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!