End of Summer Post

Here's my obligatory end of summer post.  Tear.  Tomorrow is my last day at home with the kids.  (The rest of the week is errands, appointments, and working in my classroom.)  It's a weird feeling to know that it's coming to an end.  But like I always say, it's time.  This year, however, I don't know if I'm ready for it to be time.  When the weather was hot and dry, I was ready to go back.  The kids didn't want to play outside, it was too hot to play.  But lately, we've had some beautiful, comfortable days.  We've played outside so much and loved it!  I want more days to eat lunch outside, have snacks on the porch, read a book outside while the kids nap, ride bikes and play hopscotch.  But, all good things must come to an end.  It will be hard for everyone to adapt to the new bedtime and wake up time, and it will be harder for mom and dad to get everyone in the house and in bed at a reasonable time.

This school year will be different.  For one thing, Vera is going to kindergarten!  Gosh, I just can't believe it's real!  That routine will be a new normal for us all.  I'm really excited for her, but I don't know if I'm ready for all things that go with having a child in school.  I pray that she makes good choices, works hard, is a good friend, and shines like I know she can.

My school year will also be filled with changes.  Some of my closest teacher friends are no longer at Ansonia due to retirement and new positions elsewhere.  I will miss them dearly.  One thing I love about my job is the people I work with.  Turnmire, Lentz, & Dena, I will miss your friendship, but wish you nothing but success and happiness in your new endeavors!

Our summer was awesome.  I accomplished so many things, like I always hope to.  There were plenty of things that didn't get done, and that's ok too.

I was so lucky to watch all 3 of my kids change for 3 months.  Vince is talking so much more, and has really become a little boy who loves to work hard and get dirty.  I just love watching him run fast and listen to him giggle.  Annie is crawling, jabbering so much, and is starting to respond and communicate more.  Vera has grown up also.  Her imagination and ability to play pretend are amazing.  I loved watching her draw with sidewalk chalk, dance & dress up like a princess, and interact with Vince more and more.  She was also an awesome helper when I needed it most.  I would've lost control of the household on a daily basis if it weren't for her helping hands!  We successfully weaned her from an afternoon nap, and I must say that I loved having quiet afternoons with her.  We did crafts and she helped with projects.  We did some Kindergarten readiness activities like handwriting, reading, tallying, sorting, cutting and pasting.  She loved it!

We did a little vacationing and camping this summer, though not as much as last year.  Good memories!

On numerous occasions, Adam and I would verbalize how thankful we were for central air this year.  What a great decision to install that!  We worked on other home projects; there's always one of those going on.  We bought a new washer and dryer, which I love.  The front loader has definitely lightened the laundry burden.

This is the mound of laundry I had when my washing machine conveniently died after our camping trip.  I loaded all of this laundry, 3 kids, 1 double stroller, a purse of quarters, and a bag of toys and snacks in the car bound for the laundry mat.  Surprisingly, it wasn't a total disaster.  I filled 6 large capacity machines, and had all of my laundry done (for a day!)  ha!

We slept in.  I stayed up late.  I found that I really enjoyed the quiet and alone time after everyone, even Adam, was asleep.  I did some soul searching, trying to find a hobby or pass time that I love.  I sewed, scrapbooked, and read.  I shopped online (love that!), explored Amazon Pantry, Hello Fresh, Stitch Fix and Le Tote.

Having groceries delivered to my door was nothing short of awesome!

We swam and got dirty in the backyard.  More recently, Vince's #1 pass time outside is playing in the mulch.  He digs and scoops.  Pours it in cups, shovels it on his bike, and gets it absolutely everywhere.

Our garden was successful.  Vera and her dad had so much fun with that project this year.  The green beans were the highlight, for sure!  Vera loved them, and even Adam learned to like them.  They're already talking about their garden plans for next year.  For the first time ever, I did some canning.  We had one cucumber plant, and it sure did produce!  My pickle-canning was quite novice, but all of the jars sealed, so that is a success.  No guarantees on how they'll taste, though.

Harvesting green beans.  Notice the monkey and Vera's red skirt.  She wore that skirt almost daily, inside and out!

You were good to us, summer.  Thanks for many memories and fun opportunities!
I pray for a successful school year:

God of wisdom and might,
we praise you for the wonder of our being,
for mind, body and spirit.
Be with our children as they begin a new school year.
Bless them and their teachers and staff.
Give the strength and grace as their bodies grow;
wisdom and knowledge to their minds
as they search for understanding;
and peace and zeal to their hearts.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

A Big Boy Bed

The time has come for Vinners to say adios to his crib.  He started putting up a big fuss about napping and going to bed at night.  I remember this happening with Vera around this age, so I started having him nap in my bed.  That went well, so we made the decision around the beginning of August to paint the bedroom for Vince and buy him a twin bed.

My mom took the kids for a sleepover on a Friday evening, and we painted.  It was a fairly quick paining project, thank goodness.  Painting is quite a process sometimes; it doesn't make the list of my favorite things to do.

Even Vera said that the room was more gold-colored than we realized.

Annie slept in our bedroom (in her crib) for a day/night while the paint dried and the odor cleared.  In true Vince style, he made the most of his last night in the crib.  I went in to get him the next morning, and he was soaked.  His diaper was maxed out, his PJs, bedding, and stuffed animals were wet and smelly!  

We weren't exactly sure how Vince would handle sleeping in a room alone.  He got really used to having Vera as his "security blanket" in the room.  So, we decided to set up his crib in the "new" room for a few nights so the poor guy wouldn't have too many changes all at once.  

Cribs don't fit through doorways, so Adam became really efficient at assembling and disassembling them!

It was sort of nostalgic as I put him to bed in his crib for a few nights.  Last year at this time, I was putting him to bed in the same place.  He was much smaller, our house was much hotter, and my belly was much bigger! :)  We went through a phase last summer of fighting him to go to bed at night.  Funny how the pendulum swings back.  

Vince was totally thrilled about leaving the front off of his crib and climbing in and out.  But, when bedtime rolled around, it was a circus trying to get him to stay in the bed.  I laid on the floor next to the crib.  It went like this:  Vince climbs out, I put him back in.  Vince climbs out, I put him back in.  Climbs out, back in.  Climbs out, back in.  Out, in.  Out, in.  This was nonstop for 10 minutes.  He wouldn't lay down.  It was a game.  Unfortunately for Vince, he lost the game.  Adam put the front back on the crib 15 minutes after he went to bed.  

Annie didn't pull herself up.  I stood her next to him so she could be in on the action.  She was happy to be included in the excitement.

The real big boy bed was delivered several days later.  Adam put together the bed frame he had when he was a kid, and it didn't go without excitement.  

We bought some truck decals at Menards that matched the truck/tractor/airplane sheets I found.  I kept telling myself that we needed something exciting to sell this bed to Vince.  The decals turned out cute, and Vince likes the big boy bed.  Win win!

Sleeping is going fairly well.  I lay with him for naps, and he's asleep within 15 minutes, so that's very manageable.  At night, he is a lot more restless, so it takes longer for him to fall asleep.  I'm hoping that I won't have to lay with him for too long.  He stays in the bed all night, but wakes up earlier than he used to in the mornings.  His naps are also shorter.  Less sleep is very noticeable in his behavior.  I think he has trouble going back to sleep once he wakes up.  The freedom to get up is much more appealing to this 2 year-old.

Of course, Vera was disappointed because Vince's bedroom was cooler than hers.  We assured her that we would work on making her and Annie's room feel more girly sometime soon.  She was satisfied with that answer, and found Vince's bed to be a fun play place.

All is Right in the World

At this moment, all is right in the world.

A boy and his bear.

She falls asleep in all sorts of strange ways.  Here she pulled her headband over her eyes.  haha

That Vinners

He. Is. Rotten.  He is becoming more rotten by the day.  He's started squealing when he doesn't get what he wants.  He asks for a snack 957 times per day.  He hates to take a nap or go to bed at night.  And he'll smile at us with an ornery, rotten grin when he's up to something.  You just never know what he's going to come up with.

He got in the trail mix again.  He got the pantry door open, fashioned something to stand on, and pulled the bag down.  This time he shared with his little sister.  So nice of him!

He's done eating.  Couldn't he just announce it instead of pitching the plate to the floor?

He has a bad, bad case of Monkey See Monkey Do.  Here he is doing push ups just like Vera.

And these photos are immediately following Annie's 10 month photo shoot.  (See neighboring post to compare.)

It's a hard knock life.

I took off his diaper so he could play in the water.  Didn't phase him.

And at times he plays so nicely with Annie.  Both will play and interact with the same toys for quite a while.  But, there are moments when he becomes quite territorial and doesn't like her ability to get what he has.  He is especially possessive of his sippy cups.  Conveniently, Annie loves playing with them.  Cue the squealing and crying from both parties.

10 Months

Doesn't she look so rotten!?

Nine months for Annie was a big month!  She's changed a lot, and learned some new tricks.  The greatest accomplishment for her is mastering the crawling just before she turned 10 months.  She had been on all fours and rocking around for a while.  Every once in a while I would catch her crawling just for a second or two.  Gradually she did it more and more, and within a few days she had it all figured out!  She's happy to explore and interact even more.

She's also to the "every little crumb and piece of dirt goes in the mouth" stage.  It's almost automatic.  She finds dirt, fuzz, food crumbs (which are plentiful under Vinner's seat), it goes directly into the mouth.  Hate this stage!

She's starting to become a finicky eater.  When she's finished with her baby food, she shakes her head no or spits it at us repeatedly.  Sometimes she even puts her hand up as if she's pushing the spoon away.  Amazing how they learn to communicate so well at such a young age!  Lately, she's not really in to drinking her bottles either.  It could be that our house is a circus.  There's so much noise and action to keep up with that she cannot settle down and drink her bottle for 10 undivided minutes.

Miss Annie also learned to wave hi and bye.  It was very surprising one day when Adam was leaving to go back to work, and I said, "Annie, tell dad bye."  She put her hand up and started waving.  Today at the doctor's office, she said "hi" and waved to the nurses.  I can't believe she's doing this already.  Seems like she's just too young!

She also mimics "no no" by shaking her head no, and giving a very ornery grin.  I'm thinking she may be the orneriest one of all.  After all, that brother of hers teaches lots of tricks!  She's discovered her tongue and I love watching her jabber and play with her tongue.  She says ma ma and da da, and it's so cute!  She also understands "jump jump" when she's in her Jumparoo or Exersaucer, and loves to bounce playfully.

Annie Pie still has only 1 tooth, but I think there's more on the way.  We haven't started puffs yet, but I think that's right around the corner, too.

Anne Marie...you're growing and changing so, so fast.  We love watching it, but wish you'd just slow down a little!  :)