Overheard From The Nursing Chair

Cameron is very easily distracted while nursing these days. This makes nursing difficult when Chloe & Caleb are in the same room so I often try to nurse him in a different room. This presents numerous challenges! I've decided I should start a new series on the blog because I hear some pretty crazy things from that nursing chair. The most recent thing I heard was Chloe's version of the Golden Rule. Her and Caleb were fighting very LOUDLY and I hear Chloe shout: "Be NICE to me and then I'll be NICE to you!" Then they continued fighting...lovely.

Top Ten Things We Learned Going Fishing

10. Fishing is not exactly relaxing with young children. Sharp hooks and water...need I say more?!?

9. Chloe IS my daughter (oh wait...we already knew that:) Note the posture with her first fish!

8. Little boys love to be with their Daddy.

7. My Dad is squeamish with worms! Who knew?!?

6. Experimenting with my new camera is REALLY fun!

5. As long as he is fishing Caleb doesn't care that the pole is pink and purple.

4.Knowing where there are plenty of blue gills makes for a VERY successful fishing trip with kids

3. These sunglasses are really cool

2. A beautiful day even seems to calm sibling rivalry

1. A few moments of doing something you love can be incredibly refreshing (and make one pretty cool picture!).

Lightening's Carwash

Caleb is not yet potty trained. We're working on it but progress is slow. I thought that pull ups and underpants with Lightening McQueen on them would be a real motivator. This was our conversation this morning when I put him in his Lightening McQueen pull-up.

Me: Let's try and keep Lightening dry ALL DAY! That would be great if you didn't pee on him and he stayed dry all day!
Caleb: But Mom, I like giving him a car wash!

Somehow this was not the motivation that I had hoped for...

Chloe is 5!

Chloe turned 5 last week! I can hardly believe it! It seems like not that long ago I took a trip from work to the hospital in labor with her. Where does the time go?!? I thought that I'd post a few of her favorite things and some highlights from her birthday week:

Favorite TV show: Curious George
Favorite outdoor activities: Riding her bike (with training wheels), swinging, kicking around the soccer ball
Favorite indoor activities: Reading, pretending to cook for me or shop for me, playing with her "Loving Family" dolls/camper & minivan, coloring
Favorite Books: Berenstain Bears Books, The Seven Silly Eaters by Mary Ann Hoberman
Favorite Food: Mac & Cheese
Favorite kind of pizza: Pepperoni
Favorite clothes: Anything pink or purple
Favorite Games: UNO, Candyland, Curious George Hide and Seek, 20 Questions
Favorite Question: "What does that mean?"
Favorite Musical Artists: Go Fish, Jana Alayra, Sydney Lett (we have her CD and she is awesome!)
Favorite Family Member: Cameron (yes, she tells me this all the time!)
Favorite Thing About Preschool: Snack time
Favorite Gum: BubbleMint or Cinnamon. She loves gum.
Favorite Days of the Week: Wednesday (Grandma's Day) & Saturday (Swim Lessons Day)

Birthday Pancakes...yummy!

A birthday picnic in the park with Corrina

The weather was absolutely gorgeous!

Even Daddy was able to join us!

She was happy to open gifts at the second park of the day with Grandma & Grandpa

Playing in the sprinkler!

Being silly with Grandma Judy

Busting open the pinata

Presents for the birthday girl!

A strawberry & chocolate ballerina cake were just what the birthday girl ordered!

A Tea party & A Treasure Hunt

I love coming up with fun activities for our letter of the week. This past week was our "T" week so we had a teddy bear tea party and a meal treasure hunt (I read about this in Family Fun magazine and knew it would be a hit with the kids!)

 Even Cameron had some pretend tea

Cameron wanted to eat everything!

Our treasure hunt started with raw veggies and dip in the bathroom following the clue: Go to the place where Mommy and Daddy shampoo. It was a cozy (that's a nice way to put it) place to start the meal.

The second clue brought us to our room for oven fries and ketchup (a poor choice I realized after it was too late!) 

The next clue took us to "where puppy sleeps" for chicken and ranch for dipping (why do finger foods all need dip??)

Asparagus was the next treasure (doesn't Chloe look thrilled?!?)  found "where T things abound...trains, tracks and Thomas"

We're almost done! Grapes hidden in the washing machine were a fun find!

Our final clue brought us to dessert after the kids were instructed to "Find the place to watch and play basketball." They found Fun Dip hidden near the basketball hoop. 

 

 

The meal took quite awhile as Kyle read a bible story at every stop while I hid and prepared the next course but it was a blast!  Try it out but beware of ketchup!!

Pretend Play

The Downside of Pretend Play: Not understanding what C & C are fighting over (because it does not exist) or how to compromise or negotiate the situation.

The Upside of Pretend Play: Chloe pretending to babysit Cameron while I clean and then paying her with pretend money. I could get used to this!!

Gardening

I love our conversations at the table. Here it is from lunch yesterday.
Me: What should we plant in our garden this year?
Chloe: Onions!
Caleb: Pickles!
Chloe: Tomatoes!
Caleb: Chickens!
Me: We can't plant chickens in the garden!
Caleb (Very Serious): Then where do chickens come from??
Me: Mommy chickens.
The End.