Random February Fun

Blue and Gold - We celebrated another great year of scouting for Max at his Blue and Gold Banquet earlier this month.  It has been such a great outlet for Max and he has made some great little friendships.  Its a joy to watch.

So there has been some fabulous February weather and it has helped to keep the February funk from setting in.  Last weekend we were able to enjoy a fun family day at the zoo to continue celebrating Daddy's birthday.  The zoo is always a huge hit.  Unfortunately the entire city had the same great idea and it was packed!  Luckily we were smart and arrived as soon as they opened and were heading home at 11:30 when lots of others were just arriving.

Those baby blues get me every time :)

We hit all the favorites - the train, river's edge, and the children's zoo.  I think the boys had a great time.  

 Of course it wouldn't be winter here without a random snow storm to shut things down.  Jack was scheduled to have an evaluation for preschool early on Wednesday morning.  Nonna spent the night to help get the big boys off to school so I could take care of Jack.  Unfortunately mother nature had other plans - we all ended up with a snow day.  Even more unfortunate is that our power went out.  Luckily Nonna was there to help and the roads really weren't too bad.  We headed out to breakfast and the gym to stay war while waiting for power to be restored.

More February fun came in the form of a birthday party for Will to attend.  It was pretty cute to watch him tumble and run with all his friends from school.  Now we are thinking about how we are going to celebrate his big day in April.

Saturday morning cartoons - all three boys, and the cat, snuggled up in our bed watching cartoons.  Too cute not to share.  Even the everyday moments are pretty great around here.  

Can't wait to see what March has in store for us!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

 I know I say this all the time, but I am ridiculously lucky to have this man as my husband.  He is an amazing provider, father, and partner.  I couldn't have asked for better. . .  well maybe he could clean the house more, but I'll take him.  Love you beyond measure honey!

Science Night

I love Max's elementary school.  From the staff, to the partners, to the kids, it really is just an amazing place.  One of our favorite nights is science night.  The kids work with a partner - or two - to complete three different science experiments.

 I didn't get any pictures of the float or sink activity - I was a bit worried they might drop my phone in.  Here the goal was to build the tallest possible tower.  They might not have won, but their tower got pretty big!

I think the last experietn was Max's favorite.  The boys worked together to test out how different thing effected a couple mealworms - gross I know.  The boys determined they worms like to eat lettuce, enjoy being in the dark, and they don't really like getting wet.  

We can't wait until next year when we get to bring two little scientists to school for the night!

Party Day for Max

Once again I'm the room mom for Max's class and I can admit that I love every minute of it.  Well maybe not every minute of the prep work, but party day - that's a good time :)

We started out with a snack before making a craft.  Max had a bit of trouble iwth the hands and feet but it turned out so cute!  He also cut a nice chunk out of his shirt in the process. . . But I love seeing his little valentine hanging in our kitchen.

 We played two pretty great games this time around.  The first was a cupid's arrow game where the kids used straws to shoot arrows (qtips) into a target at the end of the room.  It was a huge success - and a lot harder than it looked.

But the highlight of the party had to be this balloon paddle game.  We played music and the kids had to bounce their balloon and stop with just their paddle when the music stopped.  At the beginning Max - and all the other kids took it really seriously.  Then as the game went on they got more and more into it and had so much fun.  I think the moms had even more fun standing on the sidelines and watching.

Max has grown so much this year.  He isn't such a little kid anymore and it kinda breaks my heart.  At the same time it is such a pleasure to watch him grown and gain confidence in himself.  He is more and more willing to try new things and I love watching him interact with his friends.

I count my blessings every day that his intelligent, kind hearted, sensitive soul is ours to raise and love.  How did we get so lucky?!

Party Day for William

What a crazy busy week!  Will had his party at school last Wednesday morning and I was lucky enough to be able to attend.  I mean, what is cuter than a bunch of four year olds celebrating love?

The party started out with a sweet treat of ice cream.  Will was pretty excited about the chocolate sauce on top.

Next we headed to the gym for this super cute little game.  The kids passed around a present wrapped in newspaper.  Each time the music stopped the kid holding the gift was able to unwrap one layer of the paper.  I'll admit when the mom described the game I thought it had disaster written all over it - they won't just do one layer!?!  But they did!  Each time they unwrapped a layer they were rewarded with a sucker or notepad.  It was really adorable.

 After a couple more games we called it a day.  All week Will couldn't wait for Wednesday to come. When I asked him why he said because he has three special things on Wednesday.  His party at school, lunch bunch (where he packs a lunch and stays at school until 1pm), and swimming lessons :)

Unfortunately the swimming lessons were canacled due to snow, but two out of three isn't so bad.

This little wild man has the uncanny ability to press my buttons.  But oh my goodness, I love him more than I could ever imagine.  He has such a huge heart and so much passion for life.  I am one lucky lady because God chose me to be his mama.

The Blue Bomber

My blogging always drops off in January and February.  I think I'm just trying to get through the winter with three stir crazy boys :)  A couple weeks ago Max had his pinewood derby for scouts.  

He named his car the Blue Bomber this year and he did pretty well.  It's the second from the left in this picture. The Blue Bomber made it to the finals and placed 5th out of all the scouts!  Pretty impressive.  

 It was a crazy morning of chaos as the electronics for the track didn't work quite as planned, but we were lucky enough to have Grandma Mindy and Grandpa Jack join us for the fun.  Max was so proud - even if he is getting too old to let it show.

His little wolf den is pretty darn cute.  They really seem to get along and I'm so glad that Max is enjoying scouts so much.  Hard to believe that he is almost halfway through elementary school.  Time needs to slow down a bit!

Our Little Fish

So both of the little boys began structured swim lessons after the holidays.  I'm working with Max at the gym pool, so since I'm the teacher there aren't any pictures of his lessons.  I'll have to remedy that.

Jack's PT suggested swimming lessons as another avenue to support his gross motor skills.  I searched high and low and found a preschool session where I don't that to get in the water AND that takes place when Will is at school.  Huge win.

His little eyes were as big as saucers when he first saw the pool.  We were a bit early so I let him play and kick around a bit since there wasn't another class in the water before us.  He adjusted well and was ready when his class began.  I'll admit I get a bit nervous since he is the smallest kiddo in the class and I'm worried he will bob off into the deep end.

It seems that his very favorite part of class is at the end when they get to look for the rings in the water.  So far he has managed four lessons without going under, so we will have to see how he likes that when the time comes.

Our goal with Jack isn't to create the next great swimmer quite yet.  We are working on helping him to build up the muscle in his legs.  The water allows for his to do so without the pressure of his full weight.  So far so good, he lights up every Friday when I tell him it is time for swimming lessons.

This guy was ridiculously excited to start swimming lessons.  He couldn't contain himself as we sat on the bleachers and waited for our session to begin.  He is in a Swim American program and I'm hoping that he develops some solid skills and shows progress.  

 He loved the floats he got to use with his teacher.  I just love the look of determination I saw on his face as he gave his very best effort.  He tried everything asked of his and there were no tears.  It's also nice that on Wednesday nights he gets a bit of one on one time with mom or dad when we take him to lessons.

  At the end of every lesson they have a chance to jump into the deep end.  Will did it the first night.  It wasn't pretty, but when he talked to Daddy about lessons that night he didn't bring that part up.  He was very excited to share that he got to kick, glide, and blow bubbles.  The second class he chose not to 'cannonball' as he called it.  We will take it.  Baby steps.