Parkville

The same weekend as Sprint Family Fun Day, we also went to Parkville.  It was the first time for Steve and Hannah to see Marissa and Casey's new house.  Then they went with us to Kansas City Northern Railroad.  Casey works for Union Pacific and I'm pretty sure his job is riding mini trains...so he felt right at home.  Olive tolerated a few rides, then we looked at flowers while Hannah used up the rest of the tickets.

 

Then we took Hannah to her first ever carnival.  It was part of River Fest in downtown Parkville.  Hannah said, "This looks like FUN!"  She was really proud to ride the rides all by herself. Again, Olive was content to just watch Hannah and wave.

 

 

 

 

 

To end our day we ate at a restaurant inside a train car.  Hannah was thrilled.

So was Olive.
 

And we got to watch the real trains pass by out our window.
 

Olive's black bean goatee made me laugh so hard I cried.
 

I love days like this with my family.  So perfect.  When I'm old and gray and my kids are grown, I'll be saying, "Remember that day we took Hannah to the carnival and Olive got beans all over her face?"  I liked high school.  College was even better.  I loved being a newly-wed and starting our life together.  But having a young family is the BEST.  I know my thirties are going to be my favorite time of my life.

Sprint Family Fun Day

Last weekend we went to another Sprint Family Fun Day downtown.  It had a "bubbles and balloons" theme.  I didn't get very good pictures, but it was a good time.  Hannah liked the balloon popper, butterfly balloon that we took home, and of course the bounce house and slide.  Olive's favorite thing was also the bounce house.  She was upset that she was too little to do the slide.

 

 

It's hard to tell, but she's inside a big bubble
 

 

 

At the Park

 

 

 

 

 

Olive Stats- 16 months

The biggest change this month was Olive started preschool daycare.  In preparation, we cut out her morning nap since they only do afternoon nap at preschool.  Olive was not happy about that.  She still isn't fully adjusted to only one nap a day.  The first week of preschool she got about 1 hour nap a day instead of 3 hours.  Now she is up to 2.5 hours.  We moved her bedtime up to 7:30 to help her catch up on sleep, too.  It has also been hard for her to say goodbye to me in the morning.  Olive has always been Mama's girl.  I hate it when she cries at drop-off, but it is super cute to see her run and give me a hug at the end of the day.  It has been an emotional few weeks.  Olive is either super happy or very grumpy.  We've even had a few tantrums.  I think the grumpiness is mostly caused by lack of sleep or hunger.  One night she was so tired after preschool that she was eating dinner with her eyes closed.

Olive is now walking up and down stairs by herself.  She is saying the beginning sounds of lots of words like boo for book and ma for milk.  Of course her favorite word is no.  She knows animal sounds for lion, sheep, and cat.  She has also discovered her belly button and is very pleased about it.  She loves animals or books about animals.  Every night she "reads" books in her crib before going to sleep.

Preschool

The girls started preschool on Monday.  Hannah absolutely loves it.  I knew she would.  It has all the things she wants to do: recess outside on playground equipment, story time, tons of fun activities in her classroom, playing with kids her age, and following rules. So on the first day of preschool, she immediately started playing with trains and barely even glanced at me to say goodbye.  Every afternoon she doesn't want to leave because she is in the middle of fun.  I have to promise that we'll come back tomorrow.  She has three teachers and there are 17 kids in her class, although not all of them come every day.  So it is more like ten kids on any given day.  Her teachers said she is having a great time, she's the best listener, and she makes friends easily.  Hannah said her favorite part of school is playing with trains and recess.  She also really likes having classroom jobs.  So far she has chosen to be the fish feeder, line leader, calendar, and table washer.  She said her least favorite part of preschool is the boys talking when they are supposed to be quiet during nap time.  Each child has a symbol by their name on their cubby, name tag, etc. Hannah's is a horse.  It is her favorite animal, so she is really happy about that.  Olive's is an owl.  

Olive is still adjusting.  I say she goes to preschool, but it is really just daycare with a few learning activities.  She absolutely loves her backpack.  Great-grandpa gave it to her and it looks like a cow.  I think that is her favorite part about preschool.  Oh, and snacks.  She also really likes the animals painted on the walls and windows of her classroom.  She points to them everyday.  The first day I dropped her off there weren't any tears, but she looked at me like "Seriously?  You want me to stay here with these kids I don't know?"  By day 3, she was crying.  It was a rough week.  Part of the problem is she has a cold so she doesn't feel good.  And she is still adjusting to one nap a day, too.  Friday was the only day she had a really good nap.  Olive has two teachers and seven kids in her class, although I've never seen more than four.  She is the oldest one.  We get a paper every day telling what and how much she ate, how much she slept, and what activities they did that day.  It's really nice since she can't tell us about her day like Hannah can.  I think Olive will get settled in a couple of weeks and really like it.  She's at the separation anxiety age and she's never been separated from Hannah before.  It is nice to pick her up in the afternoon because she runs at me smiling with arms open for a hug.  

Overall, we are really happy with preschool.  All of their teachers are really awesome...and we all know teachers are the most important part of school. :)  I think childcare is one of the most difficult decisions for any parent.  I thought a lot about staying home vs. in-home daycare vs. preschool/daycare center.  I never thought I would put my kids in a full-day preschool program so early, but Hannah REALLY loves it.  She is in heaven.  I still don't think starting preschool so early is the right choice for a lot of three-year-olds...especially really shy or hyperactive ones.  Hannah just has that I-love-school personality, so it works for her.

Hannah in the front of her classroom with one of her teachers
 

playing with trains in Hannah's classroom
 

Olive likes sitting in chairs for snack
 

Last Day of Summer

Our last day of summer we went to a new place- Cave Spring.  The cave and walking trails were pretty small, but that is okay when you have little ones.  They have little legs and small expectations.

 

 

Since we were in the area, we also went to Lakeside Nature Center.  Hannah loved the puppets and Olive liked the squirrels.
 

 

 

Random Summer Pics

Found on the camera...

Olive's mad face
 

the aftermath of her first lollipop

just two Thomas fans (Hannah and Norah) watching some videos
 

feeding the giraffe
 

getting her first haircut since she was 8 months old...only about 3 inches

peek-a-boo!
 

Summer Schedule

I can't believe the time is here....preschool starts tomorrow!  Both girls will be in Parkwood Day School.  Since it is our last day of summer I thought I would write about a typical day so I can look back and remember.  This summer was AMAZING!!  I loved being with my girls.  They are both so happy, cute, and smart.  I also loved the freedom of going anywhere I wanted...reading books...taking naps.  Sigh.  And I had time to do housework, too!  It was wonderful.  It seriously makes me consider being a stay-at-home mom.  But I think I would get tired of it eventually...especially in the winter.  I don't like to stay at home too much.

6:50- Steve's alarm goes off and he starts getting ready for work.  I pretend to sleep.

6:55- Hannah crawls into bed with me and says, "Hey Mama, get awake and cuddle!"

7:00- Steve checks on Olive and she is standing up in her crib (she never makes noise when she wakes up). He drops her off in the bed.  She gives kisses to Hannah.  Steve goes to work.

7:10- After Hannah talking to me non-stop and Olive walking on top of me, I decide to get out of bed.  I change Olive's diaper while Hannah changes out of her pull-up and into underwear.

7:20- We all head downstairs for breakfast.  They like cereal bars or dry cereal best, but sometimes we have eggs or yogurt.  The girls watch Thomas the Train on the computer while they eat.  Olive loves it as much as Hannah.  She points to the screen and says, "Ttt!".  I check email, facebook, and blogs on the laptop.

7:50- Olive stands up in her high chair to show us she is done.  I say no and make her do the sign language for all done.  Then we all go into the living room to play with toys.  Hannah wants to play dinosaurs with us talking for them.  Olive rides the rocking horse and pushes the stroller around the house.  If everyone is playing on their own, I do some breakfast clean-up in the kitchen.

8:30- I make sure to play with Olive.  It always feels like I spend more one-on-one time with Hannah because she demands more attention and Olive is content to play on her own.  So I make a point of playing with Olive every morning doing something on her level like stacking blocks or simple puzzles.

8:45- Both girls drink milk while I read to them on the couch.  I read mostly board books on Olive's level, with a few longer books for Hannah.

9:00- I change Olive's diaper and dress her for the day.  Then put her in the crib for her morning nap.  Hannah and I read some more books on whatever topic we are "studying".  Then we might do a little related activity.

9:40- Hannah and I get dressed for the day.  She likes to watch me put on make up and open my lip gloss "just to look at it."  I figure out what we are going to do today if we don't already have plans.  I pack lunches if it is a longer trip.  Peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a side of fruit is our go-to lunch for the zoo or park.  Packing lunches, snacks, diapers, wipes, cups, strollers, toys, etc. is my least favorite part of my day.  I don't really like planning.  Well, I like planning where we'll go....I just don't like planning what it takes to get there and stay there for a few hours.  Steve is much better at that.

10:15- Olive wakes up.  I change her diaper and load up the girls in the car for our adventure.  I like going to new places, but a few favorites that I don't mind revisiting are the zoo, Deanna Rose, spraygrounds, and Crown Center/Union Station.  Sometimes our "adventure" is just to the grocery store or if it is really hot we stay inside and play.

12:00- Lunchtime.  If we are home we usually eat leftovers from dinner.  We loved eating out on the deck when the weather was nice in June.

12:30- We have more playtime either outside or inside.  If we are out, we start heading for home.

12:50- Milk and books again.

1:00- Nap time for everyone (including me most days).  If I'm not napping, I usually spend way too much time on the computer looking at email, blogging, etc.  Then I'll force myself to clean up the kitchen from lunch and do some laundry and dishes.  It always seems like I have so much time...and then it is gone.

3:00- One of the girls wakes up and wants to wake up the other one.  They both love this.  One of my favorite parts of the day is watching them smile and kiss when they wake each other up.  After changing Olive's diaper again we head downstairs.

3:15- The girls have snacks.  They both love fruit, but they are happy with just about anything.

3:30- We usually play in the living room some more.  The living room doubles as the toy room.  If I napped, then I use this time for dishes and laundry.

4:30- I start making dinner.  Yes, I realize this is super early for most people.

5:00- Steve gets home and dinner is ready (or close).  Steve helps with the sides because I never remember the vegetables.  Olive is yelling at Hannah because she is a bear when she gets hungry.  She might start crawling up on her highchair to show us she's ready to eat.

5:15- Dinner.  I try to get Hannah to tell Steve what we did that day.  It amazes me how she forgets things that happened only a few hours ago.  Nap times also confuse her because she thinks every time she sleeps it is a new day.  After naps she will ask, "Is it breakfast time or snack time?"  With some help, she remembers what we did and I ask her her favorite and least favorite thing she did that day.  Usually the least favorite thing is cleaning up toys.  Then Hannah will say, "So Dada, how was your day?"  I love her little adult talk.

6:00- Clean up after dinner.  Okay, maybe cleaning the high chair is my least favorite part of the day.  But I think that is just because I do it multiple times.  Usually Steve does it for dinner.

6:15- Family time to go shopping, walk to the park, or just play around the house.  When it isn't too hot we like to kick the ball around in the backyard.

7:30- Bathtime for the girls.  Both of them love it.

7:45- Milk and books again.  Sometimes we watch a short video instead.

8:00- Bedtime for Olive.  Then Hannah gets some time with us to read longer books or play card games.  Her favorite is Go Fish, but we try to convince her to play Uno.

8:30- Hannah's bedtime and I get ready to run.  I tell her goodnight before I leave either running outside or on the treadmill.  Steve stays at home and has computer time.

9:00- I am finished running.  If it is nice out Steve leaves to run outside, although he hasn't done much running after the marathon.  So usually this is our time to talk and catch up on the day.  This is the other time I use for blogging.

10:30- One of us drags the other off of the computer and upstairs to the shower.

11:00- Bed time.

Zoo Trips

Thanks to our zoo membership from Granny and Papa, we went to the zoo several times this summer.  It is too big (especially for little ones) to see in one day.  We just see a couple of sections each time we go and I don't feel bad about wasting money.  It's perfect.  The girls really like it.  Olive is really into waving at animals.  Hannah likes all the extras like sky safari, carousel, train, and tram.  We haven't done the boat, yet.  Here are pictures from a few different trips.

 

 

 

 

at the elephant keeper chat
 

 

 

 

We always stop and watch Nikita do back flips- a crowd favorite.
 

 

watching the monkeys
 

taking pictures of the kangaroos
 

 

 

The SOAR bird show was a little long for Olive, but Hannah loved it.  She kept saying, "The bird flew right over my head!"  You could feel the wind when they flew around us.  We both liked the owl a lot.  Cool show and it is free with the price of zoo admission.