Pre-K Graduation!

flashback...1st Day of Pre-K

Levi graduated from preschool last week! I can't believe my first baby is growing up so fast! He excelled, learned, grew and had so much fun during his two years at Discovery School. I am excited for Joel to start preschool there next year. During Levi's graduation program you could really see how much he has matured during his time in preschool. He cried his entire first program, sang while standing like a statue during his second, and was a complete ham singing loudly and doing all the hand motions during his final show. We were so proud, and so was he! Moe and Pop were able to join us for the graduation and Levi was so excited to have them there to see him receive his "diploma" and sing the special songs.

Philip and I have been thinking that Levi was very well prepared and ready to start kindergarten this fall, and we were happy to hear his teachers reinforce our feelings. They both felt he will continue to excel in kindergarten and is ready not only academically, but also socially. Levi is very excited to start Kindergarten soon, and I am excited, sad, nervous, happy, and feeling like the whole thing is surreal! Every year at the end of school the teachers give each student a CD filled with pictures from their year at school. Here are a few of my favorites from Levi's Pre-K year at Discovery School.

Levi's whole class the first week of school

he LOVES to pain and brought home MANY masterpieces :)

His teachers said the "sensory table" was a favorite

Thanksgiving Feast

He told me very enthusiastically that he was 7 candy canes tall...loved seeing photo proof :)

another favorite...magnetic marble shoots

making bread dough

I also received SEVERAL collages of hole punched paper

trying blue foods :)

Fireman/EMS visit...he talked about this the whole way home that day!

Oh how I love my Kindergartener! Can't wait to see where next year takes him and watch him learn and grow! We are so thankful that he had such a positive experience to start off his education!

Joel at Age 3!

Our sweet little Joel is THREE! Well, maybe I shouldn't call him sweet, it seems more and more often lately that he is actually a bit of a stinker :). Listening and obeying are not currently on his list of priorities. He sure is good at flashing that charming smile and showing off his precious dimple though, and he can almost always get me right back to smiling and laughing even when he is driving me up the wall with his antics!

He had his three year check up this week and his doctor agreed that he is a smart boy and doing very well meeting all his developmental milestones. He has fallen a little bit off his growth curve, and is now projected to be about 5ft 8in tall as an adult. I was expecting this because he is still wearing a lot of the same clothes this summer that he could wear last summer. Since Joel eats a wide variety of food and is meeting or exceeding all the skills for his age neither his doctor or parents are worried about this drop off in growth. Our doctor was particularly impressed with his verbal skills. Not one bit surprising since he pretty much talks all.day.long.
 
How Would I Describe Joel at Age Three?
-VERBAL: boy oh boy, he talks all day long (usually talks himself to sleep)...and asks questions non-stop
-Silly: he loves to laugh, be goofy, dance like a mad man and makes crazy faces
-Busy: always on the go, changes from activity to activity and has a pretty short attention span
-Observant: he notices tiny details and points out random things all the time
-Sound Sleeper: once he is asleep he sleeps soundly and still takes a 2-3 hour nap every afternoon!
-Sensitive: he has his feeling hurt easily, and often notices when someone is sad and has lots of sympathy
-Possesive: we are working on sharing our things and our family/friends often
-Coy: he is cute and he knows and and he works it :)
-Careful: although he takes more risks the older he gets he is much less likely to make a mess or break something than his older brother and he likes his things to be put away just so

New Stats:
Weight- 30 lbs 6 oz (37%)
Height- 36.5 in (26%)

New Skills:
Mastered the art of eating and drinking without making a mess (unless he wants to for fun) while using big boy cups, plates, and utensils
Rides his bike (with training wheels) very well and quickly
Is a scootin' machine and takes corners like a pro
Starting to scribble with more purpose and can write a O and L but struggles with his J and E
Can count actual objects up to 10
Has become more brave in the pool and we think he may be swimming by the end of the summer
Talks in sentences...and paragraphs...and novels
Dresses himself from Head to Toe and almost always gets his shoes on the right feet :)
Can identify all colors and most shapes (can draw a circle and triangle)

Favorite things:
foods: any meat (especially hog or pork), french fries or really anything made of potato, fruit of any kind, broccoli, bread (especially sandwiches), pickles, carrots with ranch
treats: candy with peanuts or peanut butter, chocolate, juice
books: Dinosaurs Love Underpants, Skippy Jon Jones, Rhyme Bible, Dr. Suess
toys: train set, dress up clothes, dinosaurs, trucks/tractors
activities: swinging, sliding, thowring balls, playing with Penny, watering the garden, riding his scooter or bike

In His Own Words:
best friend: Brady
favorite food: french fries, cheese crackers and yogurt and...
favorite dessert: peanut butter rice crispy treats
favorite color: purple
favorite thing to do with Daddy: play soccer outside
favorite thing to do with Levi: play tag in my house
favorite thing to do with Momma: play baseball in the backyard
favorite toy: dinosaurs toys or to dress up
favorite place to go: Chick-fil-A and church

We are so blessed to have Joel in our lives every day. He is such a smart, funny and kind hearted little boy! I can't believe he is already three and will be a big brother soon! Slow down time, my baby is growing up too fast!

newborn

 

three!!!

Mother's Day 2014

This year for Mother's Day was a very good one. I started off the morning with very sweet gifts and beautiful flowers from my boys. Philip took Levi and Joel shopping  Saturday while I was at work and they picked out some jewlery as well as green roses with pink and white mums. After a quick breakfast we went to early service together and Levi snuggled with me the whole time (because he had a crick in his neck when he woke up, but I'll pretend he was just feeling loving)!

Next, we spent the day with my whole family! It was so fun to have everyone together one last time before Molly and Ryan had to head home to New York. All the men made us a delicious fish fry lunch and we spent the day chatting while the kids ran wild through my parents back yard. My Gran's health has taken a down turn and she is suffering from heart failure, kidney failure and lung cancer. She is weak, short of breath and very easily fatigued. It is hard to see her feeling so crummy. Knowing this was likely our last Mother's Day to celebrate with Gran made the time with her extra special. I made sure to catch a few extra pictures with her. She has been so important in my life, and I love her very much! I would not be the woman and mom I am today if she and my mother were not in my life. They have both been such strong examples of the Christian wife, mother, sister and friend that I strive to become. I am one blessed girl!

Great Gran with all her "Knochel" great grand children

Gran, Mom and I (I'm wearing the necklace Levi and Joel picked for me)

Family Day at the Ranch

Molly and Ryan came in town while Ryan was on break from school and we got to have a whole week of their time! In order to get in some good family time and show Ryan some Texas fun, we all headed out to the Ranch last weekend. We spent most of the day outdoors fishing, shooting skeet, riding horses and relaxing by the pool. The crazy kids even swam a little in the pool's chilly water! Levi and Joel each caught a good sized bass and wanted to eat them right then. Joel wouldn't hold his, but Levi was happy to hold either one or both of them. With my gardening and Philips hunting and fishing the boys have no illusions about where their food comes from and are not squeamish at all about eating things that were once living. It sure is an amazing world God created! I like to think we could make it in the wild :) ha!

It was a great day! Of course it wouldn't be a Knochel get together without lots of yummy food as well and my Mom generously provided 2 delicious meals! It was so nice to have a fun day together and the weather was beautiful, which is always a plus. We all have our fingers crossed that Molly and Ryan will make Texas their home soon and days like this will become a more regular occurrence. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family!

Philip was given the smallest horse, it was comical because he was the biggest person riding!

the whole group heading out:(L-R) Molly, Kate, Morgan, Philip, Seth, Ryan and Gracie (the stable manager)

a pretty ranch ride picture :) so country!

These to are little fish despite the water temp!

Ryan's first time shooting skeet

16 Weeks!

I am now into my 16th week of pregnancy, and praise God, everything is going well! I have started to feel movement occasionally, which is wonderful. I had a check up last week and we were able to get a peak at baby moving and stretching, so fun! Joel went with me and my sweet midwife, Tania, let him "help" her run the sonogram machine. So far this little one has no interest in letting anyone see his or her gender and is always curled up or has crossed legs. I have my official sonogram scheduled for May 21st, so hopefully baby will corporate that time and we will know if another boy will be joining the family, or we will be changing things up with a little girl. Levi and Joel both insist that baby is a sister, despite me informing them that the odds are equal for a brother or sister.

16 week baby bump...picture by Levi :)

I have been feeling pretty well lately. Some occasional nausea, but nothing major. My main complaint is fatigue, but what mother of a 3 year old and 4.5 year old can't say that :). It has been a more difficult pregnancy than what I experienced previously, but I'm not attributing that to any change in hormones, I think it's just harder to be pregnant with two little ones and when you are in your 30s instead of your 20s. In general I am really happy being pregnant and trying my best to give my anxiety to God and just enjoy all the gifts that come along with growing a baby. Please continue to pray for me and baby. More updates to come!

Choo Choo Train Party!

Joel turned THREE on Saturday, May 3rd. It amazes me how quickly time passes as an adult. I remember being a child and feeling like the years drug by. By Joel's request we celebrated his birthday with a "choo choo train party" and the day could not have been much better. I woke up early and made one of his favorite breakfasts, "cheesy eggs", lots of bacon and biscuits. He was thrilled to have Aunt Molly and Uncle Ryan there and requested to sit next to Uncle Ryan. 

After breakfast I tried to get everything else ready for the train party. It started off a bit rough because I didn't manage my time well getting everything ready, but my family came to the rescue and helped me get everything finished up in time. The weather was perfect, and Joel had a wonderful time riding the mini train and sharing lunch with his friends and family. Thankfully almost all of the immediate family as able to be there! We rode the train which was one hour round trip. Next we had Joel's choice of lunch, ham, salami and "monster" cheese sandwiches, pickles, potato chips, strawberries and pineapple. After a break to open gifts we had the cake Joel described in detail and then sent everyone home with Joel's hand picked goodie bags. Joel can be a particular little guy, and all his requested details went off well, so I think he was pleased with his party.

ready to ride!

choo choo!!! Here we go!

 

excited to open his gifts...he got some great stuff! One blessed little boy!

Joel insisted on a "round chocolate fudge cake with Joel on it"

blowing out the candles

 

 

Cute cousins...one last picture before leaving the party!

 After a good nap our family of four went to one of Joel's favorite places for dinner, Fuzzy Tacos. He devoured his fish taco and "chips with cheese" with great enthusiasm. After dinner we went across the street for sonic slushies and then drove around with the windows down while slurping our treats. All by Joel's request. It was a great birthday for our little love!

He has his 3 year check up next week, so I will do a "Joel at age 3" post after that. What a blessing this little love has been to our family! We are so glad God chose to put him in our lives and think he is such a special little boy! Lord willing we will enjoy many more years with our Joely poly!