the little gym

I received a "gift certificate" through my school district for 3 free classes at The Little Gym in Katy so I HAD TO enroll Little Miss Ava. I knew with the hustle and bustle of baseball season starting up, February was a great month for her classes. 

During the beginning of each class she was very shy. She didn't want to participate in the warm ups or the first few group activities. I figured this would be so because she is shy in new situations. Once it was time for free exploration, her attitude changed. She loved everything! By the 3rd class, Ava was talking and playing with the other kids and their parents.

Jan. 21

 

showing Mommy her stamp

After her first class, I treeated Miss A to a donut and milk breakfast!

When we came home form the first class, Colin told me he wanted to go. I didn't even think to ask him because 1. I would've had to wake him up early and 2. it's a class for 8 - 18 month olds. So...Big Brother C attended the 2nd class. Aunt Gina came too and I am so glad she did! I sure did appreciate an extra set of hands for pics and both of the kids.

Jan. 28

After class, we went to McDonald's for breakfast and Happy Meal toys.  

The 3rd class was fun too! Daddy was finally able to come attend!

Feb. 4

We discussed keeping Ava enrolled in The Little Gym classes but decided to wait until the summer.

Rookie 6 Yankees practice {1}

The spring baseball season has already strarted...well practice anyway...and Colin is SO EXCITED!

The games won't start until after spring break so we are holding practice on Mon, Wed, and Sat.

We couldn't practice this Saturday on our regular field because of all of the rain so Pete and I rented a tunnle at Dan's Place/ The Zone  so the boys could get some hitting practice in.

Pete and I are more than thankful that we can volunteer and support Colin's baseball season career.

Colin: 6 years, Ava: 18 months

The kids had their well-checks on Jan. 25 with Dr. B.
Usually Ava starts crying as soon as he walks into the room but this time...NO TEARS! She was so brave!

Ava Rose @ 18 months:
32 inches tall
26 lbs 12 oz
75th% in both areas!

Colin was such a good big brother! He kept telling Ava to not be nervous and that we were here just to get a check up! When it came time for his exam, he wasn't so brave. He LOVES Dr. B and his staff, he was just scared about getting a shot. And in fact, he did have to get a TB shot. Even though we all explained to him (a million times) that it will only hurt a little bit, he was still apprehensive about it. Overall...he did OK.

Colin James @ 6 years old:
48 inches tall
57 lbs
90th% in both areas!

Seriously...she copies EVERYTHING he does!

I promise we are not giving him any muscle growth hormones....

We stopped by Chic Fil A afterwards for an ice cream treat!

When did my kids get so BIG?!?!

Colin's Kinder Korner: the 100th day of Kindergarten!

Colin and the rest of SSE celebrated the 100th day of school on February 1st. This is a HUGE event for Kindergarten! We celebrate every 10th day of school and have a super hero named ZERO the HERO.

So every 10th day, Colin and I would talk about ZERO and what she/he taught them that day! The most exciting 10th day of all is the 100th day!

Colin's school sent home a few home assignments for the 100th day and we were happy to participate! We were to make a t-shirt with 100 items on it. Yes, 100 ITEMS ACTUALLY ON THE SHIRT! There was a lot of brainstorming goin' on around here and we finally came up with 100 wiggle eyes. Mommy glued them in Zero shapes (also known as circles), in groups of ten (per request of Colin himself). And as you all know, Ava had to be involved 100%. She "chose" 100 ladybug spots for her shirt. The morning of, she counted them in the cutest little voice! (I have a video and will upload it soon). We finished the shirts with days to spare so we took a few pics before the big day!

Colin's other assignment was to count 100 items for a collection and bring it to school for an in-class project. Once again, there was a lot of discussion...we went from pennies, to toys, popsicles, puzzle pieces, to (finally) skittles. If you know Colin AT ALL, you are NOT surprised that he chose some sort of candy. Mommy...the Kindergarten teacher...helped C sort and count his collection. This was another fun activity to assist Colin in! When he was finished, he counted the skittles by 1s and 10s several times and ate 23 a few in between. (I also have a video of him but it's on the regular video camera.)

Mommy was able to spend some time at SSE's 100th day of school! I am so happy that I was able to attend such a fun day and spend time with Colin and his classmates! His teacher set up her classroom in 10 different 100th day stations for the students to rotate around. Colin wanted me to stay with him every step of the way but I volunteered for the estimation station and had to walk to the different Kinder classes and guess which bag had 100 items in it. The stations were in 10 minutes intervals so I was able to work with my group then have a few minutes to be with C at each of his. He was so excited about the 100th day stations/party!  

As you entered the Kinder hallway, there was this sign! What a great spot for pictures!

(Mommy made a 100 ladybug shirt too!)

When Colin came home from school, Daddy and I had a surprise waiting for him to celebrate his 100th day of school! He spotted it from across the kitchen and ran to the table. He loved every part of his gift...especially the 100 coins! He counted them over and over to make sure there WERE 100! I guess he didn't believe us. He was happy to see the 100 on his cake, the Stampede, and the 100 piece puzzle. He was even more excited when I reminded him that the horses were for the Stanley Stampede. :) Ava dove in ate the cake and also enjoyed reading Happy 100th Day! for the bed time story of the night.



I can't say it enough...I was so so so happy that I was able to spend such a special day with my favorite 6 year old! I hope the memories are with both of us forever!

a curtain of hearts

We decorate the inside of our house for every holiday and no with just store bought items. I enjoy getting my crafty juices flowing and creating life long memories with the kids. For Thanksgiving, we made a Thankful Tree, and for Valentine's Day we made a Curtain of Hearts. 

This is the first year, we've tried this and, if I do say so myself, it turned out SO SWEET! Both Colin and Ava have so much love to give and they are still so young! When I told them to write down who or what they love on each heart...they could not stop! As they were writing and coloring, we talked about all the people we love and why. Colin is so sweet... When I wrote the heart for Aunt Nicki and Aunt Gina, he read it and said "Oh yes...I REALLY do LOVE them!" my heart just melted!

We made Daddy nervous when we were coloring and writing on the floor but no worries...we didn't get any marker on the floor or the books we were using as our clipboards!

Ava went to bed before the project was finished but the next morning she saw the curtain of hearts and LOVED it! She pointed and told us all about what she thought! Colin was very strategic and careful while hanging the ribbon because he didn't want them to fall. He takes such good care of his work. :) One of the ribbons came very close to the nightlight we have in the hallway and Colin said, "Mommy, that is DANGEROUS...we need to move that light!". And now the nightlight has a new home. Thank you, fire-marshall Willetts!

Our list of love:

mommy, daddy, ava, mi self (as C spelled it), oscar, nonnie and papa, grandma and papa, aunt nicki, aunt gina, uncle andrew, aunt janeen, derek, uncle jamie, aunt melissa, parker (which was C's first heart!), emily, SSE, RPC, the houston texans, baseball, mommy loves daddy, ms. kendall (from ava), ms. hlinak (from colin), evan, carter, michael, mikayla, liam, olivia, collin, cooper, chloe, maddie, and colton, ava loves elmo

Ava's curtain pics were taken a few days after the finished project. Seriously...could she be ANY MORE PRECIOUS!

Check back soon for more valentine's day fun!

Love,

The Willetts

xoxo

groundhog day 2012

So, I guess it looks like we are getting 6 more weeks of winter. We won't complain because our "winter" has been non-existent...If you call 70 to 80 degree temps, "winter", I'll take it!

I printed out Groundhog badges for the family and Colin read a groundhog book before bed (Ava missed out because she goes to bed too early).

It surprised me how involved he wanted to be in Groundhog day. He was asking questions and trying to reaffirm that Spring was still 6 weeks away. I think he was worried about starting baseball because we keep telling him that we start baseball in the Spring. LOL.

Hope the warm winter means a "cool" summer!...