Organized Sports

Tonight was Leah's first adventure into the world of playing organized sports. Soccer! Really seems like a perfect sport for three year olds. Leah was fired up and ready to go. She donned her shin guards and marched right out the door with her shiny pink ball that grandma & grandpa got her for her birthday.



All was well until it we got there and she had to put on the jersey. It was a no go. Guess green was against her fashion code tonight. The first ten minutes of her practice she spent crying and whining and trying to climb up my leg. I was a "mean" mom and lugged her across the field kicking her ball. Getting her out there was all it took for her to warm up! After she figured out how much fun it was she was lovin' it and kicked her pink princess ball all over the field and all the way back to the car when practice was over!

Now there are many other comments I could make about the joys of watching 3 year olds attempt to play soccer but we'll save those for another day. We have 5 more weeks to go!

New York City!

So Jonah is trying his very hardest to crawl. He can't quite put the pieces all together yet. He does have the backward slide perfected as long as he is on the hardwood floors and has now figured out the forward slide as well. I am always asking "where are you going buddy?" Leah always replies, "New York City!"

I have no idea where she came up with New York City. Maybe because she has heard me talk about her Auntie Meagan & Uncle Ryan's plans to move to New York? Who knows? It really cracks me up though.

A Sleepover of Sorts

Last week my friend Jennifer and I did some trading of childcare. She watched Leah so I could take Jonah to the doctor and we had Carter here for the evening Friday so they could head to a business dinner! Yeah for good friends!

Leah was thrilled to have Carter here for a visit and even more thrilled that he got to go to sleep in her room. And yes, they really did both go to sleep. Leah was bummed that Carter disappeared during the night and was not there to have breakfast with her.

It was a fun filled evening but BUSY. I feel for people with twins. It was great that they entertained each other but two the same age keeps you on your toes!

Dress up time!

Decorating Eggs

the bubble bath!

tired munchkins!

Leah's Birthday Makes the Big Time

I am feeling pretty cool this week because Leah's birthday party was featured on the blog Everyday Celebrating! Michelle, has all sorts of great party & decorating ideas!

Oh and her party also got a mention at Oneprettything.com!

Mom Guilt

Since I have shared the information a couple of other places on the internet, I suppose I shall put it here as well. I am suffering from a serious case of mom guilt. A case that will most likely last a life time. My baby will have a scar to remind me of the nasty accident that happened on Sunday. It was chilly so I boiled some water for tea. In a moment of mommy business I left it on the counter not thinking it was in reach of Jonah. Well, he used his monkey arms and got it and pulled it onto his leg. The result is a second degree burn circling his right calf.

We spent Sunday night in two emergency rooms getting him taken care of. To add to the craziness Paul was on an airplane returning from Florida and had to meet us downtown at Children's Hospital. Jonah handled the whole thing like a trooper and did fine with his trip back downtown to have his bandages changed on Monday. It's going to be a while before he's all healed up but he'll be okay. I think it will be a bit longer before the mom guilt fades away.

Here he is with his leg all bandaged up and yelling!

A Planter Project

So I have caught the gardening bug this spring. Eventually there will be another post about the fabulous raised bed Grandpa Lee built for us in the backyard, but today it is the story of the self watering planters we built on Saturday with our friends Jen & Carter and Carter's grandpa! We followed these directions if you want to make one too!

Those are the grown up directions. Here's the photo "kids" directions.

first cover your ears while the grown ups run the power tools

next eat some grass if you are so inclined

decorate your bucket with markers

don't forget to put the caps back on

decorate some more

add some final touches with paint!

put a plant in it! Water and enjoy!

Too Cool for School

So today was Leah's highly anticipated first day of "preschool". Preschool at age three?? Yup, our school district has a cool program where the Parents as Teachers Program puts on a preschool along with the high schools. So Leah goes to preschool for the next seven weeks and three classes of high school students teach her class as part of their child development class.

The only not so fun part about Leah's school is that she has to be there at 7:50 AM and it takes about 15 minutes to get there. Now really that's not THAT early. It's just the being dressed, fed & out the door part by that time that's hard work for us. Can't you tell by the expression on Leah's face in this photo?! We were running late and didn't have time to take 20 to get a smile! Our family of four along with a nifty Elmo backpack made it in time even after we had to turn around due to road construction and move our cars since we parked in the wrong place!



I really hope that Leah likes school. She started off being VERY shy today and sticking close to Paul and I. She did really well when the teachers gave her one on one attention but she had no interest in playing with the other kids. Hopefully she'll warm up over time.

And this is her cool new skill for the week. She needs a little coaching on the "A" but otherwise, she has it down!

Twofers

"Have you seen Jonah's twofers dad?"

"They're really coming up! Did you see them???"



Leah is totally intrigued by the appearance of Jonah's teeth. I guess it's the natural curiosity over something appearing where once there was nothing. I've convinced her that touching them is not a good idea because we all know that baby brothers DO bite!



As for Jonah and teething. I was really convinced he would be just like Leah and be a toothless wonder until almost his first birthday. I even scoffed at my friends who swore he was teething. Guess, this mom doesn't know everything. Those two little white chompers pushed on through right during the craziness of company and planning for Leah's birthday party. He endured the typical crankiness but nothing he didn't survive with a few doses of tylenol and a few nights of sleeping with mommy. Guess he knew he had to do something special to get attention the week of his sisters birthday!

Birthday Breakfast

Last Saturday we celebrated Leah's birthday with a pajama breakfast. Lots of good food and fun with her friends. Grandpa Lee & Grandma Helen were here for a visit along with Auntie Bethie & Peter. Leah was pretty thrilled with all of her gifts, especially the new power wheels Escalade. Just what every three year old really needs!

Photo Booth

It is really tough trying to fit four heads into the little screen of the photo booth, especially when 2 of the participants have no clue where to look. Here's the result.

3 Years

Three years ago about this time they had just broken my water and Paul and I were six hours from parenthood. It's been quite the experience. Happy Birthday Leah Noelle! We love you!

(please excuse my out of order photos. we are overtired and partied out!)

More St.Patty's Day

So, after the inspiring morning of running we let loose and had a good time enjoying the parade! It's not a complete day with out a mountain of green beads & some funny hats!! Fun was had by all!

Goals

So a year ago Paul, Leah and I attended our very first Saint Patty's Day parade. I noticed then that lots of parade attendees were sporting numbers from the Saint Patty's Day Race that was held earlier that morning. Once upon a time I was a runner (think high school cross country)and seeing those runners made me think "I could do that." So a year ago my 4 month pregnant self announced that running the STL St.Patty's Day five mile race would be my post baby fitness goal!



One year later brings us to yesterday. And yes, I ran the race! We packed up the kids and were out the door at 7:30 to make it down town in time for the 9:00 am start gun. Paul was a sport and kept the kids entertained the 51 minutes it took me to run and even managed to be standing in just the right spot to see me as I ran by.

Thanks to our friends Jason, Jen & Carter who joined us for day. And to Jason & Nancy for running with me.

Leah & Jonah are a little to young to really get the concept of setting goals and then doing what it takes to reach them but I hope yesterday was a bit of good parenting by showing them just one example of someone doing it.

Where's the Woodpecker

We can hear the woodpecker but despite searching high and low we can't seem to find him. He's out there every morning when we let the dog out but he is quite elusive.





Last week we had some really warm days and Leah and Jonah both wanted to be outside as much as possible. All of these photos were taken before 8am before they even made it out of their pajamas! We can't wait till it's this warm all the time!!

Dish Duty

So we have been super busy around here with company and just general running around. The next couple of weeks don't give us much of a break either. When I get super tired the kids pick up the slack. They did the dishes for me on Tuesday.





Seriously, Leah loves to "do dishes." This was an awesome way to keep them entertained for a half hour!

Readers

So those that know me well are aware of my voracious appetite for books. I almost always have one going. It really makes my husband crazy that I'd rather read than watch TV (he is NOT a reader, well he CAN read, he just chooses not too do so for recreation). I have always hoped to instill the same feelings about books in my children and have spent many hours reading to Leah and a few to Jonah. I know that my love of books was passed down from my mom who spent hours reading to me and my sisters. Anyway, I was quite touched when I turned from my desk this morning and saw this beautiful sight!

Thoughts on Fashion . . . Inspired by Leah

In the past few weeks Leah has been wanting to get dressed as soon as she gets out of bed. I have had to learn to "let go" when it comes to matching and things being weather appropriate. It's totally worth it when she puts on her own pants & socks and just needs a bit of help with the shirt. Here are some other thoughts.

Stripes and paisley go together just fine as long as they are both pink!

Every princess needs a baby brother to dress up as her "dasher" man. (her words??)

"Really Brayden your underoos look GREAT with the pink cape"

When you are 3 it's awesome when your friend shows up to your party in the same dress as you! In fact, you hug her!