birthdays – Page 3 – Myriad & Sundry

Jameson the Preschooler

February 5, 2014 No Comments

Jameson turned 3 a little over a month ago, and I’ve neglected to talk about how our 3 year old preschooler is doing daily. He loves to tell us that he goes to preschool, and even demonstrated how teachers read books by doing it with Coraline and Sasha.

What Jameson is Wearing:

Size 24 month pants (mostly for the waistband). He has a few in the 2T size, which fit better lengthwise for sure, but the cinching straps are pulled pretty tight!
2T shits, but 3T looks okay if a little big on him. Loves to wear sweatshirts because they’re soft.
Size 2T-3T Pull ups at night, but big boy underwear all day, everyday!
Two piece penguin pajamas any nights they’re clean.
Chapstick from Aunt Melissa

What Jameson is Eating:

Meatballs, chicken nugget, hot dog, and most any meat he can eat with ketchup and only with ketchup
Meemaw’s spaghetti, but for the most part he only eats a bite of it anywhere else
Cucumbers and carrots with ranch
Baby oranges (the biggest of the baby oranges)
“Special” yogurts. These come in the tubes and are special because we used to only let him have them on the weekend. He has them everyday now for convenience and because he stopped eating the kind with fruit on the bottom. We try to stick with the greek tube yogurts without characters all over them (my request)
Tootsie roll treats for wiping himself on the potty and having no accidents overnight (that last one doesn’t happen frequently right now)
Most candy, except skittles and hard candies which we don’t let him have.
Not a big fan of trying all of his food. There is usually a lot of negotiating. Threats to go to bed or no TV don’t seem to work. I don’t require a clean plate, but we try to have him try everything on his plate every night.
Granola bars, which are becoming a problem right now since he wants them all the time.
Cheeseburgers from McDonalds (only those, cheeseburgers anywhere else he barely touches even when he says he wants them)
Orange juice and cranberry juice.

What Jameson is Saying:

Jameson is starting to tell stories and “lies” though he doesn’t know them as such. He insisted he peed in his clothes at the end of school, I guessed so that he could change into PJs at home. He also told us he flew in a helicopter for vacation after seeing one in a book.
He loves to pretend to be a monster and scare or surprise us in the morning or before bed.
He can count up to the teens, then they get all mixed up. They work on numbers up to 20 at school.
When recounting his day at school, the first thing out of his mouth is always “Logan came back!” and “Nathan came back!” even though they are both full time kids and also “come back” everyday.
A recent favorite conversation, about nutrition week at school on the day they learned about fats and sweets.

“Jameson, did you learn about fats today?”
“They’re bad”
“Are candy fats?”
“No, candy is good to eat!”
“What kinds of food are bad?”
“Hmmm… Broccoli is bad!”

What Jameson Likes These Days:

Reading stories at bedtime, as many as we will read to him. And when those are done, he sometimes looks for “song books” for us to sing to him in bed. Books he likes include most of the library books we bring home, his vacation book with pictures from vacation last September, his new Thomas the Tank Engine books, his big long Dinosaur book from Christmas… really I could go on. He likes so many of his books.
TV Shows: Handy Manny, Jake & The Neverland Pirates, less of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood unless it’s a new one, Sophia the First (it’s not one he requests but he likes it when its on)
Movies: Monsters Inc & University, Lion King, Toy Story (he cried while watching Toy Story 3–because the bad babydoll was crying. I don’t think he understood the baby doll was bad), Tinkerbell, The Lorax on the ipad.
The ipad, games and mostly the PBS show app where he can pick what he wants to watch, which isn’t usually the same thing we watch on TV. On the ipad, he frequently selects Super Why and Clifford The Big Red Dog.
Playing soccer, which we just started this month. He likes to wear his shin guards.
“Playing” with Coraline (on his terms) or making her laugh.
Big boy underwear to bed. He never gets it, so he wants it. We tell him we need him to practice calling for mommy and daddy at night, which he has only done once a couple months ago.
Listening to skidamarinkadinkadink and two Christmas songs which we can’t get away from: Rudolf and the 12 Days of Christmas
Puzzles! Every since Meemaw and I did a puzzle over Christmas break.
He little bear Duffy, his brown blanket, and then he alternates between loving on his midsize bear Bobby or the other two little bears.
Doing the recycling. He loves to throw the recycling boxes out into the garage. Dad also let him give Sasha water the other day. Starting those chores early!

What Jameson Doesn’t Like These Days:

Napping at home, not even resting unless he’s really exhausted or ill. He still naps at daycare 4 out of 5 days a week, but gave up naps at home a year ago.
Trying food, or really, sitting still to eat at all.
Being told “no” or “not right now” in any way, particularly with watching his TV shows or having snacks before dinner.
Drinking milk
Occasionally insisting on NO songs before bed, for some reason he doesn’t want this as much anymore. When he does want a song, it’s always Old McDonald who has a turkey, rooster or pig.
Kisses from Sasha (haha)

What Jameson is Doing:

Going potty without having any accidents, unless he gets too wrapped up in playing and he has a little one. But otherwise we don’t need to tell him ever.
Hugs, kisses, high fives and knuckles with his friends and family for greeting and saying goodbyes.
Cleaning up messes from Coraline eating with his broom and dust pan or toy vacuum.
Practicing using a knife. We got him new plasticwear utensils which included relatively dull knives which he loves to use to cut his food.
Making Coraline laugh
Stalling before bedtime.
Having sleepovers with Aunt Melissa where they get to do all kinds of fun things like go to the bounce house center, playgrounds, and the movies.
He has seen his first movie at the theater with Lily, her mom and myself, and then another one with Aunt Melissa! He sits on our lap and sits perfectly for the entire movie.

What We Are Working On:

Cleaning up and putting things away when we are done with them. Sometimes he does this voluntarily and suprises me but I’d love to see it more consistent. He really is a good helper when he focuses on the task.
Sharing his toys with his sister, and even her own toys which he likes to play with too.
Sharing TV time.
Trying food, or really, sitting still to eat at all.
Calling for mommy and daddy at night when he needs to go potty. However, he is a very deep sleeper and we cannot wake him enough to try and help him learn this in the middle of the night.
Apologizing after not listening to mommy and daddy. We are struggling with how to handle his tantrums, whether he needs quiet time or a time out (depending on whether hitting was involved in the tantrum) and trying to teach him to count to ten to help him calm down. This is not a frequent thing, and mostly happens when he doesn’t have a nap and is overtired.

And then I decided to do a little interview with him, so he could tell us his favorite things in his own words. However, I think most of what came out of his mouth was what popped in his head first. Haha! He also couldn’t really focus much on me, and ran around like a crazy monkey. I think this is typical toddler, but was pretty funny so I am glad I video recorded it.

Here are the questions, though I didn’t get to ask all of them before he got so distracted he stopped answering.

What is your name? Jameson Charles Thomas
How old are you? 3
What is your favorite color? Brown (Often this is actually orange but he calls it brown sometimes, especially when he turns on his stars at night with the Twilight Turtle)
What is your favorite animal? A horse
What is your favorite book? Pete the Cat
What is your favorite TV show? Handy Manny
What is your favorite movie? Lion King
What is your favorite song? Muffin Man (not sure where this one came from!)
What is your favorite food? Macaroni
What food do you not like? Grilled Cheese (he actually tends to like this, but claimed he was “too big” for it in this interview)
What is your favorite drink? Orange Juice
What is your favorite snack? Cranberries (which he never has had… he usually selects a granola bar, candy, fruit snacks or nuts lately)
What makes you laugh? Coraline
What is your favorite thing to wear? Sweatshirt
What is your favorite game? Raisins (what…)
What is your favorite toy? A football (he actually doesn’t really have a football or play with it inside, I wonder if he was thinking of soccer)
Who is your best friend? Nathan (in the past he has volunteered that Lily is his best friend as well)
What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Big Corduroy (this is his enormous bear he got from Santa, and he does not sleep in his bed so that was interesting. I was really surprised he did not say Duffy)
Where is your favorite place to go? Here (the top of the couch, which I only let him up on because I was trying to get this interview done, haha!)
Where do you want to go on vacation? To see Mickey Mouse
What do you like to do with your family? Hide (he was hiding behind the couch)
What do you want to be when you grow up? A baby
What did you do when you were little? Play with Coraline
What do you like to do now that you are big? Turn on the fireplace (which we really don’t let him do without close supervision…)
What is your favorite thing to learn in school? Nathan
What is your favorite thing to remember? I tried this but stopped getting answers.
What do you want to buy with your money? Didn’t get to ask this
What is the thing you do the most awesomely? Didn’t get to ask this

children, diy

Toddler-Friendly Pinwheels

February 4, 2014 No Comments

We are getting ready for a big girl to turn the big O-N-E in just a month and half, and we’ve decided her party theme is going to be pinwheels! I thought it would be a great idea to have a little pinless pinwheel craft for all the toddlers who are going to be at her party this year. I’ve never done a craft for the parties we have hosted before, but the kids are getting to an age that I think it would be fun.

I combed through the internet for some suggestions, but the best one that doesn’t use pins, I think, is this one using pipe cleaners. You wouldn’t think that it would spin properly, but it does! Another option was using brads, but I don’t think those will spin quite as well.

First you need to prepare the paper for the kids. Kid scissors won’t work well here! haha. You will want a square paper, which you can get easily from a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper by folding one edge together to make a triangle and cutting along the line. You can watch this video for direction as well!

Fold your square the other way so you have 4 triangles in your folds. Don’t forget, when you fold into the triangles, cut the center by trimming the tip off the triangle. That way you don’t need to try to get a hole punch there.

Cut down the triangle folds until you’re about an inch or a little less to the center. Then you’ll want to hold punch one corner on each triangle.

It’s time to decorate! Make sure you decorate both sides!

Then you’ll need half a pipe cleaner (chenille stick), a glue stick or a stapler (we are opting for the stapler), and something to attach it to. These are sticks for candy, but we’re going to use fun pencils for the party.

Wrap one of the chenille a couple times to make a stopper for the front of the pinwheel, and put the chenille through each hole for the pinwheel shape. Then you can staple it together. You do want to staple or attach the paper together some way so that it will spin. Otherwise, the paper will open itself up against the chenille and stick and get stuck. Stapling will let you leave the chenille a little loose so it can still spin.

Jameson at 3 had a bit of trouble blowing on it to make it go, but I showed him he could run around with it and make it spin as well and he thought that was fun, for all of a minute.

children

A 3rd Birthday Get-Together

December 26, 2013 No Comments

For Jameson’s 3rd birthday, we opted to do things a little more low key. Of course, we still did cake, but we only invited some close friends and family for a little get together, and insisted on no gifts! Of course, family still got him gifts, and we did too, but we successfully kept too many of our friends giving Jameson too many things. Gifts are fun, but for Jameson, Christmas is right around the corner and more felt unnecessary. We just wanted to have a little celebration for him!

Meemaw and Aunt Holly arrived the day before the party, and we opened their gifts the night prior. Jameson loved his new Jake and the Neverland Pirates puzzle. He requires quite a bit of help putting it together but surprisingly can recognize some key pieces, like the eyes and hair to help put it together.

That night, I made homemade cake from scratch! White and chocolate cake, and the batter made a lot of extra so he ended up having some for his class and the classes nearby at school on his actual birthday the next day, so that was great. I used a train mold, and the next day in his birthday pjs, he helped decorate it!

He did 4 train cars before he just started to eat the candy and I had to send him away, but it was fun. Meemaw and I finished putting together the trains (though maybe our decorating skills made it look like a 3 year old did all of them, haha!)

That afternoon, his friends arrived! Lily, who he told me the other day is his “best friend”, came over with cookies they baked and did have a couple gifts (John Deere tractors, which he uses to pull around his teddy bears). Jameson wanted to show her his talking book, the reading book that Meemaw and Grandpa actually made for him last year but this year his really has begun to appreciate. It’s Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer.

Here are all the kids at Jameson’s little kid-sized table; also a Christmas gift from last year that we finally put out in the kitchen and have let it stay. It’s a great place for crafting and eating lunch and breakfast. Jameson loves it!

Opening gifts was mass 3-year-old-chaos. Brian and I got him a lot of wooden train set items. He didn’t have any prior to his birthday, so he was outfitted with a Thomas set and a Percy set, some extra straight pieces, and extra train cars. It was a hit with all the kids! He also got a doctor’s set and new sweatshirt from us.

Then it was time for cake! I am pretty sure most of the kids just picked off the candy, but that’s okay.

One of his other favorite gifts were his new scissors from Grandma and Poppa. He loved cutting up paper.

All in all, it felt like the perfect amount of people and the perfect amount of presents. I couldn’t have asked for a better 3 year old, or 3 year old party 🙂

children

Party with Chuck

December 17, 2013 3 Comments

For Jameson’s and Nathan’s birthdays, Nathan’s mother suggested an evening at Chuck E Cheese to celebrate on the 8th. We were pretty excited to take Jameson out, and celebrate with his friend who we otherwise don’t see as often now that Jameson is in the preschool room.

To start, they got special cups. Jameson had lemonade of course.

Then we went to play some games while we waited for food. We had plenty of tokens for two almost-3-year-olds who had no idea what tokens did or what tickets could get you. We started on the little carousel, a Chuck E Cheese staple (I have some photos of myself on one of those as a child, I’m sure).

Jameson and Nathan took turns driving the truck.

Even Coraline got to go, though unfortunately Nathan’s big sister and dad were at home because his sister was ill. Coraline was having so much fun watching the kids play!

Then it was time to eat! Coraline didn’t have any pizza, though we brought her some sweet potatoes and puffs.

Jameson enjoyed the pizza, and then Chuck E Cheese himself came to visit our table and brought a little cake for the boys! Jameson is a pro at meeting fun characters now, so he went right up to him to give him a hug.

After cake, we played some more games. The boys tried to get in the big play center but got stuck when they couldn’t climb any higher (for which we were a little thankful). The moms even got to play a couple rounds of ski ball which was fun!

Coraline was on her best behavior. She is doing this funny thing now where she will babble “mawmmawmmawm” and blow bubbles at the same time. I haven’t quick captured it. It’s hilarious and gross all at the same time.

At the end of the evening, the boys held hands to go get a prize. We had enough tickets for them both to get a whistle and some stickers. They had such a great time, and Jameson was thoroughly convinced after that that he was “already 3”, was “already a big boy”, and had had his party — but we still had another week to go before his real birthday and get together!

children, general life

Thanksgiving at Meemaw and Grandpa’s

December 6, 2013 No Comments

This year, my brother brought his new dog for Thanksgiving at my parents’ house. We arrived Wednesday afternoon and were introduced to Athena (which he reminds us was the name she was already responding to, not perhaps he might have chosen for himself!) Athena was a rescue, and a pretty one at that. Her and Shiloh learned to play together while we were there, but old Mayzee was not as much of a fan.

We celebrated Aunt Holly’s birthday that evening, early for December 4th. Jameson was of course a big helper.

Next, Jameson helped Meemaw make zucchini bread for Thanksgiving morning. Chopping the nuts was the best part, because he actually really likes them. He kept sneaking pieces to eat. And even though Meemaw forgot the butter, the bread came out healthier and just as delicious (with a slightly different consistency) as usual after an overnight wrapped in foil.

Jameson must’ve had about 4 pieces that next morning! We had the parade on, though Jameson wasn’t too interested in it (he just wanted to watch Monsters).

Coraline got sniffed by the dogs over and over. Athena did really well with her first introduction to babies, though she wasn’t as good with Jameson, a quick, startling toddler. She nearly nipped at him once, which scared him, though by the end of the trip she was much better and he got better at being “brave” walking around her.

Ah! That’s not a sock!

Coraline’s first Thanksgiving outfit, courtesy of Meemaw.

Once the turkey was prepared and in the oven, there was time for play!

This photo was pretty hilarious, with all three dogs in the picture.

Jameson just loved Shiloh this trip. He kept requesting that she come with him to his room and to follow him. She wasn’t a great listener (she’s not for anyone), but it was still very cute. Jameson loved his room and wanted to play in it all the time because it is a big blow up mattress bed right on the floor! So much fun.

Another fun thing at Meemaw’s house was the big cup. He wanted ice (the ice maker on the fridge there is a novelty for him) and then Meemaw found a straw to put in it, and it was impossible to get him to put it down for photos with Uncle Tyler.

Jameson and Grandpa practiced hopping on one leg while we waited to eat, and then Jameson played with Coraline’s toys (more interesting now that someone else wants to play with them). He also loved playing with the Little Tikes dollhouse van. It must be a vintage item at this point, but in great shape for playing with Duffy the bear.

Everyone ate their fill for Thanksgiving with our traditional turkey, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce (the jellied kind of course), stuffing and pie. Coraline even tried potatoes the first time! She’s had a couple solid foods now including peas, noodles, potatoes, and corn.

Friday, the boys all went to the Air Force Museum while Meemaw and I stayed home to do a special Christmas project. Coraline was great for us, though she was a little pooping machine!

She let Meemaw give her a bottle, and did really well over Thanksgiving with just the bottle feeding. We nursed in the morning but the rest of the days were all bottled fed. She’s showing some signs of wanting to hold it herself!

Jameson had a lot of fun at the museum, though he kept saying that some of the planes were broken when they weren’t allowed inside all of them. He came home with a little toy airplane and asked me how to fly it (certainly because Grandpa had been flying little quadcopters earlier!). Alas, this one can only be flown by hand.

He even gave us a little concert that evening on the piano!

Our final morning was Saturday, so that we could have an extra day to unpack and relax before heading back to work. We relaxed in the morning, and Jameson got an early 3rd birthday gift from Uncle Tyler.

Coraline is still iffy driving any time past 30 minutes, so the way there was a little rough with a few stops, but both kids were amazing the way back! They both fell asleep for a time, and we didn’t even have to stop once. A first and last, most likely.

It was great seeing Uncle Tyler, who won’t be able to visit for Christmas this year, and fun to meet his new dog. We celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday, birthdays, did special projects and visited a museum. We even found time to do a little shopping (online and in store!)!

children, life with baby

Bubbly Birthday

September 11, 2013 No Comments

A cute little lady turned two in August, and Jameson, Coraline & Jonathan attended on a Friday night. It was pretty fun to get out of the house on a weeknight like that.

We borrowed a less-than-sturdy barrel for a few photos. It didn’t collapse on us thankfully. Had I known I was going to do an impromptu photo shoot I would’ve selected a different outfit than pajamas!

Coraline did really well but she was tired, so I fed her to sleep after letting her cry for a bit and then she was completely passed out. I just set her on a blanket on the floor which worked out surprisingly well!

Later Brian went up to check on her and their cat was laying right next to her which was funny. The cat hissed at Brian, so they obviously made fast friends.

Meanwhile, after dinner and dessert the kids were playing with the bubble maker outside!

This one above cracks me up since the boys are giving Vivienne a sour face!

Vivienne opened a a few of her gifts at the end of the evening. She was a little wild with over-tired energy and hilariously put our gift, a pair of pants with a skirt attached, on her head like a hat!

BAM! That’s how you do a party on a Friday night.

Jameson, of course, was also passed out within moments of getting in the car.

children

Balloon Birthdays

August 30, 2013 No Comments

The Sunday before last, we celebrated with our neighbors for their kids’ 3rd and 1st birthday. They borrowed our bouncer and the day was perfect for it!

The big hit though wasn’t the bouncer but the balloon guy!

The birthday girl got a pink dog first.

Jameson however insisted on a caterpillar despite other suggestions. It actually turned out great though; even the adults were impressed with the caterpillar which seemed very complex as he threaded loops of balloon into one shape.

The birthday boy got a Mickey Mouse, appropriate for their Mickey & Minnie themed party.

Each child got two balloons, and Jameson requested a motorcycle next after he saw another little boy get one. We did have to be careful with this one since Jameson wanted to vroom it along the grass; the grass was pretty dry and sharp and easily popped balloons. Jameson’s stayed intact but a couple of others eventually popped.

We chose one balloon and had all the kids “stand” for a photo. This one cracks me up since Jameson is off “vrooming” his motorcycle and no one is paying attention.

During the party, he tripped while barefoot and got one of his toes bloody from removing a little bit of nail. He wanted bandaids on both toes though to feel better, so we did.

After cake, Lily played with her favorite gift, the doctors outfit. She had to check out Coraline to make sure she was okay!

Meanwhile, Jameson was acting like a crazy dude as always. He loves the cornhole and tries to play it whenever it’s not in use. He also tried to use Lily’s scooter in the grass which was pretty funny.

As you can tell, everyone had a blast!

general life, life with baby

Grandma’s Birthday

August 28, 2013 No Comments

We celebrated Grandma’s birthday at our house a couple weekends ago. I was pleased to get this shot of grandma and kiddos together. Coraline isn’t smiling; I can already tell how difficult it’s going to be to get both children smiling in the same photo.

Even Grandpa had some time to hold Coraline! She was observing him very intently.

Aunt Melissa came over to celebrate as well. We gave Coraline a bath and I loved getting a shot of her in her one girly pink towel I have for her. She is really loving her baths lately.

She always seems to have a hand by her face; I guess that is because she doesn’t take a pacifier. At least I’m not always tugging that out of her mouth like I did with Jameson!

Coraline is discovering noises and balance lately. We’ve seen less rolling (a little less; she still rolls a lot more than Jameson ever did) and more activity with hands and sitting. Here she is doing the airplane move!

children

Memorial Day Friends

June 3, 2013 No Comments

We took Jameson to see the doctor on Saturday over the holiday weekend and found out he had strep throat and an ear infection, but thankfully he wasn’t contagious 24 hours later, so we still were able to get together with JP, Lisa & Jonathan on Sunday in celebration of Memorial Day and Brian’s birthday. (Mmm another ice cream cake!)

I love this close up of Jameson; he was hamming it up for the camera, which is rare for him. He still moves very fast so I took about 20 of these hoping one would be in focus. To get his natural smile, I made him laugh a little by asking him to show his teeth (that’s what this pose is below)

He may have had strep, but that didn’t stop me from getting one of the two of them together. It was still on the cool side so everyone was in long sleeves but I loved the opportunity to get Coraline next to Jameson outside. She’s getting ever sturdier and is a little less intimidating for him. He was willing to put his arm around her.

When I laid Coraline down in the yard in our limited shade with her blanket, Jameson had to get his and join in as well.

We enjoyed bratwurst and burgers with JP and Lisa’s pasta salad and corn on the cob. Jameson is an expert at eating corn this year, but he did lose his first piece on the patio. Oops! Good thing we made extra.

The boys only sat at the table for about 5 minutes before they joined us at the adult table; luckily there were plenty of chairs.

After dinner, we all played outside for a while. Coraline got a little antsy and over tired though. It didn’t stop the party though!

Jameson and Jonathan decided it would be great fun to go down the slides head first… Clearly a lot of fun! The slides aren’t too high and they don’t get much speed so we all enjoyed watching the boys find this new way to play.

I love seeing Jonathan and Jameson play together. Jameson was so excited for him to come over and kept saying “Jonathan play with me?”, and even though by the end of the day he was exhausted and cranky, undoubtedly in part because of being ill, it was so much fun.

general life

Birthday Boy

May 31, 2013 No Comments

On Brian’s birthday, his parents and sister came over. Coraline was dressed to impress Grandma with her I <3 Grandma shirt on.

Jameson insisted on blowing out the “birthday” candle again, as we did for my birthday. In fact, he got it out as soon as everyone arrived. We told him he had to wait for the candle until later but that we would sing happy birthday. We sang, and then Jameson immediately asked for cake! No no, not yet!

Grandma brought over a fruit salad which Jameson wanted to dig right into while Grandpa and Dad finished the ribs off on the grill. This boy was obviously hungry.

And the birthday boy himself, enjoying ribs from Grandpa. We made the pasta salad to go with it, and Aunt Melissa brought over ice cream cake. It’s too bad it wasn’t a little warmer so we could eat outside with this great summer meal!

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