Archive for May, 2015

Maia is 17 months old!

Friday, May 22nd, 2015
When Daddy gets home from work this is where Maia wants to be.  The Daddy Cave

When Daddy gets home from work this is where Maia wants to be. The Daddy Cave

Baby girl loves to climb!  Into chairs, on the table.  One morning I found her sitting on the table with her ankles crossed like a little lady and a big grin on her face. "Look what I can do!"

Baby girl loves to climb! Into chairs, on the table. One morning I found her sitting on the table with her ankles crossed like a little lady and a big grin on her face. “Look what I can do!”

"Peas Readab'k"

“Peas Readab’k”

Serenity and her friend Sophia look longingly in the yard.  Why do the big kids get to go out? ;)

Maia and her friend Sophia look longingly in the yard. Why do the big kids get to go out? 😉

Music! =)

Music! =)

She loves Rosario =)

She loves Rosario =)

 

Maia is 17 Months Old!

 

Maia discovered Serenity’s jewelry box. She evidently loves necklaces. I found her with six draped around her, some on her arms, some over her shoulders like a shrug, and some actually on her neck. So cute!

 

When she’s angry these days she bangs her own head. Ouch! It hurts Mama!

 

She loves swinging now. =) And she definitely wants to be outside when Serenity and DZ go out.

 

She asks for shows now. She is fascinated by Super Why and loves the Backyardigans.

She is getting braver now about climbing.  She gets on the desk and is furious when I remove her.  She climbs easily onto chairs and often eats standing in one at the table.  And if anything is left out on the table she’ll take care of it. =)

Loves books and Grandma =)

Loves books and Grandma =)

This is NOT her bowl.  Hence the mischief in her eyes =)  She does attempt to use spoons these days though.  And she loves oatmeal.

This is NOT her bowl. Hence the mischief in her eyes =) She does attempt to use spoons these days though. And she loves oatmeal.

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new puzzle from Vanaema! She loves it when Vanaema does her Estonian song... which I can't transcribe properly.  But Maia says "Di!Di! and Va! Va!" which is part of the song.  She would listen to it endlessly!

new puzzle from Vanaema!
She loves it when Vanaema does her Estonian song… which I can’t transcribe properly. But Maia says “Di!Di! and Va! Va!” which is part of the song. She would listen to it endlessly!

Pablo =)  So cute when she says it.

Pablo =) So cute when she says it.

17 months! =)  She is hard to contain at events these days.  She wants to wander!

17 months! =) She is hard to contain at events these days. She wants to wander!

 

Donovan in April

Wednesday, May 13th, 2015

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Electronics free month is over! Time to catch up!

Donovan came up with the best knock knock joke ever. This after a long line of jokes that make no sense at all, but this one I love =)

“Knock Knock.”
Who’s There?
“Love”
Love who?
“Love you!!!”

Easter was especially fun for Donovan this year. He loves hiding stuff and finding stuff =) His clues for the Easter Bunny hunt were all photos taken with my digital polaroid camera. They were close up pictures and he had to figure out from there where the bunny was. My favorite was hidden in the game cabinet next to X-men, one of his favorite board games. He found one in the new shower, one in my laundry basket, stuff like that. It was great! Finally he found his Easter basket, which had new dragon fire wings, and some new legos.

He absolutely loves building with legos now. He loves putting together things from instructions, and playing with what he’s built. He’s starting to come up with some of his own things, which I adore. I had a few lego challenges written down for when he was at a loss for what to do without screens. The first was the monochromatic challenge, which was to build something using only one color. He chose red and built some kind “choo-er” bad guy trap. It was long and skinny with some interesting patterns to the lego placement. The next challenge was to build a birdhouse. He made one big enough to hold a little people bird.

Donovan loves Tigers right now. He is having a Paw Patrol birthday this year, but next year he says it’s going to be a tiger party. He keeps asking me to plant tiger plants and trees so he can hide in his own jungle. Adorable! And he made a tiger mask craft all by himself, and wrote a little story about tigers too. He loves to write. It’s funny, I’m always surprised because he often asks to write, and tries to write on his own. I love his enthusiasm!

 

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Tigers!!

Tigers!!

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One bunny hid by his favorite Daddy game =)

One bunny hid by his favorite Daddy game =)

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Fire Wings were a hit =)

Fire Wings were a hit =)

Playing X-men with Daddy

Playing X-men with Daddy

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Donovan loves his friend Max!!!  Breaks my heart that they will be in different classes.

Donovan loves his friend Max!!! Breaks my heart that they will be in different classes.

Birthday Chocolate Donuts!

Birthday Chocolate Donuts!

These angry bird sling shots have been so much fun!

These angry bird sling shots have been so much fun!

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Dress up!  So cute =)

Dress up! So cute =)

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Serenity in April

Wednesday, May 13th, 2015

5/1

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Electronics free month is over! Time to copy over some of the stories I wrote down =)

 

Serenity says she wants to be a botanist when she grows up and so does her friend Lillyan. When they grow up they are going to start a company because they will be great together.

 

On Easter: “Serenity, how much of your Easter candy have you eaten?” Her response: “Mama, I think you should just ‘let it gooooo’ let it goooooo”! =)

 

We went to the aquarium with her Girl Scout Troop this month. There was a really challenging scavenger hunt to earn a Junior Marine Biologist patch, and the girls were very enthusiastic about it! They managed to find everything and explore the whole aquarium. Lillyan was looking for a fish that swims in schools, and when she found one, she read “Crappie… I said crap. I said crap again.” Lol =)

 

Serenity said several times that electronics free month was a good idea, and that we should have one every year. She definitely read a TON of books this month. Luckily her new obsession with Rainbow Magic Fairies gave her plenty of books to read. She reads at least a dozen a week, as many as she can find at the library. She has started taking books on all our car rides. A few times when I’ve told her eyes shut time she will beg to be allowed to finish a page or a chapter. She said “I’ve lost my head in a book.” Also, when I told her about the time Eric took one of my books when I just had three pages left, she was absolutely appalled. My daughter =)

 

She drew pictures of her Rainbow Magic Fairy addiction =)

She drew pictures of her Rainbow Magic Fairy addiction =)

Lots of these unicorns coming home, I love it!

Lots of these unicorns coming home, I love it!

Creative Producers was especially fun this year. Not only did I help with the setup, making signs for the “internet cafe” in the library, and helping make fliers and such, but this year Serenity really participated! She read to us from the book she’s been making with Dr. Hollingsworth. I LOVED her stories! And her reading is just awesome. So expressive! She sat on a chair draped in gold fabric and wore a crown, and we loved every minute of it. She is writing stories that are multiple paragraphs long now. And drawing pictures to go with them =)

Easter this year was so much fun. We did our traditional bunny hunt. This year, we gave the kids separate clues. For Serenity, half her clues were puzzles in a code she had to figure out, and the others were photos taken with my new digital polaroid camera. They were close up so she had to figure out where the bunny was hiding. We also did an Easter Egg hunt at Jen’s house with the cousins. SO fun! We colored eggs with melted crayons. So vibrant and pretty. Oh, and we went to Breakfast with the Bunny at the zoo! That was really fun. The kids got to pet a pig and a real rabbit, and take pictures with the bunny. The best part though was making treats for the bears and elephants! The kids decorated bags that the zookeepers filled with snacks and they put them out so we got to see the bears dig into the bags. The elephants too, although we didn’t stay that long.

 

Half of Serenity's clues were in code =)

Half of Serenity’s clues were in code =)

Half the clues for Serenity were photos like this, and she had to figure out where to look.

Half the clues for Serenity were photos like this, and she had to figure out where to look.

The kids loved the bunny hunt this year!!!!

The kids loved the bunny hunt this year!!!!

Serenity got a big sidewalk chalk stencil and a flower press kit.  Perfect for Nature Girl =)

Serenity got a big sidewalk chalk stencil and a flower press kit. Perfect for Nature Girl =)

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Serenity got a big new set of sidewalk chalk in her Easter basket, plus a new mandala stencil. She immediately colored on our front porch, which I can still see and enjoy. Then she and Donovan started Chalk Club in the garage. The only problem with that is that it never washes away in the rain… so how can they draw new stuff?

 

The day after Easter I pulled out some hard to find easter eggs I’d purchased and the kids and I found really challenging places for Eric to hunt for them when he got home from work. They did such a good job! The eggs have strings so you can hang them from things, or suction cups to stick to windows, or flat bottoms, or a sticky side. They are still enjoying those =) And Eric loved his surprise =)

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Eric built an epic blanket fort.  With three apartments inside.

Eric built an epic blanket fort. With three apartments inside.

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Serenity is in Sunday School now. We are going to Mike and Kelly’s church, just for Sunday School. She really likes it! I love my class too.

 

Our neighbor was visiting and I heard a ruckus outside and went to investigate. Serenity told me: “I can tell you the TRUE story, what REALLY happened. Because I’m a neutral party. I’m not on Karen’s side, I’m not on Donovan’s side. ”

I remember buying this Daphne costume for Raegan!  How did my baby get so BIG!?!

I remember buying this Daphne costume for Raegan! How did my baby get so BIG!?!

Papa breakfast and game time =)

Papa breakfast and game time =)

The iris bed before I pulled them all out =)  Serenity gave me a frame last mothers day and said we should take a picture with a heart between us to fill it... it's been waiting awhile =)

The iris bed before I pulled them all out =) Serenity gave me a frame last mothers day and said we should take a picture with a heart between us to fill it… it’s been waiting awhile =)

Reading and snuggles.  My life is SO great!

Reading and snuggles. My life is SO great!

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Birthday donut treats for school =)  She helped me make the flags

Birthday donut treats for school =) She helped me make the flags

Decorating gifts for the elephants and bears

Decorating gifts for the elephants and bears

Breakfast with the Bunny at the zoo

Breakfast with the Bunny at the zoo

Pretty eggs!!!

Pretty eggs!!!

I had fun too =)

I had fun too =)

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Easter Eggs with crayon shavings!  They were fun and pretty!

Easter Eggs with crayon shavings! They were fun and pretty!