Preschool Activities

For various reasons, we decided not to enroll Jared in 3-year-old preschool this year. We are going to wait until he's four.

However, I would like to hold some learning sessions with him just by myself while Maggie takes her morning nap. I think it would be fun for him and get him excited when he's stuck inside with snowy weather. I'm sure I can find a million websites with activities, but I thought I would first take recommendations from my blogging friends. I'm not looking for something as formal as Joy School, but maybe a website where I can print out free activities to help Jared learn more about the alphabet and numbers. Any suggestions?

The Chub

What would you do if you found out your 4-month-old baby weighs a whopping 18 pounds and is super, super long (26.5 inches tall)?

Well, I'll tell you what I did: I put away her 3-6 month clothes and got out her 6-9 month ones. I'm afraid this little girl is going to be wearing size 3T by the time she has her first birthday!

P.S. This picture was actually taken a couple of months ago, but she was still huge for her age. The funny thing is, to me she looks chunky, but not THAT chunky. I guess she is proportionate to her length.

(Almost) Perfect Baby

This little princess of mine slept 12 hours straight last night with no wakings! The Buddy didn't do that until he was 6 months old! I just had to create a post to commemorate this special occasion. (She slept 10 1/2 hours straight a week and a half ago, but hadn't slept as long since. I have been praying and hoping for consistency!) I was up and awake and breakfasted and dressed and made-up with my hair all done before she woke up. Wonderful! We'll see when and if she chooses to do that again.

Billy Dress

This dress was given to Maggie by my good friend and former roommate Ashley. Since she lives out of state, I thought I would post this picture so that she can see how cute she looks in it! She has gotten lots of compliments on this dress. Thanks, Bill.

Cute Buddy

This birthday shirt was given to Jared from his Aunt Amanda.

Jared likes to pretend he is Steve on Blues Clues. He will stick his head through some random window or hole and say, "Hi, out there! It's me, Steve! Have you seen Blue, my puppy?" (Thanks, Jess, for the DVD!)

This picture is blurry, but it was Jared "helping" me grate zucchini to make zucchini bread. He loves to "help" me do chores, wash dishes, and give Maggie baths.

A funny story:
Last night I could hear Jared awake in his bedroom around 10:15 pm. When I opened his door, I could see him sitting all the way up with his hands on his head, as if he were scratching his head. When I asked what he was doing, he said, "Well, I couldn't sleep so I was just giving myself a mousie story." If you don't know what a mousie story is, see this post.

My Birthday

Last week we celebrated my birthday. Alan made it so special; I felt like I got three birthdays three days in a row! I spent part of my actual b-day with my parents, who stayed for our pizza dinner that night (yay for no cooking!) Then the next day Alan and I ate at Tucanos (if you are not a member of their birthday club, then you should be!), and Alan gave me a few gifts that I had asked for for our kitchen. Then the NEXT day Alan made me a delicious breakfast of butterscotch overnight rolls, and then we celebrated with my side of the family. Sometimes it is so wonderful to get exactly what you asked for for your birthday! My siblings and Alan gave me an under-the-cabinet CD player for our kitchen (which I have used EVERY SINGLE DAY since we put it together--thanks, everyone!), and my parents gave me a new bedspread for our bed that I had picked out previously. Our old bedspread (which we have had our whole marriage) was literally falling apart, as the stitching had come completely undone.

Our old bedspread. I loved this one, but it really needed to be replaced. I have a fond memory of this bedspread: when Alan and I had only been married a week and a half, we bought our brand new bed and planned to assemble it together. However, Alan surprised me by assembling it all by himself and putting on our new sheets and bedspread while I was at my college classes. I will never forget my delight at this wonderful surprise.

My new bedspread, with new sheets underneath! So exciting!

Thank you to all my friends and family members who sent me good birthday wishes! It was fun to get emails and phone calls and even cards in the mail from some unexpected people!

Maggie and her Grandpas

I think the grandmas are going to start getting jealous, because I seem to post a lot of grandpa pictures, but these two were so adorable that I just had to share!





"There never was a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him asleep."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson