A family affair

Ok, the puzzle epidemic has officially hit the entire house. First it was Nick. Then Zander joined in the fun. And now, Mike and I (and kind of Nick) are working on a 1,000 piece puzzle. Thankfully, we have a large green mat that rolls up with the puzzle inside so we can still eat at the table.

Seriously

I think my kid has a problem. I mean, there is nothing wrong with liking puzzles. I'd rather that than video games or guns or some other boy passtime that has little educational value. But seriously. The puzzles have taken over our table.


It's gotten so bad that Zander now has to get on top of the table to finish the puzzles. It's getting a bit ridiculous.


But I kind of like it.


At least until dinnertime.

Organization sucks

Everything has to get more messy before it can get clean. It's a frustrating truth. I spent the afternoon going through several Rubbermaid totes full of kids clothes. The intent was to purge some of the more worn clothes, but I didn't get rid of nearly enough. But hey, at least the totes are in order for the next kid, right?

Another weekend, another birthday

While I am very happy that Nick has friends at school I am getting a little tired of going to birthday parties every weekend. This was weekend number two with a party, and it was for two of his little friends. This weekend was a fun trip to the Imaginarium, where kids can learn about science themes with hands-on exihibits. Oh, and a snake show. Did you just shudder because I did. At first, Nick did, too. When the man brought out the first snake, a skinny "little" thing, Nick shrunk back into his seat and had a look of terror on his face.


Funny thing, a cute little blonde in his class (the one I am smitten with and who he was caught holding hands with at the fire station) was all about petting the snake. When I asked Nick if he was going to touch the snakes he told me "I don't like the little ones, Mom. But, I'll touch the big ones." He wasn't lying.


After the snake show and some cake and treats the kids headed back upstairs to have some fun (and maybe learn a little something in the process). This little basketball experiment really took Nick by surprise.




The kids worked together to lift a 500 pound weight bag.


And this robotic arm (reminded me of the rip-off claw machines at the store) was a hit with all of the kids (and a lot of the adults, too).

Swimming lessons begin again

I got in a bit of a tizzy when our local rec center, where we are members, had a computer glitch that kept me from signing up for swim lessons there before they were full. I looked around town and we finally settled on the local YMCA. And I am so glad we did. Last year the boys had lessons in a pool that was no bigger than 8 feet by 8 feet (if that). The Y has a large kids only pool that is perfect for my boys! It may have been more expensive, but the money was well worth it. And I don't know if it is the extra year, the time we spent in Des Moines or the bigger pool but the boys are doing great!!!! I couldn't be more proud.

I am unable to get in the pool (well, unable because I am unwilling to buy a maternity suit), so Mike and Zander are getting some bonding time in the water.






Then there is this kid.


Last year, he wanted very little to do with the water. He didn't want to be in there by himself unless we were nearby. He didn't want to put his ears in the water let alone his whole head. He was scared to jump in and was nervous letting the teacher help him. He improved over the course of the month, but he was still pretty hesitant when all was said and done. Umm... not so much this year.

This year, he is in the water by himself. He put his ears in. Then his chin. He blew bubbles. And then he went under. All the way. Without plugging his nose. And then he did it again. And again. And again. He was picking up rings off the bottom of the pool and "swimming" with dumbbell looking floating device. Yeah, I'm impressed and so happy. Oh, and proud. Did I mention proud?




I can't wait to see what happens next week!

Tie one on

Nick is almost ready for kindergarten. He can identify most all capital letters and over half of all lowercase letters. He can even match some letters with their sounds.

Unfortunately, it's the non-academic things --- his phone number, his address, his birthday --- that we struggle with teaching him. Oh, and learning to tie his shoes. That last one is kind of important (not that the others aren't) in part because his feet are so darn big. He is currently wearing a size 2 shoe --- in boys. That's just a couple sizes smaller than my youngest sister and my mom. Yeah, they don't exactly make velcro shoes in that size, unless you need the orthopedic kind.

We bought this "learn to tie your shoes" book from his school book club but have kind of slacked off on the actual teaching part. Mike has been trying lately, but we have yet to master the skill. Hopefully that is coming soon enough!

We should call him Mr. Puzzles

This kid has taken a sudden liking to puzzles, which really surprised me because he NEVER did any board puzzles. Then, I gave him a 24-piece puzzle and he went to town on it and hasn't stopped since. I was very surprised by how well he did, given that he had never shown any interest in this kind of thing before. But, given his brother's affinity for puzzles (he was the same way at this age).