"Messy Place"

Awhile back, (because, yes, much of my blogging is back-dated these days) we attended a Parents As Teachers event that featured stations of "messy" experiences. We kept talking about it beforehand with Cade and he kept requesting to go to the "Messy Place," even though he's not really a "messy" kinda guy.

I enlisted Aunt Gentry's help since both kids making messes seemed like a one-to-one-adult-to-child-ratio kind of event. It was a busy event but it's always fun getting to experience new things with the kids and walking away with new ideas of activities we can do at home.

Neither of the kids are crazy about making messes, but they seemed to enjoy themselves. I'm so thankful we get to be a part of the Parents As Teachers program. It's an excellent resource to support early childhood development by offering screenings, fun events, and gobs of resources to us parents who are just trying to do the best we can for our kids but are sometimes just not sure where to start! I've learned so much from our home visits, their curriculum and handouts, the activities they teach us, and the programs going on around KC they make me aware of. Thank you PAT for helping me be a more confident and informed parent!

Cade and I attended the Creative Experiences "Messy Event" last year as well, even though he had no recollection of it.

The Farm...Again

Back a few weeks ago, the kids and I had the best time frolicking around Deanna Rose for the last time this season. The kids and I LOVE our trips to the Farmstead. We have our routine of what we see and the order we attack it. I'm so thankful to have this wonderful place so close to us to experience whenever we feel like it!

Reese AnnMarie: 18 Months

Our sweet Reese just keeps growing, changing, and be-bopping along. Reese is so, so, so sweet. Hard to tell if her caring, happy-go-lucky, laid back personality is characteristic of a second child or just the difference in a girl versus a boy. But I'll take it. I'd take 10 more kids if they were all like Reese.

(Oh yes, and if they could magically stay home and watch themselves so we didn't have to pay for them to attend daycare. But that's neither here nor there.)

Reese loves to sleep, loves to eat, and really (except for the occasional bite here and there) would be easy to nominate for Toddler of the Year.

Her speech is not as clear as Cade's was when he started talking so it sometimes takes me a little while to catch on to what she's saying, but I think she says well over 50 words and has a lot more receptive language. She seems to know more than she lets on. Matt and I were counting something with Cade the other day and Reese starting filling in the blanks, "foe, fie, six." She's a quiet genius, I suppose.

She aims to please. She will do what you ask her to do with a 99.9% return rate. She's very loving and caring. Loves animals and babies.

Reese is our resident dare-devil. She's fearless, loves all slides, and will jump from anything. Future sky-diver for sure.

She's quite girly and likes to play in the jewelry and makeup and pretends that anything that can fit over her arm is a purse. We've started an after-school tradition of walking out to the mailbox together to get the mail. I love, love, love watching her waddle down the sidewalk and saunter up to the mailbox. I find myself wanting to freeze that moment every time.

Reese is not overly dramatic or defiant, most of the time redirection is all that's needed. Cade has figured that out and works out some key "trades" with her whenever it's beneficial to him.

She's our tiny little peanut, just recently breaking 20 pounds (3rd percentile), but, according to the doctor, is only 5 inches shorter than Cade at 32 inches (70th percentile). However, all of her pants are quite long on her so I'm thinking that could be some sort of measurement error. Both of our children are short and tiny. Whether they eat a lot or a little!

Oh yes, and she has the best smile, ever. She's talking more and changing every day. Losing that baby look and becoming a little girl. Our sweet Reese. Stay that way forever.

The Life of Cade

This post has been a LONG time coming, I'm pretty sure I started it back in June. I just wanted to record a glimpse of what Cade is into right now...all those little funnies I don't want to forget!
Let's jump right in...

Cade loves:
-TV (Disney Jr. and Disney movies)
-Ninja turtles
-Super Heroes
-Cell phone games and apps
-Singing to disney and bible songs on cds in the car
-Playing boxing on the Wii
-Loves to make plans and be on the go. "How about we go here, and after that we'll go here..."
-Changing his clothes at least 3 times a day
-Playing with friends, or whoever will play with him, wants to tag along with other kids when we're at play places or parks
-Bargaining to get his way and using phrases on us that we say to him (I'll time you, you have two choices, that's not being respectful, etc)
-Very observant of details
-Wants to wear some of his shirts backwards if they have a picture or number on the back so that he can see that side of it
-Working on his right and left, have no idea where he got this but he's always asking if we're going to turn right or left or saying something is on our right or left--it's kinda freaky
-Protective of Reese, but also picks plenty of fights with her
-He likes to run, race, be timed, and wear his athletic shoes which he calls his "fast shoes."
-Gradually liking swimming more and will swim around with his floatie where he can't touch but isn't naturally a lover of the water. Doesn't enjoy slides...plays it safe, which I guess I should appreciate.
-I'm impressed with his coordination. He really can maneuver jungle gyms and play equipment well. He's doing great in his loft bed. His first night, I checked on him at least 75 times and lined the whole bed with pillows. He thinks he has a future as a rock climber and wants to scale the underneath side of the bed...look out.

Cade dislikes:
-Eating
-Sleeping
-Listening and obeying...tell me this is normal

He's in that phase where he has emotional "break-downs" pretty often but we are working on teaching him how to verbalize through these emotions so we know what he's freaking out about. I think this is what being a 3-year-old is all about, so I'm hoping this goes away. Soon.

As of September 17th, he weighed 29 pounds, 5 oz. and was 37.2 inches tall. 20th percentile in both. Not a huge risk of childhood obesity for this guy, I would think. We do force him to eat some, or he would never eat, ever. Seriously. So since he is 3 years old, he must have 3 bites of everything on his plate before having second helpings of whatever he wants after that. (Usually wants more fruit and has to be talked into meat and casserole dishes).

We've started using a "stoplight" approach to help him understand what behavior is acceptable and when he is making poor choices. It has helped to motivate him as he's obsessed with being "on green light." We use yellow as a warning and usually it is paired with time out. Red means no TV. No TV is crazy-devastating for Cade. As long as we stay consistent, I think the stoplight is a good fit for Cade right now. Heaven help us with this strong-willed little dude.

Funnies:
When the check-out lady at Hobby Lobby asked Cade how he was doing he sighed, slumped his shoulders and said, "Well, I'm on red light right now." I explained that meant no TV but that he would make better decisions tomorrow. Luckily she jumped on board and explained how important it is to listen and obey parents. Thanks you, Hobby Lobby lady!

He plays a game with Matt where they say "silly words" back and forth to each other. What gets me is that they're not really silly words, they are regular words, you just have to laugh like it's hysterical after the other person says something. I still don't really get it. But Cade's always saying "let's say silly words to each other!"

He stated he wanted to wear his "shirt that shows his armpits" meaning his sleeveless OSU jersey from G-Mom.

Interprets several Disney characters names his own way. Aboob (Abu from Aladdin), Scarf (Scar in Lion King), Winnie the Poop, Mr. Sneeze (Smee in Neverland Pirates). It's all too cute to correct.

He's a hilarious little guy. Full of energy and excited about getting out there and living life. Soaking everything up like a sponge. I'm thankful that we get to be his parents, and constantly praying that God will continue to equip us for the job!