1st Day of Gymnastics Class

Time for everyone to stretch out. 

Balancing on the beam....smile and all. 

I see both 'Knowles' and 'Kies' in this picture. 

Balancing on one foot IN a ring....check out the pointed toe on the left foot!

This is probably my favorite picture of the bunch....little brother looking on....a little bored.  This might be the first of many dance classes/gymnastics classes/recitals Kennon looks a little bored at :) 

He was actually extremely good and almost dozed off to the sound of the happy kids/music.I did get his hair cut on Monday.....he is looking so little boy.  Love the BLUE eyes.  

The little boy in the background is named CARTER and he was WAY more interested in the balls that were not really part of our class.  So funny. 

So we have had LOTS of firsts for the kids the last couple of weeks.  Yesterday afternoon Maddox started her first gymnastics class at the YMCA.  I really wanted to get her into a dance class ( to follow in the footsteps of mom and after seeing her moves at the street fest in Breckenridge Colorado with her cousin CJK ) but none of the YMCA classes matched up with our busy schedule and unfortunately she has to be 3 on or before the 15th of September to get into the dance classes at the Children's Museum. So we settled for gymnastics. I have to say, most if not all of the activities Maddox has already done as they have all the equipment she used during class at Kindercare. She has been doing all these 'moves' since she started there last year in the 2's but it is still a nice workout for her and another social setting for her to adapt to. She did really well you can see from the pictures.  She has a little work to get more proficient at the balance beam and with the somersaults but I was really proud of her. She only got a little scared one time in class and she was easily re directed when they started playing the FREEZE game.  So we will go every Tuesday afternoon 4:30-5 for the next 8 weeks.  I"m hoping to eventually get her into a dance class next fall though....so the activities begin. Kennon spent almost the entire day last Friday in the toddler room. He slept for 1.5 hours on the cot, did art, and ate at the big boy table. He only got  slightly, to put it mildly, upset when his favorite infant teacher didn't come outside onto the toddler playground to play with him. Her name is Mrs Lisa and she has Kennon wrapped around her little finger.  He LOVES her and apparently doesn't let her out of his sight all that often. Thank goodness the toddler room really is just the next room over and he can still see her through the small partition they have. We are very thankful for the infant room teachers. They are so loving and really care for the kids like their own. In the toddler room Kennon will get to do ART everyday, his favorite time and he will just take one nap which we are trying to do at home as well.  Kennon got his first major boo boo on Monday evening.  The Cozy Coupe got away from him on the driveway and pulled him down about 1/4 of the way before it came to a stop at the end. Unfortunately he didn't have on pants.  Boo boos on both of his knees which Maddox was VERY quick to offer a "bandeed" for as she calls it. They are all scabbed over today.  She seems to be liking 'Church School' on Monday and Wednesday mornings. She usually comes home all smiles. Today she sang the new prayer they do before they have snack, which is different than the song the sing at Kindercare before they eat lunch.  I am going to have to start writing things down so I know which jingles go with what school.  Anyhow she is going potty there ( which is fabulous...given her continued fear of public potties) and loves that they have JUICE for snack sometimes. I am, for the first time ever, taking my birthday off on Friday. Looking forward to having the day to myself and preparing for Grandpa Jim's 65 birthday party Tyler and I ( with dad and jean's assistance) are throwing.  Should be a fabulous time!! Eric and I got to go to the Hawkeye game on Saturday.  A big thanks to Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim for watching the kids.  As usual they came with gifts!!  A new Tee ball set for the kids.  Kennon is all about balls and LOVES to literally launch them at anyone and anything. I think he actually has a good arm.  He was quick to pick up the bat and swing it at the ball....although I'm sure he got a lot of good teaching from Grandpa Jim.  Eric and I had a nice time away despite the horrific game. C'mon Hawks...get in gear.  Better luck this weekend.

Mom and Dad at the Iowa vs Iowa State game 9.8.12 

Happy boy in my warm up suit from Veta Mark Jaci and Alex 

Playing with the 'boy toys' at the neighbor's house.  They have 2 girls older than Maddox but still have a few boy toys around from when they did daycare.  Denyse has bailed us out a couple of time watching our sick kiddos so Eric and I can work. A great neighbor. 

New Tee ball set from Grandpa and Grandma Knowles. 

'I did it'....one of Kennon's favorite phrases. 

First Day of Preschool 2012

Maddox throwing one of her many tantrums for an unknown reason....after preschool and after nap. She was just in one of her moods and snapped out of it as quick as she snapped into it....very typical for Maddox

Maddox first day of preschool 

gold fish

Kennon dancing 

So all of you know last Wednesday was Maddox's first day of preschool at Our Savior Church in Bettendorf.  The pictures that are above are actually taken AFTER the experience.....Maddox wasn't all that excited about having her picture taken before school like I wanted.  I have learned that we are on Maddox's timeline :)  I dropped her off ( into the chaos of the school's first day) and she actually did well. She has a special place to hang her backpack/coat with her name and her picture. Then she has a cubby with her name and picture where she puts a folder that goes to school everyday and comes home everyday as a source of communication between the teachers and parents. The folder houses a sheet for the week that specifically states what they learned, talked about, played with, what they had for snack and how many times they went potty....even down the detail as far as what Bible vs they discussed what color they are talking about and what shape and some other specific details that I think are going above and beyond....!! The folder also has just a plain paper where we can write notes to the teacher and they are able to write back ( otherwise email is another option).  SO this folder is pretty important and therefore has it's own cubby and fits nicely in Maddox's backpack. Anyhow there were lots of kids crying so I was happy that Maddox just sort of mixed herself in with the sea of kids that WEREN'T crying amongst the many moms and dads and camera flashes ( I think we have all the experience at Kindercare to thank for that). I gave her a hug and she was swished into her room by her teacher Mrs. Ennis.  I went home to a sick Kennon.  He unfortunately started running a low grade fever on Tuesday at school and had a cold.  Eric took him to Dr. Anderson's office to have him checked out but his ears and throat came back in flying color condition.  Preschool is about 3 hours. I picked up Maddox with some anticipation about how her day went and Mrs Doyle ( the other teacher...the one from Orion) said she had a good day. She was all smiles and was able to tell me they had cheese and crackers and JUICE for snack....something we don't have a lot of around the house!!  The don't have lunch but they have snack time and a time to pray before snack to thank God for all the blessings He gives us. She was all smiles although shy and not really able to verbalize what she had done so luckily Mrs. Ennis sent us an email about the details of their day and what songs that had sung etc.  She doesn't go today ( Labor  day) but will go again on Wednesday. We frequently past 'church school' in the van when we are going to and from town and she seems overly excited to go back. So I think it is going to be a good year for her.  Unfortunately about 12 hours later she started with the low grade fever and cold.  Then Eric came down with it about 48 hours later. So it has kinda been a rough week juggling sick kids, work schedules, and the pressures of the new school. We were supposed to go out to the Orion Fast Festival on Saturday but unfortunately hurricane Issac decided we should stay home instead.  We layed low recovering from illness but Maddox was still having a low grade fever and began reporting that her throat was hurting. I am very thankful she is actually able to tell us what is actually hurting. I looked in her throat and thought it looked really red. So I quick loaded her up Saturday afternoon and took her to the Quick Care place. Fortunately her ears and throat were fine with a negative strep test but unfortunately the strep test provoked her gag reflex and she threw up in the van on the way home :(  poor thing. She kept saying 'mom I"m being brave....I'm not crying....mom I'm being brave '  and she didn't cry!! I was really proud of her. So we quick triaged Maddox and the van and sent Kennon and Eric off to church to serve in the nursery as unfortunately this was OUR Saturday night. Luckily there were no babies to watch so Kennon and Eric returned home quickly to help me finish triaging the car seat and van. BY this time Maddox was a happy as a lark playing outside in the cool East wind in her nightgown. Kennon was quick to join her.  He LOVES to be outside and especially to play in the rocks. He is actually quite good at throwing rocks .......so you have to be on your toes at all times. In fact he throws balls in general very well ( much better than Maddox every did and really does.... BOY BOY BOY!!) Kennon got over his fever in about 48 hours and was pretty happy all weekend. He is saying more and more ' all done, hot dog, mine, mama, dada, I did it'  In general he is a pretty happy boy and is sleeping through the night for the most part unless his teeth are bothering him.  The teachers at Kindercare are getting ready to move him up to the toddler room where he will eat at a big boy table with big boy utensils, take one afternoon nap on a cot, and have centers to play out.  Unfortunately we don't get any break in the price as the ratio of teachers to kids is still the same ( today I for the first time calculated out how much we are paying for 2 at Kindercare and one at Our Savior per year...and about fell off the couch...I knew it was expensive but didn't know it was that much!!.....oh well we are thankful for the excellent care and education they are getting and thankful we are able to afford it!! ) We had Maddox's 3 year old pictures yesterday at the mall and the photo shoot went great. She was all smiles and was happy to hear the prospect of a soft pretzel for lots of good smiles!!  That has kinda become our tradition....photo shoot = soft pretzel! Sunday evening we grilled out and then went to Hannah, Jody Aaron and Charlie's house for a bonfire and s'mores. The kids had a good time playing. Today I'm headed to see a couple of patients. So busy at work 30+ people waiting for physical therapy. Eric was going to do a few projects around the home but unfortunately is suffering from what appears to be a migraine. Phew...I just scrolled up and this is getting long.  Next Saturday Eric and I are headed to the Iowa vs Iowa State game!! Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim are going to come stay with the kids.  Looking forward to a little getaway after all the sickness this past week. Happy Labor Day.

Finger Painting on the Driveway

So I decided this weekend was the weekend to try finger painting in the driveway. I have had it on my 'to do' list with the kids all summer but it has just been too dang hot!!  Eric went to work Saturday morning to see a few clients so it was just the kids and I and the paint.  We had a fun time, although you can see from the pictures both Maddox and Kennon had different ideas of  'finger' painting.  Maddox, as most of you know really doesn't like to get her hands dirty so I had purchased some foam brushes which she was happy to have. Kennon only actually sat and painted for about 1 minute and most of that minute he used the foam brush to pain his OWN HAND!!  I had to laugh. And then he was off to the races, running down the driveway and up the sidewalk or out to the street or to the rock bed to play in/throw the rocks. He was actually pretty tired by the time we got started painting so I chased him down and put him to bed for  a nap.  That left Maddox and I to paint. She enjoyed mixing the colors and doing something we don't normally do. Our neighbor, Hannah, came down to join us too.  It was a nice morning.  Luckily today it rained liked bandits, which washed away all the paint that got painted onto the driveway :0 Some quick funnies for the week.  Wednesday morning we went to the park with the Hannah, Jody and Charlie. We had a nice time playing and after an hour or so headed back to the van. I had parked quite a bit away so we had a long walk. It was pretty silent as I carried Kennon and Maddox walked along both tired from the outing. Then all of a sudden I heard Maddox say 'I AM a helpful smile'.......'I AM a helpful smile.......I AM a helpful smile'.  It took me like 3 times to actually understand what she was saying and then I cracked up laughing. Right now HyVee has on commercials with the 'faces' of Hyvee ( workers throughout their stores) and they phase in on each face and the person says 'I AM a helpful smile' and then they go to somebody else who repeats the same phrase and so on. There are probably 15 people showcased on each commercial and the commercial is on frequently throughout the day. I had no idea Maddox was even paying attention to this commercial as it really has nothing to do with her  ( unless you count the free cookie she associates with HyVee ) and it isn't a cartoon.  I still laugh thinking about it. She repeated the phrase almost the entire way back to the van. Too funny. Tonight at dinner we had Grammy's BBQ recipe. It is kind of like a sloppy joe and we put it on hamburger buns. We used to just give the meat mixture to Maddox but since she is growing up to be a big girl she has been asking for the bun too!! It is kinda messy but she generally does really well managing her meat and the bun. But, tonight it was very juicy. About midway through her sandwich I hear ' Oh no, it cracked'....meaning her bun had split apart and her meat was falling out. I though cracked was a funny way to put it!! But, super cute.  One other sentimental moment for the week. After the finger painting experience, lunch, and a couple of play sessions it was time for nap for Maddox yesterday afternoon.  She was really over tired by this time and burst into tears when she realized her blanket was downstairs on the couch and she was upstairs. I couldn't get her calmed down for probably a good 10 to 15 minutes....she just wailed at the top of her lungs and I couldn't distract her. Kennon just sort of toddled around her room and his stopping to read books, brush his teeth,  toss a few balls and basically he ignored her pitchy screams not seeming to be bothered by her.  When I did finally get her calmed down it was time to potty before nap time. Kennon followed us into the bathroom and almost immediately after she sat down leaned in to give her a big hug!!  It was absolutely priceless. It was a REAL hug and then he patted her ever so softly on her arm.   I have never seen him treat her quite that way. Usually he is pretty aggressive and boy like with his affection. That whole while it seemed to me he was ignoring her but in fact he was realizing she was having a hard time and he wanted to console her.  How darn cute.  He was so proud of himself too. He is starting to really develop into a little boy....not even a toddler anymore. Have a good week. Thoughts and prayers for Maddox on Wednesday morning as she starts her new pre-school at Our Savior. 

Kennon's paci served as 'paint to mouth protection'!! 

Look at how he is holding his paintbrush!!  Really good for his age....thank you Kindercare!! 

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This was as close to finger painting as Maddox got and she immediately wanted her hand washed :0

Maddox's Preschool Open House

'mom....I thought there were supposed to be school supplies in here?'

'mom said to cross the left over the right....and then....'

'oh wait...maybe it was the right over the left....and then ya pull....'

'oh yah and then I finish with this snap thing...whew....this is hard work and I haven't even gotten to school yet....!!'

So most of you know that Maddox ( in addition to her normal 3 days at Kindercare) is going to be starting at a new school next week. She will be going to the Our Savior Church pre-school on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Tonight was the Open House.  I was really hoping with all Maddox's 'experience' at Kindercare that she would run in and make herself at home. But, our shy little girl showed up at the door and got a little fearful. Thank goodness Grammy is going to be here next Wednesday, her first day, so she'll be able to stay home with Kennon while I chaperon Maddox into the school. The place is literally fabulous. She will be in a classroom of only 12 children ages 2 to 3.  You have to be 3 on or before September 15th to be in the 3 yr old room. Since Maddox misses that by ONE day she'll be in the 2 year olds but I spoke with them tonight about how they handle the 'older' children and it seems they are on track.  She'll have 2 teachers in the room....one from Orion that I recognized and chatted it up with right away...!!  Old home! Gotta love my Orion roots.  Anyhow we played in her room for quite a bit with Mrs Doyle, the teacher from Orion. She seemed to be feeling at home.  Kennon got in on the action and QUICKLY found a bin of box cars...he was having a ball too!! We checked out the potties to ensure that they were quiet potties and then headed to get her picture taken.  They don't do things like they did when I was growing up.  There was a profession photographer on site to take Maddox's picture. I forgot to get the password but when I do I"ll put it on the blog ( or email you) and you can check out ( and purchase of course :) Maddox's first official pre-school picture.  Maddox is supposed to have a backpack with her name on it to make recognition easy.  Maddox doesn't know it but one is coming from Potty Barn ( my addiction) and will be wrapped up for her birthday in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime I resurrected an old one that I had gotten from Aunt Kelly. It seems to suit her well. You can tell from the pics I took before we left  tonight she is still figuring out all the snaps.  She'll need a backpack for sure. We came home with her first fabulous kid's Bible and a folder full of stuff!!  I think it is going to take me a week just to read the handbook. This is quite the church pre-school. If you are interested their website is www.oursaviorbett.org . She'll come home daily with a 'what we did type paper' all filled out letting us know what they talked about, learned, how much she pee peed/pooped ( it looked like she was one of the few in her classroom that is potty trained...again the age thing.....) what activities they did both physical, art, music, social etc. We, as parents, are able to follow along what Bible verse they are learning each week as this is all written out ahead of time and in our possession right now.  It is almost somewhat overwhelming actually.  We LOVE Kindercare but it seems Our Savior is slightly more communicative with their parents letting them know specifically the curriculum/activities.  So we'll see how she does next week. Pray for a good transition for her. We call this 'school' but we have been calling Kindercare 'school' since she started there a year ago. So I"m sure this is confusing for her. She is officially in the 3 yr old pre-school program/room at Kindercare now. Yesterday was her first day and the teachers said she had a good day. It was funny when I picked her up all the kids were sitting calmly at their tables working on puzzles, doing activities etc.  When I would pick her up in the 2 year old room it was always sort of free play time and things seemed to be a bit chaotic....but a controlled chaos.   It seems things are going to be different, for the better, in the 3's. I like structure!! It doesn't seem like her 3 year old class at Kindercare is very full as of yet so hopefully she will get some good attention these first few weeks of transition. Maddox is very in to 'being safe' nowadays. Today we were driving to the park and she said ' Mom, I will keep you safe'...... I said oh, that's very nice of you Maddox.....she said 'I'll keep you safe from the rain Mom'.  I had to smile. How cute.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky this morning.  She says so many cute things. I need to keep a notebook close by to record it all. Kennon is mister mobile man. He is so much quicker on his feet and made it to the top of the jungle gym today before I even noticed he was gone.  He is developing a little personality and when he's not happy he sure lets you know. But, he has a funny little giggle and loves to jump and wrestle on Maddox's bed. He is a little climber and mastered getting up on it in no time. They both love to jump on it. Kennon just sort of stands there and lets the bouncing bed, compliments of Maddox, jostle him around till he falls off. Luckily it is only like 2 feet off the floor!!  We had a rough weekend with Maddox, many tantrums. But, I'm learning praise does wonders...DUH LAURA!!?? And she has been relatively happy these past few days.  We are home this weekend to get some jobs done around the home.  Oh, and I signed Maddox up for a gymnastics class at the Y today.  I wanted to get her into a dance class ( after seeing her moves at the Farmer's Market in Breckenridge) but the classes didn't jive with my work and our new Our Savior schedule. Whew....too long for you busy moms sorry!!  Take care till another post.