It's Official....

We're excited to go home!

Making Headway

I have been on a mission to teach my boys how to communicate their feelings. They have a father who shuts down and a mother who yells and then cries. So I know it's important for them (and us) to learn how to talk about feelings instead of acting out in our own ways.

Tonight, we celebrated our Christmas with our two neighbors (blog post to follow tomorrow). Aid got a Tom and Jerry movie, and Grant got Go Diego. Aid asked if he could put his in and watch it. Since all of the other kids are so young, I said that I thought Go Diego was a better option and we would watch his tomorrow. He argued with me for a bit and then went and sat in his chair. We put on Go Diego. The little kids weren't really even watching it, which I did notice but thought that Aid had gotten into the show and it didn't matter anymore. But when I walked by him he said "Mom, I am really frustrated because I wanted to watch my movie and you didn't listen to me. So I am sad." (And no I am not exaggerating or adding my own words)

I changed the movie and we talked about what a good job he did expressing himself and that I was sorry I disregarded his feelings.

I am so unbelievably proud of him.

She Shoots, She Scores....

My mom hit it out of the ball park with Grant. She sent him a moving train ornament.  He has not parted with this thing since he got it. There have been a few wars over it, but Grant always wins. Nothing can come between him and this thing.

To top it off, she sent this rolling backpack. We must now take it everywhere with us. Everywhere. It is stuffed full of the most random things that are important to him. A flashlight, trains,a couple random books, and a couple dinosaurs snuck in. Everything an almost 2 year old may need on his journey to the grocery store.

Thanks for knowing these two so well Mom. I love you.

What Are You Most Thankful For?

1. I am most thankful for my two little boys. They are my entire world and have taught me the true meaning of love.

2. I am thankful for my husband. Even with all of our ups and downs, I know that he loves me and our family and would do anything to keep us all safe.

3. I am thankful for my home. Though, I am missing Oregon, I still walk into this house and feel safe and warm.

4. I am thankful for my kitchen!!!

5. I am thankful for my family. They are far away and I don't get to see them as often as I would like to, but I can feel their love all the way over here.

6. I am thankful for my Bures family. They support us in so many ways...

7. I am thankful that I am healthy. We are all healthy. I am constantly worried that we don't have health insurance and afraid of tragedy. But I must remember to focus on the fact that we are all ok.

8. I am thankful for my mommy group. It has been a hard transition from Oregon to Minnesota more often then not, and I go to a play date and feel surrounded by friendship and support.

9. I am so very thankful for my friends both here in Minnesota and Oregon. I have great friends that love me, support me, tell me the truth, and help me laugh at myself. I don't know what I would do without them.

10. I am thankful that we are all safe and sound and happy. There is a lot of love in this house and for that I am at peace.

Winter Activities

Well, winter has arrived. So it's time to pull out the big guns since we're all stuck in the house together all. day. long.

Our neighbor and best girl Gracie came over to hang and do some finger painting.

Mama:1 Winter:0

I'm sure those odds are going to change drastically....

A Family Affair

So during Aid's preschool conferences, Bob read about another father coming to visit the class and reading a story. The wheels started turning and it wasn't long into the conference when he brought up that he played guitar and would also like to come to the class for a sing along. Aid's teacher was excited and they scheduled it for the following day.

We told Aid about it expecting him to be super excited. But Aid has so much of Bob in him and was immediately nervous and not at all excited. He actually said that school was "his place" and that he didn't really want all of us there. Normally I would have been upset, but I am married to a Bures. And I have come to realize that the initial response is not usually the final response. So I spoke with the teacher and asked her to continue to check in with him about it. If he really didn't want us to invade his territory then I wouldn't. But I had a feeling he just needed to warm up to the idea.  I was right. He was really SO excited about it that he just sort of shut down. (I am going to have to have a long talk with whomever he decides to marry...)

Bob was a hit. The other class of kids came in and several other teachers and parents stopped in and joined in the songs. And Aid was BEAMING that his Dad was there, as well as his mom and baby brother. He showed us all off and then introduced us to each and every kid in his class. It was adorable. He, Tucker, and Bradley seem to be a cute little group of friends and it was a lot of fun watching him interact with these two. Grant was sick. And not at all happy about being there. But hung in like the champ he is.

I hate to break it to you him, but we love him and are going to want to be involved in everything he does. Better get used to it sweetie....you have parents who love you and are very very hands on!

Related?

These two are obviously from the same gene pool.