Getting Ready for School

Our home visit for preschool is over. I'm not sure if Nolan's teachers got to see what they wanted. I think they may have wanted to see Nolan more one-on-one in his home environment, but Nathan and Natalie were both awake when they were here, so it was mainly some running around the house, an attempt for coloring between Natalie and Nolan (which didn't last long), and then the kids brought me some oatmeal to fix them and Nolan picked out some Pop-tarts to eat. The teachers asked if there was anything in particular that we wanted Nolan to learn at preschool. Matt and I told them that we mainly wanted the social aspect of things with the preschool. We told them that Nolan is a very bright child and told them how he could recognize every letter before age 2 and that he is counting to 200 in English and at to least 30 in Spanish. They said that 2 other parents had mentioned that they had bright children as well, but I think we floored them with the aforementioned information we told them. Not to sound like the "mother crow", but I am apprehensive that Nolan will be bored with some of the things they will "learn" in preschool since he's pretty smart already. I'm hoping they will work on some writing and reading as well, but I didn't ask. My neighbor's child starts kindergarten this year at the same school. She said that the school really emphasized reading, and that her son's teacher said the kids should be reading on their own by the end of kindergarten. So it appears this is a very nice school.

The kids will get to go outside at least twice a day, weather permitting, to a little playground that is right outside the classroom. This will be great, since I will once again be hindered for energy and the ability to keep up with the kids once the new baby arrives. Nolan's first day will be next Thursday. The teachers encourage parents to stay the first day, but I know this would be an impossible task for me, so he's gonna be on his own....which I hope he won't mind.

Froggy Birthday Party!

Our neighbor's little girl had her first birthday this weekend, and we were invited to her party. The party was just in the backyard of our group of townhomes, so it was real convenient for bathroom trips and such. The kids enjoyed the party even though there were mostly adults there. My neighbor said that her family was talking about Nolan and how much information he provided them with. The kid is so social. When we're playing outside in the evenings, he scouts out everyone coming home from work and plays the "welcome wagon" role by riding his bike right up to their cars and talking to them before they can even manage to get completely out of their car!

Anyway, at the party, one of our neighbors found a frog in his garden and gave it to Nolan. He had no problems handling the frog whatsoever.....I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to hold the frog, cause I used to LOVE catching frogs when I was little. I think the frog held up pretty well, and I explained to Nolan that we couldn't keep him, and he was just fine to let the frog go back into the garden. Natalie was then upset because she didn't have a turn holding the frog. We tried to locate the frog again, but he must have been a smart frog, cause he was nowhere to be found within seconds!

Here are just a few pics of the kids. I'll be updating again very soon to talk about Nolan's preschool. We had a meeting last night and our home visit is scheduled for tomorrow morning....so I'll blog about that soon ;)

This was a little tiny frog.

Searching for the frog, but he's hopped away to freedom.

Nathan LOVED the pink lemonade.

Nolan and Natalie chowing down on some birthday cake.

The Park and Pretending to be Pregnant

I don't have much to say today. Nolan and Natalie are visiting with Mom-o and Pops this week, so I rented a carpet cleaner and have been pretty busy trying to get the house SUPER clean. I thought I'd take a minute to update my blog and post some new pics.

Nathan enjoying the little swing at the park.

Nolan playing in the sand.

Natalie waiting for Nolan to come help her get up to the big slide.

Nolan pretending to be pregnant. He said he was having 4 boys, and no mommy....only boys at his house!

Natalie was going to have a baby girl, or course.

Even Nathan got in on the "pregnant" party!

Summer Fun

We've had a great summer so far. Throughout July, on Fridays, admission to the pool was free. We hit the pool each Friday, and the kids had a great time. The final Friday was the best, because Matt went with us, and 2 of our neighbors came with their kids as well....so the kids had lots of familiar friends to play with. I don't have any pool pics this year cause it's just too hard to take pictures and chase Nathan as well....so I'm sorry.

Last Friday, we went out to eat, and were seated at a table beside Jeff Hostettler, which I thought was pretty cool. We didn't ask for an autograph or anything, but I thought it was neat to be sitting close to a retired NFL player! We had originally told the kids we would go to the mall afterwards to play in the play area, but instead we just decided to head home and let them ride their bikes....which they thought was a great idea! I had the kids dressed in their matching outfits that Mom-o bought them. All their outfits had orange on them, and they just looked so cute....even Natalie sported her orange necklace and bracelet that Granny and Poppy got for her.

The kids also assisted Matt in cleaning his company truck the other day. I had taken Nathan with me to pick up some KFC, and when I got back to the house, the kids were soaked from head to toe and equipped with sponges and brushes. The had a fantastic time helping their daddy but were absolutely drenched! Since I didn't want our food to get too cold, I just put some clean underwear on them and let them eat their dinner in their undies!

Ready to ride....she's sooooo close to being able to reach the pedals. But for now she rides the "Flintstones" way.

Out of the way, Mom.....let me at least get out of the garage!

It's hard to ride and hold this ball at the same time.

Natalie giving the tire a good scrub.

Dripping wet and proud of it!