Spring Break

Now that Jake is in school, we officially had a Spring Break!  Every day is a break for Ford :)  I tried to keep the week busy with some fun activities, I didn't want Jake to get too used to free time.  We also enjoyed the beautiful weather every day! 

The boys got to spend time at Grandma and Grandpa's on Monday, that is always a treat.  On Tuesday, we had a special playgroup St. Patrick's Day Party at Maddie and Izzie's house.  We decorated leprechaun masks, played and had a lunch full of green foods!

Wednesday, we went to our favorite library storytime.  Now that Jake is in school, we haven't been able to go.  We also did some painting at home. 

Thursday we decorated shamrock cookies and visited Uncle Billy at his fire station.  Ford and Jake wore their Halloween costumes and were so excited to be able to climb in and all over all the trucks and see all "real" gear and fire station.   Gigi came with us as a bonus treat!

Friday, Grandma joined us and we went to the Train Museum's Storytime.   We also played at the park and had lunch and cupcakes at the mall. 

Over the weekend Clay and I decided to start tackling some yard work.  It felt like we spent majority of the weekend outside, which the boys just love.  They were also great helpers at picking up all the clippings from the hedges and bushes.   We also got to see Gigi and Granddaddy at dinner on Saturday night. 

It was a perfect Spring Break, but we were ready to get back to our normal routine!

Baking, Butterflies, & Breathing

The boys helped me bake some snickerdoodles the other day.  They had so much fun taking turns rolling the dough in the cinnamon sugar.  I kept telling them to roll them gently.  Ford started singing "Row row row your boat, gently down the stream. . ." They had even more fun eating them all!

One day when Jake was at school, Ford and I were running errands.  Out of the blue he said he really wanted a butterfly net.  I'm not sure where this desire came from.  Target was on our list of errands and lucky for Ford they had butterfly nets in Mommy's favorite section (the Dollar Spot).  He picked a red one for himself and a blue one for Jake.  They were so excited to go outside to hunt for butterflies.  Unfortunately it was a little too chilly and none were out.  We ended up making some paper ones inside to "catch".

When Ford is sick, he is REALLY sick!  He came down with a virus that included a fever and a horrible cough.  When he started to have some labored breathing, we went to the doctor.  He ended up needing breathing treatments and we were sent home with a nebulizer and some steriods. 

On nice days, we love to spend time outside as a family.  We also do a lot of grilling.  Ford and Jake always want to help us do chores, make meals, etc.  I hope that doesn't ever wear off!  Ford brought his little grill out and when Daddy was putting some chicken on, he said "Daddy put chicken on my grill".  Instead, he cooked pretend chicken then later helped Mommy set the table.  Jake helped gobble it all up!

Soccer and School

We take full advantage of nice weather days and recently we've had a bunch!  We have various sports equipment and both boys just love it all, which is no surprise since Daddy is a huge sports fan.  We just missed the age mark for Spring Soccer, so we will work on our skills in our backyard and sign up in the Fall!

The biggest news in our house for the month of February, besides the big 3rd Birthday, is that Jake started preschool!  He was getting weekly speech therapy from ECI, but they stop services at age 3.  Typically you are then referred to an Early Childhood School in your district, but you first have to be assessed.  We started this process back in December and found out in January that he will attend 5 days a week, 3 hours a day in the regular preschool and will get individual speech services twice a week in his classroom.  We do have the option to send Ford as a tuition paid student, but he can't start until the Fall (non-qualifiying students had to be 3 before the start of the current school year).  The school is fantastic, they have a full academic curriculum that prepares them for Kindergarten.
                                                                                                       

Jake ready for his 1st day of school.

His backpack is almost as big as him!

Jake's first day went picture perfect!  We had been talking about school, reading about school, and visited his school a few times.  We decided on his first day, everyone would go to drop him off.    Daddy and Ford waited outside of school, while Jake and Mommy walked to the classroom.  We found his locker (yes, they have lockers), put his jacket and backpack away, then he walked into his classroom and started playing on the circle rug with legos like he had been doing it for years.  Ford on the other hand was very sad about not getting to go to school.  This is a big adjustment for them and really the first time they have had significant time apart on a daily basis.  Jake's teacher reported that it was a good first day and he seemed happy the whole time.  He seems to really like it and is excited every day when we pull up to drop-off and is all smiles when I come pick him up.  Ford and Mommy have some planned activities (some academic and some fun) to do together during that time.  My little babies are growing up way too fast!  Somebody please press PAUSE!!!

Jake about to go in for his 1st day!