ABCs

One of my favorite sounds is hearing one of the boys singing.  Here's Cole singing his ABCs.

Here's a video of Jackson, at about the same age, singing his ABCs!

Cole Turns 2!

This post is a little late, but I wanted to share details about Cole recently turning 2!

His birthday fell on a Wednesday and while he missed school on his big day (he had yet another cold that led to wheezing/labored breathing so we kept him home to rest and keep an eye on him), he was able to open presents in the a.m., and enjoy pizza and ice cream sundaes in an impromptu celebration with the Reeders and Gossetts that night. He loved us singing to him so much that he asked for us to sing again before the night was over (which of course, we agreed to).

 (Sorry - this is an extremely long video, but there's lots of cuteness.)

Grampa Curtis was in town that week, so he and Gramma Joan watched the boys on Thursday and everyone had a blast together.  The following day, Cole returned to school and while these photos don't convey it, he enjoyed the birthday circle there, the crown his teacher made him, and the donut holes we brought in as a treat.

On Saturday, we had a small family party at our house with all Cole's grandparents, Great Gramma, Scott, Anya, and Consuelo.  He loved and was totally into opening presents this year - he tore through everything, "ooohhh my'ing" along the way.

Cole's really grown up a lot in the past few months, and is quite the chatterbox.  Here are some highlights:

• Recently moved into the Early Preschool class at school, a few months prior to plan.  The transition went really well and he seems to really like his new class and teachers. (He loved his old class and teachers but now that he's in his new class, he won't even make eye contact with them!  They think it's because he enjoys being a big boy, and doesn't want them to take him back to his old class - haha.)
• Picking up new words daily, and is putting together sentences constantly
• Counting to 6 or so without mistakes
• Singing the "ABs" (that's how he refers to the ABCs) though with gaps/mistakes along the way. My favorite is how he refers to the letter V ("Weee").  
•  Occasionally sings Twinkle, ABCs and Row Row on his own out of the blue, which are the songs we sing to him before bed each night
• Continues to love diggers, cars, big trucks and can pick Jeeps out of a line of cars without even being asked
• Has gone to the bathroom on the potty (#1 and #2) a handful of times, and LOVES getting jelly beans for it
• Totally procrastinates getting into his seat in the car, so we've had to start bribing with jelly beans and often times, that doesn't even help, and it becomes a tearful wrestling match to get him buckled in 
• Took a nap without his bink at school for the first time today!
• Goes to bed between 7:15-7:30 p.m., waking up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. on the weekends. And takes a nap between 12-12:30 for about 2 hours.
• Had a great 2-year check-up last week, and is 29.8 lbs (75-90%) and 34.75" (50-75%). 

For fun, here's a blog I did right as Jackson turned 2.

Winter Whistler Getaway

We just arrived back from an amazing Whistler getaway.  We had such a blast and thoroughly enjoyed our time there with the Barths.

We stayed in Kadenwood, which is just outside Creekside, about a 10 minute drive from downtown Whistler.  The house we rented was beautiful and had all kinds of fun amenities including an elevator, hot tub, sauna, and plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms for everyone.

We were able to play in the snow and sled in the backyard, and in about 10 minutes, we could walk to the neighborhood's private gondola, which took to/from Creekside.

Jackson discovered ice skating and absolutely loved it. We went two different times and he did great balancing and steering, while I pushed us along.

While Jackson skated, Cole stalked followed Frosty the Snowman around.  He loved him and is still talking about him.

The big boys also had a chance to test out the tube park and had a great time.  Jen, Alex and Corey loved it as well.  

Most lunch and dinners were eaten out at restaurants, and the kiddos did surprisingly well (though Cole may or may not have tackled Jackson at the end of several of the meals, on the floor of the restaurant).  One meal included the largest plate of nachos any of us had ever seen, which Corey put a nice dent in (i.e. nearly finished).

One morning, we ventured to a local indoor swimming pool and the kids had a great time playing in the kiddie pools.

Other notables included:

Walking around Creekside and the Village:

Hanging out at the house watching shows and playing games/cards:

Jackson (trying) to take photos:

The boys did great on the car ride both ways, which we split up with lunch in Bellingham.  The border didn't have a wait and the drive went smoothly.    

We're already talking about a return trip next winter, though we'd stay a few days longer, allowing us enough time for the boys to take ski lessons and the rest of us to ski/snowboard to take advantage of the AMAZING snow.

Learning to Read

Jackson's taken an interest in reading over the past few months, and is doing a great job with beginning reader books.  It's so fun to see him excited to learn to read, and so fun to see him progress with each book.

Pledge of Allegiance

Jackson learned the Pledge of Allegiance in class earlier this year and loves that every Thursday, his class gets to say it over the intercom at school.

I've been meaning to get a video of him saying it for awhile and finally rememered to this morning.

My favorite part is the "thank you" at the end.

Enjoy!

2015 Year in Review

It's almost a wrap on another fun, crazy and memorable year.

Cole turned 1 in January and reached many milestones throughout the year, including his first haircut, walking, no more bottles, talking, and letting his silly personality shine, which is always good for a laugh.  Beginning next month, Cole will transition to the early preschool class a few months early.

Jackson turned 4 in April and has continued to impress us with how quickly he learns and eagerness and excitement about it. He's adding and subtracting, telling time on analog clocks and reading beginning reader books.  He's loved continuing to attend mini break dance classes periodically throughout the year, and he attended his first Mariner's game with Corey, Alex and Wyatt.  He'll start kindergarten next year (what?!).

The boys took swimming lessons last winter and soccer this fall. We're looking forward to picking swimming back up in a few weeks.

We took several trips including an adults weekend away in Vegas with the Reeders; a family trip to Chelan with my parents, grandma and Joan; a trip to Seabrook with the Shawvers; and several trips to Yakima.  I enjoyed a girls' weekend away with Kelsey and Sara in Denver to visit Gina, and an overnight trip to the casino/outlets with my mom.  We spent time outdoors on a few hikes and Corey and my dad took Jackson on his first camping trip.

The boys changed schools at the beginning of September, moving to a Montessori school just a few minutes from home and though we worried about how it would go, the actual transition to the new school went really well.  Both boys are doing great, and we're loving the new school and all the opportunities and activities it provides for the boys. 

We determined Cole is allergic to nuts back in June and we had a bit of scare in September, when some breathing difficulties landed him in the hospital for a few days, but we're happy to report he's doing great and is has been as healthy as a 1-year old in daycare can be (read: he's had a few colds, pink eye, and hand, foot & mouth in the last few months).

We enjoyed out-of-state visitors, including Grampa Curtis, Great Aunt Karen (all the way from The Netherlands!), and the Gordens. 

And 2015 included lots of other fun and memorable moments like time spent outside enjoying our amazing summer, riding bikes/scooters/cars; park trips; play dates with friends; splash pad fun; numerous games/puzzles; lots of dancing/songs/singing; froyo runs; and enjoying local attractions (Remlinger, Fox Hollow, Cougar Mountain Zoo). 

While we're all ready to ring in 2016 and see what the new year holds for our little fam, I wanted to spend a few minutes looking back all of our fun in 2015 with photos from throughout the year.

Enjoy!

Previous Year in Reviews: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

Christmas 2015

We had a great time celebrating Christmas (several times!) this past weekend.

Festivities kicked off on Christmas Eve, with time at home together, followed by Joan and Elliott arriving for gifts and dinner (which they provided, leaving me responsible for nothing...they seriously spoiled me!).  The boys enjoyed opening their first round of gifts and stockings (as did we), and we enjoyed the delicious pizza Elliott made.

Jackson was so excited to leave snacks out for Santa (sugar cookies and milk) and the reindeer (crackers, baby carrots and water). Santa loved the cookies, and the reindeer enjoyed their snack but made quite a mess.

(Not sure why Santa is spelled with a Z...it's not like Jackson doesn't ever write the letter S, considering it's in his name and he normally writes it properly!)

Santa came!

It was so much fun to watch Jackson open all his gifts from Santa and us. and to see Cole so excited not only about opening his gifts but also seeing what was inside.  He couldn't wait to play with things as he opened them.  

At one point, as we were just about done opening presents, Jackson turned to me and said "This is the best Christmas EVER! I love all my gifts!"  They spent a lot of time that day going from toy to toy playing together and solo.  

Cole loves his digger books.

Santa brought Cole a scooter, which he was excited about until...

We tried to make him wear a helmet.

That afternoon, my family arrived for round #3 and we were all completely spoiled.  Jackson has especially loved his Monopoly Jr. game, and Cole was so excited to open a "GAR-BAGE truck" full of legos and both boys have had a blast with a glow-in-the-dark race track from Scott and Anya.

Joan and Elliott joined us all for dinner (again, dinner was provided (by my mom this time)!) and we had a nice evening catching up.

The following day, Cole helped make coffee cake for breakfast, which neither boy would try (not sure how they could pass anything with the word "cake" in it up).  Then the boys enjoyed more play time and bathing with their new bath toys and paint.

Another Christmas in the books - can't believe it's come and gone so quickly, but we had a wonderful time and are looking forward to lots of family time this week.