Archive for July, 2015

Donovan and Serenity in July

Friday, July 31st, 2015

Star Wars Week
My Little Pony was a camp Serenity thought of, so for the second week of Mama Camp we chose one of DZ’s ideas. Donovan finally got to learn how to play Epic Duels. He can just barely sound out words, but he learns what each card does really fast. He is obsessed! And it’s awesome. So for Star Wars week he asked Daddy for lots of games of Epic Duels. I also got a Lego Star wars set that had two speeder bikes, and three minifigs, a Storm Trooper, and a rebel girl and a rebel guy. I figured the kids would each want one of the bikes, and would use it for their favorite minifigure. Well, they both wanted the colored bike, so instead Serenity and I made up our own speeder bike using our extra pieces. I love how it turned out!

We spent the 4th of July at The Property this year. It was a blast! Between Casey, Mike, and Billie’s family there were tons of fireworks. The kids even got to do sparklers! I think their favorite part was making their own fireworks though. I think Carson started this by spinning his glow neckace high into the sky. Soon all the kids were doing it. My kind of fireworks. No chance of sparks. =) Maia discovered that she loves corn on the cob and stole everyone’s. Serenity made a new friend and made sure that they included her brother in their fun. She is so awesome.

After Serenity’s birthday we made another trip to Kiddlestix to spend the rest of the gift cards Papa gave the kids for their birthdays. Donovan knew exactly what he wanted, a huge lego set. He chose the Emperor’s Throne Room (and Daddy helped a little cause he wanted it too). It came with Darth Vader, the Emperor and Luke. DZ keeps giving Vader Luke’s hair, much to Daddy’s chagrin. Serenity wanted two things, a Lego Elves set and more Calico Critters. So… Mama helped her buy the Lego Elves since I wanted it too =) So we all enjoyed our lego fun! And the sets were played with a lot, until the excitement at the end of the month.

The third week of July we had Peter Pan camp. Serenity loved her Little Mermaid musical theater so much, when we came across this camp that would let Donovan’s age attend too, we signed them right up! They came home every day saying they loved it, and they did such a good job at their little performance! Donovan sang “I’ve Gotta Crow” and Serenity sang “I’m Flying!” They both sang Never Never Land. But they practiced with the music in the car all week and were both adorable. Serenity’s face was so expressive and fun to watch, and Donovan’s teacher pulled me aside to say he was doing really well for his age. He knew lots of the movements. His line was “It’s all mine! Oh I’m clever.” Too cute!

After Peter Pan camp the kids had a week at home. One day Serenity had DZ rehearsing for their very own wolf performance. They sang a song they wrote and danced to it. “Ow-ow, ow wooo, ow ow, owwooo, that’s the word the wolf says!” I videoed it, although I got the impression that they would keep it going as long as I’d keep taking movies. =)

The big excitement for the month though is for our whole family. We found a new house! I’ve been looking for the last few years, knowing that eventually we would outgrow our current house. And we found just the perfect one, and our offer was accepted! It looks like everything is going well so far, so it’s very likely that we will move out August 28th!! I’ll do a whole separate post about this though. There’s so much to write about!!! However, it has to be said that Donovan is a super star packer. He asks to help pack constantly and I think has put stuff in nearly every box that is going out of our house. There are several days I would have let it slide but with his encouragement I just got it done. =) Serenity is an indifferent packer but has been surprisingly helpful with cleaning up the house. She even learned to scrub the toilets and says she’s going to make a schedule for our new house so it stays clean too.

 

Donovan's Pony Camp =)

Donovan’s Pony Camp =)

DZ and Hudson

DZ and Hudson

Fourth of July with Raegan!

Fourth of July with Raegan!

Star Wars patterns =)

Star Wars patterns =)

Star Wars Legos

Star Wars Legos

Speeder Bikes

Speeder Bikes

Fairy Serenity =)

Fairy Serenity =)

Lego!!!

Lego!!!

Lego Elves!!!

Lego Elves!!!

So... Raegan gave us a plasma car.... Eric shares I promise.

So… Raegan gave us a plasma car…. Eric shares I promise.

Playing Fairytale Spinner.  I love the stories they come up with during this game!

Playing Fairytale Spinner. I love the stories they come up with during this game!

See, Maia and DZ get a turn =)

See, Maia and DZ get a turn =)

DZ rocks at packing!!!

DZ rocks at packing!!!

Peter Pan pose =)  I love Serenity's pigtails =)

Peter Pan pose =) I love Serenity’s pigtails =)

Singing wolves =)

Singing wolves =)

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We tied the sunflowers into a house at last =)

We tied the sunflowers into a house at last =)

=)  Fancy hair day

=) Fancy hair day

Maia is 19 Months!

Wednesday, July 29th, 2015

 

Fourth of July!  She stole corn off everyone's plates.

Fourth of July! She stole corn off everyone’s plates.

 

7/29
Maia is talking so much more these days!!! The other day as we were leaving the library where she met a little girl her age, she said “bye cute baby!” over and over. It was so cute =) And so clear! It’s very interesting because for a while she said a few words, but then it seemed like she was trying to talk in paragraphs and I didn’t understand any words at all, but all of a sudden I can. She knows the names of all the Backyardigans and the Paw Patrol characters, and will point at them in books and say their names. She “reads” all the little board book sets we have aloud. Each page has a word and a picture and she knows. We have about fifty of these so I was astonished when she started picking them up and saying what was on each page. Even though we read them often we have so many I didn’t think we’d gone through them enough for her to memorize. She said “Dada out!” from her crib yesterday, and she says “Pizza!” whenever someone comes to the door. =) We may be eating a lot of takeout during our move…. Oh, and her most common request is Paw Patrol, which sounds like Pa Puh Tee. =) She says outside, swing, and sliiii. So many things. It’s so nice when she can actually say what she wants, she’s much less frustrated.

Maia is a climber. She climbs over the back of the couch constantly. She is very busy all the time and doesn’t like being limited in where she can go =) Which is fine in the baby proofed house but a bit more challenging when we visit =)

Her favorite books right now are the Bunny Rabbit Show and Super Why Christmas. Favorite toys at the moment are probably her wooden puzzle from Vanaema or the stacking cups we got with her gift from Papa. She lines them up and then stacks them =) She got into the marble run the other day and started stacking the purple squares on top of all the brown ones, and she was not open to other patterns. =) She had a plan!

She recently gave up her high chair, which was ok for awhile but now she just wants to take all her food into the other room to eat on the couch.  And forget about finishing meals.  Plus we need to keep the house tidy so we can put it on the market.  So the new rule is food only in the kitchen, so whenever she gets up from the table I take away whatever she tries to wander off with.  She’s not pleased with the new rule.  The other day she grabbed two huge handfuls of cheerios and stuffed them in her mouth before leaving the table to work around it.  =)

Maia's First Do a Dot!

Maia’s First Do a Dot!

Sprinkler Fun =)

Sprinkler Fun =)

Boxes

Boxes

SuperWhy!

SuperWhy!

She said "pretty" to this headband =)

She said “pretty” to this headband =)

She loves getting rides on the plasma car Raegan passed down to us =)

She loves getting rides on the plasma car Raegan passed down to us =)

Everyone loves it =)

Everyone loves it =)

Pics in the secret room.  Maia plays in here a lot, even with the play kitchen which I was considering getting rid of.

Pics in the secret room. Maia plays in here a lot, even with the play kitchen which I was considering getting rid of.

Maia "helping" pack.  We were taking the games and toys down to the garage and came back up to find she figured out how to open the marble ru =)

Maia “helping” pack. We were taking the games and toys down to the garage and came back up to find she figured out how to open the marble ru =)

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Fourth of July!  She stole corn off everyone's plates.

Fourth of July! She stole corn off everyone’s plates.

Playdate with Miss Sophia!

Playdate with Miss Sophia!

Maia's favorite comfy spot is snuggling Mama with her hand down my shirt

Maia’s favorite comfy spot is snuggling Mama with her hand down my shirt

This bucket used to hold Magformers... that offended Maia, both because she loves to play magformers, and because she feels the bucket is better on her head.

This bucket used to hold Magformers… that offended Maia, both because she loves to play magformers, and because she feels the bucket is better on her head.

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Serenity and DZ in June

Tuesday, July 14th, 2015

I’ve been doing so many birthday posts there isn’t much left to say about June, so I’m combining their monthly post.  Also, it’s late, so this will get me caught up =)  The kids had two weeks of Camp Incredible, which they loved.  Serenity did Magic Tree House, DZ did African Animal Alphabet, and they both did Explore Europe. So much fun!!!   And for the rest of the month, just pictures =)

 

My Little Pony Camp with Mama

 

Since we only signed up for two weeks of camp, we decided to start having Mama Camp.  The kids pick the theme and I pull out various toys and activities related to it.  The first week (decided by a dice roll from several choices they made) was My Little Pony week.  The first day I made a sign that said, "What do these ponies need?  Build it for them.  Serenity built these feeding systems, and DZ made a stable.

Since we only signed up for two weeks of camp, we decided to start having Mama Camp. The kids pick the theme and I pull out various toys and activities related to it. The first week (decided by a dice roll from several choices they made) was My Little Pony week. The first day I made a sign that said, “What do these ponies need? Build it for them. Serenity built these feeding systems, and DZ made a stable.

The second day they got these tiny my little ponies, and they built things that these ponies need.  Serenity made Rose Luck a magical garden, and DZ built a castle for Twilight Sparkle.  Maia enjoyed chewing on hers =)

The second day they got these tiny my little ponies, and they built things that these ponies need. Serenity made Rose Luck a magical garden, and DZ built a castle for Twilight Sparkle. Maia enjoyed chewing on hers =)

The kids love the worksheets and do-a-dot pages I printed

The kids love the worksheets and do-a-dot pages I printed

DZ got to go to Little Boots camp and ride an actual miniature horse!  And he painted him too =)

DZ got to go to Little Boots camp and ride an actual miniature horse! And he painted him too =)

Serenity made beautiful My Little Pony necklaces.  She even made one for Maia =)  They watched some of the My Little Pony cartoon too.

Serenity made beautiful My Little Pony necklaces. She even made one for Maia =) They watched some of the My Little Pony cartoon too.

 

Lego World:

Lego world has been a summer staple =)

Lego world has been a summer staple =)

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Lego Chima!  A bit challenging for DZ but SO cool!

Lego Chima! A bit challenging for DZ but SO cool!

The kids chose to spend half their birthday gift to Kiddlestix now, and half in July.  Serenity got Laser Maze, which we all love, and DZ got an awesome lego kit.

The kids chose to spend half their birthday gift to Kiddlestix now, and half in July. Serenity got Laser Maze, which we all love, and DZ got an awesome lego kit.

 

Summer Fun:

Picnic under the peach trees.  Shade at last!

Picnic under the peach trees. Shade at last!

Love my snuggles.

Love my snuggles.

Pajama boys

Pajama boys

Making watermelon shapes with cookie cutters

Making watermelon shapes with cookie cutters

Zoo trip with Daisy Friends =)

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