First Day of School 2012

Lukas began his "big" school journey, August 27, 2012.  It was an emotional time getting him ready and sending him off to Kindergarten for me.  He is in Mrs. Hughes class, and she (a week and half into the school year anyway) is a fantastic teacher.  He loves school, and is making lots of new friends! 

Corina started school, September 5, 2012 at Footprints Preschool.  She is in Ms. Amy and Ms. Elena's Two's class.  She was SO excited it was finally time for her to go to school too!  She has been ready to attend since Lukas had his first day.  There were no tears at drop off, and she went right in and started playing.

And just because he's cute....

Asher - 6 Months Old!

Asher at 6 months:
- weighs 17lbs 8oz. He is the biggest Swayne kid at 6 months by about a pound and a half. 
- is 27.5 inches tall.
- rolls and scoots everywhere he wants to go.  If he wants to get something he rolls over to it, and then inches himself close enough to grab it.  He seems to be satisfied with this method of movement and doesn't currently have plans to start actually crawling.
- is becoming very vocal.  He will not let you forget he's around.
- grabs anything and everything, and will move it all around between hands and mouth.
- studies everything.  He is similar to Lukas and Corina in that he studies everything before and while playing.
- eats 4 6oz bottles a day with 2 full tbsp rice cereal to thicken.  He is now on Allimentum formula, and it's helped his reflux quite a bit.
- smiles easily.
- reserves laughter for special occasions.  Although he's laughing at more things and easier all the time.
- sleeps all night, and takes 2-3 naps during the day.
-  loves his family more and more everyday!!!

Summer Activities

This summer the Lukas and Corina took swim lessons with the Denton Recreation Center. Lukas was in the Level 1 class, and Corina in the Water Tots class.  Lukas learned the basics of swimming the backstroke and the freestyle.  He still has a habit of more or less running in the water, but when he tries hard enough he can now do an actual stroke.  :)  Corina's class is basically getting your child comfortable in the water.  She asserted her two-year-oldness about half the time, and refused to cooperate.  However when she was participating, she did an exceptional job at swimming.  She is already a bit more of a fish than Lukas was at the same age.

Corina was able to take a short dance class through Denton Recreation Center during the month of July.  Let's just say that she looked adorable, however the class was a learning experience (and a disaster most of the time).  We learned what style of class does NOT work for her (the style where Mommy doesn't participate, but also doesn't leave).  We're going to fix that for the next dance class.  :)

Corina spent a lot of her dance classes in this "formation".  When she did decide to participate, she would do it at a distance.

Lukas was able to go to a Science Camp given by the Denton Rec Center at the end of June.  They did a lot of cool experiments, and he had tons of fun!

Lukas has been blessed to attend two VBS' this year.  In June he went to a Daniel theme VBS hosted by Lake Dallas First United Methodist Church (the church that hosts Footprints Preschool where Corina will be attending in the fall).  He had a blast, and has already requested to go back next year.  And in August he attended Singing Oak CofC's VBS which was an Art Camp theme.  He made some pretty impressive art work during that week.

Lukas with his artwork from Singing Oaks VBS.

Summer Pictures

Lukas is 5 Years Old!!

I'm still not quite sure how my baby got to be FIVE, but he is and he's showing it more all the time.  Over the past few months since he turned 5, he's had several "grow up" moments.  These moments make me want to cry because I all of the sudden realize how much (and how quickly) he's growing up.

Lukas at 5 years:
 - weighs 36 lbs.
 - is 44 in tall.
 - can READ!!  It's been really hard to nail down exactly when he started reading.  He was reading sight words that he didn't try to read long before he could sit down and read a sentence.  Some time between December and February it clicked, and he is now reading with confidence.  It makes me so happy to see (and hear since he still is reading everything out loud) him read books for both pleasure and information.  :)
 - is a big brother in every sense of the word.  He LOVES Corina and Asher!  He wants to play with Corina (and A when he's old enough) by his rules only, he wants to harass her by his rules only, but he is also her protector from anyone who would be mean to her (including Mommy and Daddy). 
 - has mastered readable handwriting!  When given handwriting lines his writing is very readable and remains inside the lines easily.  When writing on blank paper, his letters are easily 2-3 inches tall and less readable (although it can still be done).  Considering that a year ago I was starting to wonder if he would ever write any legible letters, this is a VAST improvement!  And the praise goes to his Pre-K teacher, Mrs. Karen, for working with him because he listened to her when he wouldn't listen to me.  :)
 - loves to play and learn via computer games.  We signed him up on abcmouse.com, and he loves it!  He's played learning games (and other age appropriate video type games) on various websites (and still does), but he enjoys the learning and goal structure that abcmouse has. 
 - is learning and understanding basic mathematical concepts.
 - is very interested in science theory and experiments.  He's also getting pretty good at explaining why something happens once he knows the theory behind it.
 - is destined for the theater in some capacity.  He is a huge ham!  He is extremely dramatic (and always has been) and loves to perform (not just sing) songs.
 - is VERY creative! He has a huge imagination which allows him to play, create songs, make up stories, draw, or anything else he can come up with.  It's fun to watch (and listen) to what he comes up with!
 - shows us small peeks into the big boy he's becoming when he sits down to focus on writing a letter for an hour, cleans up without being asked, puts on his new backpack for kindergarten to show off how cool it is, offers to pray, asks questions that we have to look up to answer correctly, and so many more things that just simply make him seem so big all of the sudden. 
 - loves Mommy, Daddy, Corina, and Asher more and more every day!!!!

Asher 4 (and 5) Months Old!

Asher is...well actually now 5 months old.  We have been so crazy busy with summer, illness, and life that I have completely lost track of getting Asher's monthly information written down.  I'm going to try my hardest to make sure I don't lose anymore info, and stay on top of it from now on.  Unfortunately since I'm only just now writing down his 4th month, I don't remember all the accomplishments, so I'll have to combine it with his current month post.

Asher at 4 months:
- weighed 15 lbs 15 oz.
- was 26 in long.
- began to tripod sit (about the 3rd week of June)

Asher at 5 months:
- weighs about 17.5 lbs (He's HUGE!)
- eats 4-5 5 oz bottles thickened with 2 tbsp rice cereal a day.
- takes 2-3 naps a day.  His afternoon nap is generally his longest nap because Lukas and Corina are quiet and resting as well.
- grasps toys with one or both hands to then place in his mouth.
- rolls all over the place in all directions.
- can tripod sit.
- will scoot around by ducking his head down, digging his toes, and inching forward.
- is "crowing" very loudly when he has something to say.
- startles very easy, and not always at things that are expected.
- is still battling reflux. We have recently switched him to Allimentum formula in addition to Prilosec and probiotics he already regularly takes.  It has made a huge difference!  It really hit us how big a difference it made when we realized we were able to use the burp cloths over and over because he wasn't spitting up (like at all!).
- has decided that he likes the paci after almost total rejection for the first four and a half  months.  Not sure what changed his mind, but it's a nice change because he's easier to soothe now.
- moved to his crib full time in mid June.  It was a sad transition because no more of my babies will sleep in the cradle that my grandpa made.  Now it will be packed up and waiting any future nieces or nephews.  :)
- thinks his brother and sister are amazing!  He loves it when they talk to him and play games with him.  He will stare so intently and smile so big.  It's wonderful to watch!
- is very serious as he studies the world.  He intently watches everything!
- has the best laugh even if he is a bit more reserved about sharing it.
- shares his smile with anyone that will smile at him.
- loves his Mommy, Daddy, Lukas and Corina more and more everyday!!!!

2 Years Old!

Corina at 2 years old:
 - weighs 26 lbs.
 - is 34 in tall.
 - talks constantly!  She rivals Lukas for talk time.  I didn't think anyone could talk more than Lukas, but Corina talks just as much.  The house is so loud! 
 - is so strong-willed!  She wants her way in everything, and is stubborn enough to stand her ground until she either gets in trouble or gets her way.  I've said it before, but while I've very grateful for this trait because it will serve her well later, it's a huge challenge now.
 - is a pouter.  She is stereotypical girl in this regard.  If she doesn't get her way initially, she looks at you and pouts to try to get you to change your mind.  If she only knew how ridiculous and fake her pouts look.
 - is so happy!  She, like Lukas, is a very happy and out-going child.  She only sometimes has issues with people she doesn't know if she's being left (like in school or nursery), but gets over it very quickly. 
 - loves to play dress up, with dolls, kitchen, make believe with Lukas (or really anything with Lukas), puzzles, read books, sing, and color.
 - loves, loves to dance!!  She dances EVERYWHERE!  I have been looking for her a dance class to begin in the fall.  This has proven more difficult that I originally thought since most companies require you to be age 3 and potty trained before attending.
 - is a HAM!  She will perform anywhere, anytime.  :)
 - wants to do everything Lukas does, especially when it involves going somewhere. 
 - is an amazing big sister!  I never planned for her to be a big sister, but I can't imagine her not being one now.  She loves Asher SO much!
 - loves Mommy, Daddy, Lukas, and Asher more and more every day!!!