I remember preschool playdates with my girls.
Maybe we’d have a tea party. Or a princess dress up dance. OR they’d color, make necklaces with beads or play Barbies…
Colin had a preschool playdate today.
I was stabbed twice, had my arms cut off by a knight, was shot by a pirate, got shot numerous times with dart guns, got attacked by kung fu ninjas and that was just in the first half an hour.
Little different, these boys.
busy week. lots going on!
friday we had so much fun on colin’s first trip to nyc.
he loved times square, despite the chill.
runs in the family.
saturday i went to my friend kassel’s birthday party.
love that girl.
it was nice the other day, so we spent lost of time outside,
swinging and playing.
and naturally, the day after we were outside with no coat,
it snowed. check out the view from our deck.
about 10 deer were in our backyard.
date night at the local brew pub.
beer samplers are fun.
gracie wrote a story for school. look at the dedication:
“this is dedicated to my family who make my life AWESOME.”
great week.
On Friday my little man and I took the train up to New York. He was very very very very excited about the train. The commuters in our car were all giggling at his excitement. He waved to people on the platform at every station – and you would be amazed how many people waved back!
Then we were in NYC! We got there a little early, so we decided to head a few blocks north to Times Square before catching a cab up to the event.
After a cab ride that was much too short for Colin’s taste, we arrived to find Cookie Monster waiting to greet us!! We went upstairs to a kid’s paradise! I love Sesame Street: its like every one who works there has channeled their preschool self and knows exactly what preschoolers love! Colin hardly knew where to look first – Balloon animals? Decorate cookies? Color? See Abby? Play with stickers? Personally, I loved the balloon animals. I’ve never seen balloon animals like this. Check out how realistic: Cookie must have felt like he was looking in a mirror.
After a yummy lunch, we headed over to watch the “Birthdays” episode of Elmo’s World. The kids were all giggling and singing along – and then… then… ELMO WAS THERE!
I almost died. It was really the REAL Elmo. Colin was literally shaking with excitement. He had a birthday cake (with 3½ candles) and then – we sang. Colin and I sang with Elmo. An old song that I grew up singing along with on Sesame Street – I am now singing along with my son . It was incredible. I love that a huge part of my childhood is now a part of his.
Then, we met Elmo. I was starstruck to meet Kevin Clash. Such a talented man! Colin was chatting with Elmo, Elmo gave him hugs and kisses… I was practically in tears. What a moment. We will never forget it.
We came home with a copy of Elmo’s new DVD, Elmo’s World: Elmo’s Favorite Things
. It has eight episodes of Elmo’s World – including the birthday episode we saw at the event and Colin’s favorite episode ever, dinosaurs!! We’ve already watched it – and by ‘we’ I include my older kids as well. You know, despite being “too big for Sesame Street,” I know that my girls still love it. They sat and enjoyed the DVD, laughing right along with their little brother. And I can tell you that at Busch Gardens this summer, those ‘big girls’ were the ones running to get their picture taken with Big Bird. 😉 I think Sesame Street is one of those things that we never outgrow!!
By the way, check out SesameStreet.org – it is an amazing resource for parents! We recently viewed the section about helping kids deal with grief, who are dealing with the first death of a family member in their memory. I’m so thankful for organizations like Sesame Street who are helping us talk to our kids about subjects that are so hard to explain.
disclosure: we received a gift bag for attending this event, including an elmo’s world dvd.
Featuring mostly my cats. Hum.
Ellie was trying to get Sadie to eat her math homework.
It didn’t work – apparently she just likes to eat ants and spiders.
Is that normal for a cat? Our cats gobble up ants like they’re cat treats.
Perhaps they’re not getting enough protein.
At the car show, Ellie reminded us that she is turning 16 is just 7 years and we should start saving because she wants this car.
Such a sweet, innocent little thing she is.
She has no idea that as soon as she can drive, she’s getting my yucky mini-van
(which is made up of mostly cracker crumbs at this point and has had the nickname Stinky Yuck Van)
and she can drive her siblings around
while I drive a convertible.
Shadow declared the wooden clementine box her official bed, ignoring the nice, plush cat bed that we actually paid money for.
Figures.
We spent most of the week outside.
65 degree days in January are not worthy of working.
We made the driveway into a huge mural, played on the swingset, played soccer… and even grilled.
Remind me of this when its snowing next week.
I have eaten much, much too many of these.
mostly i spent time this week with my sick little one. he had a cough and a fever for two days. poor babe.
he gets a little clingy when he’s sick, so we spent lots of time snuggling, watching cars and kung fu panda and reading…
but the week had bright spots. like my sweet husband
and my sweet girl, who called me her BFF
how was your week?
Okay. You push us, then jump on the back. Ready… set… GO!
Whoops!! I tripped!
Wait for me!!
GOTCHA!
Heaven is getting to tickle two of your nephews’ bellies at the same time and listen to their baby giggles.
Enjoy the giggles!
We spent the weekend in Boston, saying goodbye to my husband’s grandma. It was an amazing weekend – she will be missed so very very much. His Grandma was such an incredible lady. And she loved her family deeply. So what better way to celebrate her life than having a weekend together chatting, playing games and having a massive snow fight?
some days, just one superhero t-shirt isn’t enough
you need a backup – just in case.
Those days usually are like this:
When you just want to curl up with your head in your blankey.
Gracie wanted another American Girl doll more than anything this Christmas, but didn’t get her. She’s such a poor, neglected child, right? 😉 So this resourceful little business girl managed to buy herself and Ruthie a new friend.
We were so proud of her. She came to us and told us how she really wanted Kit, why she wanted her in particular and how she wanted to pay for her with her Christmas money. (My in-laws usually take the kids to Toys R Us and let them go nuts, but she asked if she put the money towards her doll instead.) With that, plus selling all her gift cards to the Bank of Mom and Dad, she had just enough money for Kit! Such a smart little thing!!
Now she’s saving her money for more American Girl clothes for her girls.
By the way – 5-7 days for shipping is approximately FOREVER when you are 7.