Monday, April 4, 2011
Bluebonnet pictures, 2011 edition
This weekend we attempted taking our annual bluebonnet pictures with the kids. It didn't really work out for a couple of reasons, mainly because it was too windy and sunny, but we did get some funny pictures. :-) Enjoy!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Oliver's self portrait
This is a self-portrait that Oliver drew in his Sunday school class this morning! It's a little Tim Burton-esque, don't you think? He drew a mouthful of teeth in lieu of a smile, and his teacher asked him why, and he said, "Well, because I usually show all of my teeth when I smile!" Makes sense to me! :-)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Working outside
Dennis has been working hard on trimming our big trees in the front yard, and the kids have been glad to "help"! There's not much for them to do besides hauling the limbs and branches to the big pile, but they've also been having fun pretending that they're cutting limbs, too. :-)
We also found these little guys nesting in one of the tree branches. Cute from a distance, but I wouldn't want them crawling on me!
We also found these little guys nesting in one of the tree branches. Cute from a distance, but I wouldn't want them crawling on me!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Glimmer Paint
The other day, I was looking for new and interesting craft ideas, and found this fun activity for making glimmer paint on the Family Fun website.
You'll need equal parts water, salt, and flour (I used 2/3 cup), plus food coloring. Mix the first 3 ingredients together well, then divide it into squeezable containers or a small ziploc bag, and add your food coloring. I actually had to add a little bit of extra water to ours, since the wind dried out our concoction a little bit before I had a chance to scoop it into the bags. It ended up a little too watery, so next time I'll try to mix it up and divide it inside instead.
If you're using ziploc bags, after you add a couple of drops of food coloring, you can get your helpers to smush the food coloring around to mix it for you!
After the colors are mixed, snip the end of the bag and let the kids start creating! Ours was too runny, but they had fun anyway. An added bonus is that it cleans up very easily, too.
You'll need equal parts water, salt, and flour (I used 2/3 cup), plus food coloring. Mix the first 3 ingredients together well, then divide it into squeezable containers or a small ziploc bag, and add your food coloring. I actually had to add a little bit of extra water to ours, since the wind dried out our concoction a little bit before I had a chance to scoop it into the bags. It ended up a little too watery, so next time I'll try to mix it up and divide it inside instead.
If you're using ziploc bags, after you add a couple of drops of food coloring, you can get your helpers to smush the food coloring around to mix it for you!
After the colors are mixed, snip the end of the bag and let the kids start creating! Ours was too runny, but they had fun anyway. An added bonus is that it cleans up very easily, too.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
What have we been up to?
I've been pretty lazy about posting lately! I rarely get up early these days and have been reading during the kids' naps, which cuts down on my computer time.
Things are going well here, though! I'm almost 32 weeks pregnant now. The baby is growing fine and my belly has been measuring ahead of schedule for the past 3 OB visits. I can't remember if my belly measured big with Oliver, but I know that I started measuring small with Buttercup around 36 weeks until she was born at 39 weeks. At any rate, the baby seems to be healthy and perfect, and he's getting bigger and stronger every day! He's so big now that his movements are mostly uncomfortable for me, but I still love feeling them. It's also kind of funny when he pokes an appendage out really far and it distorts my belly -- it's really neat. Actually, baby movements are the only thing I'll miss about not being pregnant again, ha ha!
Oliver and Buttercup are both doing really well. Buttercup is turning out to be such a sweet little girl. Lately she's been more inclined to be a good friend instead of picking fights at the playgrounds. :-) She still has her feisty side though, and she's not going to let anyone push her around -- which is a good thing! It also seems like she's going to be a tomboy, not really caring for sparkly pink princess stuff (not that we have much or even any of that at home). I'm pretty relieved about that so far, since I'm not exactly a girly girl myself. Funny story -- we ran into an old friend the other day, and my friend's daughter was decked out in a matching outfit with coordinating hairbows, her hair neatly fixed, and wearing sparkly shoes. In comparison, Buttercup was wearing an outfit of her choice (pink "running" shorts and a t-shirt), with purple socks, beat-up tennis shoes, and her hair was all ratty because she doesn't like me to comb it. Awesome. :-D
Oliver is doing great at his preschool, and is always so excited to tell me about his day when I pick him up from school. And this past weekend, he looked at me and said, "Mom, I wish today was a school day." He's never said that before! I'm so happy that he loves his school so much. I think he's really going to miss it this summer. He's also continuing to do well with swim lessons. He's still nervous before his class, but he's so proud of himself and excited after it's over. And, of course, he's still really into Legos and building with them. Aunt Anna bought him a small Lego kit the other day, and he put the entire thing together by himself!! Very impressive. I don't think I could have put it together as quickly as he did. ;-)
In other news, since we have a 3 bedroom house and a baby on the way, we moved Buttercup into Oliver's room in January. I anticipated a looooong adjustment period, but it really only took a week or so for Buttercup to get used to being in a new room! They both love rooming together now, and it seems like it's brought them closer together. I'm so glad we made that decision!
That's it for now, more pictures coming soon!
Things are going well here, though! I'm almost 32 weeks pregnant now. The baby is growing fine and my belly has been measuring ahead of schedule for the past 3 OB visits. I can't remember if my belly measured big with Oliver, but I know that I started measuring small with Buttercup around 36 weeks until she was born at 39 weeks. At any rate, the baby seems to be healthy and perfect, and he's getting bigger and stronger every day! He's so big now that his movements are mostly uncomfortable for me, but I still love feeling them. It's also kind of funny when he pokes an appendage out really far and it distorts my belly -- it's really neat. Actually, baby movements are the only thing I'll miss about not being pregnant again, ha ha!
Oliver and Buttercup are both doing really well. Buttercup is turning out to be such a sweet little girl. Lately she's been more inclined to be a good friend instead of picking fights at the playgrounds. :-) She still has her feisty side though, and she's not going to let anyone push her around -- which is a good thing! It also seems like she's going to be a tomboy, not really caring for sparkly pink princess stuff (not that we have much or even any of that at home). I'm pretty relieved about that so far, since I'm not exactly a girly girl myself. Funny story -- we ran into an old friend the other day, and my friend's daughter was decked out in a matching outfit with coordinating hairbows, her hair neatly fixed, and wearing sparkly shoes. In comparison, Buttercup was wearing an outfit of her choice (pink "running" shorts and a t-shirt), with purple socks, beat-up tennis shoes, and her hair was all ratty because she doesn't like me to comb it. Awesome. :-D
Oliver is doing great at his preschool, and is always so excited to tell me about his day when I pick him up from school. And this past weekend, he looked at me and said, "Mom, I wish today was a school day." He's never said that before! I'm so happy that he loves his school so much. I think he's really going to miss it this summer. He's also continuing to do well with swim lessons. He's still nervous before his class, but he's so proud of himself and excited after it's over. And, of course, he's still really into Legos and building with them. Aunt Anna bought him a small Lego kit the other day, and he put the entire thing together by himself!! Very impressive. I don't think I could have put it together as quickly as he did. ;-)
In other news, since we have a 3 bedroom house and a baby on the way, we moved Buttercup into Oliver's room in January. I anticipated a looooong adjustment period, but it really only took a week or so for Buttercup to get used to being in a new room! They both love rooming together now, and it seems like it's brought them closer together. I'm so glad we made that decision!
That's it for now, more pictures coming soon!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Swimming lessons
Oliver started swimming lessons this week! His first lesson was on Monday. Although he loves swimming, he was pretty nervous about his first class (as he is with any new situation) and even cried a little bit during the lesson. :-( But he ended up feeling more comfortable and did everything the instructor asked him to, and he even ended up having a good time. :-) After his lesson, he was SO excited and proud of himself!
This afternoon he had his second lesson. He was still a little nervous beforehand, but not nearly as much as the first day. On the way to the pool, he asked me to pray that he wouldn't cry in the pool again (aww!), and he didn't! He did great, and looked like he was having fun the entire time. And when his instructor brought him back to me after the lesson, she said that he's doing so well that he's ready to move up to the next level! He was definitely excited to hear that. :-) Yay, Oliver!
This afternoon he had his second lesson. He was still a little nervous beforehand, but not nearly as much as the first day. On the way to the pool, he asked me to pray that he wouldn't cry in the pool again (aww!), and he didn't! He did great, and looked like he was having fun the entire time. And when his instructor brought him back to me after the lesson, she said that he's doing so well that he's ready to move up to the next level! He was definitely excited to hear that. :-) Yay, Oliver!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Big Girl
Buttercup never ceases to amaze me (mostly in a good way! :-) She's been interested in going to potty for several months now, and we would take her to the potty when she asked to go. I tried potty-training her one day about 4 months ago, and then tried again one day last month. She was showing the same signs of readiness that Oliver showed when he was potty-trained (at 2 1/2 years), but the problem was that she was always afraid to wear underwear. It wasn't until last month that she told me why -- she said she didn't like the way it felt. Kind of makes sense (although I'd think that a diaper would be much more uncomfortable).
I was kinda sorta starting to feel a little stressed about it, because we have a baby coming in about 9 weeks, and I was hoping that she would either be potty-trained by the time he was born, or that she would not want to be potty-trained until she was closer to 3. In other words, I didn't want to have to worry about potty-training her while also taking care of a newborn!!
Well, God took care of all of that for me, even without me verbally or mentally expressing that exact prayer! He knew what I needed, and He answered my prayer! :-)
Out of the blue, Buttercup decided last Wednesday morning that she wanted to wear underwear. She put it on, didn't complain about it, and she kept it dry all morning and most of the afternoon! She had 3 accidents the first day, 1 accident the second day, 2 accidents the third day, and she hasn't had any since. When I was potty-training Oliver, I would just bring him to the potty when I thought he needed to go, and he would go. Buttercup is different, because she doesn't want to go when I tell her to! So after the third day, I stopped badgering her about going to potty, and she started telling me when she needed to go!! She's doing great and has kept herself clean and dry, including trips to the store, the park, playgrounds, and church. We are so proud of her!!
One other proud moment -- a couple of weeks ago, she figured out how to pedal the $5 bike I bought her at a garage sale, and last night she figured out how to steer it! She rode it in circles around the driveway for a long time!!
Such a big girl!
I was kinda sorta starting to feel a little stressed about it, because we have a baby coming in about 9 weeks, and I was hoping that she would either be potty-trained by the time he was born, or that she would not want to be potty-trained until she was closer to 3. In other words, I didn't want to have to worry about potty-training her while also taking care of a newborn!!
Well, God took care of all of that for me, even without me verbally or mentally expressing that exact prayer! He knew what I needed, and He answered my prayer! :-)
Out of the blue, Buttercup decided last Wednesday morning that she wanted to wear underwear. She put it on, didn't complain about it, and she kept it dry all morning and most of the afternoon! She had 3 accidents the first day, 1 accident the second day, 2 accidents the third day, and she hasn't had any since. When I was potty-training Oliver, I would just bring him to the potty when I thought he needed to go, and he would go. Buttercup is different, because she doesn't want to go when I tell her to! So after the third day, I stopped badgering her about going to potty, and she started telling me when she needed to go!! She's doing great and has kept herself clean and dry, including trips to the store, the park, playgrounds, and church. We are so proud of her!!
One other proud moment -- a couple of weeks ago, she figured out how to pedal the $5 bike I bought her at a garage sale, and last night she figured out how to steer it! She rode it in circles around the driveway for a long time!!
Such a big girl!
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