2014 :: week 12

March 16

My dad made us dinner Sunday evening and he treated the kids to a delicious dessert of mint chocolate chip ice cream afterwards. They were too engrossed in an episode of Dragon Tales to look up for the picture.

March 17

We didn't do a lot to celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year. We did venture to a library and make some leprechaun hats. I was surprised at how long they wore them, at least as long as it took me to make them. When we got home Will took his off and Lauren wore his around for most of the afternoon.

 

March 18

I initially ordered Frozen as an Easter present for the kids. But then Tuesday was just one of those days and when the UPS guy dropped the package off I decided we might as well just watch it now. Lauren was in heaven. She loves the music, princesses and Olaf.

March 19

Wednesday we met some friends at the Lenexa Open Gym. After the normal open play hours Funky Mama put on a show. Will had a blast. He got so close that Funky Mama tripped into him, but he told me it was okay, sometimes that happens when you're dancing.

March 20

This picture is our March madness. Basketball on in the background for dayssss.

March 21

Friday my mom took the the kids and I to Wonderscope. The kids were almost as excited to ride in her car as they were to go to the museum. We had a great time! Despite the Spring Break crowds we were still able to spend a few minutes in each room. The kids loved showing Memaw their favorite exhibits.

March 22

It appears yard work will be on our agenda indefinitely for the next several Saturdays. Today we focused on getting the leaves up in our backyard that fell or blew into the yard after Christmas. It is boggles my mind how many leaves our relatively small yard can contain. In other news, I can't wait for these daffodils to bloom.

2014 :: week 11

March 9

Will got a tag pen for his birthday. Lately he has been spending an hour or so in the afternoon reading his books and playing the games. He is getting pretty good with sounding words out and recognizes a few words by site. I should do a better job encouraging and facilitating his reading because he is super interested right now. Any good tips on how to start?

March 10

A women in our ward is holding a Kindermusik class for some of the nursery-aged kids in our ward. She invited Lauren to participate and she had a great time.  She was very pleased that she got to go to a music class and Will did not. Will was pretty jealous.

March 11

Hello, neighbor! Lauren loves playing in her little house on our back porch. She was busy putting things in order while we grilled chicken and vegetables Tuesday night before it started to rain.

March 12

Seasonal allergies have commenced. Unfortunately, I seem to have passed those on to both of my children. Lauren got kicked out of nursery Sunday for her runny nose. It could be a long spring.

March 13

The kids love to swing on the wheel-chair swing at the elementary school playground.

March 14

Friday we had a picnic lunch at the park, TJ took out car to get the headlights fixed and we stocked up on groceries. I didn't take a picture of anything. Luckily Will took some selfies on my phone or the picture-taking streak would have been up.

March 15

We spent most of the ides of March doing yardwork. After dinner we went to the park and let the kids get the rest of their energy out. It's fun to see finally start enjoying the hints of spring.

2014 :: week 10

March 2

Will's musicality has been manifesting itself more than usual lately. Sunday morning he beat the garbage drum while we finished breakfast. The drum isn't really my instrument of choice for the early morning hours, but that doesn't stop Will from having a good time.

March 3

 We watched an episode of Caillou that talked about April Fools. Will though it was hilarious, and insisted that we "April Fools" each other all afternoon. He was very excited for me to open the fridge after he put some of his cars in there and then asked me for a drink.

March 4

Lauren plays really well by herself and loves playing in her room with her various toys, especially her Little People. She uses the other toys to facilitate her play with the people. A few of her Little People are the Disney Princesses and I made the mistake of telling her their names. Now she wants to know the names of all of them and she gets annoyed if I forget the names I made up the day before.

March 5

Lauren and I enjoy the time we have together while Will is at preschool, but she sure is excited to see her "Willy" when school is over.

Just some bedtime shenanigans. 

Will brandishes his broom in many ways. Friday afternoon he was "rocking out" and playing guitar.

March 8

Lauren has been taking the coins from her piggy bank and place each one on an individual brick for awhile. Lately she has been adding puzzles pieces to the mix. She likes to make patterns and gets mad when I try to pick them up.

2014 :: week 9

February 23

Sunday was the first time we saw my dad in a few weeks. He and my mom traveled to Utah to visit Matt & Emily and their new baby Tyler, then he had to travel for work. Sunday afternoon he stopped by for a visit and Will insisted on playing Angry Birds with him. Will is obsessed with Angry Birds right now.

February 24

Even though I took this photo in landscape, when I uploaded it to the blog it appears sideways. I am too tired to figure out the problem, so I apologize for the strange orientation. On Monday we talked about agency and making good choices for FHE. I got the idea online to fill out a blank "Chutes and Ladders" template for our activity. In filling out the game I subconsciously aired some beefs I have with Will right now because "telling mom dinner is gross," "stealing chocolate chips," and "saying bad words," were the choices with the harshest penalties. (Will's bad words of choice are butt and shut up.)

February 25

I feel so lucky that Lauren is over two and still takes a nap each day. I know each kid is different, but Will had stopped taking naps completely by her age and I have been living in fear of the day she stops. We've been debating whether or not to take her pacifier away, but I am scared to mess up the good thing we have going. Taking Will's away was the beginning of the end for him and napping. She does skip naps from time to time, but overall she still sleeps for a good 2 hours every afternoon.

February 26

Will's been on a music kick recently. I don't know if it is the long hours indoors or what, but he is doing something music related all the time. Here he is "rocking out," (his words) on his bass drums.

February 27

Anthony had an incredibly busy workload this week. The perfect storm of work and church related responsibilities hit and kept him busy well into the evening hours every night. I took both kids with me to the gym on Thursday for the first time this year. They love playing in the explorer room after I'm done exercising. When it was time to go Lauren "hid" in that tunnel and forced me to climb up and forcibly remove her. Two year olds have a strange sense of humor.

February 28

Friday I tried to run all my weekend errands before the bad weather hit Saturday. Among my stops was the library where I picked up the March book club read, Cold Comfort Farm.

March 1

Saturday evening as we were finishing up dinner we got word that church will be cancelled for tomorrow. Those darn wintery mixes are getting us again. So we decided to postpone baths until tomorrow morning and have a game night. We played CTR Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land and Let's Go Fishing. Lauren won more than anyone else, proving that those games are not based on skill or attentiveness.