Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We must be a very lucky family, because we were visited by a leprechaun this year! I used to always have one visit my classroom, so word must have gotten around the leprechaun world that we are a leprechaun-friendly family =). Rylan wasn't quite sure what to think when he first saw the green footprints, but he quickly warmed up to the idea when he got a special leprechaun treat, and then a hunt for gold! Hopefully Lucky the Leprechaun makes it an annual tradition to come visit us, because it will be so much fun when they can remember from year to year.

We started the week by doing a few St. Patrick's Day activities. I had a lot more ideas that I wanted to do, but it just didn't happen. The dangers of Pinterest! Too many ideas, and not enough time! Decorating our windows for St. Patrick's Day! We love these gel clings and you can usually find them in the dollar section at Target. Super simple, but keeps him entertained for a while.

Our St. Patrick's Day sensory tub: green split peas, St. Patrick's Day buttons, green shot glasses, and some felt shamrock's and gold that I made for an activity last year.

Hunting for gold

Making some tie dye shamrocks. Who knew coffee filters made such great crafts! They're one of my go-to activities for every holiday and theme, because they're really simple and you can change it up to make whatever you want. Adding some color with dot markers...

Then squirt with water to create the tie-dye effect.

Set out to dry and voila! Super easy craft and decoration. We love to hang them in the window because they look really pretty with the light coming through.

Playing with the sensory tub with baby Hope.

Making a salt rainbow. Salt painting is definitely one of my new favorite activities!

Adding some food coloring and water with droppers. Wow, it's magic! Watch it spread.

So proud!

After a week with some fun activities, it was finally time for the main event! That leprechaun was definitely busy the night before and got into some mischief!

Rylan came downstairs to discover some green footprints on the window (actually, we had to point them out =)):

Hmmm...what are these green footprints on the window? Not quite getting it yet...

Look, a note! Leprechauns like to leave special notes, complete with limericks and all (although we discovered that Papa didn't quite know how to read limericks =))

The note led us to our special leprechaun treat...Lucky Charms!

Where else did that leprechaun go? To the fridge! That must be how the milk turned green.

Leprechauns make quite a mess!

He even used our toilet! "He needs to flush!"

I've never seen him eat a bowl of cereal so fast!

Later that morning we headed over to a friend's house for a garage sale.

Enjoying some rainbow sherbert! St. Patrick's Day is apparently a very sugary holiday.

Beautiful girls! Hanging out with Miss Krystal. I love this picture of the two of them!

In Lucky's letter, he told us that he was going to find his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. He mentioned that if he found it, he may come back later. Apparently Lucky found his gold, because during nap time he came back! Unfortunately he couldn't stay and play, but he did share some of his gold with Rylan and left him his own treasure hunt. He had to follow the rainbow of clues (complete with limericks again), to find his own pot of gold!

Clue #1- Hidden in Mack, of course.

Yellow! Halfway there...

Each time he found a clue, he had to bring it back here to read it, and then line them up in rainbow order, of course.

There's blue, almost there!

Jackpot! He found his pot of gold. Yes, more sugar =). Good thing St. Patrick's Day is only once a year!

After we came downstairs, we realized that sneaky leprechaun had tricked us! He told us he had left, yet somehow the gold ended up in his room, and it wasn't there when he woke up. Rylan was very intent on finding and catching that leprechaun (or the little green guy). He wanted to "catch him and turn him into a pet!"

Rylan and Papa headed upstairs in search of that leprechaun!

Unfortunately, he was just too tricky and they couldn't find them. Instead, they spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns being leprechauns and chasing each other around! Here is Papa the Leprechaun hiding from the leprechaun net.

I'm going to catch you! (Just ignore the giant mess of toy soliders on the floor in the video =))

My little leprechaun - much cuter than a real one!

Caught you! (Although a little unfair since the leprechaun seems to be distracted by his toy soldiers)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Family Updates ~ March 2012

Presley

Presley is now 9 months old and our beautiful, sweet, cuddly little girl. I cannot believe that she is almost a year! Time is going way too fast! She has added so much joy to our lives and it's hard to remember life before her adorable, smiling face. She is at such a fun age right now, where she can interact and have fun with you, but isn't into any trouble yet =). Presley is our little chunky monkey, and in the 90th percentiles for both height and weight. She is full of adorable baby rolls and has thighs like you've never seen! She is such a happy girl and so easy to have around.

Some of Presley's favorite activities right now include watching her big brother play, jumping in her Jumperoo, holding, inspecting, and chewing on toys, and her all time favorite, being held. I feel guilty sometimes that I don't have the time to entertain her as much as I did Rylan, but she is perfectly happy sitting and watching him play. She is definitely our little cuddle bug and adores hugs and kisses. She loves giving kisses of her own too...nice, big, slobbery, open-mouthed kisses! She is definitely a mommy's girl, but lights up in a way she doesn't for anyone else when Papa comes in the room. Presley does NOT like new places or people, or being alone in her crib after she wakes up. It is not unusual for her to burst into tears if someone she has never met, or hasn't seen in a while, tries to hold her or talk to her, especially if she can't see her mommy. She does eventually warm up though and is her normal, happy self.

I like to try and guess what her personality will be like as she gets older. She is very easy going overall, and does much better than Rylan ever did with disruptions to her schedule or sleep. She is happy and content the majority of the time. However, she makes sure to let you know if she's not! Presley definitely has a little spunk and spirit in her. She can be very stubborn and determined if there is something she does not like or want, and she has a scream like you wouldn't believe! She has started using her loud scream to show excitement, and it is the most high pitched squeal you've ever heard. I'm a little nervous about what it is going to sound like when she is 3...or worse, 13! It is adorable though, like pretty much everything else she does =).

Presley has been pretty textbook as far as meeting most of her milestones. She isn't crawling yet, but has started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth, so it's only a matter of time. Her brother is in for a rude awakening once she starts! She does enjoy rolling around the room, but she's still slow enough that Rylan has time to go get his toys before she does. I thought she might be my little mover initially, but she doesn't seem to be in any hurry (which is definitely ok with Mommy!). Apparently Ron and I just make lazy babies =). Presley has 2 teeth on the bottom, and all four coming in on top. She's started eating more table foods, but isn't all that interested yet. She loves to talk and babble to us, so we will see if that is a sign of what's to come!

We have been so blessed with this little girl, and I can't wait to continue to watch her grow and change. She is so incredible sweet and loving, and I'm so excited to see the little girl that she is going to become!

Family Updates ~ March 2012

Rylan

Our little man is now 2.75 and such a sweet boy. It's hard to believe we will have a 3 year old in just a few short months! The twos can definitely be trying at times, but so much fun also. He is a little person now, who is independent, has his own interests and personality, and can have a full conversation with you. Rylan is always amazing us with how fast he learns new things. He is hilarious, and constantly has us cracking up with his adorable sayings and phrases. When he was a baby, I thought that he was going to be a little shy and timid, but that is definitely not true! He will say hi to anyone and will talk your ear off if you're willing to listen.

Some of Rylan's favorite activities include playing with cars (or lining them up) and trains, playing baseball, doing puzzles, and running. He can be very active at times and will find a way to turn any game into chase. However, he is also perfectly content to sit and play, driving cars in and out of Mack, reading books, playing board games, or watching one of his favorite shows. Rylan is great at playing by himself, but is happiest when you're playing with him. His favorite part of the week is definitely the weekend when Papa is home. Mommy is fun, but Papa is a lot more fun! He idolizes his Papa and will copy anything he does. Rylan is NOT a fan of loud noises (like his sister crying), coloring, or getting messy. I try to give him lots of opportunities for messy play, and he is getting much better (meaning he doesn't totally freak if he gets a little paint on his finger), but still prefers nice clean activities. He does really seem to enjoy our sensory bins and doesn't have a problem touching the beans, rice, etc. anymore.

Rylan is our little perfectionist. He loves lining things up and will notice if something is moved slightly out of place. He does get frustrated easily when he cannot get something exactly right the first time, so we are working on being willing to take risks and keep trying if something isn't perfect right away. Rylan loves learning new things and it's crazy to me how fast he picks up new skills. I have a feeling Rylan is going to really like math, just like his mom, as he already loves doing patterns and counting. He's also starting to show an interest in learning to read, so we may begin some basic reading instruction in the next few months. He is a great "student" for Mommy, but we still spend the majority of our time just playing!

Rylan has an incredibly sweet and fun personality. He is very polite, kind, and loving. He is getting better and better at learning to share, although we still have the challenge of a crawling little sister in the near future! Rylan is very compliant the majority of the time and a pretty easy toddler over all. He is two though, and if I didn't know any better, I would swear that he has multiple personality disorder sometimes! That old nursery rhyme "when she was good she was very, very good, and when she was bad she was horrid" is so true of him. His behavior tends to cycle. He will have a month or so of being a complete angel, often without even so much as a time out. Then will come a couple of weeks of craziness: major tantrums, meltdowns at the smallest things, and a lot of time spent in his room calming down. Oh the joys of toddlerhood! Luckily after a few of these cycles, I now know that with a lot of patience and consistency, my sweet little boy will return some day =). However, I have heard that the threes are worse...?!

Last month we began potty training Rylan. It took a little longer than anticipated (3 weeks vs. 3 days), but I think we can finally say that he is fully potty trained! In October we had made an attempt, but after a few days he did not seem ready, so we put it on hold for a little while. This time around I was determined that we wouldn't give up. He immediately threw us for a loop, by holding his pee and poop for hours and hours (like 24 hours more than once!). He completely understood the process and knew exactly what he was supposed to do, and he wanted to do it, but he just couldn't figure out how to actually relax and go. It was heart breaking to watch him visibly in discomfort and even pain, and not be able to do anything about it. He slowly began feeling more comfortable though, and we eventually realized that he just needed privacy! He is now awesome at recognizing when he needs to go, going into the bathroom on his own, and going. We have not had an accident in a while, and is even nap and nighttime trained. Potty training was definitely a test of my patience, and one of the more difficult things I've done as a mom, but we did survive =). Just one of the many trials of parenthood that are sure to come!

We have been so incredibly blessed with Rylan and thank God every day for bringing him into our lives. Ron and I constantly look at each other and smile because he just makes us so happy =)

Family Blog

I have decided to join the blogging world and start a family blog! I have not been able to upload pictures to each day for a while, and while facebook is great for sharing pictures, I want to be able to record memories in writing as well. Some of you may have noticed that I like to take a lot of pictures of our kids! Well, I happen to have a TERRIBLE memory, so that is my way of helping me remember our day to day life. Time is flying by, and I never realized just how true the old cliche "They grow up so fast" was, until I had children of my own. I love being able to look back on pictures and remember all of the little moments that make my life so wonderful! I would like to say that I will keep this updated, but considering I created this blog over a month ago, and I'm just now writing my first post, I'm not making any promises =). In addtion to recording memories for me to look back on someday, I hope that our friends and family from all over are able to enjoy having a glimpse into our life!