TWO Cool For School Party

Theo's birthday party was over the weekend. I had no idea until Sunday morning that it was also the kick-off of football season. Duh! But everyone came and loved on our little butterball. He is the sweetest; he showed so much gratitude and delight the whole time. 

I went with a "school" theme for Theo's second..even though he's a loooong way off until he'll be crackin' open the books. But with the new vintage desk in their room and the giant school map waiting to be hung up as inspiration, I just went with it: paper airplanes, lined paper, a globe, number two pencils, books, and apples.

I kept things real simple by just serving a handful of snacks and just focused on dessert. W is master dessert maker so he made the cupcakes and frosted them, per usual. He made a slightly larger cupcake for Theo.

For a guest book, I made cut-out apples for everyone to sign.

And put his baby book out viewing.

Vesper got her share of being passed around during the party. She was a good sport. When she got tired, into the carrier she would go.

Opening presents was by far the best entertainment. Theo would get so hooked on one gift that he would completely ignore my suggestions to keep going. And Ezra was having the time of his life watching all the new gifts Theo was getting. I'm pretty sure he must have figured out that he would be playing with them too eventually. But I was grateful for his awesome attitude either way. {He may have mentioned more than once that he got a little something too by way of his Thor costume...}

And I'm so happy to report that he kept that birthday crown on the entire party. He sure knows how to make this Mama happy. ;)

He may have needed a little help with blowing out the candle but certainly not the eating part. 

Happy second birthday, Butterball! You are totally TWO cool.

The Story About Ping // Pt. 2

We ended last week with a quick field trip to feed the ducks. It was quite exciting because apparently, they were so hungry. We typically go on the weekends and the ducks seem semi-interested. Weekday? They're famished and will mow others over. And flock in huge groups. It was great. Scary great. 

And since I'm in manual mode, I took way more pictures of duck than any normal person who went duck-feeding would have. But the sunlight is pretty unforgiving in the middle of the afternoon. In addition to the duck chaos, pushing a toddler, carrying a baby and fixing my settings proved to be  challenge. But a fun one. 

They didn't really find a "Ping" liking one {yellow}, but we noticed how the ducks went all the way under water, went upside down to get food like Ping does, and have water drops on their bodies.

The highlight was this adorable baby duckling that we got to feed. Almost made me want to add a duck to our animal want-list. 

Almost.

The Story About Ping // Pt. 1

Here's a little of what we did while rowing Ping this week...

So far, E has worked on numbers, the letter D, and sewing and tracing for fine motor skills--in addition to reading our book. We're going on our first "field trip" this afternoon to...to observe and feed the ducks with friends who are also sticking to our program/schedule.

{sequencing}

He's randomly picked up on recognizing numbers 1-5 and 8 {which may have something to do with helping me press numbers around town.} Glad to know I wouldn't have to formally cover those.

{numbers; counting, recognition, sequencing, etc}

Next week, we'll be covering science {buoyancy, animal kingdom}, social studies {China geography and culture} and art.

Normally, the stories are covered in a week, but we're starting out with two. And I have yet to figure out what to do with T while we school. Both days he's completely torn apart investigated our game drawer. Which we all clean up afterward. He's just not one to sit down and get into an activity for very long yet. At least I figured out to school during Vesper's nap so I just have two to look after. Baby steps to figuring out the details of this journey. 

I have noticed that this month has been so much easier on me. We've had many more "good" days than other. I may have adjusted to the new normal and expectations are more in check. And everybody is just a little bit older too. My mama mojo is fully returning, finally. ;) Yay!

1st Day of Prek

We "started" preK this week. I use that term loosely only because we have yet to dive into the reading part. PreK is really nice like that. So is homeschooling. 

We'll be working our way through this curriculum. And start by "rowing" the book The Story About Ping. Very similar to unit studies. I made a make-shift homeschool corner...because there really isn't a corner left in our small space. There's a world map that we got in a random mailer, the ping duck to place in China {where the story takes place}, and a few 'artifacts' that I scrounged up. Hoping my planning will get better in time?! ;) And our dining area chalkboard will work perfectly for scripture memorization and reading highlights. 

Today's agenda includes PE {gymnastics} and play at Castlewood. :) Which works out great because this morning was a rough one. Here's to an adventurous year-- taking the good and challenging in stride.

Theo's Birthday // Weekend Recap

We were kinda bumps on a log over the weekend. I wasn't feeling super great--fighting a clogged duct since Friday morning {which ever so slowly worked itself out, thank goodness!!!} and we were just pretty tired. So, we stayed pretty close to home. We caught up on chores and played together.

On Theo's birthday, we started the day with his favorite: donuts. Then we played outside, explored a creek, and had the gparents over for singing, candles and gifts. 

Theo loved opening his gifts. He took it so seriously; it was adorable. He is totally my shy guy. He doesn't enjoy being the spotlight, being the subject of pictures very often, is harder to read, and takes awhile to warm up to people. He's got a "old soul" and just get things at a young age. I feel like he's so much like his Papa and very much a "Swenson." He may or may not have me wrapped around his little finger...when he's not getting into stuff. ;)

Ezra lucked out and also got a 'gift' from his gparents. They were generous enough to bring him the costume that they had ordered. And Juju got lots of Grandpa time. :)

The boys made sure to show off their new threads. 

Theo certainly LOVES the candles and singing part... and having an extra donut. I guess when it's your birthday, you get extra perks. ;)

Hi, 6 Months!

Our Little Charmer is TWO!

Happy Birthday, sweet sweet boy!!

SO excited to celebrate YOU today!

They Humored, I Snapped

Friday afternoon I shuffled everyone into the van and headed out to a local spot. They were so generous. It was pretty hot. Vesper napped on my back and I snapped away while the boys played. Once everyone was too red in the face, we headed home where they dressed down to undies and returned to jumping on the sofa... 

Happy Three Day Weekend, Friends!

In Manual Mode

This morning I threw on their birthday tees, just to see how they looked. And to give manual a little go. Since when did my almost-four-year-old start looking like a teenager?! Seriously. And my sweet little babe is now a toddler. They only humored me for about five minutes before they were off doing boy stuff.

Love my growing blondies.