Good boy, Miles

Miles has been such a good boy since we've moved.  He loves it here and has adapted quickly to the many changes thrown his way.  He is now fully trained on his underground fence, and though it was expensive, I'm so glad we did it.  He has the full run of the backyard and the garage and spends so much time playing out there with the kids and chasing chipmunks and bunnies.  We also installed a wire in the kitchen, so after almost 4 years we are now finally doggie gate free!  The quiet yard without the constant traffic and baseball commotion has proved to help him with his anxiety and he has just been such a good boy. 

Back to School Party

Moving to our new neighborhood has been one of the best things we could ever have done for our family.  Our lives feel rich with the support and fun of our friends and neighbors, and I couldn't be happier that our kids have the joy of growing up with neighborhood friends.  It has been the best part of the summer watching the kids race their bikes, play "Odd Squad School," and be superheroes.  To celebrate to end of the summer, we decided to throw them a Back to School party. 

Katie made them adorable party hats, I pulled out some party decorations, and we all had a nice time making our own tasty pizzas. 

We also had each kid make their own ice cream sundae.  My son got everybody screaming with "I scream for ice cream!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!" (Thanks for teaching him that one, Grandpa Jim.) Zeekie said, "This ice cream is so good it's taking me right up to heaven" and he stood up on his chair.  Clearly, the ice cream treats were a hit.  We had one tuckered out boy by the end of the party, but I'm so glad for the opportunities that come along to make memories with dear friends. 

Big Girl Bed!

For the past several nights, Little Miss Independent has been having a fit when it's time for bed.  She keeps pointing at Nolan's bed and says, "Livi's bed" and then points to her crib and says, "baby bed."  So, despite her small size and that fact that Mama wasn't quite ready, we decided to take the plunge into Livi's very own big girl bed.  We decided to move Nolan into a full bed we had in storage and give Livi Nolan's old twin bed.  Grandma Patti had given Olivia an ice cream cone comforter and sheets for Christmas, and Livi was so excited about the ice cream cone pillow.  She kept trying to take a big bite out of it. 

When she climbed into bed for the first time, she grabbed all her stuffed animals and moved them to the foot of her bed; the same place they were kept in her crib.  As bedtime approached, her enthusiasm waned and after 4 hours of trying to get her to go to bed, I ended up crawling into bed with her for the night.  After a groggy morning, I fully expected naptime was going to be a disaster.  I put her back in her bed, read her books, gave her a kiss and left.  She cried for about 2 minutes and then put herself to sleep for a nice two hour nap.  We did the same routine at bedtime and she did the same - cried for a minute or two and then went to sleep.  It's so hard to believe that my baby really isn't a baby anymore! Time goes so fast.

Legos!

Nolan was lucky enough to get to pick out a new Lego set on our recent shopping trip to Wausau with Grandma Patti.  It's amazing to me how patient he can be when he follows the lengthy step by step instructions.  This time he picked out a Captain America fighter jet and he and Daddy spent Sunday afternoon putting it together.

4K Open House

This boy is starting school soon!  His 4K open house was the other night and he wanted to dress fancy, so he found his favorite clip-on tie and baseball hat.  We got to meet his teacher, Mrs. Powell, and see his new classroom.  He did really well, but was a little shy (as expected) with the other kids.  It will be an adjustment for all of us.  I'm feeling a little sad and anxious too, but am trying to be Miss Positivity for his sake.  I know he will be fine and that he will love it, but leaving him with someone else while he's feeling sad and anxious breaks my heart.  We've been talking a lot about being brave and beating the fears.  (These pep talks are as much for Mama as for Nolan...)  Look out Pelican Elementary, here he comes!

Storytime

I just had to share this cute picture of Nolan at our library's Storytime.  We're finally back to going more regularly, after the chaos of the move.  We love our library!

Bedtime Goblin

How my daughter feels about bedtime lately...