First Day of Kindergarten!

 

 We counted down the days to kindergarten with our new favorite back to school tradition inspired by this blog post.  It was so special praying each day for the school year and counting down!

 

 

Little brother NOT so happy about not going to school too!

 

After school chocolate chip cookies and pink lemonade!  A tradition of her daddy's mama!

 

First Day Interview:

What was your favorite thing you did at school?

"Meeting the hamster."

What friends did you play with?

"Annelise and Margie Grace"

What songs did you sing?

"The Beaver Call"

What was snack?

"Chocolate Chip Cookies"

What did you make at school?

"Nothing.  We just looked around the classroom"

Resurrection Bun Kit

I posted our Easter traditions last year.  They are still pretty much the same along with a few others added.  Last year, we made resurrection bun kits to take to neighbors with children so that they could do this activity with a family as well.  This was super easy to put together since I just had to multiply our supplies.  This would also be great to take to a mom with a new baby for her older kids to do, a working mama, etc.  

Just get together your ingredients -- Grands biscuits, 8 marshmallows (one for each biscuit), a stick of butter, and the cinnamon sugar.  Our recipe is here, but I've also seen these made with crescent rolls as well.  

 I also include a copy of the story of the first Easter along with the baking directions.  

You should be able to print these -- I hope!

One thing we've started this year and are liking so far is the jelly bean reward system...

Pink - each new tomorrow ( forgiving others)

Red - the blood Christ gave (sacrifice something) 

Orange - prayers at twilight (attentive behavior at prayer time or Bible story) 

Yellow - God's light (shown through kindness/love/witness) 

Green - the palm's cool shade (good deeds) 

Blue - table manners

Purple - His days of sorrow (repenting)

Black - night rest (go to bed well/good sleep) 

  

 White - Christ's Grace (cannot be earned like the others). Fill jar to top on Easter morning with white jelly beans, covering all of their attempts to "do good."  Great way to visualize an abstract concept for little ones!

Coffee filter eggs and crosses have been the only craft we've pulled off so far -- easy to quickly trace cookie cutters and let the watercoloring begin! We have good intentions to make handprint lilies, this cross (using contact paper), handprint palm branches, and maybe the famous grassy eggs (wait we may have missed the window on this).

And did you know you could bake your eggs!?  Trying this one soon!

And definitely painting our eggs again -- dye stresses me out! :)

I really want to do a glow in the dark egg hunt -- probably need to wait a few years!

And a few sites with great ideas of Easter traditions here, here, here, and here.

Peter said, “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to the grave, nor did His body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 

Acts 2:29-33

Jesse Tree & Breakfast

With so many birthdays at the beginning of December, it's just not realistic for us to start our Jesse Tree at the end of Nov.  We've decided to kick it off mid-December and do one in the morning and one in the evening.  So if you haven't started and wanted too, join in!  The printables will  make it come together quickly!

Several people have asked what age to start this activity.  I liked starting it last year when Kirkley was 3 1/2.  She wasn't totally ready for it so it gave us a year to "practice," get acquainted with it, and figure out how we really wanted to do it.  This year, she's super into it, ready to see when an ornament appears on the table, etc.  We make her retell the story before she or Jay gets to open it.

I finally found a way to avoid gift wrapping all of the ornaments -- reusing the same burlap square each time!

These advent ornaments with the names of Christ are precious too.  Maybe this would be good when K is a little older and has the Jesse tree stories down pat?  

We've also loved doing the advent wreath devotions once a week at family dinner.  Instead of doing the 25 ornaments next year, I may do one for each week to hang over the chandelier with the corresponding verse/word for each week.  This was a much easier project to get together at the start of the month!  Love this thought on candlelight dinners in Dec!

For Jesse tree kick-off morning, I happened to wake up at 2am -- a crazy side effect of pregnancy! :)  So I got a breakfast together that turned out to be a hit with the kids.  

Here are two easy, healthy breakfast ideas...

Cranberry Oatmeal Mix
This has been awesome to have on hand to make breakfast quickly and much cheaper than the little packets already ready!  Make your own packets in snack zip bags to save even more time/$!


4 c old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 c craisins (or dried blueberries, cherries, etc)
1 t cinnamon

- Shake all of this together in a container/ziploc.
- For one adult serving/two child, measure out 1/2 c of the mix in a saucepan, add 1 c water, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Turn heat off, stirring until thick. 
- For two adult servings, measure out 1 c of the mix in a saucepan, add 1 3/4 c water, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Turn heat off, stirring until thick. 
- Sweeten as needed.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

This reheats great for breakfast for several days -- Kirkley loves it; Jay, not so much. 

1 10 oz block chopped spinach, thawed in micro

1 16 oz container low-fat cottage cheese

4 eggs

2 egg whites

½ c to 2 c cheddar cheese (depending on how many calories you want to end up with)  :)

¼ t garlic powder

¼ t onion powder

 

- Thaw spinach completely.  Squeeze all water out.  I put in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and push all water out with the back of a spoon really well.

- Mix all ingredients on medium, being sure to break up spinach and eggs well.

- Pour in lightly greased pie dish.

- At this point you can refrigerate overnight or freeze (thaw overnight in fridge then bake)

- Bake at 325 for one hour until set.

- Serve warm. 

"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; 

from his roots a Branch will bear fruit."

Isaiah 11:1

One & a Half

My December birthday self always longed for a half-birthday celebration!

We did it last year for Jay and have enjoyed his half birthday this year too.

Loving every bite of his half-birthday breakfast!

One of sister's favorites too!

Kirkley insisted we hit the store after breakfast to get him some presents.

She told him the whole time we were in the toy section to shut his eyes.

We came out with his first little carry along train set and matchbox car!

Lunch at the pool....

Showing off his kicking and swimming...

 We keep telling him to shut his mouth -- for some reason, he's doing his eyes instead!

He did awesome at the pool today (minus a dirty diaper), and had a blast hanging in the one foot pool.

People kept telling us boys are different, and he has been sooo different from his sister.

He's totally tenderhearted -- trying to toughen up his tears some!

He's a man of few words -- besides "DA!" -- he is a TOTAL daddy's boy and will jump from me to get to Alex!

He's a super helper -- tries to put his milk away and got Alex a trash bag out the other day after he'd taken it out.

He loves bananas -- we considered having him walk in Whitney's wedding and holding a banana at the end of the aisle to lure him to us.

He is a morning person like his sister -- we've seen 4:30am several times this week (or Alex has anyway) -- his last incisors we're hoping.

He loves his sissy and loves being all in her space!

He also loves sour things (like his sister!) so his half birthday treat tonight was key lime pie!

He's loved getting sung to all day!

We are so enjoying our little man!  Happy 1.5 Jay!

"And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men."

1 Samuel 2:26

Easter Traditions

Someone asked me last week about any Easter traditions we do. I'd love to open this up and hear from others -- I got so many great ideas from Christmas seeing things posted (we're totally adding smores, a Christmas movie, and a slumber party by the tree to the night of the 23rd next year!).

I'm sort of a tradition junkie -- I love thinking our kids will look back and think, "My parents always...." for whatever occasion it is. I also like starting them early -- it lets us work the kinks out in our plans before they're really ingrained in their memories! :) The Let's Make a Memory series has been cute to have and I just got Treasuring God in Our Traditions as well but haven't started it.

Here are a few Easter resources/ideas we like. I'm absolutely no child expert, but I added when they were "age appropriate" for our family. If your child is younger, some of these would be sweet to put in their Easter basket for future use!

• The Jesus Storybook Bible does an awesome job of tying each Bible story into Christ's coming. If you read a story a day starting on March 16, story #40 should be the resurrection to be read on Easter Sunday. If you're behind, double up in the morning and evening to catch up! :) We often forget days and have to double up -- Kirkley is getting to be old enough to be an accountability for this each morning at the breakfast table! (I still have to paraphrase these stories for 4 yr old.)
  
• Resurrection Eggs -- I got these last year at Hobby Lobby. Check here to see if Easter stuff is 1/2 off or if a coupon is available. (Kirkley started practicing telling the Easter story with these at 3.)
  
• Miss PattyCake Eggstravaganza is 100% cheesey but has great songs kids love, and she goes through each resurrection egg on their level. (Perfect for 1 and up!)
  
• We thought about having Kirkley memorize an OT prophecy verse like Genesis 22:8 "God himself will provide the lamb." There are many to choose from -- we're sitting on this idea as of now. (3 and up)
  
• Since Kirkley was hospitalized during Easter of 2009, I've always had good intentions of going back and doing something at Easter for the peds patients -- maybe this year with Kirkley old enough to help/shop/deliver, that idea will come to fruition.
• I've never made Easter story cookies, but I think they're on our list this year.
  
• We always make resurrection buns -- Kirkley still makes a reference to Jesus as a marshmallow. These would be an easy thing to deliver to neighbors with children -- take directions and supplies for their family! (We've done these since K was one, but last year at 3, she really "got it" the most.)
  
• This site has awesome ideas -- look at the links below this post too. More activities and printables here too.
• Also fun Easter basket ideas: Band Angels, Seeds CDs, creation puzzle, ABC Bible Verses, and preschool devotions 1 or 2.
  

Also, we spread Easter out over the weekend -- a great tip I got from a mom of older children. All baskets/eggs are done on Saturday morning. We have time to enjoy this and not be rushed. Saturday evening, we do the resurrection buns and stick them in the fridge. Then Sunday morning we'll bake them and go to Easter Sunday services. I'm not really in love with this layout -- the buns may be better/more accurate for Good Friday morning?? It's always a work in progress...

Can't wait to hear some favorite family activities!
Tell us now so we can plan! :)

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
Deuteronomy 6:5-9

"We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
His power, and the wonders He has done."
Psalm 78:4

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20

Christmas Traditions

So we started writing this 2 weeks ago and never got around to posting it. Anyone else feel ambushed this year?? Crazy how I felt more prepared last year when we had Jay in Dec. I spent nap time yesterday typing up a to do list for the season -- I am that crazy!

Traditions seemed to be a hot topic this year. Maybe because our kids are getting to the age that they remember them?? I've hesitated to write on this topic since we're three years into this parenting thing, but Alex has really pushed me to get this out there. So take it or leave it, these are Christmas tradition thoughts from parents three short years into it! :)
Alex and I have talked about what we remember from Christmases past as children are our activities and not the presents. His favorites -- long trips to Texas to see family and adding his favorite ornament to the tree (Kermit the frog -- and they saved this for him to add well into his college years). My favorites -- car rides to find Rudolph on Christmas Eve (we opened gifts right after that ride) and Christmas cookie baking with my mom and grandmother. For our little family, we've talked a lot about how to keep the focus on Jesus's birth and get too caught up in the commercialization of it.

There has been many a discussion about Santa and gifts. Our stance on it is that, yes, Santa Claus is coming to town, but he's coming on Jesus's birthday! This article on Santa that Emily found was great along with this Veggietales movie about how the original St. Nicholas gave out of his love for Jesus have really helped us tie Santa into Christ's birth. This helped get the focus off of being good/deserving gifts onto joyful giving and blessings.

Other thoughts on presence have hit me hard this year. It is SO easy for me to get lost in the shuffle of a mile-long to do list. Both of these blog posts brought me back down to earth a little bit -- one on presence not presents and one on being with our children. Both popped up on my reader and were a needed reminder to me to get down on the floor more and enjoy my little ones.
We've also talked a lot about presents and how to keep it toned down. We've always done three gifts on Christmas morning. This article really solidified that decision and almost had us forgoing the three presents all together. We decided to keep the three gifts for each child and also asked grandparents and other family to keep it at three gifts or less if they can too. I love this article on sweet activities for Christmas day to get the focus off of the gifts. Kirkley heard somewhere about lots of presents and asked if she was getting lots from Santa. I explained Jesus got three presents, and she dropped it.


This was also the first year I attempted a pre-Christmas toy purge with Kirkley -- her room is busting at the seams. It was hard! It seemed like an abstract concept for a three year old -- gathering old toys for those that need them. The questions fired away, "Who doesn't have any toys?" "Why don't they have any toys?" "Does Ford have any toys?" I made it out of her room with one little sack of stuffed animals to take to Mission Thrift and one pouty little girl! Which opened the door to talk about 2 Corinthians 9:7b, "God loves a cheerful giver" and an almost daily favorite, Proverbs 15:13a, "A happy heart makes the face cheerful." We took them to the thrift store together, and she looked all around for the children that needed them. :) We'll try this again pre-birthday! We've really lacked as parents in teaching about the importance of giving to those in need. I'm hoping this concept isn't so abstract next year!?

Our favorite fun things we (the parents) love...can't wait to look back at this one day and see what our kids think our traditions are...

Decorating the tree right after Thanksgiving. This was always done by Alex and I (and last year I was very pregnant and we had the help of my aunts!) the evening of Thanksgiving while we watched Elf, but this year with Kirkley old enough to help, we wanted to switch it to the morning and she of course picked Rudolph and Frosty to watch. We slacked getting this done this year, but both agree, we'll be doing it the morning after Thanksgiving from now on! :)

Kirkley has always built a gingerbread house with Alex in the weeks before Christmas. This year I think we're switching teams and doing a boys vs. girls building competition!
My mom and grandmother take Kirkley to the Teddy Bear Tea. This was a first last year and became an instant tradition. They go this week!
I have a sweet friend that does a CHRISTmas cookie tree party for us to swing by and grab cookies off of. They have a tree in their front yard covered in bagged cut-out cookies of Christmas symbols and all with a tagged explanation of how the Christmas symbol relates to Christ's birth. This is a sweet night that we'll ride by, grab cookies, then continue riding and looking at lights! I need to grab pics this year!

All of the Christmas programs have been a sweet addition to our Christmas season. Between CBS, choir, Sunday school, and preschool, there are so many sweet influences in her life outside of us pointing her to the Reason for the season!
We want to stay at our own house for Christmas while the kids are young. So far we've been able to do so. On Christmas Eve, we get our cookies ready for Santa and our cake decorated for Jesus's birthday. Cookies are baked (and usually in the freezer well before) so we can just decorate. I'll have a mix angelfood cake in a star pan ready for Kirkley to help decorate with cool whip for an easy Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

We then attend the Christmas Eve service at our church. Last year's was especially sweet taking in our new one. Alex dropped me off with the kids to go park, we took the elevator up, and as soon as we walked out into the balcony, the power went off. I was grateful to not be in the elevator with them at that moment, and we enjoyed a candlelight service!

After the Christmas Eve service, we head home to host an easy Italian dinner (thanks to Provino's salad and Stouffer's lasagna) with whatever family is in town and Jesus's birthday cake. Our first married Christmas together was spent in New York City -- we didn't pick a family to spend it with, we just aggravated them all by heading out together! Our first Christmas dinner was in a family-style Italian restaurant so we keep the Italian going!After dinner and cake/singing, we do the whole cookies for Santa, read The Night Before Christmas, and tuck in. Then Santa gets busy putting together toys!

Christmas morning we video the kids coming out to see their gifts. The past two years, eating Santa's leftover cookies has been more exciting than the gifts. She's already asked if I think he'll share with her again. After the hubub of gifts, we settle down to read the Christmas story. Then later in the morning we have whatever family is in town over for brunch and play the video.

Christmas dinner with the fam is at my mom's after naps by all! :) I think our big boy will really love him some Christmas dinner this year!

So there's a rundown of traditions we're trying to put into play. Nothing really original, and all collected from a little bit of everywhere -- I might have stolen yours! I'd love to hear some of your favorites. I have friends who have big enough families to act out the first Christmas, others that go caroling together, etc. What traditions have become your favorites??

Anyone else plagued by the Santa/no Santa debate? We have a long while to discuss for next year -- the issue is not dropped in our house (not shocking, I know). We found it hard to keep the balance this year. Gifts, Santa, etc. are so flashy compared to the celebration our Savior's humble beginnings. Lots of time to think on it till next year! :)

First Day of 3yr Old Preschool

Kirkley started back to preschool today. As a 3yr old, she has to attend 3 days a week. We are thankful she was excited this morning -- last year took some encouraging each day! We've had fun the past few days making teacher and classmate treats, getting her things together, back to school feast, etc. Trying to keep up the goofy traditions I started last year has been a task! :)

She gobbled up apple pancakes then was a sport about posing with all of us before school...

She settled right in when she got there making dots....

After her nap, we carried on a tradition from Alex's family: chocolate chip cookies and lemonade on the first day of school. First day interview:

What was your favorite thing you did at school?
"Circle time and cooking in the kitchen."

What friends did you play with?
"Parker and Margie Grace"

What songs did you sing?
"We're going on a bear hunt!"

What was snack?
"Cheez-its"

What did you make at school?
"We stamped on a caterpillar."

This is fun to look at (if you're a family member and can handle this many pics) -- first day of 2yr old preschool from last year!

First Day of Preschool

Kirkley had a great first day of preschool! She slept till 7:00am which is a rare occasion in our house -- the toddlerwise 7:00pm bedtime worked {or the blanket we have tacked to every edge of the window!}! We were thrilled to be sending her off this morning well rested!!

She was beside herself to see we were having back to school apple pancakes! She LOVES to dip them -- don't tell her it's low-cal syrup and Fiber One pancakes!

A few pics before we left...

More at school...

She keeps going back to this book on trucks when we go to her classroom. Glad to know she's familiarizing herself with little brother's territory! Once a few friends got there, she started playing more, and I snuck out the door. Then I stood at the observation window and totally lost it! She looked so big playing in her classroom!

She got a good report after school. Played sweet but was a little clingy to the teacher. Sounds about right.

After her nap, we carried on a tradition from Alex's family: chocolate chip cookies and lemonade on the first day of school. While she was snacking, I interviewed her about her day:

What was your favorite thing you did at school?
"Play with trucks. Play outside. Play with Mrs. P. (the teacher)."

What friends did you play with?
"Mrs. P. and Ford."

What songs did you sing?
"ABCDs, Jesus Loves Me, Itsy Bitsy Spider"

What was snack?
"Goldfish and graham crackers."

What did you make at school? (Her hands are stained pink.)
"Hands! Pink hands!"

Do you want to go back again one day?
"Yes!"

Back to School Eve

Kirkley starts preschool in the morning! We had a wild afternoon preparing our first annual back to school feast. She is super interested in the cooking process: "What is that?" "Who is that for?" "Who's coming?" "Want a bite please!" The battery of questions is precious and challenging all at once! All along, I'm wondering, if I cook something fancy, does that get me out of cooking for the rest of the week!? :)

On the menu: balsamic and red wine marinated pork tenderloin roasted with cranberries and sweet onion, loaded potatoes (out of an envelope:), roasted asparagus with Greek buttered herbs, and diced gala apples! Note no dessert -- we also planned for an e-a-r-l-y bedtime!

Do you think they will teach me to chew with my mouth closed?

Our favorite dinner quote, "More back to school feast please!" What? "More potatoes please." Oh, yes, of course you want seconds of what came from an envelope with boiling water added!! :)

After dinner, she got all dolled up in her first day outfit for a little fashion show.

She is SO proud of her backpack!

It is hard to believe that in three short years we'll be doing this, and she'll be gone to school...forever! Three years ago we weren't even telling people yet that I was pregnant with her -- that doesn't seem that long ago at all. I pray we don't lose sight of that, savoring and celebrating all of these little moments even when the majority of our days seem a challenging blur. I need and love a reason to stop and celebrate!

This morning we climbed in her bed and enjoyed a lazy morning discussing what tomorrow holds over and over again. She is super into telling stories again...and again...and again! Glad her teachers gave us a copy of the daily schedule -- she wanted to know all about it!! :) So praying for a sweet and memorable first day for her tomorrow...more to come!

Love this little devo on perspective.