Ready for preschool

Today Makayla got to go check out her classroom, meet her teacher and play with a few new classmates. It was pretty much free play and Makayla made herself right at home on the phone and playing with the doll toys. We also checked out the potty and she even gave it a try! Makayla had a lot of fun and is SOOO excited to start school next week! She will go on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9AM-1PM. She will do lots of fun stuff during the day and get to stay for lunch there! And since she needs to bring a lunch, we had to get....
A backpack and lunch box! We ordered them last week and Makayla was thrilled when she saw the package at the door today - she started to tear it open before I even had Conner out of the car!

Babysitter and preschool

Tonight we had a parent orientation for Makayla's preschool. And since it was parent only and we both wanted to go, we had to get a babysitter. Now it may not seem like a big deal to have a babysitter for 2 hours, but this is the first time we left the kids with someone other than family! Fortunately for us, one of Makayla's teachers at her old daycare does some babysitting and she was able to come over tonight. They made a dessert treat and painted. Makayla had no problem when we left and I think she was sad when we came home! Conner did great too!
The orientation was good (I've already signed up to volunteer for two things...) and I think Makayla is really going to like going to school. We have another orientation that she gets to go to tomorrow to see her classroom and meet her teacher!
This morning we went to my old school to catch up with a few teachers and go out to lunch. It was strange seeing everyone getting ready for the school year and not having my own classroom to get ready. Even though there are definitely things I am going to miss about teaching and going to work, I know I will really enjoy all the time I get with my kiddos and am thankful to be able to do it!

Pool Closed???

With summer coming to an end, we realized this was the last weekend we would be able to get to the pool. So yesterday afternoon, we loaded up to head to the pool. As we got to the parking lot, it was empty... We pulled up and there was a sign posted saying the pool was closed due to electrical issues. WHAT???? That's so NOT COOL! We were all crushed. So we went home and set up our own water fun and Makayla had a great time.

Trying to re-create the water picture from last summer... Not quite the same though!

They are awesome!

Erin, Sean and my dad all finished the Ironman yesterday! I was in frequent contact with my mom getting race reports and it sounds like it was hot, hot, hot! But as she said, they all finished and were all walking - that's a great thing! I am so proud of all of them!

Go racers go!

And they're off! My dad, Erin and Sean will be competing in the Louisville Ironman today. If you want to check on them, go to the athlete tracker. Erin is #167, Sean #1370, and my dad #2948.

Milestones

If I was keeping up with Makayla's baby book, or even had one for Conner, I would have a lot to write in it! Conner continues to do well at night, although he has gotten up around 4AM a few times for a little snack. But he eats quick and gets right back to sleep so that's pretty manageable. He's been doing really well holding his head up so we dug out the Bumpo chair yesterday. He sat in it for a few minutes and did pretty well. But then as soon as he was done, Makayla was very excited to play with it - and she still fit in it!

Speaking of Makayla, I won't say it out loud but I think it's ok to type - she just may be potty trained! I am sure there may be a few more accidents in our future but I really think she gets it. She's doing great and even if we are away from the house she tells us when she needs to go and has no problem going other places. Yesterday afternoon she had a big victory on the potty (you can probably guess what that was...) so we celebrated with a very special treat of a Snickers Ice Cream Bar (possibly the best ice cream treat if you ask me!)

And this morning when I walked in to get Conner, I found him on his belly! I didn't take a picture then but then had him on his playmat with the camera ready for him to roll again. Of course he didn't... But I will have the camera ready all day!

Fun with friends!

Yesterday we took a trip to visit Kelly, Julia and Matthew. And I am happy to report that Makayla did great in the car with no accidents and no need to have an emergency potty break! I'm really proud of her!
While we were there, we did all kinds of fun stuff and the kids had a great time playing together. We started outside where they did a little landscaping.

Makayla LOVED taking a ride in the jeep and Julia is a very good driver!

Back inside we made pretzels. They were delicious!

Then the kids dressed up and put on a show.

Then we did a little face painting (notice Makayla's moustache), then some arts and crafts and I was surprised to see that she knew how to use scissors!

Somewhere during all that they also played with play dough, had lunch, watched a video, and played in the basement where Makayla loved playing with the dolls and play kitchen. Whew! It was a busy day!

More success!

After another night of uninterrupted sleep (thank you Conner!) day 2 of potty training went very well. We made it the whole day with NO ACCIDENTS!!! Makayla doesn't get to eat much candy but she gets two m&ms or two gummy bears each time she goes on the potty. I think she has had more candy the last two days than she has in her whole life! Oh well - whatever works!
Like I said in an earlier post, I will not be posting pictures of Makayla on the potty, so here are some cute ones of Conner.

Ahh, so peaceful...

What??? I'm not sleepy!!!

I won't smile...

Ok, I can't help it! I love to smile!

What do you mean the camera's memory card is almost full?? That's not good!

Hilarious! You MUST watch this!

This Sunday, my dad, Sean, and Erin will be competing in the Louisville Ironman. They have all worked really hard and trained a lot, but I wonder if they did any training like this...

Important events!

Two MAJOR things happened today.
First, Conner slept through the night last night! We put him to sleep around 8:30PM and he didn't wake up until 7:00AM! It's amazing how much better I felt today after a good night's sleep! Let's hope that happens again...
And second, I must have been feeling pretty good because I decided to attempt potty training with Makayla again. We had a great day with lots of success and almost made it the whole day without an accident. It's a lot of work now but will totally be worth it when we only have to buy diapers for one kid!

Catching up

While Jason was in New York to be with his family, I decided to take the kids to my parents house for the weekend. Most of the drive was fine but there were definitely times when I realized traveling on my own with two kids is hard! Thank goodness I don't have to do it very often!
Before we left, Makayla picked a few tomatoes. Check them out! Jason and I don't have much luck with keeping plants alive and most of these we grew from seeds! We are very proud of them!

Saturday morning we took a trip to the pool and Makayla enjoyed about an hour long private swim lesson with grandma!

And they must have heard that Makaya likes popsicles! It really wasn't this dark when we were outside, the flash just made it look that way.

We had lots of time just hanging out!

And lots of time to play too!

Celebrating 100 Years of Life

My Great Aunt Lillian passed away on August 15th and today we said our good byes in a celebration of her life in Arlington, VT. I cannot fully put into words the deep admiration and respect I have for her. She embodied "life" and lived each day fully wherever in the world she might have been on any given day. The thought of her bouncing down a dusty road in Mexico on a road trip with my Great Uncle Edgar in the 1930s always makes me smile and I never did get to ask her (1) were there roads in Mexico in the 30s and (2) did she or Edgar carry the shotgun to ward off Poncho Villa? I am very sad to have lost such a brilliant light of life but happy that she is once again with Edgar and they are on their next journey together. I've heard many stories of martini barbecues at their home on Sandgate Road (outside Arlington, VT) with my Grandfather Bill (Edgar's brother), Grandmother Anna (Lil's sister), and Great Uncle Ted (Edgar's brother). Perhaps very soon they'll be reunited and will raise a little cheer together once again. Lil embodied happiness and always put others first even when the realities of her age and ailments caused her pain, discomfort, and even frustration with having lost a good deal of her independence. Her last note to us was in congratulations for the birth of our son Conner and in that letter in typical Lil fashion she asked for our phone number but promised to "not be one of those intruding people who tied up the phone for longer than necessary." I will always remember her wonderful smile, sharp wit, and the genuine interest she took in our lives. Lil, we love you dearly and thank you for teaching us to live, to love, and to be to others as we wished them to be to us. You will be missed and we will honor your memory as we live our lives as fully as you lived yours. Many people simply exist; very few truly live, you did that in spades. Thank you for sharing your heart and life with us, fair winds and following seas as you travel beyond this life and into the next.

Kettle corn!

Yesterday was a nice much-needed rainy day. And one of the best things to do on a rainy day - cook something! I searched for a caramel corn recipe and came across a kettle corn one that I decided to try. We had a good time making it and an even better time eating it! Makayla carefully chose the pieces she wanted to eat...

It turned out pretty good, but I'll still look forward to getting the good stuff at the fairs :) If you want to try it yourself, here's the recipe:
3 TBSP oil
1/2 cup popcorn seeds
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBSP light corn syrup

-Place oil and 4 seeds in pan, cover. Heat over med heat until 4 seeds pop. Add sugar and corn syrup and stir until dissolved. Add popcorn seeds and salt, cover.
-Keeping lid on, shake continuously so it won't burn. When most of the popping has stopped, pour into bowl. (We poured it onto a cookie sheet to help it cool faster.)

This morning we took a peek in Makayla's closet and rediscovered several dresses she has not worn yet. This one looks so cute on her! And notice she is still wearing her medal from yesterday...

Two awesome kids!

Conner and I started the day hanging out on our tummies.

Then he had lots he had to tell me... I love to hear his little voice! Whenever I make up what I think he is saying, Makayla always says, "mommy, he can't talk."

Then we were off to gymnastics. She can really run!

She does a great job listening carefully to the teacher.

She spent most of the "explore and play time" hanging upside down!

Today was the last day of the summer session and all the kids were given medals.

Makayla was very proud of hers!

So we went out to a special lunch and Jason was able to meet us there too!

I did it!

One of the biggest adjustments for me has been not being able to get up and go and do the things I want to do as easily as I could before kids. After having Makayla, I was convinced I would never be able to do anything again because my day would only consist of feedings and diapers! With Conner, I have a different perspective and know this phase won't last forever. But of course there are still hard days. Like most people, one of my favorite summer things is going to the pool. When Conner was just about a week old, my mom and I took Makayla and Conner. If you remember my post from that day, it didn't go well. And it was a reality check for me that this may be one thing I will not be able to do on my own this summer. Well today - I did it! I got both kids ready and to the pool and we had a great time! Fortunately it wasn't very crowded so I felt that I could be a little more than 6 inches away from Makayla... I also was able to go to the grocery store this morning with both kids by myself (a first) and gave both of them a bath tonight (another first!) before Jason got home. Although I am exhausted, I am starting to feel like things are kind of getting back to normal!

Sightseeing and almost rolling over!

Jason and I took advantage of having grammy and grandpa here to babysit yesterday and we did a little sightseeing. We went down to Mount Vernon (George Washington's home) which is just south of D.C. Neither of us had ever been there before and it was a really cool place with tons to do. We checked out the mansion and several buildings nearby. There were lots of gardens and other cool things to check out and the last stop was a museum that you could spend hours in.

The backyard overlooks the Potomac, a pretty nice view!

We got home to find these two hard at work with playdough. After hanging out for a bit, Jason and I were able to go out to dinner together and then even stayed out to listen to a band at a bar. Being able to spend some time together was a great way to spend our anniversary and we are so glad Mary and Ed were able to watch the kids for us!

Check this guy out! He's so close to rolling over! He just needs a little breeze to push him the rest of the way over!

Jason stole my title

So I was logging in to get ready to make a post about our anniversary and then saw that Jason already did it! It has been a crazy 5 years with lots of great memories along the way. Who knows what the next 5 years will bring?
Mary and Makayla were hard at work on a chocolate cake this afternoon.

It looks delicious! Calories don't count on your anniversary, right?

Five Years Today

It is hard to believe Amy and I have been married for 5 years. Crazy how fast life moves. It has been a great adventure so far and every day life and love seems to get better. From a proposal on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean to travelling to Puerto Vallarta, Belize, the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, Fiji, Yosemite (63 times with our visitors), Monterey, San Diego, LA, Napa, Tahoe, San Francisco (49 times with our visitors), the great Gilroy Garlic Festival, getting a dog, buying a house, having Makayla, moving cross country with two cars, Makayla, a dog, and a cat, visiting all kinds of Virginia festivals, to buying another house (Virginia), selling a house (California), the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater, having Conner, and now training for the Marine Corps Marathon it has been an incredible ride so far. We have a wonderful family and life and I am so thankful to have Amy. Thanks for all you are Babe. I told you on that cliff over the Pacific that I didn't know what the future would bring but I couldn't imagine it without you and that is still the same today. Looking forward to the next 5 and 55 years. Thank you for our beautiful kids and for being my Schmoop, I love you.

The BEST big sister

Here's a post I will have to dig out some day when Makayla and Conner are ready to kill each other...
This evening we had to take Conner to the doctor. Thankfully Mary and Ed arrived this afternoon so Makayla was able to stay home with them while Jason and I went with Conner. Poor little guy has an ear infection but he started his antibiotics tonight and we hope he'll be back to his happy self soon. As soon as we got home, Makayla met us at the door to see how Conner was doing. Then I took him up to change him and she followed me up with a toy for him to play with. As I was changing him, she put her hand on his belly and said, "it's ok buddy, your big sister is here." Yes, of course it brought a tear to my eye... We gave him a little medicine but before we did, Makayla wanted to make sure it wasn't going to hurt him. She is awesome!

Making dirt

Soon after Conner was born, I joined the local mom's group to meet other stay at home moms and new friends for Makayla. We've only made it to a few functions so far but one of them was a cooking activity that we did today. There were about 11 kids and they made "dirt." (chocolate pudding, crushed oreos, and a gummy worm to top it off) Makayla enjoyed the treat and really had a fun time playing with the other kids. And I had a great time being able to chat with other moms!

This kid is wearing me out!

We started with gymnastics this morning. Check out this little monkey!
She is so strong!

After nap, we headed to a place called Kidz Play. We met up with another friend there and the girls had a great time running in and out of the different bounce houses they had.

This was one big slide and Makayla flew down it super fast! Then she was a little too scared to try it again... So after an hour at gymnastics and almost 2 hours running around this afternoon, she actually looked tired at dinner and went to bed pretty easily. I have a feeling that I will go to sleep pretty easily too!

Fun with friends

Julia, Matthew and Kelly came to visit today and we had a lot of fun! The kids all played great together and I enjoyed being able to catch up with Kelly. They didn't let the heat stop them from having a blast on the swingset!

3 kids and a doll all looking the same way!

Believe it or not, fishy is still alive! Not really sure what Makayla is doing...

So peaceful... Check out his hands!

2 months old already!

I can't believe my "little" baby is 2 months old today! He had his check up last Friday and everything looks great. He is now 24 inches long and 13 pounds, 8 ounces. He also had to get shots which is not my favorite part. I prepared Makayla so there wouldn't be too many tears (she has become very protective of her little brother) and she did a great job comforting him when he cried - I even managed not to cry!
He is doing pretty well holding his head up - which is hard to do with a head this big!

How can this kid look so cool when it is SO HOT outside???

Conner is also starting to grab onto things and kick things with his legs.

Makayla does a great job playing with Conner. She was so excited when he grabbed on to the toy and brought him a few more to try and grab. She better look out before he decides to start grabbing her hair!