Summer Vacation

Last Wednesday was Drew's last day of preschool, and he is now officially a Kindergartner!  He had a great year of K4, and we are glad that we decided to send him to school this year.  Here he is with his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, on the last day of preschool.

 We gave Mrs. Johnson a little gift for the end of the school year.  I made her a frame with a clip so that she can change out her pictures easily.  This was a very simple project.  My mom actually saw this at a friend's house and asked me to make her one for Mother's Day.  I made one for her and one for Jim's mom for Mother's Day, and then I decided to make an apple one for Mrs. Johnson.
I used an 8x10 frame (from Hobby Lobby) and used spray adhesive to glue the apple paper right to the glass.  Once the glue dried, I reassembled the frame and glued a spray painted clip to the paper-covered glass.  I found the clips at Walmart.  I used hot glue to glue on the clip on the mothers' frames, but the clips didn't stay glued very well.  I tried a different adhesive on Mrs. Johnson's frame, and I am hoping that it holds better.
We also gave her a few apple paper pads (from the dollar section at Walmart), and some apple hand lotion from Bath and Body Works.

Drew was only in school two mornings a week, but we will enjoy having little to no scheduled activities for the next few months of summer vacation.  We are hoping to relax and get a few things done around the house. 
Here is Drew getting ready for a nap.  Sometimes, when I am getting him put in bed for a nap, I lie Maddie on the top part of Drew's bed so I can have my hands free to tuck Drew in,  We jokingly call this the "top bunk."  The first time I told Drew that Maddie was on the top bunk, he got quite upset and said that he should have the top bunk because he is bigger.

 It looks like Maddie has her cheeks puffed out from this angle, but she doesn't!  She is just getting some big, chubby cheeks!

 She is very sweet, and we are enjoying having a baby girl in our family!

 A small wardrobe malfunction - she gets pretty mad when this happens.  :)

We have a few goals and plans for the summer.  I have a few skills that I want to work on with Drew - reviewing his preschool work, tying his shoes, and learning to help with a few more household jobs.  We are also planning to read come chapter books.  We just finished "Charlotte's Web," and we are reading "Mr. Popper's Penguins" now.
I am trying to get the children's clothing organized so that I know what we have, what we need, and what we can get rid of.  We are going to try to sell some of it on Ebay.  I buy most of the children's clothes at my favorite thrift store, but this summer, I am enjoying Free Apparel Tuesday at our Sears Outlet.  Each Tuesday this past month, they have posted a coupon on their Facebook page for one free clothing item.  I have gotten these four things for Maddie in the past month - totally free!  If you have a Sears outlet that sells clothing, I would totally recommend checking this out.  From what I understand, they are going to be doing this every Tuesday through July 10.

My parents will be visiting this summer, and then the children and I will be going back to South Carolina with them for a week or so.  We are looking forward to a fun summer!

First Trip to the Dentist

One morning last week, we took a fun family trip to the dentist.  It was Drew's first visit, and he did great!  They scheduled us with two hygienists, and Drew and I were called back at the same time, so I had to run in and just snap a few pictures before my own turn, two chairs away. 

Drew's hygienist did a great job of talking him through everything and showing him all the tools before she got started.

 Checking out his teeth.

 She asked Drew how old he was, and he showed her his five.

 The hygienist told me that Drew will probably start teething with his six-year molars this summer since he has lost his first tooth.  I guess six-year molars usually follow first tooth loss pretty closely.

 I snapped a few last pictures because my hygienist had come down to Drew's chair to hurry me along.  As I left him, Drew was choosing his toothpaste flavor - raspberry.  I thought he would choose cookie dough, but he chose raspberry instead.

From my chair, I could overhear little tidbits from the rest of Drew's appointment.  At one point, I heard his hygienist say, "Be careful.  You almost bit my finger."  They both ended up making it through without injury, and Drew had no cavities, so overall, it was a very good introduction to the dentist!

Life With Two

We have been keeping busy around here as we continue to adjust to having two children.  The housework (which has never been one of my strengths) has suffered, but I am trying to work through a to-do list every week and am hoping that one of these days, we will get at least kind-of caught up!
Drew loves Maddie and has, for the most  part, been sweet and helpful with her.
The other day I was cooking and had Maddie in a little bouncer in the kitchen with me.  I turned around and found that Drew had placed his Wii remotes down - on Maddie!

 Maddie is getting pretty chubby, and she is starting to smile a lot, just not much for the camera so far.

 Drew asked me to take this picture of the two of them the other day.  He knows the way to make his mother happy!

 We got out Drew's old play mat the other day for Maddie, and she seems to really like it.  She looks at herself in the mirror, and she kicks the ball.  I love that her tongue is out in this picture!

 In the past few days, she has started to grab at the fish with her hands.

 Drew is still very much into the Wii, but he has also been playing with his Lego's lately.

 He and I followed the instructions, and he built this little car almost all by himself.

 Maddie tried out Drew's old Bumbo seat the other day.

 She seemed to really like it, but we could tell that she was getting tired of supporting herself pretty quickly.

 Calmness turned to crying, and she was all done!

 We are blessed with two wonderful children, and I am thankful each day to be their mother!

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms!  Have a great weekend!