Two-Wheeler

Last weekend we took Tyler out to try to ride his bike without training wheels. We weren't sure how it was going to go as sometimes he takes things with no problems and other times he says he wants to try something and then changes his mind. I am happy to say he did very well. We started off in the grass and after a few times when Justin let go Tyler kept riding! Then we went up to the sidewalk area of the park. He did very well at one point and rode a long way by himself. However he forgot how brake and ran right into some bleachers (see the video).  He did get back and try some more, but he wanted to mostly work on braking at that point. We are still working on braking and he has yet to get on and start by himself for he did very well for his first time. I just wish we had a better area at home for him to practice more. Hopefully we can get up to the park again this weekend and have him practice some more.

1st Day of Kindergarten

Well the day finally came - the 1st day of Kindergarten. At first I was most anxious for Tyler, worried that he would be scared to death, but quickly learned I should be more concerned for Justin and I. On Tuesday Tyler got to go to his classroom, meet his teacher, and turn in his school supplies.  He was so excited to go and showed no signs of anxiousness when we got there. He loved looking at his whole classroom, and found his spot right away. Which according to him, is the perfect spot because he can see everything. He also liked that his room has computers in it and the playground in right outside his door.  Justin and I were both amazed at how well he was doing. That night we got his backpack ready and he helped me pack his lunch. He went to bed pretty easily after Justin cuddled with him (he was missing Carter who was with Nana and Bapa).

On Wednesday we got up nice and early and Justin made him pancakes for breakfast. Carter was with Nana and Bapa still, so we loaded Tyler, Nolan, and Olivia up and headed off for the first day of school. When we got there he didn't want to play on the playground, just hang out with me. Although he didn't really seem that nervous either. He stood in line where they are suppose to line up and went in with no problems. He waved bye, blew me a kiss and then he was gone. Justin and I on the other hand had a few tears once we were home. When we picked him up he had a big smile on his face and had he had a great day. He did have an accident at the end of the day, because he was to nervous to tell his teacher. He didn't really remember an of his friends names, but one boy did have a cool Star Wars towel. He did fine at lunch and ate most of the things we packed for him. He said he had a great day and wanted to go back - a good sign I would say! I still can't believe I have a Kindergartner, one who is gone from me as much of the day as he is with me - 6.5 hours is a long time! But mostly he amazed me with how grown up he has become. The fact that he went right in with no problems just tells Justin and I we made the right choice by holding him back a year. I love that he has so much confidence and I couldn't be more proud of my boy.

Last Tee-Ball Game

On Monday the boys had their last game of the season. While they have a ton of fun I must admit I am glad to have our nights back. I must say though, the last game was the best game. Both boys have improved over the season. Hitting the ball harder and fielding better. Carter still doesn't really field but by the last game he would occasionally run after the ball and he at last stayed out there the whole time with no complaints. His favorite part was the snacks at the end and the running thru the tunnel the parents made with their hands.  Tyler loved every part and I loved him watching him cheer on every teammate and just being so positive out there. He was really improved and during the last game he was playing first. He actually caught the ball while he was standing on first, so if outs counted in tee ball he would have created his first out (it was also a first for the team). Very exciting and he knew he had did great too and was so excited. Even more exciting - the news was there and we will be the game of the week next week. I hope that I can get a link to it off once its aired.  We will see who plays next year. they will once again be in different divisions and Carter isn't so sure about playing without Tyler. We have a year to convince him at least.

Lost Tooth

Besides being our nation's birthday it was also a big day at the Pederson's house on the 4th for another reason. Tyler lost his first tooth! It had only been loose for a couple of days and at breakfast it fell right out. When he first noticed it was loose he got very scared and didn't like it at all. However Toby, who has already lost a tooth, explained to him that it would be fine, he got over it and was pretty excited about it. He was also excited that the tooth fairy came and gave him a dollar. I just can't believe my baby boy is big enough to lose teeth already!

1st Race

On Friday night Tyler and Carter were in their first running race. Tyler has been asking to be in one for a while and I found a kid running club that did races so we signed them up. It was a half mile trail race at Bear Creek Park. The boys had a ton of fun (for the most part) and we found out that a few friends from Tyler's class and from Carter's class were running in it too! We got there a little early to register them and they got their numbers pinned on. The boys ran around some and then we walked the course so they knew were to go. I got as little worried at that point because its a true half mile and towards the end of us walking it Tyler was saying he was tired. However once we were done walking it we found his friends and they were so excited to go wait at the starting line. They sounded the horn and the boys were off. Justin and I walked over to the finish line and waited for our boys to appear. Tyler got 7th out of 35 preschool boys with a time of 4:35. He did great and didn't even seem tired when he finished, but was excited to get his lemonade and snacks and his ribbon. We then waited for Carter, which seem to take awhile. I started getting nervous when he finally came in sight, holding a lady's hand. Once he saw us he let go of her hand and finished strong. He finished 30 out of 35 with a time of 6:58. But then he told us what happened - he fell and hurt his hand. He was totally fine, but I guess a little tired because he cried a bout it for the next half hour, refusing to let us clean it or anything. Once he finally got a band-aid on it he was fine again and says he wants to run again next week. We are hoping to make it, but we do leave for Maryland very early Saturday morning so we will have to see. Either way we are very proud of how they did during their first race. Tyler for doing his best and running the whole time, and Carter for getting up and finishing. Even if we can't do next week I am sure we will try to find more this summer to get them involved in.

Scooter and the Park

Daddy surprised all of us on Monday night by getting home early. Because it was so beautiful out we took the opportunity to head to the park so the boys could practice their scooters. Nolan also got his first ride on the swings at the par. He loved swinging giggling the whole time! The boys are getting better and better at their scooters as well and seem to love to ride on them. This is great to see from Carter especially, as we can never get him to even try to ride his bike for more than a minute or two.

First Tournament

(So I thought I had posted this about 3 weeks ago - oops!)

On Saturday Tyler had his first wrestling tournament. Justin and I were both unsure if he would really be ready for it, but all his coaches encouraged us to go and he wanted to go so we decided to go for it. We couldn't be more proud of how well he did! He was actually placed in the 4 and under age group because he doesn't quite weigh enough for the 6 and under age groups smallest weight class. His first match he did very well, and took the kid down right away. We were worried he would be nervous and just stand there, but he didn't at all. He won his first two matches and then lost his last one. The kid that beat him on the last match was more experienced than any of the other kids in the division. He had a lot more moves than Tyler did. However Tyler hung in there til the very end and never gave up. This kid pinned all his other opponents (just a side note - its very hard for them to call a pin at this age, they don't do it unless one kid is obviously in total control of the match), but not Tyler. He told Justin at the end of his match he was pretending to be a police officer and the other wrestler was a bad guy so he had to keep going to wrestle him down. Tyler ended up with a silver medal, which he hasn't taken off since. He had a ton of fun and we couldn't be more proud of how well he did- way to go bud!

5 Months!

Nolan you are 5 months old and have grown so much this month! Not only can you roll tummy to back, but now you can roll back to tummy. You love that you can do this because now you can get yourself onto your tummy to fall asleep. You also sleep longer because of it, taking up to 2 hour naps and going 12 hours at night without a dream feed. We put you to bed between 7-7:30 and you are not up for the day until 7 am! You do wake up once for your pacifier, but it doesn't take you long to fall back to sleep. Hopefully that will soon pass as well since you can now also put your own pacifier in your mouth when you want to.
Besides rolling you also learned how to sit up all on your own! You love playing with this new perception on the world. You love to play with your taggy elephant, any rattle, books, and your sitting up music toy.  You found your toes as well so you love to grab at those. You love watching your brothers play and giggle whenever they come by and talk to you. You also love to jump up and down with mommy and daddy's help and pull on mommy's hair. Your favorite thing to do when you are tired is to hold onto some of my hair with one hand, while digging your face into my chest or shoulder.
You love to eat your oatmeal. You get that one or two times a day and get 4 bottles of 6 ounces of formula everyday. I am excited to start you on fruits and veggies in a few weeks.  It seems to me that you have filled out some since starting on your oatmeal. You now have rolls in your legs and are starting to get bigger checks like your big brothers had. You are such a happy, easy going baby. Only getting fussy when your tired or hungry. We are so blessed to have you and love you soooo much!

Tyler Reads!!!!!

One of the Christmas presents we got Tyler this year was the first set of Bob Books. I highly recommend these books. I had Tyler start reading the first one right away and he started sounding out each letter and reading the book. Each book gets a little more difficult with more sight words and more sounds, but he has been progressing along beautifully. He is remembering the words from the previous books and getting better and better with each new book. I LOVE this. Hearing him read for the first time was just awesome! I am so proud of my little reader!

Food!!!!!

Nolan got to try rice cereal for the first time today. It was quite the messy experience and the big boys thought it was hilarious how much he would spit out. However by then end of it he was opening his mouth for the spoon and had learned how to get it back in his mouth to swallow it. I think he even liked it. After a few days of this we will go to barley and then to oatmeal, which Carter is excited about. Carter loves oatmeal and thinks its neat that Nolan gets to eat baby oatmeal with him.

First Flight

Last Saturday we got news that my Uncle Steve had passed away. Thanks to Oma and Opa, Nolan and I were able to go out for the services.Nana came in on Tuesday night to help out with Tyler and Carter and on Wednesday Justin and I got up very early to make our 6 a.m. flight in Denver. Nolan did great on the flights! On both flights on the way there the planes were only half full so he was able to stay in his car seat. The first flight he slept the majority of the time and the second flight we was awake but happy. Once we got there we were picked up by Oma and Nolan was very happy to show off his smiles. From there we went to the dinner with my other uncles and then the visitation and rosary. Nolan was a little fussy but went to sleep while people talked about Uncle Steve, so at least he knew when to be good. Nolan slept well in the hotel room which I was very happy about. On Thursday morning Nolan and I both slept in a little and then went to the service. Once again Nolan did great and slept thru the entire thing not making a sound. He then got fussy at the luncheon, but after a nice nap in the hotel room he was his happy self again.

From there we went over to Flint to see Great Oma. Nolan once again showed off his smiles. We met up with My Aunt Janet, Uncle Amos and my mom's cousin Paula as well for dinner. It was great to catch up with everyone. On Friday we went over to my Aunt Paulette's house so we could spend more time with her and my cousins. Even though it was for a horrible reason I am so thankful Nolan and I got to go and spend time with my family during this time and remember my Uncle. Nolan did awesome once again on the flight home. He again had his own seat and slept the whole time despite it leaving an hour late. Justin picked us up at the airport and we came home where I was excited to see my big boys. I am told they did very well for Nana, who I am also thankful for her coming so Justin could still go to work while I was gone. They went to school as usual and did lots of puzzles and games. Tyler also showed off at wrestling for Nana. Always happy to hear that they behaved themselves!

One Month Appointment

On Tuesday Nolan had his one month appointment. The doctor said he is very strong and doing just perfect. His stats are - weight - 9 lbs 10 oz, 75th percentile, height - 21 in, 50th percentile, and his head circumference is also the 50th percentile. He is much more alert during the day and he has started batting at his toys some, liking tummy time more, sitting up in his bumbo, and even gave us his first smile! His favorite thing to do however is stare at our brown curtains.

New Room

This past weekend we moved the boys to the downstairs bedroom. So far they are loving it. The first couple nights we had to lay with them to get them to fall asleep (they kept playing) but ever since then they have been fine. As of now they are just sharing the full bed. We will probably get them bunk beds eventually, but right now they don't seem to mind sharing. Their favorite part is getting to have quiet time together. This pretty much means Carter isn't napping anymore, but he was showing signs of dropping that anyway. They love having their table in there to color, do puzzles, and legos on. In fact today when quiet time was over they told me they wanted to stay in there and keep playing. We also made their closet to their height so they can get dressed all by themselves and even put all their own clothes away now. So far I would say this new arrangement is a success! The only problem we had was the first morning they woke up in their new room. They made quite the mess. Luckily so far this hasn't been repeated.

Growing Up

Tyler has been making his own peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while now. Carter decided he was old enough to do it as well. I must say for as messy as he usually is and for his first time he did a pretty good job. He is also totally potty trained, including nights, and has been for a few months now. He buckles himself in to his car seat all by himself and dresses himself without much assistance at all. He is very excited to move to the bedroom downstairs and sleep in a really bed. He starts swimming classes in a couple weeks (without Tyler) and he can't wait. I just can't believe how big my baby is getting. However I also know that when the newest member of the family joins us in just a few weeks he will seem even bigger.

Sleepover!

On Thursday morning the boys left with Nana and Bapa to go to their house for a couple days before Justin and I got there. They left no problem, just said "bye mommy!" as they waved goodbye from their car seats. I am told they behaved in the car and did just fine on the four hour trip. They stopped at Denny's for lunch (a first for the boys) where they got baseball shaped pancakes. They stopped in Gunnison on the way to Montrose and played with their cousins. When they got to Montrose (almost 8:30) we called them and told them good night. About an hour later Tyler called back crying. We figured this might happen, but it still broke my heart. After some cuddles with Nana he feel asleep on his own. On Friday they went on some walks, some drives through the mountains, and some errands. Once again we were told they behaved very well. We assumed they would already be asleep by the time we got there, but they were still awake. They were very excited to see us and then went to sleep. I would say a successful first sleepover!

Nate the Great

For Christmas Todd and Jessie got us a four pack of tickets to see Nate the Great at the Pikes Peak Center. I was so excited to take the boys to their first play. We read the book before hand so the boys would know about the story. We arrived early, as their were lots of booths and activities for the boys to do. They both made Nate the Great masks, watched science experiments, and Carter did some gymnastics. When we went to out seats we saw that they were great - nice and close to the stage and also an aisle just in case. We talked to them about how to behave during the play and then it was time to start. The boys were mesmerized by it and Justin and I loved watching them watch it. Carter got scared at one part where there was a big cat and asked to go home. As soon as the scene was over however he was fine again. The big cat part was Tyler's favorite part of the play. After the play was over all the kids got a special snack of milk and cookies. It was a great night and a lot of fun. We are already talking about what play we will take them to next. Thanks Todd and Jessie!!

First Day

Well it's here. It's something I had been dreading and was very bittersweet for sure. It came and it went, and I am in awe once again of how big my baby is. Tyler had his very first first day of school. When I got him from his room this morning his first words to me were "mom I don't want to go to preschool". Luckily the attitude turned around and he was excited to go. Since I was working this morning he spent a little while in my classroom before it was time to go. He kept asking when it would be time and when it finally was time I have never seen him get up so fast. When we got there he said a very quiet hi to his teacher and then asked me to stay for a little bit. As soon as I brought him over to the airplanes he was fine for me to go. I was so proud of how big he was being, I however shed a few tears. When Carter and I picked him (Carter was more excited than me to get him) I was told he had a great first day. Seeing him come out of his classroom cause a few more teary eyes on my part, but he told me he liked preschool and wanted to go back. I have heard bits about his day, but it comes at odd times. I am hoping we will be able to get into a routine where I can hear everyday detail and it will be that way to his very last first day of school. A mom can dream right?

Ice Age

On Tuesday we took the boys to their very first movie in a theater. We have been wanting to do this for a while but there haven't been movies that I thought the boys would like but not get scared at. I did have some apprehension with Ice Age 3, but the boys did very well. They got to sit in little boosters seats and each got a kid pack of popcorn, lemonade and a little candy. They did a great job of being quiet during the movie - only Tyler asked a couple questions. With about 20 minutes of the movie left Carter did fall asleep, but I would call it a success! Tyler liked his kid pack so much he ate every bite. When we was done with it he handed me the empty tray. He then started getting out of his seat. When I asked him what he was doing he told me he had dropped two pieces. He didn't complain when I told him he couldn't have them off the floor, but man does this boy like his treats.

Bust

A couple weekends ago we got both boys bikes at garage sales. Ever since then they have been begging us to go ride their bikes. Since we live on a somewhat busy street we thought the best place to go to practice would be the park. We weren't sure how it would go, as Tyler never peddles his trike or any other ride on toy with peddles. After Tyler did one full peddle of his bike (about 15 seconds after hopping on) he got off and said he was done. Carter followed Tyler's lead and said he was done to. He barely even had his helmet on at this point. We tried with no success to get them back on their bikes. Tyler then wanted to run (his favorite activity) and we let them until Carter decide not to come back and park time was immediately over. Hopefully in a couple months we can try again and have some success (really anything would be better than this time).

Like A Fish....Sorta

When we go to Maryland this summer we are going to go to the beach for the first time. Tyler still has some issues in the bathtub with water and we don't want him terrified of the ocean so we figured it would help to give him some lessons. Tyler has taken mommy and me lessons before, but now that he is three he will go in the pool with just his teacher. He will have 10 lessons Monday-Friday for two weeks. At first I thought that would be way to intense, but it worked out that he would be done right before we leave so we are giving it a try. He will be in a class with about 4 or 5 other kids.

He had his first lesson last night. He was so excited before hand and it's all he could talk about. We got there a little early so he could watch the another lesson. He just wanted in the water and to see who his teacher was. When it was time for his class I took him over and while a little timid at first he never looked back. At first we didn't even want to sit down in the water but warmed up quickly. His favorite part was throwing a ring and then crawling in the foot of water to get the ring. He also worked on blowing bubbles, kicking, and jumping in the water to the teacher. He did have a hard time listening to the teacher and he kept swimming (crawling) off so I am hopeful he will do better in that area today. He is so excited to go back again! Carter did pretty well just watching and then was excited to go to the park with Justin during the second half of the lesson. We keep telling him that soon enough he will get to take the lessons as well.