March Art

Drew's art gallery is a little scant this month. He brought home less art than he normally does...not sure if it got lost, got displayed at school, or if they didn't do projects on a couple days. Drew did miss one day of school this month when he had a five-day fever, and this week was spring break. I gotta admit...I'm pretty bummed when he comes home and his backpack is empty. I think I've mentioned this before, but...I love preschool!

3/1/11

Celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with the Cat in the Hat's hat. When I asked Drew if he cut it out, he said, "No, I just painted the white stripes. That's all Mrs. Cindy needed me to do."

3/10/11

A "paint-dotted" rainbow and pot of gold.

3/15 & 3/17/11

A finger-painted shamrock, and a crown for our little leprechaun.

Family

Our little family has been incredibly busy this month. Our evenings from Sunday through Thursday are full of church obligations for either Brad or myself...leaving only Friday and Saturday nights for any kind of actual family bonding together with all four of us. And technically, you can count out Fridays and Saturdays for "just the four of us" as well because along with a busy work calendar, we've also have a very busy social calendar!

We have been blessed this month with several visits from family. Apparently spring makes people anxious to get out of their homes...and come to Pekin?!?! Well, probably not so much that, but we are certainly thankful they all chose us anyway!

March 11-13

Grandma & Grandpa

Brad's parents joined us for the weekend, continuing our celebration of Reed's 2nd birthday. Reed opened gifts, we enjoyed dinner out, and Drew took us all on in Kinect bowling.

March 16 & 17

Brent, Esther, Lewis & Lauren

Brad's brother and his family stopped by on their way through to Ohio for spring break. The boys enjoyed showing off their baseball moves to Uncle Brent, read stories with Aunt Esther, played video games with Lewis, and played silly with Lauren.

March 17-20

Jeremy, Ashley, Avery, Addy & Grammy

My brother and his family joined us for a long weekend...and Grammy even got to come along! The boys opened more gifts for both of their birthdays, sweated up a storm doing more Kinect sports, went to the zoo, shopped at the mall, and played a lot!

March 25-29

Grammy returned one weekend later, but this time was able to bring Papa along! My parents came for a long weekend, and concluded Reed's birthday with one last round of gifts. The boys watched "Mouse" on the computer, occupied Papa with games and puzzles, and I occupied Grammy with housework! ;)

It was a busy, but incredibly awesome and fun, month!

We love our families so much!

Thank you for coming to see us!

Don't be strangers...come again!

(On a sidenote: I'm exhausted! It couldn't be a better time to ship the boys off to Grandma & Grandpa's house for the weekend!) :)

Picture of the Day, Week 12

Sunday {3.20.11}

Reed's been transitioning to his toddler bed this past week, but it's taken a bit for him to adjust to having only a small rail to keep him in. I've found him like this a few times...apparently hitting a pile of blankets is pretty comfy as he rarely wakes when he ends up on the floor!

Monday {3.21.11}

I do almost anything to keep these two contained while we shop. Almost.

Tuesday {3.22.11}

Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that it isn't going to be much longer before these shoes fit?

Wednesday {3.23.11}

The price of gas right now is $3.52/gallon. I filled up the van using my 20 cent/gallon discount with my grocery card and still paid this much. Yuck.

Thursday {3.24.11}

Brad won the "Thoughtful Husband Award" today when he brought me home a slice of my favorite dessert from a church potluck I wasn't able to make it to. Mmmm mmmm good!

Friday {3.25.11}

Grammy & Papa arrived today for a weekend visit, bringing Reed gifts for his birthday. This Mater train was a hit with both boys.

Saturday {3.26.11}

Grammy & Papa keep the boys' Twins attire updated with new t-shirts every year. Drew needed to wear his right away!

The Breakfast of Champions

The boys get many things from their father.

Among them, taste buds for PopTarts.

They all have them almost every morning. Brad only eats the brown sugar and cinnamon flavored ones, so that's all we buy.

Until Wednesday when the boys and I ran out to Walmart and Drew decided he'd like to try strawberry. Because they have sprinkles.

So yesterday morning he had one. It was good, he tells me.

When I pick him up at school yesterday, Mrs. Bland says, "Drew tells me he had a strawberry poptart for breakfast. We're all going to start eating them if they put you in this kind of good mood!"

Apparently Drew had a really silly day. Laughing and being goofy and telling stories. He had Mrs. Bland rolling with laughter, she said.

Strawberry PopTarts. The *new* breakfast of champions.

Growing Up

There are many defining moments in the transition from infancy to toddlerhood to preschooler where I find myself thinking, "My baby isn't a baby anymore!"

Reed has reached one such moment.

Good-bye, crib. Hello, big boy bed!

I was anticipating that this would be a difficult transition for Reed to make. He is soooo different from Drew in so many ways, and Drew made this switch without complaint. I remember that my plan was to have Drew nap in the toddler bed but still sleep at night in his crib, just to ease the transition. Drew had a different idea. After napping in his bed the first time, he didn't want anything to do with his crib anymore. Easy peasy. Drew made this move so effortlessly, I just knew that it was going to be a challenge for Reed (and therefore for me, too!).

We brought up the toddler bed from the basement last week Monday and made room for it in the nursery. (I am in flux trying to decide what do with the boys' rooms. Should they have their own, or share? What beds will they have? What will the theme and colors and decor be? Major decisions, I tell ya. We need to master the big boy bed before we decide on any of that, so that's why the accommodations for Reed remain in his familiar sleep surroundings.) Monday at naptime and at bedtime we encouraged Reed to sleep with Elmo. He'd get in the bed for books and prayers, but then take himself over to the crib and say "up." Tuesday was an unusual day (we had a busy schedule with things happening at odd times) so I left Reed in his room at naptime to see if he'd make his way into his Elmo bed. An hour later, I could still hear the crashing and banging of toys, so into his crib he went. Wednesday at naptime, he finally discovered how comfy Elmo is! I tucked him in to his bed, and as I peeked in from the hallway, he got out of bed, back in, out again, walked through his room, then back into bed and fell asleep. He has kept his naptime date with Elmo ever since.

It was last Thursday night when Reed attempted to sleep in his bed at bedtime. My mom was here with my brother and his family, so she was sharing Reed's room with him. She told me that he slid out of bed and onto the floor three times (without waking) before she decided it would be best to put him in his crib. A few more nights of the same thing (he's a mover, apparently!) until this last Monday night when he slept soundly, and remained on the mattress, all night long.

He's been Zzzzzz-ing well ever since.

All of his friends from the crib have made the move with Reed. Scout, Buttercup, Puppy, Tigger and his two favorite blankets, too.

My baby is really growing up.

Getting Stronger

Both boys went in to see Dr. Hunter yesterday morning for their two- and four-year well-child check-ups.

The stats...

Reed: 35.4 pounds, 37 inches tall, and a head circumference of 53 centimeters. He's holding steady in the 95th percentile.

Drew: 43 pounds and 42 inches tall. He's in the 75th-95th percentile.

Both boys were given vaccines today as well.

I didn't tell Drew that he'd be getting one. I didn't tell him until we had gotten back into the nurses' treatment room, and he got up on the table. I told him it was going to hurt, but only for a second, and then it would be all done.

He cried.

And I think he might have been a bit upset with me.

All day he kept referring to his band-aid as the "thing Mom surprised me with".

He was a good sport, though, and he's not holding a grudge. At least I don't think so. :-/

Both boys are healthy, strong, and vibrant...just the way I like 'em.

Picture of the Day, Week 11

Sunday {3.13.11}

Today was Youth Sunday at church, and I was in charge of the "young singers choir". I was surprised to see that normally reserved and shy Drew got so into it. All for Jesus, people...all for Jesus. ;)

Monday {3.14.11}

We did some rearranging in Reed's room to make space for his big boy bed. After we got it set up, the boys were playing around in it. Drew began tucking Reed in...over and over again...by reading him stories and saying "night night, sweetie." (It took a bit for Reed to warm up to actually wanting to sleep in his new bed. He started napping in it Wednesday, and sleeping in it at night on Friday.)

Tuesday {3.15.11}

Our Luci girl. She'll be seven years old in May. She's neglected and overweight, but still tries to play every once in a while. It usually lasts about two minutes before she's exhausted and needs to rest. ;)

Wednesday {3.16.11}

Special visitors! Brent, Esther, Lewis and Lauren stopped by on their way through to Ohio for spring break. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins.

Thursday {3.17.11}

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a rainbow cake, a la How Does She? and Meg. And yes. It tasted just as good as it looks!

Friday {3.18.11}

More special visitors for the weekend. This time it was Jeremy, Ashley, Avery, Addy and Grammy. We headed to the Peoria Zoo this afternoon for some entertainment. Here are the boys right where they belong...alongside the lions!

Saturday {3.19.11}

Our Addy girl.

Is she gorgeous, or what?!

(This pic was taken Friday at the zoo, but this beautiful face needed to be included in this week's POTDs!)

Picture of the Day, Week 10

I used my cell phone more this week than ever before to capture our daily photos. There is certainly a convenience to it, but it also allowed me to capture a couple moments that may otherwise have gone undocumented. I'm trying to remind myself that photo quality isn't the goal. Capturing our life...that's the goal.

Sunday {3.6.11}

Brad teaches a catechism class to some of our youth on Sunday nights. It appears as though they have a pretty good time. :)

Monday {3.7.11}

Reed ran some errands with me this morning...and literally shopped 'til he dropped!

Tuesday {3.8.11}

Going on day 5 for fevers for both boys - time for a trip to the doctor! Drew was diagnosed with an ear infection, and they both may have had the flu as well. (Thankfully, by Wednesday, both fevers had subsided and the boys were on their way back to normal.)

Wednesday {3.9.11}

Look at what I found in my cereal box this morning! I'm an instant winner; a one in 1,000 instant winner!

Thursday {3.10.11}

Our baby bear turned two today!

Friday {3.11.11}

Grandma and Grandpa arrived today for the weekend, bearing gifts for the birthday boy. Among them - Cooper, a cute bear that interacts with you when you read his story.

Saturday {3.12.11}

Visits from Grandma and Grandpa usually involve a lot of eating out. (I pretty much don't need to eat until Wednesday of next week!) Today's lunch was at Denny's. We were also the beneficiaries of an anonymous random act of kindness. When we asked for the check, our waitress told us it had been taken care of. A subtle reminder that there is still a lot of good in our world.