School Games

 As you read from a previous post, one of my new goals is to do a "school activity" with Grant each day. So far, it was been very successful and he usually asks me all day to do his "school game." Being the old teacher that I am, I have collected educational games for Grant over the last 2.5 years, and some of my old teaching supplies have come in handy, so finding ideas and games hasn't been too hard!
Yesterday, we did peg boards. I have been working with Grant on his colors and shapes since he turned a year old. I'm beginning to think he is color blind, or just doesn't care! He knows them on occasion, but most often he says the wrong answer. I think he knows more than he leads on, but its frustrating to me! We had fun sorting the shapes, stacking the colors, and making patterns. I think he had the most fun when I'd build a tower and he'd pretend to be the Big Bad Wolf and blow my tower down!!  

Tonight, I did a Thanksgiving pattern game with Grant. I found an amazing blog that has given me some wonderful activities!! One of Grant's favorite shows is Team Umizoomi and his favorite song is, "Snack Patterns." He's been starting to understand the concept of patterns a little bit. So, we started off by cutting out the pieces. I let Grant use scissors for the first time, with my guidance of course! He caught on pretty quickly and did great cutting out the pieces! Afterwards, we sorted the pieces and then started the pattern. I went through the first few with him, but then he just knew what to do! He was so proud of his hard work that he asked to hang it up in his room!!

Very proud of his cutting work!!

The Pilgrims and Indians are sorted!

Placing the patterns!

TA-DA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fall Rain

It's been a wonderful fall, rainy day! The day started off very cloudy, very muggy!! I dressed us all in jeans when we went out this morning and I was totally regretting that decision by 2pm! I was sweating!! But once we got home and the rain came down, it really started to feel like fall outside!! Grant asked to use his umbrella outside, and since it actually felt like fall, I wanted to go outside too! Grant stood at the end of the sidewalk, looked at the rain for a few minutes, tried to catch some on his tongue, then turned around and said, "How about we go inside now?" So that was that!! But I was totally refreshed!

As for Wyatt, he's been enjoying watching the rain come down for about 30 minutes now!!

Fall rain, Fall!!!!

Under New Managment

It seems as if my "New Year's Resolution" started November 1st.  After following a few other blogs where the writers are pretty much the "Domestic CEO" of the house, I decided it was time to run our house under new management. By being a stay-at-home mom, it is very easy to get into a habit of being lazy, and having an "I'll just do that tomorrow" attitude, which I find myself falling victim to very often!  When there are two kids who need constant attention, a husband who's schedule changes from day to day and is often absent, it becomes almost necessary to have a plan of action to actually accomplish anything!! So here are my goals to hopefully make life run smoother in the Broeckelman household:

• I set myself up with a cleaning schedule. It usually seems as if I save the major cleaning for one whole day, usually a weekend, and I always dread that day. To vacuum, mop, dust, clean bathrooms- its just a horrible way to spend the weekend, especially since our time with Levi is so limited. So, I assigned a cleaning chore for everyday of the week. Take 20 minutes out of each day to clean, and come the weekend, I'm not spending the entire day on chores! 
• Do one "school activity" with Grant every day. Since Wyatt has been born and Levi has been gone so much, I feel as if quality one-on-one time with Grant has ceased to exist. I made a monthly calendar of a new activity to do each day with Grant while Wyatt naps (whenever that may be). So far, Grant has LOVED playing "school games."  Today's game was using his "grab-nabber" to put the pom-poms in the bowl. I'd tell him I wanted "blue" cereal in my bowl, so he'd have find all the blue ones. It lasted about as long as it took you to read this sentence, but the game lasted for 20 minutes- it was just on his own terms! 

• Do one load of laundry everyday! After spending 1.5 hours last Saturday folding laundry, then another 30 minutes hanging things up and putting things away, I decided I am not doing that anymore! I am doing one load of laundry a day (rotating between our laundry, and kids laundry). Then Saturday its sheets and towels! Hopefully that will keep me from being buried under a mountain of clothes every weekend!

So these goals may not be world-changing by any means, but they will make our household run smoother, our lives much easier (and cleaner), and our weekends much more enjoyable!!! And heck, Grant might even learn something in the process!!!

A Box of Many Uses

A hiding place from Mom when she's trying to make me eat an apple slice....

A dog house to pretend to be Dixie panting....

Or just a lounging place to watch TV!!

Switcheroo

This weekend, we pulled a switcheroo and moved Wyatt into a big boy car seat!! The little guy kept trying to sit up in his baby seat and hated being in the reclined position. We never carry him around in the infant carrier anymore- he's just too heavy. Plus, he enjoys sitting in high chairs at restaurants and grocery carts at the store. So, we saw this carseat on sale at Costco (notice it is the exact same one as Grant's- which we love!) so we went for it! He is super happy to be able to look out the window, have more leg room, and of course- to be sitting up straight!!

Just another step in Wyatt's journey to becoming a big boy (tear!).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Picasso Pumpkins

This was Grant's artistic expression of our family as pumpkins. I cut out various shapes and had him choose and glue them to each pumpkin. Of course, we had to name each shape and talk about facial features and expressions. He could've cared less about the lessons I was trying to teach him. I really don't think he learned  anything from this project other than, "I should wear gloves so I don't have sticky mess."
Maybe someday he'll enjoy the teacher side of me!! :)

Pumpkins and Pools

Something just isn't right about having pumpkins on your deck, as well as a swimming pool!!

It was a 90 degree day here in Jacksonville and Grant had been begging to play in the "prinklesler" so I pulled out the pool instead. He had a great time playing "Wipeout" and "being Shamu." Wyatt was content sitting in his stroller, chewing on a toy, and getting the occasional sprinkle from time to time! I sure hope we don't get to do this again anytime soon!!

Spring or Fall???

Hmm, if it weren't for the pumpkins in the background, I could've sworn it was Spring!!

Chompin Away!

This weekend, I thought it was time for Wyatt to start table foods. He's been going through a stage where he really just prefers to eat baby food and cereal, and practically wants nothing more to do with the bottle. That would be fine and dandy, but the kid can't figure out a cup yet! Oh well, that's another issue. But I wanted to get him a jump start on the whole table food thing since Grant was very slow at picking it up (and still is!!). I figured the earlier the exposure, the better! I started off with some diced pears, which were a big hit of course. Then last night, he got a tablespoon full of peas and carrots- another big hit (but only for Wyatt, Grant practically gagged at the sight of them on his plate!). Tonight, he was introduced to rice rusks, which used to be one of Grant's favorites. My goodness, Wyatt ate two whole rusks in about two minutes!! I'm hoping that he'll be my adventurous eater in the family, considering Grant (and Levi) have a very bland palette! Maybe he'll go eat Chinese food with me soon!! 

Bath time for Brothers

 Tonight was the first night Grant and Wyatt took a bath together, in the big tub. Wyatt usually is in his baby tub in the big tub, then when he's finished Grant takes his bath. But now that Wyatt is moving and grooving like a big boy, I thought he would enjoy the big tub, and boy did he!!! He crawled around, splashed, and chewed on about every toy in the tub!! Grant liked showing Wyatt all the things to do in the big tub, including "surfing" and "splashing like a dolphin." Wyatt's bath lasted a good 20 minutes, when Grant decided he wanted to "scuba dive" and needed the whole tub. I figured Wyatt was probably pruney anyway. I think they're going to enjoy many more bath times from here on!!

Little Explorer

Wyatt couldn't wait to eat his dinner with the rest of us, so since he ate earlier, he was out and about exploring while we ate our dinner.  He started off in the living room and was taking one of his toys and basically playing fetch with himself. He'd throw it, chase it, pick it up, throw it, chase it, pick it up, etc. He made his way into the kitchen and under Levi's chair and just kind of camped out, just laughing at himself and looking at his reflection in the sliding glass door behind Levi's chair.  It was pretty darn cute!! It's just amazing to watch him make his way around a room. What a little explorer!

New Developments

Wyatt is just learning new stuff by the minute it seems! Luckily, he waited to learn all this stuff until Levi came home!  He's been getting on his hands and knees for quite a while now, but just started to become mobile as of last week. It's not the most coordinated crawling you've ever seen. He'll move both hands, then one knee, then, both hands, then both knees, and there is a lot of lunging involved! But he gets where he wants to go! He also is a full time sitter now! It seems like within one day, he learned to sit and go from the crawling position to the sitting position. And the kicker happened today- I went in to his room to get him from an attempt at a nap. The first time I walked in, he was kneeling at his crib rail. I laid him back down and left the room. After a few minutes, I figured we'd try the nap again later so I went in to get him and lo and behold- he was standing! It only lasted about 3 seconds before he fell over, but I was so shocked!! 

Oh yeah, and his first tooth FINALLY came in yesterday! I've only been able to see it since July! He must have gums of steel!!

Here are Grant's movements on record : 

Crawling- Aug. 28th

Sitting- Sept. 4th

Pulling to Standing- Oct. 18th

Cruising- October 25th

Walking- Nov. 29th (2-3steps), Dec. 18th- full on walking!

So far- Wyatt's are:

Sitting- Oct. 8th

Crawling- Oct. 13th

I wouldn't really count today's "pulling to standing" since it was just a one time occurrence. But I have a feeling, he'll be reaching those milestones in no time! Although, this Mama really isn't in too much of a hurry to have TWO mobile children!! So it's ok if you take your time Wyatt!

It's Pumpkin Time!

We had our annual Pumpkin Patch trip over the weekend! This was the third year we've gone to the same place! It's been so fun comparing past years pictures! We've gone with our great friends, The Dahlmans, every year. It was one of the things I was very excited about coming back to Jacksonville for. It's funny how we live such a crazy, ever-changing life, so I find it pretty awesome that we've been able to keep this tradition!
This year, turned out to be MUCH nicer than last year!! It was not humid and about 78 degrees!! Just a perfect day for picking the perfect pumpkins! Grant was not enthralled with all the "photo opps" I was trying to get- he mostly just wanted to sit on the little blue tractor or ride in the wagon we were carrying our pumpkins in. He had a great time following his best buddies, Brandon and Allie, around. Wyatt enjoyed being outside and enjoyed people watching!
It was a great weekend and I love how our little pumpkin family is getting bigger each year! 

My Little Punkins

I love my little punkins!!

Wyatt 2010

Grant 2008

The Wait Was Worth It

He's finally home!!! After 5 months of deployment, Levi made it home Monday, October 11th. The day couldn't have been more perfect! The wait was definitely worth it just to have that moment of reuniting!

Even though Levi got in about 10am, it was the loooongest morning we endured in all those 5 months!! It's a good thing he didn't get in late in the evening! I had shirts made for the boys and they looked ADORABLE in them! I picked out a dress and was really excited to get all dressed up for a change! I got dressed that morning and came out of my room and Grant looked at me and said, "Why you got pretty dress on, Mom? You getting married or somethin?"  Oh my goodness, that was the cutest thing I'd ever heard!!! So I dressed the boys, got all loaded up in the car and headed to the airport, listening to my "Homecoming" list of songs in my iPod! We got there about 30 minutes before Levi would come walking through the gate. Grant made himself comfortable in the rocking chairs and our good friend, Olivia, came to take pictures for us. So after quick chat with her, Levi called my cell phone and said he'd landed. That's when the butterflies set in. How cool is it, that 4 years after of being married, the thought of seeing my husband gave me butterflies?!?  So we stood at the gate to security and waited for Daddy. Grant was so excited to run to him- that's all he'd talked about. Then the moment came where we saw Daddy walk down the hallway. I made sure he was just past security before I let Grant run!! He ran right into Levi's arms and Levi scooped him up. I don't think Grant has ever held on tighter! Then we all hugged, and of course, the tears flowed! It was pure bliss! After hugs and kisses, Levi examined his boys and was amazed and how big and beautiful they are! Then it was off to pick up Daddy's suitcases. The whole car trip home, you could just tell Grant's excitement as he was sitting in his car seat, about to burst out of it! He kept saying, "How bout this?"  and wiggle like crazy. Then he'd do it again and wiggle differently! It was hilarious to see him have so much excitement, that he was seriously couldn't help himself!  So we got home and unloaded, Daddy took a shower to wipe the 24hour traveling germs away and we headed to Moe's for lunch!! (I know, Grant had been saying Whataburger all along, but when it was time to make the choice, he chose Moe's!)

Grant was definitely a Daddy's boy the rest of the day, asking things like, "Why you talkin to my dad for, Mom?" "Where Daddy at?" and pretty much was Levi's shadow. Wyatt was all smiles and studied Levi's face. He seemed to know exactly who Daddy was! At the end of the day when it was time to put Grant to bed, Levi carried him into his room. Grant hugged him tight and said, "Welcome Home Daddy! Welcome home!"

It was an amazing day!!

The boys' specially made shirts- with Daddy's squadron colors! (Thanks Etsy!)

Waiting for Daddy!

More waiting...

We saw him and Grant took of running!

Finally, sweet embrace!!

37 hours to go...

UNTIL LEVI COMES HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I still can't believe this 5 months is coming to a close!! I've been referring to this deployment as the "quickest eternity." In some ways, I feel like he just left, but in other ways, it feels like its been over a year!! Our little boys have grown so much!! Wyatt was just 8 weeks old when Levi left. He just slept all the time and wasn't even cracking a smile yet! Now, he's almost 7 months, barely sleeps, and has a perma-grin! Grant was saying one word at a time, and now he's speaking in paragraphs, making up his own stories!! But, lucky for Levi, most of the "big" milestones haven't passed. Wyatt is just now learning to sit, on the verge of crawling, and (go figure!) slept through the night for the first time last night! Grant still isn't potty trained (which I guess I should say "unlucky" for Levi- but hey, I can't do EVERYTHING!) and is still coming into his "own" person! There is so much for Levi to experience with our boys and I can't wait to see them reunite!

I've been incredibly blessed to be surrounded by all my family these past 5 months. I'm pretty sure I saw all my relatives more in these past 5 months then I have in the past 5 years combined!! I have an amazing family who helped me stay strong and stay busy and I couldn't be more thankful!!

My in-laws kept me busy too- nothing like a 5 hour drive ( X 4) to help pass the time!! Thank you for letting us visit and giving my boys some wonderful memories!!

I got to hang out with some old friends...and new ones too!! I got to see LOTS of babies and have lots of play dates!

I am beyond blessed to have been able to spend this time surrounded by people I love when the one that I love couldn't be with me! My boys and I are stronger, better people for having this experience, and I truly am thankful. Yes, it was hard. Yes, I would've paid a small fortune to have him brought home earlier.  But like my mom always says, "It is what it is."  

And what it is- is joy!

More Grantisms

I seriously can't get enough of this kid!!!  All day long, I write Levi these emails about how awesome Grant is and the hilarious things he says!!  

• Whenever me or Wyatt drops something, Grant will race over to pick it up and say, "I saved the day!"
• He is a non-stop chatterbox in the car, with question after question. I normally hear, "Why you stopping for Mom?"  "Why you going slow Mom?"  "Why you going fast Mom?" "Where's that car going Mom?" "What kind of sign that is Mom?"  I eventually just have to turn up the radio and say, "I can't hear you buddy!"
• The other day, out of nowhere he said, "Sure thing chicken wing!"  He also likes to say, "Chicken wing...comin' right up!"  I have no idea!!
• Today, I was organizing some things in Wyatt's room. After I finished, he clapped his hands and said, "Bravo, Bravo!" 
• He always says, "Bless you Mom" or "Bless you Wyatt" after we sneeze. He also says, "Bless me" after he sneezes.
• He's very into talking about manners- good and bad. The other day at the park, he came up to me and said, "Those girls over there using bad manners." I asked what they were doing and he said, "Making slide dirty."  I told him not to worry about it and just go play somewhere else. What a little mommy!
• He sings his "name song" and its soooo funny to hear!! He screams as loud as he can: "G-R-A-N-T is how I spells my name!!"  
• Any word that starts with the letter S gets tangled up. For instance, when he says "sweeping" it comes out "weepsing" or "snack" comes out "nacks" or "spider" comes out "pisers" and (from the name song above) "spells" comes out "pelles."  

He is just an amazing kid and I am so blessed to be his "Mom!"