I'm Melting....

We had an incredible cool weekend. Shawn's parents flew in to go and explore NYC - and we took them done to their hotel in Times Square. Then Shawn and I got a special treat - we got to caught a matinee performance of Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre. It was wonderful, the performers were incredible, and I loved the music. The story was so good - and since I'm totally crazy for never having watched the Wizard of Oz, this will do as a suitable substitute. It is one of my favorite plays I've seen thus far.

We then got to view the hustle and bustle of Times Square at night - seeing that lit up is like being in Las Vegas, and the kids loved the shops like the M&M store and the Hershey shop. Finally as we drove out of the city we got to view the NYC skyline. It is gorgeous. I don't think I could ever "live" in the city, but visiting and being this close is something that I'm so grateful to have near me for the next 2 1/2 years. We plan on wearing out our welcome and NYC is a good place to start!! We head out to Idaho this weekend for a LONG vacation and we are SOOOOOO Excited!! (Hence the CAPITAL LETTERS!) Keep Manhattan, just give me that country side.......

Winter Kid Crafts

For preschool we've done lessons on Winter - here are some winter craft ideas that the kids seemed to really enjoy:

#1) Marshmallow Igloo - Use a disposable cup as the base, cover in frosting and stick marshmallows on. I think mini-marshmallows would be better to use, but the big ones were what we had on hand. The boys thought the little flags were AWESOME!

#2) Cottonball Snowman - This one is pretty self explanatory. We talked about circles that day.

#3) Penguin: We had a ball with this one. We talked about shapes again (circles, ovals, triangles) and then used Goldfish crackers for a math lesson. The penguins "ate" the fish out of the ocean - a blue sheet of paper. We counted how many they ate, and how many were left. The kids did this over and over again.

I was very apprehensive about doing preschool for Sam this year, but it has been a huge blessing for all three of us (Sam, Jack, and I). I did a big assesment of Sam a few weeks ago and was so impressed at his knowledge - not due to me, but just overall, he's retained a lot from his many years of preschool and his many wonderful teachers. I feel very confident in sending him to school next year and not having it be overwhelming for him. I was also completely blown away at how much Jack actually picks up from our lessons. He often wanders in and out of class during lessons and so I didn't have high expectations, but he knows so much! I have treasured this opportunity to work one on one with them and to get to see them in these learning "aha!" moments. Its been a great experience for me. I have also seen how one more year together has helped them create a stronger friendship and bond. As Jack continues to develop, and talk more - he and Sam play better each day. I love seeing them together... but I'm sad it will only be like this for 8 more months.

Summers' Schenanigans

Life has been pretty low key the past few weeks, which is great because these next two weeks look to be busy and full of pent up anticipation of going "home" to IDAHO! Yay, we are super excited, 10 days and counting. Here are some highlights of the past little while:

Lyv - she gets more lovable everyday. I believe that one of the greatest things about having babies is watching them learn and grow. I've long forgotten Sam learning to walk, or Jack learning to roll or crawl... but having another reminds me again of the wonder of these events. She scoots - one leg under her in and the other pushed out in the "crawl" position and manuevers all of the place. She smiles instantly - (but only for Shawn or I) she claps and babbles, shakes her head, dances to music, and is just beautiful. We captured a sweet moment with Shawn and her the other day. She is her daddy's little lady, and I think he is completely smitten with her.

Jack is becoming more and more independent each day. He loves to get his own food, put away his own dishes in the dishwasher, dress himself, brush his own teeth, etc.... I hear the words "I do!" over and over throughout the day. He is such a HAPPY boy, for as much trouble his naughty mischievious ways get him in, he continues to laugh and make jokes throughout the day. Here's an outfit courtesy of Jack.

Sam and Shawn hit the slopes last Saturday at Sawkill Ski Center. It is one run, and mostly used for tubing, but that day it was a skiers paradise. We had new snow, and Sam rocked the runs. Shawn said he was an animal, that he just attacked the hill. At first he would just shoot down the hill, but he quickly caught on to turning and by the end was a "pro". One thing I love about Sam is that he doesn't seem frightened by many things, and is willing to try new things, with the exception of food!)

I've been running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to line things up for Shawn and the batten down the hatches for the house, since we'll be gone for 5 weeks! We are so sad to leave Shawn, but are super excited to see our family. Shawn and a fellow resident have taken a Biggest Loser challenge, and is working really hard at getting in shape. He has amazed me at his dedication and his determination to do this. So it will be great to see the progress he's made after being away for a month. We finally found a KILLA Mexican resturaunt called the Armadillo and had the best meal ever there last Friday with fellow residents of Shawn's. We feel we're coming into our own here and really enjoying the winter we've been given. It's been beautiful, and perfect for playing.

Summers' Schenanigans

Last post I put pictures of a nice snow cave that I made with Sam during our week of snow fun... well Shawn saw this weak excuse of a snow cave and decided to pull out the big guns. He and the boys created the monster of all snow forts, even carving their initials in it (since there are NO Girls Allowed - you'll notice only the JSD. I have to admit, it was great, and then he bombarded them with a continous rain of snowballs and they made good use of their fortifications.

They also got much needed haircuts. Sam had grown out his hair, which we loved, but it needed a little trim so it wasn't a mullet... I took him to get a "trim", and they turned it into a mullet! AHHH... so I tried to trim it myself, and we ended up taking both boys and getting cuts. Jack had his first cut, and he was a great sport, sat very still. He thought he was pretty hot stuff.

Sam has been a great helper lately, and just seems to be growing up a little more each day. He and I can really butt heads and I think it is because our personalities are so similar. He is such a planner and an organizer, he wants to be in charge (okay so he is my twin!) but he is also so good with Lyv and helps me with Jack too. I'm really going to miss him when he goes to school! He has assured me that he'll be back everyday though.

Some funny things about Jack recently - he calls me "Honey" when he really wants something. For example, "Pop, please Honey!" or "Candy please Honey". I love it, it always makes me give in to whatever it is he is asking for. What a stinker. He is still a stinker in the mischievious things he does. He just doesn't play with toys EVER! I find myself getting VERY frustrated with him during the day, because he just doesn't respond to any distraction or me trying to redirect him to something more age appropriate (like toys instead of the Ipod) So I've been trying to make a bigger effort to sit down and play with him. He is kind of a tantrum thrower as of late, not lay down and kick and scream, but the cry for a long time type. He gets this really pouty look on his face and starts a fake cry. He says funny things like "oh, Nuts". Yesterday when Lyv woke up from her nap he asked her if she had Good Dreams (something I always ask when he wakes up.) It was too cute.

Lyv is becoming VERY mobile, for not crawling yet she sure scoots around. I'm just amazed at how flexible she is and laugh when she gets into things that are 5 feet away from where I sat her. As evidence of her new found mobility she has a nice bruise on her head from falling face first into the wood floor. She is started to eat a little better, mostly fruit. She has an iron jaw when I try to feed her veggies and hits the spoon right out of my hand! She is still a very happy girl, and oh, what a gabber she is. I think she'll talk earlier since she babbah bahs.. all the time, screams this funny high pitched scream. She loves to watch the boys, and is always laughing and smiling at what they do. I'm still her favorite person in the world, which can get frustrating as she'll sit in Shawn's lap and cry at me to hold her... she just looks at me like "why am I not in your arms!" She cries "Ma..." even. She has a super cute four tooth grin that is to die for.