2013 Thompson Update

I just don't see how months and months go by in between my blogs. :) Winter, Christmas, Kingston and Jason's birthday has all passed since my last post. Since it's been almost a year let me catch the blog world up on what's been going on with us...

Christmas this year was so much fun as the kids were old enough to enjoy sledding in the snow, putting out cookies for Santa, baking a birthday cake for Jesus, and loving every gift that they opened. Jason and I only buy three gifts each for the kids to represent the three wise men and their gifts but they open up many more from friends and family and thinks it's the best thing ever. This was our Christmas card.

Another big "first" for us this Christmas was that both the kids were in the church Christmas program. They did such a good job. I was one proud mama!! And to this day, we still get to sing the songs in the car...since Jingle Bells is now Callie's favorite song. :)

Can you see Callie in the center behind the blonde little girl with the black and blue dress on? Kingston is right behind Callie.

We also adopted two French bulldogs, Oscar and Lola. They are the sweetest dogs and are so good with the kids. Oscar is 10 and Lola is 5 so they are some old lazy dogs...and that's what we like. The kids love to hug on them and play with them. Lola loves to play fetch and will bring back the toy so the kids have a good time doing that with her. She will fetch about 10 times and then she's done for...so perfect for the attention span of a toddler...LOL!

Oscar

 

Lola

Lola and Oscar

Kingston celebrated  his 4th birthday in February. I cannot believe that he is four already. He is growing into such a sweet young man. He had a construction themed birthday party and had five of his friends over for his first "no-parents" party...well besides me and another mom. They had a great time decorating construction hats, taking pictures in the bulldozer cut out and playing 'construction' with his friends. I made the cake and the decorations and enjoyed every minute of it. :) Yes, it takes a lot of time but it's so worth it. One day they will look back and appreciate the effort we put into making their day special. As always on his actual birthday Daddy took him to the Children's Museum and then we all went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and games. He had a lot of fun!

Our 4 year old

Kingston and his buddies

Kingston also finished up his first year of preschool at Messiah Lutheran. He loves it there and asks everyday when he gets to go back. He learned so much and his teacher Mrs. Amato was so wonderful. I am excited for him to start back up in August for his second and LAST year of preschool...and then I will have a kindergartner..AHHHH! Not only is he doing well with his learning as he is now writing his name and his sister's name, he can understand the sounds of letters, can count to 40, and knows all his shapes, he loves to play with legos, cars, trains, puzzles, MY IPHONE, and anything that resembles a sword. He definitely is all boy and will turn into a Power Ranger at any moment and fight you, "the Nylock". This summer he began riding his bike with training wheels which is so nice now that I don't have to stand behind him and push...LOL. Jason finally gave in and cut his hair...thank goodness!! He has been and is still rockin a way cool Mohawk. :)

The birthday boys

His classmates at preschool

Miss Callie is growing into such a sweet, stubborn young lady. She is now 2 1/2 and is very independent. She is potty trained now (well except for going poo...she is scared to go in the toilet and asks for a pull up so she can go). She will also start preschool in August as well. She will be in the 2s class because of her late August birthday. She is turning into a little girl right before my eyes. She loves her baby dolls and playing tea. She loves putting on my makeup and getting her nails painted. I can't wait to have spa days with her when she is older. Her imagination is great. She plays 'mommy' and 'kid' all the time. She loves to sing and dance. Her favorite stories are The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. She goes around and sings "who's afraid of the big bad wolf" all of the time. Both her and Kingston took gymnastics for a couple of sessions, and she is a great little gymnasts. She loves to do flips and swing on things...LOL. She will be 3 in August, and we plan to have a Minnie Mouse themed party. Of course, I've already began planning and making the invitations...hey you can never start too soon. :)

Mother's Day

Future gymnast

This summer is a busy one for the Thompsons. We have a lot of traveling going on...a few trips to Evansville, a few trips to Michigan, family reunion in Ohio and then in September we are going to DISNEY WORLD!!! The kids are super excited and so am I. Jason is staying busy as well. He is still at American Funds but started a landscaping business a few months back. He is hoping to pick up a few commercial jobs and either go part time or quit all together. Check out his website www.patriotlandscapingllc.com. I have been at my job now for about 1 1/2 years. It is still going really well, and I am very fortunate to have such a flexible job. I am able to work from home two days a week during the school year so that I can take the kids to preschool. Things are going really well and we are very blessed!

Easter 2013

Until next time...

~Sarah

Wow...really, almost a year!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted a blog. Time really does fly and life with two toddlers really is super busy! :) Well...where to begin? The kids are amazing. Kingston is 3 1/2 and is growing into such a little young man. He started preschool in August and absolutely loves it! He's so smart. I can tell he's already learning so much there. He writes his letters and is starting to understand what sounds go with what letters.The preschool also has dedicated "Jesus time", which is so important for us that he has that. We also enrolled him in gymnastics a few months ago. It is so good for him and his sensory issues. I love watching him interact with the kids and his teacher, Ms. Jill. Callie just turned 2 last month and is full of fire. I joke and say that if we would have had her first, she'd be the only one...LOL. She is such a DIVA and so strong willed. She makes me laugh everyday because with every stubborn moment of hers comes a sweet encounter with her too. It's so funny to see the difference between the two. She is all about her baby dolls and tea parties. She loves to "put on" makeup when I am in the bathroom putting mine on. She loves to get her toenails painted. She is so girly but a tom boy at the same time. She loves to play next to "bubby" with his trucks and pwer rangers. She is talking in full sentences now and goes to the potty on a regular basis. I think she will be fully potty trained by 2 1/2...thank the Lord, as it took Kingston til 3 years and a few months. They say girls are easier to train and I think that will be the case with us. I love watching the two of them together. They love each other so much and it's awesome to see them exhibit that.

Jason and I are doing well also. I started a new job in March. I was blessed with an opportunity to find a job that pays more and has more flexibility. I'm able to work from home whenever I want which allows me to be able to take and pick up Kingston from school. It's hard transitioning from something that you've been in for so long but I'm slowly getting there. Jason is still at American Funds but is looking into starting his own lawn care business.

I will have to come on here and update the blog with some pictures over the last year...but here are a couple that we just had taken.

Until my next post...which won't be another year!

Fall with the Thompsons

Fall is my favorite season! We took the kiddos to Stoney Creek Farms for some Fall fun and pumpkin picking. Halloween this year was fun. Kingston got into it this year. When you would ask him what he was going to be, he'd say "fireman" and then if you asked him what Callie was going to be, he'd say "dalmatian". We spruced up their wagon with our local fire station # and took them down to the fire house. Kingston loved it. Every year, they have an open house and the kids can sit in the firetruck. Callie could have cared less but she was still the cutest little dalmatian. ;)




The holidays are fast approaching. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. We cook up so much food! This will be Callie's first Thanksgiving where she will be able to really enjoy the food. She is getting so big. She is almost 15 months. She is FINALLY getting a couple teeth on the top...not her front two but the two that would be next to her two front teeth (if she had them). We were beginning to wonder if the rest of her teeth were going to come in...as she has been sporting only the bottom three for quite some time!

She says so many words now. Her favorite is of course "no"...but she says it in this little sweet voice and shakes her head at the same time. It really is adorable. She loves, loves, loves her brother. She also loves anything he has and she isn't afraid to take it. She is going to be our bully of the two I think...LOL.

Kingston is doing well too. Gaining weight slowly, but is gaining so that is all we can ask for. It still is a struggle everyday with eating but we have learned a lot from his OT. He will continue meeting with him until he turns 3 and then ages out of the program. He is really into Cars, Thomas the Train, and any type of car/bus/train toys. He loves to watch movies. His current favorites are Cars, Lion King, Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. We have started the huge endeavor of potty training...hopefully we will have it down within the next two months! (fingers crossed)

Jason and I are doing great...staying busy with two toddlers!!

Kingston dancing

Kingston's fascination is with Dora and Diego these days. Episodes of Dora are available on our On Demand. Well before each episode, a video of the Fresh Beat Band plays. Kingston LOVES it and will dance and sing during the entire thing. Here he is singing as much as he usually does, but he was getting into it! :)

Callie is 1

Callie turned the big "1" on August 30th! I can't believe how time goes by so quickly. Just a year ago, I was on bed rest and doing everything possible to keep her inside of me. This past year has been such a joy for Jason and I. It is bittersweet for me knowing that this will be the "last" 1st birthday we will be celebrating. I really enjoyed planning for Sis's birthday. We did a ladybug theme and it was ladybug mania from the decorations to her ladybug dress, bathing suit, and hair bow. :) Jason did a fabulous job on the cake, as always. Callie is so blessed to have spent her birthday with so many wonderful family and friends. Kingston enjoyed it too. He still is singing happy birthday to her!

Callie is walking now....not the most steady of walks, but walking none the less. She will hold up her index finger when you ask her if she is 1. She says mama, dada, and a few other unrecognizable words. She LOVES to dance. As soon as any music comes on, she is wiggling her arms and jumping up and down. She is such a joy! She also is already getting a little sassy attitude and is somewhat over dramatic....already!!! If you tell her NO or don't let her have something, she goes into a hysteric "cry". And then stops seconds later like nothing was ever wrong...dramatic! :)

Her 1 yr well child visit went well. She was 41% for her weight (19lb 4oz) and 25% for her height (28.5 in)...and of course following Thompson suit....88% for her head. Dang, I have some SMART kids! :)

First half of 2011

I know I said it last post but man time sure does fly. 2011 has been a blessed year for us so far. The kids are growing like weeds! Kingston is almost 2 1/2. He is so amazing! It seems like every day he tells me something new that he has learned. He had a great 2nd birthday. No blizzard this year. :) We had a Michigan football themed party. Jason made his cake in the shape of a football on a football field. It was a great party. He still loves Thomas and Sprout but his new obsession is Dora, Diego, and Toy Story 3. He yells "movie time" and we know it's time to watch Toy Story. He watches it every night...literally! He switched sitters in April. We were sad to leave Dana's but she started taking daytime classes so she was no longer able to watch them. Kingston and Callie now go to a lady that lives in the neighborhood behind us so that is nice! Kingston is a smart little guy...if I do say so myself. :) He knows his alphabet. He can say it and recognize all the letters. He can count to 20. He can spell his name. He knows colors and shapes. He loves to color and blow bubbles. He sings all kinds of songs. HIs favorites are the B-I-B-L-E song, Jesus loves me and the Wheels on the bus. And my favorite...he can recite a couple bible verses. He is also an amazing "big" brother! He loves Callie and you can tell how much Callie loves him. It's so sweet watching them two.

Callie may be the younger sibling, but before long she is going to be bigger than Kingston. She is definitely my "healthy" eater. It is like night and day between the two. Callie is 10 months old and is into everything. She started crawling at 9 months and has been on the move ever since. She thinks she can walk and will try to "walk" to wherever...she gets frustrated because she obviously falls so I have a feeling it won't be long. I love, love, love having a little girl! She is just so sweet. She waves bye-bye, says da-da, sometimes ma-ma, and can sign "more". We transitioned her from breastfeeding at 7 months to formula. She did well with the transition and is eating table food now also. Callie's eyes lights up when Kingston comes in the room. She loves to play with him...however Kingston has a problem with sharing so it sometimes causes some fight...the first of many I'm sure!

Jason and I are doing well. I'm finished with the Transition to teaching program and Jason will be applying for law school in the next few months. Prayers for our changes in career paths would be greatly appreciated!

Where does the time go?

As Christmas time is fast approaching, I can't believe that Callie is already 3 months and in a few months Kingston will be 2!! I'm sure time is flying because we are staying extremely busy with an active toddler and an infant who requires so much attention. Kingston has really adjusted well to being a big brother. He loves to give her kisses and "pat" her. He also loves to sit in her swing and play with her toys. He is always saying "Hi Calwee". It's weird, I can already see Callie looking at her big brother with those "you better protect me" eyes.

Kingston will be two in February and is a feisty little guy. He is talking all the time. He loves to sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and the ABC song. He can count...somewhat :) and recognizes a few letters and numbers. We are working with him on potty training. He first went a few months ago at the sitters. She has kind of walked us through the process as neither one of us have had any experience in potty training. He loves Thomas the Train, Elmo, and really anything on Sprout. He is eating a little better these days. We have had to see a feeding team at Riley the last 6 months or so. He's a tiny little guy but is slowly gaining.

Miss Callie is 3 months old and is so precious. She is cooing and loves to be talked to. I am still breastfeeding her and it is going great...even with going back to work. She does well transitioning from the bottle to me. She sleeps somewhat through the night now. She is such a good baby and rarely fusses....complete opposite of her when she was about 3 weeks old. She went through a mild bout of colic for a few weeks and Jason and I thought we were going to lose it. We are so glad that little hiccup is over with!!

Jason is studying to take the LSAT and hopefully will be applying for law school in the next few years. I will be finished with the Transition to Teaching program in May 2011 and hope to get a teaching job sometime in the near future...at least by the time the kids are in school. So needless to say we stay pretty busy...but wouldn't have it any other way!!