First Week Back

On Monday the kids started back to preschool.  We were all a little nervous because of the change in routine AND because the kids are attending a new school.  From the very first day, Coop did great!  He has been in a school setting since he was eleven months old, so that was no big deal.  The big deal for him (and Mama) is that he is now attending five days a week, when before he never attended more than three.  He has expressed that he misses his friends from his old school and has asked to go to the "castle" school.  I have had to adjust to this, because as his Mama I naturally want to ease any discomfort for him.  Luckily he seems to like his teacher and he does already know one kid in his class.  Also, this kid just has a good attitude!

Coop, ready for school!

Then there is Penny.   This little girl, who is only two mind you, got off to a rocky start.  She has only known her teacher and class from her old school, and she cried every morning that I left her this week.  When I picked her up on Wednesday, her teacher said she did well, but that she cried for her baby a lot of the day.  THAT I could fix!  I sent Penny to school this morning with her favorite baby doll.  I was a little worried that it would get lost and we CANNOT lose that baby, but I doubted she would ever let her go.

When I called the kids to come get in the car to go to school, this is how Penny came to me.  I let her  go this  way, hoping that giving her a little control would help her through the day.

 Here's to looking forward to Labor Day Weekend and an even better second week!

Penny is Two!

New bike for her birthday!

Yesterday our baby girl turned two years old! The word "toddler" is a bit of a misnomer as in there is no toddling when it comes to this little girl.  Penny runs, jumps, climbs, dances, sings, talks in sentences, expresses her opinion, plays (and fights) with her brother, asks questions, smiles, laughs, makes jokes, loves on her babies, plays trains, swims, digs in the sandbox and copies all the mischief Cooper gets into.

Penny, in a nutshell:  Some of her favorite toys include ducks, books, trains, stickers, Little People, and baby dolls.  I would still call her a picky eater.  She sleeps in a big girl bed roughly 10 hours a night, and takes an afternoon nap. We have not attempted potty training yet, but she is showing signs of being ready. She can and will say ANYTHING.  Actually, she can and will DO anything that is physically possible for her.  This includes jumping on the bed and rolling down the hill in the backyard (eek!). Penny LOVES to sing.  Her favorite songs include the ABC song, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", and "You Are My Sunshine" (though we sing, "you are my Penny, my only Penny...").  Her favorite books are "Goodnight Moon" and "10 Friendly Fish".

Penny is a hair-twirler...as she falls asleep she twirls her hair, which leaves huge knots that I have to painstakingly comb out.  She loves to brush her teeth, and I have to take her toothbrush away from her periodically during the day. She just started preschool yesterday, and will attend 3 days a week.  She can count to 15 in English and to 10 in Spanish.  She recognizes a few letters, knows all her colors and many shapes.  Her favorite color is pink.  She likes for me to put a bow in her hair, but mostly I think so she can pull it out a little later and tell me to "fix it". My favorite ability of hers right now is that she knows and asks for most people we know, even if we haven't seen them in a while.  On any given day, she will say, "Where's Clint?" or "Where's Nonnie? or "Where's Ma-Mas?" or "Where's Becky?" and so on.

This morning at the doctor's office she weighed in at 27 pounds (50th percentile) and 36 inches (90th percentile), and didn't have to get any shots (yay!).  For the first time ever, Penny was a happy, cooperative girl for the doctor...a sign of growing up!

On Sunday we celebrated this momentous age of Penny's with a little swim party.  I made pink duck cupcakes and put lots of little rubber ducks in the pool.  Daddy worked hard to make the yard and pool look nice and grilled burger sliders and hot dogs. Mas-Mas, Pa-Pa, Cousin Charley and some friends came over to play, swim, and eat.  She received a few toys, books, and clothes and seemed to love it all.  Happy Birthday sweet Penny!

Scenes from Penny's Day:

As we bustled to get ready for the party, Dooley alerted us to an unexpected party guest.

Party prep (and the early morning wake up) wore this 2-year-old out!  Penny crashed on the floor 20 minutes before nap time and we had to move her to her bed.

After her nap, Penny delighted in the pink ducks...she said, "DUCKS!...They're melting!"
(FYI...store-bought frosting is way too soft to uphold the weight of a donut-hole duck head and star-burst beak  in the heat of August....at least she could tell they were supposed to be ducks.)

Penny gets her ducks in a row.

The ducks in the pool were a big hit!

For August, we really had nice weather!

Table crashers!

Penny opens her presents, giving her new clothes a hug.  Thank you Raeleigh for the present-opening  harmonica playing !

Thank you everyone for coming, Penny had a great birthday!

Summer 2012 in Review: Penny the Pooh Bear!

It's hard to believe but next week Penny goes to preschool and turns two! (Stay tuned for Penny Week.)

Summer 2012 in Review: Coop the Doop!

Coop the Doop had a FABULOUS summer, but he is ready to start school on Monday!

Life's Little Moments...Happening Now!

We had somewhat of a quiet week this week, though I did reflect on what's really important...the little moments.

Have a great weekend!

Day at the Museum

This morning we knocked out another spot on our South Texas Kids' Fun Activity Tour...the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.  While small in comparison to other science and history museums in other cities, this museum has a neat play area designed just for little minds.   We joined up with some friends to explore, discover, and play and the kids had a blast.  With an adult ticket only costing $12.50 and free admission for kids under 4, I thought this spot on the tour was a bargain for an hour and a half's worth of fun.  (You can stay longer of course, but MY little kids were walking the line between mediocre behavior and meltdown after that long.)  The kids had so much fun, that a heartbroken Cooper burst into tears when it was time to leave...I promised him we would return soon.

The kids check out an exhibit dear to Cooper's heart...TRAINS!

Coop climbed the lighthouse!

Seafarers from the Columbus ships.

Contemplating his next move.

Penny's first visit to the museum...she wasted no time in getting acquainted with the place.

Practicing her steel drum playing.

A live snake!  (Coop wouldn't go anywhere near it.)

Cousins...Automatic and Lifelong Friends

I feel that having friends in you early years helps to not only shape who you become, but just simply makes childhood richer and more fulfilling.  We are one lucky little family to have some built-in friends.  Over the last few days, we had the joy of watching our kids interact with some special friends they have always, and will always, have.  Starting on Thursday, we had a COUSIN INVASION, part two...

On Thursday morning while Coop was at Space Camp, Charley came over to swim and play with Penny!

On Friday night, Brayden, Brianna, and Brycen came to visit us for the weekend!   We had fun on the boat and at the ski basin.  Here is Brayden and Brianna swimming at the ski basin.

Nothing goes together better like cousins and trains!  All five kids played at the train table  quite a bit without one single  squabble!

I particularly enjoyed watching these two...Penny had so much fun  having someone to just be a girl with.  

Brianna was such a sweet and patient mini-mama to Penny, it really  made my weekend.