How Can it Be?

It doesn't seem possible that Joel is old enough for preschool. Something about being the baby of the family makes him just seem so little. No new phase that he enters seems like it should be happening as quickly as it is. He is still the baby that asks to rock and snuggle! There is just no way he can be ready to leave me for two hours each week! Yet, he is totally ready to leave me for two hours each week. He has been talking about it all summer and can't wait to finally be like the big siblings that he admires so much. After all, backpacks are pretty much the coolest thing ever and now he gets to have one all to himself! In fact, he wore it for an entire half hour at home before we even left for school :)

As a side note, there are two quite memorable moments from his first day of preschool - not proud mama moments - but worth remembering down the road. 

1. When I went in to wake Joel up and get ready for school, he rolled over, laid back down, and said, "No, I'm sleepy mama. Leave me awone (alone)"! Seriously, you're two and a half dude!

2. I picked Joel up from preschool and found out that he was so preoccupied with playing that he POOPED in his underwear! Thankfully this is my third kid at that preschool, so I wasn't terribly mortified because I know the teachers quite well and know that they have seen it all. Looks like we'll be doing pullups for the next few preschool days until he gets over the excitement of all the new, fun stuff to play with! Seriously, you've been potty trained for six months dude!

What is your name? J-O-E-L (he spelled it)

How old are you? Two

What do you want to be when you grow up? Play

What is your favorite food? cereal

What is your favorite drink? coffee

What makes you happy? milk

What makes you sad? getting a boo-boo

What is your favorite thing to do at home? elmo

Who is your best friend? Leah

Where is your favorite place to go? to go play at the park

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? sit with you

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? play with Daddy

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? play with Leah

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? playing

What is your favorite book? the tractor one

What is your favorite movie? no....leave me alone Mama

We almost made it to the end, but this kid was DONE....who knew interviewing a 2 year old could be such a challenge?!?

Where is your favorite place to eat? 

What is your favorite thing to wear? 

Away She Goes...

Our crazy, sweet, sassy girl had the first day of her last year of preschool! I can't even wrap my mind around her heading to kindergarten next year. For now, I am soaking up the time I have with her. She is soaking up the time she has at school and is already mentioning over and over again that this is the year she graduates. Seriously? Slow down!

What is your name? Leah

How old are you? Four

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Mommy

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? chocolate milk

What makes you happy? giving Mommy hugs

What makes you sad? when I bump my head on something

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play with Bunny and read books

Who is your best friend? Zack (from preschool)

Where is your favorite place to go? McDonalds playset

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? read books

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? snuggle

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? playing with him

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? playing with him

What is your favorite book? all the books

What is your favorite movie? Annie

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds ("because it has a playset")

What is your favorite thing to wear? my Doc McStuffins clothes

It Happened Again

It happened again. I blinked...and my firstborn is off to first grade! I am really not sure where the last few school years have gone and I am pretty sure I dropped him off for his first year of preschool yesterday. This year is by far the hardest (for me) yet. It is the first year in which he will spend more time at school than he will (awake) at home. He is so completely and totally ready. I am so completely and totally in denial of the fact that he is already in school full time. Where did my baby go?

  

What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? Five

What do you want to be when you grow up? "I want to be, um, uh, a pet trainer and a dolphin trainer."

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? water

What makes you happy? when Grandma is here

What makes you sad? when somebody hurts me

What is your favorite thing to do at home? have my family with me

Who is your best friend? Jack (someone he rode the bus with last year)

Where is your favorite place to go? "not to the store"..."ok, to Grandma's house" 

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go out on dates

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? go out on dates

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? playing with her

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? playing with him

What is your favorite book? Henry and Mudge

What is your favorite movie? Lego Movie

Where is your favorite place to eat? my house

What is your favorite thing to wear? Ninja Turtles shirt

The Lake (round 2)

The final trip to the lake for the summer is always bittersweet. Sweet because there is no place we'd rather be, bitter because we know we won't be there again for almost an entire year. We made the most of our long stay by cramming in as much fun as possible. The kids played, fished, swam, and burned off every bit of their energy each day. We all enjoyed the perfect weather and time together!

Aunt Nancy SPOILED Caleb with tons of Legos. He even got a giant castle that took 3 days to put together!

Fishing was definitely a favorite. All three are great at casting the line and reeling in their own fish. Caleb can even bait the hook and take the fish off! 

As always, the waverunner is a huge hit! 

And, of course, the extra special snacks and treats make for some fun (and messy) memories! 

Now that the kids are older, we are able to spend most of our time down at the dock. The kids love being able to jump in and swim whenever they need a break from fishing.

Boat rides are awesome! 

Tyler tried, tried, and tried a few more times....and he finally got up on skis for a short ride through the cove.

We were all quite impressed by Grandpa getting up on skis on the first try. He's still got it after all these years!

Quality time with grandparents is the best! 

 

Fun in the sun!

A little downtime inside.

 It's hard to believe another summer at the lake has come to an end. We have loved every minute down there and can't wait to be there next year. We are also incredibly thankful for Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dave letting us "move in" for what totaled up to be almost an entire month at the lake this year!

Morton Arboretum

Back in the freezing cold winter months, I was chatting with a friend about fun things to do during the summer (moms will do anything to take their minds off of the long, cold, dreary days of winter). We had made an agreement to plan a trip to the Morton Arboretum once (and if) summer ever came. Thankfully, winter did end and as promised, we got together to enjoy the beautiful summer we've had deserved. I had been to the arboretum once before when Caleb and Leah were quite a bit younger, so I was eager to go back again.

The kids had a blast on our trip. It only took about 30 minutes to get to the arboretum and you could easily spend all day there. The children's garden, where we spent our morning, is just one of the many places to see. There are a bunch of different areas for the kids to play, climb, explore, and have fun. Some of the favorites were the tadpole pond (where they could wade in the water and jump from rock to rock in search of tadpoles), the stream (where they could pick up big rocks and build dams to divert the flow of the water), the treehouse (where they could climb up and walk through bridges made of ropes), and the "spiderweb".