Friday, January 28, 2011

Proud

So... it has been a few weeks since I have posted...but that is not to say that life has been quiet and mundane around here.... Lots going on...Never a dull moment.  The last few weeks have been full of ups and downs.  C'est la vie...right?  Besides the adoption roller coaster....much of our time has been consumed by intense potty training sessions....and (knock on wood) I think we may just be turning over a new leaf. I think my little man is FINALLY getting the hang of it.  I just about melt...when he potties and then says.."mommee...are you so proud of me?"  I think I just need to carry a video camera on my hip....just to capture all the funny things he says during the day.  

I also forced myself to fill out the preschool registration form for next year....oh... how I will dread sending this little guy to school next year...even if it is for 2 short mornings a week.  He has become my sidekick....my buddy...my grocery shopper....even my cleaner!  Love...love love him...and I will miss our time together tremendously next year!!!  

Of course... he does keep me on my toes...if I'm not watching he will  allow Willie to eat his leftover snack...ziplock bag included, he will press the buttons on the washer when it is still going, he will roll down his car window when it is 21 degrees outside....and yes... he will even stick sister's small Polly Pocket toys up his nose (lesson learned: can NOT clean and vacuum and take my eyes off him unless he is napping!!!)

I am also beaming  over Miss Sophia's acting abilities.  The first grades at her school had their E-I E-I OOPS musical performance last night.  The play was about a group of farm animals who were upset that their cow did not moo.  She was quite the performer....singing with her mouth wide open, dancing....and doing all the moves with not one ounce of stage fright.  She is fearless.  She even had a short speaking part...and rambled it off perfectly.  I am so proud of this little girl.  I desperately wanted to get some good pictures during the performance so you could see the excitement in her face...but I was sitting too far away:( and didn't have my close up lens.  So you really have to look for the little cute blonde girl in all of her yellows (dressed like a chick).

Posing...pre-performance




Her biggest fan waiting for the show to begin...


Getting ready for her line...


"If you can't solve this problem, there's one thing left to try!"




And just a few more pictures that I just haven't had time to post.  During one of our many snow days....we found this fun little activity from this amazing blog where you use a pipe cleaner, and a mixture of borax and water to make a crystalized snowflake.  Here the kids are preparing the solution before we hung the pipe cleaner to soak overnight. 





Here is what we awoke to the next morning..


Can you see the crystals??? Pretty neat trick:)



And when the snow days were over and we were back to the school routine...we caught up on our memory game skills.  Joseph is especially fond of our new valentine's memory game.



It was refreshing to have some sunny weather and warmer temperatures today.  Sometimes we just need a little break from old man winter to give us the energy to "push through" till Spring.  Even little J is asking "When will it be pringtime so I can eat my "dramwich" (sandwich) outside?"


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Growth

Just a year ago....our little guy looked like this....



Here are Joseph's 2-year stats:
Weight: 26 lbs 4 oz (26th percentile)
Lenght: 33 inches (14th percentile)


Today....our BIG 3 year old looks like this:




He had his 3 year well check this morning!  Sister got to tag along too....she's been a bit under the weather and we had her checked for strep...which was negative...whew!!! 


Anyway, little J 's three year stats have him at 
weight:  32 lbs (50%)
height:  36 inches (nurse said this was 15%, but doctor said 25%...so not sure)


He has done some growing this year!!!  Now I just have to get him interested in this whole potty thing....consistently....oh my....this may be a chore:)


He was so chatty with the nurses and doctor today that I hardly got a word in.  Sooo funny!  He remembered watching me have my blood pressure taken at my doctor and thought it was pretty neat that they did it to him too.  He was a bit upset that Sophia got to have her temp taken...so after voicing this concern to the nurse (whom he referred to as "Doctor") he got to have his taken too!  


This little guy is a charmer..and says the funniest things...and the sweetest things.  Today I was getting him ready for a nap and he gave me a hug and said " You're the best mudder in the whole wide world!"  Melts my heart!


The best part of today's appointment....NO Shots!! Yipee!  Now if we can just get Sophia and Daddy feeling better...we might be almost back to normal:)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Climb Aboard!

Birthdays are a big deal at our house....and it's always a rather daunting task for me to decide what kind of party we are going to have for the kids' birthdays.  Joseph kept going back and forth between a Lightning McQueen party and a Thomas Train party.  We opted for a train party since we thought a train table would be a really fun present for this little guy!  And since I'm not a huge fan of character parties... I thought we would just have a train party with a little touch of Thomas!

I have a TON of pictures to share...I guess I need to learn how to incorporate them all into a storyboard format....(begging for help here....)...But for now I'll just have to post them individually....sorry about the lengthy post...but had to capture it all!

First...the decorations!


The train carrying the party favors....Thomas cookies and lollipop cookies



The invitation...

We celebrated his birthday a day early... so everyone could be there!

Where  I wanted him to pose for  a picture...but he kept running off...:)

Okay...so I got a few...



A cute picture of the two of them (pre-party) watching to see what kind of truck the sponge capsule would grow into.


A few pictures of him I had taken over the past year...we hung them from the "Joseph" tree!


Love those Handy Manny pants...too bad he still prefers his diapers....oh my....need to get in serious potty training mode and quick!!

Next up:  some of the treats!

sugar cookies...of course

bite-sized sour cream pound cake cuppies....you can find the recipe here.

The chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream

The PRESENTS

What a lucky little boy...so many darling clothes and wonderful toys...so many people who love this little guy!  Here he is opening his new big wheel from Yiayia and Pappou (too bad he's still a little short...those little legs just can't yet reach those pedals!!!)  It won't be long though!


The talking train station from mama, daddy and sophia

And the big surprise unveiled beneath a lovely white sheet...  A TRAIN TABLE!
He was so quick to see it...that I couldn't take the picture fast enough (thus the blur :( )

Big sister showing him the ropes!!! Poor Sophia didn't feel great, but you wouldn't have known it!  She was pretty excited for her little brother!

Daddy did such a nice job putting it together!!  Too bad it doesn't look this neat and organized now:)


Tried to use some different settings on my camera here...big mistake....it would have been so cute with the right ISO and without that blur.  This mama needs lots more practice!!!

We decided to take the cake with us to Fritz's! Sophia and Joseph had never been here to eat...and it was such a fun treat for them!  Joseph was enamored with the train that moved along the tracks above to bring you your food.  It was so fun to watch his eyes light up and see Sophia get so excited when the train brought her food!  At one point....Joseph physically turned my head half way around so I could watch the train that was coming from behind me.  I guess he wanted to make sure I saw it!!!! SOOOO Cute!!






Watch out...look how close he got to that candle...but he got the job done!

We all had some pretty blue lips after eating this cake!

Joseph was just thrilled that all of his favorite people joined him for dinner!  
The Smith table....

The Kokoruda's minus Thea (who was taking the picture) and with Sophia!

The birthday boy's table with Auntie Eryn, Omi and Papa.  Can you see everyone's reflection in the window watching as he got ready to make his wish?  Thanks for the picture, Thea!

And of course...we can't forget Willie....who is always part of the fun!  Thanks Thea for getting this one...LOVE it!

Whew!  Hope you had a great day little Joseph!  You were so excited...well into the night!!!  Can't believe you are THREE.  Hope your year is full of fun!!!!! We love you sooo much!