1st Parent Teacher Conference

Had a parent/teacher conference with Johnny's preschool teacher on Feb 21. His review was glowing!! :) She said he's extremely smart, very polite, quiet when supposed to be quiet and talks when supposed to talk. You show him how to do something 1 time and he picks it up right away. He sits perfectly during rug time so she always sits him in the front row so other kids can see him. She said she will probably have him sit in front for preschool graduation, too (sniff sniff). She said that she just adores him because he's such a good kid in general....follows directions and is nice and gets along with everyone. She said that sometimes they do activities and he'll whisper to her "Mrs. Pam, that was really easy" LOL Or if he finishes quickly, he'll ask her if he can help the person sitting next to him which she loves (such a sweetheart) and said he does a good job with it. He has no problem standing up and talking in front of the class, too. She just kept saying how much she loved him and what a good kid he is and she has no worries for him going into kindergarten. Made me want to cry. Proud mommy : ) 

Lucas Talking-Sep 2012

Video from May 2012

Just found this video and it cracks me up!  Some preschool song...can you imagine fifteen 3 year olds singing/performing this song together!!  Hot mess.........LOL

Lucas' 2 Month Appt

Lucas weighed 13 lbs and 7 oz (78th percentile) and was 24 1/2 inches long (88th percentile) at his 2 month doctor appointment yesterday (he was actually 10 weeks as of appt).  Another big baby following in his brother's footsteps!

Johnny-4 year old preschool

Johnny's 1st day of 4 year old preschool was on Wednesday, September 5.  He was so excited to go back to school!  Such a handsome little guy : )

 

Lucas Gerald Rodeen

 

Lucas arrived on Monday, July 2 at 12:12 am at Carle Hospital in Champaign.  He was 8 lbs 9 oz and 20 inches long.  I was scheduled to be induced on Thurs, Jun 29 but kept getting pushed back because labor & delivery was so packed.  Busy weekend for babies!  I finally got to go on Sunday evening.  We arrived at 5, started pitossin almost immediately, and Lucas was out in 2 pushes at 12:12 : )  Much faster process than with Johnny (16 hours and an hour of pushing).  The recovery with Lucas was so much easier as well which was wonderful considering Johnny is a very active 4 year old!  This was a picture taken right when Johnny came in the room and got to meet Lucas for the 1st time.  This is a moment that I will never forget!! 

Lucas was 10 lbs and 7 oz and 22 inches at his 1 month appointment.  The pic below was taken at 1 month.

He's now smiling and cooing and making our hearts melt.  Johnny loves him and always calls him his "cutie baby".  He rarely calls him Lucas, always "my baby".  Pretty sweet and they are both doing great.  I can't wait for them to play together some day! 





Lucas is now 2 months old and becoming a chunky monkey : )  We go for his 2 month check-up on Wed so will post his weight and height then.



 

Last pic before having Lucas.  This pic was taken on Wednesday and I had him the following Monday.  My belly was crazy!!!

Videos

I know that I am waaaay behind on this but wanted to post these videos before they are lost in the shuffle.  Johnny is 4 and learned this song in preschool (like we all did...still makes me laugh 30 years later!) and Lucas is 2 months and just started "talking" a week or two ago. Oh and yes, it was 85 degrees and humid but Johnny has been insisting on putting on his new football shirt for the fall every night when we got home.  And last night he decided to throw on some of his new PJ bottoms w/it.  I don't think he'll be picking out his own outfits any time soon!

ER

Johnny had his 1st trip to the ER last night!  He was at his babysitter's house and somehow twisted his arm while playing on the floor and said he heard something snap.  He couldn't move it and it was obvious that he was in severe pain.  He cried when it happened but by the time I got there to pick him up, he was very subdued, calm, and quiet.  We took him to the ER at Carle and got right in (thank goodness!) and Johnny was very brave but in a LOT of pain when they took X-rays and had to move it.  When they were done, he just cried and kept saying "This is the worst day ever".  Poor thing.  Fortunately it wasn't broken and he had a pulled elbow where the tendon slips over the bone so the doctor had to pop it back into place.  No fun either (very painful!) but he could move his arm and his personality came back within minutes after that and he's been fine ever since!  Thank goodness!  A summer w/a broken arm didn't sound like any fun to any of us!

Funny Stories

Just a couple of funny stories from Johnny:
1)  I picked up Johnny from his babysitter one day and told him that Daddy wouldn't be home that night.  He said "OK.  We'll play nice things tonight that Mommy likes to play" which I said sounded great.  When we got home, he said "Let's play house.  I'll be the Daddy and you be the baby.  Now....pretend you're a baby that likes to play girl AND boy things and let's play superheros!"  LOL  His little mind never ceases to amaze me. 
2)  I put Johnny in a time out for not listening one night and when it was over he said "Mommy, sometimes I think you're not so nice.  But try not to worry about it too much."  Believe me...I wasn't worried!  ; )
3)  Paul was in Chicago for work yesterday and stayed w/a friend so Johnny told me he was sad that Daddy wasn't there to give him a hug & kiss at bedtime.  I told Johnny that he could call him to talk to him and here is the conversation:
JR "Hi Daddy!  It's Johnny.  Ummmm....do you have time for a hug & kiss so I can go night night?
Paul "Well I'm not there but I love you buddy"
JR "Oooohhh....well, I'm gonna need some apologies for that!"  I was laughing so hard.  Never heard him use that word before and he used it correctly!  This child basically demands to be the one in charge.  Or at least think he is!  ; )

Baby BOY Rodeen #2!

We found out in October that we are expecting baby #2 and found out this week that it's another BOY!  We could not be happier to have a house full of Rodeen boys : )  When we told Johnny that he was going to be a big brother, he was very excited and automatically started talking about having a baby brother.  His exact wording was "When will my baby boy be here?"  Too funny.  We have had to remind him several times that it could be a sister but he pretty much refused to entertain that idea.  We told Johnny this morning that he will definitely be getting a baby brother and he was very happy!  He had a huge smile on his face.  Paul told him that Mommy & Daddy found out that it's a boy in Mommy's belly and his face lit up, pulled up my shirt to look at my belly, and said "And what does his hair look like?"  LOL!!!!  We both just laughed and said that maybe he would look just like his big brother!  He really just sat with a smile on his face and could tell the wheels were spinning in that little head of his : )  Then he started talking about naming him.  He was "spelling" all sorts of names.  By that, I mean naming off letters in any random order that he could think of them, asking us to tell us what he "spelled", and then saying that was a good name.  He did tell us that we had to name him a boy name, not a girl name.  Glad he cleared that up for us ; )  Finally I showed him ultrasound pictures to see if he could make out the baby in the picture.  He just looked at the profile picture and said "That's a nice picture of the baby, Mommy, but I don't see it"  At least he's polite I guess ; )  Paul's reply was, "Well now you know why we don't know what color of hair he has yet!"   I'm pretty sure that I can look forward to a house full of jokes and laughs for many years to come with 3 Rodeen boys in the house!  And I'm looking forward to every minute of it : )

Professional Pics

Johnny had his 3 year old pictures taken in September. So handsome! : )
 

Halloween

Johnny was Bumblebee Transformer for his Halloween party at preschool and was  Batman for trick-or-treating.  We walked in the parade that is downtown Paxton and the kids get candy at the businesses.  Johnny's Batman costume was actually Paul's costume from when he was 3 or 4 years old that his Mom had kept all of these years.  Too cute!!! 

Starved Rock

We went to a waterpark at Starved Rock and stayed in a cabin with the Conovers, Haas', and Swan's  for a weekend in November.  The cabin worked out great so all the kids could play together and the adults could hang out.  It was a really fun and relaxing weekend!

Johnny & Kenzie dancing after dinner

 Johnny & Jacob on the train to go to the waterpark

Movie time!

Random Nights Out

Just a few pics to show that Paul & I still get out every once in a while!  ; )  Quite a bit actually with the help of all 3 grandparents who live near.  We are so thankful for them!!!

Party at the Country Club

Dave's 40th Bday Party

 McGladrey Reunion

 Night out in Chicago when Kate & Ken were home

 Illini Tailgating

Chicago

We took a weekend trip to Chicago in August and went to Navy Pier to walk around and go on a boat ride, to the Children's Museum, out to dinner to the Rainforest Cafe with the Conover's, and to North Avenue Beach.  Think when we go again, we'll just go spend the day at the beach because Johnny loved it there!  Everything was fun, though!  Johnny got to ride in his 1st taxi and he thought he was big stuff : )  It was also his 1st boat ride so that was fun.

Christmas in July 2011

Christmas in July was a blast again this year!!!  We had a beautiful day and Johnny & Aleigha are both good in the pool with their floaties now so we didn't have to hold them the whole time which makes for a much more relaxing day!  : )  All the kids were great and played really well together.  It's so nice to have a whole day to spend together without rushing all over the place.  All the kids got a present from Grandma & Grandpa.  Johnny & Aleigha got MoBiGo's which Johnny still plays every day.  Good time and already looking forward to Cmas in July 2012!

Johnny's 3rd Bday

 I never wrote anything about Johnny's 3rd bday so I'll just post some pictures since it's now almost his 4th bday!!! We had a party for him at our house and it was a Cars theme. He had fun playing with Lizzy and Aleigha and loved his cake and all of his presents.

Potty Time

Johnny did potty training (and quite easily I might add!) in the beginning of July but still loves to look at his potty book sometimes : )

Arizona



We took a trip to Prescott Arizona in June for Paul's cousin's wedding.  Kathy, Kate, Ken, Paul, Johnny & I stayed in a great cabin and it was so relaxing!!!  The cabin was beautiful and it worked out great so that we could all hang out together.  It had a big wrap around porch which is where we spent the majority of our time.  The porch had a hot tub and firepit so that was fun!  Johnny was the ringbearer in Joe & Heidi's wedding and he did great.  He actually sprinted down the aisle so it was pretty cute : )  We headed to Phoenix to visit Grandma Hustedt for a day at the end of the trip.

Johnny's 3rd flight!  Such a pro : )

Making his 1st S'more...which he didn't even like! 

Just being a cowboy w/Daddy

Getting some sun on the deck at the cabin

Wedding time!

His ring bearer gift was this cowboy hat that he LOVES and wore the entire reception.  He said "Howdy Partner" to every person that would listen!  Super cute : )

Rodeen Family

In Phoenix with Gma Hustedt