Boys

I now remember why we had to buy every imaginable child proofing item when Garrett was a baby.  Then I think back at how most of those items seemed completely unnecessary when Avery was a baby.  I mean, do you really need a toilet lid lock?  We are being reminded that yes, you do, when you are raising boys.

At 10 months old, Emmett clears my nightstand of every item each morning, usually in one quick swipe.  He knocks all of the shampoo bottles in the bathtub each time he passes by the bathroom.  He sticks his hands in the toilet, eats paper and rocks like crazy, and would rather knock all of the books off his nightstand than snuggle at bedtime.  He also shuts his fingers in drawers and the lazy susan almost daily.  He has a very specific cry when his fingers are stuck so I know what has happened before I even see him.  He almost fell down the first flight of stairs off our deck 3 days ago, but thanks to Garrett for yelling at me, I grabbed him just as his hands slipped off the first step.  Whew!

Sometimes I think I may never fully understand the male brain.

Here are a few more of Emmett's accomplishments lately:
-signing "more"
-waving (he waves toward himself!)
-lots of new dance moves!
-holding his own bottle at daycare
-eating table food, although he has doesn't have a single tooth!

This first year is going way too fast!

Let's Get Away!!

Greg and I are in the process of planning a belated 10-year anniversary trip for just the two of us.  We want a warm tropical vacation on a sandy beach so we are looking at various Caribbean islands.  We're having a tough time deciding where to travel and what type of vacation we want (large all-inclusive resort vs small quaint resort, exploring the island vs just hanging out on the beach while someone serves us drinks!).  Last night I asked Greg, for about the 15th time, where he would like to go.  His reponse,"I don't care where we go.  I just want to get AWAY!"  Spoken like a true parent of 3 young children!

What's Garrett Doing?

Around our house this is a common question.  Every time I ask Avery a question, she first needs to know what Garrett is doing before she responds.  For example, today I asked her if she wanted hot chocolate with breakfast.  She said, "Is Gawett having hot chocolate?" (she doesn't say her 'r' sound yet!).  When I said he was, she said, "Okay.  I want hot chocolate."  Garrett probably doesn't think this is as charming as I do.

A Peek into our Week

We had a wonderful spring break!  Here's a peek into our week....

We celebrated Avery's birthday with many visitors.  Grandpa came to stay with us and we enjoyed some yummy burgers at Red Robin.  The wait staff brought Avery dessert and sang her Happy Birthday.  She thought this was a great idea at first and then when she realized all the attention was on her, she slowly sank down in her seat and disappeared.  We had to make her sit back up as they sang! 

Aunt Annie, Uncle Mike, and cousins Finn and Bode came to visit.  We had a lot of fun but as always, the visit seemed too short.  Avery celebrated with some daycare friends at our house on Saturday.  Grandma and Grandpa Stohs came to visit on Sunday and brought the great-grandmas along for a BBQ at our house.  That's a lot of cake and cupcakes in one week!!  Some of Avery's favorite gifts include Pucchi Pets (stuffed dogs in a cute handbag), Kidz Bop 21,  Zoobles, a pillow pet, and some cute fuzzy horses.

We had amazing weather over spring break.  The weather hit 80 degrees several days so we enjoyed a lot of outside time and even broke out the water guns!  Emmett enjoyed some sunshine and played on a blanket in the grass many times.  Turns out he does not like sitting in the grass.  He holds his arms out and cries!  The blanket was perfect for him.  Emmett also hit a new milestone and started pulling up on Saturday!  He has been pushing his legs straight while on hands/knees for awhile so it was only a matter of time before he figured it out.  He's pretty strong so he can stand for long periods of time already!  He is crawling just a bit, using his right knee and left foot, but he's still faster at army crawling so that's his primary mode for getting around right now!  We joke that Emmett will be walking before he gets any teeth!  That silly boy doesn't have a single tooth yet.  He just hit the 8-month mark on Avery's birthday.

Garrett impressed all of our visitors with his ability to solve equations.  I'm amazed at what kindergarteners learn these days.  He can solve problems such as 5+2, 4+4, 8+1, even solving most of them in his head.  Then he likes to gives others equations to solve.  His equations go something like this, "What's 100+100+100+100+100+100?"  That reminds me, at parent-teacher conferences 2 weeks ago, the students had to rate themselves in each study area.  Garrett gave himself an okay face (versus happy or sad face) for math.  When his teacher questioned him about the reason, he said, "Counting makes me throat dry.  But I really like doing equations!"  Garrett gets really bored doing work that is redundant to him.  That probably explains the dry throat!

Garrett's favorite stuffed animal went MIA last night.  I searched around and told him I'd have to tuck him into bed and keep looking.  Avery chimed in, "It might be behind the pillow on the couch, but I didn't do anything.  It wasn't me.  Look under the pillows on that side, Dad."  Hmmm.  Sounds fishy.

Happy Birthday Avery!

Avery,
I can't believe my little girl is now a 4 year old!  I remember holding you in the hospital and thinking our family was perfect with a little boy and now a little girl.  You were so sweet and full of life from the very moment we met you.  Today we joked that you were born screaming and as you ran excitedly through the house screaming, you still are (screaming, that is).  You bring so much joy to us every day with your happiness, your genuine caring spirit, and your constant giggles.  Your giggles bring smiles to everyone's faces, including strangers that we encounter on our daily adventures.  I loved watching you play with your new toys today (Zoobles, a digital kid's camera, and Pucci pets).  You have an amazing imagination and are very creative.  We thank God every night for the wonderful gift that you are!  Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

I CAN RUN AGAIN!

After a 7 month (on-going) struggle with plantar fasciitis and a heel spur, I finally got the okay to start running a little again.  Thank goodness.  I was thinking I might go insane if I can't relieve my stress by running.  But first things first...I need a good pair of shoes.  No more Asics on sale for $40 or less at Kohls when I get a 15% of coupon in the mail.  I will be visiting the running shoe store in town that makes recommendations for shoes that fit your specific type of foot (over-pronator in my case).  I go shopping on Friday and will hopefully log some miles without too much pain this weekend.  Casey will be so excited!

We'll see how it goes.  I'm trying not to be too optimistic.  The podiatrist suggested deep tissue massage and icing.  I had been doing massage and icing but she suggested using a golf ball and rolling it very firmly under my foot.  After 2 nights of doing that, my pain level has increased so once again, I'm not sure what to do.  I start physical therapy at the end of March so hopefully I'll get some relief from that.

Healthy Cereal is a Joke

I bought Kix cereal the other day (plain yellow balls of cereal) - I had just heard on the radio it's one of the top healthiest cereals for kids and it has no food dyes (unlike Trix and Fruit Loops which my kids love).  When I showed Garrett & Avery the box they both looked skeptical.  I said "This cereal is supposed to make you smarter and it's good for you."  Avery says, "Are you kidding me???"

So far so good though....Avery has eaten it for 2 days in a row.

Birthdays

Avery is getting so excited for her 4th birthday, which is rapidly approaching.  She has been talking about it for weeks.  When we were browsing through Target's toy section so she could give me some birthday gift ideas, she asked me when her next birthday (after this one) would be.  I explained that we have a birthday every year, so the year after this one she will turn 5.  Her response was, "Then why did Garrett have 2 birthdays?"  Ahh...sibling rivalry.

My School Name

Earlier this week our lovely neighbor, Connee, was a substitute teacher in Garrett's kindergarten classroom.  He was excited to tell me right away that Connee was his teacher for the afternoon!

At bedtime, Garrett asked, "Mom, did you know that when people work in a school they have different names?  When Connee was my teacher, we didn't call her Connee.  We called her Mrs. Smith!  What's your name at your school, Mom?"  Both Garrett and Avery were surprised to hear that I am "Mrs. Stohs" at school!

Roller Skating

Garrett has been talking about roller skating lately.  Must have heard other kids talking about it at school.  I thought maybe we should introduce him to roller skating before he gets invited to his first skating birthday party.  So last Saturday morning we tackled the skating rink.  It was just Garrett, Avery, and I since Greg stayed home to put Emmett down for a nap.  I was a little unsure of how this would go with 1 adult and 2 kids who have never skated!  But we had a great time!  Garrett fell down once (really hard = tears) and Avery fell down a million times but would just smile and get back up.  They skated along the wall and took turns holding my hand and skating until they were coordinated enough that I could manage one on each side of me.  We had fun and will definitely be back soon!  It reminded me that it takes awhile to learn to skate and that roller skates and the roller blades that I am used to are very different from each other!

On the Go!

Life is even busier with a little guy on the go!  Last week Greg was walking past Garrett & Avery's room when he heard some noise.  He turned on the lights and there was Emmett with his feet sticking out of their closet, digging through toys in the dark!  The concerning thing about this is that no one realized he was in there.  I assumed he was with Greg and Greg thought he was with me!  Guess we better baby-proof their room a little better or maybe even start shutting the door.  You never know where all those tiny toys (choking hazards) may be hiding.

We often find Emmett in the bathroom too!  He LOVES to take baths and frequently heads in there just to hang out by the bathtub!  He has a new talent too...he has learned to push his little booty up when he is on all 4s and straighten his legs.  He will hold himself in that position which looks like a "bridge" position in yoga or the extended (arms straight) position at the top of a push-up.  Pretty funny and very cute.  He hasn't figured out how to grab onto something and push up to standing yet but I have the feeling it won't be long.  Why does the littlest one have to grow up so fast?  Can't believe our baby is already 7 months old and the first year is already halfway over.

Emmett's big sissy is taking really good care of him.  She discovered the baby hairbrush and comb that we used on her and Garrett as babies.  Now every morning she brushes and combs Emmett's hair!  She really spoils him with attention all day long.  Both of the kids love Emmett.  It is fun to watch them interact together and to see Emmett light up when he sees his brother and sister!  They can make him laugh and giggle better than anyone else. 

SKIING!!!

We went skiing last weekend (a week ago)!!  We took the kids to Mt Crescent, Iowa to a little ski resort that makes it's own snow.  It was just a short hour and 15 minute drive from home, northeast of Omaha.  Grandma and Grandpa Stohs came up to watch Emmett for the big day.  I have to say it was a little unusual to see this snowy hill in the middle of nowhere when there was no other snow in sight!  Garrett and Avery both had 1.5 hour private ski lessons.  The resort recommended private lessons only for their young ages and I have to say it was well worth the money.  They both had amazing ski instructors; probably better than the ones I had as a kid in Colorado!  Margot taught Avery and Hugh taught Garrett!  Greg and I took advantage of this time to whiz down the slopes while we were free of young kiddos.  The resort has 2 lifts, one which takes you to the main green run or the blues and blacks, but they did not have any snow pushed over to the blues and blacks.  The unusually warm weather was impacting their snow-making ability so only about 1/2 the runs were open.  There was only one black open which was probably more like a blue in Colorado.  But we didn't mind.  It just felt good to be on skis again.  Just the familiar click of my boots into my skis made me smile!

Since the resort was so small, we got to watch a lot of the kids' lessons.  Since Avery was so young, they took her straight to the ski lift and up the "mountain."  Learning by doing is the best at that age.  Garrett learned and practiced many skills on the gentle slope by the lodge before heading for the lift, halfway thru his lesson.  We were able to watch them frequently as the lifts run right by the main green run.  We could often see them going down as we were riding back up, then we would ski right past them and stop to snap their pictures!

After the kids' lessons, Greg and I got a quick lesson on how to continue helping them.  At this point, they were both skiing with someone just skiing next to them!  They also needed help on/off the lifts since they are so small.  We were amazed at their skiing ability!  Garrett would fall down occasionally and Avery only fell twice all afternoon.  Garrett already had great form, with his weight forward in his boots and Avery is fearless.  They would whiz down the slope and for the most part we would just ski down and hop right back in the lift line to go up again!  Avery needed a few reminders to slow down and stay in control!  They are both built for speed!  We were so proud of them and we had SO MUCH FUN!

The kids are already asking when we are going again!  They asked when they next lessons are (as if we would go weekly!).  We decided this will be an annual family event!!  On the way home I was chatting with my Dad on the phone.  He asked if we had as much fun as we would have at a resort in Colorado.  I said, "Absolutely!"  What a fun family activity and a great (and less expensive!) way for the kids to learn to ski so close to home!

School Stuff

I am amazed at what kindergarteners learn these days!  It is so much more than what I learned in kindergarten.  Garrett is bringing home math worksheets with addition and subtraction problems (with pics of course).  They are learning "number partners."  For example, the number partners for 8 could be 3 and 5 or 4 and 4 or 7 and 1.

He is also reading us books in his home reading bag which comes home at least weekly, sometimes more.  Last night's stories were something like:  The snowman wears mittens.  The puppy wears mittens.  The baby wears mittens.  And so on...  Pretty cool to have Garrett read to me instead of me reading to him!!

We received his 2nd quarter report card and have made a lot of gains this quarter!  We are so proud of him and he was very proud of himself too!

Here's a funny story:  We receive newsletters explaining what they will be learning each time they start a new theme.  We got one right before Christmas and I was reading it aloud.  In the reading curriculum, they learn words in families such as the -at family (cat, bat, sat, etc) and it said they would be learning the -it family.  Garrett chimes in, "Like shit, Mom?"  I said, "Yeah," trying not to smile or laugh.  I'm not sure if he realized this is a 'bad' word?  I couldn't tell.  I read a few more sentences until I could not hold it in any longer and started laughing!

Am I still a cool mom?

I asked Garrett two nights ago if I should come and eat lunch with him at school sometime.  I had a lot of fun the last two times and he did also!  He hesitated and said, "Well, I feel like I don't have much time when you come so maybe I'll just eat with you at home."  (sad face)  "Oh," I said, "what if I bring you McDonalds?" (bribery) Garrett hesitated again.  "Well, I DO like McDonalds...."

Emmett's Stats

Wishing you a belated Merry Christmas!  Someday I will post pics of Emmett's first Christmas, but the way things go around here, it might be springtime when that finally happens!

Emmett had his 6 month checkup (about 1 week before he actually hits the 6 month mark) and it turns out he is one solid boy, just as we suspected! 
Height: 27"
Weight: 17 lb 11 oz (holy cow)

Emmett is hitting some milestones too!  At 5 1/2 months he discovered that he can army crawl.  Now he is all over the living room floor.  He can move really fast if he is after something that motivates him, like the dog's Kong.  Greg discovered last night that if he says, "Come here, Emmett," that Emmett will army crawl over to him and up into his lap.  Pretty darn cute. 

His big accomplishment this week is spending a lot of time rocking back and forth on his hands and knees.  Shouldn't we figure out sitting before we start to crawl?  How can my baby be growing up so fast? 

Having a baby on the go makes me a little nervous this time around.  The kids have a lot of toys with little pieces and I am constantly finding small objects on the living room floor.  We'll have to keep working on that and keep a close eye on Emmett!