A Taste of Summer

On Sunday it hit 80 degrees! This is not normal for early April, but after a LONG Winter we welcomed it with open arms. We spent almost the whole day outside with friends and neighbors. Jenna got a new "big girl" bike and Grant spent more time outside that day than he has his whole life! He enjoyed the fresh air and watching the kids play.


Grant having fun in his stroller.


He keeps his hat on about 50% of the time!


Jenna and her new princess bike, with baby Kate in the baby seat.


This was before the big wipeout...


Grant's first time in his swing and he fell asleep within five minutes.


I can see where I'll be all Summer!

Parent/Teacher Conference

We recently experienced a “parent first”. We attended a parent/teacher conference for Jenna. Before the conference we received a checklist with comments to review beforehand. Some of these comments included:

“She will always ask other children to play with her or include them in her activity.”

“Always shows how proud of herself she is.”

“Jenna does great with situations such as crossing busy roads and having surprise fire alarms. She stays focused and does exactly what she should do.”

“Very caring and loving towards others. She notices others emotions.”

“Loves to help others.” “Love to sing! Does chanting during clean up and singing during group.”

“Loves to ask questions and tells great stories.”

Could I be any more proud? I didn’t think so, until the face to face part of the conference. Erik and I met with Ms. Kelli and Ms. Erica and on the table they had all sorts of drawings, writing and projects that Jenna had done. They showed us her progress, went over the checklist. Explained how she is advanced and really excels in a lot of areas. They confirmed to us that her sometimes backwards letters are totally normal for this age. They both expressed how much they enjoy Jenna and how big her heart it.

Here is the part that got me…they said, as sad as it is, there are already kids in preschool who are getting singled out and made fun of and bullied. They said Jenna is one of the only kids who will stick up for them, and play with those kids. They said she has the personality where she sticks up for herself and others, she is sensitive and emotional, and looks out for the kids who may be getting picked on. I got tears in my eyes. At that moment I was swelling with pride for my daughter! She has more kindness and compassion at four years old than some adults do. Her teachers said how everyone likes Jenna and she is often times the life of “the party” and cracking other kids and teachers up. The immense feeling of pride I felt in that moment will stay with me forever, and I hope those qualities stay with Jenna forever.

Dear Grant - 9 months

Dear Grant,

Your nine month birthday has come and gone and I'm just now getting to this post. Life is busy busy busy! With your Dad and I both working busy jobs, you and Jenna, trying to get some things done at the house, or at least a load of laundry here and there, blog posts seem to take a back seat. I have a never ending to do list in my head and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. But I wouldn't have it any other way!



Anyway, we are enjoying you and this age a lot (most of the time). You're crawling everywhere and really like the bathroom and the front door window. The proof is in the fingerprints and drool marks all over it. You're overall a really happy baby and your cute smile can make me feel better at any time. Your putting together sounds and saying Mama, Dada, Baba, and more. Your sister is convinced you can talk now and is SO proud of you.



Teething and runny noses are part of our everyday life, and scrapes and bruises are proof of your new found independence. Everything goes in your mouth, food or not. You have discovered that life goes on after you go to bed and have been resisting bedtime lately. I can't imagine how you do this since you literally don't nap for more than 45 minutes TOTAL all day long.

Stats:
20 pounds
28 1/8 inches tall

We're so proud of you when we take you out and about. You're so good and enjoy sitting in the cart or a highchair. You're a little flirt with the ladies already with your cute smile.

I can't believe you're so close to turning one! Time truly goes so fast, no matter how slow a day may go at times. You complete our family Grant! We love you!

Love always,

Mommy

Did you know?

Jenna: Did you know that a duck is also called a gosling?

Jenna: Did you know that a snake can bite you and swallow you whole?

Jenna: Did you know that a dolphin can live up to 50 years?

Jenna: Do you know sign language? I know these letters...(shows me signs for some letters)

Jenna: Did you know I wish I was an octopus so I would have 8 hands and could do everything at once?

Me: I wish that too!

Me: Wow, Jenna, I did not know all those things...where did you learn all that stuff?

Jenna: At School. I'm really smart.


Just another day in our household!

Great Wolf Lodge Getaway

We decided to do an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge Indoor Waterpark. Jenna has only been asking to go for months...every single weekend...every time we ask her what she wants to do. She was so excited when we told her where we were headed.

We were a little nervous with how Grant would do, but he did great! He's such a little trooper. He enjoyed the water and all the noise and people to watch.


Jenna with her Wolf Ears and her magic wand.


Out of all my attempts, the ONLY good picture of Jenna and Grant together.



Don't ask me what this pose is...



This water thing is fun!

This is apparently her supermodel walk

I brought my camera and managed to get a few cute pictures. I wanted to take more and also hoped to get a family picture, but that didn't happen.

While it was a fun trip there was not one moment of relaxing for me and Erik, couple that with a bad nights sleep and we were so excited to be home sleeping in our bed the next night.

Splish Splash

This is fun...


I bet I can eat my way out of here.



Going for round two. This sink feels good on my gums.

Hey Mom!

I love making a mess!

I'll try to climb out.

Yep, I'm strong!

Yum!

What?! I'm trying to relax.

Bye!

So Proud

Let me preface this by saying, no my daughter is not perfect. Yes we are dealing with attitude, lying, teasing, and all the other stuff that's normal for a four year old. But...Jenna is compassionate, sensitive, caring, and thoughtful too. I'm so proud to call her my daughter.

The other day when I picked her up from preschool her teacher, who Jenna adores, Miss Erica, pulled me aside. Oh man, I thought...what did she say or do today?! Erica preceded to tell me that earlier in the day she was trying to get the attention of all the preschoolers. While they are usually pretty good at responding to her, that particular day they were rowdy, noisy, and not responding to the typical things Erica tries.

Erica is sensitive and started to get upset. She said she noticed Jenna watching her, and then Jenna stood up and said:

"Friends! Miss Erica is sad. We're hurting her feelings. We need to listen or she will be sad and might not come back!"

So, my sweet Jenna got control of the preschool and helped her teacher. Erica said her eyes filled with even more tears after Jenna said that. She was so touched that Jenna would stand up for her.

I was a proud Mom when she told me that story! Here is a pic of Jenna being a baby doctor, which is what she wants to be when she grows up...as of today at least.