Student of the Month

Today I had the pleasure of attending the monthly school assembly at the boys school.  My sweet little Mathew won student of the month!  Congrats to him for trying as hard as he does and I'm glad that all his effort was recognized.  I also realized during the presentation just how shy he becomes when he stands up in front of the entire school.  His friends were giving him secret thumbs up and he was standing up there as shy and as proud as can be....even though I realized he was at least one head shorter then all the other kids in the same category hahaha.  It also melted my heart during the assembly when I saw Zachary cheering him on when he got the award.....he was proud to see his brother win!  On the way home we checked out his ribbon and his gift card for the restaurant and we will go out as a family to celebrate when Jason is home for a week!  I am one proud mama....not only for Mathew's award but for the way he offered to share it with Zachary and for Zachary supporting him.

Tooth Fairy Visit

Well Zachary lost a tooth two days ago.  The boys were crazy excited....we got the tooth fairy pillow out, put the tooth in and the boys were all excited for her visit.  The boys were excited because they were hoping Zachary would get $5 like Mathew does every time he looses a tooth.  About an hour after the boys were in bed I swear I heard the tooth fairy....she decided to get the money ready.....and realized she had a predicament on her hands.  When she checked her wallet she had two one dollar bills and 2 twenty dollar bills.  Oh no.....so should we go with your tooth was not as in as good of condition so you only get 2 dollars hahaha or .......$20.....What!!  The tooth fairy quickly realized that there are three boys in the house and if she ups her money to twenty dollars a tooth we will be paying out TONNES of money in the next few years.....what to do....what to do......  she quickly looked in every pocket in the house known to man....and phewff found a five dollar bill!!  Phewff saved!  Much harder if she is alone in the house and can't just run to starbucks to break a twenty.  Mrs tooth fairy will not be caught in that predicament again and has extra five dollar bills now hidden in a drawer. 

So the boys were crazy excited to find the money and have been drawing plans to try and trap her for her next visit!

Oh boy....

I swear some days my boys are trying to give me a heart attack!  We try to baby proof....and yet who would have thought a one inch windowsill would inspire someone to climb on it......

Super heroes

The boys always ask to watch super heroes.....they want to read books with super heroes....they want to play video games with super heroes......Super heroes seem to be taking over our house!

Sometimes I swear I see them at the breakfast table before school.....

Sitting on the couch playing video games.....

and sometimes when you least expect it!

Keep your eyes peeled....they are everywhere :)

Library Bags

I try to share really neat things I discover so that others can enjoy as well!  I'm sure many of you already know about these but I just discovered them a few weeks ago at our library.  Our public library has something called "lapsit" bags.  There is a list of about 100 different topics you might be interested in for children.  You choose one online and it is delivered to our local library where you can borrow it for a few weeks.  It's genius.  I have been researching different topics for years and buying/borrowing books from the library with certain topics as a core.  This bag comes already all together for you.  The first specific topic we chose was dragons.  In the bag there was a puppet.....8 books that all had dragons as the core topic....a music cd and some extra activities. 

My boys LOVED it!  We quickly ready through the books and it inspired them to look up more online that we can borrow next time.  We used our own puppets to incorporate the dragon into a play and then we went on pinterest and looked up some dragon crafts to do.  My favorite dragon craft we did was a simple one where you get to pretend to be a fire breathing dragon after. 

I didn't even know the library had such a thing!  I know that me and my boys are hooked and I foresee us borrowing many many more of the bags.  Just wanted to pass on the info in case your local libraries have them as well :)

Love you Forever

To continue from my post yesterday about books.....we have been reading love you forever by robert munsch a lot lately.  The boys laugh at most robert munsch book and Josh really just likes to hang out doing whatever they are doing......so we read what the big boys want for bedtime stories hahaha.  When I read it to them though we change the sentence "this kid is driving me crazy" to "these kids are driving me crazy".  They were acting out the book yesterday....here's a snippet.....

I love how they incorporate Josh in everything hahaha

For the Love of Books!

Having another baby in the house has meant that we have brought back out all the baby books from the boys.  Some of them were well well loved....some were chewed but all were enjoyed together!  I think we may have read Brown Bear to Zachary a million times and Christmas in a Manger year round to Mathew for at least a year.  I often think of the special story times we had with the boys and also realize that we are still having them with them now.  When I was browsing pinterest (yes I think I am addicted but love all the fun things) I came across a yearly picture that you take of your child holding their favorite book.  I decided to put a little spin on it.....periodically I am going to take a picture of the kids with books they just can't get enough of.  Not only will I be able to look back with fond memories of all our story times but I will also be able to see their book progression along with their age :)  Yes I am a book geek....and our entire family is....and we wouldn't have it any other way!

So to start it out....here's is Joshua's first ever book he is obsessed with.  This Lama Lama book has been read well over 3 times a day for at least three months now....it's starting to show wear....but a good book is a loved book!

Oie....

So I was driving the twins to their hockey tournament today and it was about 30 minutes away so we were chit chatting in the car.  They asked me a question and I said ...hmm I don't know the answer to that we will have to look it up when we get home....and then Zachary replied....yeah we will just google it.  It was quiet for a second and then Mathew asked "So mom  what did people do when they wanted to look something up before the internet?".  I explained we had books etc.  His reply "wow that seems crazy".  I then said well we didn't even have computers when I was born....his reply "oh yeah I think your books were wrote on rocks and trees like the cavemen did".....yikes I'm old but not that old sweetie! 

Two minutes later we passed a car dealership and the boys wanted to know what the numbers were on the windshields.  I explained that the numbers is the year that the car was made...so 2014....2013 etc.  Zachary then asked me what year I was born.  I started 19....he interrupted and said wait....when you were born it didn't even start with a 2.  My reply...umm no....Mathew then adds in....well not everyone was born with a 2 at the beginning Zach.....like Jesus he was born before the 2000's.  Oh geesh so to them Jesus and I were born at the same time??  All I could do was laugh....especially since the next sentence out of their mouth was.....wow dad is even older!

Story time

Stories at bedtime have always been a huge part of the boys regular bedtime routine.  We now usually look at 1 or 2 picture books that they read to us or we read to them but for the last year and a half they like to listen to a few chapters out of a "chapter book". 

All of my military friends will know what it's like to have their husbands away for extended periods of time and how it changes the routines that you do in your family.  I know we say we try to keep it as similar as possible but sometimes we have to make adjustments.  When Jason was first away I would put on a book on cd for the boys to listen to right before bed.  This was okay but not as great as Jason and I reading the chapters to them.  So a few months ago we decided to make another change to the routine.  We started using facetime most nights for Jason to read them a few chapters out of their books.  This has really helped the boys with this extended period of daddy being away by having their special "facetime storytime".  They follow along with one copy of the book and he reads from his own copy.  It has been huge help for our family and really made the adjustment in routine a little easier! 

What types of things do you fellow families with travelling parents do to ease the adjustment while one parent is away?

Taking a minute to enjoy the view

Earlier this week two friends and I decided to try and take our babes out for a snowshoe (twins were at school).  We were kinda testing the waters to see how we would do and if we could actually do it.  We were not the quickest....did not go incredibly far but we had a great time!  It is more of a workout then you think carrying 1 year old's on snowshoes hahaha!  We were a little more out of breath then we thought on the way up the hill but that could also be attributed to

a) going up a hill
b) carrying babies on our backs
c) lot's of great girl chit chat

We took a short break at a rest/picture spot......sometimes I just need to remind myself to take it all in!  This gorgeous view is maybe a 5-10 minute drive from my house. 

Oh and I'll add because everyone always asks.....Joshua doesn't seem to mind snowshoeing either hahaha he fell asleep 1/3 of the way and just slept through the ride hahaha!

I would say that our family is a pretty close family and we like to spend family time together.  I will start by saying that I don't mind doing the occasional gym workout but I would much rather be outside doing an exercise activity with my family if possible.  When the twins were babies we used to jog with them in the jogging stroller.  When they were toddlers a friend and I would walk many kilometers a day with all the kiddos in the strollers.  Jason and I enjoy going for family bike rides and I would much rather try to be part of the kids sports activities then sitting on the sidelines.  I am always interested in ways that others incorporate their kids/families into their exercise regime.  I love hearing how other people do activities with their families and it gives me ideas to try out! 

It was actually a friend who recommended taking the family out together for snowshoeing....and it's an activity I can say that we have come to love doing!

Planes

Well I guess since Mathew has spent the last few years OBSSESSED with trains and cars I guess a natural progression is planes.  For the last few months Mathew has been interested in planes and often asks Jason the different names, types etc.  He received the planes movie for christmas from grandma and now he can't stop talking about planes!  We were at Sam's club this weekend and he found a book on jets and the little guy couldn't stop staring at it!  The two boys stood there talking about the jets in the book for a good 10 minutes while I browsed the other books.  We ended up buying the jet book and Mathew has looked at all the pages numerous times.  Last night on facetime he talked to Jason about all the different planes in the book and it's a highlight for him for someone to read him the facts.  This morning he and Zach were playing so quietly in the living room for a good hour.  Zach was building a robot out of a box and Mathew built about 15 different paper airplanes.  He uses the planes in the books as guides and builds paper airplanes and then tell me facts about them.  Who knew you could even make a plane like that with white computer paper and kids white glue hahaha

Tonight when I tucked him in I found him like this.......dream of your planes wee man!

Happy Birthday Baby Joshua!

Well it's official....we now have a one year old in our house!  It's hard to believe that it has already been one year since this little guy joined our family.  In some ways it seems like it was yesterday and in others it seems like he has always been part of our family.

He really is the smiliest, happiest little baby around!  He's soooo affectionate.....always taking a break in the middle of his playing to give hugs and kisses! 

Here's a little video of a quick kiss to his brother today during little coup play

We had a great day just enjoying your company today....we did end up buying you an extra present hahaha the busy block which you love!  We had a day of fun, laughs and just being thankful for the last year we have had with you!

Here's a picture of Joshua playing with Zackie today....

I know this next picture is blurry....but Mattie took it and it kinda shows how our afternoon was hahaha

So happy birthday baby boy!  We love you to death!  Now stop growing so fast!!

You moose be joking

Today Joshua and I had a great day while the boys were at school.  Book club.....lunch and shopping with some friends but the neatest thing happened at school drop off.  An announcement came over the school speakers that there was a moose in the neighbourhood....hahaha I never knew there were such announcements hahaha.  So on the way home we spotted the big moose...that's right...a moose just strolling through the neighbourhood.  We kept our distance and made sure that the moose didn't feel threatened but I will say it was pretty neat to see a moose just strolling in the middle of the city!  You could actually see it from our family room window just meandering around!

Sorry pictures are not that clear....just last minute snaps with my phone!

Kid Friendly Coffee dates

Jason has been gone on course for quite some time now so Joshua is quite used to joining me for coffee/lunch dates with friends.  He usually just hangs out with us adults and doesn't complain much at all.  Today, a friend and I decided to try something different.  In anchorage, a new coffee shop opened not long ago that is specifically kid friendly.  There is an entire section set up with toys and little tables where kids can play within sight as moms (or dads or both) enjoy their coffee.  There is a little TV set up as well that had kids movies playing.  It's a genius idea for parents!  Today I enjoyed the conversation, enjoyed the food and enjoyed that Joshua and his little friend got to explore around.  The owner was super friendly and it has a nice atmosphere where I would feel comfortable just even dropping in by myself with my kids.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Busy-Beans/1387121828180262

As a side note....we went out as a family shopping for Joshua's birthday presents a few weeks ago.  Jason and I had been debating about buying another "busy block".   It's a wooden activity block.  We gave one to the twins for their first birthday and they loved it.  During one of our moves, the movers put something too heavy on top of it and the wood cracked.  So before we moved here we got rid of it.  When we were shopping we decided against it and bought Joshua other things instead.....and when we get to the coffee shop what does he want to play with.....the busy block!!   arrgghhh!!

January memories

Last year I was super pregnant at christmas so we didn't travel to see Jason's family until about a month after Joshua was born.  I was just going through pictures of the last year and can't believe how much all the kids have changed in a year. 

Everyone needs a picture of a couch full of cousins....we all have them....and when you grow up you remember all those good family gatherings!

Wow What a Year

2013 was a year full of changes for our little family.  The biggest changes include moving, career changes and most of all the addition of our sweet little boy Joshua.  This coming weekend our little blonde haired, blued eyed happy baby boy will be turning one!  What a year it has been with you little guy.  I have never known a baby to just be happy to be with his family all the time.  You are my little sidekick, you light up when you see your daddy and you adore your big brothers almost as much as they adore you.  You fit into our family so perfectly.  When the twins turned one I remember Jason and I commenting that we had done it, we had survived and thrived through the first year of parenting together with twins.  As Joshua turns one I am desperately trying to slow down time.  It's as if this year has gone by way to quickly and I desperately want to embrace every stage you go through.