May 2014

 May continued with the organized chaos with Pete's coaching in full swing.

I had my 6 month appointment with Dr. C from my surgery in November and  he  was pleased with my weight loss.  I don't have to go  back until this November so I was excited!

In early May, I went to daycare with Grace and Jake and did "Muffins with Mom".  We made a craft and the class sang a song and it was really cute.  We spent the rest of that day shopping, eating at Chipotle, and having a great time.  (Pictures below)

We made a trip to Indianapolis for Mother's Day weekend and had a great time catching up with friends from Purdue, high school, and even grade school!  It was a nice and relaxing weekend and we really enjoyed ourselves.

We ended the month by celebrating Jake's 3rd birthday.  We had hot dogs and a Spiderman themed birthday party.  Pete and I got him a bike and he does really well on it.  Lots of wonderful family and friends came over and we had a great time celebrating our little man!

My mom came for a visit at the end of the month and we enjoyed grilling out and setting up our new bounce house.  We decided to purchase a bounce  house (with the help of the grandparents) because by the time you rent it twice, it pays for itself.  The kids absolutely love it!

Here are some pictures from our month of May:

Claire really liked playing soccer and I know  that Pete loved to see Claire enjoy it so much.

Claire and Grace with  their friend, Lauren at swim lessons

Muffins with mom followed by Target and Chipotle :)

 

All packed and  ready for Indianapolis.  We hit the road and drove all the way there (4 hrs and 45 minutes) and did not stop once - the kids were such troopers!

SO thankful to catch up with friends!

We were convinced it would be  warm enough to get in the lake - we were WRONG!

 My mother's day message from Claire (sorry its sideways)

 Mother's Day lunch

We got back into town and went over to Grammy's house to wish her a happy mother's day

We spent one day planting flowers, making  s'mores, and doing  sparklers - it was one of the few days during the month that there was no work or soccer

Such a big helper!

We bought   umbrellas for the kids and who would've thought that they would be such a hit!  The kids want to take them EVERYWHERE!

On Jake's birthday, he wanted to eat at Fazoli's.  We ate dinner there and he was a happy little guy!

Ah, the umbrellas again!

Friday evening, we grilled  out and played on the bounce   house.

Saturday morning, Claire had a soccer  game.  

The following are pictures from Jake's birthday party:

 

Jake and his best bud, Eli!

Bike Ride

We went up to hang out with Mike and Bently on Memorial Day.  The cousins had a great time playing together and the family had some running races - Uncle Mike is definitely the fastest!

One of Claire's last days of school - Country Western Day!

April 2014

April feels like months ago....oh, wait...

I apologize for the delay in family blog posts, but I am committed to getting you all caught up  in  the next  couple  of days!

April was a busy month (as always with 3 small kids, 2 full time working  parents, and  Pete's soccer coaching on the side).  The kids had swim lessons all month long, Pete coached soccer 4-5 times a week and I worked 3 evenings a week which meant for a lot of single parenting or babysitters in the evenings.  It most definitely was not easy, but we made it through and made the most of the time we had together as a family of five.

Claire played soccer throughout April and May and she absolutely loves it.  We don't know if its because 2 of her greatest friends are on the team with her, or if its  because she takes after her dad but we are just going to roll with it.  She continued to do really well in kindergarten and had a birthday party for one of her friends from school at the beginning of the month.  Her best bud, Jude came to visit at the end of April and she  had a great time playing and catching up with him.  She is so inquisitive and asks many questions.  We are not used to this and we find  ourselves saying a lot of "Because we said so".  She has such a big heart and we just adore her.

Grace still has some whining that just comes with being a 4 year old.  She really wants to get words in but certain big sisters make that difficult at times :)  I think she is such a little sponge and just  observes so many things.  There are so many times when Pete and I just look at each other in astonishment with her memory and mindset.  One time (well, many times, but one  time in particular), Jake hit her and after time out he had to apologize to her.  When he told her he was sorry, Grace said  "I forgive you, Jake.  I'm not going to say it's ok because its not ok to hit, but I do forgive you."  It just seemed like such a profound answer for a little 4 year old.  She continues to  have a hard time with talking to adults and being shy, but we are working on it and trying our best to embrace it.

Jake gives us a run for our money often.  He is simply a 3 year old boy.  Problem is, we are not used to it.  He has a hard time listening and is simply a one man wrecking crew.  Then, he has a way with melting our hearts with his sweet smile and snuggles.  We fear we might be being played like fools, but we will learn in time I guess! :)  His motor skills are impeccable and  he loves to drop-kick balls, swing bats and throw a frisbee.  We are working on his speech with him and noticing some improvement.

Here are some pictures from our month of April:

We went  on quite a few bike rides and the kids loved it!

Jake went into a high back booster seat  and loves buckling with the shoulder strap like his sisters!

Fun at the park:

The second weekend in April, we went to a Breast Cancer benefit with Pete's family and had a great time!  We won a basket that Pete's mom put together with lots of kids activities.

One evening, we met up with our friends Scott and Trina and their son Harrison.  Jake loves Harrison.

When Pete was out of town,  I took the kids to Pump It Up (and indoor inflatable playhouse) and we had a great time.  I had to play a zone defense and guard the exits, but it was a lot of fun!

 I absolutely LOVE when  these two get along so well!

Opening Easter basket from my mom with adorable piggy banks inside!

 Decorating Easter eggs!

Such a great big sister

A coworker told me that she always does a scavenger hunt with clues for the kids to find their Easter baskets.  We tried that this year and it was a hit!  The kids did such a good job!

More Easter pictures

One day, Jake's daycare called me to let me know that he had fallen twice and  had a fat lip and a cut on his forehead AND that someone had bit his finger.  On my way to work, I stopped in  to snuggle him a bit and he fell fast asleep at nap time.  What a rough day for him :(

Pete and I fulfilled one  thing on our bucket list which was to take a cooking class together.  We had a great time and  later that week, we cooked the chicken cordon bleu and it was delicious!

Claire's classroom has  a  color-coded clip chart.  The absolute highest you can get is purple and she reached that twice this year.  Once in December and once in April.  As a reward, I took her to paint some pottery!

Jake, Grace and Bently watching Claire play soccer