Last night was Kendyl's Dad's night at preschool. The teachers pulled together a great educational evening with the theme of 'Math You Can Eat."
The invitation sent home instructed each daddy/child team to wear their favorite's team's colors. Kendyl, of course, decided that they should wear 'Go Buckeyes' colors and decked she and Rob out in scarlet and gray.
The teams arrived and constructed their own 'Math You Can Eat' kits. The kids each received cheese balls, a bag of M&Ms, and a baggie of cheerios. They then made flashcards with plus/minus/equal signs and labelled a plastic gladware case with the word MATH. Then they played around with arranging different math problems and were allowed to eat the snacks after calculating the correct answers. Anyways, super cute night with a fun educational game to bring home and continue working on number recognition and basic math.
Additionally, the teacher gave the dads a lesson on how to correctly read to their kids to help them start to grasp the concepts required to read (the moms already got this lesson as well anyone else that has come to help with a field trip or activity day!). She also stressed the importance of daily reading and how crucial it is that we try to do at LEAST 30 minutes.
Kendyl had a fun time, she always enjoys alone time with daddy. I like that the preschool goes out of their way to do special days with both mommy and daddy:-)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Math you can eat!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
She said what?!
Kendyl and I were in the kitchen together while I was cooking dinner today. She was coloring a Valentine's picture for me to take into the office and asked if she should write 'Jen' or 'mommy' on it for me. I, of course, responded that I would prefer mommy. She then proceeded to tell me that she was getting too old to call me 'mommy' and that she was just gonna start calling me 'mom'. I expected that we would have this converstion in her tweens, not when she was 5!!!! This child is getting far too big, far too fast and she BETTER call me mommy tomorrow if she doesn't want to break my heart!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Snow Much Fun
We got a ton of snow over the last week, but along with it came seriously low (negative) temperatures. So, while the snow ws pretty there was no way I was taking the girls in it. We just battled enough illness over the holiday to last me a year and it simply wasn't worth risking helping another sickness move in on us! Yesterday the temps creeped to the mid to upper twenties so we decided to give it a go. Rob actually went and bought Kendyl a new snowsuit and Lauryl inherited a hand me down. He then attached rope to the sled and we were ready to go!
I love the excited anticipation on their faces
Here they are being pulled along as snow blows in their faces
Kendyl enjoying some solo sledding fun
The beginning of the downhill descent
The end of Lauryl's snow experience
Kendyl braving daddy's deck stairs snow ramp
Flushed and happy after a fun morning playing in the snow
Ticked off that she was forced to play in the cold wet stuff
Maybe I don't actually hate the snow, but it looks like I have a good excuse to stay inside if I need it;-)
Winter Water Fun
In an effort to get the girls to be more daring in the water this summer, we decided to do winter swim lessons. I mean, who wouldn't want to go swimming in -10 degree weather???? It worked out perfectly that there was a time where a class for Kendyl and one for Lauryl was offered at the same time AND on a Saturday so daddy could come along to help! We also have the added benefit of having built in swim buddies in Madison and Nathan:-)
Lauryl absolutely adores the class. She literally smiles the whole time. It makes freezing my butt off and wearing a bathing suit in January totally worth it!
Here's Lauryl working on her front stroke
Here she is finding the courage to jump to mommy
And here she is under the water (mommy blew in her face to make her hold her breath, hence the goofy face)
Rob had trouble getting Kendyl to look at him, but here's a end of class shot with Madison.
I'm really glad we signed up. I'm looking forward to the remaining six classes!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Five year old shots
The much dreaded vaccination day FINALLY arrived. We were supposed to go on Wednesday but cancelled the appointment b/c of all the massive snow. I've been preparing Kendyl for a week or two now and she's been acting like it was no big deal and promising to be brave, but all moms know how that can go so I was still a little worried!
We took some pics beside the snow before heading out because I wanted to capture a happy BEFORE face! My kids have still not played in the snow so these pics will be my memory of the fact that we did have massive snowfall at least once this winter;-)
We got to the office and Kendyl still seemed okay. We tried to get the doc a urine sample with no luck and then got called back to the exam room. She passed all her tests with flying colors (eyes, scoliosis, blood pressure), but is now in the the 25th percentile for weight. I was a tiny kid growing up and it looks like she'll be following in my footsteps. The doc did not seem concerned. However, at the rate we're going she might not hit the 40lbs required to switch to a booster seat before kindergarten!!
Then out came the needles. He mixed and loaded ALL 4 shots right in front of us. Kendyl was still unphased and just chatting away with him all the while Lauryl kept repeating "sissy has to get FOUR shots". Dr. Kern informed Kendyl that all his patients get prizes for doing 5yr shots. She got a free kids meal at Applebees and a crisp one dollar bill. How's that for bribery;-) He then showed Kendyl his shot blocker and told her she needed to count to 5 as he gave each shot because she was 5.
First shot she counted to 5 in English, never flinched. Second shot they counted in Spanish, still no reaction. Third shot he led counting in French cause mommy doesn't know French. Still nada, sitting happy as a clam on my lap. Fourth shot they went back to English but she only made it to three before she let out a whelp and a few tears escaped her eyes. Apparently that last one is a doozey and burns like crazy. She recovered quickly, doled out a high 5 and went to the front desk to claim her stickers...IMPRESSIVE. I was really proud of her. I screamed my head off at every shot I ever got and still came close to passing out when receiving vaccinations at Battelle. Her courage with needles is NOT something she got from me!
As promised we went straight to Graeters for a celebratory ice cream sundae. Yay! No more shots til she's 11!!! The ice cream was sooooo worth it!
The Celebrations continue...
We got together with MawMaw and PawPaw and the cousins for one final celebration of turning 5. MawMaw made chicken n' noodles and Kendyl got her third cake!!!! They had missed Kendyl's party so it was nice that she got to celebrate with all of them too!
That's it for the birthday parties in this house until next September! Thank Goodness!!!
The Darimar Birthday Party!
After attending a birthday party for her future boyfriend, Mitchell, Kendyl refused to let the idea of a Martial Arts party die. I offered tea parties, gymnastics, skating, etc--all to no avail! After accepting that my normally prissy girl seriously wanted a martial arts party, I made the call and got it all set up.
When party day arrived Kendyl was thrilled. I begged her to nap and she actually did, so I knew things were looking good. 20 of her friends from school, playgroup, and our other close buddies all showed up to celebrate her big day.
Here's the group enjoying the obstacle course at the start of the party. The kids ran and jumped and climbed for the first thirty minutes. This party is guaranteed to wear them out!
Then they learned some martial arts moved ad practiced their yelling. What kid doesn't LOVE to scream at the top of their lungs and get commended for it??!
Then MORE running, and listening, and responding to instructions...this party (and martial arts) might be a parent's dream come true! The kids really seemed to enjoy the kicking and punching drills too and were all excited to try and jump and hit their heads on the pads. I got lucky and captured a good shot of Kendyl succeeding!
Then we headed to the party room for cake and pizza and the all important singing to the b-day girl (the cake of choice this year was HSM, b/c it was "good for boys and girls").
Cake was followed with a fun game of freeze tag (well, at least it started out fun--Kendyl got hit in the head and had a mini meltdown) and then dancing under the disco lights. The kids had such a great time--it was like fast forwarding to junior high and their first dances!
The fun didn't stop after we got home where Kendyl got to open ALL her cool presents. She has some fantastic friends and was thrilled with everything. Amazingly, we got not a single duplicate of anything that she had received for Christmas or from family and friends before her party!
Thanks to everyone that helped make her celebration such a great event for her! She's lucky to have so many well behaved and sweet friends!
Kendyl's Actual Birthday Day
The birthday girl woke up to a great surprise--mommy was at home instead of at work. Poor Aunt Bev got the nasty stomach bug going around and had to cancel on babysitting duty for the day. I was excited that I would get to spend the day with my princess instead of being at the office all day. I had planned on being away and had left balloons and one of Kendyl's fav musical cards on the table and instead of hearing from her via phone, I got to see her excitement in person.
Kendyl was excited to get a new Hannah Montana dress up outfit, complete with wig.
Lauryl was equally excited with a present we held aside from X-mas for her. She couldn't wait to cuddle up with it!
Kendyl got a surprise visit from her BFF who came armed with cupcakes!!
Our surprise visit from Mr. Hannah Montana himself was just the icing on the cake (Sorry, Nathan--hopefully this won't be found online when you're older!).
Here's my money b-day shot at 4:08pm on the dot...can you tell she's officially 5???
We ended the day with dinner and ice cream sundaes at Max & Erma's with me, Rob, Lauryl, my brother and mom (An added surprise to the day was grandma coming to the house to help me out by hanging out with the girls while I did some work--so Kendyl got to see her and grandpa and then Joe was up for meeting us for dinner too). A day no birthday girl could complain about!
High School Musical on Ice
Just when I thought we'd seen every birthday party option in Columbus, Jodi goes for Mom of the Year and throws a HSM on Ice Par-Tay that no 5 year old could resist! We started the night at the Thomas house where the kids had Happy Meals and sang Happy Birthday to the Birthday girl!
Then we were off to Nationwide Arena for the big show! We arrived to be told our tickets had been relocated..uh-oh! However, this was a blessing in diguise as we landed AMAZING seats at center ice!
Mommy and her sweetheart--I love Mommy/Kendyl time
Here's a shot from our favorite song, "I Don't Dance"
The show was good and the girls were adorable with how into it they were. While it was a really late night (10:30), it was TOTALLY worth it. What a fun idea and a great way for Abby to celebrate turning 5!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Happy Birthday, KB!!!
Five years ago today my life changed forever, I became a mom. Rob and I welcomed our beautiful 8lb 4oz little girl into the world at 4:08pm after approximately 18 hours of horrific labor.
She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen and I knew every worry and fear I had endured my whole pregnancy had been worth it. I was thrilled to have my little girl in my arms.
Watching Rob look at her in awe was amazing. We were so proud of the little person we had created.
She stole our hearts from the start. Being first time parents we loved to watch her sleep. We marvelled at her crazy dark complexion and dark hair.
By her first birthday, Kendyl had changed so much. The time flew by way too fast.
As Kendyl's 2nd birthday approached we knew we were ready to expand our family. She was so much fun that we coldn't wait to have another!
Kendyl celebrated her 3rd birthday as a proud BIG sister. Her adjustment to having a sister was seamless, she was thrilled! She nursed her babies while I nursed Lauryl and was mommy's little helper.
The 4th year was celebrated with a royal gala fit for a princess and my little princess LOVED it!
As her 5th year begins, we are amazed at how kind, compassionate, and intelligent she is. She is a true blessing and we love her with all our heart. She will always be our little girl.
Happy 5th Birthday, Sweetheart!
Monday, January 5, 2009
Blogging in pictures...
No time for fancy writing. Here's a snapsot of what we've been up to in the last couple weeks. I'll try to write as soon as I have time to breathe. Kendyl's b-day party is Friday and then things should slow down, at least I hope they will.
Ms. Lauryl stylin in new jammies and slippers
Makenna, Kendyl and Lauryl...together at last!
Kamer and Burns kid long overdue reunion
Our lil' drummer girl (got this all set up herself while the rest of us were wii bowling!)
They are getting so BIG!
Our aspiring pro bowler (I mean, she is a Wii pro afterall!)
The cutest bowling video I've ever seen (even if you have to tilt your head and watch sideways...it's worth it--I promise!) She's squealing that she got a strike, I just love the bouncing run!
