Smarty Pants

Preston has been working REALLY hard at his preschool, and he has taken some significant steps lately. He has started doing math (what?!) AND reading (double what??!). We're thrilled that he seems to really enjoy both. I can.not.wait until the day he's reading full books to me! (And the day he can read to Callie. Then I can drink a glass of wine, sit back, and relax. HA!)

The Boy

A long one, but worth it. P went to a Miege football game with Clint last weekend. His dance moves are killer- this kid lacks no confidence.  Then he went bowling for the first time at a classmate's birthday party. Let's just say that hopefully his coordination kicks in soon. Next is a little homework time tonight (he started addition today at school!). And the last portion is him talking about astronauts and what they need. Funny boy.

Just what you want to see...

Some cuteness in general from Callie. She cracks herself up when walking on her tippy toes now, and is talking up a storm.  Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't.  She still says NO or UH-UH when she means YES, but we're working on it. She has become quite the comedian and loves to make people laugh.  The second part of the video was shot with the intent of showing her talking, NOT taking a number two. But, alas, she had other plans. (She HAS used the potty on numerous occasions, but no consistency. I bet if I had stopped filming and taken her upstairs, she could have taken care of this business on the pot. But then you wouldn't get to see it!)

Bobby

Please ignore the fact that I let Preston eat breakfast in his underwear and focus on Callie's cuteness.

In Honor of the Olympics...

I have decided that there should be something called the Parent Olympics. Some of the events could be as follows:

1. Trim Time- Trim fingernails and toenails of small children- fastest time with no bleeding wins.
2. Bath Battles- Bathe two small children at the same time- fastest time, cleanest booties, and no bleeding wins.
3. Distance Driving- Arrive safely at your destination. Smallest amount of tears (from parents and children both) and no bleeding wins.
4. Diaper Duty- Cleanest bum in the fastest time wins- keeping baby's hands out of the poop is a bonus point.
5.  Meal Mania- Get kids to consume at least one piece of fruit or veggie AND try to have more food end up in their bellies than on the floor. Bonus points for parents who actually get to take a few bites of their own food while it's at least lukewarm.
6. Pool Party- Only one parent may participate in this event. Take both kids to the pool by yourself. No drowning wins. Bleeding and/or barfing are ok.
7. Restaurant Rowdiness- Take kids to a restaurant to eat. Making it through the meal without being asked to leave wins.
8. Too Much TV- Leave your TV off for an entire day. Survival wins.
9. Photo Op- Get a good photo of both kids at once. No photoshop allowed. Happiest photo wins.
10. Hairy Mess- Cut your child's hair yourself. Decent look and no bleeding wins.
11. Bedtime Battles- Convince both children to nap AND go to bed at the same time. Least number of go-back-ins (aka- I NEED A DRINK! I NEED TO GO POTTY! THE FAN IS POINTING THE WRONG WAY! I NEED MY AIRPLANE! I NEED ANOTHER HUG! I'M HOT! I'M COLD! TURN OFF THE SUN! I WANT ONE MORE BOOK!) and quickest time to fall asleep wins. Longevity of sleep gets bonus points.

Anyone want to participate in these games?? We are lucky enough to live it every day! And love (almost) every second.

Here is Callie's idea for an Olympic event for 16-month-olds. And a little talking at the end. Don't mind the mess- that could be another event. Keeping the house clean. HA!

Enjoy!

WHERE did summer go???

Hard to believe I go back to work next week. (sob) My grand plans to write many blog posts documenting our adventures didn't seem to pan out very well.  I swear we did lots of fun stuff this summer...pool time, spray park, dino exhibit at Crown Center, lots of park trips, fireworks, and melting in the 100+ degree weather.  I just didn't post about any of it! Maybe next year...

For now, here's some cuteness from Callie to tide you over. Instead of saying "NO" it always sounds more like "NOW", which makes me giggle. And what's cuter than a baby in a diaper chasing you while giggling?? Not much.

Curtains

Who knew they could be so fun?

Side note- kids had their check-ups a few weeks ago. Healthy and happy! Stats as follows:

Preston-4 years

Weight- 39 lbs- 80%ile

Height- 42 in- 90%ile

BMI- 35%ile

Callie- 15 months

Weight- 22 lbs- 45%ile

Height- 32 in- 85%ile

Head Circumference- 18.25in- 60%ile

Knoxville Trip June 2012

Road Trip!!! Boy was it a long one, but totally worth it to get to see family. 



 We left Tuesday morning, headed for St. Louis to see my college roomie, eat lunch, and then drive to Metropolis, Illinois, for a pit stop and some SUPER fun. The kids did well staying in the hotel, mainly because I INSISTED on getting two adjoining rooms. Won't ever do it any other way. Nice to be able to put them down and not have to go to bed at 8:00.  (And enjoy a beer. Or two.)

 Obviously, we HAD to go see the giant Superman statue in the town square. I do believe this is what Preston's Heaven looks like. He loved every second there.

 This seems about right, doesn't it???

 Super kids!

Look! Up in the sky! It's Superman's crotch! 

 Stopped at DQ for dinner. Does he look happy or what??

 This meal was one of my favorite parts of the trip- just a nice dinner together as a family.

 We left Metropolis Wednesday morning to head to Knoxville. I had commented about how you can tell how clean a hotel is by the color of your kids' feet after walking on the carpet. Needless to say, the place we stayed was FILTHY. So imagine my horror when I looked into the backseat and saw this.

 I can promise you that they didn't look like this for much of the trip, but it was nice while it lasted!

 We made it! Went to the pool for some fun before the rest of the crew arrived.

 Everyone else came on Thursday, and the cousins had a great time together.

 Awwwwwwwwwww

 Callie's first time swinging all by herself! She may or may not have landed on her head a few times, but hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon.

 Water table = the greatest invention EVER. Sara brought hers, and I bought one the second we got home. A great entertainer for kids!! (And Mommy can sit down. Yes, SIT DOWN!)

 Some beautiful trees I saw on my walks there.

 Friday night we went to Mary Nell's parents' lake house for some swimming, tubing, and dinner. Callie wanted to go have a snack and watch everyone through the windows.

 Who has two thumbs and is pumped for their first tube ride?

 Swinging with Mimi.

 Saturday night their neighborhood had a pool party/potluck dinner. The kids had a great time! (Minus Callie, who was a mess and had to go home less than 10 minutes in.)

 They even had someone making balloon animals- Preston is holding Marjorie's hand because she was scared of him...sweet.

 A sword! (Yes, it IS a sword. Nothing else.)

 The best pic I got of all the cousins. Pretty typical that my kids are the only ones not cooperating!

It was wonderful to be able to see everyone, and we really appreciate The Pruitts letting us invade their home. They were wonderful hosts, and a fabulous time was had by all.

Unfortunately, I did a terrible job getting video footage, but here is the small bit I managed to take.

 We left Sunday and decided to drive all the way home. Over 14 hours in the car isn't exactly a picnic, but we stopped in St. Louis again for a little breather. Thanks, Andrea, for letting us stretch our legs, eat, and destroy your house!

Yes, I'm tired, too. (Out of the 28 hours total we spent in the car, the two of them slept for maybe a combined 4 hours. I do believe we deserve a medal!)

SUPER Party!

We celebrated Preston's fourth birthday in style this weekend. What could be more perfect for him than a superhero training party?? I did a little research online, stole some ideas, tweaked a few, and came up with this. First, I sent out the invitations below about a month ago, complete with Super Hero pictures. (Sorry, I can't get the spacing right on this part.)

Calling All Superheroes!!

Mark this date on your Super Calendars:

June 8th from 6:30-8:00 PM

Preston needs your help! We must unite to defeat the forces of evil! Please meet at headquarters (The Main Shelter at Antioch Park by the playground equipment) to prepare for the invasion. We must defend our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of cake. If you can join us to defeat our enemy — and eat cake — please respond as soon as possible with the following top secret information.

No special equipment will be needed, just wear clothing that is appropriate for outdoor superhero training. Your participation is vital to the success of this mission!

RSVP to SuperMom at marie_hooker@yahoo.com or put the info below in Preston’s cubby.

**Do not feel obligated to bring a gift for Preston, but you can bring a small toy for us to donate to Children’s Mercy Hospital — Superheroes love to do nice things for others!

___________________________________________________________________________________

Yes, you can count on me! ___ Maybe-I'll see if my cape is back from the cleaners ___ No, I have to help others that day! ___

My secret identity:

My superhero name:

Total number of superheroes and superparents coming:

The day of the party, the kids arrived at the park to see these banners, and I had some super music playing on the Ipod to set the mood.  

Clint helped me create these signs for the training stations.

 There were 6 stations they had to complete in order to receive their training completion certificate at the end. The Little Supers received a sticker on their shirt/costume/cape as they completed each task. 1)Fast as Flash-run as fas as Flash does- duh. 2) Web Master- climb across a big web on the playground equipment. 3) Capture the Kryptonite- as the kids were getting their instructions from me, a Bad Guy appeared, dropped some Kryptonite, yelled something about ruining the party, and then disappeared. (I missed this part on the video, but did manage to capture the kids' reaction- priceless.) Kids had to put the Kryptonite into the "Hazardous Waste" container using a teaspoon (you can't touch it with your bare hands!) 4) Magnificent Minds- guess how many pieces of candy are in the jar. The closest guess gets to take the jar home. 5) Leap Buildings in a Single Bound- use teamwork to create a building out of blocks and then take turns jumping over it. 6) Mighty Muscles- lift a VERY heavy weight over your head (pictures from this are going to be our thank you cards).

Super Friends ready for action.

Little Supers awaiting instructions for the training stations.



Too small for training, but still a cute little hero!



Fierce and ready to train.



Mighty Muscles



More Mighty Muscles



Mighty Muscles again.

Leaping buildings in a single bound.

Getting stickers after proving they are as Fast as Flash.

Capturing the Kryptonite.

Training complete! The Little Supers got their certificate (signed by Supernom) and super bubbles...just in case the Bad Guy returned.



Attacking the Bad Guy- he returned just as we were preparing to go eat cake. He said he wanted to steal the cake and spoil all of the birthday fun! Luckily he was ONLY afraid of bubbles. Good thing we had some! 

Best part of the party- Clint came to help haul the Bad Guy to jail, and the kids squeaked, "OFF TO JAIL! OFF TO JAIL!" while following behind them. This is my favorite part in the video. Seriously cute.

Bravo, Little Supers. Bravo.

They deserved this cake after all of that hard work defending it!



What a SUPER day for this little guy!

 

The Little Supers agreed to allow the Bad Guy to come to the party...as long as he didn't try to steal the cake again. Thank you, Jason, for being the perfect Bad Guy! I'm sure the random people at the park were a little leery of the creepy man wearing a costume hiding in the parking lot awaiting his signal to crash the party.

Video footage...we never could have pulled this off without the help of friends and family!

Saturday morning we took the toys to Children's Mercy Hospital. Preston really got a kick out of it. He received a toy there during his stay last summer, so it was only fitting to pay it forward.



Phew! Next year we will be having a small party at home with only a few friends and family. I swear.