9 Week Adjustment

This is a little over due, since they have been in school for almost 3 months. But we received cute little reports from their teacher letting us know how things are going. And it is obvious which is transitioning better and handling the change with a little more grace:) Having a teacher as a parent alerted Craig to the "creative" language she used. I read between the lines and interpreted what was REALLY going on (and the day I volunteered, I witnessed some neat behavior from Drew).

    Kelsey has adjusted beautifully to our school and classroom routines. She is excited when she             arrives, appears happy at school, and is an active, engaged learner. She has established
    relationships with both teachers and peers.

    Drew has adjusted very well to our school and classroom routines. He loves to be with his friends       and he makes a wide variety of good choices during playtime. He responds well to redirection
    and he is beginning to get used to the length of the school day.


This past weekend Craig's sister and niece came to visit us while his brother-in-law and nephew were hunting. We had such a fun time watching movies by the fire, playing new games, going to the Christmas parade downtown, and finishing the weekend with brunch!! We've been to the parade in past years and the weather was okay - bundled up in snow pants CAN be enjoyable! This year the temp was warmer but the risk of getting rained on was high. We packed hot chocolate and brought the wagon and ended up staying dry. It was a nice parade that lasted just long enough and then we headed to a local burger joint to warm up and fill up :)

Of course, enjoying some hot chocolate

TV Stars

 So our kids go to gymnastics at a facility owned by the parents of olympian Chelsie Memmel. Their instructor is Mara, Chelsie's sister, and she teaches all the younger classes - and is the best because I think I've said this before, but it's gotta be equivalent to herding cats. TMJ 4 news did their preps plus show from M & M Gymnastics center, honoring Mara's younger sister, Skyler, who was signing her letter of intent to Central Michigan University. It happened to be the same night Kesley and Drew have their tiny tumblers class. If you click on the link, thankfully they are the first 'story'. If you want to skip through, they come on at 4:28. They are sitting on Mara's lap on the floor and Drew's willingness to participate is classic class clown status.

Preps Plus

Happy (Belated) Halloween

We had just amazing weather for trick-or-treating Sunday! (the opposite of every day since :( ) My mom lives up in a small country community, "where everyone knows your name" kind of town and  has a quaint, mellow Halloween. This year we were joined by our favorite little guy, Baby Benson, and Kelsey and Drew were actually excited to trick-or-treat AND dress up, something that was a struggle on years past. My whole family met at my mom's house; we all grabbed an adult beverage and headed out on the road because there are no sidewalks!

Kesley's outfit was hand-made by our favorite sitter, Arlene!!

Oh, just a random morning wake up call from your friendly fluffy cat

Let's Try This Again

For anyone who couldn't see the or get the link to work in the last post...I hope this is the winner!

Oh This Kid!

I've been telling Craig that I think we are going to get some calls about him when he gets to school about being a distraction to other students - he lives to make Kelsey laugh and be ham! He is often heard saying, "hey dad, hey dad! Watch this!" or, "hey mom! I just said ohyoyobobo!" Enjoy this video of his classic dance as Craig and I head off to sunny Miami for a quick trip with some friends to visit their parents (and obviously take in some much needed R &R!)

Butt Dance

Picking Pumpkins

This past week our sitter took a well-deserved vacation! That meant I took 3 vacation days myself and my mom came the other two days. Kelsey and Drew had mixed feelings about this; they would randomly ask to go to Arlene's house but were also a little excited when they got to sleep in every morning and would ask if we were gonna stay home. I decided to take advantage of the days off and take my turn volunteering at the kids' school. It also happened to be picture day and Kelsey's turn to be the super star. Drew did not fare well with my presence at school. He wouldn't leave my side, he wouldn't take his picture, and he wanted me to carry him EVERYWHERE. There was coughing, snot-nosed kids all around and I seemed to be the only one using the hand sanitizer! Let's just say it wasn't the positive experience I was anticipating. I am going to send Craig next time ;)

The week before they went to the pumpkin farm with their class. They were over the moon about taking a school bus and going through the hay maze. They chatted about their chaperone, Miss Mona and later I found out that she had to carry their pumpkins after the kids picked them out - unfortunately Drew picked the biggest little pumpkin he could find! Such a dude!

So proud

These pumpkins don't sit still. They are moved almost every day.

One of my days off with them - we hit up the Zoo and went to the Farm for blue
ice cream. Thumbs Up!

We watched this handsome little man while his parents went to a wedding at the
Harley Museum. He even attended a birthday party with us.

Trick-o-Treat at the Greenfield Famer's Market! We just love going there every Sunday.
We will be sad when it ends next week

Tidbits

The kids have made it through a month of school and are still enjoying it:) They are finishing up colors and are moving on to shapes. Kelsey sings me all the songs she is learning from the teacher. Drew gets embarrassed when she does it. They have a pumpkin farm trip, picture day, and a cool cat party coming up next month. All of these cute things help them have something to look forward to on school days.

We've had to start tricking Drew on gymnastics night. He's always excited to go but if Craig comes in with us, he asks Craig to hold him and then doesn't want to go with the coach when it's time for class. So the last 2 times Craig dropped us off and we told Drew that dad was going to go park the car and meet us inside. By the time we get in, get the shoes off, go to the bathroom, the teacher is ready but Craig waits in the car until he knows they've gone upstairs and into their tumbling room. At this point, Drew is SO excited for class, he practically jumps on the coach and waves to me as he goes up the stairs! I guess you end up doing whatever you have to!

AND somehow the moons/planets/stars aligned just right last week and Drew has started wearing a pull-up to bed. This all came about because I had not checked the laundry and all of his sheets and pads were not clean one night before bed. So Craig had a big talk with him. After a little coaxing, a couple whimpers from Drew, he put them on! When we first started potty training, they wanted nothing to do with pull-ups because they were too much like diapers. I am thrilled he isn't soaking his clothes and bed every morning. He calls them his "diaper undies" and has no issues wearing them every night!

I have no new pictures right now...sorry!