October 2013

So sorry that I am just now getting to updating the family blog.  We have found ourselves very busy, but loving every minute of our kids growing and learning...well, maybe not EVERY minute :)

It is hard to recall what all happened in October.  We did a few fun things with the kids that were based around Halloween/Autumn.  We took the kids to a pumpkin patch where each kid did a mini zipline, picked out pumpkins, fed animals and rode a little train around.  We also took the kids to the Zoo where they were able to trick or treat at different animal stations and see lots of animals.  After the zoo, we took the kids to a drive-in movie and had a lot of fun.  After about an hour, Jake got restless so we put him into a car seat so that he wasn't getting in the way of Claire and Grace watching the movie or spilling something.

Claire is loving kindergarten.  They have a behavioral "clip chart" in which you clip up if you are behaving nicely and clip down if you are not behaving well.  Claire is always so proud when she is either green, blue or pink.  The highest you can be is purple, but there have only been 2 students that have gotten that so far this year.  She REALLY wants to get to purple some day.  She is learning to read and does some basic math.  She enjoys art, library, and gym class.  She seems to have lots of friends in her class and talks about different kids in her class often.

Grace goes to preschool Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays and then stays home with me on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (usually).  On Wednesdays we have swim lessons and Tuesdays we usually go to the Y to play in the "Kid's Room" or the "Block Room".  She loves school as well.  Her class has a majority of girls so there are a lot of dolls, kitchen, and my little pony toys in her classroom.  She went for her 4 year old check up this month and seems to be doing great.  The doctor had a few concerns because while we were in the office, she didn't say a single word.  For those of you that don't know, Grace is a chatter box (especially when she gets comfortable), but until them - she will just look at you with her big brown eyes and put on the biggest poker face you have ever seen.  I assured the doctor that this is just her personality and she really socializes quite well!

Jake is a one man wrecking ball!  He is all boy and just runs around and either destroys toys and makes messes, or runs into a wall and bangs his head!  But, man does he melt my heart with his smile!  He is learning to talk more and more.  He has had some trouble with using words, but we have found that since switching day cares, he has started to use more and more words and we understand him so much better.  His big move this month was coming out of a crib into a twin bed.  He has done well with it for the most part.  For the first 6 weeks or so he would wake up sometime between 4-6 a.m. and take all of his blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, and sheets off of his bed and throw them outside his door.  We would wake up, help him but them back and tell him it was time to go back to sleep.  

Here are some pictures from our month of October...

 Claire and I waiting for the bus

 Grace and Jake in the Block Room

 The Clip Chart at school worked so well, I made one for our house!  The girls do really well with it!

 Movie night in mom & dad's bed

 Halloween 2013 (Claire - Mariposa the Fairy; Grace - Sophia the First; Jake - Superman)

Below are pictures from "Boo at the Zoo"

Below are pictures from the drive-in.  We had hot dogs for dinner and saw "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2"

Jake in his new bed

Grace and Jake waiting for their Flu Mist!

Claire got her ears pierced in January this year but one of her ears got infected so we had to take it out.  So towards the end of October Claire braved it again, as well as little sister Grace!  Here they are with freshly pierced ears!

Below are pictures from the pumpkin patch that we went to.  The kids had a great time!

One evening we went for a walk.  Claire started out riding her bike and Grace gave it a whirl by the end :)

One night we took the kids out to play in our hot tub.  They love jumping off the seats and splashing around.

Towards the end of October we went to Indianapolis to visit with my family.  We celebrated Grace's birthday and hung out with some of my most favorite people!  It was a great visit!

We left Indy early on Sunday so we could get back and Trick Or Treat in our neighborhood.  The weather was awesome and the kids did so well with their "please" and "thank you".

One morning, Claire asked me to curl her hair before school :)

 Sometimes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Grace, Jake and I curl up in my bed and take naps together!

I went to the kids Halloween party at their daycare where they marched around in a parade.

September 2013

September was such a great month for our family. 

I have made the decision to have gastric sleeve surgery.  As many of you know, I have struggled with my weight my entire life and with much consideration, it feels like the best decision for my family and I.  I met with the nurse practitioner and got the ball rolling in this process in early September.  Throughout September, I went to a seminar, education class, a couple of psych evaluations and had a sleep study.  I have all of the pre-requirements done and go to meet with the surgeon tomorrow.  Hopefully I will be able to have surgery in early November. 

Pete was extremely busy coaching soccer in September.  He either had a game or practices anywhere from 4-5 times a week.  We played a lot of tag-team parenting and there were many nights that the kids only had one of us around.  I think there were maybe 6 nights this entire month that we were all 5 together.  

Claire is thriving in kindergarten.  She absolutely LOVES it!  They have a behavior chart and purple is the best you can get and she continues to strive to get a purple.  Green is what you start at every day and you can move up to pink, blue, and purple or down to yellow, orange or red.  Last week she got all greens and blues and so far this week she has 2 blues and 1 pink.  Claire also started to play soccer.  She has a couple of friends on her team and Pete is her coach.  She is learning to read and reads us books almost every evening.  It is so fun to watch her grow and learn.

Grace and Jake have also done a great job adjusting to their new school.  Jake is saying many more words and one of his favorite words is "barbie"....thanks to Grace and Claire! Grace has made many friends at school and I am so proud of her.

Here are pictures from our month of September...

 The kids decorating cupcakes

Here are pictures from Claire playing soccer...Pete's in heaven! :)

Jake just kicks the soccer ball up and down the field next to Claire's game

SO inappropriate to take pictures in church but the girls were being so sweet that I couldn't help myself

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I get to spend my day with these two little cuties!

Aunt Beth came to visit for a few days. She watched the kids for a couple of different times that we needed her help.  In this picture, you can see that she let the girls do her hair before she read them books!

Claire was VIP at school.  Each week, each class at her school picks a name to be the VIP for the week.  They get to bring in items, a snack, and show some pictures that are "All About Me".  We also got to eat lunch with her in the cafeteria.  She was so cute and it was nice to see her new friends.

TV tray dinners always were such a fun treat growing up...the kids loved it!

Movie night!

Claire's best friend from her old school had a birthday party towards the end of September.  It was so cute to see them reunited and hear them talk about kindergarten together!

Pete had a guys night at the end of September and Trina brought her son over and we were able to hang out with the kids and have a little girl time of our own!

Hope you guys had a wonderful September!  Thanks for reading!