First Days of School

Owen and Josh have started school this year!  Owen is in pre-K at Nurturing Knowledge's Greenwood school, and Josh and Dan have started Crown Hill Toddlers Co-op with Teacher Janice.

Owen loves his new school and friends, and the philosophy and atmosphere really jives with our parenting style and Owen's personality.  First day of school photos, July 8, 2013 (Front door, back of the couch, like a zombie):

 

Then, there's Josh.  Josh doesn't have the social network that Owen did, and hasn't spent a whole lot of time around other kids his age.  Co-op preschool will be a nice introduction to that!  For Toddlers, it's one morning per week for two hours.  Dan goes with Josh every time, but will have some parent education time while he's there.  Josh wasn't very excited to get there this week, but lasted the full two hours once he got to exploring.  The extra challenge for now is that Josh likes to nap early (he's an early riser, between 5:00 and 6:00 most mornings), so co-op overlaps with his ideal napping time.  I'm sure it will be fine when we get fully into the new routine.  Here are some pictures of Josh's first day, September 25, 2013 (Living room, play house, playground slide):

Bonus: Josh is counting to 12 these days and recognizes over half of the alphabet, and LOVES to play with letter and number magnets.  He moves them from the fridge to the dishwasher, and then back again.  With each trip, he joyfully shouts out the letter or number he's transporting: "E!!  D!!  9!!"  Video(s) coming soon. :)

Reasons Why School is Cool #32

Someone else gets to clean this up:

Seahawks Doughnut

Go Hawks!!

 

Zoom

Owen is running laps around the dining room table, while Josh is looking on and giggling every time Owen rounds the corner.

Owen: "Joshy, your brother is really fast!"

Sn-Owen

 

Modern Magritte

Updated "Son of Man"

Talula and Owen, chocolate ice cream

Woodland Park Zoo

 

Owen and Aikido

Owen started Aikido two weeks ago, at the recommendation of his pre-K teacher, Sarah.  Aikido is less aggressive than other martial arts, but has the same longstanding traditions and discipline.  With Owen's endless energy and propensity to challenge authority, we thought we'd give it a try.  We don't want to squash Owen's spirit, and we want him to get to act like a 4-year old, so we want something that works with who he is.  So far, it seems like a good fit.

Love Is...

Grocery shopping with the unsteerable car cart to keep your volatile babies happy.  Good Dad!
 

We're back!!

It's been over a year, but we're back!  The Mudgett family is alive and well, and Owen and Josh are growing faster than our dandelion garden in this unusually nice weather here in Seattle.

Owen is on Summer break from his new Pre-K class.  He goes weekdays for 6ish hours, and we're all loving it!  He also started Aikido this week.  So far, so good!  He's SO cute in his gi and obi (white belt)!  His teacher, Sarah, recommended it as a way to healthfully focus his infinite energy.  We're also compiling kindergarten options, and Owen will be doing an IQ evaluation at the end of the month (also per Teacher Sarah's recommendation).  We have no doubt that he's a gifted young man, but I am so curious to see how he officially places!

 

 

 
Josh is 19 months old and just a joyful little man.  Unless he's not.  He has an infectious laugh and a wicked stubborn temper.  He's a good combination of both of his parents.  He started walking this summer, finally.  Just as he started really moving, he had a stairs accident and suffered a greenstick fracture in his left fibula (the thin supporting bone in the calf).  He's uncasted and already back walking on it two weeks later, so it definitely could have been worse!  Josh has 16 teeth, and some favorite foods are peas masala, yellow curry fried rice, and strawberries.  He starts co-op preschool with Dan in a few weeks, with Teacher Janice (Owen's first teacher).  We're curious to see how he is around a big group of kids and adults, since he doesn't yet have the social circle that Owen had since before he was born.

 
Happy Labor Day!  And here's to more Mudgett news to come!