Milestones - Two Years Old

Chase just had his two year checkup.  He is probably the only kid who completely freaked out while being undressed and weighed and measured, but sat calmly while receiving his shot and having his blood drawn, go figure.  The good news is he is up to 25 pounds, finally making it out of the 10^th percentile all the way up to the 20th.  He also made it to the 18^th percentile for height measuring 32 and 3/4 inches.  With that being said he is still smaller than Carter was at 18 months of age.

Not only is he growing like a weed be he can count to ten (most of the time) and say the alphabet (with a little help from his pal Elmo) from A-J, it sounds something like this, a b c d e f g h i j… Elmo.  I think it might be time we take over for Elmo or the poor boy might think this is actually how it goes.

He has also developed quite a desire for his independence and wants to do things for himself.  “I do it”, he says, which in my book is both good and bad depending on the activity in question.  Getting a cup from the cabinet, good;  getting own water from fridge, bad (and messy), getting spoon for breakfast, good;  pouring milk on oatmeal, bad (and again messy).

He has also been more interested in using the potty, but not consistently, and that’s okay by me because after all he just turned two, and I too am not ready for him to be that grown up yet.

He has also become known as the “parrot” in our house, because he does everything, and I mean everything that his big brother does, the good, the bad and the ugly.  He is gaining new vocabulary every day and it amazes me how much he picks up and retains.  This has also turned out to be a good way for us to teach Carter to be a good role model and most of the time it works, but on occasion it back fires and we end up with two little boys in time out.

Stay tuned for Carter's milestone update in March after his five year checkup.

But as a preview, he is getting better at writing his name and can recognize all letters and numbers, we are now beginning to work on putting letters together and sounds of letters.  He also loves puzzles and games and is at a very inquisitive stage.  Sometimes I wonder if he has a question quota that he has to hit every day. 

He has also begun negotiating things, which I know will be a great trait for him in the future however for now it just seems to be landing him in trouble.  He tries to negotiate things like dessert, staying up later, getting his way, etc.  It has been an interesting few months.

It's My Party!

Last Saturday we joined friends and family in our home to celebrate Chase's second birthday.  And, after about a week of coaching he could almost hold up two fingers and as the guets arrived he promptly wished them all a "happy birthdy"  I think he was a little confused. 

We had balloons, Elmo cupcakes, ice cream, food, beer (just for the adults of coarse) and presents.  Oh my, the presents.  What do you get the little boy that seems to have two of everything already.  Well, let's see how about a pony, that't right, a pony, fortunately this one doesn't require food or a large pasture to graze in but just about.  You can ride him, feed him, comb his mane and he even makes real horse sounds.  Or how about a house, complete with sports arena, market, ATM and gas station.  Praise the Lord we have a huge, partially finished, basement to hold all of these treasures.  My boys my never leave this house again as they absolutely love to play down there.  We are so lucky to have amazing friends, aunts and  uncles, cousins and last but certainly not least grandparents that spoil our kids rotten.  I wouldn't want it any other way! 

Happy birthday Chase, mommie loves you.

Kindergarten OR class of 2024

Yep, you heard me right, “class of 2024”.  That was part of the principles welcome at our first parents meeting.   Doesn’t it seem so far away, 13 long years from now.  But, just five “short” years ago kindergarten also seemed so far away and really it’s just the blink of an eye.

As Nate and I walked through the front doors of Harmony Elementary yesterday I thought, how can it be here already?  How can my sweet little boy possibly be old enough to start Kindergarten?  It seems like only yesterday I was rocking him to sleep and carrying him around on my hip.  But there we were being warmly greeted by staff and PTA members. We were handed a plethora of forms and information and preceded to our seats among other parents new and some not so new to the world of elementary school.   Who knew at a kindergarten meeting we would be discussing standardized testing and homework, but folks times have changed, I am pretty sure that by the 4th grade I will no longer be able to help my kids with math related homework, (thank goodness for the boys that their dad is a math wizard). 

I will admit as we headed out the door I was very pleased, relieved and even excited for this new journey.  Harmony is a wonderful school and the teachers and staff are so caring and dedicated to the kids.  We with Carter in tow will attend Kindergarten Roundup in April and get a chance to check out the school, classrooms and teachers, he is so excited already.  I imagine the only tears that will be shed on the first day of school come August will be mine.  Sniff sniff.

Oh the Places We Go

We love that we live in a city that offers a lot of fun places for us to explore.   A couple weekends back we piled in the Swagger Wagon and took the boys to Science City and Kaleidoscope.  Of course they had a great time exploring all the exhibits in Science City.  Chase’s favorite was the water table, he loves the water, everything about it and we could not get him to move on to another activity.  Carter enjoyed everything from digging up bones in the dinosaur cave to the illusions of M.C Escher to the miniature golf and the animals.

After leaving Science City we stopped at Fritz’s at Crown Center for lunch.  It was a hit.  The boys loved watching the trains bring everyone their food, I thought Chase’s head might pop off as it spun round and round following the trains.  I think they did more observing than eating.  Our final stop was Kaleidoscope.  We have been there several times and while the art projects are not always a big hit they both love the music and they really got their groove on. 

Terrifically TWO!

HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet baby Chase

I cannot believe you are two.  Where has the time gone? 

I am so happy and thankful to be your mommy, for the last two years you have filled my heart and our family with love.  It is with such joy that I watch you in awe everyday learn new things, experience the world and grow into an amazing little boy.  I cannot wait to see what life has in store for you.  I look forward to all of the experiences and challenges this next year will bring, potty training, temper tantrums, watching your relationship with your big brother grow, and all the laughs, tears and kisses.  I love you with all my heart.

Two days old

One

Two

Snow Day Take 2

While I really enjoyed the last two days at home with the boys, I will admit there were a few moments I thought I might pull out my hair.  But in the end I will never turn down more time with my kiddos.  Daddy even came home a little early to play in the snow.

Monkey see

Monkey do

Snow tunnel

Snowmageddon

While I am really tired of winter and the snow I absolutely love that I get another day to snuggle up at home with my kiddos.  We slept late, played in our pjs and watched the snow fall from in front of the warm fire.  We are sad that daddy still had to brave the blizzard and head to work but we hope he will be home safe and sound early this afternoon. 

We probably won't be heading out to build snowmen today but here are a few pics from our last snow day.