Basketball, Trampoline Park, Our Final Christmas

Maddox had early out from school yesterday so we got some extra play time at the museum. She and I met Kennon there after his Literacy School and then the two played and played. Happy kiddos with snacks in hand. 

Oh boy….it is safe to say when my work load at VNA increases my blog posts decrease.  I have been working close to 10-15 hours per week since probably mid to late December. Which I do realize does not seem like a lot to you full time workers but it is to this mama!! I like to stay around 5-8 hours per week.  I have succeeded in getting 5 physical therapists trained with our new software in the last 6 weeks and have started working out the details of fine tuning the new software. I'm on a committee that's working on trying to find efficiencies within the system. We are talking directly with the software company in Texas to get some forms changed within the new documentation system.  Seems odd to me that we ( VNA) would pay $1 million for this new software and new tablets for everyone yet it is not much more efficient than our old system and in some regards takes the clinicians in the field more time to complete some processes….wait?? what??   It has been quite the process and we are JUST starting down the road of improvements  to make within the software. I suspect it is going to be close to the two year mark before we get everything worked out. 

 The first weekend in January a few of my neighborhood friends and I bundled up to sit outside in line to get our kiddos a spot at Our Savior Preschool next year.   It actually wasn't too cold this year despite all the blankets. They let us inside early, as they have done in past years, which is nice. I got Kennon's acceptance letter this week….he has a spot in the 5 year old morning class next year, 5 days per week. I'm excited for him to have another year of school before we send him off to Kindergarten.  Kennon will attend OSLP unless I can get him into the Pleasant Valley Transition to Kindergarten all day program. He will be assessed for that this May although the likelihood of him getting in is very low as they only take about 12 kiddos per year.  It is a wonderful program and curriculum designed for children who have birth dates between June 1st and September 15th who aren't quite ready for Kindergarten. Kennon certainly fits that description so we are hopeful he'll get in but if not he'll be just as fine in the 5 year old 1/2 day program at Our Savior.  Our FINAL year of preschool is upon us…how can that be! 

 While I was outside in line for preschool, Maddox was enjoying a Theatre camp at Pleasant Valley High School.  Saying she had a  BALL would be an understatement. Maddox really loves to perform ( dance, sing etc) and although she can be a bit timid at times, when she works through her fear she really does a great job.  She got to pick 4 different 'tracks' to participate in that morning each one led by a couple of PV high school theatre students and then they got to perform for us in the black box that afternoon. She did SO WELL!! Eric and I were so proud of her getting up on stage ( in an unfamiliar place) and dancing and doing her thing. Maddox chose make-up/hair, dance, stage performance, and singing I believe as her tracks. She learned how to use emotion on stage, how to interact with other characters on stage, how make-up and hair play a big role along with lighting and most importantly she met some new friends, interacted with 'adults' whom she wasn't familiar with ( IE the high school students and the theater director who is this LOUD sort of large intimidating man) and had a great time. I was fearful when Eric dropped her off that she wouldn't want to stay…but luckily thanks to our great community and neighborhood there were several familiar faces so she hopped right into the mix. 

 Maddox doing the dance for the song 'Tradition' from Fiddler on the Roof. 

 Maddox and Emma, one of her neighborhood friends, dressed as a lion. Maddox actually sits with Emma on the school bus occasionally.   The finale of the camp was a special performance in the black box theatre of Jungle Book directed and performed by the PV Theatre students. It was soooo good.  Maddox and Kennon both loved it. Such GREAT talent!! 

 And the performing continues….. Maddox doing Wii Dance-Abba .  A good post church Saturday night activity in the winter. 

 Maddox dancing to one of the songs from Jungle Book that she learned at the camp.

Not sure how these videos are going to turn out…Maddox is in the orange leggings and purple shoes. She is the youngest out there :)  It was designed for Kindergarten through 6th grade I believe.

 The second week of January, I signed both of the kids up for a little basketball camp at the YMCA. Soccer is 'our thing' for the spring and fall but we didn't really have a winter sport for the kids so we thought we'd expose them to basketball. Kennon LOVED IT!!! and his coordination shined though. Maddox…well didn't LOVE it….but she didn't hate it let's say :)  She struggled to coordinate her strength and technique to actually get the ball up to the hoop and became frustrated that she couldn't make a basket.  I honestly didn't think she'd last as long as she did so I was proud of her for hanging in. She certainly learned enough to play a little in the driveway with Kennon.  Kennon on the other hand said 'sign me up mom!' when I offered to sign him up for the YMCA basketball league. So he is now in the middle of the season and plays games on Saturday. He is actually on a team with several of his classmates from Our Savior as well as the coach and his two sons who are on the team live right in our neighborhood and are part of the circle we run with.  I can see Kennon improving from week to week.  They have their first official game against another team this Saturday so we'll see how that goes. GO WARRIORS!   

 Learning some basketball basics at camp.  ( despite her not really loving the game of basketball I thought she looked adorable… :)  all decked out in pink/purple!)  Go Maddox!

 Shoot it Maddox…!!  For those of you that are wondering…hey….she has on tie shoes?!! Maddox learned to tie shoes over Christmas break ( I think I forgot to post that on my last post).  Learning to tie shoes meant she got to pick out a brand new pair of tie shoes…and she got to put her name on the ever important 'list!' at school.  Everyone in her class that learns to tie shoes gets to write their name on a special paper near Mrs. Gaspelin's desk. She actually figured it out quickly and was very proud of herself.  Although I do find she will still most often pick the velcro shoes to wear to school. She hasn't quite figured out how to get them really TIGHT so they tend to come undone during the school day.  For awhile she was commissioning some of her classmates who DO know how to tie shoes to tie them back up again when they'd come undone. Mrs. Gaspelin assured me that would work itself out ( meaning they'd soon be saying..uh…I don't want to tie your shoes AGAIN Maddox!) and it did.  She learned to double tie them and has been doing fairly well.

I thought this was the best shot of Kennon… I love how I happened to capture him mid-air.

I'm not sure if he is trying out for a broadway play, dancing around with jazz hands, or doing some defense. Either way…so dang cute!  He's in the blue shirt.

I love Mondays and Wednesday because after school we don't have ANY activities!  Tuesday and Thursdays are Awana and Ballet which sort of muddy up the afternoon/evening routine although both very valuable activities the kids both enjoy. Maddox often shares with us the activities she is working on at school and she has homework of some sort  every night…reading or math. This night it was a bit of geometry. She was excited to teach Kennon some of the names of the shapes. 

We geared up for Carter's Ninja birthday party the weekend of January 16th only to learn that we couldn't go to Madison because Carter came down ill that Saturday morning.  Maddox was SUPER sad as she was all dressed up with her yellow Belle dress ready for the party. But, we quickly turned her frown upside down when we decided to hit the road  still and drive up to Cedar Rapids to the Trampoline Park!! So so so fun! Eric and I jumped too. What a great fun family activity and what great exercise.  They are actually opening one of these in the Quad Cities in March and I'm hoping to book Kennon's birthday party there.   That reminds me, I haven't contacted them yet….I'll add that to my every lasting 'to-do' list :) 

Mostly all smiles…all day…until we hit the wall about 4:15….so we quick grabbed a pizza and headed home.  

This foam pit was in the 'kids' area which really didn't have an age restriction on it but was designed for little guys.  So fun to run and jump into this pit of foam!

Eric trying to 'walk the plank'!! I thought this was super cool…and super hard!! I made it like 2 steps before down into the pit I fell. 

Kennon running and jumping off the trampoline into one of the ball pits. 

They even had a couple of hoops where you could run up the ramp and then launch the ball up into the hoop. Kennon LOVED it and made several baskets. 

You were free  to 'walk the plank' however way you felt was easiest to get across :) GREAT body workout. 

The aftermath of making Valentine's on MLK day. The kids each cut out, glued, addressed and signed their cards all by themselves. 

Despite a few cold cold days we've had some really warm winter weather. Anytime it is over 30 we try to get outside and over 40 we hop on the bikes! Bikes… in January!! What?? OH yeah!

These pictures are from Kennon's official first practice with his team…his coach is over on the right in the white….Coach Tate who played basketball and is quite qualified to run the team.

Last Wednesday the 27th was a very special day! Ironically Kennon got to bring his Show and Tell item and Maddox got to celebrate her 100 days at school. Both kids were super excited that morning and Maddox even more excited to show me all her goodies and her 100 SNACKS when she returned from her big day!!  She even yelled out to Kennon ( who was outside playing because it was one of those warm days) 'you can have 10 of my snacks and I'll still have 90!  Hah…love it.  She had a ball. Kennon brought a bulldozer as his show n tell item but was already excited to tell me yesterday 'mom the show and tell bag is going around again!'. ….meaning he'll get to have the bag again here in a couple more weeks.  I'm very thankful of their love of school. 

'100 days Smarter!'

Random Maddox picture :) 

Since Kennon has taken a liking to basketball I decided he needed some new basketball gear and shoes.  If Maddox can look fashionable out on the court so can Kennon :) We went to Kohl's last week and found him some great new tennis shoes that he is certain 'make me run faster mom!'.  We ended up getting him tie shoes as they fit him the best and he is already excited to start learning how to tie. I'm hoping to enlist his big sis Maddox to help with this learning process,  solidifying her confidence with tying her own shoes. 

Last Sunday we celebrated our LAST Christmas for the season. It is hard to get everyone together so we find our Christmas with the Berg side usually gets pushed into January/February. But, I think it works out well! The kids helped me make one last batch of Christmasy type cookies on Saturday night. Oh…and by the way, we have returned to dairy for Kennon and the kid is absolutely fine!!  I think I'm going to quit trying to diagnose his allergies and just let him be. He hasn't had a breathing treatment or allergy pill since late October and is doing well, even on dairy. We'll see what the spring brings.  Not sure what to think of it but the kid is happier than pie to have real pizza and mac-n-cheese again…almost as happy as Uncle Tyler is for him :) 

Since we were all together we thought we'd throw in all the birthdays in January in February… We celebrated Carter's 5th birthday and Aunt Brooke and Aunt Diane who both have birthdays in February.  Carter, Maddox, and Reid with Miss Erika and Papa Dick looking on from the background. I didn't make a 'real' birthday cake but we all enjoyed this jello poke cake  :) 

Well the best pic of the bunch..Cashin, Carter, Maddox, Reid, Kennon….They are all so cute…I love Maddox's look of happiness towards Carter hugging Cashin and Reid's look of yumminess as he eyes  the cake..! 

Despite us pushing the activities right into Cashin's normal nap time that kiddo hug in and only had  a few minutes where he needed the comfort of his paci to get through.  Happened to be at cake/picture time…but then he sort of got this second wind and was back to being his super happy self!!  He managed the stairs to the basement just fine… and kept after the big kids! He is growing up so fast! 

Thanks to the Berg, Gillaspie and Knowles families for taking time out of their busy schedules to come celebrate in the Quad Cities. So thankful we are able to get together! 

I realize these pictures are terrible ( partly bad lighting in the gym…partly shaky hands from a 9 mile run then a big cup of coffee and then jump in the van for the game) but I wanted to show you Kennon's big smile with his new duds on… blue tie shoes and a basketball that is on fire on his shirt. He was so proud of his outfit. 

 Coach Tate is kind enough to let older siblings out on the court to help out with the littler kids. Maddox enjoyed being out there helping and even got to practice her dribbling and shooting a bit….just enough for her to realize she still doesn't really LOVE basketball!  That's just fine Maddox!

I can't remember if he was on defense or offense here but either way I think he looks like he's got the stance :)  This was just a little scrimmage 5:5 with his teammates.  Coach Tate likes to have 10 on a team as it makes player substitutions during games and team scrimmages pretty simple.  Tate has done this once or twice :)

Tonight we had peek weak for Maddox's ballet class. I love peek week, as does Kennon, but Maddox is the biggest fan.  She loves to show us her newest dance techniques. Tonight she got to debut her ballet solo. This year's dance recital is based on the book 'I am a bunny'.  Maddox and her classmates will be dressed as leaves and will be interacting with the Bunny as he wishes to sweep all the leaves away…i.e. off the stage.  I'm  sure it is going to be adorable.  Maddox gets to go out on stage at the beginning of the routine and dance a bit with the bunny as he tries to sweep her away. Then she runs back to get the rest of her leaf friends to join her. She did a brilliant job tonight. I was so proud of her! Dance is definitely 'her thing'.

My dancing princess.

My clay rolling boy!  Today during Maddox's ballet class we went upstairs to enjoy the Open Clay Studio. We usually just hang out and play in the museum but instead decided to try our hand at clay. It was great fun. And for $2.50 we can make a creation to have air dry or put in the kiln to have dried and then we can glaze. So nice to be able to get exposure to some great artsy mediums. 

Christmas and New Year's Celebrations 2015

 I think I posted in my last post that Kennon got to bring home 'Cubbie' a few weeks ago and keep him at home with us for a week. Cubbie is the mascot from Kennon's Awana class called the Cubbies. It was fun snapping some pictures of Kennon and Cubbie.  

 Of course we had to make our traditional frosted sugar cookies.  Kennon and I made the dough one day while Maddox was at school and then the kids and I had fun rolling out and decorating them. I felt like the kids were old enough to handle the piping bags this year. They did a great job....naturals... :) 

 Mid December we had Kennon go through a skin test for environmental allergens ( dust, mold, cats, dogs, trees, grass etc). Despite how terribly awful this looks he really wasn't allergic to ANY of the allergens??  What??!!  I couldn't believe it.  He had a small reaction to cats, I believe...but it was nominal and even the allergist didn't think much of it.  She did however mention that because his skin is so sensitive ( hence the red spots that lasted longer than she would have anticipated) it was a tad difficult to get a good reading. But, she was really looking for a big ol' welt to show up and he really had none of those.  They did not test Kennon for any food items. I spoke with his physician about doing a blood panel to see if he is allergic to dairy but he declined ordering it stating there are WAY too many false positives with dairy and even peanuts.  We'll see what his pediatrician says next time we meet with her. For now he has been managing well on NO claritin now for almost a month and just his regular daily asthma inhaler. The above picture is taken about 20 minutes into the test.

 The big welt on the top left is a control spot- taken 2 minutes after they administered the allergens.

 Taken about 10 minutes after administration. 

 The last Awana night before Christmas break we had the kids act out the story of Jesus' birth. It was a rough skit but the kids had a good time and seemed to understand the message.  The two little guys under the cream colored robe are one of the sheep. Kennon was the Angel and got to proclaim the good news to the shepherds.  He was beaming...literally. 

 Kennon at his preschool Christmas program. He is mid screen...big smile. 

 Happy kid...off to the gym for a birthday party for Jesus. 

 Kennon and his primary teacher Mrs. Brei.  He LOVES>>>>> Mrs. Brei and talks about her all the time...coming over for lunch, coming over for a play date but most importantly coming to his birthday party! It is so cute. 

 Maddox showing off one of her cute new dresses from Grandma Jean. 

 If Kennon and I slow down long enough in the afternoon while we are waiting for Maddox to get home from school, he will fall asleep.  He could probably still take an afternoon nap but it really messes with his nighttime sleep so we nap rarely. I thought he was so peaceful looking here. I was doing audits and he just crawled up and snuggled in.  

 A couple of Friday's ago we went up the street for a Christmas party at the Millage house.  I was to bring fruit....but what's fruit in a bowl??! I found a picture of this gem on the Internet and was able to recreate it. It was fun! 

 Listening to Mr. Tim ( Kim's husband) read about the birth of Jesus Christ.  After he was done he had a little quiz for us.  It was fun to see the kids yell out the answers to the questions. 

 After we heard about the birth of Jesus we had a while elephant gift exchange...sounds odd to write those two things in the same sentence.....but we had so much fun. Especially Kennon. He ended up with these two gems but couldn't have been happier. In fact the pillow is still standing in the corner of his bedroom. Such a funny kid. 

 The Putnam Museum had a Polar Express party a couple of Sundays ago. The kids wore their PJs and enjoyed in the festivities which including face painting, crafts, hot chocolate, watching the Polar Express in 3D and then a scavenger hunt through the HUGE museum with the lights off.  We really had a great time. A new tradition for the Kies family. 

 Showing off their face painting...Kennon got a candy cane and Maddox a Christmas tree.

 Making a jingle bell....with our buddies Leo and Lula. We invited the Heuers to come along with us!  

 Leo was not super interested in smiling for this picture!! But his little sister Lula is super happy!  The scavenger hunt through the museum was to find all of the snow man parts.  They had little stations set up in the dark with the parts needed to make the snowman complete. The kids really had a great time finding all the stations.  

 Leo, Lula, Maddox and Kennon sporting their PJs. 

 Maddox enjoying her hot chocolate...happy sugar smile! 

 The Tuesday before Christmas I got to attend Maddox's Winter Party at school.  

 The kids got to eat a holiday snack and play fun games.  In this game the kids got in teams of 3 and then chose one person to be the 'tree' and the other two 'decorators'. Maddox was the tree and her buddies Avery and Elise decorated her up. Each team had a bag of goodies including crate paper, ornaments, candy canes, and a bow that they HAD to use to decorate their tree.   The first team to use all the goodies in the bag to decorate their tree is the winner. Such a fun cute game and they did a great job! 

 Maddox and her teacher Mrs. Gaspelin 

 oooops...out of order...Maddox showing off her piping skills.

 The first day of Christmas break we took advantage of the super warm weather, threw on our short sleeved John Deere shirts and headed over to John Deere headquarters in Silvis. The kids, even after numerous visits, still love to climb on the tractors and sit in the cabs.  At Christmas time they put up a huge live Christmas tree which makes for beautiful pictures.  

 Kennon helping me make cranberry pear mini pot pies for Christmas Eve dessert.  YUMMY!

 Our Christmas Eve service at church was really great!  Eric and Kennon even got to be greeters at one of the doors for the 4pm service. The church was packed and I mean packed...!! I had never seen it that full before. The music was awesome and the message even better.  I love being home on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. 

We didn't manage to get many pictures on Christmas day. The kids stayed in bed till their normal 6:45 time when their alarm clocks turn green signaling they can get up.  Kennon was excited to see a train table with wooden tracks and a train and Maddox loved her Puppy Surprise puppy which had 3 babies in it's belly.  We opened a few more presents which consisted of puzzles and a couple of movies. We spent the rest of Christmas day doing the puzzles, playing board games, watching movies and taking naps...we all took close to 3 hour naps!!  It was just a great relaxing day. 

 The Saturday after Christmas we drove down to Washington to celebrate with Grandma Jean, Grandpa Jim and Great Grandma Reta. We were able to have the celebration right in her comfortable home. The kids love going to Great Grandma Reta's especially this time of year to be able to go on a Christmas tree hunt through the complex.  The kids got lots of great gifts....books, movies, a badminton and volleyball outdoor set and several other things.  But most importantly they enjoyed time with Great Grandma Reta, Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim!! Such a fun afternoon.

Kennon got this helicopter from Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim and it has been the highlight of the season.  He plays with it sun up to sun down...! 

This year we changed things up a bit and didn't make our annual trip to Keokuk to celebrate Christmas. We were able to host this year and everyone came to us instead!  The Kies family are great card/board game players, especially at holidays.  Everyone, including Maddox and Kennon, got in on this one called One Night.  I had a fun time cooking with everyone and it was nice to have all the aunts, uncles and cousins hanging out in the basement. So thankful for such a fun space to have holiday gatherings. 

I can't believe it but this picture was taken in the first hour of New Years Day!! We actually made it to midnight...which was totally not on my 'to-do' list for the day but we sure did have fun.  We invited our neighbors the Kubalsky's over for dinner and some New Years Eve fun.  Thanks to modern technology Elisha was able to put 6 month old Alina to bed next door at home and we were able to monitor her through the phone while we enjoyed each other's company in our basement. The kids played Wii and various other games and watched movies while we taught Elisha how to play euchre....which she really caught on to quickly and was scooping up tricks to keep them her and Carl on the board.  I got them in the end on my last hand when I was dealt the Jack of hearts and diamonds and the Ace King Queen and nine of hearts!!! What??? never in my lifetime has that happened... I went alone on the hand and scored 4 points to take Eric and I to the finish line. I think that was the first of many euchre games between the Kies and Kubalsky families. 

Well.... we had a lazy New Years day which didn't end all that well.  We were sad to watch the Hawks get pounded in the Rose Bowl.  But, we enjoyed the day at home together...  The kids both go back to school on Monday which we are all happy about :)  Since I last posted I got two new PTs up and running and will start to train 2 more this coming week.  I just about have our Florida vacation all planned but now Eric and I are starting to work on our 10 year anniversary trip to California :)  Fun Fun!! I feel like our first official school related Christmas Break has gone well. We've had a good combination of travel time to see other family, family time at home, and special holiday activities.  And I was able to hold off on my audits and training for the last couple of weeks to be able to enjoy my time at home.  Eric was able to take just the right amount of time off to be home with us too while still covering the office for last minute year end actions. We are looking forward to our guest arriving tomorrow. Chelsea, Eric's niece, will be doing her student teaching in Durant, IA next semester and she'll be staying with us from now until the end of the school year.  The kids are SOOO excited. We're looking forward to her visit, and hopefully she won't be overwhelmed by all the attention she's likely to get from the kids while she's here.  Till the next post!