Terrible and Terrific Twos

My last few blog posts have been about Grace, so I figured I should write something about Jeremy. He's going through a phase right now that has Jason and I pulling out our hair (how's that for being honest?). He gets easily impatient, throws many tantrums a day, demands to get his way, bullies Grace (seriously- he pinches her, hits her, pushes her- you get the idea), he's whiny, and gets into everything possible (making huge messes in the process)... Terrible twos? Yup! I wake up hoping that today will be the day that we move on to a different phase! He certainly goes back and forth from Terrible Twos to Terrific Twos!

In between all these frustrating moments, Jeremy is endearing and sweet. His smiles and giggles still light me up, and he says some of the cutest things! He is playful and imaginative (lately, he's been roleplaying using his cars- "This is the Daddy Car, and this is the Mama Car. Time to eat now, cars"). He loves to help and be a "big boy." The video below is of him helping me make breakfast, a moment of our big boy in his Terrific Twos!

Field Trip to the Zoo

Grace's last field trip in kindergarten was to visit the zoo this past Thursday. We actually have a zoo membership (a generous gift from my fifth graders last year), so the part Grace most anticipated was getting to ride the bus. How could that seem more exciting than a trip to the zoo?! I don't get it. We knew there wasn't going to be enough room for the chaperones on the bus, so Madison's mom, Heather, and I were going to carpool together. Before the trip though, Mrs. Sousa asked if we'd be willing to take Madison and Grace in our car with us, since there were more students than seats on the bus. After a lot of convincing, Madison and Grace rode to the zoo in "the little grey bus" (aka: Madison's family's minivan). To "ease the devastation" of not riding the bus," we let them have gum, chocolate banana bread, and brownies. "You guys are so lucky- none of those kids on the bus get to eat all of these cool treats!" The actual zoo visit was pretty quick because Grace's kindergarten class is only half day so we had to return to the school for dismissal. The highlight was simply being with friends! Hopefully, Madison and Grace will get to be together in the same class next year! I am bummed I didn't take more pictures!

Kindergarten Open House

This past week, we went to Grace's Kindergarten Open House at school. Since I volunteer in the classroom weekly, I have pretty much seen everything before. Grace focused on showing Jason everything in her classroom, from the live ladybugs and butterflies to her writing and artwork. Amazing to believe that our Gracie is almost finished with kindergarten!

(This is wonderful Mrs. Sousa, who has been the long-term substitute teacher while Mrs. Butler is off recuperating from knee surgery)

Grace's School Carnival

Grace's school had a carnival this past Friday and so of course we "had" to go- Grace was so excited all week. Our whole family donated an hour of time for her class' booth, the ever-so-loved Cake Walk. After helping out, we ate dinner, played some carnival games, and the kids spent some time on the inflatables. The kids had a lot of fun! More pictures in the photo album on the right.

Kick Start to the Swimming Season

Grace has taken swimming lessons every summer since she was 2. Every summer, it's like having to start from the beginning all over again because she forgets everything she learned the previous summer and so she is reluctant to get in the water. This year, we decided to restart the swimming lessons in the spring rather than the summer so she'll have a little more swimming time in the months to come. We enrolled her at Break the Barriers for the spring session and this past Tuesday was her last class. I am thrilled to say that she did not hesitate to get in the pool this past session! She tried everything her teacher asked without the need for coaxing or bribery. It should warm up around here pretty quickly, and then she and Jason will spend more time in our pool. She has gained a lot of confidence in the water, so hopefully her swimming abilities will really improve this year!She will once again take more swimming lessons in Edmonton when we travel up there in July.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

More love than I ever thought possible, all wrapped up in these two little kiddos... Even though Mother's Day is to celebrate mothers, I think of it as a day to remind myself how lucky I am to be a mother- especially to these two munchkins. Being a stay-at-home mom this year has given me a different approach to motherhood- there have been many ups and many downs, but all in all, I feel incredibly blessed and am so grateful!

Caleb's Cruisers

This past Saturday, we woke up bright and early to participate in the 6th Annual Hinds Hospice Angel Babies Walk/Run (aka Walk to Remember). Our family of four joined "Caleb's Cruisers," the team walking/running in memory of Caleb Wiens, the son of our close friends, Aaron and Christa.Angel Babies is a unique program based in Fresno that has helped many of my friends- for more information about their services, click HERE. Jason ran the 5K with Aaron and Randy, and almost everyone else on the team walked the 5K. Unfortunately, my "hates-to-walk" daughter, was already complaining about being too tired to walk as we went looking for the bathrooms and I couldn't imagine how I'd make it through 5K of her whining. So, I decided to switch at the last minute and walk the 2 mile race. Luckily for me, the Mack family had also decided to do the same- I was glad to have some company! It turned out that Jason, Aaron, and Randy finished the 5K before our 2 mile walk even began, so they ended up walking with us, too. After the walk, we signed up for all of our kids to run in the Kids Races. Grace and Jeremy each ran in races of 1/8 mile against other kids their ages. Every kid got a particpant medal which our kids were so proud of. Jeremy wore his for most the day!The morning's events were a great way to spend time with friends and show our support for this family that we love so dearly. I hope this becomes a yearly tradition! (Thanks to the Wienses and Mack for some of these pics!)

Happy Birthday, Jason!

It seems like Jason's birthday celebration has lasted a few weeks! First was the get-together with his family at Red Robin. Last month, when I asked him how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, he said he wanted to go to a Grizzlies game with his friends. This past Friday, Aaron, Adam, Allen, Randy, and Brian joined Jason to see the Grizzlies play Reno. Jed was supposed to come but got sick, so he hung out with his Jason on Sunday night. Today was Jason's actual birthday. The kids and I dropped by his school at lunch with some In-N-Out. For dinner, he requested fried calamari steaks, which I prepared with lemon linguine and artichokes. For dessert, he requested strawberry pie, which I made for the first time (nothing can compare to his mom's!). After our meal, the kids took Jason on a treasure hunt for his gifts. Grace wrote out all of the clues earlier today (it was Monday afterall- Monday is Writing Day). The hunt led to the bathtub and after retrieving his gifts, the kids excitedly watched him open his gifts. They (I mean, Grace) had insisted a month ago that they wanted to get Jason a watergun.
I feel blessed to have such a wonderful man in my life- he really is my best friend, an incredible husband, and an amazing daddy. Happy Birthday, Babe!

I Love Books!

How many of you know that I was an English major in university (in Canada, we actually call it "university")? I was! I earned a Bachelor of Education degree and my major was English. Most people would assume then that I have read a lot in my life... Um... no! I confess that I lost my love of reading after being assigned so many books to read during that time period! In fact, it wasn't until a few years ago that I began to read again simply for the enjoyment of it. I'd come across some books that were so good that I made Jason read it just so I'd have someone to talk to about it. He kept saying that I needed to find a book club to join. I kept making excuses, the best one being that I simply didn't have time. Well, taking this year off of work has given me a lot more time. I decided to start a book club, and I even started a blog all about books! I am proud to share- click HERE and let me know if you ever want to do a book review to add to our book blog!

Noggin, Melon, Mushroom Head

Our poor son... Jason and I are always commenting to each other about Jeremy's huge head (aka giant noggin, melon, mushroom head)!!!! It's hard not to laugh when he wakes up from naps or when we see him first thing in the morning. His hair has been out of control as of late.

I finally got a chance to take Jeremy to get his hair cut this week. Of course he screamed and cried, even though we went to the "cool" place where they have cars in place of the barber chairs, and the kids get to pick out a movie to watch while their hair is being cut. It took a lot of bribery before he calmed down long enough for the stylist to cut his hair, but at least now that it's done, it helps minimize the size of his head. Phew- that's much better!

Lunch with Mrs. Butler

Grace's teacher, Mrs. Butler, had to have knee surgery a few weeks ago and so she won't be back in the classroom until the last week of school. Grace has missed her, and so it was with a lot of excitement when Mrs. Butler invited Grace and two of her friends to lunch (the moms and our other kids were also invited). Grace got a chance to see her teacher, and I enjoyed chatting with Mrs. Butler and the other moms. One of things I've really enjoyed this year is the chance to get to know other moms of kids in Grace's class. I can't believe that Grace's kindergarten year is almost over!!!

Spring Birthdays

Spring is a busy season for Isaac birthdays! We got together to celebrate Jennifer, Dan, and Jason's birthdays last Friday at Red Robin. We typically go to the Red Robin at Manchester Mall because there usually isn't a long wait, and because the kids love to ride the carousel after dinner. Afterwards, everyone came over to our place to hang out for a bit and have some dessert.
Lucky Jason- he had this family gathering for his birthday, he's going to a Grizzlies game with his friends this weekend, we're doing a family birthday dinner on his actual birthday, and then we're going on a birthday dinner date next week just the two of us. Happy Birthday indeed!