Going to school... kind of

Adam and I feel strongly that Jack and NonaJane are very lucky to get to stay home with us all the time. Neither child has ever had to go to daycare, but have had wonderful babysitters who come to our home for approximately 9 hours a week when Adam and I's schedules overlap (thank you Jenn Huey and Kristen Lindley).  But sometimes I worry when I hear about other mom's talking about their kids going to school or the lessons they are working on at daycare.. etc.  I think "Gee... do I need to get Jack into a school?"  So I went and checked out the Goddard school by our home. Do you know they wanted $372 a month for Jack to come just 2 mornings a week?  The structured curriculum is delivered between 9-11 am, then they get play time, lunch, and parent pick ups.  Well.. Adam said I had gone CRAZY if I thought we were sending Jack to pre-school for $372 dollars a month for 4 hours a week of teaching.  We would be much better off putting the $372 dollars a month into his college fund (hmm... not a bad idea! We do put money in their consistently... but not quite that much). Anyhoo.. so I decided I can teach him for FREE! So we started a little "home-schooling" regimen. Boy is Jack excited. We went and bought some work books including kindergarten math, writing, and problem solving as well as some sight word flash cards.  We found a back pack Mema had given him awhile ago, and placed his books, an eraser and some pencils in the bag.  He LOVES to "go to school" and pretends that when he runs the loop around our house that the kitchen turns into a classroom.  He would love to sit and finish the entire workbook in one sitting... I do not have that good of an attention span so I make him quit after 10 pages or so.  He is continually shocking me with what he understands. Here's hoping that he loves learning this much thru out his schooling... and that it doesn't fizzle out before we even get to Kindergarten!

going to school!

Jack was able to match the words with the corresponding shape completely by himself. He sounded out the beginning of the word, and used deductive reasoning to figure out which shape it was. I was impressed!

Swim Lessons

Jack posing for the picture, and not paying attention to the teachers :) Waiting his turn to jump in.

NonaJane enjoying the water sprinklers

The last day of class

Jack started his first ever round of swim lessons thru the Olathe Parks and Rec. department.  I went ahead and put him in the level A tot class, since he hasn't had any prior swim lesson experience.  I probably could have jumped him to level B though... because Jack is already really comfortable with water. A little too comfortable really. So while some of the other kids were crying and too afraid to get in.. Jack is hanging onto the edge of the pool and dunking himself under the water over and over again.  They finally let them 'jump' in the other day, but the lifeguards caught them before they even hit the water... I think Jack was probably wondering "what the heck" because we never catch him when he jumps in. He is learning the back float, and front float, some leg and arm action.. but not really swimming yet. The lifeguards tend to give the kids a little too much help I think, but he seems to be having a lot of fun.  I spoke with his teacher on the last day, and she gave me the okay to place him in a level A class next (not the tot class) where she said he will be pushed to do a lot more on his own.  She said he will probably be one of the youngest, but we will see how it goes!

NonaJane and I do not have as much fun. I under-estimated how miserable it might be for the two of us to sit outside a pool in smoldering heat with nothing to do.  NonaJane would rather be IN the pool, but entertains herself by walking along the rows of chairs saying "HI" to each and every person.  Then she tries to climb the lifeguard towers, attempts to jump in the pool, and then starts the whole cycle over again.  She has made quite a few friends... and I think people either look forward to seeing us each day, or they are thinking "good Lord woman can't you keep your little girl still?" No, no I can not keep her still.  I've tried. She is a very busy little girl with places to go and things to do.

Our wonderful friend Johanna has been helping me out this week, and came to swim lessons with us! How nice of her to voluntarily subject herself to the heat! Can you tell that NonaJane is ready to jump down and run?

We got there a little early one day, I brought some gold fish thinking they might keep her still and entertained during the lesson... she shoved them all in her mouth in the first few minutes (as captured in this picture) and then went about her usual routine of running around the pool.

"Such a bad baby!"

I called my mom the other night to vent.
me- "I worry about NonaJane"
"Why?" my mother asked!
"well, she NEVER sits down...and she NEVER quits.  I keep thinking she is going to want to relax, watch a cartoon... I dunno just lounge around a bit! She is just plum wearing me out!"
"so she is exactly like you then?"- My mom

I know I work for the infant toddler program, I know that my schooling, my profession, and my experiences all revolve around babies and toddlers... so I should expect my toddler to wear me out. But I just wasn't quite prepared for NonaJane. She makes me think harder, plan better, and work faster. She makes me appreciate those quiet moments even more.

eating a noodle of course

When we are out and about she doesn't want me to carry her. But when I set her down she wants to run in the opposite direction.  She engages in these battles with me... and she doesn't give up. We wrestle daily with every diaper change and clothing change. She is determined to throw everything out of the tub and soak the bathroom floor, and climb on every surface in our home.  Would you believe (yes I am sure you would believe... in fact you are probably not even going to be surprised) that she will purposefully turn her cups or bottle upside down and shake or squeeze it until the milk comes out all over the floor or furniture? One day I swear she was 'painting' a picture with it.  I think what scares me the most, is that when I scold her or attempt to redirect her behavior... she does not hesitate to YELL at ME!  She will point at me with her finger, yell, and then attempt to return to whatever she was doing.  The other day she climbed into the rocking chair in her room, was standing in it backwards, and was banging it into the wall.  I came in and sat on the ottoman.. looking into her eyes.  She gave me this smirk.. this non-chalant grin.. and banged the chair harder.  I didn't have to say a thing. She knew she shouldn't... and she did.  I swear I saw a 17 year old NonaJane, she was beautiful, she was intent, and she was determined. And I felt a little bit helpless.  So I scooped her up. I gave her a big hug, kissing her cheeks and lovingly told her "you're such a bad baby!" (which I tell her quite often). She giggled and smiled with her chipped front tooth... I couldn't love her more. Every rotten bit of her. But she probably will drive me crazy.

One of NonaJane's milk creations. This was not by accident, but a skillful work of art by squeezing the bottle just right along the floor.

She's talking!!!

NonaJane went to bed the other day with a 3-4 word vocabulary... "HI" is her favorite, and she was doing pretty well with "Mom, Dad, and light." She puts a smile on every strangers face because she greets people with a boisterous "HI!" and a wave.  She probably uses the word 100 times a day. She even greets me with "HI" every time I enter the room.
But then yesterday she started TALKING! I'm not kidding. Just all of a sudden she's talking, and it's not just me with crazy Mom ears. I have witnesses! Johanna, myself, and NonaJane were looking at a book and she mimicked me saying "fish, duck, e-i-e-i (from Old McDonald ya know :)) , juice, ball, shoes, and bike!" This is SO exciting to me! So I immediately cleaned out a basket, placed it next to our rocking chair and filled it with Jack and I's favorite books from when he was a toddler. NonaJane immediately climbed in the basket and seemed pretty annoyed that all those books were in there with her. Anyhoo, I think our phase of eating books may just be turning into READING books! yippee :)

She is starting to play with more purpose and intent! She loves Mr. Potato Head, and the other day was saying "Hat" and putting the hat on her head!

Rare moment wear NonaJane was actually SITTING on my lap. Weird.. it didn't last too long

A more more usual moment of us chasing NonaJane

extra reunion pictures...

 I wanted to add some pictures that Sue had on her camera from our weekend in Iowa! Above is our annual photo on the teeter-totters... unfortunately it was raining ALL weekend and this was as close to "playing" on the teeter totter as we got.  There was a light break in the rain (meaning it wasn't dumping buckets) so we went and stood by them (because only a crazy person is going to sit on a freezing cold and soaking wet piece of metal).

I absolutely LOVE this picture of Adam and Jack. Isn't my husband handsome???! And Jack is killing me with that expression!

You don't realize just how often your kids have their fingers in their mouths until you start looking thru pictures!

Grandma and Grandpa with Sue and her kids/ grandkids

Grandma and Grandpa with all their kids and grandkids who were able to make it. (this is a very small portion of them!)

Us with Great Grandma :)

Family reunion time!

Jack and NonaJane with Myrl Hight (Adam's grandfather, Sue's father)

Adam's grandmother (Sue's mother)  Sylvia Hight

Self portrait of NonaJane and I at the reunion

We headed to Schleswig Iowa last weekend for the annual Hight family reunion.  We planned to camp with our pop up at the Schleswig park (where the reunion is held on Sunday). We were so excited because the pop-up would be conveniently located next to the pool and the city park. Jack would be free to play all weekend, and NonaJane would still be able to take her naps! (can you call Schleswig a city... I think not. Maybe the 'community' park and pool?  I dunno.. I'm not from a small town :) Either way it is a lovely little dwelling!)  Anyhoo. We crammed the pop-up and the truck full of golf clubs, scooters, a soccer ball, t-ball, strollers, and every other outdoor play equipment you can imagine.  We woke up to a beautiful morning and headed North.

By the time we were nearing Omaha, dark ominous clouds were filling the sky.
Me- "Is it gonna rain?"
Adam- "Not according to the weather report"
Jack - "Those clouds look stormy."

Guess who was right?  JACK.  It rained... and rained... and poured... and rained some more. ALL weekend LONG.  So we didn't get to go golfing (at the same golf course that Adam drove his mom's car onto when he was 3), we didn't get to grill our hamburgers and make s'mores.  We didn't get to play in the pool, or at the park.
BUT We DID get to visit with family, we did get to eat a LOT of Pizza Hut pizza, and we did get to sleep together to the peaceful sounds of rain pitter pattering on our camper.  The silver lining??? On Monday it was BEAUTIFUL and we spent the day at the Omaha Zoo with Adam's cousin Luke, his wife Amy, and their two awesome
crazy kids- Landon and Lauren.

They really let you get CLOSE to the animals at the Omaha Zoo!

So does it sound weird that I called these two "awesome crazy" kids?  Probably, but it's a compliment for sure.  Landon and Lauren are strong willed, free-spirits, with a real need for FUN.  For example, Landon and Lauren enjoyed running thru the muddy puddles in their driveway. Did their mom mind that they had shoes, socks and jeans on? NOPE.  Landon even took to digging in the muddy grass piles, and was having a hay-day.  What did Jack do? He informed Lauren "that water is yucky" to which she looked at him like his head was on backwards. Is Jack unable to let loose and be wild and free because of me?  Did I hold him back from muddy water? I'm not so sure. He had crocs on, and his jeans rolled up as to avoid wet denim. I informed him that he could step in the puddles if he wanted to. He tested the waters with the poke of his finger... a slight toe in at the edge.  Then conceded to the fact that he preferred to just throw some pebbles in and watch the water ripple.  And that was okay with me :)  It will be interesting to see how NonaJane will blend in with the Lechtenberg kids next year. She held her own with Lauren this year. When Lauren told her to "go away" NonaJane promptly swatted at her and gave her the stink eye. She and Lauren seemed to be buddies the rest of the weekend. NonaJane was more than thrilled with the indoor trampoline they had! She would hold on and get to bouncing/jumping so much that she was actually clearing both feet off the trampoline! She was also thrilled with their selection of books to chew on, and toys to explore.  I really enjoyed seeing Jack and NonaJane as they played with Landon and Lauren. He learned all about the Hulk and Iron Man. I'm not sure he really knows who they are... so perhaps we need to do some movie rentals? All I know is, we look forward to hanging out with this family again!!!

Amy, Jack, Lauren, Landon, Me, and NonaJane playing with the prairie dogs

Their aquarium is amazing!

The "Dinosaur Alive" exhibit was there. The dinosaurs moved and roared.  Pretty neat!
Amy and Lauren, Me, Jack and NonaJane... and Landon the monkey :)



P.S. the best part? When we were leaving, Landon (the rough and tumble kid) gave Jack a hug and a kiss on the cheek.  Jack revolted back, wiped his cheek and yelled "Boys don't kiss boys!!!"  oh geez...

Jack riding the ski lift that crosses over the zoo. NonaJane rode too... and that was terrifying