Kindergarten & Preschool

Both my boys are in school!

 I thought I would be teary eyed when I dropped Jordan off on his first day of kindergarten, but he was so excited that it was easy to send him off with a hug and kiss. Jordan has been in school for almost a month now & he is loving it. Jordan loves his teacher, is eager to go to school and comes home happy. That's a success in my book! Due to Lucas being in preschool, I signed Jordan up for the "Late Bird" program which means his schedule is 9:55 - 1:20. It has been working out well! Every Thursday Jordan goes to school at 7:55, and it is much easier (for all of us!) when he goes to school at 9:55.  7:55 is just too early :)  It took some time for him to adjust to a schedule of going to school 5 days a week and no naps.  Jordan just got homework for the first time yesterday - we shall see how it goes getting him to do the work. He loves to do numbers but dislikes coloring and writing. Since Lucas loves to do "school work", I think I'll print off some sheets for him to color on while I work with Jordan on his homework. We're in a new stage folks!! The era of homework has begun.

Lucas started preschool this year! This little one always wanted to stay at preschool with Jordan last year & he was so excited to go this year. I put him in the regular 3's class instead of the  2 1/2 & early 3's class  It helps with the overall school schedule & he's only two months shy of 3.  Eh. The biggest thing was that he had to be potty trained .. !!! He is not completely potty trained - he is still in process, but if he mostly stays dry between the hours of 9 - 11:30 during MWF, he's good! He just needs to work on telling someone he needs to go to the bathroom. Once he gets that down, he'll be fully potty trained.  So yes, I feel like I am "sneaking" him into preschool when he's not 100% ptty trained ;) When I ask him if he likes preschool, he says "I like Jordan's kindergarten!" Slow it down little one.  Enjoy learning new things and having fun in preschool. You are right where you are supposed to be :) 

Summer Ending

Is it time for school yet? June & July were busy months and August has, so far, been slow.  Most of that is due to the fact that I am in my third trimester and not driving.

We drove up to OR twice this summer - once was just a visit with mostly my sister in law and nieces.  The second trip was the whole family at a lake/beach house and it was a beautiful week on the coast (in Oregon!).

With all the fun vacation time over, it's time to hunker down & focus on potty training (I only have three weeks!), getting the boys ready for kindergarten & preschool, getting their bedroom ready for their little brother, and in general figuring out how I'm going to survive the next couple months without going crazy and letting my hormones take over :)

The "Poop Episode"

This may be an unusual post, but I just wanted to document it because after it all happened, the "poop episode" was hilarious.

I am potty training Lucas, which is going well enough - he has no pee accidents. However, the boy poops several times a day. It's ridiculous. You would think I'm feeding him prunes all day long. Today we went through five pairs of underwear & six diapers (I had to go to diapers b/c he had accidents in all his underwear so I was doing the laundry).  This evening the boys were playing outside with the hose, naked. David & I started to herd them inside to take a shower.  Jordan runs ahead to our bathroom, and I notice Lucas making his "poop" face. I asked if he needed to use toilet, he said yes.  As he's walking into the house, David & I notice that he's already started going.  After what seems like a moment of "um what do we do now?" (but was really a second) David grabs Lucas & bolts to the boys bathroom.  Jordan hears the commotion and comes flying down the hallway to see what's happening.  He runs smack into David,  Lucas's poop falls out of his bottom as David steps/slides in it, and the poop flies onto the wall.  David is holding Lucas while hopping on one foot, Jordan is asking what's happened as David tells him to get back to the bathroom, Lucas is wailing away.  Me? I'm standing there laughing.

Bedtime Excuses

The boys like to pray before bedtime & they can get rather silly. Lucas, at 2.5 years old, thinks it's hilarious to thank God for poop. Usually I do not put up with it but his adorable belly laugh was cracking me up. 

"dear God, thank you for mommy. (Hugs me). Thank you for ... Mommy (hugs me). Thank you for daddy. Thank you for Jordan. Thank you for .... Poop!! Hahahahaha. Thank you for poop!!" - Lucas 

Jordan chimes in with: "thank you for pee!" I give him a look. "No mom, I'm thanking God for the letter P" 5 year olds should not be this clever. 

After prayers come the usual bedtime excuses.  Usually I'm frustrated but tonight was amusing. 

"Mom I hit Lucas in the eye but I said sorry" 

"Mom Lucas climbed in my bed and jumped on me". 

"Mom my blanket is messed up" "mommy I tripped on my blanket and have an owie" 

"my blanket is in the crib, I can't get it" "mommy I want my dump truck" 

"mom I want music" 

Catching Up

1. Jordan finished preschool in May & is going to kindergarten in the fall! Jordan grew so much this year during Pre-K and I attribute much of that to his wonderful teacher.  She was an answer to prayer & knew how to respond to and direct our active strong willed boy :) He loved her and was excited to go to school. There was a time I was uncertain Jordan would be able to go to kindergarten and do well, but he is! He loves learning and absorbing information (like his daddy), and he is doing well with sitting down and focusing for longer periods of time.  I look forward to seeing how he does in kindergarten.

Jordan's WONDERFUL Pre-K Teacher

At the Pre-K "graduation" ceremony.

2.  So far, this has been the summer of girls. We have been spending time with friends of mine who have all girls.  It's been a lot of fun & the boys are enjoying it.

Jordan kept telling Lucas to get out so he could give Grace a ride 

Summertime is ice cream with friends

3. We did VBA (Vacation Bible Adventure) at our church.  Lucas spent some time in the nursery & also with playdates I set up.  Thankful for wonderful friends who watched him for me! Jordan loved it & does the motions to the songs while we are in the car (but only in the car).  I worked with the 4th graders - I decided that I am much better suited to younger children :)

VBA

 4. Jordan is taking swim lessons & doing well.  By the end of the week he should be swimming all over the pool without water wings. I admit it still makes me nervous & I cringe, but hey, if the instructor says he can do it, then okay! After Jordan's swim lesson ends, two other friends & I take our kiddies to the pool. The boys are definitely loving pool time with their friends (all girls!).  

5. At the time of this post, I am 21 weeks pregnant. That is officially 5 months. The first trimester and beginning of the second I dealt with morning sickness and almost daily migraines. Now I am feeling normal again which is good because we have had one busy summer so far!! I collapse every day on the couch and it takes everything I have to stay awake until David is home from work.  Many nights I am asleep by the time he's done putting the boys to bed.

6.  In July, we are taking two trips to OR. One trip is the annual summer trip with David's family, and the other trip was spontaneously planned maybe two weeks ago.  Two round trips (driving) within 3 weeks.  The first trip up I am driving with my sister in law (who is flying down from OR the night before) and David will fly up to meet us for the 4th of July & drive back down with me. The second trip is the all four of us driving up to the OR coast. (brrrrr).  I want to get in a good & fun (busy) summer before I am unable to drive when I hit my third trimester (August).  I'm crazy, I know!

7. We found out that we are having a third boy! It's official, I am a boy mom.  We have not decided on a name yet - I figure we have until October. The thought of even coming up with a name in the midst of everything is just daunting! He may just be known as "baby #3" for a while! When I was taking Jordan to his swim lesson the other day, one of the girls that was around asked what I was having. When she found out it was a boy, she said "you already have a lot of boys".  Children - I love their honesty!

Jordan is 5!

What a year this has been for you my Jojo! A year of growth and maturity. A year of challenges and triumphs.

You are in pre-K this year and are doing so well! You are learning to focus & be still.  You write your name every chance you get & can read your name as well. You love math and science. I dare say you are already better at math than I am! You enjoy your class & your teacher. I love seeing you rush in to say hi to your teacher and promptly sit down to work on an activity. Your daddy & I had a wonderful meeting with your teacher to learn all about how you are doing in pre-k. My heart was so happy to learn of how much you are maturing and becoming ready for kindergarten in the fall.

Karate has been a new interest for you this year. You have to work really hard at sitting/standing still in line, and you'll get there! You are so good at karate! It makes me laugh when I hear the instructor ask "Jordan, are you here today?" and you very loudly say "YEEESSS SIR!" You keep telling me that when you are 7, you do not have to do karate anymore (you're going to play golf instead).  I love that the sports you pick are individual sports & about self control -- something you are certainly working on my dear boy :)

You continue to love being a big brother and are teaching Lucas so much.  The two of you go outside & explore in the backyard, dig dirt, and pretend you are super heroes. I love hearing you two interact with each other, although I have no clue what you are actually saying.  You introduce Lucas to others and tell them how old he is and that he's your little brother.  You encourage him when he is trying something new and comfort him when he is upset.

As you turn 5, you are going to be leaving those little boy/preschool years behind.  You are growing into such a kind, sensitive, smart boy. There are days you do or say something that is just so profoundly mature and I wonder when it all happened.  My heart stops for a minute and as I watch you I think "my first born, my baby, is growing up".

I love you my Jordan.  I love your laugh and your smile. Your questions and answers. Once, when I asked how you knew what happened on a construction site, you answered "I know how things work, all boys do".  I love that you tell me you need your mommy & curl up next to me.  I love your growing independence and your matter of fact way. I love that you pick flowers from the backyard and sweetly bring them to me. I love how fiercely you love our family, including our cat.

Fall 2013 (Remember, math & science are your strong suits!)

I pray this year is a great year for you as you learn new things and experience new adventures!

Jordan's 5th Birthday Party

Solar System theme

Sun Cake made my my mom 

Astronaut Jordan 

This is what happens when you try to get 5 boys to smile in the middle of eating

Thank you for coming to the party Astronaut Jonathan! I put together the Lego police car & take it everywhere!

Thank you for coming to the party Astronaut Ben! I love the Lego set!

Astronaut Jordan, birthday boy

Thank you for coming to the party Astronaut Levi! I love the hot wheel ramp! 

Astronaut Lucas

Red Light Green Light

This is just awesome

Duck Duck Goose (an attempt at it anyways)

Lucas decided to just run circles around everyone

Someone's being silly!

Setting up the bottle rocket 

Waiting 

You might need to expand the pictures, but you can see the stream of water from the bottle rocket. In Levi's picture, in the far right corner I actually managed to get a picture of the rocket. 

I realized after I took the pictures of the piñata that I should have moved to the other side. Oh well. 

Jordan had so much fun with his buddies at his party! Thank you for coming!