Christmas 2013

Well I managed an epic fail when it came to Christmas pictures this year. :/ I did get one of Eli and his excitement of finding  m&m's in his stocking, and one blurry one of Haidyn when she first woke up, but that's it. Whoops. :( But on the positive side, I have a ton of memories of the kids opening their presents and was able to enjoy it rather than worrying about the camera. Right? Christmas was great, the kids had fun and once again, or maybe still, have way too many toys. But they are playing and having fun with them all, so I can't complain.

Dining experience

We took the kids out to eat at Claim Jumpers tonight. We were just about done eating and an older gentleman sitting next to us came over to tell us what a pleasure it was to be sitting next to a table with small children and see them behave so well. Then right before we left, a woman sitting at another table came over to us to comment on you're good the kids are. She said she was watching the kids because they are expecting their first grandchild and she was pleased to see kids behave so well at a restaurant. I did warn her  it isn't always like this. :) What a great compliment to my kids! Not one, but TWO people went out of their way to tell us how awesome our kids are! :)

School Christmas party

The kindergarten class had a great time at their party. Crafts, snacks, games! Even Mrs Woock participated in "Pin the star on the Christmas tree." I was so lucky to be able to take time of work to help out and have fun with the kids!

Cookies!

We had our annual cookie decorating party with the kids. It's the old gang from Jen's. Even though the older ones are all in school now, we still get together as much as possible. Alex and Gabbi Malpartida, Anna Werner (little brother  Nicholas is Eli's age, but it was his nap time, so he missed out), Will Foley and Jordan and Ryan Weynschenk. I see them all being friends for a long time!

All the kids had a great time! Made quite the mess too, but watching them have that much fun was well with worth the cleaning up I had to do.

Haidyn was very concerned about having to share a gingerbread house with Eli, she thought he would mess it up! What we file to remember is.... Eli would be more excited to eat the candy than put it on the gingerbread house. Luckily I had lots of candy, so that kept Eli busy while Haidyn decorated. :)

Eli's first movie

We went to see Frozen. Great movie! It was for Haidyn, but stinky little brother tagged along. :) He LOVED having a big tub of popcorn. He did pretty well, he hadn't napped yet, so he only saw the first part and then fell asleep. I couldn't have planned it any better. :) I most attempt Walking With Dinosaurs next, I think he'd like it!

Many Shapes of Christmas

St. John's had their Many Shapes of Christmas program for Pre-K - 2nd grade. They were fantastic!

Trouble maker

Somebody managed to pull himself up onto the counter so he could put some lotion on. And then when he realized he had too much, he turned the water on to clean up. Surprisingly, he didn't make that big of a mess.

Happy thanksgiving

From one turkey to another.

First snow

The kids were so excited to see snow! It was more rain than snow the first time out, but we managed to get some snow to stick. And the snow didn't stop Eli from mowing the grass. And it didn't stop Haidyn from posing. :)

Happy Halloween

It rained all day and all night, but that didn't spoil anyone's fun! Kids still had a great time! Haidyn was Rapunzel and Eli was a pirate. We went to Haidyn's friend Will's house and her friend Jordan and her little brother Ryan met us there. We all went trick or treating together. It was a great night, except for the guy in the mask that jumped out at Haidyn and Eli. Good move crazy guy, scare the two year old. :/

Kindergarten

School pictures came home today. I'll get them in the mail soon, but here's a sneak peek.

Pumpkins

It's too early to carve, but not too early to stick them with parts to make silly, or as Haidyn calls hers, fierce, pumpkins.

Birthday boy!

Elias turned two. How in the world did that happen so fast. I think he enjoyed his Bubble Guppies birthday party.

High frequency words

Haidyn has a list from school on  high frequency words (sight words) that they are working on throughout the year. I made flashcards  of them and was quizzing her. She's doing very well and tries to sound out the ones she doesn't know. Her problem is, she sometimes goofs on the order of sounds and mixes them up. Perfect example: THIS came out as SHIT. Glad she did that mistake at home and not at school. Although my laughter didn't help matters and she may do it again on purpose just to get a laugh.

Haidyn's first soccer game

The Stingers has a good first game. They only had one practice, but they put up a good fight. They all has a great things and work well as a team. #5 looked great on the field!

Kindergarten

Haidyn has her first day of kindergarten today! She did great at drop off. We got the supplies sorted, gym shoes and paint smock put away, name tag on, and chair found. I think she's going to have a great year with Mrs. Woock!

Reading

Haidyn was reading to Eli this morning. So cute! An hour later the were screaming at each other, so I have to capture the sweet moments when I can. :)

Big boy bed

Eli jumped right from having a crib to a full size bed. He hadn't been sleeping well in his crib for awhile. He refused to fall asleep in it, he'd fall asleep on our bed and then we'd move him to his crib. More often than not, he'd wake up and end up back in our bed. But guess who sleeps through the night now that he has his own big bed?! YES!

Smells good.....

I think it's good enough to eat. What a goof ball!

Shedd Aquarium

We met some friends at the aquarium last weekend. They we're all off running in different directions, but I did manage to snap a picture of Haidyn and Eli together at the penguins. They both had a lot of fun! The dolphin show was a big hit, but playing in the submarine or penguin play area probably won.

Second tooth missing

Haidyn lost her second tooth last Saturday.... While eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Unfortunately, she swallowed it. Whoops. She was so upset. She wanted to leave it for the tooth fairy. We instead left a note for her explaining what happened. Apparently the tooth fairy felt bad for her because she still left money under Haidyn pillow even without collecting the tooth. What an awesome tooth fairy! :)

Who's a big kid??

Haidyn is!! She lost her first tooth Wednesday, July 3rd. In the car on our way to Osage. Luckily I kept it safe until we got back home so she could put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. All I'm going to say is.... Her tooth fairy ROCKS because she got a five dollar bill... I only got a quarter when I was a kid. :)

Puppet show

Jen took the kids to story time at the library and afterwards they had a special surprise. A puppet show! Unfortunately, someone was scared and ran to the back of the room. Apparently, plugging your ears keeps the scary puppeteer away. :)

Daddy and Eli

We had a BBQ today for Haidyn and Eli's friends. We all had a great time! Little tired now though. Daddy had his feet up relaxing afterwards and Eli adjusted his chair so he could be just like him.

First day of camp

Haidyn had her first day of camp at Streamwood park district. She had a great time! Her friend Will I'd in the same camp and she made a new friend today. She told me her favorite thing was a cupcake that she got. I think she had a good time and was quite busy today, she passed out on the way home.

Extravaganza 2013

Haidyn participated in this year's gymnastics extravaganza. She did fantastic! She got to show off a bunch of the things she learned in class. Here she is with Coach Lugo.

Santa's Village

We had our first trip to Santa's Village of the summer. Both kids had a great time on the rides. Haidyn volunteered at the animal show and got to pet a lizard. Eeeew!

Tired?

I guess someone was tired. Pooped out right on the kitchen floor.

Pool party!

Summer time fun has begun! I don't think we'll be able to keep Eli out of the pool this summer. Haidyn had her friend Becca over and all the kids had fun splashing around. Wonder if we can talk daddy into getting a big pool? :)