May 2016

May 2016

May was a welcome change to the crazy month of April.  The weather started to get more consistently warm and this allowed for us to spend plenty of time outside.  Of course we were busy, but for the first time since last May, we didn’t travel (for work or for fun) during the month. 

We started off the first full weekend of the year with a visit from the Vandervaarts.  This trip seemed to be one of the best because the kids all played together pretty well and enjoyed hanging out.  We enjoyed a nice boat ride and simply hanging around mom’s condo all day.  The following day, we did our usual Mother’s Day celebration where the girls and I go get flowers to plant outside while Deb gets a few moments to herself at home.  The girls started to help plant the flowers but I think they got bored so hopefully one of these years, Deb won’t be planting flowers by herself!  They also enjoyed “Muffins with Mom” on the Friday before Mother’s Day weekend. 

Both girls had their parent / teacher conferences this month and both seemed to get good reviews.  Allison seems to be pretty eager to learn and her teacher thinks she is ready for kindergarten.  We think she is also and are going to hope that she does well in the fall with the transition.  Sarah’s teacher kept telling us how sweet and nice Sarah is and how she is always helping clean up and listening to the teacher.  Deb and I both walked out because we assumed we were in the wrong conference!  HaHa!

Memorial Day weekend was a great time.  I hung out our good friend, Sara Crawford, on Friday night as we went to Big Lug Brewery in Nora.  It was good to catch up as we couldn’t remember the last time we had seen each other.  On Saturday morning, all 4 of us went outside to work on the yard to help free up the remainder of our weekend.  On Sunday morning, we went to Holliday Park and enjoyed playing on the playground for about an hour.  That afternoon, we had the Andersons and Foulkes over for a cookout and it was great as the kids played most of the time without any issues which allowed for the adults to hang out.  On Monday, we went for a morning boat ride at my mom’s place and then enjoyed about 3 hours at our neighborhood pool.  The girls are great in the water and the only reason we left was because they got cold in the water and were exhausted.  Our house enjoyed a family nap that afternoon!   

Sarah’s Thing of the Month

            As you may have heard, Sarah can be quite a handful at times.  So, her potty training is going very slow and can be very frustrating.  I remember hearing about kids that “asked” to get their diaper changed and thought, “how can it get to that point, if the kid can actually ask, shouldn’t they just go” and now I’m on the other side thinking, “go ahead, try to tell her what to do…but it isn’t going to work.”  Deb and I did realize that Sarah’s tantrums are decreasing.  We aren’t where we want to be yet, but she seems to be doing better and I think having a month without traveling has helped.   

Allison’s Thing of the Month

            Allison is that kid that still needs naps.  Her preschool is going to start phasing out naps this summer, and we know it is time, but she just seems to be worthless by 7 if she doesn’t get a nap.  That can be a good thing, because then we can put her to bed without any real issues, but the next few months will be an adjustment as she is forced to phase out naps as most kids take care of that on their own! 

A few more items from this month:

• Debbie and I celebrated our anniversary by going to Sun King Brewery for some beers, then walked to the City Market for another beer, and then enjoyed a nice dinner at Ruth’s Chris.  Of course, the evening was made more fun thanks to Uber! 
• Debbie went out with Diane & Liz for sushi earlier in the month. 
• We went to a neighbor’s house for a fun afternoon of letting the kids hang out and the adults have some beers / drinks.  It was a good time for all of our neighbors to get together and allow the kids to get to know each other. 
• We had the “preschool 500” this month and Grandma and Beth attended.  The girls enjoyed competing in the races and hanging out with their friends.  Grandma and I took the girls out to lunch and then I took them home and worked the remainder of the afternoon while they napped and played. 
• After owning our swingset for 2 years, we needed to stain it.  I took off all of the hardware and then Grandma stained it.  It took 7 hours on a hot day, but she made it look like new again! 
• Deb and I took the girls to the zoo and they enjoyed being back as they hadn’t been there since the fall. 
• Deb had “Girls Day” with Allison & Sarah and they went to the Children’s Museum and out to lunch.