Archive for November, 2015

Serenity and Donovan in November

Monday, November 30th, 2015

I was looking through the pictures to do the kids update this month, and all of my favorites are of the two of them together =)  So they get a combined post this month.

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They have discovered all the nicely labeled tubs in my closet.  So now they are getting out various tubs all on their own!  Which is funny because when the toys were just loose, they never got used.  Now they actively seek out the Pirate dress up stuff, or the Super Hero tubs.  There have been some epic dress up sessions this month.  Donovan found the Thor mask, and asked me to make Mjolnir for him.  He ran around with a red scarf for a cape, flinging his hammer or jumping off things to bash his hammer to the ground.  Awesome.  Serenity loved it so much she asked for her own Mjolnir.  She said she is Super Selena.  =) They absolutely love my closet by the way, it’s their favorite room in the house.  They make clubs in there all the time, and have taped art all over the walls.  And they climb onto the table and shelves =)

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They just love jumping off tables =)  And they specifically asked me to photograph them as flying super heroes =)

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They also spent a lot of time in chalk club outside.  They still love coloring, but Serenity especially has started just scraping the chalk into dust, and combining colors with the big broom to make new fancy colors that she gives extravagant names to.  Beautiful and so creative!

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Do-a-dots and play-doh time were also something they requested a lot =)  Even Maia enjoyed these activities!

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We hosted Thanksgiving in our new house!  Twice =)  Dad came over Thursday to enjoy dinner with us.  I wanted to make my orange rolls and orange turkey =)  He read a lot of books to Maia but had to take his pie home since he ate at Rosario’s too =)

 

Friday we had a big wonderful crowd!  Kelly, Mike, Carson, Raegan, Jen, Casey, Barrett, Little Casey, David, Jana, Brandon, Brayden, Cooper, Kyle, Kiley, KaLynn and her boyfriend Kyle, Mom and Phyllis all came over!  And they FIT!  I love our new house!  I put out folding tables and chairs since we haven’t bought a table yet, and put butcher paper for coloring on them.  Maia especially loved that =)  Mom tried to color with her but every time she picked up a crayon, Maia took it right out of her hand.  She couldn’t even sneak one, Maia is very observant =)  Later she did let Jen color, and Mom said Jen must be special. =)  She did fly Maia around the house so it’s possible that earned her lots of Maia points. =)

 

Mike made an awesome turkey.  I just don’t know how he finds so many delicious but different ways to make them.  Casey brought ham =)  I got to make potatoes, which is easy and delicious =)  Kelly got pies from Antoinette’s, yum!

 

I just loved how the kids played together so well!  They spent a lot of time in the lego room, playing totally random things.  At one point they were bouncing balls off Barrett, which I hope he was ok with.  But a ball bounced off Maia.  She didn’t notice, but Serenity put her arms up and shouted “STOP!  We have to watch out for the baby!”  I love her, she is such a great big sister =)  Eric got to teach some Seven Wonders, and played Lost Cities with Kyle.  It was a wonderful day!

 

Serenity got to sing in Night Light for the first time.  My favorite song they sang is “Oh Wouldn’t it be Loverly?”  I love it.  She also sang, “If I had a hammer” And when she got to the part about the “brothers and the sisters.”  She pointed at DZ and made little heart motions =) Love love love =)

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We have had several more game nights this month!  I absolutely love having people over!  If anyone reading this likes to play board games you should let me know =)

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Sasha came over for a craft day too.  She made an adorable advent calendar and thanks to her company I actually got the quilt top pieced for EC.  I need some more motivation to get it quilted though =)

 

We still love playing at our neighborhood playground even though it is getting chilly =)

We still love playing at our neighborhood playground even though it is getting chilly =)

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Serenity found babies for these animals =)

Serenity found babies for these animals =)

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Mom has been babysitting for me a lot =)

Mom has been babysitting for me a lot =)

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Eric came up with a bunch of fun math games for Serenity's class on math day =)

Eric came up with a bunch of fun math games for Serenity’s class on math day =)

I bought a media cabinet!  Woo hoo!

I bought a media cabinet! Woo hoo!

The Richards came down and we did our traditional shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  So much fun!  I just love starting our holiday season this way =)

The Richards came down and we did our traditional shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. So much fun! I just love starting our holiday season this way =)

Maia is 23 months and 10 days old =)

Saturday, November 28th, 2015

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Maia adores her siblings.  I just love the way she shrieks their names when she sees them.  Lately she calls Serenity “Sis-sis-sy” which kind of sounds like sis and Serenity together.  And Donovan is “donnovy donnovy donnovy.” Serenity especially is spending lots of time cuddling with Maia, and often calls me to take a picture =)  She likes to go get her when she wakes up.  At Thanksgiving, Maia was up in the lego room with the big kids (spinning around holding a baseball bat, but that’s beside the point.)  The big kids were playing ball, and one bounced off Maia’s head.  Maia didn’t even blink, but Serenity got in the middle with her arms held wide and said “STOP!  We have to watch out for the baby!”  So cute =)  Maia asks Serenity to read her books now too, which is a whole other level of adorable.

 

Maia is obsessed with letters, which as you can imagine makes me happy.  She loves touching them and saying the letter sounds.  She knows all the basic sounds now.  When she says the letter M it sounds like “nm”

 

She still says “bookeee and milkeee”  And now Serenity and Dz and I say it too.  =)  She especially loves the little Backyardigans phonics books, Christmas Parade (although she gets sidetracked on that one by telling me all the letters she sees now.), and The Bunny Rabbit Show.  Oh, and Little Pookie.

 

She says “Hi Mama!” and “Hi Dada!” a lot.  It is so cute and usually followed by a run and a hug =)

 

She did NOT enjoy her Halloween costume.  I made her a fleece hat to look like Skye from the Paw Patrol, and some wings.  She didn’t really want to even put on the pink dress, which was just a normal outfit, so I knew the costume wasn’t going to work.  I think it traumatized her a bit though because for the next ten days she did not want to wear ANYTHING, including her diaper.  It’s better now since I remember to give her two choices in outfits and let her pick.  But if we’re at home she often chooses naked =)  And she doesn’t wear shoes much at all.  As it’s nearly December now it’s limiting the amount of time she spends outside.  Hopefully she figures that out soon!  She still loves being outside, in the sand and the sidewalk chalk on the patio.  Sometimes swinging.

 

My favorite thing she does right now is ask to “Wock” in the rocking chair.  The way she says it is just adorable and I love rocking and sometimes we read bookees too.  =)
She’s having some trouble sleeping, and we are having some trouble regulating the temperature in her room.  If the door stays shut it gets too cold.  So long as we remember to open it after she falls asleep it’s usually ok, but otherwise she will wake up at 2am and party for awhile.  Last night she woke up at 4am, discovered the open door, and came to my bed.  She crawled in, got under the covers, and went right back to sleep!  It was glorious!  She only turned over one time, and I actually got to go back to sleep too!  Usually she’s a roly poly and Eric has to put her in her own bed.  Such a nice way to wake up! =)

Maia still loves watching shows, but now she prefers Superwhy!  Which is my favorite too =)  However, she says “Marshall Chase” which makes it seem like she wants Paw Patrol, and then when we get to the tv she says “Superwhy!” like she was just luring me to the tv with the “marshall chase.”  =)

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Climbing on the counters... one of Maia's favorite ways to get in trouble.

Climbing on the counters… one of Maia’s favorite ways to get in trouble.

She sleeps in a different position every night, and grabs totally random stuff to put in her bed.  Tonight it was Daddy's pillow and her Maia pillow.  =)

She sleeps in a different position every night, and grabs totally random stuff to put in her bed. Tonight it was Daddy’s pillow and her Maia pillow. =)

She got to try play-doh for the first time this month!  And loves it!

She got to try play-doh for the first time this month! And loves it!

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 I also let her hammer nails into styrofoam... mostly in an attempt to be able to sneak off and finish putting together the new media center, but it was worth the million tiny bits of styrofoam I had to clean up later, as all three kids enjoyed it =)

I also let her hammer nails into styrofoam… mostly in an attempt to be able to sneak off and finish putting together the new media center, but it was worth the million tiny bits of styrofoam I had to clean up later, as all three kids enjoyed it =)

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She sang along with Mom's piano playing =)  She calls her "Gra'mba" =)

She sang along with Mom’s piano playing =) She calls her “Gra’mba” =)

"Wock!"

“Wock!”

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Bookees with Papa =)

Bookees with Papa =)

Maia loves coloring, markers and do-a-dots!  She colors on herself a lot.

Maia loves coloring, markers and do-a-dots! She colors on herself a lot.

Mom is laughing because Maia will NOT let her use a crayon.  She will give her one, and then take it right back.  And it's impossible to sneak one, she will notice.

Mom is laughing because Maia will NOT let her use a crayon. She will give her one, and then take it right back. And it’s impossible to sneak one, she will notice.

Jen is special, she got to color too =)

Jen is special, she got to color too =)

Fly!!!  Aunt Jen was very popular =)

Fly!!! Aunt Jen was very popular =)

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Donovan in October

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015
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I was not surprised when he chose to fly on the pumpkins when I asked him to take a pic with the pumpkins =)

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Donovan had a FUN month!  He loved pretending to be Cyclops for Halloween.  It was so cute when he said “Kachow!” and flashed his optic blast ( red led finger lights attached to futuristic sunglasses)  He adored trick-or-treating.  This is the first year that he actually asked to go out again after coming home tired from the first trip.  We got to walk in our neighborhood parade and climb trees with some of our neighbors in the greenbelt too =)  The neighborhood was such a fun place to be!  There were blow up dragons that we visited regularly, houses with Halloween lights, just lots of festive fun.  I’m so glad we moved here!
Ann came to visit us this month, which is always cause for celebration!  Donovan especially enjoyed that she played so many games with him!  She even played games she doesn’t especially care for normally, just to enjoy time with her grandson =)  So fun!  She took them for picnics, walks and bike rides around our new neighborhood too.  And Donovan was very happy that she went with him to a tennis lesson and practiced some more with him just the two of them.

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DZ was VERY reluctant to touch the pumpkin guts but it turned out to be fun!

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Reading with Vana ema

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Ann played lots of games while she was here, to Donovan’s delight, including some Mexican Train =)

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All dressed up for School Picture Day. Daddy decided to match him with his wolf tie =)

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On a play date with his sweet friend Shira =)

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He loves his sister!!!

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Daddy’s home!!!

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Super DZ made a mask with the Daisy Scouts =)

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Crawling into the monster tunnel =)

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At the carnival with his teacher Ms. Parent

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