Sept Misc

Home Depot Build

It had been quite a while since our family had signed up for one of these free kids' workshops at Home Depot. This month's project was one we just couldn't turn down-- building a miniature football field! It was right up Jaden and Cody's alley. Both boys had gained a lot more coordination and independence since last time we had attended a workshop. It was fun to watch them do a lot of the project on their own!

While Mommy and Daddy assisted with the projects, sweet Adley kept herself busy in the stroller eating some snacks and paging through her beloved Highlights Hello magazines. We were shocked at how long she was content!

Once the fields were built, the boys enjoyed affixing the stickers, painting their goalposts, and playing with the mini-football.

These small fields provided SO much entertainment for Jaden and Cody throughout the month! The boys put their two fields next to each other to create a "full-sized" field and then brought out their small plastic football helmets. They paired up their team helmets against each other and acted out mock games, creating winner and loser tournament brackets. They played with these fields and their helmets for hours! Oh, these boys have sports minds just like their Daddy! What a great project!

Summer Reading Awards

Early in the month after a weekly chapel service, Cody and Jaden's school handed out awards for the school-wide summer reading program. The boys got four certificates for participating in each of the following contests: 

• The Globetrotter Award -- reading books set in countries from at least 5 different continents 
• The Literature Award --reading books from at least 5 different genres
• The World Series Award --reading at least 4 books from at least 2 different series
• Mr. Boldt Challenge --trying to read more total words throughout the summer than one of our 8th grade teachers 

The boys didn't read more words than the big avid reader Mr. Boldt for the last contest, but our family chapter book read-alouds + audiobooks over the summer DID tally up to over 800,00 words! We didn't even count the picture books we read or the boys' daily easy readers (Mommy was tired of looking up word counts by this point!). The boys still got a certificate, though, for attempting this challenge. Jaden and Cody had to work really hard to fill out all the paperwork for all these awards this summer, and of course, they spent a LOT of time reading and listening to books! They felt so proud to be called up to the front and recognized for all their hard work.

Cody and Jaden also received a Gold Medal Award for reading at least 15 minutes a day for every single day of the summer. This award also came with a real medal. So fun! We were proud of our little bookworms. :)

Lost Teeth

Throughout most of the month, both Jaden and Cody were working on some loose teeth. One Sunday at lunch, I looked over at Cody and noticed that one of his bottom teeth (his second lost tooth) was missing. I remembered brushing his teeth the night before and seeing his tooth still in his mouth, but now it was gone! Cody didn't remember losing the tooth and couldn't find it in his bed, so our guess was that he probably swallowed it at some point without realizing it! What a funny way to lose a tooth! Cody wanted to be sure that the tooth fairy would still bring him money that night, so he wrote a special note.

That same evening, Jaden asked me to tug on his very loose top tooth, and his tooth came out as well!

How fun to lose a tooth on the same day!

The next day, Jaden was ready for top tooth #2 (also VERY loose) to follow suit. This one took very minimal effort for Mommy to pull out. Jaden was so brave about losing both of these teeth. We think he looks pretty cute with his missing 2 front teeth!

Adley's Playgroup

When the school year started for Cody and Jaden, I organized a little playgroup for Adley. I was excited to give Adley opportunities to play with little friends her own age as well as to plan activities that were more geared to her level. Plus, I was looking forward to connecting with some great mommy friends too! Our group of 6 moms and 7 kiddos decided to meet twice a month-- once a month at a home with some themed activities for the kids and the other time on a sort of "field trip" to a park or other fun place.

For our first gathering, the group met at our house. I planned some activities all about circles! First, we made circle-shaped frisbees out of paper plates. The kids decorated their frisbees with dot painters and dot stickers.

Then, we did some movement activities which I didn't get pictures of, unfortunately. I sang a little circle song with the kids while we marched around a circle shape. Next, we spread some colored circles around the room and played a sort of musical circles game. I played some music, and when it stopped, the kids had to find a circle to stand on. We talked about the colors of their circles before starting the music again. Adley found a pink circle and refused to move from it the entire activity. Ha! Our last activity was some free play with poker chips-- sticking them through slots in containers and boxes.

For our second gathering, since it was still nice and toasty warm here at the beginning of September, we met at a splash pad. The morning was slightly overcast (but not rainy!), so the temperatures were thankfully very comfortable for all of us mommies! The kids all played really nicely and were occupied in the water for a nice long time. It gave the moms a wonderful chance to connect.

Our group of friends: Adley, Ben, Ryder, Katherine, Sage, Soiyer

Our second September playdate was a teddy-bear theme. We started the playdate with some fitting Teddy Grahams snacks. Yum!

All the kids brought their own teddy bears to the playdate so we could use them for a few activities. The kiddos held on to their teddy bear, and we acted out a few singing rhymes like "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground... turn around.... reach up high... etc." Then, we all went on a bear hunt together. I've seen my wonderful husband lead bear hunts countless times but had never officially led one of my own. I kept on forgetting the verses as I led it! Thankfully, my friends jumped in and fed me the correct lines. :) Next, a few of the mommies hid everyone's teddy bears so we could play hide-and-seek. Some of the older kiddos were so excited about this activity that they wanted a turn to hide the bears too. We played several rounds of hide-and-seek.

Our last activity was making teddy bear masks. I'm pretty sure we got glue ALL over my friend Amy's kitchen table!

The kids all looked pretty precious with their masks!

Adley played with her bear mask a bit more at home too. :)

 Adley and I have really enjoyed our time with friends so far this year and look forward to more playdate adventures to come!

One and a Half

Happy 18 months, Adley Grace! The photo of this little girl flipping through a book is a very fitting one for her 1 1/2 year old milestone. This girl is going through quite a language explosion. She LOVES listening to books, hearing new words, and trying to imitate new words and sounds. She is such a curious little lady. She also, however, is trying to exert her independence in new ways, often with mini-tantrums, pouting, or shouting "no" when she doesn't get her way. Adley certainly makes each day an adventure. Through it all, we love this girl immensely and thank God each day for the blessing that she is in our lives!

18 month old stats:

PHYSICAL

• Started to cut top R incisor tooth (but is taking FOREVER to come in!)
• Loves trying to put on her own socks, shorts, PJs, or any of her family's clothes that she finds
• Learned how to flush the toilet
• Likes trying to "help" wipe herself during diaper changes
• Raises her hand to give a high-five whenever someone tells her "good job"
• Much more stable with climbing down the stairs; Mommy rarely uses the gate at the base of the stairs anymore
• Tries to "jump" by going up on her tiptoes

SLEEPING HABITS

• Sleeps through the night most nights but often awakens at times that are way too early for Mommy and Daddy's liking (4:30-5:00)
• Afternoon naps are typically 1 1/2 hours
• Had to retrain her to fall back asleep on her own at bedtime but is now doing well

EATING HABITS

• Fully weaned from nursing
• Drinks LOTS of whole milk at mealtimes
• Gets VERY excited about Lucky Charms cereal but then will only eat the marshmallows
• Will grab own snacks (usually fruit snacks or chocolate kisses) from the pantry if we leave the door open

Proudly opening up her own chocolate kiss
that she found all by herself!

LANGUAGE

• Some new words include: mine, cookie, kick, marker, marble, sticky, amen, arm, bus, pop,
  nack" for snack, milk, drink, ant, key, book, door
• Absolutely LOVES listening to Highlights Hello magazines and can expertly find the hidden pictures
• Can say and match animal names with the correct animal, including buzz, baa, neigh, moo, drr for dinosaurs and tigers, roar, and a good attempt at oink
• Knows the sounds for car (beep, beep); trains (choo, choo) and zippers

PLAYTIME/OTHER

• Favorite playtime activity is getting piggyback rides from Mommy or Daddy
• Wants to take ice packs or teething toys out of the freezer anytime we open it (and will throw a fit if she doesn't get her ice pack
• Enjoys playing dress up with her brothers
• Observes and connects the dots in amazing ways; One day Mommy was setting up the jogging stroller before a morning run, and Adley drug out the tire pump, since she had seen me use the pump on the stroller when we went on our last ride
• Does really well with the shape sorter toy

 So serious...

First REAL ponytail

So proud of herself when she wriggled
out of the seatbelt on her own at Target. (Yikes!)

First Grade

Starting first grade was a big deal for Jaden and Cody this fall. It's the year that they go to the "big school," or the main school building, on our campus. Their kindergarten classrooms last year were still in the early childhood building, so the transition felt like a big (but exciting) change. The week before school started, we attended the school's orientation night which included a classroom visit. Jaden and Cody were quite eager to see their classroom lockers! The lockers are storage spaces for the kids' backpacks, lunches, and jackets.

It was also fun to see where their desks were and who they'd be sitting by!

When Day 1 finally arrived at the end of August, both boys seemed only slightly nervous to start school. They were particularly excited about their new backpacks.

The other big change about this school year was that we decided to put the boys in different classes for the first time. We had been pondering this change, and the boys' kindergarten teacher recommended it too, mostly as a way to boost each boy's individual confidence and to (at least partially) lessen their comparing, competitive spirits with each other. Both boys seemed very open to the change as well. Cody's teacher, Mrs. Griedl, is a sweet, energetic, and positive lady. Cody was super excited about his year with her!

Jaden had an interesting start to his school year because his teacher, Mrs. Schaekel, missed the entire first week due to a family funeral. Jaden said his substitute was "really nice," but he was particularly pleased about having his real teacher back for week two! We love Mrs. Schaekel's loving heart and spunky spirit. 

Adley, Mommy, and Daddy were all able to attend the opening chapel along with Jaden and Cody on the first day of school. We didn't sit with the boys, but we were able to give them hugs after the service and wish them well. Adley enjoyed clapping along to the praise songs during chapel.

Cody and Jaden's first homework assignment was assembling an "All About Me" bag to share with their class on the first week of school. They were supposed to put the following items in their bags: a baby picture of themselves, a family picture, something they are good at, a favorite hobby/pasttime, something that is important to them, and a favorite food.

Cody drew a "Salem cross" on the front of his bag and filled his bag with one of his handwritten stories, a book from his favorite series, a copy of his favorite piano song, Lego Ninjago characters, a cross, a mini football helmet, and a bag of Cheetos.

Jaden put into his bag a Dragon Masters chapter book, an Eagles football helmet, a marble, a cross, one of his handwritten stories, and a peppermint.

It was fun to see what each boy picked for his bag. We are thankful that the boys' transition to 1st grade was a smooth one, and we are excited for the year ahead!