when the cat's away...

The mouse will play!! Jake is very possessive of his John Deere. So when Jake is at school Nathan gets very excited to take his turn driving the John Deere. He has gotten pretty good a driving it, and much prefers the John Deere to his Hummer. 

swimming

This summer we joined the pool at Sports Club. Saturday the weather was very disappointing and was not a pool day at all. Luckily today it was perfect! The boys had a blast and could have stayed all day but Nathan still needs an afternoon nap. We are looking forward to spending alot of time at the pool this summer.

kindergarten round-up

Today was an exciting morning for Jake, he went to kindergarten round-up at West Maple!! He was a little nervous this morning but as soon as he walked into the classroom he relaxed. Before he even introduced himself he asked where the science room was.  The parents were all taken to the cafeteria while the kids played in the classrooms. The highlight of the morning for Jake was being able to ride a big school bus. After round-up I took him back to Hillel where he was very excited to tell his friends about his exciting morning.  I'm very relieved that it went well. Jake is officially excited for kindergarten!!

cooking with marla

Nathan and I take a cooking class with Miss Marla on Monday mornings. At first I was not so sure what I thought about this class, the first few things we made were pretty gross,  but we both really ending up enjoying it. It really helped that it was a small class, just 6 kids who are right about Nathan age. It was also a really great group of moms.  We only have one class left and  Nathan is going to miss Miss  Marla. After the cooking part of the class while our treat is baking there is time to play and make an arts and crafts recipes and of course music, stories and bubbles. Today we had made cranberry graham scones and had a bonus treat of a chocolate cupcakes since a little girl was celebrating her birthday.

the set-up, if only it was like this at home

Miss Marla with Nathan

ava bella

Our good friends Kendra and Tony welcomed their second child, a baby girl in to this world on Friday afternoon!! Ava Bella Montatne weighed in at just 5 pounds 4 ounces and 18 inches. Therese and I could not wait to go and visit them!! 

my boys were never this small

mama and ava

tadpoles!

Grandpa took Jake and Nathan to the pet store to buy fish food and they also came home with TADPOLES!  They were SO excited to release them into the pond! 

catching up

I have been a bad blogger lately. It is not that we have not been busy I just have not been great with the camera. Then today I deleted a bunch of pictures accidentally. We have been enjoying the great weather and being outside. 

saturday morning soccer

Jake was not in soccer playing mood, he was in a socializing mood. He was much more concerned what was happening on the sidelines than the soccer field. The good news is the coach gave me to go ahead to sign Nathan up for the fall season. 

mothers day tea

Jake's class hosted a lovely Mothers Day brunch Friday morning. The kids worked so had all week preparing for the day. The kids cut all the fruit and veggies, set the table and made the decorations! First we made challah bread then went into the class room to hear all the cute songs they have been working on. Then finally they presented us with the gifts they made for us. Jake made me a special serving platter and candle stick holders.

nathan is 2 and half!!

It's hard to believe that our little man is 2 1/2 today!! I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Nathan had his 30 month well check on Monday and his stats are: 

Weight: 32lbs 0oz (fully clothed) - 50-75 percentile
Height - 36.25" - 50th  percentile
Shoe size - 7
Clothing - 2T bottoms and mostly 3T top, some 2T still fits
(So he gained 2.5lbs  and grew 2.25" this past six months.)

The biggest development with Nathan is he is potty trained!! Let me tell you potty training Nathan has been so easy!! It is so true when they are ready they are ready. He did not want to wear diapers any more and well at that point there was no turning back. He even stays dry for naps and we only use a pull-up at night!! We are so proud of our little man. He is loving going to school two morning a week. And, I'm loving the little break. He is so full of personality and never sit still.  He adores Jake and wants to do everything he does. I can't stop thinking that when Jake was 2 1/2, I was days away from having Nathan. Here are a few fun facts :

- He can count to 12 (just missing a number every so often)
- Can sing the ABC song, as well as others like Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Happy Birthday
- Can count objects - usually up to 5 or 6.
- Very in to band-aids and boo-boos
- He is just about able to ride his tricycle.
- He can undress himself. Working on getting himself dressed
- He loves to dance!
 - He has turned in to a very picky eater.
- He can open and unlock household doors.
- He enjoys arts and crafts and leaning activities.
- Working on colors (knows them all but gets a few confused at times)

- Shapes - knows square, circle, triangle, and heart for sure

- Is taking a karate class and loves it!

- He says his name is Nate.

- He is very in to books and being read to.

- His favorite toys are whatever Jake does not want him to play with. 

Brady's 5th birthday

Brady's had his 5th birthday party at The Sports Club. The kids had a blast doing gymnastics, having pizza and eating rainbow cake!!

Birthday boy Brady

jake's 5 year well check

Weight: 40lbs 0oz (fully clothed) - 25-50 percentile
Height - 43.75" - 50-75 percentile
(So he gained 5lbs  and grew 3.25" this past year.)

This check up was a breeze.  He is tracking right along his same growth curve and doing great. He passed all the developmental milestones as well.  The doctor commented that she could tell  a huge difference is his speech. We talked about how Jake always seem tired even though he gets about 11 hours a sleep a night so they are going to test his thyroid especially since there is a family history of thyroid disease. I have to take him to beaumont for the blood test. Not looking forward to that but it will be quick. Even though I was concerned about him still needing a pull-up at night Dr. Elton said 20% of five year-olds still need it and it is not an issue. Her only suggestion was to put a little potty seat in his room at night.  He is going to stay on flonase and zrytec for now since they are working well for him. 

first soccer game

Jake had his first soccer game of the season on Saturday. He was very excited that this week he got to play with three of his best buddies, Brady, Logan and Enzo!! Before the game started the boys came up with a cheer all own their own. Jake's soccer skills are defiantly improving. The four plays so well together, they played so well the coach divided them up  half way thru so the other team could have a chance. 

keeping busy by getting in to trouble