Pink Eye

Yep, Kellen woke up this morning with a yucky eye. So, after we got Kristin off to school for the day we called the doctor's office to get him looked at. Likely pink eye, so Kellen is on antibiotic eye drops for 3 days. He takes he drops like a champ! At least he was in pretty good spirits today. While he napped I got a little outside work done. After he woke up he helped me find a new hose at Lowe's. The one in the front yard finally gave up and had a hole in it. Of course when we got home we hooked up the new hose and tested it out. Kellen sucessfully got all wet and even got me pretty wet. At least it was a pretty warm day with sun, so we dried off pretty quickly.

Tonight we found out that the other 2 butterflies hatched today. Kristin was so excited. After dinner we took a walk up to the school to play for a little while. Kristin did great on the monkey bars and Kellen kept Aaron moving on the play structure. We finished off our walk by our baseball watch walk. Aaron was able to get one of the baseballs we saw last week free with a long stick. Most of the baseballs get abandoned because they are in thick blackberries.

New Butterflies

Danelle and I met today with Kellen's main teacher to have his 'parent-teacher conference'. He is doing well and will be transitioning to the next classroom over the course of the next three weeks. I think he'll like it alot because it has an accessible potty and sink. He does love to play in the sink!

Kristin's big news is that three of the butterflies at her kindergarten have come out of their chrysalis'. Sounds like they are each different colors so far. She also made ice cream at daycare this afternoon. They were eating it a pick-up time.

We took a short walk around the block before bath time this evening and met our new next door neighbor, who is just started moving in.

Hope everyone likes the new feature on the right - the music player. Took us awhile to find a free third-party host for audio files that will let us 'hot link' so that you don't have to download the files to play them. All you have to do is push play after the page fully loads.

Up and Down

Kellen was fascinated with the concept of up and down tonight. Shortly after we got home he wanted to work the blinds in the living room saying "up down." Aaron helped him with the blinds. Later he was playing with a book that has animals that you match to each page and they sit in a sleeve. He was moving the sleeve "up down."

Kristin had a good day today. She is learning about things underground at daycare this week. She came home with a head lamp for spelunking that she made out of construction paper.

Kellen is growning "up" and getting so tall. Aaron caught him standing on a toy to look out the window (a no no). It is amazing how he can balance though.

A Trip to the Pond

There is a man-made wetland of sorts taking root on the property next to Kristin's elementary school. I think it was planted about a year ago or so. Kristin's kindergarten class got to walk through it today. They are studying pond life in her class. Kristin says that there are five separate ponds there, and her class walked by three of them. She also counted 17 ducks at elementary school and 1 'daddy duck' near her daycare.


Kristin has a new twist to her daily take-home books that she reads to us. Now she has to write a sentence in a journal about the story. for the last book, she wrote that animals look like their parents. Then the teacher's aid wrote a note back saying good job and asking if Kristin looks like her parents. Kristin thought 'no'. So Danelle got out some pictures of her when she was young to show Kristin how much she looks like Danelle when Danelle was her age.



After a trip down memory lane with the photos, we snuck outside for a walk around the block before the rain set in. Actually, we got sprinkled on just a bit. One of those rains that smell like a clean spring rain. It's showering good here now and we may actually get a thunderstorm here tonight.

Not sure if I'd shared this photo yet or not: Kristin working on Nana and Oma's birthday gifts earlier this year.

Flip Flops

Today was another busy day with some errands. After lunch Kristin and I headed to the mall for some flip flops for her and some new t-shirts for Kellen. Kristin was able to find some blue butterfly flip flops. We also popped into the Disney Store and she found something she wants to save her money up from the Tooth Fairy and get. So, next tooth she will be there.

After Kellen got up from nap we headed to his swim lesson. His friend Daniel from daycare is in his class, but was not able to participate today due to a cold. He watched Kellen though and Kellen saw him with about 5 mintues left in class. All Kellen would say was Daniel for those 5 minutes. :)

Aaron had a hockey game tonight and scored the winning goal in a shoot out!!! Hooray!!! Since he was gone the kids and I headed outside after dinner. Kellen just wanted to water, but it was too chilly to do that right away. The kids played with brooms and worked on sweeping the sidewalks. Kellen also got out his mower and played with that for awhile. I got a few more flowers planted and some basil too. Then came watering time. Kellen was as soaked as all the flowers! He just plays with the hose and doesn't really help with watering... which is fine, but it was chilly tonight. So we headed in for bath and warm clothes.

Play Date

Kristin had a play date today with her friend Ella from kindergarten. It was at Ella's house. It sounds like both of the girls had a blast. Kristin asked 'how come two hours goes by so fast?' They did a craft project with shrinky dinks and Ella's mom then put them on bracelets for Kristin.

Outside of the playdate, it was mostly a day of errands for us. I bought a new gas line trimmer and did some edging around the sidewalks, and then mowed the lawn. Danelle took the kids to shop for some summer clothes and then stopped by Dairy Queen for a Dilly Bar for Kristin. She chose it as her reward for good behavior this week.

Kellen had a pretty good day too. He made it through bathtime without a tantrum and there wasn't all that much whining involved either. That's an improvement of late. He used to loved baths. We think he still does, he's just figured out that bedtime comes after bath.

I think Danelle was able to fix the calendar to the right, so everyone should be able to see planned events again. I took a bunch of pictures last night - Kellen got out the tricycle after he was done with the hose.

Outside Time

Kristin and Kellen both had good days today. I got to volunteer today at Kindergarten. Kristin always enjoys seeing me there. Her class got a special treat today... popcorn to take home! The whole class was pretty excited. There was one rule... wait until you get home to eat it... do NOT eat it on the bus. Kristin was good and opened it tonight after dinner.

Kellen was cranky to say the least tonight. He was happy for a little while outside playing with the hose and later the tricycle and bubble mower. Kristin helped me water the garden and some flowers I planted today. She also rolled around on her scooter for a little bit.

Monkey See

Kellen got to spend the last part of the afternoon in the next classroom again today. He seems to be enjoying it. His go-home sheet at daycare said that he was a great model for his friend today because he used his walking-feet in the classroom all day. I wonder if that means that he usually runs?

Monkey bars continue to be the big thing for Kristin to report about her day. She made it across three more times today. She also keeps a running total - she's at 16 altogether. Apparently there are 11 bars for her to traverse. I asked her who she does the monkey bars with during recess and she'll name three or four other girls, one of which has a twin sister that Kristin didn't mention. I asked if she plays with the unmentioned twin sister, thinking that she probably does since most twins stick pretty close together at that age. But Kristin's answer was 'no, she doesn't really know how to do the monkey bars yet.'

You may have noticed that the calendar that we kept on the right of this page is missing. The link seemed to stop working sometime last week and when we checked into it, it appears that particular blogger 'widget' is no longer availabe. We haven't found a new one that works yet.

Haven't really taken any pictures this week after work, so here is one from last October:

1st Baseball of the Season

Kellen was in the next room up at daycare again this afternoon. He is loving that! He gets to play with new toys, his friend Renton is in there, and most importantly there is a little sink in the room he has access too.

Kristin made a paper mache globe this week at daycare. It was hanging in the room today for Earth Day and she was very proud to show it to me.

Tonight we took a walk up to the school playground. It was cool and breezy but we had fun. Kristin showed off on the monkey bars and did awesome. Then we continued on our walk. Baseball season has started, therefore, baseball hunting season has started. Aaron and Kristin went looking for baseballs in an area behind a backstop (popular area from fly balls). Kristin found the first baseball of the season. She was excited. Kellen decided he wanted to walk instead of being in the wagon. However, a couple minutes in he thought it would be more fun to run. He would say "run" and then would run and wanted me to run with him. Of course he chose to do this on the downward portion of the path so I ran with him hoping he wouldn't trip and fall. He did great... and he should sleep good tonight. :)

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

Kellen has taken a liking to soccer. It's hard to tell if that is because he is taking a genuine interest or if he just wants to be like his big sister. He found Kristin's jersey draped over the rocking chair and wanted to put it on. Kristin was a good sport about it, so we put it on him and he was very excited.

Kristin's kindergarten class is studying the life cycle of the butterfly. Their class even got some caterpillars to feed and watch grow. Kristin was jumping-up-and-down excited yesterday to tell me that all 5 of the caterpillars in her kindergarten room had gone into their chrysalis. Apperantly not all of the caterpillars in the other two kindergarden classes had gone into their chrysalis yet. 'They were still eating'.

Danelle got the kids out into the back yard this evening. Sounds like Kellen learned how to use the hose. When they came back inside, Kellen came over to me repeating 'wet hug wet hug'. Almost like someone had egged him on. :-)

I took the photo below on Saturday when Kristin was in between shifts during her soccer game. Do they call them shifts in soccer? I wonder if they publish a soccer-hockey translation dictionary...

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

You want to sing the song... I know it!!! It was a beautiful sunny warm day here today. We get one more nice day tomorrow before we return to wet cooler spring weather. The kids were both playing outside at daycare when I got there this afternoon. Kristin came running up to me all wet. They have squirt bottles and the older kids got sponges to dip in a bucket and then could squeeze the water over their head. Needless to say Kristin had fun with this and was pretty wet, but it was 80 degrees so I am sure it felt good.

Kristin had a good day at Kindergarten. She said she got to the end of the monkey bars 3 times during recess today. She is very proud of herself. I think she pretty much has the monkey bar thing down now.

Here are the kids last night playing with the sand box.

Kellen was a busy boy tonight. He started playing with Aaron's toes at one point and was saying "piggies." Then Kristin got into it as well with Aaron's other foot. Aaron was laughing pretty good. :) Before bed Kellen heard a mower. We had to go to one of the bedrooms and look for it across the street. He made sure we all knew that someone was mowing. Kellen is just fascinated by mowing. Wait until he is 13 and then hates it.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

This morning we traveled to a tulip farm about 30 miles southeast of the Portland Area. We got there early enough that we didn't have to wait in a four-mile long line of cars like we did last year. It was an absolutely perfect day for the trip. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the low 60s while we were there. In addition to the sights of the flowers, the kids also enjoyed the carnival-like set up they had going. Kristin had a great time riding a pony, as you can see.

On the way back home, we stopped at a McDonalds with a playland, which is always a big hit with the kids. We thought for sure that Kellen would fall asleep on the way home, but he held out for his bed. That's a good thing, since when he naps in the car he thinks nap time is over once we get home. In the afternoon Danelle ran some errands while Kellen napped. Kristin and I cleaned up the slider door to the back yard. Kristin really got into it and enjoyed spraying the windex and using the paper towels. After a bit, it was 'clean enough' for me, but she wanted to keep cleaning, so she carried on while I read the newspaper on the back padio.

This evening, Parker, Steve, and Megan came over for dinner. That was a lot of fun. Parker brought some cones over to use as soccer goals and let Kristin keep them when they were done. Cool! Now Kristin can practice kicking at home too. Kellen really enjoyed playing with big sister and Parker, and they were real good about including him in what they were doing. A nice end to a nice weekend.

Soccer Girl

Kristin had her first team practice and game this morning. Aaron took her as her practice/game time was during Kellen's naptime. Kristin is #5 and wears light blue. She had a lot of fun and sound like she did pretty well. She did score a goal for the other team though... a little confused on which goal was her teams'. There is evidently 12 kids total on her team. Within that 12 there are 2 Kristins. Yep another Kristin... I think that is a first. The only other name Kristin could remember was Eric (I think she remembered his name because he brought snack). :)

Kellen was a busy boy today. He went to Home Depot and Stark's Lawn and Garden this morning with Aaron to look at edgers/trimmers. Evidently Kellen was more fascinated by the mowers. Kellen also enjoyed watching Aaron mow for a little bit this afternoon before the kids and I headed off the library.

Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner... always a favorite. Aaron left for hockey soon after dinner. The kids and I headed outside for some more playtime. We ended up taking the wagon up to the school, which was pretty busy. Nice day... lots of kids. We headed home with 15 minutes before bath so we could water the garden. Already time for watering... at least when Mother Nature is not going to provide rain for a few days and it is getting in the 70s (and maybe 80s). Kellen had fun with Kristin's little watering can, trying to figure out how it works. He did more dumping of the water than anything. He loved it though and got a bit wet.

Countdown to Soccer

Kristin's room at daycare also focused on helping this week. Today, Kristin and her friends got to help wash the daycare bus. Kristin washed the bumper. Yesterday, they had a bake sale and gave the proceeds to charity. Kristin made chocolate chip cookies and we bought a couple. I ate them with my lunch today.

Kellen had an OK day. He was showing signs of a urinary tract infection, so Danelle took him to the doctor this afternoon. After about an hour and a half of waiting for him to finally do his business, the test came back negative for UTI, but the doctor said he was dehydrated. The doctor said his throat and ears are fine so it should just be a matter of keeping fluids in him. He was in good spirits tonight and was quite the mimic. He also has become monitor of the coffee table, telling Kristin to 'get down' when she sit's or lays on it. Danelle said that he told one of his stuffies to get down from a table in the waiting area at the Dr's office.

First day of soccer tomorrow for Kristin. Should be exciting.

All I Want for Xmas is My 2 Front Teeth

Okay, so Christmas is a long way away, but Kristin lost her other front tooth last night in her sleep! Yep, while sleeping. Kristin didn't even notice until she was in front of the mirror ready to brush her teeth this morning. I went looking in her bed for the tooth and actually found it. :) At least she didn't swallow another tooth. Kristin is very excited for the Tooth Fairy to come again, and so soon after the last visit.

Kellen went to the ear doctor today. He still has a tube in the left ear, which is an okay thing. Evidently his eustacian tubes are not fully developed yet, so this will help him. Aaron took him and sat with him during the hearing test. I guess Kellen got a little bored with the sounds, but if the technician talked then he would turn to the direction of the sound. We go back in a month to check on his ears again. So, unfortunately for now Kellen needs to stay above water... or keep his ear plug in (yeah right!).

The weather is getting nice here. After dinner I got the kids outside for a walk up to the school. The playground gets busy this time of year because there are baseball, softball and soccer games at the school. The kids did great though. We had a nice time playing and the kids always seem to enjoy the wagon ride. Aaron had a late meeting tonight, so he got home about the time we got home from the walk.

I Had a Good Idea for a Title, But I Forgot It

Another pleasant evening in Beaverton for us. Well, mostly. Kellen had two major tantrums. I think it is because he doesn't have words yet for everything he wants. Or when we tell him no about something, maybe he thinks that we just don't understand what he wants. In between tantrums, he was a pretty good kid. He and Kristin sat at their table and colored in their new coloring books. Kristin was very patient with Kellen and even tore a page from her coloring book for him to use since he seemed more interested in her book.

Kristin and I searched for Waldo in one of her books while Kellen had his bath (which was during tantrum #2). Kristin found Waldo first every time except once. Her last remianing big tooth in the front top is very loose now. I think the fall from the monkey bars had something to do with that. I'm really surprised it didn't come out this evening. Seems like it's just hanging there.

Kellen is learning about 'people who help us' this week at daycare. Today, they made fireman hats out of construction paper. Danelle snapped this awesome photo. Outside at daycare, one of Kellen's teachers drew a 'fire' with chalk on the concrete and the kids got to take turns putting out the fire with a spray bottle.

Tomorrow, Kellen has what is hopefully his last follow up appointment associated with his ear tubes. Everything has been right on track so far, so he should be given the all clear to go under water at his swimming lessons.

Potty Sucess

We found out that Kellen went on the potty this morning at daycare! Way to go Kellen!!! This is a first at daycare. He will soon be moving up into the next room, which has the potty in the room (were he currently visits in the morning). We are proud of Kellen for his little achievements.

Kristin had a good day as well. The fall yesterday loosened her other top middle tooth quite a bit. The Tooth Fairy will be back here soon. Then Kristin will have quite the toothless smile. :) Kristin says she got to do Art Lit today at Kindergarten. We will have to see what that was about when she brings it home later.

The kids did pretty well tonight. It of course started raining at the end of dinner, after it was supposed to rain all day (didn't rain at all - mostly sunny). I guess we shouldn't complain too much. The kids did some coloring in their new Color Wonder books the Easter Bunny brought. Kellen was coloring space things... planets and aliens. Kristin got a blank page book to draw in with the Color Wonder markers. She had fun drawing us each a picture. She drew a boat in the water for me, a hockey player #22 (daddy) for Aaron, and a train for Kellen. So, I drew Kristin a picture of a rainbow.

Round Two Goes to the Monkey Bars

Danelle got a call from the school nurse at Kristin's kindergarten today. She heard that Kristin had fallen on the playground and bit her lip. The nurse read her a story and got her to calm down and then she went back to her classroom. We learned later from Kristin that she fell off of the monkey bars. She said they were 'a little bit wetter than last week' and that she is only going to watch when they are wet from now on. Her bottom lip was a little swollen this evening and there is a mark from her top tooth (the only one she's got left on top).

For all that, Kristin was in a great mood this evening. She did really well on her dinner (leftovers from Easter, yum yum) and we played around with the soccer ball in the back yard. We also took a short walk around the block. Kellen tried chasing Kristin for the first half of the walk, and then was too winded about half way and asked Danelle to carry him.

Kristin made a bird feeder at daycare from a really large pine cone and some peanut butter I think. She and Danelle hung it up in the back yard before dinner. Kellen got a kick out of watching the squirrel try to get at the pine cone during our dinner. He had a good view from his seat at the table and kept calling it a kitty.

In the photo, Kristin is showing off her new grin, as well as the bug catcher that the Easter Bunny left for her.

Happy Easter!

What a busy morning! Kristin came in to wake us up with money in hand from the Tooth Fairy. She was excited. We all wondered into Kellen's room to get him up so we could all go to the living room to see what the Easter Bunny left. Kristin and Kellen both spotted eggs right away. I handed them both baskets and they were off. Kellen took the approach of getting an egg and then opening it to see what was inside. Kristin's approach was to just grab eggs. She filled up her basket so fast I had to get out a bag for her to start using. They both had a lot of fun. After all that excitement we all got ready for the day and headed out to church. We quickly learned that we were too late to sit in our normal area of the church. It was packed! We ended up finding 3 seats in the "cry room." The kids did well even though there were plenty of crying kids.

After Kellen's nap I started getting dinner ready. My Uncle John came over for dinner. The kids always love to see him. They were both showing him things the Easter Bunny brought and showing off what they know how to do. The kids were both pretty wound up today and we just couldn't seem to get them to calm down. No... they didn't get to pig out on Easter candy.

Easter Bunny AND the Tooth Fairy!!

Kristin woke up feeling all better this morning. We suspect that her busy day yesterday had something to do with her not feeling so good last night. We also learned that she got to eat a huge Tootsie Roll as a part of her field trip to the bowling alley. All that sugar plus running around in the warm sun probably wasn't the best for her. But she was back to her normal bubbly self today.

Our house will be busy tonight... Kristin lost a tooth today - top left front. So both the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny will be paying us a visit tonight. I wonder if they've ever met?

Kellen had a fun day today. We went shopping at Fred Meyer this morning and he asked if he could get out of the cart when Kristin and Danelle were looking at shoes. I let him out... and then chased him around the shoe department. He had a good time taking boxes off the shelves and inspecting the shoes inside. This afternoon he watched intently at the window while I mowed the lawn.

More Eggs!

This morning Kristin got to go bowling with daycare since there was no school today. She said she had fun. I asked her what her score was and she said she got an 8 once. After talking to her a little more she was able to get 8 pins down once. I still don't know what her score was, but it was bumper bowling. She also asked if I have ever gotten a Spare. :) She learned some bowling terminology. Her daycare class also made a volcano today. This afternoon both Aaron and I headed over to daycare early to watch the kids partake in egg hunts. They had a egg hunt for the younger children first and then one for the bigger kids. This worked pretty well. Kellen went straight for the eggs (they weren't really hidden) as soon as I put him down. He collected 13 eggs in his little handmade Easter basket. Kristin did well too and was able to find some eggs that were in some pretty good hiding spots.

Unfortunately for Kristin when we got home she didn't feel good. She has a headache and tummy ache and fell asleep on the couch without dinner. When we woke her up to get her ready for bed she said her tummy felt better but her head still hurt some. I saw her smile a little too before bed. Hopefully a good night's rest is what she needs. We will have to count up her eggs tomorrow and see how many she was able to find.

Easter Eggs!

Tonight we painted easter eggs. All four of us did some painted. And three of us managed to damage an egg shell. Kristin tried squeezing an egg as hard as she could - and got it to crack. I dropped an egg on the table, and Kellen took an egg and bashed it a few times on the tray of his booster seat. So we now know of at least three ways to break a hard boiled egg. We still had lots of fun with it though. No tears or anything. Kellen wanted to keep painting. There was just no explaining to him that we were out of eggs.

Kristin was very proud an happy to tell us about her playground accomplishment today. At kindergarten, she made it all the way across the monkey bars without falling. She's been working hard on this skill lately. She was super excited to tell me about it when I picked her up from daycare. When we got home I suggested that she tell Danelle, and she started her story out with, "Mom, you will be SO HAPPY when I tell you what I did!"

The picture is from last night. Kellen had lots of fun with the box.

I'm writing this on Thursday night, but everyone is probably reading on Friday, so....

Happy Birthday Oma!

Monkey Kristin

The mail person brought us some goodies today. Kristin and Kellen made out with gifts from both Nana and Papa and Oma Poppa. We sure are spoiled!

Kristin got to make some window clings at kindergarten today. She must have been pretty excited about it because she told me all about it several times. She really enjoys kindergarten and it's fun to listen to her talk about it. Kellen had a good day too. More glitter related art projects for him, at least judging by his face when I picked him up. Both of the kids were outside at daycare when I picked them up. They have different play areas, separated by a plastic coated chain link fence. Kellen was standing at the fence intently watching his big sister. He didn't even notice me until I stood right next to him and taped him on the shoulder.

This evening after dinner we headed up to the elementary school playground. There was a little league baseball game going on one field and a practice going on the other. Kristin showed us how much she's improved on the monkey bars. Kellen showed us how he has no fear on the slides.

Cooling Down

Here I am with the kids tonight after they were both done with bathtime. The kids were okay tonight, but of course were picking on each other some. We ended up heading outside for a walk around the block and to play a little.

Kristin showed us her double kick she learned last week in karate class. That was really cool! It is amazing what kids can do.

Kellen had a good day after having a bit of a rough night's sleep last night. He woke up at 10pm and couldn't seem to get back to sleep until after 11pm. I thought for sure he would be cranky or clingy today, but he was good at daycare. He was a bit on the cranky side tonight (he saves it up for us).

The weather is cooling off and it got cloudy this afternoon. But, our cherry trees started blooming today and the peas are up in the garden.

A Beautiful Day

Today was absolutely gorgeous. I'd guess that the temperature was upper 60s to lower 70s, with a very comfortable breeze. We took advantage of the weather and cooked dinner on the grill. Hamburgers, bratwurst, and hot dogs. Kellen loved his hot dog, and asked for more. Kristin had a hot dog too, but she wasn't as enthusiastic about it.

Kellen is having a good time already this week at daycare. The theme for the week is bubbles. Kristin is learning about the letter Q at kindergarten. She was thinking of words that start with Q on the way home and asked Danelle if cucumber started with Q. She was certain it did.

After dinner we took a short walk around the block. Then Kristin had her scooter out and Kellen pushed his lawnmower on the sidewalk. He did not want to turn around. He must have correctly figured out that we were headed toward going inside.

The photo is from Parker's birthday party last Saturday. I'm not sure who that boy is she is sitting next to. I'm sure his parents would love the picture. Check out the play structure in the window. It's two stories tall.

Swim Time

Kellen started swim lessons today. It's a parent-n-me class, and Danelle goes in the water with him. Danelle said that he did very well and is really comfortable in the water. He likes the 'Humpty Dumpty' routine where he gets to sit on the edge of the pool and jumps in to Danelle.

We got the kids outside a bunch again today, and got the lawn mowed too. Couldn't get the trimmer started, so that got added to the project list. Kristin practiced on her new bike, this time with the training wheels on. She was a little more confident on it today than yesterday.

Kellen got out Kristin's old Dora scooter and wanted a ride. He actually balanced very well on it while I pushed him. He fell a couple times, but there were no tears. Just an 'uh-oh', and then he'd climb back on. He also enjoyed helping Danelle water the garden and when they were done he took a shot at turning the hose back on. He knows how to do it, just isn't quite strong enough yet.

One of our neighbors had an estate sale today. He's moving to a retirement home. His house wasn't on the market very long. Twelve days or something like that. We'll have a new neighbor by the end of the month. We'll miss Duane, he was a good neighbor.

The kids chased each other about the house a bit today. The happy scene in the photo ended badly when Kellen used the toy in his hand to hit his sister on the head. We've introduced him to 'time-outs' now.

Outside Time

Today was very busy for all of us. This morning we had Parker and Kevin's birthday party at Out of This World. It was a fun party and very large... about 40 kids. Kristin and Kellen both had fun playing on the different play structures. And this time, neither kid got hurt! A magician showed up at the end of the party and Kristin had a blast watching that. He did a really good job. Aaron and Kellen left as the magic show started to get Kellen home for a nap. Kristin and I stayed a little longer and then too headed home.

While Kellen was napping Kristin helped me plant some radishes in the garden, Aaron got the car seat for Kellen switched in the car, and we put together Kristin's new bike. Kristin wanted to take a ride on the bike without the training wheels, so Aaron got her all suited up with padding and she attempted it but quickly found how hard it was for her to keep the bike upright. ;) Needless to say the training wheels went on. Maybe we will try later in the year once she has had some practice on this bike. When Kellen got up he came outside to play with Kristin. Aaron headed out to run an errand and the kids and I headed towards the back yard (much easier to contain them!). After a little while we headed in for dinner. After dinner the kids and I took a quick walk around the block to get a little more time outside. Aaron has a hockey game as I write this, so he left around bathtime. Whew, I am tired, and the kids both seemed to fall asleep quickly tonight. :)

Wacky Spring Weather

Today was another crazy spring day here. We had rain, wind, sun, and small hail. You get the picture. This weekend is supposed to be nice, so we will plan to be outside as much as possible. Kristin and Kellen both learned about weather at daycare this week. So, today was a perfect day to point out a lot of the different weather we can get here.

I got to volunteer at Kristin's school again this morning. This is always a lot of fun and a lot of work. :) I got to see where Kristin's new seat is and everyone else. I spent most of my time cutting out small paper strawberries for an upcoming math activity. I also got to help one of the groups in the class with their April calendar activity. Her class is a lot of fun.

Kristin had fun with fuse beads again today at daycare and made a heart and star this time. Kellen had a good day and was able to play outside a couple times, which he loves.

Big Personality

Kellen's personality is really starting to show. Lately he has taken to calling for his sister. He still can't say her name. It comes out something like 'HA-HAN!' He's usually the first one sitting down for dinner, and after he is seated, he starts calling for Kristin to join him. He also likes to sit in his white chair and have a snack of cheese. He'll move both of the white chairs to the edge of the kitchen, then climb up in one of them and start saying 'CHEESE' and 'HA-HAN!'

Kellen is also a sock inspector. I have a few pairs that I really should toss, but since I'm too lazy they end up on my feet. Kellen is fascinated by any holes he might find. He'll examine the hole carefully and then start jamming his finger into it. Then he'll examine the other sock. If it's hole free, he'll say 'NO HOLE!'.

Kristin has been doing some cool art projects at daycare this week. Tonight she told me all about how to make a tornado in a bottle. It involved a 2 liter bottle, water, glitter, and a mystery piece that I haven't yet deciphered from her description. She also made a neat little disc comprised of colored plastic beads that were melted together with an iron. I guess she put the beads on a system of pegs and then her teacher used an iron to melt them together. That turned out pretty neat.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

"Let's go fly a kite, up where the sky is bright, and send it soaring." Name that movie! Mary Poppins of course. Kristin got to make a kite at daycare today. Aaron helped her finish it with the string tonight. Now we just need some decent weather to see if we can fly it. Today had a breeze, but also rainy.

Kristin also learned about Add-er-pillers today at kindergarten. This was a math project/worksheet that involved adding and caterpillers and dice. Each circle on the caterpiller counts as 1. So, you roll the dice and draw that many circles for the caterpiller and do it again and add the 2 numbers together. Kristin also said instead of rolling the dice the first time you pick a number. She had fun showing Aaron how it worked and they got out some dice and did some new problems.

Kellen talked for about an hour after his bedtime last night and just wouldn't go to sleep. He finally got tired enough. He also woke up talking this morning. I guess he just has a lot to say. :) Normally I have to wake him up. Kellen had a good day today. He was busy playing tonight and helped me make up some Jell-o, a kid favorite in this house. He also asked me to read a book and made me move by saying "here" to the couch and "out" to me in the chair. He knows what he wants and is figuring out how to tell us.