TBall

Jackson had his 1st tball practice and game yesterday! He and his buddy Lincoln are on the same team! No one knew what they were doing yesterday, but the kiddos had a great time. :-)

He is intense!

The cute team

practicing

Papa John & Nana came for a quick visit yesterday after spending time in Warrenton. Can you tell the boys were happy to see them?!

Calendar Time

We started "school" at our house a couple weeks ago! Basically, we just added some structured learning time in our day. The boys are cracking me up with how much they love what we're doing!

We have "calendar time" in the morning. We are learning (mostly through singing) the months of the year, days of the week, weather, a weekly Bible verse, the books of the Bible, colors and shapes (Ben), counting and number patterns, and how to write our names. 

 We also put the date on the calendar every day and go over the schedule for the day. I printed off a bunch of pictures of the boys doing everyday things and made activity cards. They each have velcro on the back, so we just stick on whatever we're doing that day.

We are super flexible, but it's nice to be able to say "no you can't play the wii right now because it's puzzle time." :-) It helps for the boys to see what their choices are.

Do you do calendar/circle time with your kiddos? I'd love to hear what you do!!!
(I printed off a lot of these materials from this website.)

We love Pops & Chocolate Cake

If you know me, then you know I am a dessert girl! Baking is one of my favorite things to do. Pops is a big fan of this. Whenever I bake he gets an invite to come over for a snack. Those are the best days for Jackson and Ben...yummy treats and playtime with Pops! Anyways, I recently made The Pioneer Woman's Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever.  You need to go make it right now.

Pinata Party

We had the big ultrasound this morning!!! Our baby looks perfectly healthy, which we are so very thankful for!

After the appointment, my family came over for a little baby gender reveal pinata party! The boys knew if pink and purple candy fell out it was a girl, and if blue and green candy fell out it was a boy.

Ben took a few gentle whacks.

James posed for the camera and enjoyed us clapping for him!

Jackson beat that poor pinata a million times. He LOVED this activity!

And it's..........................................PINK AND PURPLE CANDY!!!!!!!

Jackson and Ben are going to have a little sister!!!

We are beyond excited to have a baby girl!!!

Bunk Beds

Jackson and Ben are the new proud owners of a pretty awesome bunk bed! They are so excited to be in the same room! I was nervous about the transition, but they have done so well at both naptime and bedtime...what a blessing! We kept the same western/cowboy theme that was in the nursery, and I love how it turned out.

What big boys in such a big boy room! Love that they get to share a brother room!

August Catch-Up

I can't believe how long it's been since I last blogged! So much has happened...not sure where to begin. I guess a random catch-up of pictures will have to do.

Jackson was so proud of himself for putting together his new David & Goliath puzzle (a dollar store find!!!).

We workout. OK, not really. We do kids yoga, but it totally counts!

Weekly trips to the library continue to be a favorite activity!

We had a family night at Chuck E. Cheese! It was our first time to go, and the boys absolutely had a blast! (Yes, I am referring to Ryan too when I say "the boys")

We stayed at my parents for several days while they were out of town. Jackson decided this table was the perfect ping pong table!!!

Fam Dinner: strawberry lemonade, chips & guacamole, chicken burgers, grilled veggies, & peach and blueberry cobbler! Yum!!!

We had temps below 100 degrees! That called for a trip to the park!

Name writing practice. Go here to print off your own!

Weekly playtime and lunch at Playscape!

Baby Update: I am 19 weeks pregnant now and feeling well! We have our big ultrasound next week and can't wait to find out what we're having! (I predict BOY.)

Jackson has been asking me how this baby in my belly is going to come out. I kept telling him the doctor will take it out at the hospital. The other day he asked me "Is the doctor going to put his hand in your mouth, reach in your belly, and pull the baby out?" I couldn't believe he had thought so hard about it! That was pretty good 4 year old reasoning! Not sure what to do now....not ready for any kind of "talk" yet! Ideas/advice welcome!!!