Charlie's Move From The Crib

Earlier this year, Lauren showed Charlie how to "perscape" (escape) the confines of his crib.  She climbed in to the crib with him, showed him how to hook one leg over the side, and lift himself up.  He was a little too small to really get his leg up, but she was more than happy to lift him up and throw him out anyway.  And I am happy that I caught it all on camera over the video monitor in his room!  ha ha ha

Charlie had no real interest in escaping his crib, and Chad and I enjoyed the peace and quiet for a few more months.  But he began escaping, on a regular basis, in mid-October.  After waking up, around 3 am, to the sound of little footsteps running around our room, we decided it was time to transition to a toddler bed.

Chad took the front piece off of the crib, secured all of the furniture to the walls and we put child locks on the door.  We were sure that we could settle back into our former peace and quiet, and were busy patting ourselves on the back, when we found Charlie running around upstairs...not in his room!  Opps.

So, the door handle was switched around, to lock him in his room from the outside.  He didn't seem to mind being locked in his room, but the excitement of being free was too exciting for him.  He had a hard time sleeping, which led to boredom, and eventually he decided to destroy his room.  Every day, he would take all of the clothes out of his dresser, throw toys around, and pull diapers/wipes out.  And that quickly escalated into a few destroyed blinds and a destroyed shelf.

Now, his room consists of a bed, a few blankets, a few stuffed animals, a light (which he does turn on every night to fall asleep), a glider and his changing table.  All of his clothes, extra bedding, toys, etc have been moved into our room for the time being.

It has taken Charlie a little while to get used to this change.  For a few weeks, he would only sleep on the floor and refused any blankets.  Now he happily climbs into his bed, stays there, and loves to be covered up in multiple blankets!  Our hope is that we will be able to transition him to a big boy bed by his 3rd birthday.  There is nothing better than climbing into a big bed to read stories, and it would be nice to have another bedroom for company.

I can't believe we have moved past the crib stage.  Part of me is sad that my baby days are over, and the other half of me is ready for Charlie to grow up and have a big boy room.  The sooner I can get all of his stuff out of our room, the better!!  ha ha ha

Charlie at 2 and a Half Years Old!!

           

It is hard to believe, but our little guy is already 2 and a half years old!  And boy is he quickly growing from my baby boy into a little boy.

At his last doctor's visit his stats were:

Weight:  29.8 lbs
Height:  36.5 inches


His Daily Schedule is:

7:30 am - Wake Up
7:45 am - Breakfast
8:15 am - Take Lauren down to the bus stop
8:30 am - 11:30 am - playtime
12:00 pm - Lunch
1:00 - 3:30 pm - Naptime
4:00 pm - Pick Lauren up from the bus stop
4:30 pm - Snack time
6:30 pm - Dinner
7:00 pm - Bedtime routine
7:30 pm - Bedtime


Activities:

Swim Class (with mommy) Thursday mornings, from 9:45 - 10:15
And he will be taking ice skating classes (with daddy) on Monday nights, starting in January.


Favorite Foods:

Cheese
Juice
Bacon
Pizza
Pickles
Chips
Cereal
Banana Bread
Pancakes
Any type of fruit, but especially apples and bananas
English Muffins
Toast
Chicken
Green Beans

New Words:

Yoda
Bacca (Chewbacca)
Izza (Pizza)
Jews (Juice)
Cheese
Ease (Please)
Ank You (Thank You)
Elp (Help)
Iggy (Wrigley)
Du Raw (Star Wars)
Choo Choo (Train)
Potty
Bah Bah (Grumpa/Grandpa)
Ockey (Hockey)

And, DiDi (Lauren).  This is special because apparently DiDi is the Hindi word for elder sister.  We weren't sure how she got this nickname, but then realized that we often referred to her as SiSi, and that is how he pronounced it.  So, DiDi it is!!


Favorite Shows:

Thomas the Train
Disney's Planes
Beat Bugs
PJ Masks
Anything Mickey Mouse
Any NHL game
Any football game


Favorite Things To Do:

Most times, Charlie is a sweetheart and loves to:

Watch Lauren and Daddy play ice hockey
Play Dress-up
Race Lauren around the house
Play with trains/cars/super heros
Cuddle with Mom and Dad
Sneak snacks out of the fridge and pantry
Climb up into the car and strap on his own seatbelt
Get dressed on his own
Wrestle around with Lauren, Daddy, and Mommy
Riding his tricycle very short distances


   

                           

But other times, Charlie can be a handful.  Since he is unable to speak too many words right now, he often gets frustrated and acts out.  And boy can he whine and make a mess!!!


       

But we all love our Charlie Jack very much and could not imagine life without him.  From his flirtatious little grins and big hugs to his major (and sudden) meltdowns, Charlie fits right in and brightens our day.  Watching how much he has grown, even in the past few months, has been fun, and we cannot wait to see what the future has in store for him.

Happy 2 and a half years Charlie Jack!!!

Homecoming 2016! Go Spret!

Once again, our group of family and friends all got together for another University of Maryland tailgate party.  We had a good crowd this year and it was fun to watch the little kids get in on the fun.  The weather called for rain, but luckily we have quite a few canopies to cover the food tables and chairs.

We were very excited to get everyone together again, but we were especially excited because it was Quinnie's first tailgate and there would be a lot of little ones running around this year.  The grownups have been tailgating together for a long time, but it is even more special when we are able to include our kiddos!

                     

           

       

 

We tailgate close to the baskeball arena, and every year it has become a tradition to get our family picture taken with the Testudo statue there.  We have even begun teaching the kids about rubbing the turtle's nose.  Lauren gets the concept, but Charlie kept trying to rub his own nose.  ha ha ha  

Despite the icky weather, we had a good time posing this year.  Matthew and Jackson even joined in on the fun!

       

           

                     

On the way back to the tailgate, we ran into Mark Turgeon, the head basketball coach.  He was very friendly and even agreed to take some photos with us.   

                               

It was a fun, and LONG, day out in a parking lot.  The kids spent most of the time snacking on food, watching movies in our car, and honking the horn in Jackson's car.  It was nice to have so many young kids around so that they could play together.  It was also nice to have so many of our friends and family around, since we don't get to see everyone as often as we would like.   We used to tailgate together quite a bit, but now that we are down to only once a year, it was a moment we had to capture.

15 years of tailgating together and counting....   Hoping for many many more!!

Lauren at 5 and a Half Years Old.

It is hard to believe that Lauren is officially 5 and a half years old!  She has already grown so much, but since starting Kindergarten, I am sure we will see a HUGE difference in her 6 year old post.  It is amazing how much of an impact preschool and kindergarten can have on shaping a young child!

Lauren's stats:

weight: 41 lbs
height: 46 inches

Her daily schedule looks like:

7:30 am:               Wake up
7:50 am:               Breakfast
8:20 am:               Gets on school bus
9:00 am:               School starts
11:10 am:              Lunch
3:40 pm:               School lets out
4:04 pm:               Gets off bus
4:30 - 6:00 pm:     Afternoon activities
6:30 pm:               Dinner
7:00 pm:               Bedtime routine
7:30 pm:               Bedtime  (although many nights that gets pushed back to 8 pm)

Her activities include:

Tuesday - Ice Hockey from 5 pm - 6 pm
Wednesday - Swimming from 4:30 pm - 5 pm
Thursday - Ice Hockey from 5 pm - 6 pm

Her favorites shows/movies include:

Lion Guard
Princess Elena of Avalor
Star Wars
Doc McStuffins
Sofia The First
Scooby Doo
Tom & Jerry
Word Girl
Super Why

Her favorite foods include:

Chicken Nuggets
French Fries
Apples
Pizza
Grilled Cheese
Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream, and more Ice Cream!!
Sunflower Butter & Jelly sandwiches
Cheese Quesadillas
Ramon Noodles
Spaghetti
Klondike Bars
American Cheese & Crackers
ALL Halloween Candy
Anything Oreo flavored
Pancakes (especially if she can draw out characters with the batter)
Strawberry Yogurt
Grilled Chicken
Mashed Potatoes (very recent addition)

   


Things she is learning in Kindergarten:

Writing the alphabet in uppercase/lowercase
Counting to 100 (also counting in 10's and 5's)
Parts of a book (i.e. the cover, title page, beginning, middle, and end)
The difference between an author and illustrator
The months/days of the weeks
Different currency (i.e. penny, nickel, dime, quarter, and dollar)
How to be a quality student.
And the importance of anti-bullying.

Her teacher is Mrs. Trammell
Her school is Gravely Elementary School
Some of her friends include Sam (from the bus), Cooper, Grady, Jace, Levi, Sidney (from her class)

Lauren loves school and has had fun spending the day with her friends.  When she comes home, she always tells us about her specials (i.e. art, music, PE, computer lab, or library), her lunch, recess, and the bus ride.  And she loves to play "school".  She pretends to be Mrs. Trammell, while Chad and I pretend to be students.  It is a great way to find out about the other kids in her class.  Many times we have to be the "bad" students, which is surprisingly fun!!  ha ha ha.

Also, one particular day, Lauren came home and decided to draw an illustration on her white board.  She called it "boy with his basketball"!!  Chad and I got such a big kick out of it, that we had to take a photo!!

We are beyond proud of Lauren and the sweet girl she has become.  She is quickly learning that you need to put in a lot of practice if you want to get better at something, and she has a determined spirit.  If the first few weeks of Kindergarten are any indication, I cannot wait to see how much she has grown by the time she is 6 years old.  Keep up the good work Lauren!!!

Lauren Starts Mini Mites Hockey!

This fall, Lauren was finally ready to start mini mites ice hockey.  The age group is 4-6, but we wanted to make sure she got in a few extra "learn to skate" classes before jumping into the game.  She was very excited and joined the Haymarket Predators program.

In an effort to make Lauren more comfortable on the ice and to help out with the practices, Chad took ALL of the necessary classes, both in person and online, to become a certified youth hockey coach.  He even had to take an extra online class because he has a daughter on the ice.  USA Hockey is not messing around!!

On September 13, 2016, Lauren and Chad headed off for their first hockey practice.  In the Mini Mites program, the kids work in small groups, based on skills, and rotate through 4 different stations, which last 10 minutes.  Each station is created to work on different skills while still encouraging fun and play.  Then, for the last 10 minutes, the kids get to scrimmage.  This is Lauren's favorite part!  They play 2 times a week, Tuesday and Thursdays, for 50 minutes.  It is a lot of skating, especially after a full day of school, but so far, Lauren loves playing.  She even got her first hockey jersey, which was very exciting!!

Charlie has even gotten into the fun.  He is a huge hockey fan, and loves getting to go to the ice rink.  He immediately sits down and puts on his own skates.  Although he does not get to go out on the ice (yet), he still has a good time watching the practices, running around the rink, and testing out his balance in skates.  I know it won't be long before he will be out on the ice keeping up with his big sister