Lucy's Joy School Graduation

This year Lucy and I did Joy School.  Joy School is a preschool curriculum that you do with other moms.  There were 6 of us this year that worked together - kind of a co-op preschool.

Each week we met for two hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  We taught the kids about letters, shapes, colors, numbers, and we taught different units such as the joy of the body or the joy of nature or the joy of order. Each mom taught for two weeks at a time.

We also went on a few field trips during the year and we did a Christmas program.

Last week we had a graduation program and BBQ to end the year. 

It was so fun to be a part of this with Lucy.  I enjoyed teaching her and the other kids in the class and I enjoyed the time off when it was the other moms' turns.  It was so neat to see how much they had learned during the year too.  I taught the 3rd and 4th weeks - when it was still pretty new to the kids - and I taught the very last week.  It was amazing to see how much they had learned.

Lucy learned a lot too.  She said her favorite thing she learned was about colors.  My favorite thing she learned was how to write her name.

We made the kids little books all about them with pictures too from the year - kind of a little year book of sorts.  Next year Lucy will be going to preschool.  I'm already looking forward to doing this with Sammy in 2 years!

Sammy 2 Years

It's amazing how fast 2 years can just fly by! Our little man has grown up so much and we are so happy to have him in our lives.  

He is sleeping in a big boy bed now - about 6 weeks ago I finished redoing the bunk beds my bother and I used as kids and now Lucy is on the top bunk (her castle) and Sammy is on the bottom (his cave).  He looks so big and so small at the same time when he is all snuggled in! 

He continues to grow in his vocabulary.  His newest favorite things to say are "How come?" "What's that sound?" and "K, Mommy?"  He'll repeat "K?" about 5 times to you before he's satisfied with your response and he'll tilt his head to the side when he's saying it. It's pretty stinkin' cute.  

I also love the way he says some of his words.  Like 'Lucy' is "oo-cy" and his glow worm is "gom." He also says his Ds as Gs so it's a "goggie" (doggie) and a "guck" (duck).  He talks and talks and is really understanding more and more.                                                       . 

He loves to read too.  Sometimes when it gets really quiet and we aren't quite sure where he is, we'll find him on the floor in his room or the front room with a pile of books surrounding him. 

Sammy is also definitely all boy (despite his pink toenails ;P).  He loves to wrestle/attack you.  I've had no idea where he learned to do this until recently, the leaders in the nursery said that the group of little boys love to wrestle with each other.  I guess there's a downside to having a bunch of kids the same age in the neighborhood? Or maybe it's an upside - he'll have someone to wrestle with?

Choo-choo! Look who turned 2!

Our little man turned 2 last week! It's hard to remember when he was just a tiny thing - he's getting so big and doing and learning so much.  He is obsessed with trains so we decided to theme his birthday around that.

Remember the train table we made in Minersville? Here he and a cousin are sitting on top before the big unveiling. We left it for last.

 Nana Manwill spoiled him with a gift bag full of little wood toys, including a train,

 and a bag of cute, fun, clothes.  They aren't pictured because he was too interested in the toys to notice the clothes!

 The Van Hoose clan went in on trains and tracks for the table.

 Here he's lined up all the trains.  He was instantly in love.

 When the time came to unveil the train table, he enlisted the help of his big sister and cousins.
He was pretty excited.

 Then came the really fun part - putting it all together and playing with it!

 He kept saying, "Chugga-chugga, choo-choo!" and "Wheeeeeee!"

 This was his birthday cake - the second one I've ever decorated. His cake last year was the first. I think it turned out pretty cute. Our friend and neighbor, Ashley, found the cake mold for us at DI a few months ago and it was perfect!

 He wasn't so sure about blowing out the candles but I think he got a kick out of Spencer and I trying to help him.

 All in all, I think the birthday was a success!

 The next Sunday we went over to my dad's house to celebrate with the McConnell side.

 He got a new bike like Lucy's, only blue and green.  He was a bit nervous at first but got excited after Daddy showed him how to ride it.  I'm sure this will provide for lots of fun for him and Lucy this summer.

Sammy and Grandpa sharing some ice cream :)

Family Date!

We had a groupon-esque coupon that was set to expire Monday, so in typical Van Hoose fashion, we used it at the very last minute possible! We went on a "family date" to bowling. The whole thing ended up costing us $7! Yay for good deals! The kids absolutely loved it

They helped type in their names. (This is Lucy's shy, ornery pose.)

They carried the balls over. Poor Sammy dropped his on his thumb once :(.

This was Lucy's unofficial job.  She was in charge of helping the balls out of the ball return. Do you love the hat? :)

She was pretty proud of herself for being able to carry her ball by herself.

Push!

I love this expression!

The ball was a bit heavier for Sammy Boy.

Mommy and Sammy posing for a self-portrait! :) He was getting tired by this point and just wanted to snuggle with me.

Our scores. Yes, I just barely beat the kids. And I wouldn't have if the bumpers hadn't stayed up the whole time!

Family Portrait to finish off the night! :)