Making Valentines

We decided to make our valentines this year.  Vera was adamant on having heart valentines, so after some Pinterest searching, we came up with an idea she was happy with.

After preschool, I took her to the library to cut out the hearts on the Ellison.  It saved a lot of cutting time for mom and dad, and Vera thought it was cool.  She came with me to Kroger to pick out the applesauce pouches.  Then we went to work one evening putting everything together.

Mom cut, dad glued, Vera signed her name, and dad helped her punch holes.  Then mom and dad tied the hearts to the applesauce.  Vera was excited to bring them to preschool for her friends.

We had lots of extra applesauce, so we made some valentines for our cousins.  Vera wrote all of her cousins' names by herself and then signed her own name on them.  She did a great job.  I had to help her with the "K" in Blake because she said those are so hard.  But all of the other letters she did on her own.  I am amazed at how well she does at writing.

We also made dad a valentine surprise.  When we went to Kroger, Vera wanted to buy a candy bar bouquet for dad, but they were kind of expensive, so I told her we'd make one.  We bought the Reese's Cups and then put it all together on our vacation day.  It turned out cute.

Not quite finished.  Vera was excited to give dad the surprise.

The kids got helium balloons and conversation hearts from mom & dad for Valentine's Day.  Vinners giggled and giggled when he saw his balloon for the first time.

I love this picture, especially of Annie.  :)  The floating balloons definitely catch her eye.

As a family, we enjoyed chocolate fondue to celebrate Valentine's Day.  We went to a fondue party a few weekends ago, and I found a chocolate fountain on the clearance at Walmart.  Vera thought it was awesome and has been asking to do it again.  We had some leftover ingredients, so I decided it'd be a fun valentine treat.

Vera's fondue motto: the more chocolate, the better!
We had cream puffs, graham crackers and marshmallows.  Vera was sad that the strawberries were gone, and dad was sad that we didn't have rice krispy treats.
Vera asked if we could have an ice cream chocolate fountain this summer.  Hmm...might have to do some research on that.  It does sound yummy!
Dad asked for the next one to be a cheese fountain with nachos, soft pretzels and bread.  That sounds yummy, too!

Vinners did not participate, but he did eat cream puffs and liked them a whole lot!

And baby Annie slept through the whole thing.  She rarely falls asleep in her seat while we eat, but I think the monotone sound of the fountain lulled her right to sleep.

Side note:  On Valentine's Day last year, we moved into our new house.  It was a white-out blizzard that day.  Who could forget!?  Our first year in our new house went by quickly; it definitely feels like home! :)

Family Events

Though Old Man Winter is here, we have managed to get out of the house with our kids on the weekends for a few family events.

Dylan had his birthday party at the bowling alley at the end of January.  I thought for sure Vince would be a liability the entire time we were there, but he was actually very good.  He ate lots of snacks and sat on the step to watch.  He didn't run around nearly as much as I'd thought he would.

He even helped bowl once or twice.

Vera Lou did a good job of rolling the ball by herself.  She had fun!

And Annie Pie slept in her seat for quite a while...

We traveled to Findlay for Cohen's 1st Birthday at the beginning of February.  I don't have any pictures from the actual party, but the kids had fun playing with their cousins.  I sat in the back with the kids for the trip, and everyone was really good.  The party was so good that the kids were asleep before we were on the interstate to come home.

And we had Abby and Andy's wedding the following weekend.  The weather was bitterly cold, but the day was very pretty.  We decided to leave the younger two behind at home, but Vera had a fun day of playing and dancing at the wedding.  I didn't take many pictures that day either, but here's Vera with her grandma at Brucken's after the wedding mass.  

Vince is 18 Months

Vince sure is something else!  We joke that he's kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  One hour he is so sweet, so content and so good.  The next hour (or minute!) he's squealing, grumpy and throwing a fit.  Adam says he turns into a pumpkin in the blink of an eye.  When he's in pumpkin-mode, we have to try a few dozen things to make him happy.  Sometimes we find out what he wants and other times it's a lost cause.  He can really test our patience when he's a pumpkin.  In his defense, he usually turns into a pumpkin when he's tired.

He still says no words consistently.  He communicates exclusively by pointing, grunting and squealing.  We've figured out his language fairly well.  Maybe he doesn't talk because he doesn't need to.  Vera talks for him or else he gets what he wants with the communication techniques he has.  If we ask him, he can say something that sounds like "please."  Sometimes he shakes his head yes/no, but that's rare.  Occasionally he will try to say "Annie" or "Vera" and he can say "mama" while whining for something he wants.  He will say "football" and during the Super Bowl, we got him to say "touchdown" while giving the touchdown signal.  haha  

To document some of his communication, he will point to his diaper when he wants it changed.  He loves Paw Patrol right now, so he refers to that as "Paw."  It's the only show he likes to sit and watch regularly, which is a godsend when he turns into a Pumpkin.  We've recorded plenty of Paw Patrol episodes so we have them anytime they're needed.  He brings us the remote when the commercials come on so we can fast forward through them.  What a spoiled kid!  When I pick him up from Patty's, he doesn't tell anyone bye until we're walking to the car or inside the car.  Then he waves bye or says "buh bye."  I usually put him in the car first, and as I'm buckling him in, he points to Annie's spot in the car as if he's saying, "Don't forget about Annie!"

Do you see his little head laying down watching TV?  He lays so nicely when he watches Paw Patrol.  Honestly, it's good for him to sit and relax for a bit.  He is a busy, on-the-go kid all day long!

Likes to be covered up when laying down.  (Oh, and loves to mess with the remote buttons, too!)

Believe it or not, he is watching Wheel of Fortune here.  He didn't move for at least 10 minutes.

He has some pretty hilarious body language and gestures.  When he wants to say "Shhhhh!"  he puts his finger to his lips and blows, as if he's blowing out candles.  :)  When he wants to blow on his food to cool it down, he nearly rests his lips on his plate and blows quick, short breaths of air on his food.  When we wipe his nose, he gives the "raspberry" noise as we wipe his nose to mimic what it sounds like to blow your nose.  He thinks it's fun to play peek-a-boo, and I just love his little hands covering his face.  Super cute!  When he has a stinky diaper and we tell him to hold his nose, he puts his finger under his nose as if he's holding in a sneeze.  He likes to brush his teeth and comb his hair, but he hates to have his hair washed in the tub.  He also refuses to wear a bib.  And, he cannot stand to have his sleeves or pant legs pushed up.  It drives him crazy!  He's doing a good job at using a fork and spoon.  When he wants to, he can poke his food with a fork and feed himself.  He also does well with a spoon.  I can say with confidence that he's going to be a lefty.

He knows where his hair, belly, eyes and ears are.  He doesn't have much interest in learning any other body parts.  Sometimes he'll tell us what a cow and puppy say and he knows he's 1 year old.  Beyond that, he's not too interested in our puppet-like questions.  

He's definitely getting taller.  His pants aren't quite as long on him as they were at the beginning of winter.

Often times, he gives us an ornery grin without showing his teeth.  It has "I am rotten." written all over it.  Speaking of his orneriness, he knows how to open the dishwasher, even when it's latched.  He thinks it's great fun to empty what's inside.  It's pretty gross (and annoying) to find him playing with dirty dishes.  He eats all kinds of food off of the floor.  If he finds a random snack, he pops it in his mouth, even if it's a day or two old.  Yucky!  One day, he spilled his snack bowl on the floor in the kitchen.  I told him to pick them up, and he promptly laid down on his belly and ate all of the snacks by picking them up with his mouth only.

When it comes to snacks, the boy MUST have a snack each day after school.  Before I can get Vera & Annie in the house or any of the other paraphernalia from the day, he has to have a snack in hand.  I have tried to make him wait 5 minutes, and it's not worth it.  He has a total meltdown while hanging on the pantry door or refrigerator.  So, I make him sit down on a blanket in the living room and eat his snack while I get everyone inside and settled.  

He likes to play with his Paw Patrol pups.  He plays really nicely with Vera's old baby.  He loves giving the baby her pacifier and bottle.  When baby goes to sleep, he gives us the "Shh!" gesture.  haha  He likes to play with his farm animals.  When they're hungry, he feeds them with one of Vera's play spoons from her kitchen.  So cute!  But, his ultimate favorite thing is to read books.  He will bring us book after book and sit on our lap and listen to the story, but only when he's in the mood.  His favorite books are My Truck is Stuck, Honk Honk Beep Beep!, and the Tractor book.  If he doesn't want to read the books, he's especially good at standing on the stool and clearing the bookshelves.  Vera's bedroom floor is regularly covered with books, thanks to Vin.

It's hard to see, but he's feeding the cows here with the spoon.

The poor child has had to fight for every. single. tooth.  It seems like he gets several at a time and they're mean when they come in.  He gets terrible diarrhea, diaper rash, fever, runny nose, grumpy, and loss of appetite when he teethes, which usually lasts for a few days; however, it feels like eternity for his mom and dad.  

Vinners really is a good kid, but he sure has his moments when he gives us a run for our money....kind of like when he was a little baby.  We're just used to it.  That's our Vince and we love him no matter what!

Likes to take a bath.  Hates to take his shoes off to get in the tub.  Hates having his hair washed.  Hates getting dressed.  Likes Olaf.  Just another day with Vinners.

Q + A with Vera

Recently, someone posted on Facebook a list of questions to ask your child without any prompting.   I thought I should document Vera's answers.

1.  What is something I always say to you?
Love you!

2.  What makes me happy?
When I make good choices

3.  What makes me sad?
When I make bad choices.

4.  How do I make you laugh?
You teach Vince funny things

5.  What was I like as a child?
You played with Grandma Otte

6.  How old am I?
33

7.  How tall am I?
100 ounces

8.  What is my favorite thing to do?
Clean up the basement

9.  What do I do when you're not around?
Have fun.

10.  What am I really good at?
Working like a mom

11.  What am I not very good at?
I don't know.

12.  What do I do for a job?
Teacher

13.  What is my favorite food?
Salad

14.  What do you enjoy doing with me?
Playing

Vera has physically grown in the last months.  She's definitely taller; she can reach almost anything on the counter top.  Her pants aren't too short yet, but I can tell her legs are getting longer.  She's such a great helper.  I feel bad because she's often our "gopher" running to get things for us.  She's awesome at entertaining Annie and helping Vince when he's squealing.  She can buckle herself into her car seat, which is a huge help!  She also knows how to zip her coat, thanks to her awesome teachers at school.  Though she doesn't like it, she can get herself completely dressed on her own.  She's awfully pokey, so it's best if someone is around to guide her and keep her on task.

Here is Vera on Wacky Wednesday at preschool.  We had some wackier clothes picked out, but Vera decided she didn't want to wear them at the last minute.  She was excited about the pigtails and tall socks.

I am so amazed at Vera's academic growth since September.  At the beginning of preschool her handwriting and coloring were very rigid.  She could write her name, but it was fast and reckless.  She wasn't able to write many other letters.  Now, she spends a lot of time writing the names of everyone in our family on every piece of paper she gets her hands on.  She can also write our last name and the names of some of her friends.  She's starting to sound out words and try to write them herself.   Preschool has been so good for her!  I can't believe how quickly she's learned to do so much!

Her coloring has improved so much!  She can stay in the lines, and she colors slowly and more carefully. 

She still has a lot of problems with reversals, though developmentally, it's very normal.  Notice the "d" in Adam's name is backwards as well as the "P" in Pearson.  She often writes the "a" in Vera backwards.  Her name usually looks like Verp.  haha

In the mornings before walking down to preschool, we always stop at my classroom so I can drop off my bags.  Almost everyday, Vera draws something on my board while she waits.  One day, she wrote her name with a smiley face.  As my students came into the room that morning, they saw her name on the board, and all of the girls wrote their names near Vera's with a smiley face.  (They're a great group of kids!)  When Vera came back after preschool and saw it, she was thrilled.  It was really sweet of my students to do that for her.  She thought it was awesome!  I wish I would've taken a picture.  I kept it up for several days because it was so cute, and I was sad to erase it!

Vera is not the least bit shy.  When I take her to the daycare at preschool, she often has to play with kids that aren't in her preschool class.  She has no problem sitting down and playing with them. Her teachers tell us that she's very well-behaved at school, though I can imagine that her bossiness shines through from time to time.

 Some of the high school teachers gather in one classroom before school starts.  They asked to have Vera stop to say good morning to them everyday because they get a kick out of her.  When I made Vera stop in the doorway and say hello for the first time, she was nervous and bashful, but she did say good morning.  They love having her stop by every morning!

Vera is a master at playing pretend and talking to herself.  I can remember doing the same things as a kid.  She will sit and play pretend for hours.  Recently she's enjoyed sitting at the table playing with her Legos.  She also likes to pretend she's at preschool.  Sometimes she sits in her bed and pretends she's reading books to her class.

She's still a TV nerd.  She likes to watch shows on her new tablet she got for Christmas.  I'm still convinced she'd watch TV all day long if we'd let her.

The latest form of entertainment in the Pearson household is music.  Adam got a Bluetooth speaker for Christmas, so we spent a lot of time listing to Pandora & YouTube.  Vera has caught on to the lyrics of lots of songs.  Her favorites are Uptown Funk, Sugar, House Party, & Shut Up and Dance.  It's hilarious to listen to her sing and invent words when she doesn't quite know the lyrics.

The Little Miss sure is growing up; we are proud of her and the person she's becoming.  We'll savor her innocence and the little girl in her for as long as we can...