Valentines Day perfect!

This years vday surprised valentines from mommy

E demonstrating the balloon

T looking cute waiting for snack one day

The preschool v day party.  Cake pops and crafts

W helping E with his boots

Heart toast with egg in the middle and strawberries sliced heart wise with flowers from hubby.

A rare E and Papa only moment

The snakes they found and watched awhile

A beach see saw they made

T on see saw

mommy made us take this pic Papa

tons of these purple shelled clams on the beach.  W was ecstatic.  Perfect for vday

It was absolutely beautiful

T playing

The boys

E trying to sleep on the way back to the car

In carseat snack.  Look at those cute legs!

The boys trying to dig out the tire

E stopped looking cute just in time.  But check out that cool tire in the background!

Inflatable bday party.  T and W spent most of their time on this one holding hands on the way down

T was excited to find a truck that looked just like papas

play electric car??!!  It is perfect.  It looks too small for her, just like the real thing

E trying to roll the hula hoop

just a cute pic

T drove her around a bit in this

The fish!  My parents have this at a school near them and T and W loved it when they were his size.

First time E gets a ride from W

Three kids in a car

E was watching the wind move the branches in the tree.  He still loves it, just like when he was a baby

Aunt B craziness.  Happy vday kids!  Their favorite was the balloon that blows up when you hit it.  They used them as pony pillows in the doll house.

The "volcano" craft W and Grandma made together.

What J and I got from T and W for v day

Valentine's celebration was very much anticipated.  W and T were both very excited.  E knew something good was happening.

At the beginning of the week, W picked out which clothes she would be wearing on the day of the party and on the day of Valentines.  She ended up wearing her heart shirt both days.  More on that later.

Learning box preschool was at our house this week.  Perfect!  We got to throw the party.  We had cake pops, made valentines for the moms and dads of each kid and traded valentines to each other.

For the actual valentine's day we had lots of fun with family valentines.  Aunt B's package was a ton of fun.  They liked the hearts I drew for each one of them that I stuck on the mirror.  Thanks for the idea mom.  We had special valentine cake after a day of valentine food.  Heart cut out toast with eggs and strawberries cut so they kind of looked like hearts.  heart cut outs of their sandwhiches for lunch.  A fabulous dinner of fish, clams, mussels, Chinese broccoli and sourdough bread.   Papa cooked and cleaned. 

The best part of the day was BEING WITH PAPA!  We went to the beach.  A friend gave us a recommendation of a beach that gave us the perfect experience.  We had the whole beach to ourselves most of the time.  They took off their shoes, saw the sun, found some snakes, splashed in puddles (E), made a see-saw with Papa and climbed a discarded monster truck tire.  T made sure we got back to the ferry on time.  And even that worked out perfectly.  We had a lovely day together.

I think the most loving thing I heard was when we were prepping the valentines.  I told W to make sure she had one for each one of her friends.  I listed all the children's names and included T.  She looked at me and said.  "T is better than a friend.  He is a brother"

A few days later, though, when T was trying to get her to wrestle, she said "boys don't play the same as girls.  I don't like how they play and that is why I am frustrated that I only have brothers".  Hopefully they will make it up to her and marry great wives that can be sisters to her later.

The week before valentines week we all took turns being sick and Papa was dealing with jet lag again, so it was staying at home lots.  W and T took turns not being able to go to preschool.

I am having a hard time keeping up with all the cute stuff they say.  Every day there is at least one one-liner from E and T.  Sometimes W, too.  W always has something else she has drawn that makes me wonder at her ability to notice something else around her. Here are some I remember.

W was looking sad about something to me.  So I asked her what was wrong.  Then she made a grumpy face for sure and said "NOTHING!  THIS IS MY REGULAR FACE!"

E can repeat many words and actions now.  Even more than before.  But he also has the ability to grasp fantasy play, jokes, remembers titles to books, and sings songs.  This is very unique to him. 

I can tell he is getting the concept of fantasy play and jokes because he will do things without a sibling doing it right in front of him.  I can tell he is making the connection on his own and communicating it back to us.  He will start saying "banana!" just like the minion movie when we eat a banana for breakfast. 

His favorite songs he sings are This Old Man, Brother John, I Am A Child of God, and Jesus wants me for a sunbeam.  Today was the first day I knew he knew that song.  He came home singing a few phrases with the right tune. 

He only likes new words at the moment.  Grandma tried to get him to say goat cheese, but he had already mastered that, so he wasn't too interested in saying it againfor her.

He has a key word of most of his favorite books memorized and will ask for it by name.  Tons of trucks is his current one, but he is a major fan of Thomas (yeah!!  he'll like lots of the toys around here!!) and the four dogs in a truck book.  Amelia Bedilia is ok.  probably too much talking to words ratio, but the story is ok.

He says silly mama! often to me.  Or silly owl!  He loves to cook.  He loves toy cars.  He is also a huge fan of markers.  And he can climb.  I'm feeling very busy and at my max right now!!

T's one liners and connections often have to do with Legos.  He sings while he takes apart and rebuilds his legos for a good part of the day.  About the same amount of time W spends on art.  I can tell he is making more building things connections at the moment.

W made a tower out of some boxes we have.  T asked where the chimney was.  W informed him there are not chimneys on top of tall city buildings.  T pointed out to her that they must not have any heaters then.  We consulted papa.  Papa said they do have chimneys on top.  T finally decided that he could put the chimney on W's box sky scraper by putting the chimney inside a box instead of stacking it on the box. So it is there but not visible to the "penguin" on the ground.  Just like we can't see them from the ground.  Wow!  There you have it.

grandma

Grandma highlights:  Chicken day, chocolate fondue, Grandma taking T to the children's museum and dinner, Grandma taking W shopping for art supplies and to lunch, Grandma helping with my "moving" projects, Grandma taking E to the gym.

We also had some one liners.

T informed us at dinner that he learned that "Jake's least favorite food is salad".  It was Jake's turn for spotlight today in Primary.  Oh!  We had a laugh about that.

E can repeat things really well.  Like "silly mama" just the way Grandma says it, chocolate santa, goat cheese, and anything else Grandma says for him to repeat.  E usually adds his phony laugh in after.

T went to change E's diaper and informed us in such a sad disappointed voice that E had "a mini poop!  That is the smallest poop I have ever seen!"  It is true.

T also gave Oliver such great snuggles.  W would cover Oliver with his blanket each night

T's favorite time when Grandma was here was Grandma time.  He liked his red balloon from Red Robin.  He picked mac n cheese, French fries and a shake for dinner.  He loved going to the children's museum with her.  He built stuff with Grandma, played with the light board, filled up the semi cab and made lots of fun things with the water and the pipes.  He made a hose that he could turn the handle and shoot water as well as a "chimney" as he explained it to me.  He was hoping the water would shoot up like smoke does, but it just bubbled over.

W's favorite time that Grandma was here was Grandma time.  She loved getting mac and cheese with Grandma too.  Grandma went shopping with w to get supplies for an art project.  W said the art project was hard, but when comparing Grandma suprises with T, she decided she liked her stuff for her room more than a balloon.

T's comment about the art project was this: "my favorite heart on Grandma's volcano is this one".  He pointed to a conversation heart with only a moustache on it.  I had a good laugh about him calling the conversation heart trees they made a volcano.  My mom made one and W made one.  They glued conversation hearts on a Styrofoam cylinder.  It totally looks like a volcano.    The whole time they were working on it, T commented off and on about how it "smells like candy in here".  It is true.  Gluing them brought out the sugar smell.

T also asked me this week if "lipstick is Spanish for chapstick".  Hahahahaha!  E thinks so.  He saw my mom put on lipstick and asked for it, calling it chapstick and applied it like a pro.  He loves to apply chapstick.  Chapstick is also one of his first 100 words.  He is acquiring words and phrases at a rapid and alarming rate for this mama who wants to snuggle her last baby.

Mommy's favorite part of Grandma was not doing dishes almost the whole week.  I would walk away from the kitchen after dinner and come back later, and wha la.  The dishes were gone.  Usually they are there after bedtime waiting, but not this week!

I also planned all sorts of decorating projects to do with my mom and I think they all got done.  All we did was rearrange stuff, but I feel renewed.  Before Mom came I de-junked after realizing that we have lived here longer than any place I've lived since I lived with my parents growing up.  AAGGGGHH.  I'm so used to moving as my forced de-junk, but this time, I just re arranged the closets and who has which closet spaces, etc.  I'm excited about the results.  Especially since we spend a lot of time looking at it now that it is winter.

The tree they made for E's owl.  Good idea!

The day I didn't make them go to school because the weather was sunny and 58 degrees.  We had a lovely day that day

E throwing rocks

admiring his work

T on the island

W happy to not have a jacket on

Our picnic lunch

Grandma introducing chocolate fondue

Sucessfully accepted

 

E's first fondue

Reading books on W's bed.  E put himself in this position himself

E's favorite activity while Grandma was here

Haha!  (fake laugh)

Gobble gobble

W loved sitting on Grandma's lap in the sun in her new beautiful dress.

E screamed about his tie and shirt he had to wear.  Not sure if he hates the outfit or remembered this means nursery today.

A princess drawing.  She read a few princess books at school.  After that she practiced drawing about 20 princesses.  They all wear short sleeved dresses.  That is how you know they are princesses

They really liked the space topic from school and grasped the concept

Tucker spent a lot of time on this

W's first princess drawing.  check out the shoes

W's first drawing of just her and E.  They are walking by a lake in a field of flowers

T drew this on his own.  He is showing the side of the earth that sees the sun and the side that sees the moon

T made this book about Halloween for W

Here is the bee (he was a bee)

Here is the "baking kitty"  I was the cat this past year, but he really likes to cook and pretend to be a kitty

Here is the mouse.  E was the mouse

Here is a heart

The last two pages.  A caterpillar (which was E last year)  and the end of the book