Having a preschooler and a toddler who are very active has not left much time to update with all of the happenings around here, it seems like time has gotten away from me again!
Before diving into the wonderful achievements of my two little loves, I'm feeling especially sentimental tonight and just wanted to write some words on the wonderful character qualities each of the kids possess at this point in their lives. I wish I could make them stay little forever, but I know that is not the case :(.
Peanut is 4.5 right now and is one of the sweetest kids you'll meet, but she definitely has a sassy streak. She befriends everyone she meets and has the largest heart ever. She is continually optimistic and at this point, is not afraid of failure. She is so confident that even on her worst day she will say things like, "that's okay, I will try again tomorrow". Every time she gets something she's always thinking about getting similar things for the people she knows and cares about. Constantly talking, Peanut is like her Grandma O. in that she wants to fill the silence. She has taught me so much about being a mommy and although I know I've made mistakes, I am so incredibly proud of the young lady she is. My favorite thing to watch her do is play with her little mini dolls independently. She can play for hours all by herself in her own world she creates. Outside of the dolls, she loves to do arts and crafts (coloring, drawing, painting, etc). Peanut is my little mini-me in terms of behavior, which her Grandma M. loves to remind her of often. In fact, many many times does Grandma M. call out my name only to correct herself and say Peanut's name. Being so similar has some drawbacks, especially in that my patience tends to run shorter with her but I'm working on it and I love seeing the similarities between us.
- Current favorite colors: pink and purple and rainbow
- Swim lessons (summer): 4 days per week, 40 minutes per lesson, 5 to 7 age group. Currently at level 2, but very close to passing level 2 - in fact, so far this summer she has been the most advanced one in the pool for the 5 to 7 age category. Working on swimming freestyle with side breathing (has really gotten much better the past two weeks and can pass this now), backstroke for 5 yards with arms up by her ears (showing significant improvement already). Still working on the diving aspect.
- Gymnastics (summer): 2 days per week, 1.5 hours per lesson, COMETS. She is currently on break for a couple of weeks while her gym runs camps for the competitive kids, but after the 4th of July when it starts back up again, Peanut will be in a new group called Comets! That is the invitation only class for 5 to 7 year olds. Although I do think she is one of the weakest kids in the group, I hope that this will motivate her to work hard and make great improvements. I am so proud of her for the effort she's put in up to this point and that she has been recognized for how well she's doing. Just a couple of months ago she was bumped into this age category and now she's in the advanced group. My little athlete :) Still working on her splits and flexibility in general, but she has so much confidence on the high beam dancing around with her classmates.
- Dance: Off for the summer. We are trying a new studio in the fall called Happen dance. We will see how we like this compared to Spartan Dance Ctr. which we tried last year.
Buggy is 2 now and a total spitfire. He is sweet as can be and is a total Mama's boy, offering plenty of snuggles and kisses and hugs, but he knows how to find trouble. He is not afraid of anything (climbing, going underwater, trying anything new), gets into anything and everything, and is fiercely independent. He wants to do it by himself and he often doesn't even want you in the room to watch. Of course, this also means that he is somewhat accident prone. He gets a ton of boo-boos but he is one tough cookie. He wants a quick cuddle and then he wants to get down again to find more mischief. He loves playing with cars and doing arts and crafts, and anything that his sister likes to do because he wants to be one of the big kids. He loves slides (he calls them WEEs, because that's the sound you make when you go down them). He is very much into routines. Once you do something once, that's the way he wants it. Always. He has a very short temper and gets frustrated often, yelling loudly and making a scene for 30 seconds, then he's completely over it. We are still working on the rules - no biting, no hitting, no throwing toys, no pinching. He's talking a lot more now, but a lot of what he says is not easily understood. He is a pretty picky eater - but he loves junk food, fruit, cheese and yogurt.
-Swim lessons (summer): 4 days per week, 30 minutes per lesson, 2 to 3 age group. They don't do report cards for the 2 and 3 year olds, but buggy is kicking, blowing bubbles, retrieving rings, jumping in. He loves the water and loves his lessons for the most part - he definitely has favorite teachers.
-Gymnastics (summer): 1 day per week, 45 minutes per lesson, 18 months to 3 year age group. Buggy loves Miss Lina and I bet he will be so excited when we get to go back to the gym! His favorite thing to do are forward rolls, but he also loves doing the bars and going in the pit.
On the home front, our house is framed, the electrical/plumbing/HVAC is complete, siding is almost completely done and insulation has been put in throughout the house. Exciting steps and we can't wait to move in...in a few months!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
It's Been A While...
I think it has been about a month since I last updated this - so I thought it was time for a new post to go over what the kids are doing and have learned.
Peanut gymnastics - WOW what a difference one level up can make! Even though it is the beginner 5/6 year old class and she came from the advanced 3/4 year old class, Peanut is really being challenged and thriving under the pressure. She still has some work to do on focusing in class, since there is a lot of action going on during class time and she hasn't adjusted yet. Her old class was the only one in the gym, so the fact that there is over 100 athletes (estimate) working in various groups while she is in lesson has been a very difficult transition. Even still, she has gotten so much better with her cartwheels, handstands, bridges, etc. She is working on her splits, which she is not fond of, but other than that she loves all of the new things she is doing and is really getting quite good with the challenge of working with older and stronger kids than she is. It has been fantastic for her!
Buggy gymnastics - He is LOVING gymnastics still and having a great time. This week was a little rough because he isn't feeling 100 percent, so he was a little whiny and clingy, but in general he adores the kids in his class, loves doing the gymnastics elements, and always has a huge smile on his face the entire time we're there. His favorite things are going in the pit and doing the back walkover practice in the donut mat. He has gotten really good at hanging from the high bar and he loves the wobble beam that they attached to the bars for this term. He loves to smell the flowers the coaches sometimes put on the bars, too. Sweet boy :). He is working on his forward roll and saying TA-DA for everything!
Peanut swimming - She is holding her own in swim class with the 5/6/7 year olds, still working on big arms and side breathing for freestyle. She is pretty strong with the backstroke, but is working on endurance. She managed to tread water for 30 seconds a couple of weeks ago, which is a pretty big win for her! Last week her group also started practicing flip turns, and they are still practicing their dives - Peanut's are not going very well, but at least she's trying :). Her class is also practicing the breaststroke kick and the butterfly kick, which she does pretty well with. Overall, she is making baby steps of progress, and is doing a good job being with the big kids.
Peanut dance - hard to give an update on this one, because I don't get to see much of it. She seems to be doing okay, it isn't quite as structured and I think she struggles with paying attention and following directions some of the time. Moves wise I don't have any concerns, we just need to work on that turn out issue - poor girl and her pigeon-toes!
Peanut preschool - She is really loving school and thriving with knowing her uppercase and lowercase letters and the letter sounds. There are only a handful of lowercase letters and letter sounds she doesn't really know yet and the letter Q is the only uppercase letter she couldn't identify/write on the first try today. She loves the kids in her class, and is actually headed to her first friend birthday party tomorrow!
Buggy learning - Buggy still doesn't talk much, but he is getting some new words, so they are slowly coming to him. His mind is always working though, and he is sweet as can be. These are the words I can think of that he says:
Mama, Dada, Down, Hi, Please, Cheese, Baby, Wee, Uh Oh, Stuck, Cup, Up, Vroom, Snack, TaDa
...I feel like he says more words, but this is all I can think of right now.
On a different note, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and it has been all Valentine's here for about a month and a half. We made multiple valentine cards for people from gymnastics, swimming, school, neighbors, etc. and it took us quite a while. We also did heart banners, heart people crafts, and Peanut made a heart banner to celebrate. As she said, this is "her holiday". That girl is prepared. We also baked cookies and the kids and my mom made heart shaped brownies together today. Heart overload over here - I'm kind of glad that tomorrow is the actual holiday so we can move on to decor and goodies for St. Patrick's Day instead...ready for a change :).
I'm exhausted, time for bed!
Peanut gymnastics - WOW what a difference one level up can make! Even though it is the beginner 5/6 year old class and she came from the advanced 3/4 year old class, Peanut is really being challenged and thriving under the pressure. She still has some work to do on focusing in class, since there is a lot of action going on during class time and she hasn't adjusted yet. Her old class was the only one in the gym, so the fact that there is over 100 athletes (estimate) working in various groups while she is in lesson has been a very difficult transition. Even still, she has gotten so much better with her cartwheels, handstands, bridges, etc. She is working on her splits, which she is not fond of, but other than that she loves all of the new things she is doing and is really getting quite good with the challenge of working with older and stronger kids than she is. It has been fantastic for her!
Buggy gymnastics - He is LOVING gymnastics still and having a great time. This week was a little rough because he isn't feeling 100 percent, so he was a little whiny and clingy, but in general he adores the kids in his class, loves doing the gymnastics elements, and always has a huge smile on his face the entire time we're there. His favorite things are going in the pit and doing the back walkover practice in the donut mat. He has gotten really good at hanging from the high bar and he loves the wobble beam that they attached to the bars for this term. He loves to smell the flowers the coaches sometimes put on the bars, too. Sweet boy :). He is working on his forward roll and saying TA-DA for everything!
Peanut swimming - She is holding her own in swim class with the 5/6/7 year olds, still working on big arms and side breathing for freestyle. She is pretty strong with the backstroke, but is working on endurance. She managed to tread water for 30 seconds a couple of weeks ago, which is a pretty big win for her! Last week her group also started practicing flip turns, and they are still practicing their dives - Peanut's are not going very well, but at least she's trying :). Her class is also practicing the breaststroke kick and the butterfly kick, which she does pretty well with. Overall, she is making baby steps of progress, and is doing a good job being with the big kids.
Peanut dance - hard to give an update on this one, because I don't get to see much of it. She seems to be doing okay, it isn't quite as structured and I think she struggles with paying attention and following directions some of the time. Moves wise I don't have any concerns, we just need to work on that turn out issue - poor girl and her pigeon-toes!
Peanut preschool - She is really loving school and thriving with knowing her uppercase and lowercase letters and the letter sounds. There are only a handful of lowercase letters and letter sounds she doesn't really know yet and the letter Q is the only uppercase letter she couldn't identify/write on the first try today. She loves the kids in her class, and is actually headed to her first friend birthday party tomorrow!
Buggy learning - Buggy still doesn't talk much, but he is getting some new words, so they are slowly coming to him. His mind is always working though, and he is sweet as can be. These are the words I can think of that he says:
Mama, Dada, Down, Hi, Please, Cheese, Baby, Wee, Uh Oh, Stuck, Cup, Up, Vroom, Snack, TaDa
...I feel like he says more words, but this is all I can think of right now.
On a different note, tomorrow is Valentine's Day and it has been all Valentine's here for about a month and a half. We made multiple valentine cards for people from gymnastics, swimming, school, neighbors, etc. and it took us quite a while. We also did heart banners, heart people crafts, and Peanut made a heart banner to celebrate. As she said, this is "her holiday". That girl is prepared. We also baked cookies and the kids and my mom made heart shaped brownies together today. Heart overload over here - I'm kind of glad that tomorrow is the actual holiday so we can move on to decor and goodies for St. Patrick's Day instead...ready for a change :).
I'm exhausted, time for bed!
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Mommy Pride
I have to boast for a minute here. I'm so so proud of Peanut - she has been working incredibly hard and her hard work is paying off. At 4 years and 2 months, she is starting the 5 & 6 year old gymnastics class tomorrow and yesterday she got moved into the 5 to 7 year old swimming class which she held her own in.
Buggy is trying so hard to jump on his own and he has gotten so much closer. He occasionally does get both feet off of the ground at the same time, but it is pretty rare. It's cute watching him try, though!
In house news, things are progressing and hopefully we will close on our construction loan and break ground in the next week or two! Yippee! After closing on our first house on Jan. 5 of this year, we are ready to get construction on our new place. We are living with my parents while our house is being built, which is great and is going well, but we feel badly for taking over my parents house and bringing our chaos to their formerly quiet home.
So far the process has been:
Go through initial plans and figure out what plan we wanted to build off of
Sign a build agreement and work on changes we wanted to happen
List our house for sale
Finalize finish choices
Sell our house
Work on our initial change order - we just finished this step...moving on to the next couple
Finalize our initial change order
Give our final purchase price to the bank
Beyond that, I'm not sure how the process goes exactly...we have definitely been learning as we go through the process but it has been so much fun!
Buggy is trying so hard to jump on his own and he has gotten so much closer. He occasionally does get both feet off of the ground at the same time, but it is pretty rare. It's cute watching him try, though!
In house news, things are progressing and hopefully we will close on our construction loan and break ground in the next week or two! Yippee! After closing on our first house on Jan. 5 of this year, we are ready to get construction on our new place. We are living with my parents while our house is being built, which is great and is going well, but we feel badly for taking over my parents house and bringing our chaos to their formerly quiet home.
So far the process has been:
Go through initial plans and figure out what plan we wanted to build off of
Sign a build agreement and work on changes we wanted to happen
List our house for sale
Finalize finish choices
Sell our house
Work on our initial change order - we just finished this step...moving on to the next couple
Finalize our initial change order
Give our final purchase price to the bank
Beyond that, I'm not sure how the process goes exactly...we have definitely been learning as we go through the process but it has been so much fun!
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