Are You Sitting Down?

If you know me at all... you're never going to believe what I'm about to tell you:

Today I went outside and weeded quite a bit of our landscaping!!!

And I didn't even hate it!!!

I have ALWAYS hated anything to do with keeping up the outside of our house. I know that sounds terrible, but I HATE weeding and I definitely DO NOT have a green thumb.

I can't explain what's come over me, but I am turning over a new leaf, people! I'm totally motivated to clean up our property and work, work, work on house projects. I think I've just got some sort of nesting bug and I finally want to do some house work and take pride in my home. It's a really good feeling and I am excited to see some improvements. I mentioned before that I want to start a garden next year. I really think I can do it! But in the mean time, we've got lots of other stuff to take care of. I'll update as we get stuff done!

Don't Smudge Her Puma :)

Sophie and mommy - sportin' our kicks! I love her little Pumas. We're all big Puma fans.
Craig and I both got a pair of Nike Cortez's (except his have a black swoosh) and he is SUPER anal about keeping white sneaks clean. As soon as I got home this day, he got out the Windex and wiped mine down 'cause they had a "smudge". P.S. Does that make us total dorks that we have matching shoes... um, and watches... oh, and vehicles??? Wait, don't answer that. Anyway, I promise we're not as psycho as the couples that wear matching sports jersies to Cedar Point. Haha! We definitely do not dress alike, except to maybe coordinate on holidays. But that's totally cool. Just ask Casey and Wes. :)

Sporty chic.

I love pictures of little ones standing beside mom and dad. More than any other, I think that shot really gives you a glimpse of how big/small the littles are at each age. My mini-me is only as tall as where my hands fall against my leg right now. :) Oh, and please disregard my hideous hair.

Tot School: Trees & Plants

We haven't dropped Tot School!!! I promise!

We've had a very "chillaxed" (that's a word I picked up from Casey) Tot School lesson these past few weeks. Just like with everything else, I'm trying to take it back a notch and not put a weekly expectation on it. I have to say, this has been the biggest relief in freeing up my time. I know it's not something I have to do but I enjoy it so much and I know Will and Sophie do too, so I've been trying so hard to keep up weekly activities on various topics. But between summer agendas and our current focus on house projects... it's just too much. Good thing I'm not homeschooling, huh? :)

One thing I always fall back on when I haven't had time to put an activity together is reading books. It's an effortless learning opportunity and we all enjoy it. So we checked out a whole bunch of books on the subject of trees, plants and seeds and kept them longer than usual so that we got a fair amount of reading from each book.

Here's a look at what we've been reading:
1) How a Seed Grows was a "Let's Read and Find Out Science Book" with easy to understand step-by-step instructions. Cute but not Will's fave.
2) Jody's Beans - more planting and growing stories. I have to say, after this lesson, I am more motivated than ever to start a vegetable and herb garden next spring. It's something I've wanted to do for A LONG TIME and just never found the courage and time I needed to make it happen. Sophie will be two next spring (what?? ahhh!) and it will be the first time in a few years when I feel like I'm at a stage in my life where I can learn a new craft: gardening!! I'm so excited for the kids and I (and Craig too - after all, he IS a farmer's son!) to learn this together. But you can be sure I'll be taking lots of advice (and having many question-filled phone calls) from Craig's Uncle Ron and my Aunt Lori - the gardening gurus in our families.

3) The Giving Tree - Wow! It's been awhile since I've read this one and, man, is it depressing!? I think we only read this once or twice. I wasn't a fan. We found several others along the same message of "what-trees-provide-for-us" without the selfish (and ugly, I might add!) human as such a thief.

4) For example, The Growing-Up Tree - a similar story of a boy growing up with a tree and the tree providing food, shade and beauty, etc. The boy did croak as an old man in the story, but it was a little less harsh, in my opinion.

5) A Tree is Nice - I'm blanking on this one... but I think it was another story of the things a tree provides for our environment. We got this one a little later and didn't read it as much. I know I liked it though.

6) Sunflower House - Definitely a favorite. And what a cool idea! The boy and his parents plant sunflowers in a circle and they quickly grow into a cool "hide-out"/summer fort for the boy and his friends. I also didn't know that the sunflower seeds are all easily accessible in the center of the flower come late summer/fall?

7) From Little Acorns - Will really liked this one. From it, we learned that Oak Trees are 40 years old before they produce their first acorns, which start out looking like brown flowers on the tree. We also learned vocab like "seedling" and "sapling". It's a life cycle story and it's very cute.

8) A Tree for Emmy - #1 favorite for both Will and I. Kelly (Garman), I always think of your little Emmy when I read this - you should check it out. It's not a super educational book but it's just a cute story of a little girl who is very passionate about a mimosa tree in her grandmother's yard and wants one for herself. Her grandmother tells her that the mimosa tree is quite similar to Emmy herself: stubborn and strong and a little big wild. So cute. I love the illustrations. I love the prints on everyone's clothes. I love that the mom holds the baby sister in a sling on one page. And I love that the dad tells the store clerk "We want what Emmy wants." You'll see what I mean if you read it. Great book - must purchase!

9) Jacob's Tree - I just searched "trees" in the library's online catalog and this was one hit. Will really liked it, but it really has nothing to do with what we're learning. It's actually about a little bear who wants to grow big and tall like his siblings and his dad measures his height on a tree trunk. It's cute though.

10) Zinnia's Flower Garden - Switching gears to flower gardens and how things grow. It didn't hold Will's attention, but it was a pretty book.

A lot of what we did these past few weeks came from ideas I found on one of my favorite blogs that I follow. She did a whole unit on trees and leaves and had lots of links and suggestions - very helpful! Gotta' love the Internet!

One cool thing that Will got to see (though it's terribly sad for the tree) was the inside of a tree trunk after we cut all three Ash trees down in our yard.

I showed him how you can count the lines on the tree stump to determine how many years old the tree was. Too bad for Will, this tree was standing longer than 30 years 'cause that's all the higher he can count! LOL :)

We were also able to collect pieces of the downed trees for closer inspection to learn the different parts of the tree: "bark" (Will thought it was funny that trees have bark, "because that's what a doggy says!"), branches, leaves (there weren't many leaves left on any of these trees).

PreKinders has a whole forest unit with tons of book suggestions, activities, links and printables. That website is such an awesome resource!

Here, he was sequencing the cards appropriately for an oak tree life cycle. Admittedly, he didn't love this.

But he did love this! A makeshift Montessori tree puzzle that I created from felt like I saw on that blog. I drew a picture of the tree with the individual parts pieced correctly (to compare his work) and also labeled everything: roots, trunk, branches, leaves.

I gave him this activity with all the individual pieces spread out and he had to make it look like the control. Then he found the appropriate labels for each part - this required studying the letters of the words to make sure they matched the control - and placing them onto the puzzle.

Similarly, I made a felt flower puzzle and labeled the stem, calyx, ovary, pistil, stamen and corolla. He loved these! And he requested them several times.

Next up, a leaf matching game from PreKinders. We didn't use it as a memory game (though maybe in the future...), but it was challenging and interesting enough for Will to distinguish the minute details to find the matches.

On another day, the kids and I made family "trees" using their arm and hand as the trunk and branches. Then I cut out a bunch of green leaves (ugh - tedious) and we talked about the people in our family.

Oh, one last book that is super cute and educational is called Seeds! Seeds! Seeds! I would love to do all the activities in this book - what a cool grandfather Buddy (the main character) has!

But instead, we just started a seed collection like Buddy's for Will to examine and compare. Fun!

Other non-picture-worthy lessons this week included the following concepts:

1) Some trees' "leaves" are needles. We have a couple pine trees in our yard to explain this.

2) Trees are habitats for animals and insects.

3) Trees are important because they provide food (nuts, fruit), shelter, wood to build things and keep us warm, and also make paper and oxygen.

4) Trees are alive (he still remembers that What is Alive? book we borrowed awhile back) and need sunlight, nutrients and water to grow.

You can check out this website for detailed lesson plans on tree topics. I printed off "Where Does the Green Go?" from Unit 2 for us to talk about this fall. We loved watching and talking about the leaves changing last year. This year we can get a little more in depth and talk about sunlight and chlorophyll (ooh! big word!) for explanation.

And one other activity I'd like to do yet (but, again, may save for this fall) is to do leaf presses in play doh. How cool!

I have a handful of Tot School activities that Sophie's been doing too, but I'll make a separate post for those.

3yr/15mo Well Check

This morning was the kids' well checks with the pediatrician - Will's 3yr and Sophie's 15mo respectively. Craig and I planned to schedule them together and take the day off so we could head out to the fair later this afternoon. We also got in a library trip this morning between naps. A nice family day!

It's been a whole year since Will's been to the doctor for a well check. (He did go in last fall after the seizure and once this past spring for what we found out was just a spider bite.) So in preparation for the appointment, we got out Will's doctor kit earlier this week and he performed a formal exam on Sophie and me. He checked our blood pressure, listened to our heart, looked in our ears, mouth and nose, checked our temperature, and gave us a shot and a band aid. :)

We also talked to Will about all that would happen at the appointment for both him and Sophie. He does not at all have white coat syndrome. Our family has been lucky to not have many sick visits or reasons to be afraid of these appointments. Both kids seem pretty relaxed about the vaccines. In fact, when I told Will that he was going to get one shot (Prevnar) and Sophie was going to get three (I was wrong - it was actually only two for her - MMR and Hib)... he whined and complained that HE wanted three shots and Sophie should only get one. He justified this with their ages - Sophie's 1 = 1 shot; Will's 3 = 3 shots. I told him we'd see what he thought after the first shot for him. :)

Our appointment was at 8 a.m. so we were seen very quickly. Here's our gang in the exam room waiting for Dr. Carmen.

The kids stats:

Will
Weight = 32# (50th%) - Mr. Consistent

Height = 37 3/4" (a little over the 50th%)

BMI = 15.8 (a little under the 50th%)

Sophia

Weight = 24#8oz (a little over the 75th%) - Whoa! That's a 3# weight gain in 3 mos!

Length = 31 1/2" (about the 80th%) - Can't believe we have a tall-ish kid!
Head circumference = 19" (a little over the 95th%) - Yep, she's a Riedeman!

Cuteness for both = off the charts!!! ;)

Miss Sophia being nosy:

We heart our pedi, Dr. Carmen Weeber-Morse!

Sophie was really checking her out!

After one poke, Will decided he didn't want any more and cried/pouted a little longer than usual. I think he just had hurt feelings and was milking it a bit. Sophie got her two pokes and we were told the MMR would burn a little. She recovered as soon as I picked her up - tough girl. She's always good about them. And Will usually is too.

All in all, a great appointment. Both kids look good and are on track in all developmental milestones. Will also got his paperwork completed for preschool. He will not be due back for a well check until after his 4th birthday, but Dr. Carmen did recommend we bring him back for a flu shot this fall. Sophie will be due back for her 18 month well check in October.

What's For Dinner? Week 3

It's been a little more laid back couple of weeks per Craig's request. Last week we did a lot of grilling and not a lot of meal planning. That's my effort to "chill out" and honor some of his requests. But it's just not practical every week.

This week: a couple new Weelicious recipes and still a pretty simple menu:
1) Chicken Bacon Dijon Paninis, green beans, fresh fruit. I don't have a recipe for this. I just concocted something that looked like a Quiznos sub I'd seen. I saute chicken strips seasoned with salt and pepper, cook some bacon, slice some tomato and layer it all between some sourdough bread with Dijon mustard and slided mild cheddar. Then grill it on the panini grill.
2) BLTS with the leftover bacon and tomato. Mine also had avocado slices. Thanks for the tip, Kelly! For dessert: Raspberry Frozen Yogurt Pops (per a recommendation from my friend Melissa - thanks Melissa!):

3) Chicken Bean and Cheese Quesadillas with a little bit of salsa, fresh (raw - Mmm!) green beans from Aunt Lori's garden, cantaloupe. The quesadillas were just okay - a blended mixture of cooked chicken and canned pinto beans ground together and topped with Monterrey Jack cheese. I made them on the quesadilla maker again and once again, it was a mess. I like that appliance but I find it's just too messy for anything besides refried black beans and cheese.

4) Steak (on the grill), salad and corn... Craig's request.

5) Taco Salad - another of my efforts to please my man.

6 & 7) A couple evenings this week are being spent at the county fair, so on Tuesday we just packed a light meal and on Thursday, I'm still not sure what we're doing.

A couple randoms of my little lady:

Happy eating, friends!

The Makings of a Relaxing Poop...

This is what multi-tasking looks like to a 3-year old:

Step 1: Gather 2 to 3 handfuls of toys including several books, cars, trucks, a beaded necklace, a toy cell phone, etc. (What you can't see in this picture is the tool box filled with matchbox cars a couple feet straight in front of his legs.)

Step 2: Spread out said toys within arms reach of potty.

Step 3: Strip naked.

Step 4: Sit on potty long past the time when business has been completed because you've lost track of the real purpose for being in there while playing with all your toys.

Sophia is 15 Months!

Another month gone by...

Another quarter of a year flew past...
Wishing like crazy that we could just hang on to this sweet age...
But knowing that each new month brings more fun developments...

And so we're just taking it all in and treasuring each new day.

Lots more new developments with our girl:

1) Probably the biggest is that she started walking shortly after turning 14 months!

And now she's pretty nearly running! Especially when she's stealthily taken one of Will's toys and is trying to make a mad getaway as fast as her little legs will carry her. :)

2) She's learned a couple new animal sounds (that's a big focus lately) and now says "raaa" in a funny sort of whisper when we ask her what a tiger says. She also knows "arf arf" for doggy but doesn't always offer it up upon request. And I've heard "bawk bawk" (chicken) and "meee" (kitty) a couple times too.

3) Sophie's been exceptionally clingy to me since the beginning of this month, which I've attributed to:

4) THREE NEW TEETH! Two of them are for sure molars. I can't tell yet if the third is also?

5) Sophie sits still so much better for reading books now and doesn't even try to eat the book anymore! :) She likes to turn pages and occasionally give the characters kisses.

6) She is also enjoying the picture/first word flashcards that I've posted about before and can occasionally select one on request, i.e. doggy, kitty, baby, ball.

7) Sophie sleeps an average of 12 hours straight per night (a range of about 11.5-13). One night last week she went to bed at 6:30 and I had to wake her at 7:30. She is an awesome sleeper! Still takes two naps per day - about 1-3 hours each.

8) She has a fake laugh now that cracks me up. We'll fake laugh back and forth until we're both laughing for real. ;)

9) Check out these curls!!! No idea where they came from, but they're just so sweet.

10) The little lady is able to get up to a stand from the floor now without using her hands at all, i.e. while holding toys or kneeling. She just manuevers her legs and stands right up.

11) She's repeating a lot more now but still doesn't have many words that she uses with purpose on a regular basis. She repeats "car", "cup" (not well), "book", "ny ny" (night night), something that sounds like "day do" (thank you), and a few others. Still says "hi" and "Nana" a TON!

12) Sophie follows simple requests now such as "go get your ball" or "bring mommy the book".

13) She recognizes and pats her head and belly still, sticks out her tongue on request and opens and closes her hand (when I ask where her hands are). We're still working on other body parts. Sounds like cousin Mya needs to be the teacher here! Way to go, Mya, on knowing all your body parts! :)

She still makes the monkey face on occasion:

Favorite foods: all things dairy and all grains/breads, plus eggs, beans, lasagna, and a growing assortment of fruits and veggies. Loves milk and water in her cup. We're also still nursing once each in the morning and evening.

Favorite games: running from mommy while mommy chases her on hands and knees on the floor, stealing a toy from Will and making a mad dash to get away from him, dumping whatever liquid is in her cup onto her tray, climbing on everything, Tot School stuff that I come up with for her, etc. etc.

Stats: we go to the doctor Thursday morning so I'll post more then.

Happy 15 months Sophia Grace!