Grandma makes baby blanket

Grandma Morris (and Grandpa too) came to visit last week to bring the baby some goodies. Grandma has been working hard and finally finished her first EVER blanket. It is knitted/crocheted (I can't remember which one b/c she is doing a hat too and that is the opposite of what the blanket it-I think the blanket is knitted). Either way, she did such a fabulous job on the baby blanket and I am super impressed, so I had to share it with everyone. And since I was taking picture, I am also including the cute pink Colts outfit they brought for her. We're cleaning out the baby's bedroom this weekend so that we can put the crib up and get everything ready. It's getting closer-only 6 more weeks! It's funny because to Todd it hasn't been all that "real" yet since he isn't carrying her, but when we were talking the other day about it only being 49 more days or something until her arrival, he about choked on his spit at the realization that yes, we would have a new baby in our family sooner than later :) Connor is getting anxious be/c he says "hi" to the baby, or mommy's baby as he calls her, all the time but recently he has starting saying, "I can't see the baby. I want to see the baby." Taylor is anxious b/c she will get to "hear" him play soccer since we decided together that she wouldn't be able to "see" through my tummy.

Follow up to bullying

Just as a follow up to Taylor's bullying situation, we did learn through more conversation about what took place that it doesn't appear that Taylor was "targeted" to fight w/ or anything. It sounds more like the group of boys were out of control and Taylor just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They didn't specifically think or say "let's get Taylor". And then of course Taylor comes home today and said he made a new friend and that new friend was one of the boys that had him in the headlock and had hit him the day before. Geez. Kids are so forgiving. Todd was also trying to explain to him that sometimes kids aren't nice..blah blah blah and Taylor said, "but they ARE nice kids..." Apparently we need to do a better job of teaching him what "nice" means :) Anyway, things have been much better. I just don't know if I am ready for the heartaches that come w/ growing up.........oh well for me, saddle up Jade!

Bullies in Kindergarten!

I am NOT happy that Taylor was bullied at school today! His teacher was at a conference and they had a substitute teacher. An elderly man (who probably was a great father or grandfather, but really had no business subbing in a Kindergarten classroom) was the subsitute teacher for the day. Apparently he did not establish control from the beginning and a group of "naughty" boys in Taylor's class took things a bit too far. Taylor came home wide eyed and said "Guess what happened to me today?" And then tells me he was punched in his face, punched in his stomach, elbowed in his stomach, pushed, tackled and "attacked" by four boys in his class. Our caregiver (also friend and neighbor) picked the kids up from school today to see one of the boys putting the other kids in headlocks on the playground, including Taylor. Her daughter, Grace, was also hit and pushed by these same boys at some time today. Needless to say, I was IRATE, MAD, etc. And if you think I was mad, you should have heard Todd! I really wanted to track down these kid's parents and talk to them, because ultimately it starts there. I did, however, call and talk to the counselor at school (the principal was out today) and communicated with his teacher; well we traded messages. Both have assured me it will be "taken care of"...whatever that means. But I was just so saddened. Taylor is not hurt (no physical scratches or marks) but he said, "I told Grace; they used to like me, but I guess they don't like me anymore". Sorta nonchalantly. Anyway, I know these things will happen, I was just hoping it wouldn't start in Kindergarten. Now all I want is for the school to make sure they DO something in an attempt to make sure this does not happen again. I trust that they will. We will see. I just wish I could protect him always. Ahhhh (sigh).

Fair

This pic is so not of the fair but Taylor wanted Grandma to take their picture on this rock in this field behind our house and I just thought this pose where Taylor was trying to get Connor to "pose" the right way was so worth sharing and so typical of them! :) The others are of the fair outing!

First, I have to give a "shout out" to my family that helped with our daycare situation this week. Our regular daycare provider is on a much needed vacation this week w/ her family so we had to find alternate care all week. This entailed taking Taylor back and forth to Kindergarten and then watching Connor while Taylor is at school. My Nana watched them Monday, my mother-n-law Brenda watched them T and W and my dad watched them TR and F. THANK YOU SO MUCH! On Monday night when Grandma got into town we went to the fair. We usually go once or twice a year. We may go again this Sunday (last day) to see the Demolition Derby but haven't decided on that. We got out of riding rides this time because we had JUST BEEN to Kings Island so we told the kids NO RIDES-but they did get to play a few games.

Kings Island

We took the kids to Kings Island last weekend. It was fun...well, it was fun for them :) It was 90 degrees, sunny and crowded. Oh, and did I mention I'm almost 8 months pregnant? I was a trooper though-except for when I almost had a break down in the changing room at the water park. It was so hot and steamy in there that I was soaked w/ steam/sweat after coming out of there and I was trying to change myself and Connor in this tiny stall. Connor fell off of the bench (whoops) and then was clinging on to me the whole time I was trying to put my suit on be/c he was afraid to fall again. My hair was plastered to my face and I was finding it hard to breathe. Thus, the almost breakdown. I grew up going to Kings Island every year as a child, so it was nostalgic for me, sorta. They have changed Hanna Barbara land to Nickelodeon Land and there is no sign of the Smurfs. :( I haven't been in 15 years (since senior year after prom) so it has changed, but the "feel" of being there is the same. We DID have blue ice cream (no longer Smurf ice cream, just called blueberry) and their yummy pizza. Oh, and we spent more money on food than we did on admission. NEAT! We spent $32 on bottled water alone. But that was worth every penny because it was HOT and we were THIRSTY. Taylor went on his first roller coaster-used to be the Beastie. Connor did well considering we had to wait in line and staying in one place is not something that fits his character. Good family time and as always, love to see my boys smiling and having fun and really that was what it was all about! :)

Connor pottying

So, don't know if I have mentioned this yet, but potty training is not going to so well. I haven't figured out if it is because I am doing a lousy job at it or if my "subject" is just not ready....however he does TRY to go from time to time but will only "try" for 10 seconds or less because that is the length of his attention span. Here is one of his attempts to "pee like Taylor".

As for the sunglasses (that are on upside down); there is no explanation-this is just Connor :)

Taylor (trying to) ride his bike (without training wheels)

I'm ready!

Set!

Go!

And CRASH!

So, Todd is trying to teach Taylor how to ride his bike without training wheels because he REALLY wants to, but it has been a process and we aren't even close to being there yet! Todd gets him suited up in knee pads, elbow pads, wrist guards and his SKI helmet before the big event. Then he runs along side of him and gradually lets go-and then Taylor crashes seconds later....that is usually how the routine goes. We had a scare last week where he fell and the handle bars turned and he landed on the handle bars with his stomach. The scream that came out of him was awful. I was so scared. There were no outward marks but I was paranoid he had internal bleeding or something. So we watched him really closely and checked him a lot for a couple of days. He seemed to recover fine, but decided he wanted to "take a week off of trying" because he was tired of falling :) So, we may try again, we may not. I figure by next summer he'll for sure be ready and at least now he knows how hard it can be to do something you want to do! It looks so simple watching other people do it! And he is his momma's son-me and coordination/balance do not go hand and hand.

Taylor's first day of Kindergarten

I sent my baby off to Kindergarten on Monday, August 10th. I think the anticipation and planning of sending him was worse than the actual day/even that he went. He has been looking forward to this day all summer and every person he sees he tells he is in Kindergarten now! He is SO proud of himself, and of course so am I. Of course I want my child to grow up and live all of lifes experiences but I just cherish every moment of his childhood and feel like each year he gets older, he gets closer to not needing me as much. And I WANT HIM TO NEED ME DARNIT! Anyway, we packed his book bag, layed out his clothes, did his homework and then I ran off to my room to cry. It just hit me all of the sudden and I got choked up and had to bolt! I didn't want to really cry in front of him because it is hard for a child to understand why I would be SAD about him going to Kindergarten-this is such a HAPPY thing for him! He knows that I get sad as he gets bigger b/c he always says "and you're going to cry when I get big mommy aren't you?". I tell him all the time he will always be my baby no matter how big or old he is. He laughs and thinks it's funny. I don't want him to ever stop calling me mommy either-I wonder how long I will be able to hold on to mommy before it is traded in for mom? Anyway, the actual day of taking him to school was actually my first day of school also and my boss was nice enough to let me switch and work the afternoon instead so I could take him and pick him up from school. All went well and I didn't even cry! I think this was partly due to the fact that Connor was with me and he was ALL OVER THE PLACE (as usual) and I chose not to bring a stroller so I was busy trying to keep him w/ me and I think that distracting the crying. When I dropped him off at his classroom door, he said goodbye and ran back quickly to ask me which pocket of his bookbag his Kleenex box was in and then turned and eagerly walked into his role as a Kindergartner. An elementary student. No longer a preschooler. And I left my baby to be a big boy. Ahhh, and what a handsome big boy he is. Can't even put into words my love for this wonderful boy!!! Thank you God. Here are some pics of his big day.

Connor's stuffed friends

First of all, let me start this entry by posting a link to all of our July pictures. I have shared some on here and some I have not, so here is all of July in case you are interested: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=13rxpw45.c4axskpx&x=0&y=-54qn37&localeid=en_US

Taylor was never into stuffed animals much. He liked some, but never really got attached. Connor on the other hand, loves all things stuffed. He started out sleeping with just one dog, then he wanted Mickey to be in his bed with him and now he has all sorts of friends that he shares his bed with. Sometimes in the morning he invites them down to breakfast and he pushes them around in his shopping cart to accompany him for other parts of the day. Then at the end of the day we have to go back down to collect them all to bring back upstairs. He then lays them all down to bed in his crib on the outside edge before I say good night to all of them. His friends are his stuffed dog (the original dog), stuffed Mickey and Minnie Mouse, a stuffed Hippo that Taylor won out of a machine at Jellystone Park in St. Louis and a stuffed Cubs bear that his daddy bought him. It is really the cutest! I have posted a picture of him w/ his friends in front of his bed as I was putting him to bed for the night. Also, if you are wondering why I still have my 2 1/2 year old in a crib w/ the sides up, you obviously haven't met Connor :) As long as he isn't getting out on his own, we aren't showing him the way out! As soon as he figures this out on his own, keeping him in his room will be interesting. Until then-he will remain in his cribs with the sides fully up, with all of his "friends" to keep him company. I LOVE MY CONNOR!

Welcome Ellie!

My friend, Jiffy (Jennifer) and her husband Craig welcomed their first baby, a little girl, on Friday. Eleanor Blanche (to be called Ellie) was born on July 31 weighing 8.7 lbs and measuring 21 inches long. She's super precious and I wish she didn't live in Arizona so I could snuggle up with her!