January Photos

 - Grant's got a loose top tooth- Itty Bitty snow play- New tshirts-

- Snuggles for Wyatt- Odd Squad computer games- Bagels with my baby-

- Homerun!- Spelling practice- Spiky hair boy-

- Snow- Wyatt making his own lunch- More school games!-

- Preschool drop off- Grant made a gold mining operation- Piggy Back-

- Playing Battleship "Dad's work"- Cuddle and Teddy dressed and buckled- BIRDS!!!-

100th Day Celebration

The 100th Day of School is a pretty big deal anymore. I don't ever recall celebrating that when I was a kid, or even as a teacher! But nowadays, its a BIG deal!! Mrs. R made sure they had a day of celebrating!! After our morning Skype date with Levi, it was time for 100th Day centers! (Let me just say how thankful I am to be present in Grant's classroom. I go there every Monday for small groups, every school party or special event, and pretty much whenever his teacher needs a volunteer. I just love it and am so so so thankful!!!) I got to lead the Building with 100 Cups center!! I probably got the most fun one! The kids rotated through their centers for about 45 minutes and had a wonderful time!

 Filling in a 100's chart must be so fun!!!!

 Of course, knocking it over was the most fun!!!!

 100 thumbprints!

They got to fill a snack bag with 100 snacks- they got 10 pieces from each tray. The other trays not pictured had skittles, trix, and cookie crisp! This was probably a tie with the cup center for BEST center because they hardly ever get snacks at school!! 

After centers, the kids got to show their 100 items. Lots of creative ideas- 100 tiny balloons, 100 dixie cups, 100 pieces of candy, 100 googly eyes. Grant filled a small glass jar with 100 plastic hearts. He thought it was perfect because it had 100 items, PLUS it was "valentinesy." Couldn't argue with that logic!!! 

It was a wonderful celebration of their accomplishments this year! In Grant's 100 days of kindergarten, he has grown so much, learned so much, and experienced so much!! He's done better than I could've ever imagined and I'm so so so proud of the amazing little boy he is!!!

Skype Date With Daddy

 Grant's entire class got to Skype with Levi on their SmartBoard to kick off their 100th Day of School! Mrs. R. thought it would be the perfect day to talk to someone that lived over 100 miles away! Grant had been talking about it all last semester and was so excited to talk actually to Levi in front of all his class. Levi did get to come to Grant's winter school party, so he knew all his friends had actually met his dad in real life, but he thought that having his class hear Levi talk about his job would be pretty awesome! I think sometimes he forgets that all of these kiddos know NOTHING about the military or what the word deployment even means. But they all seemed pretty interested in what Levi had to say. And I was blown away at how well Levi talked to them all. He put together a powerpoint presentation to show them pictures of things like maps, the aircraft he's flown, ships he's been on in. He even wore his flight suit and showed all the kids his flight vest, helmet, and all his cool gadgets. He answered all their cute questions so well!! I was so proud of him and I could tell Grant was proud too! It was a very memorable experience for all of us!! 

Lego Robot Class

Blue Valley has so many awesome activities!! We are so thankful to be part of a school district that offers so much more than awesome schools!!  The boys have taken part in quite a few activities through there since we moved here, like basketball and gymnastics, but this one was right up Grant's alley! After pouring over the winter catalog and making of a list of all the possible activities we could enroll in, Grant made his decision pretty easily- Lego Robot Class. Funny enough, his friend from school also signed up for the class, and when the discovered they'd be in there together, Grant was even more thrilled!! 

So every Friday afternoon in January, they created a new and amazing Lego robot! Their instructor walked them through the building part of the robot and then they hooked it up to the computer to program it to move and make noise. His instructor said that each week, she usually gave Grant and Luca one set to put together independently while she worked with the other group of students. She raved about their building skills!! 

The first week, they made these spinning chirping robots. Each robot spun a different direction and chirped. Grant showed me how to turn it on and off using the computer. Pretty cool stuff!

The second week, the made spinning tops! They made the handle and the top and when you pressed a button on the computer, it would drop the top and spin. Grant liked this because it reminded him of his Lego Ninjago spinners. 

The third week, they made drumming monkeys. One of the monkeys drummed both hands at the same time, and the other monkey went every other hand. Grant did a good job pointing out to me why each one moved differently. He really liked this one! He's always had a thing for monkeys though :)

The last week, they made chomping alligators. They used motion sensors on these guys. They put a smartie on his mouth and when you reached in to grab the smartie, he would chomp on your finger. They liked experimenting with what happened when your nose got close :)  

It was such a great experience for him and definitely gave brought his Lego enthusiasm to a whole new level! He's already asking to enroll in the next class!! 

But next up, it's Wyatt's turn! Create With Color, here we come!!

Alphabet Adventures

I'm still getting used to public school, and one thing I definitely missed was a Christmas program. But when I found out that the whole Kindergarten was going to have a program in January, I felt a little bit better! Once I found out even more about it, I was downright excited!!! Grant, of course, did no practicing at home- he never sings. So I really had no idea what to expect other than he did have a speaking part which we had to practice a few times at home. 

Well, the day before the program, they had a dress rehearsal for the whole school. And Grant was sick. Well, he was actually sick the day before but wasn't technically fever free yet, so he had to miss. And it was a bummer too, because instead of going to AM kindergarten, he was scheduled to go to PM kindergarten which was a big deal! So I was a little worried he'd miss out on the first and only all school practice they would have! But come Wednesday, the day of the program, he was all excited and ready to go!

The title of the program was Alphabet Adventures! And all the songs were about phonics and things in the English language!

There he is on the top right!! He's one of the taller kids I guess! I was always a bottom riser kid!

 His speaking part was in the song LMNO and he said, "LMNO, they're not just one letter!" Seriously, the songs they sang were so  adorable!

 It was a cute little program and I am so so happy I got to see an adorable performance at their school!! Their music teacher is awesome and does some great things, so I know I have many more years to look forward to some fun programs!!

Brothers Beauty Shop

I remember a phase when we lived in Oklahoma where the boys loved playing with my hair and putting makeup on me. They rediscovered that phase again a few weeks ago and have asked to do it numerous times since then! They're soo cute!!

The first night, I grabbed whatever stuff from my bathroom I could find. I don't have alot of hair stuff or makeup, so it was slim pickings but they had a blast!! Grant worked on my hair and Wyatt worked on my makeup. They named their place Brothers Beauty Shop. Funny story- Wyatt was attempting my hair at one point and tried to do a ponytail, so I gave him my rubberband. He messed with it in his hands for a second and he said, "I don't understand the idea of this?" Haha, such a boy!! So they stuck to the little clips, and then Grant asked, "What is this ribbon for?" referring to the pink headband. I told him that it goes around my head. I just love how it all turned out!

They attempted again the next night..not sure what happened to those pictures! But Wyatt went heavy on the eye makeup- on my forehead and cheeks! And my hair had 5 ponytails!! I hadn't yet taken my shower yet, so it was a good thing I could wash my face after I tucked them in!!

Another night, I had to schedule my appt with them at the "front desk." Grant said for hair and makeup it was going to cost $50. I thought that was reasonable. So they did me all up! And then they asked if I wanted a massage for an additional $10- how could I pass that up! So they gathered all their massage supplies- rolling pin, tongs, a rock, pencils, valentine's hearts, a glue stick, and a book- and I had the most amazing 15 minute massage a mom could have!!

I just love my sweet little boys!! It feels good to have someone take care of me for a change! :)

Build-A-Bear Goodies

My kids inherited my genetic trait for loving all stuffed animals. Actually, Levi has the gene too, so it was inevitable they would too. Stuffed animals and books are the only toys in their room. And once lights are out, they like to play with their animals together. It's a fun little bonding brother moment and I usually don't mind it. So when Mason and Luke passed down all their Build-A-Bear goodies they've collected over the years, it felt like Christmas morning for the boys!! 

One Sunday evening after a family dinner at my parents, they loaded my car up with all the goodies. Of course, when we got home, it was time to get ready for bed.  They dressed a few of their animals before lights out, and then once lights out came, they continued to play. Until 9:30...on a Sunday night! And again the next morning after breakfast, before school! And every day ever since!! 

Thanks Mason and Luke!!

 The morning after the gift!!!

Just putting underwear on his fox. No big deal. 

 Sammy the military bear, with flame Skechers!

 Teddy and Cuddles were all dressed for their basketball practice (while Grant had gymnastics) so Grant put them in their carseat (my purse) and buckled them up. He really is too cute!

Mouse and Marvin!

One night, when I went to check on the boys, I noticed Grant set up a shoe shop on his footboard. He really is something else!!

Kindergarten Stuff

We have started a new chapter in our lives. One that has only begun and will only get longer and worse with age. Yes, I'm referring to HOMEWORK. The dreaded H word that arises in our house every afternoon!! Now, Grant is only in Kindergarten and doesn't technically have assigned homework, but he does have homework expectations each day. Mondays- Math Monday. Tuesdays- Techno Tuesday. Wednesday- Word Wednesday. Thursday- Thinking Thursday. Friday- Fine Motor Friday. Each of those days, we are supposed to do an activity that coincides with that skill, plus read every day! 

We get home from school about 12:00 each day. I fix lunch and we usually chat with Levi on FaceTime. They usually watch a Netflix show while finishing their lunch and I'm going through backpack papers. So that means we have between 1:00-7:00 (most days) to get in that little bit of homework. Doesn't seem so hard right?? WRONG!! We tried the right after school thing- didn't work. We tried doing reading first, the other activity later. Nope. However I tried it, it was like pulling teeth. Every time. And probably always will be (with Grant at least)! But we get it done nonetheless!! Of course, I use everything is my teaching knowledge to make it fun (ahem, prepared centers!?!). But their most favorite day of the week is Word Wednesday! Yes, Wyatt always does Grant's homework with us- because he's my kid who LOVES homework!

 We call this Sight Word Cups. Each cup has a sight word on it, and I line them up around the island. I hold up the flash card and call the word and they have to race around to find the cup. Whoever finds it first gets to put it on their stack. At the end of the game, they get to build a tower with their cups. This one is a big fave!!!

 I bought window crayons (which DON'T ever buy!) to write on the back door window. While they look cool and are fun to write with, they are a MESS to wipe away! Vis-A-Vi markers are my preference for this game! But I call out the word and they have to write it. What's not fun about writing on windows and doors??

 Shaving cream sight words. They didn't like this- too messy on their dainty little hands. Silly boys!!

 Swat the sight word. Always a fave! Just back away!!

 Another winner- I write the words on "targets" on the back window. They use a nerf gun with the suction cup bullets and whatever word they shoot, they have to read. Good times with this game!!
I don't have pictures of two of our other games- 4 corner sight words. I tape a flashcard in each corner and call out a word and they have to run to the right corner. This one is the absolute favorite game, they ask to play it on days other than Wednesdays even!! We also have a ping-pong ball game that I write the sight words on and they have to bounce them into a bucket. Whoever gets the most in their bucket "wins."
These activities make certain homework activities easier and way more fun than desk work! And I better mention Book Buddy Bags. Grant gets these every Thursday and has to read them through the weekend. It usually contains anywhere from 2-4 books a weekend, books he's never seen before. And usually books that are challenging to him. I love that he's getting challenged, but oh the challenge they give me!! It's good though! Maybe someday homework won't be like pulling teeth (probably not). And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Wyatt continues to love homework as much as he does now!!

January Business

January has been a pretty low-key month for us, which has been so great!! We've had lots of time to stay home and play! Which is good because the majority of this month has been FREEZING!! We've had lots of free time in the basement to put all those Christmas presents to good use! Seriously, the basement looks like this 98% of the time...

It's a great problem to have!! I'm just happy we have another couch upstairs to sit on because this one is obviously not used for sitting anymore!! While the boys have been happily playing, I've been reorganizing the house, cleaning out closets, and just cleaning in general. The three of us can make some pretty large messes in a fairly short amount of time! Wow! I'm always cleaning or doing laundry. Like ALWAYS!!!

I put together some January centers over break and Wyatt and I have busted those out on our mornings after we take Grant to school/before Wyatt leaves for school. I absolutely LOVE those 20 minutes I have with him. He is just the sweetest little student and I love that he LOVES doing these types of things! He's so cute, I just have to take his picture all the time, so I have like a thousand of them in my phone. Seriously, I do! These are some treasured moments!

 Can we take a moment and be amazed that we got Grant to play with us (one day after school)!?! We both were amazed that Grant asked us to play 2 games with him!! Miracles do happen people!!

A Night with Mimi and PawPaw

Being by myself with the kids definitely takes its toll! It's exhausting really! But gosh, I'd never give it up or wish things to change. Well, of course, I'd wish Levi back in a heartbeat, but I'd never give up the time I spend with my boys. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate a healthy break every now and again! And thank the Lord for Mimi and PawPaw! They are so amazing, volunteering their evenings, weekends, or whenever it may be to sweep my boys away and give me some peace and quiet! Those moments for me to breathe in peace, watch TV in silence, BLOG!!!, and sleep past 7:00 (which I've never done!) But not only do I appreciate the break, the boys LOVE spending time there without me- the refer to this exciting night as a "no parents night!" and its special to them as well!!

They got to spend one fun evening being ever so spoiled! My mom texts me pictures throughout the evening, and these were just too fun not to share! 

 And I told my mom, "No buying Lego sets!!!" See how well she listens!! Grant said to not be mad at Mimi because she really wanted to buy those sets for them!

 Park time with PawPaw!

 This is SO my boys- They decided to make a cookie shop with the Valentine's cookies they decorated. Wyatt made this adorable sign to "sell" his cookies. Grant made a sign that said, "Cookies $5 each." If that doesn't sum them up perfectly I don't know what does!! 

Wyatt's cookies! 

 Grant's cookies!

Big big thank you to my parents for taking care of my boys so I can take care of me!! We love you both very much and are so thankful for all you do for us!!