Montessori Home - Toddler Community

I can't believe it is almost 2011. To me 2011 means I head back to work. I have decided to return to work part time (35 hours a week which in the Public Accounting world means 75%). By working 35 hours a week I am able to keep 100% of my benefits and I don't have to work 55+ hours a week during January - April.

You are all probably wondering what the plan is for the kiddos when I return to work. I realized a few weeks ago that it is still really tough for one person to watch both of the kids by themselves for an extended period of time (more than 3 to 4 hours).

We have decided to do a combination of child care and at home care (aka Nonie, Mommy and Daddy watching the kiddos at home). For child care, Pennington is going to attend Montessori Home twice a week.

Below is some information about the Montessori Home.

The website is http://montessorihome.net.

Montessori Home provides a loving Montessori Toddler Community for ages 13-36 months. They try to keep a 1:5 teacher/toddler ratio during active times; which allows them to spend time with each child individually, as well as in the group.

The toddler years are the time when each individual lays the foundation of their future social, spiritual, and intellectual development. As Montessori put it "the child makes the man" he will become.

Montessori Home strives to provide the "perfect place for toddlers" while parents take care of necessary business, or just take "a breather". At Montessori Home the toddlers are well cared for, with healthy food, having fun with friends, and learning. Their time at "school" is valuable and stimulating, a time for exploration and discovery.

The school follows Montessori's methods of Education for Peace, "teaching" respect for self and others; activities exercise toddler's skills of cooperation and collaboration. All leading to development of high self esteem in every member of the community.

Two of the children that went to Music Together and one child that goes to Little Gym with us are at Montessori Home. All of the parents had wonderful things to say about the school. We are super excited for Pennington to start school the first part of January. Stay tuned for pictures and stories of Pennington at school.

Little Leos

Both of my kiddos are Leos. A good friend of mine told me once that she was told they are the hardest to raise but the most fun. I can definitely agree with that. We have several family members that are Leos (Great Grandpa Larry (aka Papa), Great Grandma Melba, Great Grandpa Jess, Uncle Ben, Uncle Rocky, and several other second cousins and Great Uncles (Bryan, Matt, Robecca, Touy, ect). I really meant to take this photo of Piper in her Leo shirt when she was eight weeks old but to be honest I totally forgot. She also would have probably been drowning in it at 8 weeks. Below is a picture of Piper in her Leo shirt at ~ 17 weeks old.

Here is a picture of Pennington in the same shirt at ~8 weeks old. I think you can definitely tell they are siblings.

Daddy's 29th Birthday

Daddy turned 29 years old on December 14th. I think Poppy said it well when he wrote the following in Daddy's birthday card:

Johnny,

So Tomorrow you officially begin the last year as a twenty something. In the last ten years you beat cancer, got married, graduated from college and boot camp, and now you have TWO KIDS! Enjoy because the years starts to move even faster.

You're a great man!

Love, Craig

Below is a picture of Daddy getting ready to blow out the candles.

Piper Four Months Old

Wow! I feel like there is so much to say about Piper over the last month.

Motor Skills: She can roll from her back to her stomach pretty much every time you lay her on the floor. She is also starting to get her knees up under her bottom. She is also very good at holding her head up.

Social Skills: She laughed for the first time about a week ago. It was so cute. She loves smiling at you when you say her name.

Yes she is wearing a cat suit. Thanks Tamera and Kim!

Sleep: She is FINALLY sleeping in her crib. I won't lie I did have to do a bit of "sleep training" to accomplish this but it was well worth it. It took me a while to figure this out but Piper really enjoys being Swaddled and listening to the sounds of the Ocean when she sleeps. Since Pennington hated being Swaddled and would have probably woken up to the sounds of the Ocean I didn't think it would work for Piper. Boy was I wrong. Piper successfully sleeps in her crib until about 4 or 5 in the morning when she decides that she has had enough with her crib and wants to sleep with Mom. She is still waking up about two to three times a night. A few nights ago she sleep for 6 1/2 hours in her crib without waking up. She is also now taking naps in her crib. A few days ago she napped for 3 hours.

Feeding: Breastfeeding is going really well. We are still giving her around 2 to 6 ounces of formula a day. The reason for this is to make sure she will take a bottle when I go back to work on January 3rd. So far so good. She doesn't mind the formula or the bottle. Over the last week I was away from Piper three times for more than 5 hours at a time. Since I was gone for a long period of time I had to pump. As I expected, pumping is not going very well. I can hardly get anything. If I am lucky I will get two ounces a sitting. I am crossing my fingers that my milk supply will be able to hold up for a few more months.

Below is a recent photo of our little girl Piper.

Open Gym at Fort Boise

During the winter months on Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 11am at Fort Boise Community Center there is Open Gym. What is really awesome about Open Gym is that it only costs $1. Open Gym is exactly what it sounds like a big open gym. The gym has lots of balls, mats, cars, wagons, slides, ect for Toddlers to play with. Below are a few photos of Pennington at Open Gym.

Pennington Teaching Piper to Dance

This is a short video of Pennington teaching Piper to dance. The song I am singing is from Music Together. Pennington LOVES holding Piper's hands and teaching her to dance. I think Piper enjoys it as well.

Pennington 16 Months Old

Pennington turned 16 Months Old today. There are a few things that we would like to highlight about Pennington's development over the last month.

He can now get into EVERYTHING!!! He can open pretty much every draw, closet, door, cabinet, ect. The only doors that he can't open are the doors that go outside and the ones that are really hard for us adults to open. This has made it really challenging for us as parents to make sure he isn't getting into anything that is dangerous. This morning he climbed into our bathtub and poured shampoo all over himself. I think it is time that we re-evaluate how well we have child proofed the house.

At Little Gym he can walk across the balance beam with little assistance and can grab onto and swing from the low bar. He is also very close to being able to jump.

Dancing to music and making music is still one of his favorite things to do.

Below are some pictures of Pennington over the last month.

Pennington wearing goggles.

Making music with a pizza tray and a BBQ brush.

Riding around the house in his little red wagon.

Amazing Friends

Last night Johnny, Piper and I went to my dearest friend Becca Keller's house for our Annual Friends Holiday Party. "The Girls" decided to do something extra special for Johnny and I since we haven't gotten out very much at all since Piper was born. Becca, Kayla, Teresa, Mandy, Lindsay and Leah got together and purchased a Regal gift card for Johnny and I so that we could have a "Date Night". The best thing about the gift is that they all offered to watch Pennington and Piper when we go out on our Date Night. Thank you Ladies!!!! I love you all so much.

Hanukkah 2010

Hanukkah this year was in early December. Pennington LOVED listening to the blessings each night when we lit the candles. Since our children are still really young we didn't go all out and get eight gifts for each of them. Maybe next year. Below are a few pictures taken during the eight nights of Hanukkah.

Pennington on the first night of Hanukkah. Don't you just LOVE toddlers in the one piece pajamas.

Pennington at our extended family Hanukkah night. He LOVED pointing at the lit candles.

Pennington opening his gift from Nonie and Poppy.

Pennington at the synagogue Hanukkah Party. He pretended to play the piano with the band.

Nonie and Piper at the Hanukkah Tot Shabbat. Don't you just LOVE her green shoes. Thanks Emma!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

I know I know. I am super behind on blogging. So I am going to get you all caught up right now.

We had a wonderful Extended Family Thanksgiving at our house the Saturday before Thanksgiving. This included all of the relatives that live in town (all of my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and siblings) as well as Elliott's girlfriend Leasley and Johnny's bother Rocky and his girlfriend Shannon. Nonie did a fabulous job decorating the house and Johnny and Poppy did a wonderful job on cooking the turkey.

Papa and G.G with Piper.

On Thanksgiving Day our immediate family went to Jesikah's friend Moya's house. We really enjoyed Thanksgiving at Moya's because there were other children there as well all under the age of 15 months. Thank you Moya and Clint for the wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

This is a picture of the whole family at Moya and Clint's on Thanksgiving.

Baby Picture of Piper

I mentioned in an earlier posting that my OB gave us a free newborn photo sitting for Piper. Below is one of the photos from the sitting. Isn't she a doll?