Hard to believe that it's November, and Thanksgiving is next week. And before you know it, Christmas will be here. Things have been going good. Jim has really been enjoying school! Seems to be learning lots, and he's getting better with reading!!!! It's amazing to see how far he's come in just the first couple months of school.
We had parent teacher conferences the other day. We got a great report!!! She really didn't have a bad thing to say. She was very impressed with his drawings, I loved looking through is drawing journal! They do an assessment, and have a benchmark for where they want them to be. I think it was 65, and Jim scored 130+! (He recognizes letters, beginning letter sounds, ending sounds, rhymes, just to name a few of the categories.). She also said he's a very friendly person, and his classmates look up to that. Mark & I were both very impressed with his good report.
It's so cute to see him pass his classmates. We will cross paths when we walk over to the playground after pickup. Everyone is saying 'bye Jim' giving 5s, giving hugs! Really does show that he's a likable person!
Mark, Ben, & I went and had lunch with Jim on Veteran's Day! Mark had the day off, and the school had their Thanksgiving feast. Was fun to see the lunch room environment!
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Halloween was a lot of fun! It fell on a Saturday this year. We went over to Steve & Renees first, had pizza for dinner and then went out trick or treating. The boys loved it! Made it to more houses this year. And the boys came home with a ton of candy!
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Enjoyed a visit from Grandma & Papa after Halloween. They were in Pittsburgh so they drove here on Sunday & stayed until Wednesday. The timing was perfect because Jim had Monday & Tuesday off! We went out to dinner to Southside Monday night & Ben was not feeling well, and proceeded to get sick in the parking lot. So I was a little bummed out Tuesday plans (donuts & Old Town) were cancelled. But we all had a great time hanging out together! Lots of time spent outside.
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I'm updating this on my phone, and I'm hoping if I get around to it I will add some photos to this post. We shall see though.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
Kindergarten
How is it possible that I have a kindergartener now?! It's hard to believe that Jim is off at school everyday - and he seems to be really enjoying it! There really aren't many complaints, so that's always a good sign!
He has the same teacher and assistant he had over the summer for the Bridge to K program - and I think that really helped him with the transition!
We enjoy walking him to school every morning, and picking him up in the afternoons!
Can't wait to see what this year has in store for him!
He has the same teacher and assistant he had over the summer for the Bridge to K program - and I think that really helped him with the transition!
We enjoy walking him to school every morning, and picking him up in the afternoons!
Can't wait to see what this year has in store for him!
Summer Overview
I really wish I was better at keeping up with this. I love having something to look back on. But I just never can seem to find the time to keep up with it. So here's a brief overview of the Summer of 2015:
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We spent our fair share of time at the pool this summer, having lots of fun there. It was a little limited, first with Jim's fractured collarbone...then Ben's procedure...and Jim's Bridge to Kindergarten program. But everyone seemed to have lots of fun when we went!
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Jim attended a 3 week Bridge to Kindergarten program at his school. He got to ride the bus, which he absolutely loved! I think that made the first day pretty easy for him because all his excitement was about the bus & not about going to school. He had a great teacher/assistant, met some new friends, and did great!!!
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We spent 2 weeks up in New York. Aunt Ali flew down here for a couple of days & then helped us with the drive up to Buffalo. Lots of fun there including a walk to Pautler's for ice cream, Paula's donuts, fun in the hot tub, a trip to Niagara Falls, car show with Papa, a bounce house place, playing outside, water balloons, the zoo. We attempted to go downtown to the food truck Tuesdays, but we got rained out & had to settle for Anderson's instead. Mark flew down on Thursday, and we wanted to go to canal side, but Friday was a rainy day. He did get to enjoy wings @ anchor bar with every one! Jenna spent the week up in Buffalo too, so it was a lot of fun having the 4 boys playing together!
Saturday morning we drove out to Kevin's land & spent the night there. The boys loved it, gators, tractors, fishing, campfire w/ marshmallows, it was perfect for them! Sunday we drove to Mark's parents & had a great week there with hiking @ Letchworth, splitting wood, visiting the fair for the fireman's parade, the tractor pull, riding rides, sitting on tractors, seeing animals, we took the canoe out again! All in all it was a great 2 weeks.
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Lots of fun with our weekly drinks in the driveway with the neighbors! Love that it's become a weekly tradition with everyone.
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Jim learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels!!!! He's a pro at it now. At one point we took the pedals off his bike to make it a balance bike...he was doing great with that, but then fractured his collarbone so he took some time off from riding his bike. Then he got back onto it, and one day I told him we should try putting his pedals back on, it took him about 10-15 seconds, and then he was off!!!!
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Lots of playdates and fun with friends, whether it was at a park, playground, or going on a nature walk. We were busy, busy, busy & definitely enjoyed our summer!!!
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We spent our fair share of time at the pool this summer, having lots of fun there. It was a little limited, first with Jim's fractured collarbone...then Ben's procedure...and Jim's Bridge to Kindergarten program. But everyone seemed to have lots of fun when we went!
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Jim attended a 3 week Bridge to Kindergarten program at his school. He got to ride the bus, which he absolutely loved! I think that made the first day pretty easy for him because all his excitement was about the bus & not about going to school. He had a great teacher/assistant, met some new friends, and did great!!!
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We spent 2 weeks up in New York. Aunt Ali flew down here for a couple of days & then helped us with the drive up to Buffalo. Lots of fun there including a walk to Pautler's for ice cream, Paula's donuts, fun in the hot tub, a trip to Niagara Falls, car show with Papa, a bounce house place, playing outside, water balloons, the zoo. We attempted to go downtown to the food truck Tuesdays, but we got rained out & had to settle for Anderson's instead. Mark flew down on Thursday, and we wanted to go to canal side, but Friday was a rainy day. He did get to enjoy wings @ anchor bar with every one! Jenna spent the week up in Buffalo too, so it was a lot of fun having the 4 boys playing together!
Saturday morning we drove out to Kevin's land & spent the night there. The boys loved it, gators, tractors, fishing, campfire w/ marshmallows, it was perfect for them! Sunday we drove to Mark's parents & had a great week there with hiking @ Letchworth, splitting wood, visiting the fair for the fireman's parade, the tractor pull, riding rides, sitting on tractors, seeing animals, we took the canoe out again! All in all it was a great 2 weeks.
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Lots of fun with our weekly drinks in the driveway with the neighbors! Love that it's become a weekly tradition with everyone.
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Jim learned how to ride his bike with no training wheels!!!! He's a pro at it now. At one point we took the pedals off his bike to make it a balance bike...he was doing great with that, but then fractured his collarbone so he took some time off from riding his bike. Then he got back onto it, and one day I told him we should try putting his pedals back on, it took him about 10-15 seconds, and then he was off!!!!
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Lots of playdates and fun with friends, whether it was at a park, playground, or going on a nature walk. We were busy, busy, busy & definitely enjoyed our summer!!!
Monday, June 29, 2015
Fractured Collarbone
So it was Jim who took his 2nd visit to the ER (well not quite the ER, but Kaiser's version of the ER, a mix between a hospital ER & a Urgent Care). I thought for sure Ben was going to be the next one to go there but I was proven wrong.
2 weeks ago Jim was running around outside with Parker, and just tripped over his feet and landed shoulder first into the sidewalk. He eventually settled down & stopped crying, but then would start crying again. He did take a good fall and it was hot outside so I told him to sit down & drink some water to cool off. We then made our way inside to eat dinner & he couldn't use his right hand to eat...then he was in tears when he tried to get up on the couch...and wasn't even able to put his PJ's on he was in too much pain. I ended up calling the advice nurse & the suggested bringing him in since he can't do any of his regular activities.
Ended up being the 4 of us going. I was just going to take him but Mark felt bad, so we all went knowing we may have a late night. The appointment was for 9:20 and we got home at midnight. An X-ray showed that he had a crack in his collarbone. The doctor sent him away with a sling to wear and a follow up appointment on Thursday with an orthopedic.
Poor guy couldn't even use his right hand at all. He definitely knew what would bother him & he didn't use it. The doctor Thursday told him he didn't have to wear the sling anymore, that it would just heal on it's own. And slowly but surely he's been using his arm more & more. With a couple of 'ow's' here and there depending on if he moves the wrong way.
He's been a champ though! Barely complaining about it - was a great patient when we took him in. One tough boy!
2 weeks ago Jim was running around outside with Parker, and just tripped over his feet and landed shoulder first into the sidewalk. He eventually settled down & stopped crying, but then would start crying again. He did take a good fall and it was hot outside so I told him to sit down & drink some water to cool off. We then made our way inside to eat dinner & he couldn't use his right hand to eat...then he was in tears when he tried to get up on the couch...and wasn't even able to put his PJ's on he was in too much pain. I ended up calling the advice nurse & the suggested bringing him in since he can't do any of his regular activities.
Ended up being the 4 of us going. I was just going to take him but Mark felt bad, so we all went knowing we may have a late night. The appointment was for 9:20 and we got home at midnight. An X-ray showed that he had a crack in his collarbone. The doctor sent him away with a sling to wear and a follow up appointment on Thursday with an orthopedic.
Poor guy couldn't even use his right hand at all. He definitely knew what would bother him & he didn't use it. The doctor Thursday told him he didn't have to wear the sling anymore, that it would just heal on it's own. And slowly but surely he's been using his arm more & more. With a couple of 'ow's' here and there depending on if he moves the wrong way.
He's been a champ though! Barely complaining about it - was a great patient when we took him in. One tough boy!
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
A look into the past month
A whole month since I've last posted. I feel bad that I haven't been keeping up with this, but with 2 busy boys, I don't really have the time. Everything is going great though - the pool is open so we've been busy spending time there...also been very busy meeting friends at playgrounds, or nature parks, or their homes. Been very busy on the weekend, boys are always helping Mark do his jobs. They sure are busy little boys.
Hard to believe that it's the middle of June already & that Jim will be starting kindergarten in the fall! He seems to be pretty excited about that.
The last time I did post it was Jim's birthday...Let's see a quick recap of what we've been up to.
We drove out to Burnside Farms - to check out their daffodils & tulips!
We spent a long weekend at Lake Anna with our neighbors - lots of fun!
The following week we met Mom & Dad in Ocean City for a couple of days! It was a little chilly when we were there, but we all still managed to have a great time!
They came back to VA with us, and spent the weekend hanging out - it was a great time!
Hard to believe that it's the middle of June already & that Jim will be starting kindergarten in the fall! He seems to be pretty excited about that.
The last time I did post it was Jim's birthday...Let's see a quick recap of what we've been up to.
We drove out to Burnside Farms - to check out their daffodils & tulips!
Sure do love these happy 2 little boys :)
Friday, May 15, 2015
Jim's Birthday Celebrations!!!
Jim had several days of birthday celebrating!!! We were back home in Buffalo getting ready for Ashley's wedding, and he had a couple of requests. He wanted to go to 2 Paula's - 1 to get ice cream (aka Pautler's) and 1 to get donuts...he also wanted to go to Chuck E Cheese. We made sure to take care of all of these wishes for our wonderful 5 year old!!!
We walked down to Pautler's for dinner! The boys had a lot of fun doing that, and once they were done eating they got their ice cream treat!!!
Thursday morning we went to Paula's donuts, or as Ben like's to call it the Joe Bag of donut store!
Jim got to open a lot of wonderful presents!!!
Thursday night everyone was over for dinner!!! Grilling burgers & hot dogs, and then birthday cake!!! Jim requested a Zuma cake!!!
We walked down to Pautler's for dinner! The boys had a lot of fun doing that, and once they were done eating they got their ice cream treat!!!
Friday we got to go to Chuck E Cheese!!!! Jim & Ben had lots of fun there!
And then Saturday was his actual birthday!! He got donut holes & candles for breakfast!! And then an awesome birthday cake at the wedding!!! I need to find a picture of Jim & the cake, he was loving every minute of it!
I think it's safe to say that Jim had a great 5th birthday!!!!!!
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Jim's 20 Questions @ Age 5
Jim's 3rd year for asking him his 20 questions! Always fun to hear how he answers them.
1. What is your favorite color? Green
2. What is your favorite toy? My new flatbed truck
3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries
4. What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Blaze
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? String Cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? My new pajammies!
7. What is your favorite game? Restaurant
8. What is your favorite snack? Fishies
9. What is your favorite animal? Lions
10. What is your favorite song? Va-La Vase (aka Meghan Trainor's All about the Bass)
11. What is your favorite book? The ABC Book
12. Who is your best friend? Parker & Chuck-E Cheese
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallows
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Dig in the dirt (like Mighty Machines)
15. What is your favorite drink? Smoothies
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Marshmallows
18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Fluffer
19. What's your favorite thing to have for dinner? Hot dogs, like octopus's
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Flat bed truck driver
1. What is your favorite color? Green
2. What is your favorite toy? My new flatbed truck
3. What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries
4. What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Blaze
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? String Cheese
6. What is your favorite outfit? My new pajammies!
7. What is your favorite game? Restaurant
8. What is your favorite snack? Fishies
9. What is your favorite animal? Lions
10. What is your favorite song? Va-La Vase (aka Meghan Trainor's All about the Bass)
11. What is your favorite book? The ABC Book
12. Who is your best friend? Parker & Chuck-E Cheese
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallows
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Dig in the dirt (like Mighty Machines)
15. What is your favorite drink? Smoothies
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Marshmallows
18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Fluffer
19. What's your favorite thing to have for dinner? Hot dogs, like octopus's
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Flat bed truck driver
Friday, April 3, 2015
Ben's 3rd BirthDAY
Ben's birthday was on a Tuesday this year! He woke up very excited to see all the Paw Patrol decorations set up for him!
Make a wish!
Hi-5's!!!
Jim gave him his birthday presents - a box of Lucky Charms for his birthday breakfast! A paw patrol t-shirt, and some trucks. I had a lot of fun shopping with Jim the weekend before, he got to pick out one present for Ben! (Which was Jim's idea - he told me one day we were getting ready to head to Target that he wanted to buy Ben a present.)
They're best buds!
We then drove into D.C. to the Be With Me Museum - we've never been before and thought Ben's birthday was a good reason to go check it out. The boys loved it there! A Children's museum just for them, different themed rooms - lots of fun! We walked a couple of doors down & got lunch, and then back to the museum for a bit before we made our way back home!
Once Mark got home from work, Ben got to open the rest of his presents...We had hot dogs for dinner, per his birthday request! And then we sang to him & enjoyed some ice cream (we saved the cake for Wednesday to have with Mom & Dad!) I love how excited he gets when we were singing Happy Birthday to him!!!
I think Ben had a wonderful 3rd birthday! Can't believe he's 3 already!
Monday, March 23, 2015
Ben's 20 questions at Age 3
Finally getting caught up on a couple of Ben's birthday posts. So we will get started with his 20 questions on his 3rd birthday!
1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? My Chase toy!
3. What is your favorite fruit? Orange Fruit
4. What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Paw Patrol
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter & Jelly, String Cheese, and pickles!
6. What is your favorite outfit? My new jacket
7. What is your favorite game? I didn't get an answer from him on this one.
8. What is your favorite snack? Lighting McQueen fruit snack
9. What is your favorite animal? Soft Elephant (side note: no idea where this one came from!)
10. What is your favorite song? ABCDEFG
11. What is your favorite book? Paw Patrol Book
12. Who is your best friend? Jim
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallows
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the snow
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk & water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? I already said marshmallows!
18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My new trucks
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Ice Cream
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? BIG!!!
1. What is your favorite color? Blue
2. What is your favorite toy? My Chase toy!
3. What is your favorite fruit? Orange Fruit
4. What is your favorite thing to watch on TV? Paw Patrol
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter & Jelly, String Cheese, and pickles!
6. What is your favorite outfit? My new jacket
7. What is your favorite game? I didn't get an answer from him on this one.
8. What is your favorite snack? Lighting McQueen fruit snack
9. What is your favorite animal? Soft Elephant (side note: no idea where this one came from!)
10. What is your favorite song? ABCDEFG
11. What is your favorite book? Paw Patrol Book
12. Who is your best friend? Jim
13. What is your favorite cereal? Marshmallows
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play in the snow
15. What is your favorite drink? Milk & water
16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? I already said marshmallows!
18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? My new trucks
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Ice Cream
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? BIG!!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Ben's 3 year stats
Just a quick update from Ben's 3 year check-up -
Height 38.5" - 76th (compared to Jim who was 37.5" @ 3 years)
Weight 31lbs - 43rd (Jim was 32.5 lbs)
Blood Pressure 98/54 (Jim's was 76/38)
A very happy & healthy boy!!!!
Height 38.5" - 76th (compared to Jim who was 37.5" @ 3 years)
Weight 31lbs - 43rd (Jim was 32.5 lbs)
Blood Pressure 98/54 (Jim's was 76/38)
A very happy & healthy boy!!!!
Friday, February 20, 2015
The past month via pictures!
A look back through January & February through pictures!
My little handy-man. Love all the tools in his pockets.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Diaper Free!!!
I'm very excited to say that we are now 100% diaper free in our house!!!! Woohoo, no more changing diapers for us!
We decided to start potty training Ben on the 1st of this month. Mark was going to be home for a couple extra days, so we figured now's the time to do it! (We didn't want to do it sooner because we had New Year's Eve plans, and didn't want to have to worry about that, priorities!)
I will have to say Ben did a great job with the whole process. The first day he had a bunch of accidents, which is to be expected. But then the 2nd day, he had 1 accident - when he was outside playing! 3rd day - just 1 accident, same as 4th day again when he was outside playing - and then he was accident free!
He even stayed dry during nap time & night time. I think something just clicked with him and he knew he shouldn't go when sleeping, and only go in the potty.
Great job Ben with the potty training!!!!
We decided to start potty training Ben on the 1st of this month. Mark was going to be home for a couple extra days, so we figured now's the time to do it! (We didn't want to do it sooner because we had New Year's Eve plans, and didn't want to have to worry about that, priorities!)
I will have to say Ben did a great job with the whole process. The first day he had a bunch of accidents, which is to be expected. But then the 2nd day, he had 1 accident - when he was outside playing! 3rd day - just 1 accident, same as 4th day again when he was outside playing - and then he was accident free!
He even stayed dry during nap time & night time. I think something just clicked with him and he knew he shouldn't go when sleeping, and only go in the potty.
Great job Ben with the potty training!!!!
Friday, January 16, 2015
A look back on 2014
My 3rd year in review - check out 2013's, and 2012's. It's always fun to look back on pictures from the past year!
We rang in 2014 with our neighbors!
Lots of playing together, and helping each other out in February (really all year long!)
Ben turned 2 in March! We enjoyed visits from Grandma, Papa, Aunt Ashley, Nanny & Papa!
Jim turned 4 in April! Spent a week in Charleston, SC - fun in the sun with the family! Celebrated Easter!
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We rang in 2014 with our neighbors!
Enjoyed the wonderful spring weather in May - lots of time doing jobs & playing outside! Having lots of fun with our weekly Friday night drinks in the driveway with our neighbors!
June we did a little 'summer camp' with the moms group I'm in - lots of fun with that! Enjoyed a visit from Nanny & Papa, and lots of fun playdates with friends!
July we enjoyed a visit from Grandma & Papa and then Aunt Allison! Lots of fun playdates with friends, as well as lots of fun at the pool! Jim took some swim lessons, and he did great with that!
August we enjoyed a visit from Aunt Jenna & Blake!!! And then Grandma flew down here so she could help us drive up to NY for a 2 week visit up there!!!! (Speaking of that trip, I've been trying to get a recap of that on here - only been trying for how many months?!)
September started off with the rest of our visit in NY! There were lost more playdates, fun playing outside, and Jim started playing soccer!!!
October - lots of fall festivities & fun! More soccer! And having a little devil & firefighter for Halloween!
There was lots of raking & jumping in the leaves in November; and then a trip up to New York for Thanksgiving. Getting to play in the snow!!!
Christmas time is such a great time of year with a 2 & 4 year old! We enjoyed a visit from Aunt Ashley in December! Lots of Christmas activities, visits from Elfie, and then a week up in New York to celebrate Christmas! There's like 500 pictures from December that I want to post here - but I'll keep it to just 3!
New Year's Eve was dinner with the neighbors at Southside, and then we came back here for bit, and then went across the street to ring in 2015! 2014 was a great year - it's so much fun to see the boys growing, learning new things, playing with each other. Exciting to see what 2015 brings!
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