All the thank yous and Rylan calling Michael Dad

The other night I made banana bread and some apple sauce out of the apples and bananas the boys refuse to eat because of browning, (muahaha I am so tricky!) and then I made them some steamed vanilla milk from the steamed milk I had left over from my latte. The boys were so excited when they saw what I did that they started saying a bunch of adorable thank you variations:

Lee: thank you thank you thank you!
Rylan: triple thank you
Lee: infinity thank you plus triple thank you
Rylan: triple thank you infinity thank you and triple
Rylan: which equals ten because of the infinity
Lee: quadruple infinity thank you equals 4 infinities
Rylan: quadruple plus infinity plus triple...eh I don't know what I am doin'!

Rylan has been randomly talking about little math equations he comes up with in his head. For example:
"Rylan plus Lee equals 2"
"Rylan plus Lee plus Dad plus Mom equals 4 ....you see each of us equals 1 that is why! "

Lee for some reason has started to mispronounce the word "pretend" and says "pretem" even though he used to say it correctly. It's adorable!

When I took the kids to kids cove to meet up with Nicholas they were adorable! They counted the syllables of Mario characters all the way there and Lee kept mispronouncing "syllables" and calling them "syllabs". It was so cute to here them clap and speak the words slowly in unison.

Last night Rylan read at story time first (we have story time pretty much every night, Rylan picks a book for me to read and one for Michael to read and Lee does the same and then sometimes the kids choose a story to read themselves as well, usually Rylan is the only one who wants to read out of the two of them but Lee will sometimes help him a little) when Rylan would read his last word on each page he would say it super fast because it would make Lee laugh so hard!
Then I read and Michael started to get sleepy waiting for his turn. Rylan said
just the right thing to wake him up and move to sit between both boys. He sort of sang, "Dad
please move to the middle!" Then he added" I can call him Dad now because we are all married!" Awwww

Rylan saw a spider and remembered Michael telling him the name! He ran in exclaiming "I JUST SAW A SPIDER TOMATO" instead of a pumpkin spider!

Surprise Envelopes for Lee

This weekend was great! Michael and I went to a birthday dinner celebration for Brooke (our wonderful photographer friend) then the next day we met up with Michael's friend from Denmark in Capitol Hill and then went to an annual Friendsgiving Dinner party at our friend Kim's house and we lucked out that someone gave us a room to stay in that they rented and couldn't use in Kim's building so it felt like a little vacation! Lee went to his Moms and Rylan spent some time with Nana and Grandpop. Rylan sat on the lawnmower with Grandpop and steered all by himself, ate a lot of Nana's homemade granola, learned about fractions in a workbook (both boys love math!),  learned how to draw robots out of a book with Nana, (he usually get's frustrated with learning how to draw new things so this was a big step), and filled 4 envelopes with surprises for Lee that he taped up very well so as not to ruin the surprise! When we went to go pick up Lee from the ferry he was in a cheery mood (which isn't always the case because of the emotions that go with the transition)! It was late, so we decided to eat out for dinner at a new kind of restaurant the kids haven't tried yet. I reminded Rylan to tell Lee about the surprises. He told Lee he had a surprise and Lee got so excited that Rylan quickly explained to him, " The surprises aren't toys or candy...just lovey stuff". Then Lee closed his eyes and said, "I will keep my eyes closed so I don't ruin the surprise" Rylan replied, "Oh don't worry they are all in envelopes, you can open your eyes!" Rylan decided it would be best to wait until we got to the restaurant for him to open them. Lee thought it was really fun and figured out he could use his little toy sword as a letter opener. Inside of the envelopes were little cut outs that said nice things. Lee asked me to hold them so we could take them back home and hang them up.

                                                    The letters ready to bring to Lee.

Lee opening the letters.

The restaurant (Wing Dome) we went to was a hit with the boys. We all shared chicken wings, salad and french fries. Rylan loved being allowed to eat with his hands and get so messy. Lee told us he was full when he wasn't quite full yet so that he could wash his hands haha! 

Tomorrow there is no school and we planned a play date with Nicholas and his sisters! He's a really sweet kid. Last year he was in Rylan's class and this year he is in Lee's class. Now Lee says that Nicholas is his best friend! And his Mom told me that Nicholas told her, "Lee is so nice Mom, we should have a playdate with him everyday!" I really like Nicholas' Mom so it will be fun for all of us! 

This is a picture of Nicholas with his sisters.

Ever since we watched a show that had a part in it about a "double-decker" sandwich the boys like to try and use the term in the cutest ways. Like when they figured out that they could sharpen both sides of one of their pencils. Now they call that pencil a double-decker pencil! 

Both of them like to use the word "prefer" now a lot. Lee pretty much has the context figured out but Rylan is still figuring it out. He came over to me and asked for a glass of water but then noticed that he had a water bottle still full so he said, "Oh nevermind, you don't need to get me water, I prefer to just drink from my water bottle instead!" 

Sunsets and Story Time anecdotes!

Today was gloomy and rainy off and on. Then right around 3:20 pm when we went to pick up the boys the sun came out along with big gusts of wind! I was glad I was wearing appropriate clothing. After school I needed to go to the post office so everyone came and on the way there we saw the most beautiful sky! Big dark smokey clouds next to bright beautiful peaches and pink and my favorite color of blue, (think our wedding color blues;) There were also tons of crows flying around together but in all different directions. Maybe because of the wind?

Michael got some pretty good pictures through the car windshield . They show almost all the colors.

Lee noticed the sky but didn't see the rippled effect until we were almost to the post office. He exclaimed, "WOW look at those pretty waves in the sky! They are kind of peach colored!" I am always amazed at his interest in the beauty of nature around him. I can pull Rylan in sometimes and get him to talk about all the beautiful fall colors of the leaves ect...he doesn't usually notice/remark on it himself though. One of the reasons I love walking to school so much is because it really seems to start Lee's day off right to be outside and talking about it. We talk about the colors of the grass each day depending on the color of sky and how the ground sparkles like crystals when everything is frosty. He is very interested (in a scientific way) why things happen but also very artistic in the way he sees things and the colors and shapes. Being the conversationalist he is Lee has no trouble talking all the way to school (20 mins) about all these things.

In the car on the way back from the post office Lee was a little grumpy. We were proud of him because he nicely asked Rylan if he could just relax instead of talk for a bit. Rylan didn't like that so he asked him "but why though?" Lee replied with a long -winded explanation, "We have been argumenting. You didn't want me to fart at the same time as you and then I didn't want to pull your finger so we arumented so we should have play alone time".

Later on at story time I read the last chapter of a Mario chapter book (we finished) again! Then Rylan wanted to read a story and even though it was short without chapters he decided he wanted to have pretend chapters. It's exciting because he has been actually trying to read from the real chapter book lately and not getting discouraged! (Obviously because it is a book about the mario brothers!)

Randomly after Rylan read ANOTHER book (yes 2 in a night) Lee asked Rylan if on monday he would like to ride on his back on the floor! Haha this question is adorable for 2 reasons! Because he loves keeping track of what is going on each day of the week and figured Monday would work well for this. AND because he was asking Rylan to do something kind of rowdy that could cause someone to get hurt which is usually not something he likes to do with rylan at all.Then while I was waiting for Rylan to finish going to the bathroom so I could read a book Lee said he had a special slug that does haircuts. He asked if I wanted a hair cut and of course I said yes. He pretended to cut my hair with this magic slug and then exlaimed, "It looks even prettier than before!" Awww

Reading - Making Books - Not going to sleep on time!

Lee's teacher has been trying to find books that he will be really motivated to read. She found him one about ninja's and a chapter book about Mario. It hasn't really motivated him to read more at home but both boys are really into the idea of chapters in books. I folded some paper and stapled it into books for them to draw and write in. They love making their own books with chapters in them!

What has really been motivating both boys to read is a free app that the teachers downloaded onto ipads at school and we downloaded on our phones and computers at home. It's called Raz Kids and it is basically a free ebook program for kids. They earn stars for every book they read, listen to and take a quiz on. With the stars they are able to build robots and launch rockets as well as record themselves read so that their teachers can listen. Michael and I got to sign up with a linked account that allows us to send them messages of encouragement and view their reading/comprehension progress. Both boys are so excited about it that they almost get as excited as they would if we were giving them video game time! 

The last few days when we ask the boys to get their backpacks out of the car and take them in to hang them up, Rylan has offered to carry Lee's in as well as his which is huge for him since he has the hardest time being responsible for tasks like that. He usually forgets something at school whether it be his jacket, water bottle, lunch ect...

Right now I can hear the boys over the baby monitor playing a game where luigi needs to go to sleep sometimes and sometimes he get's to stay up all night and get's to sleep in the same bed as Mario. It is so cute to hear them play games that mimic what is going on in real life! Lately since they have been  getting along so well we have been having the hardest time getting them to sleep on time. We have them lay down at 7:30 and if they are both asleep by 9 we are lucky. The only threat that works, is to tell them that one of them will have to come downstairs and fall asleep on the couch if they keep whispering playing and giggling!

For a wedding gift our friend's Lindsey and Ryan gave us some cute matching aprons off our registry, one says I love my wife and the other says I love my Husband. Michael is wearing his and Rylan read it then said, "It could say I love you or I love Lee or I love Lee and Rylan and my Wife!" Michael agreed :) 

Lee just randomly and very sweetly told Rylan that he can lay on him if he wants to. Rylan told him that he didn't want to hurt him. He said it won't hurt him and he can lay on him whenever he wants . And then Lee told him that he can snuggle him if he wants to because it makes him happy! So they are sharing a blanket together waiting for us to start "Monday Movie Night" Lee initiating snuggling with Rylan is a huge break through. He usually has an issue with Rylan touching him just by sitting next to him during story time or just hugging him when he is not in exactly the right mood.

Awww I had to come back and write more because I just overheard Michael tell the kids that a day better than Christmas is coming up and he whispered "mommy's birthday" meaning my birthday. And Rylan said excitedly "Can we come?!" Michael said yes and then they started talking about how they need to make me some presents! I am such a lucky Mom! 

Date Day and Halloween Party

Last Thurs. was Date Day. Lee got a dollar in the bag of goodies that Grandma Jenny & Grandpa Don sent in the mail along with 2 dollars from the tooth fairy that he wanted to spend. To make it fun I decided to take him to one of my favorite toy stores - Snapdoodle Toys in Bothell. He has never been inside that one so he was blown away. It was hard to find a toy he wanted for 3 dollars but he enjoyed looking around and finally found some slinky's he liked. He had enough money for 2 so he wanted to get one for me. I told him that his thought was sweet but that I probably wouldn't play with it as much as a kid would so he picked out one to give to Rylan. He went up to the counter to pay and adorably put the money on the counter before handing the clerk the toys to ring them up. I explained that we didn't know how much money to give to her until she told us how much the total was. Then he said the cutest thing. He said, "Hi this is my Stepmom but I like to call her Mom....and sometimes Paige because that seems like a sweet name and it's hers!" Then we headed over to lions den coffee shop...I got him a blueberry greek yogurt and vanilla steamed milk to tie him over until dinner time and we learned how to play Link-O together. Then we made up a game with the slinky's. One person would stretch their slinky like a blockade and then compress it back down and the other person would try to roll their slinky through to the other side when there was an opening. He giggled pretty hard at that game and it was surprisingly pretty challenging for both of us!

Michael took Rylan to Starbucks they played store with the items that were already on the table. If there were any words or numbers on the items that is how they decided how much they costed and they sold and bought from each other as well as played some spiderman uno!

Friday was Halloween! And I was lucky enough to come help with their Halloween Party at school! Last minute I decided to make a costume and came up with an idea I am pretty proud of myself for. I was a spelling bee! I colored white duct tape with a yellow chalk marker for my stripes and cut out all the letters in Rylan and Lee's names to add the spelling aspect as well as took apart a headband and twisted on some pipe cleaners with paper circles attached to the tops for antennaes! All 4 classes in first grade had a party together. First they watched all the older kids walk their costumes past in a parade and then the kids were put into 4 groups and moved from classroom to classroom for different activites in each. I helped set up the cup cake decorating classroom, the slime making classroom and the classroom learning about what happens to certain things when they are put into water. My favorite was the slime making so I stayed in that class the majority of the time helping my friend randi who was running it dressed as a mad scientist.
I didn't have a chance to tell the boys what I would be dressed up as (because I didn't know ahead of time) so they were really shocked and delighted to see that I made it and that their names were included!

 Rylan thought the slime was really gross you might notice by his facial expressions ;) 

Lola has the blonde hair. At one point Lee told us he loves her hehe

Rylan was the only Mario this year! Nicholas said that he wants to be a Ninja next year because he liked Lee's costume so much. Lee said he is going to be a ghost next year. Most of the older kids made their own Mine Craft costumes out of boxes.

 Lee insisted on a picture of this ninja move. He stayed in that position for a good minute and a half to make sure I got the shot! haha

I got so many of these cute pictures of them dressed up. Love these kids sooo much! <3

 They were so excited to get Halloween presents in the mail from Grandma Jenny and Grandpa Don! Here they are using the monster magnet making kits that were included.

 These silly mouths were also in the big bags of candy and gifts they got!

Here are some of the finished monster magnets. They also each got a card with a dollar in it!

Another sweet thing that Lee said the other day was that he misses dad in the morning and wishes he could come take him to school everyday too and that he misses him on Wed which is a short day when he can't come to pick him up and it is just me. He said it so out of the blue ....it was just heart melting.

Lee has been really into drawing slugs lately. It's because of a show he watches at his moms house called Slugterra so he draws pictures of all these different types of slugs that apparently have different special skills and powers...he also likes to draw picture of mario characters and cut them out as well as nun (spell?) chucks and ninja masks. Rylan really likes to make up games where he draws lots of numbers and letters and circles them. He also likes to write down things to remember and he likes to play school.. Sometimes both boys play school together. They make up homework and pretend it is time to go to music class or recess ect...

I can't remember if I blogged this cute comment Rylan made the other day. Michael was talking to me about how he didn't get to take a lunch at work and Rylan chimed in saying "So you get a lunch at work just like we do at school? Cool!"

On Friday when I was driving Rylan over to be with his dad for Halloween weekend. I told him as usual that I will miss him so much but that it makes me happy that he will be having fun with his dad. Rylan said, " Oh ya! That is what I feel like about Lee! I miss him so much but I am happy he is at his Mom's house because I know he likes it so much over there"