Better Late than Never

So here is a long overdue update from our family.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas with our families and extended families.  We traveled a lot and have been enjoying time at home and the return of our regular routine.  Even though the cold and snow get old, our family is always grateful for this time of year when we get Danny home both Saturday and Sunday.  Speaking of Danny, his 34th birthday is coming up this Sunday.  He is debating between bowling and mini golf with the family.
Below are a few videos we took of the kids in between the holiday busyness.
The video starts with us 'enforcing a consequence' that ended up being fun, oh well.  Most people know Joy as a quiet and timid child.  But, she is not so quiet at home, a lot of times.  This day, my auditory sense was overloaded, so I sent her outside to yell, "I will use my outside voice outside."  And the video shows the fun that came from that.  Then there is a short segment from Joy's Thanksgiving program at school.  Side note: We are not allowed to take video of her Christmas program because it is a church service.  Lastly, our little athlete, Noah, was creative one day while watching football and started practicing/imitating on his own.  He set a football on a tee (the 'tee was a doll potty chair).  :)  Enjoy!


Lastly, our little princess lost her first tooth last night.  The tooth fairy left her $2.  She chose to go to the dollar store today to spend her money.  And, all on her own, she chose to buy one thing for herself and one thing for Noah.  And, she followed through.  I'm so proud of her!  And a little sad that she is growing so fast!

Halloween & milestones

Since the last post, Noah has reached two milestones and Halloween has come and gone.

Halloween - the kids were Minnie and Mickey Mouse this year.  They were really cute and had a lot of fun.  We took them trick-or-treating at downtown businesses on Wednesday, to Grandma Rainbow's Childcare party on Thursday, and trick-or-treating for 1.5 hours (despite cold) in our neighborhood on Friday.  Things, like Halloween, certainly get easier and more fun as kids age.

In the last two months, Noah started wearing underwear and is now sleeping in a toddler bed.  It took him about 2 weeks to be fully potty trained.  And we learned, the hard way, that he won't use public restrooms, so we keep a potty chair in our car for now.  His transition from crib to bed could not have gone more smoothly.  He has been sleeping in it for two weeks now and continues to follow his routines from the crib, which we appreciate.  He stays in bed in the morning until we get him.  He sleeps through the night (dry most of the time) and still takes long naps.  He doesn't get up to come see us during the night.  He slept on a mattress at GG Rainbow's last night, and slept all night without waking too.  Obviously, this milestone could not have been an easier transition.  And, he LOVES his "new bed"! 

Below are tidbits of the kids lately, including Halloween.  It starts with me interviewing Joy after trick-or-treating on Halloween.  Then, it shows Noah making Daddy feel better.  And it ends with some clips of the kids enjoying books together.  I love that they both enjoy books so much and cherish the moments when Joy reads to Noah.  They melt my heart!

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Joy is 5 years old!

We have a 5 year old in our house, which is hard to believe.  This was a milestone I once thought was far away but it happened in a blink.  Joy was very blessed to have beautiful weather for her princess party at a park.  Most of her little friends and family made it, which made her day!  Here is a short video of her party that ends with Noah and cousin, Rylee, playing together.


The whole Rainbow family made it to Joys party too!

This last video was taken of Joy at her school Family Fun Night.  Her class sang a couple patriotic songs and then we browsed through a book fair.  It was a fun night!

No Training Wheels!

Since I'm not the best writer, I like to show you through videos what has been happening with our family.  This post will be no different.  :)
Joy recently hit a milestone.  It actually brought back memories of her first steps as we backed off from spotting her on the bike and let her ride free.  You will witness our progression of 'letting go' as the video plays through.  We are so proud!



The kids also enjoyed playing in some needed rain a few weeks ago.  I love how they interact and play together these days, most of the time.  :)  Here they are...




Lastly, the kids and I spent a week with the Krafve family.  We had to leave dad home because of his demanding summer work schedule.  We started the week by staying overnight at Rylee's house.  Then we went to the Krafve farm after that.  We ventured out to see cousin Logan one day and to Como Zoo another day.  Below is a video of the kids on the 4 wheelers with their grandparents.  The kids didn't let one day go by without a ride.  :)

Summer Church Programs

Joy has lived through two weeks of summer church related programs, much to her dismay.  She attended Vacation Bible School at Mt Olive Lutheran Church, where her Rainbow grandparents are members.  The week started out rough, but she ended on a high note and asks almost daily to go back.  She also just completed a week of Bible Soccer Camp at her school.  It also started rough, but ended great and she can't wait to attend next summer.  I describe it as rough because she is still having a lot of anxiety when Danny or I are not right by her side.  Thankfully, it was short lived this week.  Having friends from her PreK class at school helped this week go more smoothly.  And I have to say, seeing her run around on the soccer field was absolutely adorable.  She was smiling from ear to ear, even if she didn't get to kick the ball.  Below is a video of Joy, and Noah, singing and dancing to the songs from VBS at Mt Olive.



We also discovered Noah is pretty good at putting.  Between watching his dad and watching golf on TV, he has putting figured out.  He lines up, pulls back, and hits without moving his feet.  The last step about his feet especially impressed his dad.  Apparantly, one of the most challenging things for kids under age 4 to grasp, is keeping their feet still while putting.  Noah is a Golf Pro in the making!  Video evidence is below.

PreK Summer Sendoff and more

So, Joy was done with PreK on May 21.  Our summer kicked into gear almost instantly with visiting family more, summer school for Joy, VBS, and a camping trip for Joy with the Rainbow grandparents.  Below is her 'PreK Summer Send-off' performance with her class. 
Danny and I are a bit perplexed by some separation anxiety that is rearing a very ugly head in Joy over the last 1.5 weeks.  It was triggered by VBS at a church where she doesn't know anyone.  And now she won't go to her summer school without lots of tears or go to bed without serious screaming.  Some research online shows that it is not uncommon for separation anxiety to return in a 5 year old, but I have never seen or heard of it before.  So, please pray for sweet little Joy.  She is really struggling when she has to leave our side lately.  You would never guess it by the confident little girl you will see in the video below.



Noah is making great strides with his language.  He is finally stringing a few words together, saying please, thank you, and I love you, which is ear candy to us as parents.  He also really enjoys playing with his sister, most of the time, when she feels like sharing and giving in to his screaming demands.  Screaming seems to be a theme in our house lately.  Noah is 2, enough said.  Below is a video of him tackling Joy, nicely.  :)



This last video is a few cute or silly things I caught the kids doing as we live our daily lives.  You will see:
1.  Mr. Speedy and Daring Noah
2.  The kids performing to the opening song of Frozen when the men are chopping ice
3.  Joy after she had just learned how to pump on the swing
4.  Singing together
5.  a race (I was testing out the Fedora on Noah, hence the tag.  I took it back because, surprise, it was too small)
6.  Fun in the rain
7.  Noah's improved Tball skills
8.  The kids excited about golfing, REALLY excited.  :)



Side Note, these videos are originally taken in widescreen format, but in order to fit them in this blog window, I have to shrink them to standard size.  So, if things seem off-center, it's because it was altered from the original video.

Joy's Dance Recital

Our little sunshine, Joy, danced to Mr. Sun at her dance recital last weekend.  She was completely confident and genuinely happy to be on that stage.  She was still beaming this morning from all the love and support she received.  Here is video from her dress rehearsal last Wednesday night.  Enjoy!