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...."

First Big Snow

I don't know that you would call 2-3" of snow a big snow, but we sure have been enjoying it. We broke out the sleds, drank hot chocolate, and made snow icecream. As we headed home from the nearby sledding hill yesterday, I mentioned that today would be a school day and that I needed to remember to take Avery's snow pants to Lynette's (daycare). As soon as I said it, I waited for Garrett's response. You could see him slowly start to process the idea that he would be sitting in school and not playing outside. He asked, "Mom, when am I going to get to play in the snow??!!" I assured him that we would make time for that after school. We did.

Big Helper

I think the first day of school was more tiring for Avery than it was for Garrett! She seemed a little lost without him, almost not knowing how to act when it was just her and I (and Emmett!). The first day of school she fell asleep on the living room floor, holding my phone and listening to kids music on Pandora radio.

Avery is very proud of her big brother and loves to help take him to school. She often rides her bike. When we walk home from school, I can tell that she wishes she could go to. She says things like, "I can't go to kindergarten yet." She can't wait to pick him up every day. She asks, "Is it time to go get Garrett?" Going back to work after maternity leave was tough because I miss all of those little moments.

After school each day, Avery often checks Garrett's backpack before we do! She wants to see if he has homework! She also checks in on his behavior. One day after school, she asked, "Garrett did you tease the girls today? Did you call anyone names?" I had to remind her that I am the parent, not her!

First Day of Kindergarten!!

My big boy started Kindergarten this year! I can't believe that 5 years can go by so quickly. Garrett is so excited for school. He was such a big kid when we went to open house a few nights before school started. He was excited and a little nervous before the big day, but not scared. The timing of Emmett's birth worked out perfectly so that we could walk Garrett to and from school for the first few weeks. He seemed to grow up overnight. Although we can't get a lot out of him about his daily activities at school, he has been talking a lot about science, singing songs from music, singing us the alpha friend songs and the good morning song, and talking about the Schools Out after-school program that he attends. We couldn't be more proud.

First Haircut

Awhile back Garrett and Avery woke up before us (as usual) but didn't hang around our room trying to get us out of bed. Instead they helped themselves to breakfast! They got out poptarts and Garrett got them both a cup of water. Luckily they actually chose to eat breakfast food (versus Cheez-its other goodies in the pantry). However, after they ate breakfast, they proceeded to cut their poptart wrappers into a million tiny pieces with scissors. I can't complain...at least I got little extra sleep!

About a month ago Greg was home with the kiddos while I was working later. He was changing Emmett's diaper when he overheard Garrett say, "Okay that's probably enough..." He found Garrett with a pair of scissors and a handful of Avery's hair. He called me right away, starting the conversation with, "You're not gonna like this..." Somehow I knew right away. I knew the day would come. Luckily when I arrived home the damage was not as I had imagined. It was a chunk cut out of the front left side but I think we can blend it in by creating some layers. And we often pull that part of her hair away from her face anyway. Whew. I was picturing a giant chunk out of the back. Avery has had her haircut several times by my hairdresser. This was her first "sibling" haircut!

Kindergarten, Here We Come!

The past two weeks have been very busy for us! Garrett had his kindergarten physical, luckily with no shots required (we took care of those at the 4-year check-up). His current stats: Height 44", Weight 35.8 lbs, Body Mass Index 0% (off the charts). His body mass was never high (usually around 5% but it took a downward dive so we are supposed to get this skinny boy to gain about 3 lbs this summer. Sounds like an easy feat, but I can't remember the last time this boy gained a pound. Guess we'll have to start eating his favorite food (PB&J) more often to make sure that he's eating enough! Garrett enjoyed the visit and was all smiles for the nurses, as usual. When a nurse asked him if his Mommy and Daddy know if they are having a boy or a girl, he promptly replied, "It's a girl." Very matter of fact! I had to explain that we actually don't know what we are having.

Yesterday we headed to Kindergarten round-up. Garrett was all smiles and acted a little shy when the principal said 'hi' to him. All of the future kindergarteners were divided among the kindergarten teachers and got to hang out in a classroom while the parents sat through an informational meeting. We won't find out who his teacher is until right before school starts, so they just randomly divided them up. Garrett happened to be in the same group as his friend, Julia, from daycare that will be attending the same kindergarten as him! He seemed excited about that. He got a stamp on his hand, colored a picture, and wrote his name on it while they were in the classroom. I can't believe what a big boy he is! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is headed to kindergarten very soon! He is excited about kindergarten and I hope that school is a wonderful experience for him. The principal said that parents are always welcome to come and eat lunch with their child. I'm looking forward to some lunch dates with my boy since I'll have Thursdays off this next school year!
Here are some stats about our school (which is about 1 1/2 blocks from our house!): I believe it is the 3rd largest elementary school in Lincoln (that scares me a little bit). They are expecting approximately 120 new kindergarten students, divided among 6 classrooms. The biggest class in the school is the current 2nd grade with 138 students.

What We've Been Up To...

I should be able to think of a more creative name for this blog post but for right now, that's all I've got. Here are some updates...

Garrett's stitches are out! We've been using steri-strips to hold his gash closed a little longer while it finishes healing. Today should be the last day. Swimming lessons can resume this week since he is fully healed! These are all wonderful things!

Avery has discovered my perfume. She came into the kitchen last weekend saying, "mell me, Mommy, mell me." She wanted me to smell her - she leaves off her 's' sounds. It's too cute to start correcting it yet! Turns out she had sprayed my perfume right onto her forehead. Thank goodness she didn't get it in her eyes! Guess I'll be keeping that out of reach from now on. She is very proud of 'being like Mommy!'

Avery is really into nail polish. Unfortunately we don't always have the same taste in colors. I prefer pinks and reds and she prefers green, orange, and purple! She insists that our nails must match so now I am wearing green, orange, and purple! It's hard to resist my little fashionista's style recommendations.

We have a sick bird for the first time in 13 years. Yes, much to Greg's dismay, the birds are going on 13 years now. Harry came down with a sinus infection and is taking a daily antibiotic (by tiny oral syringe!). We discovered that avian exams cost about twice the price of a dog/cat. But like I told Greg, we can't let her die of something easily treatable, and turns out, that was the case. Let's just say that Greg and I are becoming very experienced at medicating a tiny bird, again, much to his dismay. The birds have also been very unsettled lately, squawking at anything and everything. I think their general tolerance for a noisy environment is decreasing with age. It just so happens that my tolerance is decreasing with pregnancy. Anyway, this weekend, for the first time ever, I had suggested that maybe they need a quieter home. When I asked Garrett what he thought about this, he said, "No Mom! They can live in my room. If they keep me awake at night, that's okay." That boy has such a big heart. We definitely can't give his birds away.

My doctor's office is working on getting my c-section date scheduled. The date will be either July 14th or 15th, both good dates for birthdays, I think! I really seems like a reality when we start to talk about a birth date! This last trimester is going to fly by. I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for the sleepless nights and restricted diet again, but I sure am ready to start sleeping on my back again!

This might be the best news yet...there are only 33 days of school left!! Woo hoo!

Welcome to the World of Boys

Within 1 week's time, Garrett experienced his first goose-egg to the forehead/black eye and stitches! I already briefly blogged about him missing the front porch steps at Grandpa's house and his big black eye that formed later that day. Thankfully that is looking much better these days. On Saturday we went for our bike ride to our neighborhood park. A steep sidewalk leads into the park and Garrett and Avery typically fly down this on their Strider bikes. That day, Avery decided to hang with me and Garrett raced ahead. I could see his front tire start to wobble followed by a big crash. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but it didn't protect his forehead very well. He came running toward me with blood running down his face, a big gash in his forehead, and a bloody nose. We wiped up the blood the best that we could and I tried to calm him down. Anyone that knows Garrett well, knows that he is our spirited child and his reactions are usually elevated above most children's. It was a long slow walk toward home. Thankfully our friend, Audrey, who lives nearby, gave us a ride. I wasn't sure if we would need stitches or not, but luckily our pediatrician's office is open on weekends, and they said to come right in. When the doctor saw him, he asked if he had lost consciousness (referring to his black eye) and I had to explain that his black eye was from the previous weekend. The doctor laughed about that and said, "Welcome to the world of boys." Sure enough, my buddy needed stitches. He didn't want anyone to touch his face, so they had to "papoose" him with velcro to a backboard. It still took 2 of us to hold him still while the doctor gave him 5 stitches! My poor boy! Avery was a good sport too. Thinking that he wouldn't really need stitches, I had taken her along with me. She sat in the corner and rocked Garrett's stuffed cookie monster back and forth. Let's just say that it was traumatic for everyone involved! But the good news is that his stitches are healing nicely and he gets them removed on Thursday. We'll probably be a little more cautious around our house for awhile.

The Things They Say...& Random Things

We just returned from a wonderful spring break visiting Grandpa Reimer and family. We also celebrated Sissy's birthday with the Stohs family and the Reimer family over spring break. Pictures will come when I finally get them downloaded. We came back from spring break with 2 tired kids and one very black eye. Poor Garrett missed Grandpa's front porch steps completely on the way down. His forehead caught the brunt of his weight. Luckily he had no signs of concussion but got a nice scrape on his forehead and a very black eye. It's starting to turn yellow around the edges so I know it's healing. He's a tough guy.

I wanted to blog about the cute things my little kids say....

Avery associates everything purple with K-State (her daddy is very proud of this). When she sees purple, she says, "Go K-Steak!"

I'm amazed at how much Avery and Garrett are alike. When Garrett was 2-3 years old, he was obsessed with dogs and would pretend to be a dog everywhere we went. I remember him barking and licking packages in stores! Avery often pretends to be a dog and refers to herself as "Arfie." "Arfie will open the door." "Arfie wants another sucker." The funny thing about this is that Garrett also referred to himself as "Arfie" for a short time, but Avery would have been too little to recall this.

When Avery hears something new, she will often respond, "I didn't know that..." with a really high inflection on the word 'know.' Garrett did exactly the same thing when he was 3, and again Avery couldn't possibly remember that. How is it possible that she says some of the exact same things that he did at her age???

Garrett asked me tonight, "Mom do you remember when my favorite color was blue? And now it's orange and green."

Our Ultrasound

We had our 20-week ultrasound today! Several hours later, I still can't believe that we did NOT find out if we are having a boy or girl! The suspense might kill me, but it is exciting! The baby is perfectly healthy which is the most important thing. Garrett and Avery joined Greg and I for the ultrasound, which was a pretty special experience to see them smiling and watching their little baby brother or sister on the monitor. During the ultrasound, the technician asked the kids what names they liked for the baby. Garrett came up with the following ideas: Peaches, Diego, or Possom (wait a minute...aren't those characters from Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs?) or Dora. The baby's heart rate varied from 138 to 133 beats per minute and later 154 with the nurse. We'll see if my theory (and gut feeling) that it's a girl holds true. I have always heard that lower heart rates are girls and that held true for Garrett and Avery. We got to see a lot of movement including the baby opening and closing her mouth and swallowing. It took a long time for the technician to see an air bubble travel to her stomach to pinpoint that the stomach was located in the right place, so the ultrasound took a really long time. We even took a break and tried a second time before she located the stomach. But eventually she saw it and everything looked great, so all is well.

Garrett's First Love

When I picked up the kids last week from daycare, Garrett pointed out one of the school-age girls sitting on the porch. "See that girl over there Mom? I like her. I think I'm falling in love." He gave me a big smile. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or serious. I asked, "What's her name?" He replied, "I don't know..." (This week I finally remembered that her name is Morgan.) Garrett might have his first crush. My boy is growing up!

Still running

I have to brag about myself a little bit today. I am still running 1-2 times per week. Granted, I'm running a little slower and mixing in some walking breaks to keep from getting really out of breath, but I'm still doing it. I'm only covering 2-3 miles at a time now. But the dog still needs his exercise and my goal is to stay really fit for as long as possible this pregnancy. I have my doctor's blessing to run as long as I am comfortable. The last 3 runs have been a little less comfortable with my growing belly, so I'll be curious how much longer I will continue. This weekend we spent our Saturday afternoon on a nice bike path south of town. The kids rode their Strider bikes, Greg rode my bike, and Casey and I had a nice jog. It was a beautiful day and felt so good to be outside enjoying the fresh air as a family. That night after baths, Garrett crawled into our bed and I tucked him in while we finished getting Avery ready for bed. He was such a tired guy that he fell asleep! He hasn't fallen asleep like that (outside of his regular bedtime in his own bed) since he was 1 or 2 years old!

Fooled

Happy Belated Valentine's Day by the way! We had a nice relaxing evening at home. The kids came home with lots of goodies from daycare and a favorite neighbor of ours stopped by with delicious sugar cookies (frosted - my favorite!). Lynette had given the kids frosted sugar cookies at daycare too. When we walked in the door after school that day, Garrett said, "Mom, can I eat my cookie, because the other kids ate theirs and I didn't have time to eat mine." I pulled it out of his goody bag and let him dig in. A little bit later as I was sorted through Avery's goodies, I realized that she had a cookie too, so I seriously doubt that the other kids ate theirs without Garrett! I think every kiddo came home with one and he managed to get his before supper!

No Petting the Baby

I showed Avery how much bigger my belly is getting these days. Her response was, "I don't want to pet her, Mommy." I smiled and told her she didn't have to touch my belly! She still says that she has 2 babies in her tummy. The last 2 times that she talked about them, she called them her "Garrett babies." How do they come up with these things? Garrett overheard this and was NOT happy!

Is He Real?

Garrett asked me a few weeks ago if the Easter Bunny is real. I said, "I don't know...what do you think?" He said, "No, I don't think he is." Maybe he has heard this from the big kids at daycare? A few days later he asked if Superman is real. My response was the same, asking what he thought. He said, "I think he is." I smile when I think that my little boy doesn't believe in the Easter Bunny but he does believe in flying superheroes.

Names

Lately I've been in the habit of calling Garrett by his full name when he is not listening. Something along the lines of, "Garrett Scott Stohs, get in here right now!" Avery seems to think she has the same middle name. She was walking around a few days ago singing, "Avery Scott Stohs, Avery Scott Stohs!" Luckily, her brother didn't hear her.

We've been working on our list of favorite baby names. Since we're not finding out the sex of the baby this time, we'll need a boy and a girl name. I've been asking the kids lately what names they like, just for fun. Garrett always says we should name the baby, "Avery" and Avery says we should name the baby, "Garrett." Either the teasing just never really stops at our house or they don't quite get it.

Doggy Heaven

I told the kids last night that we would be visiting Grandma and Grandpa this weekend. They both shrieked with excitement. Avery said that she wanted to see Abby, Grandma and Grandpa's old yellow lab that recently passed away. Garrett said, "Avery, remember that Abby died. She's in doggy heaven now so she can eat as many dog bones as she wants. Isn't that right, Mom?" How sweet is that?

The Prank

Sometimes we underestimate our 2-year old. Avery was busy playing in her bed after bedtime on Saturday evening. We could hear her through the baby monitor but figured she would fall asleep quickly since she was a tired girl. A little bit later we heard some loud noise and Greg went to check it out. Turns out she had come out of her room, walked into Garrett's, and said, "Time to wake up Garrett. I'm locking you in." Then she headed out and locked the door. (His doorknob is turned around so he can't lock us out when he's in trouble, so Avery locked him in from the outside). Garrett immediately started screaming. That little girl was in big trouble! So my big question is, how can a little kiddo that knows how to play pranks on her brother not know how to use the potty?? (Actually on a positive note, we went back to underwear today and she stayed dry all day!!)

Santa's Cookies

When we put out our cookies for Santa Claus, Garrett said, "We could probably eat one, right Mom? If Santa eats them all, he'll get fat." So we ate one!

Dear Santa

We are SO excited for Christmas this year. We've been cutting links off of our Christmas countdown chains every night. One of the best parts of Christmas this year - we are hosting it at our house! The Reimer family is road-trippin' it up to our house. It will be nice to spend Christmas in our home with our family. I'm excited for all of the cousins to be together for several days straight.

This year we watched Santa ride in on a horse-drawn carriage to flip a big switch and turn on the Christmas lights on the HUGE tree at the mall during the lighting ceremony. His sleigh with 2 reindeer was parked nearby. We also visited Santa at the mall and the kids both sat on his lap. Garrett asked for a "toy train" and Avery asked for a "toy train." That's no surprise!

Greg helped the kids write letters to Santa. Garrett asked for a "toy train and a remote control car." Avery asked for, "What Garrett wants and a bone for Casey." That didn't go over so well with Garrett. Boy does that little girl love her brother! We delivered our letters to the big red SANTA mailbox at the bank and were so excited when Santa wrote us back about a week later!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!