds and it is such an amazing blessing.  He just finished his second year of preschool - going every morning and loving it.  He still is very cuddly with me and I am going to enjoy every moment of it while it lasts.  He freely gives hugs, kisses, and I love yous and says the sweetest things.  Of course there's a flip side to every coin and when Carter is cranky he gets totally irrational, mean-spirited, and very stubborn.  This usually happens when a lack of sleep is involved.  Thankfully he usually sleeps well - 11 hours a night on average - although getting him to go to sleep is sometimes a struggle.  He is very predictable every night in telling us that he does not like bedtime the instant that it's arrival is announced.  He doesn't put up too big of a fight usually, but I have taken to sitting in his room in his chair next to his bed for 10 minutes at night to help him settle in.   He sleeps with "birdie" - a green Dr. Seuss looking stuffed bird  that he's taken to over the last year or so - and as always his taggie blanket.  He loves books (which he can read the easiest readers on his won now), animals, video games, and arts and crafts.  One of the things that I like best about him is his optimism and laid back attitude - he's generally not picky and sees the bright side of most situations.  He also has an ego to him - which is very cute - every time he tries something (despite obvious evidence to the contrary) he believes that he is the BEST at it.  As his parents, we never tell him otherwise :)  He's already picked up on some type of man-code, because anytime he meets a new little boy they almost immediately start rough-housing, but when he plays with a little girl he'll sit down and play their games as well (or rough house with them, but only after they've given a sign that they're interested - other boys he just somehow assumes, which gets him into trouble with the boys who aren't as comfortable with the wrestling antics).  He's fun to be around and we honestly have some of the best conversations in the car.  He's my little buddy for sure!

As for me I feel like my youngest being 5 years old is a turning point.  Absolutely nothing at Babies R Us applies to us anymore!  With Carter being 5 and Teah 7 1/2 it has hit me that I really don't have little ones anymore - I have kids.  It's a lot easier in many, many ways, but it also feels a lot busier with soccer, swimming, girl scouts, school, friends, etc.  Of course the older and wiser parents that I know tell me this is only the beginning and I can't wait!

Here are some pictuers of his 5th birthday party.  When he told me that he wanted a penguin theme I was stumped, but I think it turned out well!

My sweet girl

What a sweet little girl we have! Last night she just HAD to make these two cards before bed. We did not prompt her in any way. She noticed her Daddy's scraped knee from soccer and made him a get well card. Then she made Aunt Marj a welcome card because she's moving in with us for the summer. She has such a big heart :). Oh, and the picture on the front of Robert's card is his hurt knee and then his knee when it's all better - I had to ask.

Swimmers!

Carter started swim class a few months ago and is loving it. I was worried about his adjustment to the class, since he's always hated having his head go under the water. I was also nervous about his reaction because it took Teah so long to adjust when she started. This time around I was the wiser Mom, now knowing exactly what to expect from the class, and took a few months at home to start the adjustment in the bathtub. We worked on floating on his back with his ears in the water - he initially hated the sensation of his ears underwater, but it didn't take too many tub sessions before he was much more comfortable with the sensation. We also put on the goggles in the tub and worked on first blowing bubbles, then putting his face in the water, then moving to the jacuzzi to put his whole head under. He still didn't like that much, but was to the point where he would sometimes put his head in voluntarily without crying. Also, I signed him up for two private lessons with the instructor who was going to teach his group lessons and I think that really helped him to feel more comfortable about the whole thing. So, instead of months of crying, he only had a few tears for the first two group sessions. Of course the personality differences between my kids accounts for a big part of the difference, but Ai like to think that my preparation helped as well :).

Fast forward a few months and I now have two kids who are swimmers. Teah is a fish and her instructor has even called her "fearless", which I do believe is the first time that adjective has ever been used when referring to her. She swims very well underwater, dives to the bottom of a 5 foot pool to get her dive sticks, and loves jumping into the pool (she thought it was so cool when the instructor taught her the pencil jump). She just passed her level 2 course after taking it multiple times. The requirements included swimming 20 ft, lots of different floats, treading water for 30 sec, etc. After one session of level 3, which is where they start to learn specific strokes, Teah decided to move back down to Level 2. She decided that she wanted to just have fun rather than learn the strokes.

Carter is enjoying his class. He jumps in and goes all the way under. You can tell he's not quite comfortable with water in his nose when he comes up, but he doesn't let it bother him! He can swim a few feet on his own and floats on his back all by himself.

I'm so proud of both of them and so happy to see their love and enthusiasm for the water.

Animal Rescue

I have a passion for animals, especially the cute and furry kind, and have volunteered in different capacities with animal rescues for many years. I've found ways to encourage a love of animals in my kids through our own pets, the pet store, and good old mother mature, but now that the kids are getting older I can finally share the volunteer experience with them.

We adopted our dog, Vegas, from Animal Rescue Project here in Kalamazoo and I was impressed with the organization. They are made up of entirely volunteers save for a few paid staff at their shelter. This spring I decided that Teah was old enough and we went to volunteer orientation together. They have a great volunteer program where we can go into the shelter to walk a dog or pet the cats anytime from 9am-7pm everyday on a drop in basis. We haven't found the time to make it that often, but I hope to start going weekly now that summer is here.

Teah enjoys walking dogs, but really loves petting and playing with the cats in the cat room. We'll never own our own cat since Robert is allergic, so this is an extra special opportunity and maybe one that will ensure Teah purchasing a cat as soon as she gets her own place :)

Here are a few pictures I took of Teah with THE cutest and friendliest chihuahua at the shelter - I wanted to take him home!

Afternoon with the Appledorns

This afternoon we had a wonderful visit from the Appledorn family.  Little Brynn is so sweet and Miles is a totally fun and happy little dude.  I did manage to snap a few pictures in between our catching up.  So nice to see them!

Smiley Brynn

So happy to see Mommy

Big blue eyes peeking at me

Teah and Dan being silly!

Rock a Bye Carter

At almost 5 years old, I still sometimes get to rock Carter to sleep and it warms my heart. Tonight it was almost necessary because I kept him up late and he was sooooo overtired that he was melting down and was having a hard time falling asleep on his own. He wanted to rock and I figured I owed him as much after pushing his bedtime, so he grabbed his taggie blanket, silly the whale, and his fuzzy comforter and he hopped into the rocking chair with me :) I rocked him to sleep most nights until he was 14 months old and anywhere from once a week to once a month since then. I know the practice is looked down upon by many, but thankfully after a short stint with crying it out at 9 months old it never affected him being able to fall asleep on his own most nights nor sleeping through the night without waking. I think the closeness of it helps both of us and our bond with each other. It also gives me a very convenient method of putting him down for an occasional nap when needed (he would never fall asleep during the day by just lying in his bed) and putting him to sleep at friends houses when we want to stay a little bit later. What a lucky Mom I am to have such a sweet little boy. I took this picture of Carter tonight after he fell asleep in my arms with my iPhone while holding it up in the air, in the dark, with the iPhone flash on the first try. It was a picture miracle :)

My little readers

Well, I officially have two children who are readers! Within the past few months Carter has started reading his first books at school - mainly "see Jane run" type readers. He is so excited about it and always tells us enthusiastically when he brings a book home from school to read to us. He has also started to read everything in sight, for example the words "cocktails" and "beer" that were written on the restaurant windows today. Teah enjoys reading and can basically read any word within her vocabulary, which puts her into chapter books. She seems most interested in science type non-fiction books, like our National Geographic books on subjects like sharks or tornadoes. She has also taking a liking to Amelia Bedelia, The Berenstein Bears, and children's mysteries. I took a picture of Teah reading a book to Carter last week totally unprompted. Stay tuned for the full length 2 minute video coming soon! You can also clearly see the spot on our kitchen table where I accidentally set a cotton ball soaked with nail polish remover. Ahhhhh... Memories.

Anatomy

Robert tells me that this is exactly how he felt when studying anatomy.  Future surgeon?

The Dentist

Teah had her regular checkup with the dentist today.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to write an update on her lost teeth.  At some point losing them became not such a big deal anymore and I even stopped snapping pictures immediately after the loss.  At just over 7 years old she has now lost 9 teeth!  The dentist told us that she's ahead of the game because of some crowding going on right now and that the future might bring the need for braces.  Braces seem pretty standard anymore, so it's not really something that's too concerning at the moment.  Something of major note in the losing tooth game, though, is that with her last tooth Teah actually pulled it out herself!  It was bothering her and hanging by a thread, so she went into the bathroom and twisted and pulled for a few minutes and out it came.  If you read my previous blogs on her loose teeth you would know that the previous eight she lost came with a lot of crying and general unhappiness, so this was a good turning point.  She sees a wonderful pediatric dentist with very colorful chairs and cool sunglasses.  I couldn't help but snap a picture with my phone when I saw her pink dental experience today!  After her appointment she had to admire how clean her teeth were in the mirror in the waiting room.  So cute :)

Teah's MyTwinn - Pearl

For her seventh birthday in December Teah received a MyTwinn doll from Mommy and Daddy. For those who are unfamiliar, the MyTwinn company creates a custom doll from your preferences of skin color, eye color, hair color and length and cut, and also from a picture of your child - they use the picture to choose face shape, hand paint the doll, and give each doll it's own haircut.  Although I may have chosen too dark of a hair color, I think that the doll looks a lot like Teah!  It's pretty awesome and I love the fact that the doll that Teah loves and sees as beautiful looks so much like her! She named her new doll Pearl, which is also her own middle name.  I thought it was very appropriate.  Since then Pearl has gone on family trips, read books, slept with Teah occasionally (although not recently, since Teah tells me that she is "not comfortable" to sleep with), dressed up, had her hair brushed, and of course seen Dr. Teah Hilliard our local doll pediatrician. So much fun!  Blogger was giving me some problems, so the pictures below are not necessarily in chronological order.

Titled "Bunny and the Bride by Teah".  Teah thought that the mittens and scarf made from tights looked great with the dress. :)

Driving home from her birthday party at Nana's

Bedtime Stories

Just after opening Pearl for her birthday.  I chose the non-smiling picture because it shows the resemblance more.

Ducks!

Every winter at Carter's preschool, the ducks come out to visit the birdfeeder. The feeder is right in front of the window to their classroom and the kids love looking out at the ducks. I love them too!

23 in a row at The Joe

A few weekends ago Robert and I made a last minute decision to go to a Detroit Redwings professional hockey game. The Wings had won the last 22 home games, tying the league record for the number of home games won in a row. The Friday night game was so exciting that we woke up Saturday and decided to try to buy tickets for the Sunday game! We are very fortunate to have Robert's parents living in metro Detroit and willing to watch our kids on such short notice, which meant that we were headed to The JOE (what us insiders call Joe Louis Arena). We drove over to Troy Saturday and decided to stay at a hotel and make a little mini-vacation of the weekend.

The kids were very happy to be able to swim in the pool Saturday night and I was also happy to be able to work with Carter in a pool instead of the bathtub to try to prepare him a little more for starting swim lessons in the spring. Carter did a great job putting his head under the water without plugging his nose and jumping in and letting his face go in before I pulled him up. If you've ever seen him in the water before, you know this was a huge accomplishment for us. He wasn't really excited to do those things, but he didn't shed any tears, so that was a win in my book.

We dropped the kids off with Robert's parents and headed to the afternoon game the next day. I have to say that although I don't watch too many games on TV, I love watching the Redwings in person. I love the chill of the stadium, the sounds of the game (stick hitting puck, stick hitting ice, checking), the excitement of the crowd, the fighting, the octopi. It all makes for a great time. This particular game was a good one. The Wings were up by one most of the game and into the third period, making the end of the game more exciting when the other team pulled the goalie to try to tie it up and go into overtime. Thankfully, the Wings held their lead and won the game, which also meant their 23rd win in a row at the Joe! Definitely a great game to attend.

After the game we all went out to The Melting Pot for dinner - yummy! One of my favorites and a special treat for all of us :) Definitely a great mini-vacation weekend. Here are some phone pics from the game.

Arriving at The Joe

Ready for the next period to start!

It was a pretty full house at The Joe

I had to get a picture of Robert after the game to commemorate his shirt - I know, it would've been even more perfect had we been on the other side of the rink, but it's still pretty cool.  He loves this shirt!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's time to get caught up on some old posts. Valentine's this year was a lot of fun now that both of the kids are old enough to get involved. I learned a few lessons from last year and instead of letting the kids come with me to choose their Valentine's I asked for some general ideas of what they wanted and went to the store by myself. This was a great way to avoid their indecision and distractions while standing in the Valentine's aisle! Teah's requirement for a Valentine was that they were shaped like hearts and since I found none of those in the regular aisle, I decided to buy some card stock in pastels colors and print/cut the cards at home. They turned out great! This year Teah was able to write the name of each of her classmates on all of her Valentine's and she actually had a great time the night before writing each child's name and signing her own, plus picking out very specific stickers for each child. Carter's told me simply that he wanted Valentine's from the Movie Cars2, so I bought him your standard back of Valentine's cards at Target. He signed his name to all 30 cards this year - I was so proud of him for his determination and patience with the task!

The kids both had school parties on Valentine's day and were very excited to bring their Valentine's in for all of their friends. I was able to volunteer in Teah's classroom that day and witness her party firsthand. The kids broke up into groups and rotated through 4 stations - Valentine's bingo, creating a Valentine's themed craft, snack, and handing out their Valentine's. I was assigned to bingo and had a great time with the kids. I come in to listen to them read every Tuesday, so it was helpful that I already knew most of their names. After the stations the kids had free time to look through their Valentine's and talk to their friends about them, which was probably their favorite part of the morning. Teah's teacher gave all of the kids one of those "fortune tellers" that we played with when we were kids, where you fold them the right way and are able to put your fingers in and open up the contraption until your friend picks a number and you read to them what was underneath it. The kids had a great time with that as well.

Carter signing all of his Valentine's cards

Teah was very into making her Valentine's from scratch for each of her classmates

Teah's Valentine's party

Looking through her Valentine's

Playing with the "fortune teller"

Let it Snow!

This winter has been the warmest that I have ever seen in Michigan. I can count the number of times we've had a substantial amount of snow on one hand, which means the kids haven't been enjoying the season as much as they usually do. Thankfully a big snow storm hit at the end of last week and the snow stuck for a few days.  The kids were out for a few hours each day this weekend playing.

My children are not the outdoorsy type, so I had to convince them to go out by allowing a few snow appropriate toys to go out with them, including a foam sword, dinosaurs, strainers, and our two barbeque spatulas - which the kids called their "Ninja choppers".  With these trusty toys in their laundry basket they headed out and didn't want to come back in until they were soaking wet and happily tired from playing in the snow!  Instead of a snowman, they decided to build a dinosaur cave.  Yes, I did help them with it and I am still sore from shoveling the snow into a pile :)  Here are some pictures that I snapped with my phone before I went back inside.

The Bucket of Toys!

All three dinosaurs in the cave.  Those plant eaters better watch out for that T-Rex!

One friendly dinosaur hiding out in his cave :)

The kids best attempt at posing for the picture

This one is for my friend Kerry who lives in the South and had no idea what a snow blower looked like!

Carter was exhausted that afternoon and fell asleep on the couch!