Daily Life for Alex

Alex is a very happy little guy, except for the occasional fits that are starting to appear. Someone needs to explain to Alex that he doesn't have to take after Madison and Luke by starting the "terrible twos" at 14 months old! He loves to play with Madison and Luke when they aren't at school. While he's at home in the morning without them, he has started to enjoy playing on his own.

He definitely loves this ball toss. We've had this toy since Madison was six months old, and Alex enjoys it more than either Madison or Luke ever did. He claps for himself when he puts the ball in.

Like his sister and brother, Alex loves to wrestle with Daddy.

Whenever Alex is tired and ready for a nap, he goes into his room, pulls his kitty and blanket from between the slats of his crib, finds a paci, and then he finds us. He'll walk up to us like this, meaning he's ready for bed. It's really cute.
Aside from these toys, Alex loves playing with trucks he can push around. He loves his little drum/music set. It has maracas, other shakers, and such. That's a big hit. And, finally, he really enjoys his wagon and push around/ride on fire truck.

Homework!

Hard at work

Madison had her first homework assignment this weekend. She had a manila folder labeled with all the letters of the alphabet. She had to find a picture of something starting with each letter in magazines. If she couldn't find anything, she could draw a picture. She only drew one picture...we couldn't find a zebra (or anything else with Z). We found a large question mark for Q, and then we even resorted to "American Family Physician" for a picture of an x-ray!

The Kindergarten Report-Day 1

Madison came out of her first day of kindergarten all smiles. She had a great day.

She obviously wasn't too tired, as she flew over to the jungle gym that sits outside her classroom door.

Here's her school

Thankfully, the road in front was repaved, and just in time. The construction crew finished it Friday, so it was open for traffic today. You can see the chalk lines in the background outlining where the crosswalks and such will be painted.

KINDERGARTEN!!!!!

August 16, 2010...First Day of Kindergarten!

It was a "cool" 90 degrees with 60% percent humidity at 7:30 as we left for school.

Big girl and SO excited!

Luke was excited too. He wanted to see Madison's new school.

After our short walk from the house, we arrived at her classroom. The kids were all really excited and enjoyed playing on the playground before school began.

I think this is one of the cutest things I've ever seen! Madison's teacher, Mrs. Irwin, bought a wagon to put all of the kids' lunches in. I guess the lunches are wheeled down to the cafeteria first thing in the morning to keep them cold and such, and she didn't like the bins others were getting to haul them in, so here's the wagon. What a great idea! It was so cute seeing all of their lunches show up in the wagon. Now, while this is a PUBLIC school (no, it's on an Army base and not a DOD-Department of Defense School), they don't have a kitchen in the cafeteria! It's like it's 1950! Now, the school was probably built then, but all kids have to bring a lunch. It's totally fine with me, as I would have packed her lunch anyways, but seriously, what about kids that qualify for a free or reduced lunch like anywhere else? I can't believe a school can NOT have to provide lunch for kids who might need it. Anyways, I guess it works well.

8:00, bell rings, time to line up for school! There are 18 in kindergarten (just one class...small post!). Of the 18, 15 were in preschool with Madison, so she knows just about everyone. Here, all of these were in her preschool class: Chase, Samantha, Tiara, Madison, and Dorian. Most of them were in swim lessons too, haha...it's nice living on a small base with little kids!

Heading into her class...that's her teacher, Mrs. Irwin.

Mrs. Irwin didn't assign seats yet, as she wanted the kids to be comfortable for a few days (plus, she wanted to see who they hung out with!). Madison is seated between her friends Tiara and Samantha. I think there are only four or five boys in the class, so it will be interesting!

Oh, and Madison did remember that today was her friend, Cassandra's 5th birthday back in North Carolina. She has know that for a long time, that her first day of school was also Cassandra's birthday, so Jen, make sure you tell Cassandra to have a great birthday!!!! Wish we could be there for her party!

Dance Class

Madison started her dance class this week, and it seemed to live up to her every expectation. She's in a combo class, which is a combo of ballet, tap, and jazz. She absolutely loved it. Her favorite part so far is tap (because your shoes make noise!).

At home, all ready to go!

After our 45 minute drive, all ready to go at the dance studio! Our neighbor across the street, Sienna, is taking the same class. The girls are thrilled to be in class together, and Kellie and I are glad to have a friend with whom to chat during the class!

The girls are waiting patiently outside of their particular dance studio.

Need hydration for a big workout :)

Inside the studio, the girls are all set for their lessons. It's a nice, small class with a total of six girls (including Madison and Sienna). There is also a nice viewing window where Kellie and I can watch the girls as they "perform." We'll see how she likes it. It will be a great class for her to try, and we'll see where the year takes us!

Fire Drills

Luke had a fire drill at preschool yesterday, and he still can't stop talking about it. He thinks it is the coolest thing ever. He keeps telling me about it.

Luke-"We had a fire drill at school. The firemen came."

Me-"Did you go outside?"

Luke-"When the loud noise came, I ran outside. It was fun. I saw the fireman walk in the school."

Luke keeps asking when they will have another fire drill. He tells me he can't wait.

I know he'll be delighted for Fire Safety Week the first week of October!

Update on Peas...

Thank you all for giving us your "Likes" and "Dislikes" of peas. It has calmed things down considerably! We still have discussions about the yummy veggie, but at least now, I know I'm not giving out false information regarding our family and friends.

Thank you for helping me to regain some of my sanity.

Car discussions have shifted slightly now that the new McDonalds has opened by our church. The kids believe that we should eat their on Sundays. I told our pastor we might have to find a new church with the new McDonalds open :)

Kitchen Helpers

I got a new shelf organizer for some of my canned goods. Our kitchen cupboards are deep, but they are a little awkard for getting to the back of the cupboard.

The mess before, and yes, I'm very organized. It gets this way due to the huge size and just no other organization the cabinet provides.

My "helpers"...glad I've got some strong boys to unload the canned goods!

They both thought it was fun to put the canned goods in a laundry basket for a few minutes. No one dropped anything on their toes, thank goodness!

See, for the other shelves, I have nice bins that you can pull out for the snacks and such.


Reloading...my new Cansolidator

My sanity has returned. I just had a few extra cans to put in the front, but otherwise, it's very nice and tidy!

The boys loved doing this! Madison was busy wathcing "Barbie and the Three Musketeers," and was disappointed when she realized what she missed (she was across the room engrossed in the movie...it's not like she was in another room of the house!).

Movie Night...Shark Week!

It's movie night, and it's Shark Week! Armed with popcorn, their pj's, and their blankets, the kids enjoyed watching the sharks from their chairs.

Even Tiger got in on Shark Week!

Peas

My kids love peas. We all do. I made the mistake of mentioning at dinner the other night that a lot of people don't like peas. My curious kids were instantly asking, "Why not? Peas are SOOOOO good." Anyways, the conversation hasn't died, much to my hope, and they keep brining it up, day after day.

Well, now they have added to this obsession by asking about every friend and family member they know, wanting to know their status regarding their like or dislike of peas. I've tried to answer for each person, but seriously, Madison has a brain that won't forget. If I tell her the wrong answer, I'll pay. So, I'm asking you, if you are a close friend or family member, could you put in the comments your like or dislike of peas? Please??

Mommy's Helper

He did a good job because the floor is clean! I totally didn't prompt him to get the vacuum. I keep both the toy one and the Dyson in the closet together. Lately, as I get out the vacuum, Alex's eyes get wide, and he flies to the closet for his. He's becoming such a toddler! I remember Madison and Luke doing the same thing with the same toy...ahhh, memories.

Pictures...

I had the kids' pictures taken today, and here's what we were able to get. The group one...ahh, yeah. Luke did the best overall, and Alex definitely did the worst :)

A New Leaf

Madison has been asking to take dance lessons for quite some time. Due to our remote location, dance instructors from Yuma won't come out here to give lessons. So, I have been looking at dance studios, both researching them online and visiting them in person. I found one that seems to be the right fit for Madison. She's starting lessons on August 11, and she's taking a "Combo Class." It's a combination of ballet, tap, and jazz. I think she will love it. The class runs one hour each week, the whole school year. I never took dance of any kind, so this is new to me as well. We'll see how it goes. It is a 50-minute drive to the studio, courtesy of road construction...usually "only" 45 minutes to the studio! My neighbor Kellie also signed her daughter up (same age as Madison), so we can carpool some. I am looking forward to watching her learn throughout the year!

Because of her class being a combo of stuff, she doesn't have to have a specific color leotard. Guess which of these two was her pick? She has the ballet slippers too, and we are waiting on the tights and tap shoes to come in the mail.

Super cute, in my opinion. Her hair isn't long enough for a bun, so pigtails or the Princess Leia look will have to do!

Day in and Day out...

Well, it's too hot to go outside right now, so we're trying to play nicely inside. Yeah, that's fun.

Alex loves his rocking horse.

The kids play well (for a few minutes!).

Luke enjoys the "Barrel of Monkeys" game a lot.

Madison loves anything related to her dollhouse. She's setting up for a wedding in this picture.

Swim Lessons: The Finale

The kids finished swim lessons today, and they have done really well this summer. Madison is diving (along with swimming well), and Luke can jump off the diving board and swim to the side. I can't believe the progress they have both made. It's been so great to watch over the summer. The kids have had lessons Monday-Friday, 45 minutes each. Madison's class had a total of six kids, if they were all there! Luke's class had closer to 10 kids, but again, they were rarely all there. Today, the last day, both classes had just two kids each, my kids and another kid :)

Madison, the Diver

I don't think adults remember the coordination that comes with learning how to dive until we watch a kid try to learn that same coordination. I watched A LOT of belly flops before we got to this :)

She loves diving, and I hope that wherever we move next, we have good access to a pool. I might have created little fish with the swimming we have here!

Luke LOVED his class. He was the youngest in his class, and he was their biggest daredevil. Luke was always the first one willing to do anything, and he begged from Day 1 to go off the diving board. They spent this last week on the diving board and on the water slide (it's pretty tall...about two stories tall).

Luke (and Madison) loved their swim instructors. These two girls taught the lessons last year too, and Luke would talk about "swimming with Miss Sonny" everyday.

This is the intro class, so they have kids afraid to even get in the water. Miss Ashley is standing a few feet from the ladder, and the goal of this section is to get the kids to push off the ladder and swim to her underwater.

Luke loves to swim underwater. His biggest challenge is that when he comes up for air, he forgets to breathe! He does come up, look around, and goes back underwater. We always laugh because he has to come right back up for an actual breath. For a three-year-old, he's doing VERY well!

These swim lessons are really fantastic. The classes are SO small, the instructors are Red Cross certified, so it's a very legit class. They are great with the kids, and for a whopping $21, you can't beat it! 45 minutes a day, five days a week in two week segments=priceless!!!

We will continue with swim lessons next summer up until we move. We hope to be here long enough for Madison to do the last level, Level 4. There, they work on the breaststroke and the butterfly (worked on freestyle and backstroke in Level 3). For Luke, they said he would be ready for Level 3 next summer right away, but I might restart him just to get his memory working about swimming...we'll see.

I'll tell you what...while I have really enjoyed the kids' lessons each day, Alex and I will NOT miss sitting out at the pool for two hours each morning roasting. It's been up well over 100 just about every morning, and man, it's been hot and tiresome (and very humid the last week). I've been the only mom there for the two sessions this time around; no one else had kids in both classes. I've been sharing that misery with Madison's preschool teacher, as she's been assigned there with the preschool kids who are there for lessons each day. Carol (her teacher) and I were very excited to finish the lessons!