Something little

I got this little survey in an e mail from Theresa today, so I thought I would just post it here and answer the questions. Just something fun to do.



Four, Four, Four, Four...


A) Four places that I go to over and over: preschool, Mom's house, work, and Target (I LOVE Target)

B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly): Mike, Theresa, Michelle, and my mom

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Outback, Olive Garden, Mom's house, and Chen's

D) Four places I would rather be right now: Somewhere really warm, sleeping, (because my kids like to get up BEFORE 6 am), Las Vegas, and probably the mall.

E) Four people I think will respond: Let's hope some people from Blogland!

F) Four TV shows I watch: ER, Super Nanny, General Hospital, and Desperate Housewives

Ok..if you are reading this it's your turn. Copy and paste in your blog and answer!! Have fun!!

No More Paci for Madison

Mike and I decided that this past weekend would be "The Weekend" to take the pacifier away from Madison. We wanted to do this when she turned a year old, but just kept pushing it back. With Ryan, we took it away at exactly 1 year. It was tough! He would cry and I would cry. I swore I would never give my next baby a pacifier. I think it took about a week of crying ourselves to sleep, but then it was done and he didn't miss it. Now it is Madison's turn. I think we were really dreading taking it away because of how difficult it was with Ryan. So every weekend would roll around and we would make up some type of excuse why we couldn't do it. Well, Mike finally said to me, we are taking it away on Friday night. I agreed, but could only imagine what this would bring. Well, Friday night she went to bed and it was only about 25 minutes of whining, not full crying. OK one night done! On to Saturday at nap time. It was tough. She would yell "Mama, Mama, Mama," it brought tears to my eyes. Then when she realized I was not coming to get her, it turned to "Dada, Dada, Dada." Eventually the tears stopped and she went to sleep. The rest of the weekend went great! She did wonderful. Hardly no tears at all...and today at nap time, no tears either. I am hoping this is not a fluke and she is going to make this easy on us!

Taking the pacifier away "cold turkey" is hard, but in my opinion it's the only way to go. I know, just like everything else we do, everyone will always say it's much hard on us parents than it is on the kids, but boy do they know how to make us feel guilty!! Let's just hope the rest of the week goes smoothly and she forgets she even had that ugly "thing".

First Full week of Preschool.......DONE!

Well, both Ryan and I have made it through the first full week of preschool! Ryan did really good on Tuesday. He did start to cry as soon as we pulled into the parking lot and walking into school. But it wasn't a "big" cry it was more like just tearing up. Once we made into the classroom, he was hanging on to my leg pretty tight. Another teacher came and took him, and got him interested in something else so I could leave. As I was walking out, he had already settled down and was good to go! (for the record, I only got a little teary eyed) It's hard to hear your child cry, when you know that you can make him stop by comforting him. Thursday was an even better day. Although the tears did start at home this day. He told me "I can't go to school because I am too little." So cute. As soon as we turned down the road that leads to the school he said he didn't want to go. I just changed the subject. We got to school and he did surprisingly well. There were only a couple tears (no tears from mom, yay) and when his teacher saw him, she asked him for a hug and Ryan ran right into her arms. This made me feel so good because this showed me Ryan does feel safe with her. He will not give just anyone a hug. As he was hugging her I left, he was fine! This was a major accomplishment for him! (and for me, for me not to cry!) He really loves school once he gets there and he tells us about his day all day. So he need to get over the anxiety of me leaving him and he will do wonderful!
As for a little Madison update, she is doing great! Talking up a storm, never stops talking. Her vocabulary has grown so much. Everyday she says something new. She has even put together sentences. "Where's Daddy?" "Daddy go Night Night!" I love it! Oh and Daddy's big accomplish is what he taught her. I ask her "Who's girl are you?" She will answer "Dada"and then laugh! He thinks he is so smart!! Don't worry Mike we are working on changing that! hahaha She loves taking Ryan to school. Loves seeing him after his day! She really does miss him when he is gone! But she really enjoys playing with his toys and stuff she is not "allowed" to play with when he is home! These kids really are my life, and I am enjoying life so much right now! I am so thankful and lucky for the family I have!

Ryan's 1st day of preschool!

Yesterday marked a big milestone in our household. Ryan started preschool. I really don't think I would have put him in preschool this year, but he needs to get away from me and learn how to socialize with other kids. He loves to play with other kids, but sometimes just does not how to initiate play. He has been with me since day one. The only people that has ever watched him is my mom, my dad, and my brother Jason. I am very fussy about where my kids go, and I want to make sure they are well taken care of. It's just hard to let him go. I know he is growing up, but he is still my baby!
Ryan did very good at school. His first day was only an hour long and we got to stay with him. Mike took the day off of work to support me. Well, I didn't know that we got to stay with him on the first day until after Mike took the day off of work or I would have had him take Thursday off of work. Thursday is going to be a different story. It's going to be a very hard day. Before we left his school on Tuesday, Ryan and his friends were sitting on the rug listening to the teacher. Mrs. Simon was talking about the end of the day routine to the children. Then she started talking to the parents about what to do on Thursday. How we need to just drop the kids off and walk out the door and don't look back. Well, apparently Ryan thought she was telling us we could go, because he started crying right there! I felt so bad for and still have the picture of him covering his eyes and crying. It brings tears to my eyes right now! I went over to him and told him I wasn't going anywhere and he was leaving with us today. Poor kid. Like I said it's going to be rough on Thursday. Thank goodness I will have Madison to lean on!!!

Hanging up his backpack!!

He loved the science table! Making new friends!

End of summer Zoo trip

It was getting towards the end of summer and we realized we had not taken the kids to the zoo yet. So we decided to go to Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek over Labor Day weekend. Mike and I were very excited to get away for a few days. (even if it was only to Battle Creek) We had been getting things together all week. On Thursday I went to go get into the van. I opened the passenger side door and noticed that the glove compartment was open and stuff was all over the seat. I thought, why in the heck was mike digging through the glove compartment and why wouldn't he put it back. I put my purse on the seat and opened the back door to the van. It was then when I noticed Ryan's DVD players were gone. That's when I realized someone decided to help themselves to them. I was so upset! So I went inside and called the police to make a report. Finally after 1 hour and a half (yes 1 hour and a half) the officer showed up to take a report. I told the officer these people stole my sanity. With my parents living in Ludington and Mike's parents living in Kalamazoo we travel quite a bit with the kids, so the DVD players are a lifesaver!! But what do you do, chalk it up as a loss and move on. If that's all these idiots wanted, so be it! I mean they didn't hurt my family and what they took was only materialistic. Oh, they must not have liked country music either because they didn't take any of my CD's. This right here tells you how dumb they are!!! =)

Ok, now on to the trip to the zoo (without a DVD player). We really thought we could make it without it. Boy were we wrong. Ryan kept his sister awake the whole ride. He would touch her, she would cry. He would take things from her, she would cry. He would pull her pacifier out and throw it, she would cry. Let's just say it was a long trip.

We finally made it to the zoo and had a great time. This zoo does not have many animals. I guess their big draw is the giraffes. Which was great. Ryan loves to feed the giraffes and Madison loved touching their tongues. She didn't want anything to do with feeding them. I had to feed them so she could touch their tongues!! It was so cute!!

We stayed in a hotel close to the zoo and went swimming that evening. The kids were sleeping by 8:15 and I think we were close behind. As for the DVD players, we stopped at Target before leaving Battle Creek to purchase new ones! It was a nice quiet ride home! This a highly recommended device for anyone making long trips. Just make sure your vehicle is locked at night or bring them inside.

Madison is almost as tall as this giraffe.

Ryan loved the drinking fountains. Last year he hated them....this year we had to stop and a take a drink every time we passed it!!

Ryan and the elephant.

Madison very sleepy after the LONG trip to the zoo.

The kids riding the cow!

Madison was not too sure of the petting zoo. But who really enjoys touching stinky animals!!

I think Ryan forgot that the giraffe had a big tongue! I love his expression on his face!

Ryan feeding the giraffe!

Look at that tongue!!

Madison LOVED touching the tongue!!

Look at how excited she is. She touched his touch and then turned away giggling!!

Uncle Chris and Aunt Heather come to visit

Mike's brother Chris and his girlfriend Heather decided to come across Lake Michigan on the Lake Express Ferry to come for a visit. We were very excited to be able to take Ryan and Madison down to the channel to watch the boat come in. Ryan and I made a sign to welcome them to Muskegon. It was a little hard for Ryan to understand that Uncle Chris and Aunt Heather's car was on the boat too. He was shocked to see their car on the boat. Ryan really does enjoy it when Uncle Chris comes to visit. Chris always has "new" things to teach the kids. I just hope Ryan doesn't decide to share all these ideas to his friends at preschool!
The kids waiting for the boat! Ryan looks like he has been waiting forever, but it had only been about 5 minutes!

Here comes the Boat Ryan, get your sign ready!! He was so excited!! Notice Madison in the back, She was happy as long as she had food.

He finally made it!! "HI UNCLE CHRIS"!!! (Aunt Heather had to go down to where the car was to drive it off)

The kids waiting for Uncle Chris to get off the boat!

Thanks for the visit Chris and Heather, we all enjoyed having you here!!

Playing catch up.......AGAIN

Well here it is the unofficial end of summer and I am playing catch up on the blog again! Things just got real busy and I haven't had a lot of time to actually sit down and post. So...I am going to blog some of the events that have taken place in the last month...yes Mike just informed me tonight that I did not have a post in the whole month of August. These events are in no particular order...heck I don't think I can remember which came first.

Michigan's Adventure

Mike took a couple days off of work so we could take the kids to Michigan's Adventure. We made it to Michigan's Adventure and had a blast. The kids had a really good time. Ryan wanted to ride all the rides, even the roller coasters. Of course, he was not tall enough, so we had to stick to the "baby rides". He really had a good time. He took me on the log ride and then he wanted to take Daddy on it too.

These pictures were taken from very far away, so they are not the best quality. But you get the point. Ryan looks like he is really scared, but he actually LOVED it! He also took us on the pirate ship (I think that is what it is called) and I really think getting old is taking a toll on me. I use to be able to handle all of these rides, and after this one, I felt a little queasy.

Ryan did a great job taking care of Madison on the rides. He really felt important when we asked him if he would take care of her on the ride. This is unusual because he usually does not want much to do with her at home. This just goes to show that he really DOES love her.

Ryan was the boss though, there were certain things Madison could NOT touch. That was the bells and all the buttons on the rides. This was his job! She did get her way a couple times though.

I think Madison had more fun in the water park. Ryan was just he opposite. Ryan was very scared of the water. I don't know where this is coming from because we have had this kid in swimming since 6 months old. But I guess as kids get older they develop fears. Water, I guess is one of his fears. He has come around a lot this summer though. Madison on the other hand had NO FEAR. She loves the water and just thought she could take off and go! She even liked to drink the water. I guess she likes the taste of chlorine!

Just look at this pouty boy! He said he was done swimming and wanted to take a NAP!! That really tells you how much fun he had in the water park!! hahahaha....gotta love Ryan!!! We really had a great time and it works out great that the park is only 5 minutes from home. At the end of the day a 5 minute drive home is great!!!