End of the Week Randoms

On Labor Day weekend, our subdivision hosted a little shindig down at the park/beach.  There was music, lemonade, popcorn and glow-sticks for the kids.  We decided to partake, loading the kids in the wagon and stroller and making our way down there.  We had no idea how long we would stay, but it was worth checking out.


Ready to dive into her bag of popcorn:

Genuine happiness:

I LOVE this picture of the girls just sitting by the bonfire. 

 

This girl has yet to master the art of eating a cupcake without getting frosting all over her face!

Jack held out as long as he possibly could (it was pushing 9 pm) before I headed back home with him.  Steve stayed a little longer with the girls and they really appreciated it.  It was one last hurrah before the summer was over.


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This girl is growing up so fast!  Sometimes I just look at her and wonder where the time is going.  She's been talking in full sentences for quite some time and has been potty-trained since she was 2.  Maybe that's why she seems so much older.  Regardless, I signed her up for pre-school in the Fall next year.  We are hoping that Mrs. Hicks is still running the Teddy Bear Den (we were so pleased with Samantha's growth and development in the year that she attended), and I wanted to make sure that we got Sophia enrolled in time.

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The girls have been liking to take a shower lately and I really don't mind.  In fact, a shower is much quicker and much easier for me.  But, occasionally, the girls still ask for a bath -- with bubbles. 

When I was teaching last week, Steve let the girls take a bath in my tub and he made sure that there were TONS of bubbles for them!  They loved it!

One-On-One

With Samantha in school four mornings a week, I have been trying to spend some special one-on-one time with Sophia while Jack takes his morning nap.  Some days, Sophia wants to watch a particular show and I will sit there and watch it with her.  Other days, we try to play outside (at least while the weather is still cooperative), do puzzles, read books, do crafts or bake.  The possibilities are endless.

On Friday, I went to "Plan B" for our morning activities.  I had originally planned a quick trip to Meijer for the bare necessities, but Jack needed an earlier nap than usual and the weather was rainy; frankly, the last thing that I want to do is haul kids and groceries in and out of the pouring rain if I can avoid it.

I had decorated my house the afternoon before while the kids were napping, so Fall was in full swing around here.  I decided that we needed some good, old-fashioned baking with cinnamon and nutmeg so I decided to make some zucchini bread from the squash that Steve had brought home from work.  And Sophia would make the perfect assistant.

Sophia was SO excited about this.

She handed all of the cut up pieces of zucchini to me so that I could feed them into the grater attachment on my mixer.

Once I was finished grating all of the squash, Sophia dumped the mixture into a large bowl.



She used the spatula to "stir" the mixture.

And then, before I knew it, she had decided to sample the squash!  She really wasn't a big fan of it ...

Adding applesauce.  (Her responsibilities were endless and she accepted each "job" with enthusiasm).

Grinding up the walnuts.  This was a tricky chore, but she was insistent on doing it herself -- so goes the life of a two-year old.

Adding the walnuts to the mixer.



Ready to be baked.





While our loaves of bread were baking (and filling the house with the most wonderful fragrant smell of Fall), I had another special job for my little helper.  She was in charge of putting all of our Fall holiday clings on the windows.  When I had decorated the day before, I specifically saved this task for Sophia.  It was a treasured job that the girls relished in all last year -- taking down window clings from previous holidays and putting up new ones in anticipation of upcoming events. 





And Samantha?  Well, there was no jealousy at all when she came home from school that day.  She was so excited to see what we had done while she was away.  And just to be sure that she didn't feel left out, BOTH girls helped me again the next day to make more loaves of bread and muffins (a little bit of zucchini goes a long way!).



Samantha's First Day of Tap Class

Samantha started dance class again this year, but instead of doing the "Baby Stars" class, I signed her up for tap dancing.  She has known for a couple of months now that she would be taking tap lessons and her excitement has been through the roof!  She has even been "practicing" around the house for a few weeks!

 

Samantha's tap class is on Thursday nights from 5:45 - 6:30 pm.  I purposely chose this night of the week (there were two options available) because it wouldn't interfere with my teaching schedule.  Last week, it worked out well -- I was able to take her and Steve stayed home with Sophia and Jack.  I suspect that this will be the usual routine and I am happy about that.  I really enjoy being able to watch her dance and it gives me a full 45 minutes of time to do whatever I would like (read, catch up with emails, grade, work on my answer key for exams, etc).

 

Once we get home, it is time to begin the nightly routine in our household -- baths/showers, pajamas, books and bedtime.  We also lay out our clothes for the next day and make sure that Samantha's is book bag is packed for school.  Teamwork is essential ...

 

Jack is Four Months Old

 

Jack is four months old today!  He weighs 14 lbs and is 25 inches long.  Although he seems so chubby to me, his weight only puts him in the 27th percentile.  He definitely hit a growth spurt this month too because his length now puts him from the 20th percentile to the 53rd (just slightly above average).

 

I packed away all of his three month clothes this month and moved him into size six month.  My girls were always so much smaller, so they stayed in their sizes for longer.  Jack was getting so big that he just needed to move up a size.  I will also be moving him up to a size 2 diaper in the next week or so (when I use up this last box of size 1).

 

 

 

Jack had to get four shots at the doctor this last week.  He did really well though -- he wrinkled up his face and started to cry, but was immediately soothed as soon as I was able to pick him up.  Sophia was so cute because she insisted on holding his hand during the whole thing.  She really is such a great big sister.

 

We continue to go through about ten bibs a day around here because of the excessive drooling.  Jack is also constantly ramming his fingers into his mouth and chewing on them.  I know that this is just his way of exploring the world right now ...

 

 

 

(one of his cute bibs)

 

Jack finally mastered taking a bottle, just in time for me to start back to teaching.  Halleluiah!  I introduced a bottle when he was about 7 weeks old and he seemed to do just fine.  After that, I just never needed to give him one and kind of forgot about it ... Then, when it came time to go back to work, I just assumed that it would be an easy transition.  I was wrong.  It took almost a solid week to get him to finally understand the technique.  He does fine with it now -- thank goodness.

 

Jack continues to go to bed a little before 8 pm, right after his bath and bottle/nursing.  He rarely makes a peep; we just turn on his mobile and he falls asleep shortly thereafter.  He will then sleep until between 4-5 am.  He wakes up for a feeding and then goes right back to bed.  He will then be up around 7 am to start our day.  He usually takes a good morning nap and a good afternoon nap, with a small snooze around 6 pm.  He really is doing so well with his napping schedule.

 

 

(taking a small snooze outside after dinner)

 

 

Jack's eyes are starting to turn brown these days.  I was pretty sure that he would have brown eyes (just based on how dark they have always seemed), now I am wondering if his hair will be curly?  Both of the girls have curly hair, so only time will tell.  I have noticed that it is starting to come in a little thicker on the top now too.

 

 

 

 

Jack just loves to have his feet free to be able to kick!  If he seems a little fussy, all I have to do is lay him down, free up his legs and feet and let him kick.  It instantly seems to soothe him.  Whenever he is happy, he shows it by kicking and smiling ...

 



I have commented to so many people that Jack seems to just be quite a happy baby.  He really only cries for 3 reasons:

1.  His diaper needs to be changed.  (This boy cannot stand to have a wet or dirty diaper on for more than a few minutes.  There is an immediate change in his mood once his diaper is changed).

2.  He is hungry.  (He can go from content to hungry in a matter of seconds if it has been more than three hours since he last ate [during the day]).

3.  He is tired or bored.  (I took Jack with me to church last week, right during what would normally be his morning naptime.  He was so fussy.  Once I put him in his car seat and left, he fell asleep before I even made it across the parking lot to the van). 


Jack is starting to recognize faces now.  A stranger's face can make him start crying almost immediately, but a face that he recognizes can bring forth some major smiles and cooing.  Once he warms up to you, the babbling will start.  This boys seems to have a lot to say these days; I just love listening to him.  The girls do too (especially Sophia -- she will talk to him nonstop).

 

 

Keep growing my little man!

Routines

I believe that we are now starting to fall into a nice routine around here with our new schedule.  It is the second week of school for Samantha, and I have mastered the morning routine pretty well.  It helps to have the kids' clothes laid out the night before and Samantha's book bag and snack box put together and placed by the back door.

I get up at 6 am and get myself ready for the day.  I tidy up around the house and have breakfast ready before I get the girls up at 6:45 am.  It takes them a couple of minutes to rouse and then they come downstairs (quietly) and eat their breakfast.  Hopefully, Jack is still sleeping (he was likely up around 5 am to eat and then went back to bed).  After breakfast, the girls brush their teeth and get dressed.  Samantha dresses herself, while I help Sophia.  Then the girls get their hair done and their shoes on.  At this point, Jack is usually awake. 

The key to my success right now is to wait and feed Jack after I get back from taking Samantha to school.  We leave here at 7:35 am to travel about 2 miles down the road to her school.  I can be back home by 8 am, and then Jack is ready to eat.  (For the first couple of days of school, I tried to feed Jack when he got up, but those 15-20 minutes that he spent eating were too precious and made me feel rushed). 

While Sam is at school (from 8 am to 12 noon), Sophia is able to have some one-on-one time with me.  Jack takes a morning nap and we use that time to do puzzles, color, work on our letters, etc.  Sometimes Sophia likes to watch a show and then I use that time to accomplish a few things for myself (school work, orchard work, house work, etc).  She does miss her older sister -- asking me constantly if it is time to go and get her from school yet -- but I know how important this time away from Sam is too.

Before I leave to go get Samantha from school, I also try to have lunch all ready.  This helps tremendously because the girls are both quite hungry by the time that we get home ... around 12:15 pm.  Most likely, Jack is ALSO ready to eat at that time.  I get the girls' plates and drinks set out for them and then nurse Jack nearby while they are eating.  I eat lunch later when the girls are down for their naps.

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Steve is also settling into a nice routine on the two nights that I teach (Tuesdays and Wednesdays).  I have dinner all ready by the time that he arrives home at 5 pm.  I also feed Jack right before that so that he is fat and full, and then he should only need a bottle of pumped milk before bed.  After chatting for a few minutes, I leave by 5:15 pm to head to school. 

The kids get some special time with just their dad on these nights and I think that it is good for everyone.  Steve does a lot of outside activities with them and they love that.  Around 7 pm, he starts the bedtime routine.  He gives the girls their bath and gets them ready for bed before giving Jack his bath and bottle.  Jack goes to bed a little bit before the girls do.  Once he is down for the night, the girls get a story and are in bed around 8 pm. 

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Having a routine makes things so much easier for both myself and for the kids.  Everyone knows what to expect and I don't have to remind them of their "jobs" too often.  (Actually, the girls pride themselves on doing as many things as they can by themselves now).  I know that as Jack gets a little older, our routine will change, but for now ... this seems to work quite well for us.

At Summer's End ...

With summer coming to an end, our flowers are starting to wither and the leaves are getting ready to fall from some of the trees.  After we dropped Samantha off at school yesterday, I couldn't resist taking a couple of pictures of Sophia with some of the beautiful flowers that are still in bloom.  This girl makes taking pictures so easy -- she loves to smile for her momma.  No coaxing (or bribing) is necessary.  

 

 

I am certain this little girl could light up any room with her personality.  She makes us laugh on a daily basis and just showers us with love. 

A Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend, I suggested that we take the kids to the zoo.  I had hoped to do this earlier in the summer, but time just got away from us ... and I finally seized the opportunity (while the weather was still cooperating) for us to do this together as a family.  The zoo is actually open year-round here, but I know from experience that several of the exhibits are not available when the summer traffic slows down.

The weather was still a little questionable when I presented this idea on a whim, but we were determined to make the best of it.  Luckily, the skies cleared up (and the rain stayed away) and we had a great time. 

Checking out the ostrich:

 

They have several of these signs all over the zoo and the girls always run right up to them and pose for me, begging me to take their picture:

 

Inside the zoo, there is a "farm" area, complete with all kinds of farm animals -- goats, pigs, donkeys, etc.  The girls were incredibly excited because on this particular day, they were able to go inside the gate and actually comb some of the goats.

 

Jack was awake for our whole zoo experience.  I had thought that he would just sleep through most of it in his stroller (since it was right during his morning nap time), but he surprised us by staying awake and taking in all of the sights (and smells).

 

Probably one of the biggest highlights was seeing the massive tiger.  He would come right up to the glass and then pace back and forth.  He startled Sophia the first time that she caught a glimpse of him, but then she just became completely intrigued.

 

 

Steve made sure that Jack was able to get a close-up view, as well.  It didn't bother him one bit.

 

There are these giraffe statues in the middle of the zoo and Samantha seems to remember them every time and beg for a picture.  How is this "picture-taking momma" going to resist that?

There was a large statue for Samantha to climb on and a smaller one for Sophia.  Perfect.

Sam loves the baboons with the "red bottoms."

Checking out the rhino (who was almost hidden); Sophia stared at him forever:

This turtle statue was a newer addition to the park.  The girls spied it immediately and posed for me.  It's like I have them trained or something.

Along one of the walkways, the girls discovered this zoo clubhouse.  They would have probably stayed in there all morning if we would have let them.  They even made a few new friends as kids would walk by and soon join them inside.

Our family of five:

Checking out the resting camel:

The kids and me:

And what trip to the zoo would be complete without a bag of animal crackers to munch on part-way through the excursion?

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Once we were done visiting all of the animals, we headed over to the playground area for a picnic lunch.

After the girls were re-fueled, we told them that they could go play for a little bit.  I watched them for a few minutes and then walked over to the parking lot so that Jack could have his "lunch."  I was just finishing up feeding him when the girls arrived and we were ready to head home for naps.

Swinging with Dad:

 

Jack tested out one of the swings too.  You can tell by the look of total concentration on his face that he wasn't really too sure of the safety factor of this swing.  It's a little different from his one at home!

 

This girl is not afraid to try anything!

It was a wonderful morning and we made some really special memories.  Next year, I am hoping to take the kids to an even bigger zoo that they can see even more animals ...