Preparing for New Pet

The kids have been enjoying the New Pet's carseat.

And the box it came in!

We got the new carseat in the mail a few days ago. The kids were so happy to get to open the box and play with the new carseat!
A few days later, we got a new carseat cover for Gwendolyn.
I was truly surprised and happy to see Lucas's reaction. I thought it might go over badly that we have been getting things for the new baby and Gwendolyn, but not for him (because he doeesn't need a new carseat). I couldn't have been more wrong. He was so excited for Gwendolyn and told her how nice her new carseat is :) And he was thrilled to see the new baby's carseat and talk more about her. He is thrilled that we're going to have a new baby soon. And as more and more of her things appear here, he talks more about her and gets even more excited :) He was actually hopping up and down when her crib arrived!

Opening presents

Lucas and Gwendolyn opening birthday presents from Great Grammy and Great Grandpa. :)

Just because

Lucas is three!!

We went to the apple orchard with Aunt Heide and Uncle Dan. Lucas LOVES it there!! And regularly asks to go to the 'apple store.'

Many apples were eaten.

Much fun was had :)

A new Megablocks bus for the birthday boy. He has such a fascination with buses these days. He has been happily filling his bus up with blocks and driving it around since he got it.

An interchangeable pieces bunny puzzle.

And a square magnetic fish puzzle stuck to the fridge.

A life lived

We have been far away from home and the computer lately.
We celebrated Lucas's third birthday :)
We celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Even though we can't remember when we got married.. It was sometime in the last few days.
We have had more doctor's appointments than I can keep track of. And even more in the weeks to come.
And maybe most importantly of all, we have been out enjoying the beautiful weather everyday.

Today

Today is a good day.
Because, why not?
I could list a long laundry list of crappy things that have happened today. But I don't think I will. Instead, I think I'll try to think of happy things..
Gwendolyn has such a sweet soft head. And she loves to cuddle up to me. Rubbing her tiny head on my leg. So many times every day, she walks up to me, cuddles her head up, and coos while I pet her. I love how lovey she is!
When I ran myself over with a wagon, Lucas came and pet me on the head and told me I would feel better soon :) And I did. Such a sweet boy!
We were outside and I told both kids that we had to go in because it was time for their nap. Gwendolyn made a happy noise and skittered up the steps and straight over to where her bottle was waiting in the house. Lucas walked over to his bed and crawled in. Both of them fell happily asleep in just a few minutes and have been sleeping peacefully for a long time. They are so good and cooperative!
I have fed them mostly quick and easy meals for the last week because I have been too tired to prepare anything better. Yesterday's lunch was chips and dried fruit. Lucas thanked me over and over for his 'special treat lunch.' I love how thankful and easy to please he is!
I love that the kids adore Tim and that he is such a good Daddy to them! Every morning when Lucas wake up, he looks for Tim and if he can't find him, he asks for him. Lucas is so thrilled every morning he wakes up and Tim is home. He runs through the house screaming 'Daddy HOME!!!!'
And maybe the happiest thing of all is how much the kids love each other. They always want to be together. They play together and come up with the funniest little games. Like racing each other back and forth through the house. And jumping in bed together :)
Yeah, today is a good day!

Tot School

Lucas is 35 months. Gwendolyn is 13 months.

::Blue links we built a parking lot with the blue links. Lucas loved parking all of his cars and lining up all of the little people. We talked about how each of the cars and people were waiting patiently in line for their turn. Gwendolyn liked coming and swiping various pieces of the parking lot :) She learned a valuable lesson in waiting patiently for her turn to play with a toy and not taking things away from Lucas - something we've been working on alot lately! I let her take a couple of pieces to play with, but then told her she had to wait for the rest until Lucas was done playing. And encouraged her to be happy with what she had. She is getting very good at either sitting patiently and waiting for her turn or finding something else to play with in the meantime.

::String both kids love to untie knots. I often leave various, knotted strings out for them to untie. They are both so proud of themselves when they got the knots out! And it's so great for teaching problem solving, patience and fine motor skills!
::Nesting cats I recently found these nesting cats for the kids to play with. Lucas is able to take them apart, line them up and put them back together easily. His favorite cat is the smallest one that doesn't come apart. He often tells me stories about the 'little kitty cat.' Gwendolyn has a hard time taking the cats apart the 'proper' way, so she throws them on the floor and they all pop open. *ahem* we've been practicing being gentle, too. She can put the largest cat back together and gets the concept that they all fit back inside each other somehow, but hasn't quite mastered putting them all back in yet.
::Stacking caps because who doesn't love stacking bottle caps?? Lucas was making a fence for Gwendolyn in this picture.

::Metal lids we had fun putting the metal lids into little metal snack containers and shaking them. Lucas did 'experiments' to see how putting different lids and different numbers of lids in the containers changed the sound. We also filled metal mugs with the lids and the kids liked seeing how the lids went flying out when the mugs were shaken :)

::Music time with Daddy Tim has been teaching Lucas how to play the trumpet and read music. I don't think they really get it, but they sure do enjoy the music and the special time with Daddy!

::Stacking rings no week would be complete without stacking rings :)

::Car table Lucas has been driving little cars around on the car table (it's the duplo table, but it flips over to a road on the other side) He tells all sorts of stories about where the cars are going and what they will do when they get there. It's so great for his imagination!
::Reading We have been reading lots of books lately! Lucas is reading more and more of them to us. I'm still not sure if he's able to read them or if he has a *really* good memory and is reciting them word for word.
::Weather We have been observing the weather at least once or twice a day. Lucas has such a fascination with it! I've seen the idea for a weather station on quite a few blogs lately, so I thought I would make up a simple one for the kids. It has four cards that say sunny, cloudy, partly cloudy and rainy. Lucas gets to pick which most closely matches the weather and change it. He loves it!!
::Outdoor play so often when I see Lucas playing, I think 'not it's intended purpose..'

::Life skills Gwendolyn is learning to be happy in a carrier!!! She has loudly protested the Ergo from the time she was very small. But a couple of weeks ago, she saw Lucas in it and then asked for a turn. And she tolerated it!! Awesome!! It may not seem like a big deal, but the new baby will arrive when Gwendolyn is 14 or 15 months - still an age where she will need to be carried quite a bit. So her happily tolerating a carrier will be a valuable life skill :)

Lucas is getting so much more friendly and talkative. He loves talking on the phone now and telling people stories!
Lucas learned how to properly use a stud finder. And he also learned that his sister *does not* contain studs.
Gwendolyn is learning generosity :) She loves sharing her things with Lucas. It makes them both so happy!

Sleeping well

Lucas is curled up, snug in his bed. :)
Naptime went so well earlier! Lucas either slept or layed quietly for a nice long nap. He stayed in bed happily until Gwendolyn woke up.
We were a bit nervous about putting Lucas down for bed tonight. We *always* lay down with him until he falls asleep. So we weren't sure how well it would go if we didn't. After Gwendolyn went to bed, Lucas played quietly in the living room for an hour or so. He cleaned up the puzzle he was working on and told us it was time for bed because it was dark out. :) And he walked into our bedroom, not his. Uh oh! I reminded him that he wanted to sleep in his own room, so his bed was in his room now. He walked quietly to his own bed and curled up. I tucked him in, told him the same little story I tell him every night before bed, he told me thanks (like he always does), and I left. That was over an hour and a half ago and I haven't heard another peep out of him. I think he really likes this new arrangement!

Enjoying a family breakfast

After enjoying a nice family breakfast, Gwendolyn climbed up into Tim's lap and grabbed the bottle of whipped cream off the table. She was so entertained by taking the cap off and putting it back on. :)
There has been lots going on here lately.
Yesterday Lucas asked to move his bed into his own room!! He ASKED!! He has been in our room since he has been born. And has loved it there. Then all of a sudden, he wanted to move his bed into his own room. He's a real boy!! Right after he asked, (less than a minute later) Tim and I went and got Lucas's bed and set it up in his room. Before he could change his mind or loose his enthusiasm. He was SO happy!! Last night went really well. We let Lucas fall asleep watching television and carried him to bed after he was asleep. He woke up less than an hour later and came to our bed. I was too asleep to realize he was there and move him, so he stayed for a little while. But after about a half hour of him kicking me, I took him back to his own bed and told him (nicely) that he needed to stay in his own bed. And he did. Awesome!! Gwendolyn didn't seem to mind having Lucas around at all. In fact, yesterday was the first that she slept through the night! This gets better and better!! Today's nap seems to be going well so far. Lucas had a mild meltdown when we told him it was nap time (not unusual - it happens once a week or so). Tim tucked him into bed while I fed Gwendolyn. I set her down in her crib and she started screeching (also not unusual). But she fell asleep in under a minute. And Lucas has either been sleeping or laying quietly for the last half hour or so. This is just too easy!! I figured that Lucas would still be in our room when the new baby came. And that neither of the kids would be sleeping through the night. And I was completely okay with that. Then out of nowhere, Gwendolyn started sleeping so much better and is now starting to sleep the whole night! And Lucas is sleeping on his own! This will make things SO much easier!!! I got so much sleep last night since both kids were sleeping so well, that I woke up at 5 o'clock this morning feeling well rested. It's usually a chore to drag me out of bed at 7. Hopefully the kids will continue to sleep this well!!