Jonathan is 28 Months Old!

Annnd... post coming soon.

Christmas 2012

We came. We saw. We Christmassed.

Also? on Sunday, Jonathan stepped on a stuffed Clifford in the basement and sprained his ankle, so we spent some time in urgent care. Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a visit to some kind of medical facility and waiting hours upon hours with hideously sick people.

He still can't walk, but we think he's starting to put a little weight on it here and there. (sigh)

Anyway, so Christmas.

Ben, Simon, and gimpy Jonathan coming down the stairs with help from Daddy.

The boys got right to it. Jonathan played us a little Kenny G. 

Simon got the Lego set he's wanted forever!

Ben and Simon both got Dreamlites Pillow Pets, which I thought were sort of goofy but lit up last night at bedtime? They were super cool. I sort of want one for MY room! LOL!

Jonathan found the potty in the dollhouse. 

The furbies... UGH. Jonathan was SO ticked off that he didn't get one too.  Also? They have no off switch. Seriously. 

Air hockey fun!

Simon and Uncle B building Legos!

Biggest and littlest playing Mario Kart. 

Later, we went over to Nanee and Pap's. Then we came home to a quiet afternoon/evening of playing and being lazy and we got indian food for dinner! :) YAY! Love low-key Christmasses... 

Now, it's Wednesday and I realize the giant ripoff of Christmas on a Tuesday. Tom is right back to work and I am home with the kids and the Christmas mess. This hardly seems fair... but, I guess we'll build a lot of Legos today!

Christmas Breakdown...

My friend Beth complained that I hadn't posted a list of links about what the kids are getting for Christmas this year. LOL! I could swear I posted a general summary... but anyway... here goes. :)

Simon has been asking for this Destiny's Bounty Lego set since his birthday. NO I did NOT pay $139 for it. LOL! It was the first present I bought and I got it way back in October for much cheaper! $139... seriously?!

He is also getting:
This cute magic set (my SIL got him one last year? year before? Can't remember... he has played with it so much that he has worn out all but the sturdiest of props!)

These castle blocks (found them on an endcap at Michaels for $29 one day while we were out with the boys and I snuck them into the cart when they weren't paying attention. Simon is going to LOVE these)

He is also getting a box crammed full of pencils, crayons, paper, tape, paper clips, rubber bands, envelopes, index cards, etc... I think I may be most excited about this one. He is going to go bananas! We have art supplies aplenty around here, but he is big into having his very own things and, like me, he LOVES "kits". LOL.

Ben is getting:

This chemistry set. He didn't ask for it, but he was crazy hard to shop for this year and I know he'll love it. It's not something that will get any attention on Christmas morning... but give us a good couple of snow days and it will be a HUGE hit.

Long sleeve Under Amour shirts. THis is literally the only style of shirt he is happy to wear these days. We have a bunch from Target, but they haven't lasted very long. I figured he could use a couple decent ones.

These miniature football pennants.  -- last year's big hit gift was a set of miniature football helmets. He still plays with them every. single. day. These are going to be a winner!

Tabletop football field - (I found a generic, non-team one) It's the cheesiest little thing, but he's really into the paper footballs these days.

Plasma Ball

Minecraft Periodic Elements Table T-Shirt

Both big boys are getting:
Furbies -- like the other things, I got these WAY early at Target before they hiked the price by $30. LOL.

Ravens Dreamlites Pillow Pets (gag... but they were on the lists....)

Possibly the 3DSs... I bought them... but may save them for bdays. They were on sale as part of Amazon's last-minute Christmas push, so I snagged them. But yeah, they may be held for a few months. We'll see how generous Santa is feeling.

Jonathan is getting this dollhouse.   He's getting a couple other little silly things in his stocking... but I kept him to the one thing this year so he wouldn't get overwhelmed... and frankly, with three boys, we own basically every 2-3-year-old age appropriate toy there is.

And lastly, their big shared gift this year is a SMALL air-hockey table. (hence why the DSs might get held off for bdays)

I'm excited for Santa to come!! :) :) :)

Fishie....

I was at swim lessons with the big boys a couple weeks ago and happened to notice a very small girl taking lessons with another teacher. She looked to be about three or so. She was diving down to get things off the bottom and swimming all over the place. 

"How old is she?" I asked her teacher. 

"She just turned three, " she replied. "But I've had her since she was one... she's ALWAYS been fearless though!"

Later that week, I texted the boys' teacher. "When can Jonathan start lessons with you?" 

Generally with the little ones, they do a mommy and me class or a private lesson with mommy in the water to help out, so I wasn't optimistic that she would take him without me and I have ZERO desire to get in the pool right now and deal with getting Jonathan and myself dressed and dried off enough to go back out into the cold winter air. 

She replied that we could try it and see how it went. The next week, Ben couldn't take his lesson because basketball conflicted (the time moves around every week), so I asked if we could sub in Jonathan to swim with Simon. She was okay with that, so off we went. 

Now, in stark contrast to Ben at this age, who freaked his freak out upon even ENTERING a building with an indoor pool, Jonathan was PSYCHED. "Do you want to swim today?"  "YES!!!" was his enthusiastic reply. He waited patiently (kinda) for his turn. 

When it was his turn, he didn't even look back. He went right with Miss Tara. She looked over and asked, "Is he going to get upset about going under water?"  

"Uh... no." I answered, laughing... thinking back to summertime and all the "More! More!" when he would jump in and go under.

She promptly dunked him and up he popped, giggling. 

Then she put him on the little step in the shallow and backed up so he could jump and "swim" to her. I'm pretty sure she didn't even get to three before he lunged forward and went under... she pulled him up and he giggled some more. 

"I think this will work!" she yelled from across the pool. 

I did have to sit on the side and hold him while he sat on the wall when it was Simon's turn. (she alternates the kids' turns during their lesson. But I'll certainly take getting my jeans a little wet over getting completely in!)

I'm hoping to have a tiny swimmer by June. Do'able? We'll see. LOL!

Today was a banner day for my kiddos! :)

Simon came bounding out of the parent pickup line:
"Mommy! I got this! And I heard my name on the announcements!!! I got it because I did a random act of kindness and cleaned up things people left on the floor in the bathroom."

Of course, this begs the question... why can't he do this at home... but whatever. ;) He was excited.

"Ben, did you hear Simon's name read on the announcements?"

"Yeeeeees...." Ben sighed, rolling his eyes.

He was none too pleased. ;)

However, when I was going through his folder, I discovered something that me proud too!

His mid-term reading progress report! He has an "A"! This is big news because he is in a REALLY tough class. He brought home a solid B on his last report card and I was thrilled about that because he had been struggling with following directions well, finishing work, and giving complete answers (just didn't feel like writing them... sigh.... ) Very excited about this progress so far, as is his teacher! :)

So proud of my big boys. :)

Oh, and they had an assembly yesterday -- a concert for the 4th and 5th grade chorus, band and orchestra. Simon announced in the car, "*I* would like to be in an assembly someday!!" LOL.  Not surprised. Ben said, "Not me! Never!" Love that they are so predictable. ;)

2012 Christmas Card

Here 'tis...

Whistling While I Work....

I am having the most fun baking this Christmas season! I enjoy baking for Christmas, but usually, things get backed up and I get too stressed out toward the end to really have fun with it. This year, I decided to take a step back, break it down and knock out only one thing at a time, a little at a time, starting way early and putting things in the freezer as I go.

Can't argue with the results.

I'm making a TON of things this year for various groups of people. Truffles, Chocolate Chips, mini bundt cakes, scones, marshmallows, no bake oatmeals, and sugar cookies. (if I have the time, I am going to attempt the ones I have always wanted to make... the fancy ones with the thick royal icing... here's hoping... it's something I've wanted to do for years!)

So far, I'm finished with the truffles (all total, I made 300 over about four days). I'm finished with the chocolate chips (140 dough balls now in the freezer, waiting to be baked the night before I stuff them into bags), and I'm halfway done the bundt bakes. (2 dozen or so) The marshmallows are probably going to be saved for last because they have the shortest shelf life and I can't freeze them. So next up are probably the scones.

I've just been doing a batch a day of something during most nap times. It's amazing what just a little a day can add up to!

So happy I have figured out how to make it a more leisurely experience because it is really something I enjoy, but in years past, the stress has sucked all the joy out of it.

The other thing that has helped is that I have embraced the fact that my kitchen will not be completely clean and clutter-free until after Christmas. I just leave all the non-perishable ingredients, measuring cups and trays out in a pile on one of the counter and it's so much easier.

I'm excited too because with my new system, I have enough this year to give out to people I never had time to bake for before.... some neighbors and friends... that kind of thing. :) YAY!

That Moment....

...when your five-year-old realizes he has enough sight words/sound-out skills to read part of one of his very own books.  Oh and yes, it's painfully slow and tedious and he quickly tires of the huge mental effort of the whole thing.  But there is no mistaking the proud look on his face. :)

This moment brought to you by the cover and first three pages of One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  :)

I think this is one of my all-time favorite milestones.

Christmas is Coming....and more random updates!

December already? Really?  I feel like it was just July and I was sitting at the pool dreading the dead of winter... LOL.

Ah well. Here it is...

Our Elf has been busy... although some nights he is lazy and doesn't move. Drives the kids nuts, especially Simon who is the one who is really into it this year. Ben would like for the Elf to sleep in HIS room so he can see for sure if he moves in the middle of the night. That's my little skeptic!

The boys' presents are all bought and wrapped... my big ideas for an 8, 5 and two-year-old include a chemistry set, castle shaped blocks, and a dollhouse, respectively. I also got the big boys a tabletop air-hockey table to share that I think will get a LOT of use.

Ben got suddenly much more difficult to buy for this year as I realized he doesn't really have any TOYS he wants. He got a few "cool" Under Armour shirts and some other random things...

Still working on the Christmas card. That's proving ultra-challenging this year. Ben hates dressing up and smiling for pictures, Jonathan is NEVER cooperative. The only one I can ever get a good photo of these days is Simon, who turns on his winning catalog smile and pose almost every single time.

In other goings on... we're just BUSY!

Ben and Simon are still taking swim lessons on Saturdays and they are doing so well. I am encouraging Ben to do swim team at our pool club this year. He's SUPER fast, plus, I think it would be so good for him and such a confidence booster. Simon is holding his own and is now learning real strokes and can go just about all the way across the pool. I told the swim teacher to just keep us on permanent renewal for the foreseeable future. LOL.  There was a three-year-old there yesterday with another teacher who was swimming like a fish and diving down to get things off the bottom. I asked about her and the teacher told me she had had her since she was younger than 2 and that she'd always been fearless. Which means, my NEXT move is to see if OUR teacher will take on Jonathan so he doesn't give me grey hair at the pool this summer.

Here's a little video snippet from their lesson two weeks ago. They've come even farther since this one!


Simon finished up soccer awhile back. I doubt he'll play again... he just wasn't into it. Even less so than Ben was at that age. I suspect his interests may lie in more creative pursuits. Tom still wants him to try another sport, but honestly, I'd like to find him a drama class or something.

Here he is dancing on the field. ;) (I think I posted this before, but it just makes me laugh... it's SO Simon...)

Ben just started basketball on Saturday and Tom and his dad are coaching. They are seriously the BEST kid coaches I have ever seen. (when Tom and I were dating they were still coaching Tom's youngest brother's teams) So it will be fun to see how they do this season. I think it's going to be exciting! Amazingly, Ben is their second-best player! He'll be playing point-guard all season. Really, to see him play, you'd be amazed. He really has found his sport! It's just nice to see him REALLY working to be good at something... that doesn't often happen with him.

In other news. I had conferences for both boys a couple weeks ago. Can't remember if I posted about this or not, but both are doing beautifully.

Simon is doing a lot better than I thought he was!  I think this is because he is SO quiet about what he knows that neither of us really knew WHAT to expect. I knew he knew his letters, sounds, numbers, shapes...all the kindergarten screening stuff. That was all pretty solid. But it turns out, he's going great with all the reading too! He's actually fairly close, if not exactly where Ben was in kindergarten at this point and I would never have guessed that. I need to keep reminding myself that he shows it differently than Ben does and just because his interests don't lie in things that are particularly "bookish", he's still a really smart little kiddo in his own right. Add to that he's SO creative and has such a good attitude about school and everything that goes on there... just throws his WHOLE being into it all. He's just really fun. :)  We are proud of him for doing so well. :)

Ben doing some really challenging work these days. We have really gotten a handle on his attention issues and all of a sudden, he's acing everything he brings home. I get emails from his teachers all the time now about how amazed they are and what fantastic answers he comes up with. I knew he had it in him... he still complains about school and says it's boring. But I think successes are starting to build up his confidence some and that he is feeling less overwhelmed and perhaps liking it a little more.  They told me at the conference that he'll be officially GT in January. (the school's system for gifted and talented is a little screwy... they don't actually determine it officially until the middle of third grade) I had asked honestly at the conference if he needed to go down a notch to feel less overwhelmed and be happier and less anxious. But the teachers assured me he was placed correctly and was absolutely holding his own.  This was good to hear! I was prepared to sacrifice some of the academic challenge for a happier kid... but they say he's happy and thriving when he's with them so... for now, that's where we are!

He has the most wonderful teachers this year. I just adore both of them.  Both are my age, which is different for me and fun.... they send out cell phone picture updates from their classrooms sometimes. This one came from the math teacher last Wednesday. THey were doing a lesson on surveys and graphs, so they did an activity called "I Moustache You a Question". Hilarious.

The reading teacher sent out a cell phone picture on Friday of a Wizard of Oz board game they played. (they are currently reading that book) The playing pieces were a shoe, green spectacles, a giant lollipop etc... 

It just all sounds like so much fun and they seem to really enjoy the things they do with the kids. Makes me want to be in third grade again!

The little one... OHHHHH the little one. (sigh) He is so hard. He's so defiant sometimes. He thinks everything is a game. He got out of his bed 47 times yesterday afternoon at naptime. Every time I told him to go back to bed he would just laugh and laugh. I have NEVER in my years of parenting experienced this. I have to up my discipline level for sure... I don't think he is ever going to be easy.  He's great at school... listens well, so maybe there is hope. But sometimes at home, I am just at the end of my rope.

On the bright side, he is sweet and cute and so funny. (which probably doesn't help)

Speech is coming along by leaps and bounds. We had the speech pathologist here on Thursday, who only comes once a month, and she is just amazed every time she comes at the progress he has made since her last visit. The OT, who is coming now and again for a little while, even said he is basically caught up. The day she visited him to observe at school, she thought he was right there with the rest of the class, and was amazed he sat happily at the table and patiently did the cooking activity. She said that's not really typical of a child his age to sustain their attention that long on something like that. She told me to be sure to keep pushing and fostering this side of him because it's a strength and obviously something he enjoys. He does love his art/creative time, for sure... I think I have another free-spirited artsy one here! (oh and we're 90% sure he's another lefty!!!) So maybe when he grows up,  in between jumping off cliffs and out of airplanes, he'll be my little artist. ;)

Here he is with his feather headband he made for Thanksgiving. (and Simon with a crown he made here at home... they are so funny together these days!) He sat at the table and carefully chose every single feather and where to put it. He was SO proud it and wore it for two straight days.

So there's my monster update... which I got typed because Jonathan slept until the late hour of 6:50 this morning. LOL. That never happens. He's almost always up by 6 these days. (yawn)

Anyway, onward to Sunday and a Christmas photo and possibly a Santa visit... or maybe just laying around the house. We'll see where the day takes us. :)