2016 so far...

Some big happenings so far this year =) We're going for the high level updates here!

K has had a trio of firsts! She lost her first tooth, read her first book all by herself (Green Eggs & Ham) and had her first school music program.  My little girl is growing up *sniff, sniff*

C is moving out of toddler-dom and into full on little boy. He is 100% adorable and has entered the "why" and "mama, mama, mama" stages.

The kids have been developing an even stronger sibling relationship. They miss each other so much when they're away from each other and it's really awesome to watch them love each other! I hope it stays this way =)

M's grandmother passed and he had some skin cancer removed from his back so hopefully the year improves rapidly from here for him. At least his Broncos won the super bowl!

As for me...not much new. Just enjoying a busy life =) I tried to find a picture of me from this year but it doesn't look like we have one. I'll share a few family pictures we had on Christmas Eve day.

In March M & I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary and we're taking a road trip to visit family over Spring break. More photo ops!

Catch up!

I've been away from this blog space for too long! Not sure if anyone out there is still reading at this point...but if you are, Hi! 

December went by in a flash. K had her first ballet recital and it was adorable. She cried when it was over and wanted to do it all again. Needless to say we're already signed up for the spring show. 

(she's standing up in red)

 

C finished his adjustment to a new daycare and we're really happy we made the switch. He loves his new teacher and I am pleased with the classroom,learning, etc. as well as the organization, communication and accessibility of the management. They had a nice Christmas party complete with Santa and Mrs. Claus too.

December also had a bunch of snow, which both kids adored!

Christmas was so fun, with the kids now 5.5 and 2.5 (WOW, how did that happen?!) they were both into all the festivities. We had ~20 family members in town for the festivities and even their closest aged cousins, who are 8 and 11 were here. To say they had a wonderful time is an understatement.

We ended the year with a round of strep throat for K but we caught it early and she was able to ring in the new year, along with C, with some yoga and a dance party!

Hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start =)

Pumpkin Patch

The kids are both doing great. K is still enjoying kindergarten and her teachers had great things to say at our first ever parent/teacher conferences last week. She is obsessed with learning to read and makes progress every day. C is still adjusting to his new daycare (we switched a few weeks ago) and drop offs are still a bit tough. They are still in love with each other, when not fighting over toys and such of course =)

It has been a warm fall here so far and the weekends have been wonderful!  This past weekend we went to the pumpkin patch so I thought it was perfect fodder for a blog update.

All smiles!

This little pig was a new addition to the petting zoo this year

C's first pony ride and he loved it

Maybe next year he'll be able to see over the sign

Growing like weeds!

Strong!

Exactly three pumpkins high

Is it just me or is this pig a little scary?

Silly boy at lunch after the pumpkin patch

Kindergarten, Camping, Dance & More

K loves school! There has not been one complaint about it unless you count complaining about getting up so early =) She loves the "specials" which include music, P.E., art, computer lab, etc. Some days she reports MANY details and some days hardly any. She learned how to tie her shoe from her new friend Lilly last week and is very proud. I think she just may wear out her laces tying and retying them. 

The weekend after her first full week was my 40th birthday. And what makes a girl feel 40? Taking the kids camping for the first time, that's what. The first night was horrible - C didn't go to sleep until 11pm and got up at 5:45am, K fell out of her bunk at 2:30am and M and I got about 2 hours of sleep. To be honest I considered packing up and coming home bright an early that morning...but thankfully Saturday was great with morning walks around the lake, fishing where K got her 1st fish and rounded out with fun at the lake beach in the afternoon and smores by the fire that night. The 2nd night was wonderful where we all slept ~11 hours. Nice! Sunday was my actual b-day and we enjoyed a morning pontoon boat ride around the lake before going to lunch with friends. 

Another bit of news is that we've decided to switch daycares the end of this month. C will be there full days and K for just a few hours after school. It's a big change for them and I'm keeping everything crossed that the change goes smoothly. I hope C will really thrive there. His class will be a little smaller and I hope he builds on his rapidly growing vocabulary =)

Ok, that was a lot of words...here's the main point of the post, some photos!

Sunrise while camping, courtesy of C's early wake up

Checking out a caterpillar on our morning walk

K's first fish!

 

C giving it a shot

Playing with some friends at the "beach", ok, generous term I know

Roasting marshmallows 

She was so patient and got a perfectly toasted one after about 10 minutes

Kids not sure of the life jackets on the way out of the marina 

A rare sighting of M and me together

K started a ballet class and it gets more adorable each and every week =)

Look at that smile, this kid!

Trying on my sunglasses, cutie pie!

Kindergarten

And just like that my first little birdie if off to school! Last week we had a few meet and greet opportunities and yesterday was her "staggered start" day where 1/2 the class was there. Today is the first day with all the kids. I've been flipping back through this blog and suddenly feel like making it here was quite the accomplishment - for her and for us. I did shed a few tears as soon as I got back in the car after dropping her off. She is so ready for this though and had a wonderful time on her first day. Here are some pictures:

You can tell she's equal parts proud and nervous

For once C was willing to be in the pictures too 

With Daddy

My turn =) Love these two!!!

Arriving at school

Headed into her "kindergarten enrichment" room

Found her name on her cubby!

One of her morning teachers

Her other morning teacher

Meeting spot first thing in the morning

Afternoon room - the "real" kindergarten portion of her day

With her afternoon teacher after school

Enjoying a yummy treat after her 1st day of school - this was my sneaky way to hear all the details ASAP =)

And there you have it, we have a kindergartner, wow!

He's TWO!

Oh little man, you turned two yesterday and I can hardly believe that much time has passed. You are such a happy, sweet and sometimes ornery little guy. Of course you're whole family is in love with you!

Here are some deets on C at 2! For all the challenges this age has sometimes it really is one of my favorites, they are developing so many skills and personality =)

Stats: He's a big guy at 32.5 lb (95%) and 35" (64%). After his last two 2-year molars break through he'll have a full mouth full of chompers. I will not miss teething, that is for sure.

Food: As you might guess from his nice round belly he loves his vittles =) Some days he eats like a bird and other days eats more than I do but he is a pretty balanced eater and likes veggies, meats and fruits pretty equally.  He's still nursing 4-5 times a day too and shows no signs of wanting to give it up. We think he's sensitive to cow milk like his sister was and it's causing diaper rashes when he has raw dairy. So far we don't think there's an issue with cheese, yogurt, etc. so that's nice, especially since his favorite food in the world is CHEESE =)

Skills: While most of his efforts were focused on gross and fine motor around 18 months he's turned focus to verbal skills. The boy is talking up a storm and wow, it's adorable! He loves that he can communicate and even surprised us by coming home and counting to 10 last week.

Favorite things: Riding on the tractor (riding lawn mower), helping feed the dog, throwing and hitting balls (OMG, they are all over our lawn, garage, etc.), playing outside, stomping in puddles after it rains and cuddling with his stuffed animals.

B-day party: It's tonight! We are having family over for pizza and cupcakes. Yesterday on his actual birthday we took cupcakes to his school for him to share with friends and they had a swimming day which he loved. Last night we sang to him again and gave him his main present (a tool bench and tools, which he loves!).

Teeth!

This week brought our biannual trip to the dentist. Usually it's a quick check, polish and we're off. However this time K got her first x-rays. Taking them was uneventful but what we saw showed us we are in for lots of fun in the next 6 months. One of her six year molars is through the skin already and the other three are on the way. She is very proud of her adult tooth and is constantly trying to feel it now. The x-rays also showed that her front top and bottom adult teeth are starting to push on the baby tooth. Looks like we'll have a gap tooth grin here soon. The tooth fairy better get her engines warmed up too. How can she be this old? Seems impossible.

C didn't want to be left out of the action and showed of his 1st two year molar. Gums are swollen on the other three so I'm sure those will make an appearance soon as well. While the pediatrician and ENT assure me ear infections are not at all associated with teething we have seen the exact opposite with both kiddos and C unfortunately got one this week. Anyone else see this association with their little ones? Luckily for C his tubes are still in place and the ear drops are quickly addressing the infection.