First Day of School 2012

Dane started his new year at Crossways Preschool where he attended mom's morning out last year. This preschool is Lutheran based and is actually held at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. He was very excited to go back this morning, however was a bit confused as to why his teacher was different and why his classmates weren't the same. I am sure he'll make new friends quickly and I hope that he likes this year's teacher as much as he liked last year's. Today was just a "half day" to get them acclimated slowly...he starts his full time schedule on Monday (full time meaning Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 9am-11:30am). We know that today he learned about the red line (where they line up to go outside) and that he had cheezit crackers and apple juice. Then he told us that his teacher choked on a cheezit cracker and that her sister (assistant teacher) told her to drink some water...not sure if any of that is true but it made us laugh so I thought I would share!

Libertyville Mainstreet Twilight Shuffle 5k

Shout out to Cameron for finishing 25th overall and 5th in his class (out of 1,000 runners) in the Libertyville Mainstreet Twilight Shuffle 5k. He finished the race in 21 minutes 4 seconds which means that his mile splits were 6 minutes, 47 seconds. I am pretty sure I couldn't run that fast even if a clown was chasing me with a knife!

Kale @ 18 months old

We had Kale's 18 month checkup on Friday. It's funny that everyone that sees him talks about how big he is and no one really ever said that about Dane....their measurements were almost exactly the same.
Kale weighs 27.8 lbs (75th percentile)
Kale's height is 34.5 inches (90-95th percentile)
At the exact same age, Dane came in at 25.6 lbs and 34.25 inches. So far they really have measured almost the same at every checkup.

At 18 months, Kale is definitely trying to show his independence...he doesn't like help eating anymore and he insists on flying up the stairs anytime you turn around. Going up is fine, but coming down he needs help. Sometimes he will actually listen and sit on his butt to go down the stairs but most of the time he wants to conquer them on two feet and so far we've been there so he hasn't taken a tumble. He mimics everything Dane does and thinks that he is big enough to climb on everything Dane climbs on. Thankfully there have been no serious injuries from this. Kale has a funny little personality and loves to make people around him laugh. He loves to dance and ride on their little Lightning McQueen car. He is super speedy on all of those little ride on cars that you push with your feet. He likes puzzles and books and we think he's on the brink of a language explosion! :) He does say between 10 and 15 words and also knows his nose, mouth, eyes and belly. I take full responsibility for him not knowing all that Dane knew at this age, but I just don't have the one on one time I did with Dane. Here is a listing of things Kale likes to say:
- Da (long a, Dane)
- mommy
- daddy
- bappy (paci)
- truck
- hi
- bye
- all di (all done)
- uh oh
- ba (ball)
Aside from that Kale is keeping us on our toes. Dane starts school on Wednesday of this week but that is the only day he goes until next week when he starts his full Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule from 9am to 11:30am. He is ready and excited, but for me it's just another step closer to him being away from me all day long. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Something I NEVER want to forget....

...the day Dane became a man. When Dane now has to use the facilities, he asks for a magazine. His hunting magazine, Cabelas. I think that definitely puts him in the MAN class.

Messy Boys

We have a very strong willed 18 month old who refuses to eat unless he feeds himself. He will cry and throw a tantrum until you give him the spoon....my annoyingly clean type A personality finally had to relent and just let him have his fun. I have cleaned up more splatters and smears everywhere around his seat at the table...he gets it up his nose...and in his hair....and on his clothes...and...and...and the list could go on and on!! Dane has gotten much better in the last couple years so I have hope for Kale too, but overall Kale is just a much messier boy than Dane ever was.  Case in point:

Dane @ 18 months eating yogurt

Dane after eating cake last week

Dane with a gatorade mustache

Kale @ 18 months eating yogurt (not too bad)

Kale @ 18 months eating yogurt (all over his shirt, in his hair, all over his face and splattered all around his chair)

Kale @ 18 months eating chocolate pudding (EVERYWHERE...straight to the bath tub)

Kale @ 18 months eating dirt...yep, even dirt goes in the mouth!

Progress

So the house is coming along and our builder is actually looking at being finished EARLY!! Does that ever happen with a build?? I have been horrible at taking pictures of the progress on the house but I did snap a few this past week. The kitchen, bathroom and laundry cabinets are in now along with some of our built in shelving. This week we will be picking out the floor stain as well as the granite for our bathroom, the boys bathroom, the laundry room and the kitchen. It is actually starting to look like a home! We are so excited to move in...anytime Dane can't find something he asks if it's in storage and whenever I say we're going "home" he wants to know if the new house is finished because he doesn't consider the rental "home." Soon, very soon my dear boy! It really is coming together beautifully and the more I see of it being completed, the more I cannot wait to get in there and decorate!

fireplace (behind the cabinets) built in shelving will be under each window

kitchen and butlers pantry to the right, door to mud room in the middle

kitchen

master bathroom vanity

walking into master shower

master shower

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

I cannot believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last post...that has to be a record for me! We were back in Indiana for an extended stay for Presley's birthday. I have lots to catch up on but until I can sit down and make that happen, here are a few pictures that wonderful Aunt Christy snapped of 2 cute monkeys! Three weeks apart and afraid of the trouble that is to come from these 2! A huge thank you to the Zehrings for putting us up for a few days and to the Polks for hosting a few dinners even in the midst of getting ready for their big Labor day sale!

Anniversary Extravaganza Weekend

Last weekend 25 of us stormed Las Vegas to try to prove we are still young...Vegas won that round without question. Half of the group got in on Thursday night and we stayed up all night, thinking that we were reliving our glory days. All we ended up doing was putting ourselves to bed the next night at midnight. It was a great weekend to kick back with no responsibility what-so-ever and cut loose a little with people who mean so much to us. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to join in on the fun! We especially missed the Polks but they had literally just returned from Mexico! I do not think we will be repeating a weekend like this for a very long time (if ever) but it was so worth it to do it once. It's been an amazing 10 years and last weekend we celebrated that!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com