The unofficial end of summer

This summer sure flew by, as they all do, and probably will continue to do more so with kids, but it felt long and fast, there was so much that happened...but here we are happening upon September, "school" starting, trips and birthdays behind us and maybe cooler temps...eventually at least!

We started out the month with a bang with the boys' birthday party, Grandparents and Uncle Kevin, as well as some Glienke family - Aunt Gloria, Cousin Cari and son Tommy - visiting, a wonderful treat to have them all around to visit, even if for a short time. The boys, as always, love all the attention and special treats and privileges that come around when we have visitors. The boys have enjoyed more games lately, most recently the big hit is Hungry Hungry Hippos - a fun birthday present, as well as Chutes and Ladders (this must be played when Noah is occupied otherwise as you can imagine!). They have also played Simon Says some, and that's pretty cute to watch too!

Drew was able to go on his first school field trip at the beginning of the month. They went to CiCi's, and honestly, I was not really happy about that, but turned out to be a blast for the class...they all got to make their own pizzas and see how they bake, etc. - they had a great time. Drew was SO proud of his pizza left overs he got to bring home...we had to eat them for dinner that night, he insisted! :) The second one Mommy was able to go along too, and take Noah, to the Crowley Splash Pad...they had a BLAST! It was such a great park! Free - so a winner before we even got there! And a great little splash pad, just the right size, and comfortable areas for Moms and the like. So glad we were able to join in on that one! Will have to remember that for next summer too!

I'm pretty sure I mentioned this last month, but Drew's had some difficulty with being brave on going to bed at night - saying he didn't like his room, didn't want to be alone, coming up with all sorts of excuses, etc. but we are starting to see that wane more and more this month, thankfully. There's still lots of back and forth and chatting over the monitor (thank goodness for that feature!) and coming up with lots of excuses to stall us leaving the room, but thanks to an "I am brave" sticker reward chart, we are making progress, getting back to some better nights again...how sad that we want and love and smother our kids so much, but when it comes to bed time, we are DONE! I want MY time! I guess that's not so hard to understand for anyone with kids, but I always feel a little harsh...but not enough to cave! :)

We had one day in particular this month that felt almost like a fall day...so we headed straight to the park to soak it up! And Drew showed off his climbing skills, going up and down everything without any problems or help for the first time, especially the rock wall! It was great! Noah wanted to keep up as much as he could, but Drew was so excited - felt like such a big kid!

Drew's shown some huge improvements in being a helper around the house lately. By no means is it consistent, and I can't think of any specific examples, but know that there have been times where I've been almost knocked over with his ability and willingness to help and listen quickly! Oh, I hope that keeps moving in that direction! What a HUGE difference it makes for all of us!

We took Drew to his first movie theatre experience this month...we went to see Planes. He loved it! No surprise there! And he did great...he was totally glued! We played around with the idea of taking Noah, but in hind sight, I'm really glad we are going to wait...we went to a movie tavern and there were lots of families with young kids, some Noah's age, and they were all over the place! So glad we didn't have to struggle with that...his time will come. Until then, I think we are both looking forward to a few more movie dates with Drew!

Drew was able to go to cousin Luke's house for a sleepover and of course had a great time. Aunt Katrina and Uncle Joel went all out with fun games and activities to entertain the boys - a painter's tape spider web, water balloons, baseball...but they did have to eventually sleep in different rooms since they were being more mischievous than anything else...no nap for Drew on Saturday and being so tired from the night before, he threw a HUGE fit when it was time to leave, I think because Luke touched his shoes...so obviously it was the breaking point of his tired body! But they had such a great time together! Love those boys!

Soccer season is just around the corner, so the last 2 weeks of the month, we've had soccer practices. We are all excited about it starting up again, but with having such a mild summer, the last few weeks have been REALLY hot, so 5 pm in the sun for an hour has been a bit rough on us all, and we are praying for a quick turn around with the temps. Noah doesn't seem to mind one bit - I think he's the only one not affected! HA!

School did officially start the last week of August for the boys. Since they moved rooms at the beginning of the summer, we are pretty sure they didn't even notice, so there wasn't any major event or catastrophic drop off, so that was nice. It will be interesting to see how much they learn and pick up this year. So Drew is officially in Pre-K, and Noah in the 2 year old class. Poor Noah's class went through several teacher changes this summer, but we hope we have one that sticks now, and hoping that helps drop off get better! Drew will have a lot more structure on his days at school, but I hope to even that out with still only taking him 3 days/week and playfully learning at home! I hope to be really good about it...being more intentional with them both, so pray for me! :)

We had some decent/pleasant evenings a few times this month, and enjoyed some wagon rides, playing in sprinklers, picnics, playing chase (usually as some animal, cheetah vs elephant, etc.), and soccer and baseball to name a few. Nothing like a good running around to burn some energy, keep the boys happy and bring that "sweaty boy smell" into the house!

The boys had lots of Daddy time this month with Mommy working all her weekend days in before soccer season starts. Drew at some point realized I would be gone again one Saturday and said "Yeah!" Me: "you're happy about being home with Daddy again? D:"I just like Daddy more" Me:"why?" D: "he lets me play video games". Nice! They do have fun while I'm gone...video games, movies, puzzles, Tickle Monster and Hide and Seek...whatever goes when Daddy's in charge! And Daddy knows how to play how the boys like, no doubt!

Sunday mornings have reached a new level of "chaos control", with some days being great and the boys playing nice and quiet, to the exact opposite. One Sunday Drew was lying on Mommy's lap and Noah told him "Dew, move...now!" and then asked "Hold you?" and y'all hugged...it was the ultimate adorable moment, and could have gone completely the other way! Other Sundays Noah has enjoyed fighting and throwing army men...we've since completely re-vamped the toys that are appropriate for church!

I know we are blessed to have boys that get along, at least for now, and of course hope it stays that way as long as possible. We have had more and more times of them playing really well side by side each other or with each other lately and that has certainly been note-worthy and wonderful! Especially to try and even out the times when they are uncontrollable and require constant intervention to be in the same room! But we love to see their imagination play along together and role play scenarios...Noah is right there with Drew, copying it all!

The boys are certainly close to one another, very evident one day when Noah was sick with croup, Mommy was supposed to go to work and Grandma and Papa were available to help out, so Drew went to school and Noah to Grandma's house. Well, my heavens, Drew was SO upset, he wouldn't let go of Mommy, cried and begged for us not to go, and still will talk about it every now and then how he didn't like not being at school with Noah!

Noah continues to bring us laughter and joy as we watch him grow and learn, holding nothing back, willing and ready for just about anything (as long as Mommy is around most of the time! :)). He is still so very physical and adventurous in how he plays. He LOVES to be 'thrown' around, play wrestle, jump, be turned upside down - anything physical and he's as happy as a clam! He is definitely running all over now, and loves to race. His gait pattern is changing and becoming more 'normal', but it's still got a little toddler kick to it - so stinkin' cute!

He's getting much more independent and reliable at playgrounds and parks, climbing up as much as he can. We are still there close by, but not as fearful of him falling I guess now it seems. He does love to climb! And still loves the bounce house...he still asks for it alot, and he goes after it, getting better at the obstacle course ones too...he gets frustrated and cries, but keeps on climbing...quite the conundrum! He can be quite silly - running around with his hands above his head, almost galloping...he's such a hoot! He can pretty much gallop and also can walk on his heels.

He is a very animated little boy, more and more every day it seems. He loves to pretend to be animals, and he really gets into it...the expressions on his face are priceless, and hard to capture with a picture...they change so fast! He loves to pose into what can best be described as a 'fighting' pose, with both hands up in fists, but kinda of on top of each other with his trunk bent to one side...I've got to get a picture...he does it sometimes before he runs, or to greet people (usually the ones that play more physical with him, AKA Uncle Kevin, Grandpa, sometimes Daddy and Drew!). He can really crack you up if you get him to 'play faces' with you...show me your ____ face (sad, happy, angry, etc.)...he is hilarious!

His words are coming right along, and he can be quite 'chatty' at times. He has started to respond to some statements he's told with "No way!" and then proceeds to play the No way/Yes way game with us...so funny! And he has dropped his adorable "Yah" and now says "Yess", also quite cutely if you ask me! He loves to proclaim "I did it!" after accomplishing some task, like putting a puzzle together or some other challenge, usually with an arm thrown up in the air with enthusiasm! :)

Let's see, some random milestones of sorts...he's getting much better at haircuts, just lightly whimpering and flinching, but nothing even close to how Drew was at this age, requiring full body restraint! His L top molar started to poke through. He's been asking to sleep in Drew's bed, and so at the end of the month, Daddy switched Noah's crib into a toddler bed and in complete contradiction to our expectations, he's done great! He doesn't try to get up at all when trying to go to sleep, the few times he's woken up and called out in the night, he goes right back down with a hug and reassurance from Mommy, and stays in bed all night long! It's been amazing! We thought for sure seeing Drew up and down and he himself playing in Drew's bed would mean he realized he could get up and play around, but he's done awesome! We just have to teach him to call for us when he wakes up and wait for us in bed...he's been waking up and just going straight to the door, so the first thing we hear is him knocking on the door to get out...but we are happy to only have that lesson to learn! He can reach the light switches that have the extenders on them (had them for Drew of course, who's now tall enough to not need them anymore!) and is able to click his booster seat belt together, though he often does it before getting into the chair, so not quite helpful yet.

He has enjoyed his school more this month overall I think, and has done really well learning and naming his colors, counting (he can count 1-10 correctly all by himself!) and even recognizing some shapes and letters! He seems to really enjoy music time/playing instruments with the class and I'm sure LOVES that he now gets to participate in Tumblebus! I hope to be able to get up there to see him one day soon to see how he likes it! With as much as he loves to be physical, I can only imagine his delight tumbling, etc.!

Another month gone, more fun ahead...

Wellness check up stats: Drew: 40# (75%), 45" (99%); Noah: 26# (25%), 37" (95%).

Happy Pirate Water-Palooza Birthday Party!

Well, you might know by now that I LOVE to throw birthday parties! I enjoy hosting, I love to have an excuse to have friends come over, Pinterest makes it too easy AND hard, and birthdays are just fun! So Matthew goes along with it, and is always amazed (and probably regretful and bewildered, a little bit agitated) with how far I can take it, but I do have fun! This year was no different...lots of decorating the house, decorating the cakes, etc., but it all came together and I think we all had a great time.

It wouldn't have gone quite as well without the awesome family we have to help get it all ready and keep it going...we are so blessed!

The party was from 10-1 on a warm, but not over the top hot for Texas August day, so we were happy about that. We had fans and shade prepared to keep us as comfortable as possible.

The kids had a good time with all the water play, and I think Matthew did too!

Drew at some point decided he was done playing and wanted to open presents and play with new toys, much to Mommy's chagrin. We staved him off as long as we could, but caved and quickly all the others followed suit. So we had a yummy, simple lunch of Pirate Ships (sandwiches), Cannon Balls (Grapes), Pirate Jewels (Fruit Salad), Pirate Grub (Pirate Booty Chips), and Deadman's Water (Strawberry Lemonade). (That was the part that Matthew and Kevin, and probably a few others, thought I'd gone overboard! :))

These boys all go to school together, and couldn't get enough of one another at the party either!
I hope meal time at school does not look anything like this, otherwise, those poor teachers!

The cakes turned out well, I was pleased! Though I think they looked better than they tasted, but I'm not much of a cake fan, but I'll have to work on that part. :) No one seemed to mind though!

I love when photos capture those classic expressions - classic Drew here.

Classic Noah here!

I love that they have almost the exact same expression here!

Despite the heat, the kids all decided to head outside afterward, but to the playground instead - you know, they just don't mind getting hot and sweaty! But at least they ran off all the sugar and excitement and I hope all the other kids crashed and took as good of naps as our boys did!

We had a fun time, we were all exhausted, but enjoyed being with everyone and so grateful to all those that helped us celebrate our boys! We are blessed beyond measure!

4 and 2 equals FUN!!!

We had a fun birthday month this past July with 3 of 4 of us celebrating! Drew's is technically August 1, but he talks about it so much, it feels like it's in July with Mommy's and Noah's! There's been a lot of cupcakes, birthday songs, and presents, more than enough to go around, and we are blessed beyond compare!

Like I said, Drew's birthday is in August, but with Mommy's and Noah's being in July, he quickly jumps in the conversation about when it's HIS birthday, as one could imagine! We've had lots of prayers at bedtime asking God for his birthday to come soon and struggling with Noah "being the star" for the day, etc. as Drew is learning to cope a little bit more that the world doesn't COMPLETELY revolve around him, though it feels close! :)

Drew apparently picked up some dance moves from the Thompson reunion and all of our impromptu dance parties, and I'm sure was especially inspired by Jake and his awesome moves for our dance video! So it's been hilarious watching him really get into dancing to music a little bit more lately...he liked it quite a bit when he was younger, and then really kind of clammed up about it, so I'm hoping to see more of that now - I LOVE a good dance party! :)

We started having 'sleep overs' with Drew a few months ago, where either Mommy or Daddy stay up to watch a movie with him after Noah goes to bed and then sleep in the guest room together. This month Daddy watched Monsters, Inc. with Drew. He liked the movie, but made Daddy stop it once to talk about the monsters coming out of the closet and such, glancing back and forth from the closet door to Daddy. He liked the movie, but probably the experience more than the story...we've now had quite the escalation of fear of the dark and shadows, sleeping in his own room by himself, and even up to not wanting to walk into rooms by himself if the light isn't on...not fun for anyone! The timing was probably just not the best, or maybe he would have reacted that way regardless, but after being in the same room at the beach for a week, and then the Monster movie, really set him up for fear unfortunately. We were hoping he would do well and we could see the Monsters U movie in the theater as his first theater experience, but that's NOT going to happen now! :) If you've kept up with the blog, you might know that Drew has his quirks and anxiety about random things, so it doesn't surprise me that he reacted this way, but we were hoping otherwise. Now we are hoping to get him back to going to the bathroom by himself - sheesh!!!

Drew spent his last days in the 3 year old room this month and was moved up to the PreK class! He is SO excited! The teacher has been filtering kids up one or two at a time to get them adjusted, etc. and he was so happy to be back with all his buddies! The room is upstairs, so that makes it even more special of course! This means field trip are in the near future and all sorts of other fun things! He is pumped!

Drew is quite independent with all sorts of things of course, and it's hard to believe he's four. 4-year-olds were always a favorite of mine, maybe because Mom taught them for so long, but I can't believe we are there with Drew now! We are excited to see what fun this year will bring with more and more independence, personality, understanding, and ability to partake in activities! His Grandma has noted how 'serious' he can be at times, and she's right - he really can be very certain about things, and take it very seriously...he might be a bit like his Mommy with emotions and passion and feeling really strongly about seemingly small things...we'll have to see how that evolves! He's certainly like Mommy in lots of ways - he's picked up my OCD nature already :/ and is quite particular and moody! But he LOVES to climb, as most boys do, but it's a non-stop battle it seems, and Grandma points out that Daddy was JUST like that! So he's got some physical inclinations from Daddy too!

The boys are such sweet and good brothers to each other most of the time, we really are blessed. They of course fight over toys and all that, but Drew does a great job helping Noah at times and Noah just LOVES to do what his big brother is doing! One night out at dinner, Drew was especially sweet sitting next to Noah (which we usually try to avoid!) and was helping him eat his food (which was hilarious) and was being super sweet about sharing...it is so fun to watch them interact on their own accord!

We found out Drew REALLY likes carrot cake - that was Mommy's pick for her birthday and Drew was literally eating crumbs off the floor and trying to get the crumbs under Noah's chair before we realized what was happening and had to stop him - it was so funny!

Noah is really starting to try and express himself more and more, with lots more meaningful words becoming a normal part of his vocabulary. As is typical, a lot of it revolves around what he does NOT want, etc, so the word No is heard lots! A classic Noah phrase of his is "No like it!" but in a very specific whiny voice! He also will sadly start saying "Nooo" as we pull into the driveway at preschool. Some others are "No like nap" and "No like-a bath!"...a lot of times he says he doesn't like something at dinner because he just heard Drew say it (who's a much pickier eater right now) even though up until that point, he was happily stuffing his face with said food. Ugh! A few mornings Noah has woken up significantly earlier than his normal time and one morning he woke up and started talking and all of a sudden I hear "Mommy, get up!...Come get me!" in a very commanding voice - it was hilarious! He's also able to tell us lots of basic needs, etc. and I think other people are able to understand a decent amount of what he says, but of course, it helps if Mommy or Daddy are around to help translate when needed, even Drew can help! :) He's at a really fun stage where he repeats a TON of what he hears, so a fun game is to get him to say funny phrases or words...my latest favorite is "I'm wld min" (I'm a wild man!), which he is!



Noah is getting quite good at using his utensils for meals. Now, don't get me wrong, he makes a huge mess and still uses his hands quite a bit, but he is certainly adamant about having utensils available, and seems to be more interested in eating when he has them. I'll see him lots of times picking food up, placing it on his spoon, and then feeding himself - he wants to keep up with the rest of us for sure! He's also getting better at drinking out of a normal cup. Again, we have LOTS of spills, so we usually limit it to water, or small amounts of milk or juice, but he's getting better. And certainly motivated to do things just like Drew!

He still LOVES to climb!!! We got the climber slide back out this month to try and contain the climbing or give the boys an outlet to keep them from climbing the walls and furniture. While we try to keep Drew from being too crazy jumping off of it to keep Noah from doing the same, they both still surprise me with their abilities to move all around and over that thing! I just keep praying we don't get another broken bone! He's also gotten really good at climbing stairs, walking up and down, refusing any help from any one, at times able to do it no hands, and other times, holding onto the wall. He's quite proud of himself!

His other favorite toys are trains and cars. I think he really loves the trains more, but because Drew loves the cars so much, Noah tags along with cars quite a bit. But classic boys...anything with wheels I guess. And no one has to teach them to crash...gracious! And speaking of being boys...they are already starting to rough-house with each other. We are trying to keep that at a bare minimum, and really trying to get Drew to comply since we know how easily he could hurt Noah, but Noah actually LOVES it! He loves being tackled and wrestled with...it's really hard for Drew to get 2 such opposing feedback. Again, lots of prayers... :)

We've had a rough month with difficult sleeping this month. Both boys went into shock coming back from the beach after us all 4 being in the same room sleeping, so neither liked being in their room alone when we returned. Noah really hadn't put up much of a fight with sleeping for the longest time and this month there was some crazy screaming coming from him and his room, it was heart-breaking and incredibly frustrating knowing that nothing physical was wrong, he simply didn't want to be alone in his room any more. So there was lots of back and forth and clingy-ness and messed up sleep for everyone this month. Since we've trained both boys from a very early age to sleep alone, when we do try to sleep in the same room, it's such a struggle for them, they just watch us, or wait for when we leave, or something, so we would go in to try and comfort, Noah would settle down, but never go to sleep, so we'd have to leave, making him scream all over again - not fun!!! He also had 2 molars poke through this month, so that didn't help things either. Poor little guy. He is better now, but just now is he really back to going to sleep without fussing...it's been a long month in that department!

Noah is really picking up more and more with games and play time - he watches Drew and just gets it so quick, it keeps surprising me! One night Drew was playing the game where you hide the toy behind your back, the other person guesses which hand it's in and then he switches it so you never find it. Well, Drew thought is was a blast, and then Noah came over and did the exact same thing, he totally knew what he was doing - that seems like that would be a hard thing to teach a 2 year old, but he got it right away! We had a great time with that game!

The boys' preschool has some fun summer stuff through the hot months here to give the kids something special to do and as an outreach to the community, so we've had fun partaking in some of that this month...they put up 3-4 bounce houses every Wednesday, so we make sure to get some playtime in there. And they have a snow cone stand every day mid-afternoon to evening, and we've certainly enjoyed some of those as well! Noah talks about the "bounce house" A LOT! There were several days where he asked for it on a daily basis, and all through the day! The kid LOVES those things! Every other Friday at school, they also have "Splash Day" and both boys really enjoy that of course as well!



The boys LOVE playing "Tickle Monster" with Daddy, which is something that frequently happens after dinner for some reason...it's a hoot! They love being chased by Daddy and it's hilarious to watch them chase Daddy back! Noah really gets into with his arms up, hands in a 'claw' position, and a great scowl on his face - he is so animated! The squeals of laughter are hard to beat and make it hard to stop the fun for bedtime...

We've had somewhat of a 'mild' summer for Texas, and while it's still hot, there have been fewer days in the triple digits than any summer I can remember in the last decade at least, so we've certainly enjoyed that! It's even been tolerable to be outside a few evenings after dinner, which maybe for most it sounds crazy, but for us here, that's a miracle in July! We still of course need some water play to cool it off, but it's been nice to not be sapped of energy the minute you walk outside.

Mommy, Drew and Noah made a quick trip down to Houston this month to see Great Grandpa and Grandma Glienke, cousin Carlos and Aunt Ruth and Uncle Mark. We left on a Tuesday afternoon and drove back Thursday morning! So we were in Houston for about 36 hours, sleeping for 16 of those, so a true Glienke trip! :) But it was very nice to see everyone - the boys really liked Great Grandpa, and his cane! But it was sweet to see them warm up to him in such a short time! Grandpa and Nana of course out did themselves as always and had all sorts of water toys and extras for the boys to play with, and they loved harassing Nana's little animals that were 'home for the summer' from the school room - they even held the hermit crabs! Uncle Kevin came in too for the visit, so they loved playing with him too. It was a very crowded house, but well worth it to see everyone! Though driving with the boys by myself - NOT FUN! We had lots of rain on the way down, they didn't eat when we stopped for dinner, so then they were hungry and on the way back they were just whiny...ugh! What a difference another person would have made...but we made it safe, and again, happy to have seen everyone!

We were able to match up with some long time friends that we don't get to see much this summer and went to one of the family's houses that had a pool - well, the boys of course LOVED that! Drew was swimming all over the place (with the puddle jumper, still no swim lessons...) but had so much fun, and Noah was jumping in from the side of the pool immediately - in and out, over and over! Both boys even jumped off the diving board for the first time! Noah actually went first (which really isn't surprising) - he did a bit of a double take once getting out there, but totally went for it, and asked for more, which he did! He was great! Drew stepped up to the challenge and jumped off as well, totally landing on top of Mommy and taking us both down, but we bounced back up with smiles! We had a great time playing and catching up with everyone!

The boys had some good time with Grandma and Papa this month, which is always great for Mommy and Daddy too! They have a medium sized inflatable pool in their back yard for the summer, so they boys enjoy that of course. But they love the time they get with their grandparents and all the fun toys they have - the roller coaster and dancing/singing toys always being a favorite! They love it when they get to come over to our house too - they get so excited knowing they are coming, waiting by the window for them to arrive! They must get some special attention and love when they are around of course! All seem to have had a good time at the end of it all! So blessed to have them close by!

We had a fun time celebrating Noah's birthday - Mommy and the boys went to Pump It Up for the morning - one of Noah's FAVORITE places to go! He got to pick the movie for the morning breakfast TV time (he picked Robin Hood), and had Chick Fil A for lunch! Noah picked hot dogs for dinner - no surprise! We picked up cupcakes for dessert and Noah picked the Watermelon one! Drew picked a strawberry one, and just ate the icing off the top! It's fun to get presents for the boys, because even though it was for Noah, both boys were SUPER excited to play with the new toys!

Drew's birthday celebration was super fun too of course! Nana actually made it up that morning and we four went to the zoo - it was HOT!!! Go figure! But we got to see the baby elephant and enjoyed all the animals - we hadn't been in quite awhile, so we had a good time and the boys took a GREAT nap! Grandpa came in that afternoon and we had a fun afternoon with everyone! Drew picked pizza for dinner and we all got cupcakes again. This time Drew ate some of the cake part - he picked red velvet this time! Again, the new toys were a big hit with both boys of course!