Missing Nana, Pops and the beach!

We went on a fun vacation with Logan's parents to Palm Coast in Florida. I was stressed the week before thinking it might be overwhelming and hard to relax on vacation, but I was surprised by how much fun we had! We did have some stresses such as our visit to urgent care for Drew's double ear infection, poor baby! But overall we had a great time! Drew loved all the extra attention from Nana and Pops and playing in the swimming pool and on the beach! I enjoyed the extra attention and got to go to the pool for "me time" 4 times! Thanks Sherri! We also went to Marine Land which was a waste of money since we only got to see 5 or so dolphins in a big tank. It was still fun to take pictures with him in the same spots Logan and I were when we were little on our visits.

Drew got some more firsts checked off his list during the week:
1. First taste of ice cream (Kris, he is ready for you to come visit again now :)
2. Learned how to say "stuh-uh" for "stuck" when getting trapped with his push walker
3. And first time crawling on the beach

It took him awhile to get used to the feel of sand, but once he did he took off towards the ocean and crawled right into the water! He liked sitting in the shallow tide pool area and having the waves come to him. This of course was on our last day, but it seemed like the perfect way to end our vacation and start Spring and Summer with a burst of fun. The weather was so perfect the whole week, with only one day with a few puffy white clouds. A extra bonus was that when we got back home it actually was sunny, which made coming home really nice. We did have an adventure on the way home running to catch our airplane and made it right before they shut the doors. Drew thought it was funny as I was running carrying him of course, he is a load and I was completely out of breath! Thanks Nana and Pops for a wonderful week! Here are some fun photos, so many it was hard to choose!

Matching Dad!
At Marine Land!
Fun on the beach!

Preschool Teacher Mom Note

I have noticed when talking to other moms that I have some random teacher knowledge concerning kids that I always assume is common knowledge. I don't know how to respond when I hear that they didn't know the fact, not wanting to seem like a "book mom" (someone who is always reading to much info about babies, even though I am one of those) or a "Know-it-all". Here are a few examples:

Kids 3 and under should NEVER eat: raw carrots, popcorn, marshmallows (worst choking one), grapes not cut, or hot dogs not cut length wise

When you spin toddlers around you should always hold them by the armpits not hands because their arms can easily pop right out (this goes for swinging them between parents when walking too)

Some things three year olds should be able to do: (since I'm always asked :)
1. Dress themselves
2. Be potty trained
3. Recognize letters, numbers, and shapes
4. Understand and follow 2 part directions (including rules!)
5. Clean up
6. And many more...

I am both cursed and blessed by these facts. I mean, my sister was feeding my almost 2 year old niece a carrot and I freaked out inside but then watched as she was pretty good at chewing and didn't have any problem (and they had strict rules of only sitting to eat it and not walking around: good job!). The problem is that kids won't ALWAYS choke on those things, but they should be avoided. You see how I am blessed and cursed? I'm so glad I was a teacher to give me all the hands on experience with watching toddlers learn through playing, but sometimes I just wish I could just be a new mom who learns by watching her own kids. I feel like these facts that I know about 3 year olds are always hanging over my head and I just can't wait til Drew is 4 and I can stop thinking about them! Wait a sec, I don't want him to be 4! I like him as a baby :) (maybe because I don't know anything about babies haha)
Thanks for reading my rants about 3 year olds :)

A note to Henry and Louisa, This year coming up for you will be so much fun! Being 3 is the best! I can't wait to see you find out how much you can do as "Big Kids"! I mean being 2 is great fun, but when you are 3 the door opens for all new adventures!
Don't worry Olivia, you will find 2 years old to be fun with your big girl bed and other fun stuff too like riding a tricycle this summer! Love you big kids & Clara too!

Some things only dads can do

This is Drew showing his cousin Livy his favorite thing to do with his dad.



I think it is so funny how excited and bouncy Drew gets, while Livy is just having a relaxing ride. She also said, "Bumbudabump" as her sound effect for her horse :) Fun memories.

A few favorite February videos

Here is one of Drew crawling



He thinks saying, "Shoo wee!" is hilarious




"Where's your tummy?"



Naked drummer boy



I promise I'm going to try to be better about updating!