Hooray for Friday!

Wow! That was a quick week! So glad it is the weekend though! Just got back from dinner with some girlfriends of mine! That was a great start to the weekend! Looking forward to relaxing this weekend.  If the weather stays the way it has been the last two days maybe spending some times outdoors. That is very unusual for where we live in January. It has felt more like spring than winter here. The last two days have been over 50 degrees.

We had another good daycare day. I think we are finally getting back into a routine after the holidays.  They enjoyed the three tot trays that I put out for them today. One tray had two containers, zoo pasta, and tongs on it. The second had color bears, color cups for sorting, and some tongs. And the third the snowman picture and bottle cap letters on it from the day before.

They loved working with the tongs.

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The boys really enjoyed using the tongs.  I figured they would.  Good fine motor practice!  

Here are my two favorite moments from today.

Caught Jadon reading so intently in the recliner this morning.  He loves these look and find books for toddlers.  This one is Chuggington.

Then this is what I found when I went up to wake Jadon for therapy.  He looks so peaceful.  I just stood there watching him sleep for awhile.  

Have a great weekend!!

Kiana

Tot School Is Back In Session

Today was the first day this week that everybody was here so I figured it was time to get tot school back in session!   We did two winter themed activities.  First we matched snowflakes. 

Jadon and John are really good at finding the matches!

After that we changed it up by playing one of Jadon's new games.  This one is called Monkey Dunk.  They are still working on mastering how exactly to get the frogs to jump so not many actually make it into the pond.  Hopefully after we practice for awhile we will be able to actually play the game.  Either way they are still having fun!

Concentrating really hard on figuring out how to get those darn frogs to jump!

After Monkey Dunk it was time for some play dough!  Jadon loves to play with play dough lately.  One thing we did learn is that homemade play dough is much easier to put through the "ice cream" shop than the store bought stuff!  It was a huge difference!.

I am trying something new with the boys.  I have been wanting to put several tot trays out a week for the boys but it has been a challenge.  Most people that blog about tot trays put them out somewhere were the kids have access to them throughout the day.  Then the kids just do the activities when it suits them.  That is really not possible for me since most of the activities can't be left down for the two babies I watch to get into.  I finally just decided to choose some tot tray activities for the week and put three tray out on the table each day with a different one on them.  We only use one end of our table for meal times during the day so I will just keep the tot trays at the other end and tell the boys they can do them anytime.  Below are the two we did today.  One tray has the snowflake matching game on it pictured above.  The other tray has some bottle cap (milk bottle caps) letters on it and a picture with the word snowman on it.  They are supposed to match the letters on the caps to the letter on the picture.  Really want to start working more on letter and number recognition.  I know that the printables I used today were from Erica at Confessions of a Homeschooler but I could not find them on her site to leave a link here.  Sorry!

.After lunch both of the boys were wild and I was trying to come up with a more quiet activity to get them calmed down for naptime.  I suggested that they play the games on the trays at the table and they quickly climbed up and got to work.  On another note...I am having fun playing with some photo effect apps on my phone.  He, he.

Tomorrow I am thinking of putting out three trays tomorrow with some different activities. 

Monday's Are Fun Days

Today was a pretty good day.  Started off a little rocky.  The lack of sleep I suffered over the weekend while Jadon was sick was making move a little slow this morning.  But as the sun came out and I saw on the weather that the high was supposed to be almost 70 degrees I started to perk up!  Woohoo!  Another outdoor fun day!  Well....We had a little issue with that this morning.  One of my daycare kids forgot his shoes.  Actually he did not his mom did.  She evidently picked him up out of bed and loaded him in the car forgetting to grab his shoes.  Ugh!  That meant no outside time for us!  Thankfully she arrived at lunch with his shoes.  She ran home on her lunch break to get them.  Whew!

Jacob came home from school ready to be outside.  I love that!  While I was getting the other boys ready to go outside he went ahead and took Jadon out to play.  When we got outside this was what they were up to....

As you can see from the look on Jadon's face they were having a blast.  I was a little nervous.  I want Jadon to be a boy and have fun but does it have to be while he is recovery from shoulder surgery and a tendon transfer.  I know those doctors assured me that cast is indestructible but.....leave it to my kid!

I could not say no when I saw how much Jadon was loving it.  I just followed along telling Jake to slow down when he got a little too speedy. 

Socks was found sunning herself on the rolled up truck bed cover.  She is so pretty!

Tonight we burned off our prairie grass so it can grow back nice and thick this year!

Shelby said walking through the paths surrounded by fire she felt like she should be in a music video so her Dad was taking pics of her acting out the thoughts in her head!  LOL!

After we were done burning we decided to walk down our neighbors lane and visit his horse, Lightening.  Lightening just loves the attention as you can see from this pic of him patiently waiting for Jadon to come pet him. 

Jadon loves Lightening just a little too! 

I am really loving the warmer weather.  We love to be outside! 

Luck of the Irish?

Happy St. Patricks Day!  We have had a fantastic day.  Maybe it was luck but whatever it was I am lovin' it!  It is really the awesome weather we had today that made it great!  The boys LOVE to be outdoors.  They thrive out in nature.  They can run, jump, be as loud as they want, and act like maniacs.  Everything they want to do inside but there are rules about that.  Boo!  We spent a good portion of our morning playing outside today.

Ride on toys were first on the agenda.

That face says it all.  This boy is happy!

Moved on to the playhouse where we played a fun game of peekaboo.  Jadon ran from one window to the other and yelled peekaboo and I would run around the corner and surprise him.

And.....down the slide we go.  Again and again and again.  Jadon can't do the ladder so I have to lift him up everytime but that is what Mommy's are for right?

I don't know why he was closing his face as he got to the bottom.

And another slide picture later in the day.  We went right back outside after naptime.  I was not sure I was going to get Jadon inside when it was time for dinner. 

Jadon was sure making me nervous while we were outside.  Of coure there was the whole climbing and going down the slide, but he also decided to get on a ride on toy and ride it down a hill in our yard.  I turned just in time to see him flying pretty fast down the hill.  No one else was doing this.  It was totally his own idea.  Ugh!  Will someone please tell this kid he just had surgery! Lord!

Grandma Cindy brought us corned beef and cabbage for dinner and it was YUMMY!!!  We finished off our evening with a special treat.  I found this recipe for homemade shamrock shakes on the blog Brown Eyed Baker.  They were so good!  Jadon kept saying "MMmmmmmm".

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

TGIF

This week has seemed really long to me!  Lots of things I needed to get done!  I am feeling good though.  Most of what I wanted to get done was completed.  I can really tell that cabin fever is starting to set in.   I am having to keep the boys focused a lot more than I usually do.  They are having a hard time deciding what they want to do.  It seems like all they wanted to do this week was run in circles around the house and that just does not work for me.

Today went a lot smoother than the rest of the week.  I was surprised at how much time the boys spent coloring today.  I just had to snap some pictures.  Jadon really enjoys coloring now.




One of the biggest things I needed to finish was a car seat cover for my nephew Mason.  I have had it almost finished since early January just had not taken the time to finish those last few steps.  I thought I had better finish it quick or there would be no need for it!  I am pretty happy with how it turned out!  I used this tutorial HERE from the blog Make It Do!  It was so easy to follow!

I am hoping to get some pajama pants done for Jadon this weekend.  I bought the fabric last weekend.  After surgery Jadon will not be able to where his footy sleeper jammies anymore (boo) so I have bought some super large t-shirts and I am going to make him some flannel pj pants.  Hopefully he is warm enough! 

Oh....I almost forgot!  Today I happened to spot two new teeth just breaking through the surface on the bottom front of Jadon's mouth.  The gums around both teeth were puffy.  Poor little man!  I felt so bad for him!  He had woken up in the night last night crying and I gave him ibuprofen.   Within about 20 minutes he was asleep in my arms in the recliner ( and so was I).  Now it all makes sense!  The grumpiness, the middle of the night crying.  Sweet boy!!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Isn't this cute??!!!  Just moments before I took this pic Jadon was actually laying on his stomach right next to Riley.  I think he wanted to check out the mirror too.  This was the best few minutes of our day.  Jadon was full of craziness the rest of the day.

That cute little boy was like a Tazmanian Devil in disguise yesterday.  I had to get him off the little tables multiple times, he found great joy in taking the baskets of table toys and throwing the pieces all over the floor,  he was hitting his friends, throwing things, destroying his friends block towers with no warning and laughing devilishly while doing it.  He was constantly wanting whatever his friends had.  It did not seem to matter if he had been happily playing with something else right up until that moment.  He wanted THAT toy!!!  Ugh!  It really was a trying day.  At one point (and I am totally not kidding here) I looked over during lunch time to find him getting ready to chew on one of our dining room chair spindles.  Why???!!!! 

This is what you get with toddlers.  One day they can be as sweet as pie and the next.....well....the exact opposite I guess.  You never know what you are releasing from the crib in the morning.  Are you sending out an angel or releasing sheer terror out into the living room.  By the end of the day I was done.  I put him in time out for the umpteenth time (drives my husband nuts when I make up numbers) and I texted my husband this....."Just put Jadon in time out and told him he was not getting up until you got home.  Hope you are close.  He has not been a very good boy today".  

Well that was yesterday.  Today is a new day.  The boy is not yet up for the day.  I am praying that today we get to see the sweet boy.  I am hoping he expended all of the devilish energy he had in him for a least a few days!  Fingers crossed!  Raising a toddler is always an adventure that is for sure!  Would not trade it for anything though!

In Living Color

One of the items to explore during our table time this week is a set of color paddles. Everyone thinks it is really fun to look through them and see everything (mostly me) in a different color.

Mason and Owen were here today.  Here is Mason chillin' in the Bumbo seat.

Owen really enjoyed the Toy Story book for our Leapfrog Tag Reader Jr..  We love this "toy".  If you put the little guy to the words it reads the story. You can also touch it to different places on each page and it will names things or say funny things. This is another of my finds on the Farm and Fleet after Christmas toy clearance.  I am so glad I grabbed it!  We have several books for it now because all the boys love it so much. 

Excuse the horrible picture....this is my new web cam! I am all ready for Matt to go to Brazil again! This time I will be able to hear and SEE him!  I am so excited!