Drums

This post is a special shout-out to Uncle Dallas and Aunt Teressa for their Christmas gift to Jacob - a drum set. Both kids LOVE them, but we had to remove the cymbal from it because it was just too much for mom and dad :)









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Happy St. Patricks Day

My two favorite men dressed as twins.

Valentine's Day 2012

The kids posing with their new stuffed animals from us for Valentine's Day.


Jacob with his dozen roses for us - cute idea!


Sweet Bailey

First and Only Snowfall

The only somewhat sizable snowfall that I remember getting all winter was during my birthday weekend. Sharla came for a surprise visit and we took the kids sledding to our neighborhood park. Thank goodness I decided to take my camera because that was the only time the kids played in the snow all winter (if you call it a winter!).







Note the ice crystals on Bailey's eyelashes

Jacob at 4 Years Old

Now that Jacob is almost 4 1/2 years old, I figured I better write about him at the four-year mark. He continues to amaze me. He has a lot of personality and is really beginning to mature into a little boy. He is very smart and is beginning to express himself creatively. The clumsy little toddler is becoming a more coordinated, competitive boy. He reminds me of a little Dan each and every day.

He is obsessed with anything to do with numbers and is already doing calculations in his head. His thing right now while we are driving is to compute what place we are in at a stoplight. The competitive spirit comes out and always wants me to be "first in line" or pass a slow car. Sometimes I think that MarioKart is real to him! He also asked Dan and I one night how old we were (34 and almost 35). He then got a thoughtful look on his face and said "so when Daddy is 45, Mommy will be 44... and when Daddy was 15, Mommy was 14." Really?!! I figured right then and there that math will likely be his strong subject in school like his parents.

Here are some highlights:

*He is extremely curious and likes to ask lots of questions about everything

*He continues to be very particular about most things and needs his routine

*He is very stubborn and can have a hard time in new situations adapting

*He is sweet and absolutely loves his sister

*He is ultra competitive and can turn almost anything into a competition

*He recently figured out how to swing by himself (victory for us!)

*He has an arm on him and can throw a ball and frisbee pretty well

*He can turn on the TV and operate the DVR with no problem, which serves us well especially during those early morning wake-ups

*He is really good at the Wii and could play it all day

*He is getting better at pretend play. He loves to fly his toys all over the house. He also has gone from having his own house, to his own fleet of airplanes, to a farm. Lots of animals live at the farm and he talks about it almost daily.

*He gave up his naps at home last summer, but still takes one at daycare, although that will likely change soon since he has a bit of insommia falling asleep at night.

*We still struggle getting him to listen to us at times, particularly in public situations

*He is still high energy and gets very wound up at times, which is hard to bring back down

*He doesn't like to get messy and flips out when he gets something on his skin

*His coloring is very good and he stays in the lines and is starting to color with more appropriate colors for the picture

*He recently began drawing, although some of it isn't recognizable

Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas this year. The kids helped me make cookies this year and did it all with exception of making the dough and icing. They absolutely LOVE projects like that! I only made the sugar cookies and chex mix this year out of need to not have so much in the house (I end up eating most of it, so I feel like I get to make the executive decision on that one)!

It was a very compressed few days of celebrating. We kicked it off going to our Christmas Eve service and then coming home and spreading reindeer food outside and setting cookies our for Santa. The kids really understood the concept of Santa this year, which made it fun. Once the kids were up in the morning, we all came downstairs to see what Santa brought. I then made breakfast and then we opened presents to each other Everyone got each person in the house presents this year. It's important to me for the kids to understand the art of giving, not just receiving.

We then went to Decatur for the rest of the day to celebrate with my family. Debbie's family was there too and it's been awhile since my side of the family has had a house full of people on Christmas! Lots of great food, people, and the kids were absolutely spoiled in gifts.

We went to Dan's mom's house the next day and celebrated with most of Dan's family. It was just immediate family and Debbie actually got to spend quite a bit of time sitting and enjoying the kids. It was such a nice day. We brought the kids pjs with us and left close to bed time so they could go to sleep in the car and go right to bed. It worked out perfectly!

After Christmas, the kids and I made the gingerbread train. It was harder than I anticipated, but it was fun to do. I'm thinking that food crafts just aren't my thing :)

Christmas 2011

Jacob's 4th Birthday Party

Jacob celebrated his 4th birthday in November with his first ever friend party. In order to keep it under control as far as numbers go, he invited a select group of friends from Rogy's. The problem is that he is so social, his close group of friends was 14! I was amazed that eight came and we ended up with a total of 12 kids including Jacob and Bailey and two of their cousins.

At the time, his favorite show was Jake and the Neverland Pirates, so a pirate theme it was! I worked on prepping for his party about two months prior and collected a million items for the party. The Internet is a beautiful thing and I got so many great ideas from other people who have been through the same party.

I had a craft/snack table set up for the kids when they arrived in order to help transition the kids as well as allow for late arrivals. The kids got eye patches, necklaces, pirate tattoos, and made spotting scopes. The kids LOVED it all and I made a rookie mistake by cutting this time short in order to move on to the next activity. I created a minute-by-minute schedule and I was bound and determined to stick to it!!

The next activity was a cannonball game set up in the basement. I divided the kids into two teams and had them try and sink the other's ship (bucket decorated as a ship) with their cannonballs. The losing team had to walk a plank that I made. I thought this game would be a hit.... nope. The game was probably too over their heads and they were more excited about playing with the other toys.

Next, the kids went on a treasure hunt that started inside, went outside, and then ended back inside. I made treasure maps with picture clues and told them which one was the first location. At each location, a picture of the next location was attached. Near the end, they found an empty treasure box with a note that Captain Hook stole their treasure and they had to follow his clues to where it was hidden. The final location was a toy box with a treasure box filled with treasure for each kid. This game was a HUGE HIT!!

The kids ate cupcakes next and then watched Jacob open his gifts. We actually had about 15 minutes to spare and the kids had a good time running around and playing. A few of the parents stayed to help and I was grateful for our family members who were able to help out too. It was definitely a team effort.

I made dinner for family afterwards and then Jacob opened family presents in a much calmer setting.

I was completely exhausted, but the party went really well and Jacob has a great time. I'm not sure I have it in me to do this each year for both kids, but we'll see.

Jacob's Pirate Party