Friday, November 12, 2010

Kid Update

It has been a while since I've recorded where the kids are at these days. I love the ages they are right now. (I feel like I always say that.) They play together more now than ever. Just about every day, they play hide and seek, jump on the trampoline together or have dance parties together. They totally know how to push each other's buttons too, and have recently been working on their "peace talks." They're learning how to work it out themselves.


Feeding the fish at the Fish Hatchery

Tail-gating at Disney on Ice.

A fav with these two,  Fairy Tale Town.

Finn:
*is still glued to his beads. They are in his hands or right by his side when he is reading, sleeping, eating, brushing teeth, jumping, dancing, in the car. He only touches his other toys when other kids are over.
*went through a big growth spurt this summer.
*eats two breakfasts every day.
*loves the Narnia books.
*Is fascinated by the creatures we find in our garden...and sometimes our house! 
*Started drawing a little! (He NEVER was interested in coloring or drawing. He will write his name for a birthday card or something, but only when asked to.) I'm so happy to see him pick up a crayon and give it a go!
*Has become obsessed with dental hygiene over the last few months. He has been known to turn down sweets if he thinks he won't be able to brush the "sugar bugs" off shortly after.  (it all started last year when the dentist visited his preschool.) Really it's great, but I've had to curb his paranoia a little. He also counts strokes when he brushes his teeth.  (I didn't teach him that either.)


Good for preschool exploration. Bad for tomatoes.
We found this big praying mantis in our living room! We put him back in the garden so he can eat all the bad bugs...after we stared at him for a while.
Finn's first family portrait.


Selah:
*is SOOOO two!
*is almost completely potty trained!! I say almost because she has accidents once in a while but I've figured out her triggers and we're working on it. It all started a couple of weeks after she turned two. We would just find her on the little potty with the door shut sometimes. It's been progressing ever since and now she's doing great. We are done with diapers during the waking hours! Yay!
* loves to help mommy in the garden and the kitchen
*Plays dress-up now with her friends and likes to dress herself and undress herself throughout the day. She has become very creative.
*She LOVES to cuddle and pretend that you are lonely or hurt or scared and she is there to comfort you. She looks at you with sad sympathetic eyes and gives you a big hug, pats you on the back, gives you a kiss and says it's all going to be okay.
*Has gradually added more and more friends to her crib. Currently she sleeps with a sock monkey, a teddy bear, a baby doll, a hello kitty and a dragon. She tucks them each in with a blanket, leaving very little space on the pillow for her own head. I often find her doing the above-mentioned coddling talk them. (they are very needy friends.)
Some funny Selah situations:
*A couple of weeks ago at a friends' house she spilled some milk and after we all cleaned it up, she said quietly, "I'm so embarrassed."
*I was eating the other day and Selah came over to me saying "Mommy, I want to say sorry to you." "I want to say sorry to you". She kept repeating that while she climbed onto my lap. I said, "Why do you want to say sorry to me?" She grabbed a piece of bread off my plate and said "Because I'm going to eat your bread!" and quickly she shoved it into her mouth. I know it was a teaching moment, but I was too much in shock (and a little bit proud) that she thought up that sneaky plan all by herself.





You put those shorts on all by yourself? No kidding?

She thinks those princess tops feel "sticky" so she usually just pulls up the skirt for a tube dress.

Wings held on by a chip-clip. I do what I can.



The new line for Fall 2010! Everyone will be wearing this soon.

You say shirt, I say SKIRT!

Any toy can be instantly turned into a cell phone.



Is it mean to take a picture of your kid when they are in time out?

Monday, November 08, 2010

Halloween Rhyme....from Finn

This is just from hearing a book read to him by his teacher around Halloween. I love the face he makes at the end of it. (Please excuse the monster behind the camera.....me when I was sick. )

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Halloween 2010!

                                 Happy Halloween!
We had a week full of activities. By the time Halloween came, Finn had worn his costume 4 times!  There are so many events for young ones. Preschool, church stuff, harvest festivals, parties, and then of course trick-or-treating. And then, we had a little event of our own, with friends - a little carving party!

The results.

I let Finn pick out a treat for me to make from a Halloween cooking magazine he was drooling over.

Presenting: Gruesome Green Toes! (nasty, but a big hit.)




 Nate and I were sick all week leading up to Halloween, so by the time it actually came, we were wiped out. So we passed on the big group trick-or-treating with friends and went to Woodland to spend it with Granny Peg and Papa Tom and just knocked on a few doors of some neighbors. The kids got Halloween gifts upon arrival. This little pumpkin kitty has been in Finn's hands ever since. You just never know what your kid is going to be attached to!


Selah danced loved her new dress up tutu.



                                         And now, the costumes!

Finn started off the theme with asking to be a scare crow. So the rest of us were a given....

Our little Dorothy


It was so fun to watch Selah jump right in their as a trick-or-treater with Finn. Last year she was still such a baby. The Woodland folks were so nice, giving our kids too much candy, and giving us parents an update of the Giant's game!

The whole gang. I give you, Lion, Dorothy, Scarecrow and Tin Man.  By Halloween, we were sort of just thrown together, but we DID win the group costume prize at a party the week before! (despite Nate's cardboard box shirt)