Swimmers!

This is what Evelyn looks like for the majority of the lesson.  As soon as her turn is over, she is back under water, flipping around or doing somersaults. 

Henry likes to hold toys while he waits for his turn.

A Family Weekend



 Henry was quite ill from the middle of Friday night to Sunday morning and when he gained some energy, he had some tantrums.  These tantrums ranged from run of the mill to full-fledged toddler anger.  My poor boy was frustrated and still a little run down, even after his fever broke. 

 

Fortunately, he did reason to perk up a bit.  Chris set up a big boy bed in Henry's room.  Evelyn and Henry were both excited and eager to "help."   



Today was full of moments of like this. 

And this.

But, fortunately, there were also sweet moments.

Water colors are fun (and calming) for a while.

Evelyn, the preschooler

Evelyn has been learning some general aspects of Native American culture in preschool in preparation for Thanksgiving.  All of the preschoolers chose new names; Evelyn is Sparkly Star.  She is really in her element at preschool.  She talks to all of the kids after school and excitedly yells "'Bye!" or tries to set up play dates.  Evelyn knows, of course, that the kids themselves can't schedule these play dates.  She goes right to the source.  It's not at all uncommon for Evie to give me a rapid-fire "Hi Mom, look what I made!" before turning to find another mother and ask if she can set up a play date.   

Brother and Sister

We like to get into each other's business in this family.

Happy Halloween!

 

Henry really enjoyed the big bowl of candy.

A train and a cyclops!



A Glimpse of our Afternoon

Spring blooms

Borrowing his sissy's boots

Climbing hydrangea bud

Pillow forts and handmade Halloween costumes go together brilliantly.

Evelyn's home made cookies

 

Evelyn's Art

Mommy

Sad Henry (he can't reach his balloon)

Mimi

Fish Tank with a Mommy, Daddy, and girl fish along the sides.  Sea weed and fish food on the bottome

"I do! I do!"

 A few things Henry has been saying or enjoying lately:

1. count "one, two, thwee"
2. He loves to answer "I do, I do!" whenever I ask if anyone wants to eat breakfast/ go for a walk/ read a book/ etc.  There is usually a happy dance that accompanies this!
3. "I know! I know!"  When Henry had an idea for a book tonight, he prefaced it with "I know!" instead of just thrusting the book into my face.  It was adorable.
4. Nap time cooperation!  In the bed!  For many months, Henry would only reliably fall asleep at nap time in the car seat or the stroller (and occasionally in the Ergo or my lap)  Now, he actually says "bed!" when he gets sleepy at nap time and we nurse in the big bed until he falls asleep and then I actually have a good 1- 1 1/2 hours of relatively quiet time.  Evie and I usually snuggle, read books, do arts and crafts, or watch a movie.  

Henry also loves to help bring Evelyn to preschool and pick her up.  He gets very excited when she shows off her projects.  Recently, she brought home a bag of veggies and sang a vegetable soup song and Henry exclaimed "oh, wow!"  For her part, Evelyn shows great enthusiasm when Henry shows off his hand stamp from gymnastics class.  It's very sweet.



 

Evelyn's Game

While Henry napped this afternoon, Evelyn and I spent time together.  We built an elaborate city of wooden block buildings, complete with a train and station.  Without a toddler in sight to knock the city down to size, Evelyn was able to plan out a design and actually see it through.  She really enjoyed that.  Later, she traced some letters.  It's so fun to me that she knows every letter by sight.  We're connecting the letters to sounds now, but not in any formal way.  I like to take what Evelyn is interested in and then go from there.  Right now, she is very interested in writing stories and silly poems (a la "Where The Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein).

"Mom, soon Henry will grow up to be my friend.  We won't have a baby anymore-- just two kids!"

Tracing letters and reviewing the alphabet's order.

Evelyn has also had a lot of fun with board games lately.  My best friend was in town recently (which was such a lovely treat!) and one of the gifts she gave Evelyn was a memory game-- a huge hit.  Today, Evelyn decided to create her own game.  She used markers to draw the game board and then she crumpled up two pieces of paper to use as pawns.  I think she's sure this is the proper way to make game pieces, as this is her interpretation of some instructions we read in a book on how to fold paper for a fairy game piece.  She also asked me to draw a spinner and she glued hands on it and cut it out.  It doesn't spin, so we just pretend.  In this game, the winner (so far, always Evelyn) is the person who gets the "end" first.  She gets to read the book Evelyn has placed on a white wicker basket.  Score!

Ta da!

Girl Time

Yesterday, I had the chance to do something I've been wanting to do for a while.  Evelyn and I had a girls' afternoon out.  Henry and Daddy spent some time together at Home Depot and played before nap time.  In the meantime, Evelyn and I went to a pottery studio.  I love painting pottery and I have been waiting for the moment when Evelyn would have both the interest and the patience to join me.  She chose a little gift-shaped box with a lid to paint while I painted a light switch face plate for her bedroom.  It was especially fun to be creative with a preschooler without worrying about the clean-up! 

After painting, we walked together beneath a big umbrella and did a little shopping.  We shared some snacks and just enjoyed each other's company.  I recently had a conversation with a friend and questioned whether or not Evelyn and I could even have fun together anymore.  Three-and-a-half can be a tough age at times and our recent travels and holiday plans put a bit of a wrench in some of our routines.  It was wonderful to just enjoy my daughter's giggles and listen (without distraction) to her ideas and stories.  What a nice reset!

Snapshot: Choo choo!

Evelyn needed a little chair to reach her project on the kitchen counter.  Henry thought she was playing one of their favorite games:  line up the chairs and drive a train/ bus/ car/ airplane.  While she glued, he "chugged" and "choo-chooed."

Merry Christmas, 2011

Merry Christmas!  In light of our recent trip to the East Coast for Thanksgiving, we rather enjoyed a low-key Christmas this year.  We went to Christmas Eve Mass and then had a nice dinner at home and let the kids each open a gift (matching pajamas) before bath time.  The kids were so excited that they had a hard time winding down and I don't think either one fell asleep before 10:00.  It's a good thing that Santa was able to assemble and arrange gifts in just about two hours, because he (we) sure were tired!  Fortunately, we all slept in until about 8:30 to make up for it.

Thanks to Xbox Kinnect, we were able to video chat with a large part of my family and we plan to video chat with more family members in the next day or two as well.  I love that the kids can sing and dance and show off their gifts to grandparents on the opposite side of the country!  Evelyn was originally a little disapointed that there wasn't a door to open on her Advent calendar for Christmas, I think it is safe to say that she has officially moved on.  We don't focus much on gifts before Christmas morning in our home.  Gifts don't slowly pile around our tree-- we keep them hidden away for the most part until the big morning.  It was so sweet to hear the "Wow!" from Evelyn (and then from Henry) and see their eyes light up.  I think they were pretty surprised. 

Some highlights:

The calm before the storm.

Dress up

I love these customizable paper dolls.  I found them here.

Bubble wrap fun

My helper, washing potatoes.

The Amazing Evelyn!

I know, your kiddo can do it too.  I'm still impressed by 3 1/2 year old's writing progress and interest.  It's so much fun!

We'd Better Increase Our College Savings!

Evelyn has had the opportunity to see two X-rays in as many days.  This has solidified her desire to become a doctor.  Today, Evelyn told me "I already am bigger, Mom.  I want to go to Medical School now."   

Snapshot: Pals

"We're just playing 'Cats in the Woods,' Mom!"

 

Fridays are "days off" for our family.  Now that preschool and co-op preschool group and swimming lessons are in full-swing, we are reveling in moments of free time.  This afternoon, I tied aprons onto the kids and set them up with dot paints outside at their little table.  After creating about three or four paintings, Evelyn decided to paint whiskers on her cheeks.  

My initial reaction was to gasp; fortunately, I squelched this reaction and realized this was actually a good day to get messy with our washable paints.  Evelyn "helped" Henry get beautiful and they headed back into the little wooded area behind our house.  When I followed to see what they were doing, Evelyn told me it was OK.  "We're just playing 'Cats in the Woods,' Mom." The game eventually progressed to "Cats in the Dirt" and ended with "Cats in the Bath" and "Overtired Cats Crying on the Bed."  Still, they had a fabulous time outside together.

On the prowl.

I hope they will remember moments like these when they reflect on their childhood.

Helpers

 

It's never too soon to help around the house.  And, of course, water play is a big hit with the toddler and preschool crowd!  Henry is actually blotting his scrubber along the counter and making a puddle, but Evelyn has already cleaned at least one pot.  I'm just glad that they're both occupied and happy.

Over-tired preschoolers and markers do not mix.

It seems as though Evelyn was working through some strong feelings on her white board.  Less than four minutes later, she lost all impulse control and colored a yellow hard hat black, scribbled all over the beautiful wooden train table and her brother's ride on fire truck.  Upsetting, yes.  But permanent?  No.  I was able to remove about 90% of that.

The couch has a new look.  It's a "signature" Evelyn.

Snapshot: Hand-made Fun

Construction paper cut-outs ispired by Dinosaur Train:  Mrs. Teranodon and her eggs.

One and Three