1 year down....lots more to go!

Today marked the last day of Max's first year in preschool! He's a little confused about what "summer vacation" means though! He told our neighbor the other day that he had 1 day of school left and then he would be on summer vacation and she would never see him again! We are so pleased with how the year went for Max. We couldn't be happier with the choice of preschool and with everything they learned. I was able to spend the day with him today in his classroom and it made me even happier that he has one more year at this school and that Mya will be joining him next year! The teachers there honestly love the children and want what is best for them.

I asked Max what his favorite parts of school were this year and here's what he responded: (with a few prompts, but not many)

--crafts
--playing with Bella
--dinosaur and truck centers
--taking a picture with my teachers
--being the cow for our Christmas story play
--bike week (side note: each month there is a week designated as bike week and they go into this big room and ride bikes for 15 minutes)
--Thanksgiving chapel
--my spiderman backpack (followed by...Can I get a new backpack next year???)

For me, the best parts were:
--meeting the other parents in his class and making some new friends.
--our conversations every day on the way home from school.
--having some alone time with Mya each week.
--seeing Max's face each time he came out of the classroom and saw me waiting there. He usually couldn't wait to tell me something.
--seeing his end of the year picture book and all of the progress he made from September until May.
--hearing him talk about "what Mrs. Julie or Mrs. Laura said" as if they were God.


Here's a pic of him with his teachers. I've decided there is definitely a place in Heaven for all preschool teachers. They are the most patient, positive people I've ever met!

soccer time

Today was the last day of Max's week developmental soccer program. Overall it was a good thing for him because our goal was just to give him some exposure to the sport. However, it appears (for now at least) that he's not naturally gifted in the area of soccer:) I think we need some lessons from Uncle Jeff! It was fun to see him run around and have fun, but he wasn't inclined to go for the ball or try to get it away from the other team! He was a super teammate and was encouraging them throughout the game.

The medal at the end was definitely the best part. He's so proud of it and wants to tell the whole world! Here are a few pictures. If nothing else...he's really a cute little kid all dressed up in his soccer gear:) I'm sure we'll sign up again in the fall!




Dubuque U5 soccer better watch out when this little girl comes around though...she's looking tough!

swing set!

Our swing set is complete! Chris did a great job on this plugging away anytime he could. It has been wonderful so far. The kids (and all the neighbor kids) have enjoyed it immensely! Well...except for our neighbor Sam who jumped off the swing and broke 2 bones in his foot!

Max's big accomplishment has been that he can now get himself started on the swing by pumping and can get going really high! Now...if only Mya could do it my life would be so much easier! She asks for underdogs every 2 seconds. I love the picnic table underneath the tower. We have had a few picnics there already and expect many more! There was also supposed to be a sandbox underneath the tower, but we didn't think it was big enough for 2 kids to fit in at the same time, so we decided to keep our old sandbox for them.

This could possibly be the best money we've ever spent!

Q & A

Thanks everyone for the kind words! We're really excited to be adding to our family this fall. I'm just past 12 weeks so hopefully the worst is behind us!

Questions you may (or may not) be wondering:

1. How are you feeling?
Terrible, but thanks for asking! This pregnancy has been worse than the first two combined. I have been throwing up quite a bit and feel pretty nauseated most of the time. I did get some medication right before Easter which has helped some, but not completely. Throwing up has become "the norm" around here. The other day I smelled some dog food and threw up in the sink. I had the water running in the sink and the kids were watching cartoons. They didn't care that I was throwing up....they just wanted the water turned off so they could hear the TV! All in all, I think it's getting better slowly so I am thankful for that.

2. How is Chris dealing with you being sick?
Let's just say he's up for husband/dad of the year in my books. I go to bed during the 7:00 hour most nights and hardly ever cook a meal, so he has kept this family afloat for the last 6 weeks or so. Our grocery store bills have gone down dramatically so it's not all bad:)

3. When are you due?
November 18th.

4. Did you plan this pregnancy so you didn't have to run the turkey trot?
Yes, but don't tell my brother:) Just kidding....it was not planned with this in mind, but it sure will work out well for me!

5. Are you going to name this baby with an "M" name too?
Not sure. As of today, we have a boy name and a girl name picked out and neither start with an "M" but I guess if one were to come to mind that we loved, I wouldn't be against it.

6. Are you going to find out if it's a boy or a girl?
99% sure we won't. I was adamant with Max that we didn't find out and then when Mya came around it was Chris who didn't want to know. I'm sure we won't, but I'd be tempted.

7. Do you have any feelings if it's a boy or a girl?
I felt boy right from the start, but then at the ultrasound it switched to a girl because the heartbeat was so high. (178 bpm) Who knows though!

8. What did the kids say when you told them?
We waited until my 12 week ultrasound to tell them anything. Max's mouth dropped open and the biggest smile followed. Mya seemed happy, but quickly went back to complaining about how much food was on her plate! When we asked if they wanted a boy or a girl baby, of course Max said boy and Mya said girl and a fight started! Mya yelled.."I want a girl first!"

9. Repeat C-section or VBAC?
This will be a scheduled C-section delivery. After 2 C-sections, they don't give you the choice to have a VBAC. There was a minute or two where I thought about going back to Waterloo for the birth (just because of the wonderful experience I had there with doctors, nurses, lactation people,etc.) but after visiting the clinic here in Dubuque, I feel very good about it here too. It is very similar to Waterloo in that there is a group of 6 doctors who could all potentially deliver your baby. Since I get to schedule it, I can be a little more picky which is nice!

That's all! Have a good weekend everyone and Happy Mother's Day!

Thankful Thursday

We are thrilled! If you wouldn't mind...I'd like to keep it to my blog friends for now so no facebook comments please:) More to come soon!

(one baby only...just 3 pictures of the same baby:)

odds and ends

1. Mya is sleeping in her big girl bed now. How did we do it? No idea. She does things when she wants to. We've had it set up in her room for over a month now, but one night a week or so ago she decided it was time. She has been doing great although she ends up on the floor a lot. Doesn't seem to bother her, so it doesn't bother me! Her dad disagrees...he always moves her back to her bed:) Knock on wood, but her naps have been better than before! We don't even have to read books and do the entire bedtime routine with her before nap anymore. She does still have to change into pj's:(

2. Max had his 4 year check up. He's a healthy little boy and answered all the questions correct..even if they were a little tricky! The doctor asked him what the rules are for crossing the street and he said "only with mom and dad" which was the right answer. Doc said many kids answer "look both ways" but they're not old enough to make that decision themselves. He weighed in at 38 lbs and was 41 inches tall. Both are 75%.

3. The other day was Max's first experience with hail. The next day we were walking otuside and he said, "Mom, be careful. There are some hay bales still on the sidewalk!"

4. Mya will call you out if you mis-speak. The other night Chris was putting her to bed and he said, "good night buddy". She made sure to point out that she was NOT a buddy, but rather a princess:)

5. We took the kids to get new shoes last weekend. They were measured and Mya has two feet that are different sizes. One is a 6 and the other is 6 1/2. Hope it evens out soon!

6. Mya is obsessed with changing her clothes. Aside from putting locks on her drawers, I have no control over this. She will randomly go missing and come out a few minutes later with a swim suit on, pajamas, pretty dress, etc. It drives me absolutely nuts because I know I end up washing some of these clothes that get worn for 2 minutes and end up on her floor. Today she told me she wasn't going to wear pants...just her legs. btw...if any of you have suggestions for how to stop this, I'm all ears.

7. Mya also has a very keen sense of smell (like someone else I know...:) If you don't want her to eat something, you'd better not have it yourself and go within breathing distance of her for at least 10 minutes. She'll call you out and demand whatever it is you have be it gum, chips, candy, etc.

Sorry no pictures to go with this post...just keeping myself above water enough to write the blog!