Jacob Andrew and William Colin

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

November, December, January Update

Hello friends and family,

"Update blog" has been on my to do list every day for a few months now, can you tell? Life is busy and wonderful, but it's always nice to sit down and reflex on what's going on with us and share with
you all.

Matt continues to work hard at the Command and General Staff College getting high grades and impressing his instructors. He got accepted to the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), so we will be at Fort Leavenworth an extra year. We are so proud of him as the selections for SAMS were not easy. He's excited to learn about strategic planning - right up his alley. This school definitely appeals to his ability to think outside the box.

I am loving working part time from home as a health/fitness coach with beach body. It's so nice to tap into one of my passions and help others feel better and stronger. It keeps me busy, but I'm thankful to run my own business and stay home with my boys. And I get to tap into my teacher mode each day when I work with the boys. I have a fun Bunco group that I get to hang out with once a month and I love my mommy friends who keep me laughing as we motor through life with little ones. I continue to volunteer as the Athletic Director for the Team RWB chapter here and as the School Coordinator for the OKC Memorial Kids Marathon. My planner gets heavy use these days.

Jake LOVES preschool! He is learning so much about the school environment and enjoys going each day. He loves his friends and can report EVERY detail of not only his day, but everyone else's as well. I am working on getting him to wait to tell me who "wasn't a good listener" until we get to the car instead of feeling like he should report it directly to the child's mother or father. At least he's honest (sometimes to a fault) and aware of the rules. Jake started basketball and takes it seriously but has a blast. He was a bit disappointed the first time that I didn't chant "OKC!" from the bleachers and bring him a snack in the locker room at half time as he expected, but he got over it. Jake certainly craves physical activity and even likes to work up a sweat doing T25, PiYo, and Combat with me. His love of the Thunder remains strong despite difficulties in the season. He has now been to two Thunder games and cheers loudly! Jake loves his little brother and they play really well together. He also loves memorizing his books and re reads his favorites all the time - the best part is when I walk into a room and hear him reading to Will. Jake can best be described as the Energizer Bunny - always moving, always thinking, always in action! He can drive us bonkers with the constant questions and requests, not to mention his strong willed opinions, but we love him so much and always get a good laugh after recounting our Jake stories of the day. That boy says the funniest things! He has been potty trained all the time except nap and bed time since June, but he is now done with pullups for nap and bedtime too - such a success and we are pumped to only pay for Will's diapers now. Jake is independent and wants to do everything by himself. His imagination and pretend play is really expanding which is fun to see. Jake loves Paw Patrol, most Pixar movies, Blaze and the Monster Machines, Star Wars, and all things super heroes - let the obsession begin. You'll notice that he is wearing his Darth Vader shirt in most pictures. I do wash it - I promise.

Will is such a sweetheart. He's curious and always trying to figure out how things work and what his brother is up to. He loves his "cackies" (cookies) so much. He says so many words now - cookie, apple sauce, baby, Jake, Mommy, Daddy, M, P, Oma, Opa, Bow Bow, Tank, puppy, neena (banana), eat, milk, thank you, bless you, nose, teeth (of which he has NONE at 14 months old), and any other words he hears and mimics:) He started walking on December 22 - we got out of the car in OKC for Christmas, and he walked across my parents' living room. He hasn't stopped since. Will is constantly working on "projects." Most of them involve the plunger, straws, and toilet paper. Will loves to play and move and read his "Pat A Cake - Curious George" book. He enjoys peek-a-boo and giving "fives." Will is a go with the flow type of kiddo which gives us good balance in our family. He and Jake compliment each other well. Will is always smiling and laughing - he loves snuggling.

Here are some recent pictures from November and December. Enjoy:)

Jake always wants to dress like Daddy

Eating at Jimmy John's with Oma and Opa during their visit - Jakes' favorite local hangout

Fun at the KC Aquarium

Typical

Thanksgiving 2014

Jake's first "guys night" and Thunder game!

Will and Great Oma

Birthday boy on his second piece of cake

Sugar coma

And he's out for the duration of his own party

Bandi family pic with the sleepy boy

Raff/Epstein family with Will

Thunder game with GP, Mommy, and Daddy

Loved the game but overtime cut into bedtime

Aunt Harriet, Natalie, and Will

Aunt Abby nailed it with a sword for Jake

Eating his breakfast and Jake's

Christmas morning at Oma and Opa's

Dreidel tutorial with Uncle Joel

Love

Dressed up for Daddy's class holiday party. Jake served as the welcome committee and was the talk of the party.

"Inja" Turtle Table

I love when they snuggle

Jake likes to dress himself - it expresses his creativity and personality

Thursday, November 6, 2014

September and October 2014

Hello Friends and Family,

I have declared today a catch up day, but catching up on laundry has occupied the bulk of my attention (that and making sure my two little explorers survive the day with only minor injuries.) However, I wanted to take a few quiet moments to share what our kiddos have been up to.

Jake is a funny guy. He loves loves loves preschool! His teacher, Ms. Rachel, says she wishes she had half of his energy. I think anyone who knows him would agree. He completed Start Smart Soccer and enjoyed it (especially when he got a medal, t-shirt, and certificate.) Jake's started gymnastics this week and will start basketball after the holidays. Gymnastics is the perfect outlet for his energy and for him to perfect the skills he practices while jumping off the couches at home. His favorite activity at home right now is ANYTHING that has to do with Daddy - especially watching sports with him. He likes to make sure that the whole family is dressed in gear to match the team that we are watching and if it's a Steelers game night, he will certainly be waving his Terrible Towel. When there's a penalty, he says, "Uh oh, a yellow flag. That means someone is in trouble."

Jake loves picking out new books and DVD's at the library and is really into the Dino Sports series as well as a few others. He likes to read all the books in a series and we read them OVER and OVER again. Most are memorized:)

My little runner completed his first 1K (.6mile) race. It was a Halloween fun run and he had fun for sure, but we definitely saw a competitive little athlete come out in him. He didn't stop running the entire time (except when he fell, but he got right back up and ran faster!) We were so proud of him! Now we have to convince him that not all races are run in costume before his next one!

Will is such a funny character too! He's very laid back and goes with the flow - UNLESS you take a toy or food from him or you ruin his well plotted plan to obtain the remote control or any other off limits item. He thinks everything Jake does is hilarious (most of the time, unless he's harmed). He says Mama, Dada, Jake, Tank, Stop, and Hi. Sweet little man gives hugs and kisses and waves too. Will loves to eat almost anything! He is cruising more and more and can even stand up unassisted (but once he realizes he's doing it, he sits down.) Will and Jake have really started to play together with their toys. They love to play with their trucks and cars or peek-a-boo on opposite sides of the coffee table. In 2 weeks my baby will be one and I just can't believe it. It's been such a pleasure watching Will grow and Jake take on the role as big brother. I know that many more fun times are ahead!

Both boys can be wild men and full of shenanigans, but they definitely each have their sweet sides and give lots of love. There isn't a day that goes by that Matt and I don't catch each other's eye and laugh at what one of them have done. Dinner time is especially entertaining - with Will crying if his food is all gone and Jake usually crying because he doesn't want to eat, it's a circus! Usually after many negotiations, Jake eats and then proceeds to begin his campaign for a specific pair of pajamas. He's relentless but so is Will judging by the amount of times I have removed him from various cabinets in our house (yes we have child locks but he just opens them anyway. He's unstoppable.)

Jake was really into Halloween this year and loved being Buzz Lightyear! Will wasn't as thrilled to be one of the aliens from Toy Story, but he rolled with it in true Will fashion. We got to trick-or-treat at the courthouse and justice center with our library story time group and we trick-or-treated at the library with the Wiggle Workshop group. Then, as if we didn't have enough candy, we went on post with friends and trick-or-treated. Jake was thrilled to spend the evening with his buddy, Jackson!

Lots of things to look forward to in November: Oma and Opa's visit, Will's 1st birthday, Jake's 1st parent/teacher conference (Mommy's 1st time as the parent not the teacher), and Thanksgiving!

Until next time, have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Shanda