Daddy week, birthday parties and old friends

New Years week Daddy stayed home with the kids while I worked Monday through Thursday. Daddy had a shut down at work and I needed the extra hours to qualify for FMLA for maternity leave.  Daddy daycare is much more fun and exiting than mommy daycare. Daddy took the kids to swim, to story time, to Sports Basement, to the bank, grocery shopping, to visit Mommy at work and much more. The kids got out and played every day. Axel even helped Daddy do yard work. The kids had a great week and I could tell how much their relationships grew from a week together.  

On New Year's Eve, Daddy took me to see Star Wars in IMAX 3D. It was a great day and we really enjoyed ourselves. The kids loved that Monica came over to watch them as well, so it was a win, win evening for the entire family.

The kids still love books. Axel finished an entire reading level on Razz kids over his winter break, which is an online reading site through his school. It is amazing at how much his reading has improved so far this year. He was able to read a Magic tree house book almost completely by himself. It seems like just yesterday I was reading the Magic tree house series to him and now he can read it to me!

 I forgot to thank everyone for sending Christmas gifts. The kids loved everything they received, whether store bought or home made. We have managed to use everything we received so thank you. Here is the 500 piece puzzle little Grammy sent that Axel and Daddy worked on during winter break. Axel is really getting good at puzzles.

Axel enjoyed his winter break but was very excited to get back to school. He absolutely loves it. This week was my first week back to 3 days a week. It was really nice to have the extra time to spend with the kids and get things done. On Friday, I went to Axel's classroom to volunteer for Project Cornerstone. Usually I go without Phoenix because it is during her nap time. Since it was changed to the morning I decided to bring Phoenix too. The kids and Axel absolutely loved her being there. She did great for the first 45 minutes and then struggled for about 10 minutes until we transitioned from the floor to the desks. 

 Friday after school and both mornings this weekend have been spent catching up with our good old neighbors the Bartolos. Max, Sophia, Axel and Phoenix played extremely well together.

 These last three play dates are bittersweet as this visit was to get their house ready to sell. They have been gone for just over 2.5 years and need to sell their house before the 3 year mark in order to get around some tax implications.

 We will say our final goodbyes tomorrow night before they head out for good on Tuesday. Our only saving grace is if a nice family with children around Axel and Phoenix's age buy their house. Our neighborhood is not as much fun without kids to play with, so we are keeping are fingers crossed.

 Yesterday afternoon we headed to Automobuild for our neighbor's son Charlie's 4 year birthday party.

 Axel and Phoenix had a great time. We haven't really played with Evelyn and Charlie very often, but it is nice that they invited us to their party. Speaking to their mom, it might be a good idea not to get too attached as they are likely going to try to buy a house this summer before their 1 year lease ends.

Today we are headed over to Tyler and Cynthia's for a BBQ once Phoenix wakes from her nap. Axel also started another 8 week session of weekly swim lessons at the Y. We are gearing up for baseball tryouts next Saturday morning and then Pheeny's 3 year old birthday party the following weekend!