Desy's 6th Birthday

Happy birthday, Desy Doodle Bug! Six seems like an awfully big number for such a little boy...

Desy was very lucky and got to have two birthday parties this year! On his actual birthday we were at Nana and Papa Jones' house, so we had cake and ice cream and lots of presents! Legos, super heroes, and even the remote controlled R2D2 he asked for.

The day after his birthday we went on a mini vacation to Michigan. Separate post forthcoming... but check out those sweet Batman shades! And those gangly legs. This is one skinny boy. He's finally grown a bit taller this year (it seemed like he hadn't grown at all for so long!), but he's still a little bug.

When we got back from Michigan we had a party with the Lambeses at our house. He wanted a Batman and Superman cake... so we made the outside Batman and the inside had the Superman colors, which was a surprise to Desy! He thought it was pretty amazing.

Desy picked mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Superman table, Batman plates.

We had lots of family there! We had Ra and Papa, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Joran and Aunt Allie, cousins Ellie and Josiah, and our family. Whew! We ate pulled pork for dinner.

Cousins!! :)

What he's up to:

-Desy LOVES his baby sister, Hazel. He's always talking to her, hugging her, or playing with her. If she's cranky and I'm busy cooking or something, I always ask Desy to talk to her because he's so good at making her happy. Nobody can make her laugh like he does!
-Des loves legos and building toys. He can follow picture instructions without help.
-He's very good at coloring and has great fine motor skills. He's creative and likes arts and crafts.
-Desy never stops talking and asks "why?" about everything.
-He likes TV and video games... Minecraft is probably his favorite. Instead of building stuff he gets himself a pack of dogs and sics them on virtual cows. Ha!
-Desy plays pretend a lot... he and Cece will pretend to go to a dancing party, or play house, or play super heroes.
-He likes to touch everybody and makes his siblings mad when he sits or lays on top of them.
-Desy is VERY sensitive and empathetic. He will cry when a favorite character on a TV show leaves or when some injustice is done that he just can't handle. He often cries when he has a disagreement with a sibling or friend or when he gets hurt. He still whines a lot.
-He's starting to read a little bit (just doing some simple phonics). He wasn't interested until this school year, but he's definitely making progress now. He's doing great at math (a year ahead of his level since he does the same curriculum as Orion).
-He likes to help, especially if it's making the little ham sliders pictured above. I have been letting him use a real knife to cut the rolls open and he thinks he's hot stuff.
-Desy is everybody's friend. He just loves to play and talk with people.
-He always says his eyes are green, which we always teased him about since they're obviously blue. Buuuut they're not just blue! They have yellow in the middle around his pupil! Very unique.
-Basically, he's just the cutest.

With his charisma, creativity, and sensitive soul, I think Desy has huge potential to do great things in his life. Use your powers for good, Doodle Bug! Happy birthday, buddy.

What's your name? Desy
What day is your birthday? June 30th
How old are you? 5
What's your favorite color? Blue
Favorite number?100
Favorite letter? D
Favorite shape? Circle
Favorite food? Pizza
Favorite candy? Chocolate bunny
Favorite game? Minecraft
Favorite movie? Larry Boy
Favorite TV show? Larry Boy
Favorite book: The Runaway Beard
What do you want to be when you grow up? Police Officer
What is your Daddy's job? To give people money
What is Mama's job? To take care of us
Favorite place to go? Sam's Club
Favorite restaurant? McDonald's
Favorite animal? A cat
Do have brothers or sisters? I have one brother and two sisters
Any pets? A fish
Favorite song? Twinkle twinkle
Favorite ice cream flavor? Twist
Who is your best friend? Ellie
Favorite cereal? Frosted Flakes
Favorite thing to do outside? Swing on the swings
Favorite drink? Root beer
What toys do you like to take to bed with you? My seahorse and my bear
What's your favorite holiday? Christmas
What are you good at? I'm good at school
Who is the coolest person ever? Joran
Favorite toy? Beary
What makes you happy? People giving me hugs
What makes you sad? People hitting me a lot
What are you scared of? The dark
What's your super power? To help people

Desy's 5th birthday!

My Desy Doodle Bug turned FIVE! He's getting so grown up even though he's a tiny little dude. He's so handsome.

Here are the stats:

Weight: 37 lbs 3.2 oz (24%)

Height: 3'5" (15%)

BMI: 15.56 (55%)

If I could pick two words to describe Desy they would be silly and sensitive. He loves to be goofy and make people laugh. He's very emotional and sensitive in every way, whether it's to how he's feeling himself or how someone else is feeling. I think he's going to be someone who likes to make people feel good :) He loves pretend play (playing house, playacting with toys, etc.) and likes to be "the dad" or "the baby." Desy is SUCH a Mama's boy and hates it when I leave. Many nights he throws a fit when I try to leave the room because he doesn't want me to go. His life would be complete if only I would move my bed into his room...

Desy's Ra (Grandma Robin) wanted to take him to the pool on his birthday, so we had fun swimming at the Farmersville pool. I'm hoping to get the boys into swimming lessons this summer, so I hope that works out. They all love the water!

We also let Desy pick where to go out for lunch (Wendy's). Desy is a great eater and isn't very picky. There are some things he doesn't like, but he's usually willing to try things and has a great variety of foods he likes. When I order him a cheeseburger he just eats whatever comes on it! Wow!

Des is very into Minions... he's such a silly boy himself that he just loves the crazy, funny minions. We had a picnic with the "young at heart" group from church in our yard on Desy's birthday, so we had everyone sing to him. It was fun for everyone and Desy thought the whole party was to celebrate his birthday ;)

What's your name? Desy
What day is your birthday? June 30th
How old are you? 5
What's your favorite color? Green
Favorite number?D
Favorite letter? R
Favorite shape? Heart
Favorite food? Macaroni and cheese
Favorite candy? Cookies
Favorite game? Cartoona
Favorite movie? Zootopia
Favorite TV show? Creative Galaxy
Favorite book: the bunny book
What do you want to be when you grow up? A police officer
What is your Daddy's job? To build stuff
What is Mama's job? To teach us school
Favorite place to go? Kroger
Favorite restaurant? Chick Fil A
Favorite animal? Koala
Do have brothers or sisters? Yes. Orion and Cece.
Any pets? A cat and Tilda and mice
Favorite song? The birthday song 
Favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate
Who is your best friend? Gwen
Favorite cereal? Chex
Favorite thing to do outside? Play
Favorite drink? Lemonade
What toys do you like to take to bed with you? Violet, my bear, and my seahorse
What's your favorite holiday? Fall
What are you good at? Disney Infinity
Who is the coolest person ever? Joran
Favorite toy? My minion
What makes you happy? My minion
What makes you sad? When Orion hits me and hurts me and I cry
What are you scared of? The dark
What's your super power? I don't have a super power!

Preschool at home

Orion is turning five soon, and though he isn't old enough to start Kindergarten until next year, we felt that he should do some kind of structured learning this year... mostly because he kept asking for it! Desmond needs to start learning his letters and numbers, so I (via a recommendation from a friend) found a curriculum that they can both use! It's called ABC Jesus Loves Me and is totally free! Weekly lesson plans are available for ages 2-5.

We have been having fun so far! We are five weeks in. The boys ask to do school most days, so I call that success. We usually do school three days a week, but we're flexible. This week we are only doing two days (we used one day to celebrate the first day of fall at Windmill Farm). The length of the day varies, but I think we usually run about half an hour or so.

Because I'm using the same curriculum series but teaching two different ages, I chose to mainly use the three year olds curriculum and supplement with material from the five year olds where it fits in. Combining the two is definitely more time intensive than just planning for one would be, but the actual teaching is easy because they do the same things for the most part.

The ABCJLM curriculum is really good at using/teaching a wide range of skills and learning styles. They encourage the use of tactile numbers and letters (my homemade version above) and provide activity ideas for gross and fine motor skills, music, etc.

Although the website certainly provides a lot of ideas, I have supplemented with ideas from Pinterest and other websites when I feel the need for something different/more. I like the flexibility.

If I can stay organized with planning, I think we will have a successful school year! Orion and Desy are already learning a lot; they can both sing along to the song we listen to listing the books of the Bible! I'm so glad the boys are loving it so far :)

Desmond's Third Birthday

My Desy Doodle Bug turned THREE a week ago! He still feels like my baby in so many ways, but he's growing up a lot too!

Des had several birthday celebrations! We couldn't get all the family together at once, but I wanted to have an official party so I could make a cake and everything, so we just did it the weekend closest to his birthday. Our college friends, Ben and Jennifer, happened to be visiting (to meet Cecelia), so it made for a nice little party! Desy loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so that was our theme.

Our friends Ben and Jennifer joined us!

Des helped make his own cake

I made him a "Mikey" cake

Standing on chairs to sing, per Lambes tradition

Opening gifts. He got the Lego movie which has been a huge hit.

On Desy's actual birthday, we were invited to his friend Katy's house to celebrate her birthday, which is a day after his! Her mom and I are friends too, and we had a couple other friends and their children there (these are friends we met at the library's story time!), so it was a really nice party for all of us! My kids and I actually ended up staying all day, so I think Desy enjoyed his birthday (and I know I did!)!

The birthday girl and boy

All the kids enjoying Katy's playset

Desy and Lila being adorable

We took advantage of the long weekend and visited my parents this weekend, so Des got to enjoy yet another birthday celebration! We just had a really nice, relaxing weekend with Nana and Papa.

Birthday cake at Nana and Papa's house!

And now for an actual update! What Desmond is up to:

-Potty training!! We tried potty training the way I trained Orion, but it just didn't work for Desy. I asked for suggestions and several people recommended we try letting him go without a diaper or underpants for a couple days, and although we didn't see how that could work, we tried it anyway. After just one accident he started asking to go potty when he needed to (which he had never done before), and has only had a couple accidents since then this past week! He is even staying dry at night and on long car rides! I'm so surprised and excited! We still have some work to do, but I'm so pleased with this progress!

-He knows all his colors and shapes and can count to around 15. He's yet to start learning letters and numbers, but I'll start on those soon.

-Des is still a fantastic eater and will eat just about anything. Hurray!! I hope this never changes. 

-He weighs about 27 lbs and is still a shortie. He is so strong and solidly built... I think he's going to end up being about his Daddy/Uncle Jon's size and build.

-I love watching Desy play. He has the biggest imagination!! He acts out conversations with his food, rocks, toys, or whatever is in his hands. He's definitely my creative child!

-He is SO cute with Cecelia! He absolutely loves his baby sister and is always asking to hold her. He even uses a different voice when he talks to her. I hope they grow to be best buddies!

I interviewed Desmond using some of the same questions I asked Orion on his last birthday. Some of his answers are pretty funny. And apparently he had ice cream on the brain ;)

What's your name: Desy Daniel Lambes

How old are you? 65

Favorite food: apple

Favorite dessert: ice cream

Color: green

Shape: oval

Animal: giraffe

Best friend: Gwen

Movie: Frozen

TV show: Team UmiZoomi

Book: Little Red Racing Car

Song: Eidelweiss

Ice cream flavor: Eidelweiss! Haha! (after this he wanted to give that answer for everything because he thought it was funny so I had to postpone asking the rest of the questions)

Favorite store: ice cream store

What do you want to be when you grow up? Big

What does Daddy do for work? Plays

What does Mama do for work? Read books

Favorite restaurant? ice cream store

Do you have any brothers or sisters? Nope

Any pets? Yes! Bill.

Favorite thing to do outside? Swing

What toys to you take to bed with you? My seahorse and my bear

What are you scared of? A monster

What's your super power? My hands

Happy third birthday, Desy Do! You are ridiculously cute and stubborn and emotional and funny and creative... we just love having you as part of our family! I hope you always keep your playful spirit.

Oh brother

 

Today at bedtime we had our nightly battle trying to get Desmond to let us brush his teeth, asking if he wants Mama or Daddy to help him, if he wants a turn first, etc. He kind of laughed and said "Orion." ...yeah, he wanted Orion to help him brush his teeth. He knew it was funny, but he was also totally serious. So we asked Orion to come brush Desy's teeth and he nonchalantly said, "ok," and went at it. It was so funny and cute we just had to take a picture. 

Desy LOVES his brother and asks for him all the time if he's not around for some reason ("I meed my Owion..."). Orion, on the other hand... he certainly loves his brother, but he also can't wait to get rid of him sometimes.

 We let the boys watch movies/videos in their room sometimes when we have friends over to play board games, and the last couple times Nathan has set them up in the top bunk of their bed under the canopy. They looked like they were hanging out in a cool fort.

This pic is from a month or two ago when we got our first snow of the year. The boys were so excited to see the dusting of white.

We totally have a case of "monkey see, monkey do" with Des. He wants to do everything Orion does, and have everything Orion has. It's really pretty funny if they're walking one after another, if Orion touches something as he walks by, Desy will touch it too. Orion had better be a good role-model! 

My boys may fight a lot (as most siblings do), but I am so, SO glad they have each other. They teach each other so much, balance each others' personalities, and are built-in friends to one another. They are so different, but brothers are brothers. I'm curious to see how their relationship evolves as they grow up, and I really hope they become good friends for life.

December Days

-I stole an idea from Pinterest and threw the boys in a box with some markers and let them go at it. Later I gave Des a separate box because it was a tight fit. It didn't entertain them for as long as I expected, but they did have fun!

-I've felt the first little kicks from Baby the last couple days! I thought I may have possibly felt movement earlier in the week, but now it's distinctive tiny kicks. Feeling the baby move is my favorite part of pregnancy, so I'm very excited. 16 weeks today!

-We got a big snowfall this weekend, and the boys were so excited to play in it! They had a ton of fun. Des got cold and wanted to go inside, but Orion stayed out with Nathan for a long time, and then went back out with Larry later. He could stay out there all day!

-We're hoping to get our Christmas tree today (or at least soon)! We have all our other decorating done, but I'm anxious to have a tree! Pretty sure Des is going to throw ornaments all over the house. We have almost all of our Christmas shopping done, and everything we have (that's not still being shipped) is wrapped! We love Christmas shopping and wrapping, so it'll be fun to watch everyone open their gifts :) Do you think the snow will stick around for Christmas?