Week 13: Dance Machine

Oh Zach. Sometimes I don't know what to do with this kid, for both positive and negative reasons. This was one of those hilarious times, when his stubbornness won out and I said go for it because he was just being too wacky. We'd been having a discussion about how he wants to get Lego Dimensions for the Wii U, and his idea was to dance outside and people could put money in his hat. I tried to explain that no one was going to stop and give him money, but it didn't matter. It was also way too cold to go out in just a jacket and flip-flops. I guess he proved me wrong though, sort of. I texted photos of him to our neighbor friend/his yoga teacher/my workout buddy, Amanda, and she thought it was so hilarious that she gave him two dollars. I made a deal with the boys to get the video game for them, with certain conditions on good behavior from now until the end of the school year.

In other news, we made it to the park twice in one week. Once on Sunday (Easter) to ride bikes, and once during the week for Zach's cub scout meeting. Gabe and Charlotte played on the playground while the wolf den was geocaching. Charlotte continues to be pretty fearless about climbing.

And at Target I picked up this t-shirt for Gabe, which I knew he'd love. (I think he wore it for a few days straight, including sleeping in it--hey, it was the weekend.) He was so excited that he asked me to take a picture of him. I love that!

Week 12: Easter weekend edition

This is what Easter 2016 looks like...
our plum tree is blooming
neighborhood egg hunt
coloring eggs
Easter morning goodies: Gabe got a pokemon character doll and a pokeball, Zach got a magic 8 ball and Encyclopedia Brown books, and Charlotte got a Little People farm set
an egg hunt in the living room
another egg hunt in the front yard (from one of the neighbors, we're not sure who)
Domino's pizza lunch (the boys had been asking for it lately)
a trip to the park to ride bikes; Zach's first time trying his big bike with no training wheels and we're still working on it!

Week 11: This is 2

I'm not sure how, but I forgot how up and down life is with a two-year-old. She's cracking us up and charming us and driving us crazy at the same time. She's talking more every day, but her therapist agrees that she's being pretty stubborn too. She prefers Mommy to Daddy, and the more I try to separate her the tighter she hangs on. Here's a video of her singing. I have to warn you that she is super quiet like the last video but then I'm loud!

This is Charlotte for "I want milk."

She wears her sunglasses on her head like Mommy, even when she's wearing a hat. This girl is serious about accessories.

She's mad that I'm sorting clothes on the desk. She also wouldn't let me put a shirt on her or pull her hair back.

Week 10: The camping weekend

I'm still trying to catch up on photos from last week. I took the big camera to Zach's basketball practice/game on Wednesday and have a ton to weed through, and then there was his camping trip last weekend. We got a new blue waterproof camera (to replace the orange one that broke last summer after being dropped). Zach was thrilled to take many, many photos of trees and water and attempted selfies on his hike and around the camp. Gabriel, Charlotte, and I had a quiet weekend at home, doing art and playing with old toys we dug out of the storage room. Charlotte was interested in the Handy Manny construction set; she's been enjoying the tool characters and is hooked on the show now. Gotta love Netflix!

The weather was good last week; I think we walked to meet the bus every single day. No more stroller for this girl.

Gabe's imagination got a workout while Daddy and Zach were gone. He comes up with the craziest adventures!

Hiking

Woodworking

STEM: He made a flashlight.

Learning first aid

Weeks 8 & 9: Life in pictures

Another week flew by before I even realized it. It isn't until I sit down to look at photos that I remember what I captured. Here are a few little stories.

We let the kids enjoy the jets in our tub. First time for Charlotte and she loved it.

Grocery shopping with Gabe home sick from school.

Zach basketball.

Having tea parties with friends, including Buzz and Woody.

We are prepping for an upcoming cub scout camping trip.

After the decline of naptime, Charlotte started throwing fits at bedtime too. She was ready to move on from the crib, I guess. We took the crib out last weekend and she's pretty excited.

A random Saturday project, not yet completed but entertaining nonetheless. I think we cleaned up in order to try out the tent and unearthed a Lowe's Build and Grow kit of some sort.

Playing inside.

Playing outside.

Charlotte looking at the underwear I bought her. She's let us know that she's not quite ready to wear them yet.

Car naps...usually last about half an hour after we get the boys from the bus stop. Their rowdiness in the car doesn't even wake her.

The new tablet time, before bed. They like to play with the lights off.