Perfect Timing

 With Niko's class being shutdown due to an active COVID case, and then Niko getting very sick himself (not COVID), we were so blessed that Gammie was already scheduled to fly in for Niko's birthday!

Both boys had so much fun with extra Gammie time

Gammie got to be a special guest in Alexander's class for storytelling while I took the day off with Niko.  His teacher said Gammie is just like her late grandmother and wishes my mom could tell stories every day.  Be careful what you wish for! Gammie might make herself a permanent fixture!

He was looking so handsome i made him pause for some pictures. 

Our neighborhood 'parkies'

Niko wasn't feeling the best and found sleep any way he could

Gammie kept Alexander home one day and took the boys out on their bikes

His birthday helmet was a huge hit! Blippi colors made it even more special.

Even when I got home from work, Niko opted for Gammie snuggles.  They have a real bind.

Gammie kept Niko busy and happy for a whole week of quarantine.

Thank you, Gammie, for being there for us!!

Monkey See, Monkey Do: Our Little Monkey Just Turned TWO!

 Thankfully, Niko got over his nasty head cold just in time to celebrate his birthday!

With Niko copying everything big brother does, the theme for his second birthday wrote itself

The day was gorgeous for a backyard party!

I didn't snap a ton of pictures because we had Madison over for that job.  I can't wait to see the pictures she captured!

Our tradition continues with Alexander and my baking fun birthday treats.  This year Niko had a hand in helping us.  While our cupcakes were cute, the star of the party food were the cookies we got from The Redheads Bakery!  My dear friend, Ashley, went beyond my expectations with her Monkey See Monkey Do cookies.

Milestones

Niko is fast on his scooter!  He flies down hills and knows how to fall back on his bottom even if he doesn't know how to break just yet.  He is great at pushing off with his right foot.

His language is soaring.  He has just recently started to string two and three words together and has new words every day.

He loves to count and tries to hold up his fingers to show the numbers.

He knows a lot of his colors, and always gets yellow, blue, and green right.  He seems to like blue the most.

He has a serious obsession with Blippi and will not watch anything else for more than a few short minutes....I am trying to steer him towards Blues Clues for obvious similarities but a bit more plot, but he is not fooled!

His brother is his best friend.  He follows Alexander in every action, word, and gesture.  His brother is kind, giving, and patient with him.  We are so blessed by their relationship.

His heart is BIG.  He loves his family and his friends, and while he is still a mama's boy, he has many people who help to fill his life!

He still loves farm animals!  He knows so many animals and their sounds.  We look for turtles and owl statues around the neighborhood every morning on our walk, and learn about Google's Animal of the Day every evening as part of bedtime.

He enjoys praying and adds people to our prayers every night.  His 'Amen' sounds an awful lot like ABC, which he also really enjoys saying with me!

I am trying so hard to hold onto every moment!

Meet Your Teacher

Alexander is so sad to leave his beloved Ms Melissa from Accelerated PreK but also super excited to officially start kindergarten!

He quickly found his seat and loaded his desk with supplies at Meet Your Teacher

Ms Mourra was very busy answering lots of first time parents, but we snagged an introduction and moved on to explore the rest of the school 

The playground was a necessary stop!

I know our big guy is going to excel this year!

Niko will miss seeing big brother in the halls at Creme, but he's so happy there i know he will be just fine!

 

Sleepytime Sleepover

All smiles after his second sleepover! 

On Friday evening, our house started to feel HOT! The vents were blowing, but the fan on the outside unit wasn't even trying.  As we figured out what to do until we could get someone out early on Saturday,  Aly jumped to the rescue and offered Alexander to have a sleepover with Andy.

After missing the photo opp from their first sleepover, I was so grateful to have these sweet pictures from sleepover number two

Daniel was my hero, taking a flashlight and discovering in the dark that some wires had become disconnected.  There was a mysterious clump of course black hair tangled in said wires....

My handy boo was able to reconnect even without proper color coding on the wires and we had cool air for the night.  We didn't tell Alexander until after his special pancake breakfast the next day!

Quarantine 2021 - Martin Style

After multiple kids in Alexander's summer camp group tested positive for COVID, we had to self-isolate last week

I kept Niko home too, since we have the flexibility to do so, and if he was to catch it, I am sure some of his classmates would have a harder time making arrangements to stay home.  Luckily we had activity ideas from the Mother's Day gift Alexander made for me - a bucket of activities he likes to do with me!

The week was exhausting, but one I will never forget.  These boys are my heart and soul!

We stayed busy with art, reading, cooking, and so much swimming!

Pizza Rolls!

Nailed It! Banana Sushi

The boys didn't seem to mind the messy results

Backyard Picnic

Followed by some classic box play

Making our own play doh was so much fun when Gammie was here,

we did it again last week....three times!!

Pokemon

Bouncing Outdoors and Inside!

Evening walks

I am constantly amazed by how well these boys get along and how much they like each other.  After a week of it just being us, they are still best friends!

I may have lost it a few times and just wanted a moment of silence amongst the mayhem, we all really enjoyed our family time.  Out of all of us, though, there was one Martin Crew member who was clearly the happiest with the quarantine!