Happy 70th Birthday Grandpa

Pete's dad celebrated a milestone birthday yesterday...his 70th! Pete is one of eight children and all eight children, spouses, and grandkids went back to Cleveland for a surprise birthday weekend over Labor Day. We had a fantastic time! I still have hopes of uploading pictures to blog about that amazing weekend. ...remember, I busted a memory card...well, the pics are on it :(

For now, here are Izzy and Drew singing that good 'ole favorite "Happy Birthday"!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We hope you had a fantastic birthday!

Drew Drew Turns 3

Drew began his birthday festivities on Friday, September 25th, when he was class "leader" for the day. When you are leader for the day, you get to be first in line, choose the book, report the weather, choose the blessing, and bring in snack. According to Drew when you are the leader you are "first for everything (done with a very excited shout and hands thrown in the air)!"

Since Drew's birthday snack happened to coincide with his class picnic (a picnic to get to know the other parents/students) I didn't go in for snack time as year's past with Izzy, but rather just took his birthday treat to the picnic. Drew's choice was sprinkled doughnuts.

The birthday boy / class leader


Doing the blessing before lunch


That evening Pete was going to take Izzy to Toys R Us to let her pick out a present for Drew, but Drew wanted to go along so we made it a family affair. I had hoped for Izzy to pick out ONE thing for Drew - she wanted to get him a Woody doll from Toy Story. Well, call it guilt because we hadn't planned a big party, or guilt cause Daddy is gone lots these days, but while I was off distracting Drew, Pete and Izzy loaded up the cart. When I say loaded up...I mean enough toys were bought to celebrate Christmas.

The best part was that we made it through the store, out to the car, and into our house without Drew having a clue. But, as Pete carried the nearly see through bags into the house Drew spotted some of his loot. We told him he could open one present after he got into his pj's. Izzy and Pete wrapped up a Cars race track, and although he was ecstatic after he opened it, he said, "Oh! Oh! Oh! So, tomorrow I can open Buzz and Woody and Jesse?" So much for a surprise.



Sure enough the next morning Izzy and I went up to wrap the rest of his presents after breakfast and Drew remarked, "Oh. You goin to wrap me my Buzz and Woody and Jesse now?" Yup, that is what we are doing my friend. That is exactly what we are doing. I had a couple other presents that I had bought and while Izzy and I were wrapping them she said to me, "Mom, when did you get these?" It was all in a "how dare you buy something without me for my brother" kind of tone. Almost as if I should have gotten her approval.

The birthday boy chose cinnamon rolls for breakfast


Opening presents:


This was his reaction to EVERYTHING!


It was an ugly rainy day for Drew's birthday, so in addition to enjoying Drew's new toys, I got some movies at Blockbuster and rented a Wii game. What game? Toy Story of course!



Dinner was Drew's choice, and he wanted pizza. I asked him if he wanted to eat it at home or at the pizza place. His choice was the pizza place, and he also wanted to invite RC and his "other friend Moe" along :) We had a really fun dinner out.

Before you go thinking we are terrible parents with no party - we are planning to have a small birthday party for Drew - it will be just a few of his (ie: Izzy's) friends at Chuck E Cheese. This party has yet to be planned, but his only request (other then Chuck E Cheese) is a Toy Story cake. However, for now he wanted a SpongeBob cake. ...not sure why as we don't allow that show in our house. But, since it is his birthday I did get him a SpongeBob candle.













Of course being his birthday and all also meant that Drew got to eat off the special plate. In true Drew fashion, he also wanted his sister Izzy to eat off a special plate as well. Which reminds me - my Mom sent Drew a card for his birthday and in it were two $1 bills. Her intent was one for each child to spend at the Dollar Store (this is a HUGE thrill for my kids). Drew, of course did not know this, but upon opening the card and the dollars falling out, immediately said, "Oh Izzy! Omi sent one dollar for me, and one dollar for you, ...for us to spend at Disneyworld!" I am not sure why he chose Disneyworld, but regardless he thinks his sister is TOPS in his book. I think if Drew was stranded on a desert island and could take just one thing...it would be his sister :)



...and this Mama couldn't be happier that he loves his sister SO much!

Happy 3rd Birthday Drew

It is with tears in my eyes that I post the following pictures. I can't believe my baby is 3 today!

weighing in at 8 lbs. and 21 inches long




I fell in love with Drew instantly. I remember being captivated with him from the moment I saw him. It was such a powerful feeling. While his birth experience itself was awful, my days spent alone with him in the hospital were magical.

Big boy turns ONE!




And TWO!




Happy Birthday Drew! We love you!

Soccer Practice

On our way home from soccer practice:
Me: "Izzy you did a great job at practice tonight. I am so proud of you! You are getting so close to kicking the ball. I think at the game on Saturday you might actually kick it!"

Izzy: "Yeah Mom. Did you see me? I almost kicked it three times!"


Once at home:
Pete: "Izzy, how was soccer practice? What did you work on?"

Izzy(in a super excited sing song voice) "We worked on corner kicks and throw ins!"

Me: "Wow Izzy, I'm impressed! That is exactly what we worked on. Good for you!"

Pete: "That's great Iz!"

Izzy: "And Daddy, I almost kicked the ball three times!"

Yup, she almost made contact with the ball during our scrimmage. Izzy will run drills like a pro, and lead you to believe she is am awesome little player. However (and this is a big however) she will not try to kick a ball that another player is near. She is fearful of getting knocked down. During our games it is quite comical because if a ball is coming towards her, she will smile and then run the other way.

As a coach, she is wasted space on the field :) And I mean that in the most loving way possible.

As a mom, I can't get enough of watching her just smile, giggle and bounce around the field, all the while trying NOT to make contact with the ball. She is just loving being part of the team and hanging with her friends.

Stylin'

A friend/family member, who shall remain nameless as to not offend any other friends/family members, sent the kids some super cute "back to school" outfits. The scary thing is that all these pieces are size 4! Both my kids weigh the same amount, have the same size feet (at one point Drew's were a half size bigger) and now wear the same size clothing. While Drew's outfit is a tad large, he is going through a growth spurt so it is only a matter of weeks until the outfit fits.



Who knew Izzy looked so fantastic in green? I may have to start buying both my blond haired, blue eyed loves more green!


And do you not just want this top for yourself?

And let's not forget big boy who will be 3 in a matter of days :(


...it was so funny that he kept flashing me 5 fingers for his age, because normally he tells me that he doesn't want to turn 3. He says, "I wanna be 2 for Mama (he says it all sad like)." Love him!

On a side note, school drop off for Drew has gone fantastic the last couple of days. I couldn't be happier! Yesterday Izzy suckered me into letting her take the 88's class at school (piano). It wasn't a hard sell as I firmly believe all children should learn to read music and play an instrument (piano lessons will be required once my kids hit 6-7 years old). Her music teacher is INCREDIBLE - truly gifted, honestly. So, she stays at school until 2 on Tuesdays and loves every minute of her 5 hour day.

Speaking of Izzy - she is becoming quite the little apple of a couple school boys eyes. She was chosen by one boy in her class to be his "assistant" when he was leader (chosen out of 12 other girls!). And just this evening I got an email requesting a play date with "Bizzy Izzy" by her son :) I guess she isn't only driving me crazy, but those preschool boys too :)

Awww Man...

I busted my camera's memory card. Drats. Double drats! So many things have happened in the last week and who knows when/if I will be able to retrieve the pictures? I will quickly jot down a couple things that I know a couple people have been wondering about.

Drew's tooth issue:
When Drew busted his lip a few weeks ago, the ER nurse told me his tooth looked loose. I found it interesting only because the nurse never actually touched the tooth. After talking to some friends who have had experience with tooth trauma I knew the signs to watch for. Sure enough, his tooth began to go gray. Last Tuesday, Drew took his first trip to the dentist. I was prepared for the absolute worst - behavior wise. I am happy to report that he did great! He had x-rays and a couple different people poking, wiggling, and prodding in his mouth and he barely whined. Good news is that his roots look good. Bad news...that could still change. So for now we wait and hope the tooth heals itself. We have a follow up in 8 weeks and will know more then.

School:
Izzy continues to LOVE school! She got her first homework assignment. It consisted of tracing her name, writing her name, and tracing/writing the letter of the week. The letter of the week last week was "L". Lunch bunch also started this week so on Tuesday and Wednesday Izzy stays until 1.

Drew is doing better and better every day! Last Monday and Wednesday he wore my watch so he would know when the hands pointed to the top, I would be back. On Friday I could not find the watch so I told him he had a clock in his classroom. Thankfully he was okay with this. Friday was also the first day that he walked in on his own without so much as a frown/whine. ...I think the Rescue Hero castle/characters on the floor helped :)

This week will be busy busy busy...Drew turns 3 on Saturday! I have yet to plan a party and probably won't even have one until mid-October. I am trying to clear clutter out of the house so we can have an open house on Sunday and get this house S.O.L.D!!! A couple weeks ago I thought we were about to get 2 offers...and nada :( Playing the role of a single mom is getting really really old!

OH! My highlight of the week was scoring some MAJOR deals at Gymboree. In addition to the regular sale prices, 20% more off was given, and I had a 20% off that coupon! I got Drew some shirts for next year that were priced at $3.99 - 20% off that and then 20% more off! That is nearly FREE! I also got Izzy a couple things cause how could I not? She was begging for a guitar shirt to match Drew. ...and you guys know how much I love to match my kids.

Okay, enough rambling. Thanks for listening.

Back to School Family Dinner

With Pete's travel schedule, we were unable to have a family dinner last week when the kids started school. This evening, one week after school began, was our first night together as a family. Both the kids were SO excited to eat off the "Special Plate" to celebrate the 2009-2010 school year.

For dinner we had tenderloin, corn on the cob, noodles and muffins. The kids had milk, I had wine, and Pete had water - we all drank from straws :)

All through dinner Izzy just kept saying "this is the best meal ever!" She has been missin her Daddy big time since he started travelling.




Both the black eyes that Drew is sporting are compliments of his sister. The one on the right is from her whacking him with a toy screwdriver (she broke the skin). The one on the left is from "?". I have yet to get a straight answer out of her - the closest I've gotten is that she grabbed him in the face.

School updates: Izzy is LOVING school! And that might just be an understatement. I was extremely impressed with her teachers from the get go and they have not disappointed. She bounces down the hall to her room; greets the teacher at the door with a smile; hugs and kisses me and Drew, and then heads into her room. I just love her! She is growing up too quickly. Drew on the other hand still prefers to hang with me. He whimpered and cried from the moment he got up and realized he was going to school. Once at school we took Izzy to her class, and Drew immediately began to cry while we were saying goodbye. I told him to hold my hand so I could walk him to his room and he wanted me to carry him. As I was telling him to look at his watch and when both hands pointed to the top (12:00) I would be back to pick him up - he was sniffling "I not gonna cry. I, I, I not gonna cry today. I not gonna cry." As soon as I opened the door to his room he cried :( Poor kids, it just breaks my heart. The teachers tell me he whimpers a little but really is fine for most of the class. I think he will be fine in another week or two. ...at least I hope so!

Thunder v. Stingrays (aka: 1st Soccer Game)

Izzy's first soccer game went MUCH better than I anticipated. In fact I might even say it was darn close to perfect. The kids did GREAT!

To say that I was nervous before the game would be an understatement. In fact, I had to take a Dramamine just to calm my stomach. It wasn't the kids that I was worried about, rather the parents. I know just over half the players parents really well. We have the same goals for our girls this season: fun, build self esteem, learn basics of the game, teamwork, - you know, have fun! All our girls are also newbies to the game. I know the mom of a veteran boy and she is just so darn sweet, as is her son, that I am not worried about them. The other parents (2 boys, 1 girl) I do not know. All those kids are playing for the 3rd year. One of the parents really intimidates me. Two of the the other parents I can't get a good read on. However, one mother did tell me she thought her son was in the wrong league. He's not :)

So, our practices have been chaos to say the least. I am so worried about someone not having fun, or getting upset that I try to make everyone happy. Guess what, 8 kids under 6 are really hard to keep happy at the same time! We are getting better though. I just need a little more structure.

Moving on to today's game: kickoff was at 11 am. We play 4 versus 4, no goalie. The kids had a blast - or so I believe? Izzy desperately wanted to score a goal. In fact, this was all she talked about leading up to the game. However, it is not possible to score if you don't kick the ball, is it? She had many opportunities to kick the ball, she chose not to. In fact, once she actually ran away from a ball coming towards her. Oh well, at least no major meltdowns - just a minor one over wet shorts (her water dripped). Alexandra shed a few tears, but we quickly (or not so quickly) got her back out on the field to play. I held her hand whenever she was on the field and that seemed to lift her spirits. Riley didn't have one single meltdown! She even got in there and went after a couple balls. Once she even had the ball and started dribbling...in the wrong direction. I can't blame her though as there were too many kids in the other direction. Delaney was a solid player all the way around. That girl has a competitive streak which will serve me well :) She has spunk and got down and dirty with the best of them!

After the game we had a quick scramble for a lost Drew. Pete was not at the game because he is off on a much deserved guys weekend. I took a babysitter instead and she was fantastic at keeping Drew away from me (no small task). She is an all around great person, she is the lifeguard from our pool who in the past has worked with special needs children, went to college for Early Education, hopes to work with autistic children, and is taking a sign language class. Yup, she's a keeper! Through no fault of hers (it was mine) Drew disappeared and a search party went looking. He was found perfectly content on the playground. Thank goodness!

Jen took some pictures for me and as soon as I get them I will upload a few! I sure hope next week goes just as smoothly.

Team Thunder is 1-0!

Little Rascals

Yesterday I left the kids playing at the sand table to come inside and switch some laundry. I quickly peeked outside at them and then ran back upstairs to look for a pair of maternity pants for Stephanie. I knew exactly where the pants were, so I can say with certainty that I was only gone 3-4 minutes (and could hear them outside so I knew they were fine).

However, when I walked out on to the deck and peered over to peek at them, this is what I saw...


Hmmm, did you see Drew's shorts next to the sand/water table? I looked to my left and saw this on the stairs...


I am 100% positive both kids were fully dressed when I went inside. The eruption of giggles finally gave them away. They came running out from under the deck and this is what I saw...




Izzy then filled me in that they wanted to play car wash. She figured that I would not want them to get their clothes wet so she stripped them down. ...and added "But Mom, I left Drew's diaper on because I knew you would want me to." Isn't she just the greatest kid :)

Little rascals those two. Little rascals!

Drew's First Day of School

Twas the night before his very first day and Drew was asleep...


Off to school! Getting two kids up (I had to wake both), dressed, fed (neither really ate much), hair/teeth brushed, and out the door is tough!

Leaving the house, with Izzy giving Drew a few tips on what to expect his first day.


Drew thinks he is ready!


Once we got to school, the apprehension set in.


Once again, big sister gave him some words of encouragement.


I'm not sure if this is an "I Wub You Izzy - you're the greatest big sister" hug, or a "please don't leave me" death grip?


We got to the classroom and Drew had no interest in sitting at the table with the other kids working on play-doh. Instead he wanted the teacher to retrieve this ship. She obliged as to not add another crier to the group (two others were crying).


I think Drew will have a great year! He was supposed to have both the teachers Izzy did at that age, but one moved. So I am familiar with one of his teachers, but not the other. His class is made up of eight children: 4 girls, 4 boys. He will go M-W-F from 9-12. Wednesdays he will have lunch bunch until 1 beginning in October. So, if you remember Izzy's schedule you will see that I have from 9-1 free on Wednesday!

So, when I left Drew he was not crying. When I picked him up the teachers told me that he had a good day. Not great, not terrible. He cried on and off just as I knew he would. Once one of the teachers gave him a watch to wear, and showed him what time I would be back, he cheered up. Looks like I need to get him a watch. Drew's class had music today and they said Drew LOVED it. He knew all the words to all the songs, and eagerly answered every question the music teacher asked. ...now if he could just have music everyday, all day then we would be set!

So, day one was okay. I think Friday will be MUCH worse! I see lots of crying in his future :( That boy sure does love his mommy!

After school we took a trip over to Brusters for some ice cream. It had been quite a while since we last went and the kids were very excited. Delaney and Rylie met us there, and all the kids had fun playing in this little nook by the drive thru area. As cars went through the drive thru the kids would talk everyone and pretend that they were selling the ice cream.


This final picture is Drew holding "Guido" from the movie Cars. I bought a set of figurines and will give them to Drew on an "as needed" basis. When Pete spoke to Drew on the phone today Pete asked him how his first day was, and Drew said, "Mama got me a Guido cause it was my first day, and I always wanted a Guido!" That was news to Pete. Drew is also wearing a sticker that he was given to him by his teachers. It says "Super Star Student", but when you asked Drew about his sticker he would tell you that it said, "Super Star Drew-Drew".


Suprisingly I did not cry? I was sick to my stomach, but I was also hungry so that could have been it? After I dropped Drew off, I went to a Matilda Jane trunk show, then to the gym, and a quick trip home to pack some playground snacks. Then my 3 hours was up and it was off to get the kids!

Izzy's First Day of School

The 2009-2010 school year has officially begun. Izzy had her first day of school today and she LOVED it! She is going M-F from 9-12. Tuesday and Wednesday she has the option to stay for lunch bunch which will keep her there until 1. In addition she has the opportunity to take an 88's class. This is a music class once a week from 1-2 (after lunch bunch) that teaches her to read music and compose her own song ;) I doubt we will take advantage of this class due to the move.

So, back to today. I had to wake Izzy at 7:45. She was all smiles and wanted to get dressed on her own before having breakfast. I showed her the outfit I picked out - a skirt with the option of two different shirts to choose from. She told me that she wanted to pick a different shirt. Izzy RARELY has an opinion regarding her clothing and as painful as it was to let me pick a different shirt, I obliged. She didn't do too bad - it had pink/yellow in it just like her skirt. Do I really want to start a debate over clothing on her first day of school?

Honestly, how can this face not look super cute in whatever she wears?


The full ensemble (closed toe shoes are a must for school and Izzy only has tennis shoes that currently fit - darn growth spurt).


Heading out to get in the car (I didn't notice until just now that she has her toothbrush in her hand. We will have to have a talk that toothbrushes don't leave the house). She just looks excited!


Once at school she wanted to wait for her best school friend Sarah. We waited out on the bench and Izzy posed for a picture with Buzz. Drew was permitted to wear his costume today but not tomorrow on his first day of school!


And Sarah makes three!


After I picked up Izzy she couldn't stop talking about how much fun she had today. I REALLY like her teachers and love all the ideas that they have for the year. I am only sorry that we won't be spending the entire school year with them :(

One of the highlights of the day for Izzy was snack. Today they made their own snacks. I am pretty sure it had a message behind it. Her entire school disciplines on the "stoplight" method. Every child has a clothespin on green, you get a warning and then moved to yellow, once action is taken you are moved to red and get a little talking to. The teachers are big on making sure the kids understand what it was they did wrong and talk about ways to better deal should a similar situation arise again. It is hard to put into words, but it really is great.

So snack was a graham cracker with frosting on it and then red/yellow/green skittles. Izzy loved making it so much at school that she wanted to make them again at home. She didn't need to even ask me twice - we went right to the store! We did use m&m's instead of skittles.


The cutest part was listening to Izzy give instructions on how to assemble the snacks. After all the steps were complete she said, "...and the last step is the BEST! You get to EAT it Drew!"





I sure hope she does great the rest of the week. Sometimes the first day is easier than days 2 and 3.

...I have no reason to believe that tomorrow won't be AWFUL for me. Drew will be a wreck when I drop him off, and so will I. I can't believe my baby is starting preschool :(