SNOW MUCH FUN!

We had our second snow of the season, just one week after the first! But this one came loud and proud! We were in a Blizzard Warning for 18 hours. And during those 18 hours, it either rained, snowed, sleeted, blizzarded, thundered- you name it, it happened!! But it was a sight to see! I was glued to the window!! It came on Monday, a day Grant doesn't have school anyway. So we stayed home and waited til it hit.  The rain started about 2 in the morning, and it rained ALL MORNING LONG. I was beginning to think that was all we were going to get. But after some lunch and playtime at the McAlear's house, the snow finally started!!  And it really didn't stop til about 5am the following morning! We probably got anywhere from 4-8 inches, depending on where you measure. Our house, being in the middle of nowhere, kind of had nothing to catch the snow, so I think alot of it just blew away. But the next day, school was cancelled and the base was closed, so we had a neighborhood snow day!! The McAlear's came down about 8:30 and we did some sledding around the surrounding land. The kids had a BLAST! Well, Wyatt wasn't a fan. But Grant, Sidni, and Logan (and Levi and Chris!) went down a dozen or more times!! I can't believe we actually found a decent hill in these good ole Oklahoma plains!!  Good thing we bought that sled back at Christmas time! Then we made a snowman in our yard- well, I guess it was more like a snowalien, as it had a third stick-arm coming out of its head. We came inside for some hot chocolate, a little TV and rest time, then we headed back out for round two at the McAlear's house. The kids had fun throwing snowballs into the pond and making tracks all over the yard!! 

It wasn't the huge snow I was hoping for- I would've really enjoyed the 12-18 inches they were predicting! But I'm happy with what we got and the time we were able to spend as a family and with our friends!

We literally had SNOW MUCH FUN!

Brotherly Love

The boys looked so darn cute before church yesterday, I tried to snap a quick picture before we walked out the door. However, the second my camera comes out, is the second my boys turn into maniacs! My usual trick is, "Don't smile! Whatever you do- DON'T SMILE!!" It usually does the trick and I get a great smile in 2 seconds flat! However, when you have two kids, one is usually smiling great while the other one is not...these pictures, case in point! But I just loved all of them anyway, especially in one big collage like this! You can practically hear their giggling, right?!?!  And although the "good" picture isn't a great picture, its about all I can settle for these days! But I'll take it!! Silly smiles, no smiles, or great smiles- I love these boys to pieces!!

59 months

I can't believe I've been blessed to have spent 59 months with this big kid!! Almost 5 years old just blows my mind!! I can't even fathom the idea of you getting any bigger because it just seems to crazy!! The days with my little baby, toddler, preschooler are almost behind me- and in its place will be a full blown BIG KID!

You've loved telling everyone this past month that you're about to turn five. I think sometimes you've already tricked yourself into believing you're 5 already! You willingly tell anyone who crosses our path that you're birthday is March 15th, you share it with your brother, and you're having a Lego party. You are so excited!! I can't wait for the big day too!

You've grown so much this past year! You're doing so well in school and you love going. You've got your own little circle of friends, even an adorable little girlfriend (wink, wink). You think the world of your school and your teachers, which makes me so happy! 

You've really been enjoying playing Legos and Tinker Toys. The ideas and things you come up with just blow my mind! Your mind works in a very engineering type way! You use amazing symmetry and have a reason for every little piece you put on there! You specialize in making cars and airplanes with Legos, and guns/weapons with Tinker Toys. But you insist that you're a good guy when using them, so you can stop those bad guys!

You are still very very fond of all your stuffed animals, including Cuddles, Little Cold, Pup, and Dolphie, as well as Blue Blanket.You are quite the snuggle bunny with them!! You make very elaborate stories and pretend play in your bed at naptime and bedtime. You remind me so much of me when I was young!!

You're getting quite big, and if you grown any more you won't have any pants to last you through the rest of this winter! You wear size 5 in tops and bottoms, sometimes 6 in tops! You wear a size 12 shoe. 

You've started occupational therapy this month for a few different issues (that will come in another post) and I'm so proud of you for trying your best! Even last night when we left OT, you said, "Mom, I really tried the best I could today!" I know its been frustrating for you, and its been a little heartbreaking for me, but I'm hopeful we will both be stronger when we're all done!

I'm so looking forward to celebrating your big FIVE next month and I know you are too! You're practically my party-planning assistant!

I love you my little sweetheart boy!!!

SNOW DAY!

Forgive my snow fetish- I haven't lived in an area where its snowed for 6 years. So I'm giddy like a school girl when I see the snow falling. I'm obsessed with taking pictures of it and just staring out the window. 

I knew we were in for a Winter Storm, starting sometime today. But I didn't expect to wake up and see snow-covered ground and an almost blizzard in the works! I didn't even want to take Grant to school, it just looked downright nasty outside! Well, nasty in a beautiful way! It snowed like crazy til about noon today. I guess the second wave of snow is supposed to come later tonight. But we probably got a good two inches from this morning. During the break of weather, we headed to the commissary to get groceries, since tonight's storm sounds like maybe more ice than snow, and our pantry was bare!! Better safe than sorry!! And then we came home to make a snowman of course!!

I love living in a state where snow is actually a possibility!!! 

Happy Snow Day!

35 Months

Is it even remotely possible that this kid is one month away from turning three?? I just don't believe it! I feel like it was just last week when I wrote THIS POST about Wyatt being born. If these three years have flown by this fast, I'm scared to see how fast the next three years go by!

Where do I even begin to describe this little man?? He is just spunky, spirited, smart, and silly. He is overflowing with personality! He lives his life to make people laugh! He is constantly saying funny things, doing funny things, and just being funny!

He still loves to snuggle with me and wants to be held ALOT. I'm really not sure when (if?) that will ever end. He loves to be on the counter with me as I'm cooking, preparing snacks, etc. He just has to be with me all the time! 

He loves doing homework! He asks me just about every day if I am printing him any homework. I feel bad since I don't do it most days, but our day to day schedule has been a little crazy lately. I know I just need to make the time to do it because I'm sure one of these days he won't want to do homework just for fun! But he can trace anything, but he especially loves tracing letters! He recognizes all his letters, uppercase and lowercase, most numbers from 1-9, and all his shapes and colors. He loves art projects, painting, playdoh, etc. He's kind of a teachers dream!

He is still a pretty tiny little guy- he had a trip to the ER a few weeks ago for possible flu (negative though!), but he weighed 27lbs and was 35in. Most of his pants this winter have been 24 months, and his shirts 2t/3t. He is 100% completely potty trained, including nighttime! He looks so cute in his teeny tiny underwear!! He finally grew into a size 8 shoe. 

He loves watching Max and Ruby and Team Umizoomi, as well as Power Rangers and Ninjago (thanks to big brother!). He loves playing Legos, Tinker Toys, farm, and Imaginext. He has the funniest voice when he pretends to make his figures or characters talk- its like this deep, loud, throaty voice that just cracks me up everytime I listen in on him and Grant playing together! 

I can't believe next month we will be celebrating another birthday! My little boy is seriously growing up before my very eyes!! I can't wait to see it all unfold!

I love you Wyatt!!

Valentine's Preschool Party

Grant had his Valentine's Party at preschool today! Once again, it didn't disappoint. Their teachers and staff there are so wonderful! When I arrived, they were finishing up calendar time in the classroom. They headed into the big room to have a yummy snack of Valentine's cookies, chocolate milk, and conversation hearts! After some eating and chatting, the kids Valentine's boxes they made previously in the week were scattered around the room, so they got to search for their boxes and go through all their loot! Grant and Gracie's boxes got put side by side, they were happy about that! Grant looked through every bag, read through every note, and checked out who gave what. He loved it all! Wyatt just wanted to make sure Grant would share a special treat with him later. 

After going through their boxes, it was time to sing some of the songs they've been learning. Since Grant missed all last week of school since he was sick, I don't think he knew many of the songs very well, so he didn't put on too good of a show, but singing preschoolers just make me smile!! Then, we got to watch the video of their Winter Program. Again, something else we missed since Grant was sick. So that was cute to see what we missed, although now I'm even more bummed that we missed it!! Oh well!

And I'm not sure if these two, Grant and Gracie, could be any cuter together! They loved the Valentine's each other gave so much, that they had to share a Valentine's hug! Also, they each made each other an "extra special" Valentine and exchanged them after the party. Just too sweet!!

(One of these days, hopefully I'll remember to bring my actual camera instead of relying on my phone!) 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!!!!!!

Our Snowman

Grant and I had some special time yesterday. Levi took Wyatt to Oklahoma City to pick up some parts for the clubhouse he's building, so after I picked Grant up from school, we did a drive-thru to Wendys (he loves their nuggets), and then we came home and built a snowman with the little snow that was left from the day before. Luckily, Grant and Aiden had rolled the balls while it was snowing, or else there wouldn't have been enough snow left to make a snowman.  But Grant rolled his little head, and then he found two sticks, and all the pieces for his eyes, nose, and buttons, but he asked me to put them on because his hands were "freeeeeeezing!"  Mine were too- we definitely aren't equipped with the right play-in-the-snow gear! We will have to work on that for next year's winter!

As I took Grant's picture, he said, "Look, I'm standing guard!" 

Sadly, our little snowman has already melted, but hopefully he'll be back again someday!!

Happy Heart Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

from two of my greatest loves!

January Artwork

I am super duper duper super bummed we didn't make it to Grant's winter program. It was first cancelled in January because one-third of his class was sick, although he was healthy. It was rescheduled to last week when all the kids were healthy again, but Grant was sick. I would've loved to see all their artwork on display at school!! Bummed to the max!

BUT, Grant did bring it all home today so I finally got to see all the projects he talked about doing in the month of January!

 One of their bible stories in January was Matthew 7:24-27, about the wise man and the foolish man. I love the front-to-back examples of each! Super cute!! That song has been stuck in my head for weeks!!

Clockwise starting at the top left:

- A penguin in a snowglobe

-Snowman

-Snowy Owl

-Gingerbread Man (they had a day where they had to "Run, Run as fast as they can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" all around the church and offices to find their little gingerbread man. Grant raved about preschool that day!!)

- Y is for Yodeling with a Yak (if you can't tell, Grant needs some assistance with coloring!)

I love my little artist!! Bring it on February!!! I can't wait to see what they do!!

SNOW....Finally!!!

 We have been waiting ALL winter for a snowy day! I was beginning to think we were just going to go right to spring, but we got lucky!! It snowed today!!!!!

Today was a very special day, as our neighbors, The Kinney's, welcomed their third baby boy into the world! That meant that Aiden and Shayen got to spend the day with us! And all the kids had a blast playing in the wet, flaky snow for a while this afternoon! There were flakes the size of quarters and just about as wet as rain! It made for some very good snowballs, and some very wet pants and gloves! I knew I should've bought snow pants the other day when I saw them!!

The snow started falling about 9:00 this morning. It didn't accumulate to much, since half of it melted as it hit the ground, but by the afternoon, it was starting to stick pretty well. In fact, its 7:10pm and its STILL snowing!! I was just in awe of the snow as it fell. It's been a really long time since I've actually seen the snow falling. I absolutely love watching it- its so calm, and so peaceful!  Who needs to watch TV when you can just look out the window- I'm mesmerized!!

It was a great snowy day with loads of fun!!!

Non-sick Sick Day

Yesterday, Grant stayed home from school sick. Nothing near as bad as what Wyatt had last week, but he felt crummy. He ran a fever most of the day. When his fever broke, you'd never know he was sick, but when that fever hit, he was down for the count. Until 8pm last night when he had no fever anymore. But since he has to be fever free for 24 hours before he going back to school, Grant stayed home today as well. So we had a non-sick sick day. Which sounds good in theory, but when you've been cooped up in the house for 7 days with sick children, another day stuck at home with healthy children isn't very appealing. Especially since it was foggy until 2pm! So we had to make our own fun and games before we all wanted to poke each other's eyes out!!

And so our Non-Sick Sick Day Games were born! After an hour of painting, an hour of me folding laundry, and a quick lunch, we needed to do something to bust our boredom. I put together our first game- Ball Toss-O-Rama. I set up 3 baskets and a makeshift line, pulled out our bucket of balls and the game began. The big laundry basket was 3 points, the middle basket 2 points, and the closest basket 1 point. I was the scorekeeper on the iPad. After our bucket of balls was empty we added up our score. Grant: 31, Wyatt: 22. This was a super fun game for the boys and it took us over 30 minutes to go through our entire bucket of balls (they did miss the baskets ALOT!).

After this game was done, it was on to bowling. I sent the boys back to the playroom so I could surprise them with the setup. They were thrilled!!! I didn't have the correct number of water bottles, so I improvised with the layout. And the red water bottle was worth 2 points! Nothing like a good game changer for an added twist!! They probably played this game for a good 30+ minutes as well. Final score- Grant: 25, Wyatt: 19. They had so much fun, and so did I!

I guess non-sick sick days can be kind of fun afterall!!

Center Time

I'm all about free play. But sometimes free play gets boring for the boys, as well as for me too! We can really only play Imaginext or Lego guys for so long! Grant only goes to preschool for three hours a day three times a week, so anytime I can squeeze in some extra learning, I try! So I decided to schedule in some structured play as well! While the boys were napping, I put a few "centers" together for them to play. The idea will be to go to each center as they please, but for this first time, I had them do the centers together. I set out some learning games that I knew Grant could do independently, as well as walk Wyatt through the game as well. Although Wyatt seemed to hold his own pretty darn well! 

I spread 6 centers around our living/kitchen/dining area. They each took turns picking out which center to do next. The 6 centers this week were:

- Pattern Blocks with two pattern cards

- Spiky Balls with grab-nabbers, counting up to 11

- Number matching with Valentine's pictures

- Size sequencing with Valentine's pictures

-Lowercase and Uppercase letter puzzles

- G and W handwriting pages

It's funny how normally boring activities (at least to Grant!) were much more fun and exciting when introduced in a new way. I usually have to drag Grant to the table to practice writing letters, but not only did he run there himself, he probably wrote the best G's he's ever done! 

The boys loved it and are already asking when we can do centers again! YAY!

Funny Faces

Wyatt wants to sit on my lap...alot. So to make it exciting, sometimes we take silly pictures on my phone. Here is one instance...

Love my little cuddle funny bunny!

End January Instagram Dump

- Cuddles and Teddy Lovey just hanging around

- Levi working on the boys' clubhouse, even in the cold!

- Wyatt insisting on doing homework, even though he was sick

- Grant "delivered" me a Diet Coke while Wyatt was glued to me

- Grant and Wyatt made an airshow

- Grant's collection of teeny-tiny stuffed animals

- New kicks for the boys!

- Sweet brothers helping Daddy with the clubhouse

- TWO SETS OF UNDERWEAR!!!

Harlem Globetrotters

We were very fortunate to have been given free tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters last week when they came to Enid. Levi's sister, Summer, worked the event when they were in Hays, and she hooked us up with some great seats!! The boys weren't exactly sure what we were doing, although I showed them some video clips on the iPad a few times. We were in the front row of the stadium seats, at center court, so the boys could stand and bounce around and not bother anyone (well, other than Levi and I!). They enjoyed seeing some of the cool tricks while they were playing, but they mostly enjoyed the mascot (or at least I think that's what it was) that was an inflatable person with a globe head. He did some pretty funny things that had the boys laughing hysterically. Once I got them some popcorn they actually sat in their seats for a few minutes. We also had to make quite a few trips to the bathroom for Wyatt, and a few for Grant too because he thought the sinks in the bathroom were fun to play in. Silly kids! 

Anyway, it was a great family night and we are very thankful to have been given that opportunity to go do something as our family of four!

Poor Wyatt

My little buddy has been sick for the past 4 days. Its so rough to see such a little guy feel so lousy! The only bright side of the whole ordeal was I got alot of snuggle time with the little man. Although, he's super snuggly when he's healthy, there is just something about snuggling your sick baby. Maybe its the hopes that the closer you get to him, the more you are hoping to take his sickness away. Either way, we spent lots of time on the couch, recliner, and my bed. I also got to witness Wyatt sleeping, which is something I hardly EVER see. My poor buddy had a hard time sleeping, so there were lots of naps in my bed, on Daddy's shoulder, and on my shoulder.  

And when he wasn't acutally sleeping, he was doing one of the following....

 After four days, I think he's finally on the upswing! Let's pray and pray and pray that the rest of us stay healthy and we can finally put sickness behind us!!