Summer!

School is officially out and the kids and I are looking forward to some fun and sun this summer! First, we made a list of things we'd like to do:

Emily and Bailey made the first (much shorter) version of this list. Then Mommy made it look festive and added a few more ideas. We've already gotten quite a good start on it since we visited EPCOT this weekend, checked out books at the library, played at the park, made a modern art painting and a mosaic, did sidewalk chalk, and played in the rain!

It's looking like it's going to be a really good summer this year!

End of the Year

Last night was Bailey's pre-k graduation. She was an absolute RIOT and completely stole the show!! She was singing her heart out and she's pretty adorable and expressive to begin with, so it all added up to a spectacular performance.

I have some videos of her singing performance here:

http://youtu.be/KyxH-VUbrj0  “My Best Friend”

http://youtu.be/Zgu-uMGLirw  “Here I am to Worship” and “He Knows My Name”

Today was the last day of school for Emily. I can't believe she is off to SECOND grade! Here she is getting off the bus for the last time this school year:

To celebrate, we had pizza for lunch and made our own sundaes! We topped it off with an end-of-the-year swimming playdate! Good times!

7:21

Bailey's bedtime is 7:00, and we are pretty good about sticking to it, especially on school nights. She usually falls asleep within 10 minutes of going to bed, so I know it's the right time for her. She also has a rule that on school days, she cannot come out of her room until at least 6 am, and on weekends, it's 7 am. We had quite the fiasco the day after we implemented that rule--she woke up at 5:46, and lo and behold, there was a "6" on her clock, so she thought she could come out! Anyway, yesterday we reviewed the rule because she was again up super early in the morning. Last night, we put her to bed at 7:00. I'm pretty sure she went to sleep right away (or if not, it was awfully quiet and still in there). About twenty minutes later, we hear her yelling, "Seven-two-one! Yeah! That's the right time!!" LOL. I think she thought it was morning and she could come out.

Now I guess it's time to learn about the am and pm indicators on the clock. LOL.

Emily's haircut

Emily has been asking to have her hair cut for a while, and this weekend we were finally able to get it done. She decided to get six inches cut off, which is a lot, but I figured it would be a little cooler for summer and it will grow back! Anyway, Daddy and I agree that she looks a lot older now. Here she is:

Thunderstorms

Just overheard Bailey explaining to Emily how to tell how far away a storm is: "You count like this: one Mrs. Piggy, two Mrs. Piggy, three Mrs. Piggy..." :)

Bailey's Tea Party

Yesterday was Bailey's 5th birthday tea party. It was a huge success! We had so much fun dressing up and having treats together.

The girls each got to decorate a straw hat with silk flowers of their choice. Then Mimi glued the flowers on and they were able to wear their creations. Next, they had a tea party coloring page and a special teapot picture frame craft. After a yummy lunch of tea sandwiches (peanut butter and jelly, of course!), fruit salad, chips, and lots of tiny cookies and treats (including iced tea served in real porcelain cups!!), we played pin the handle on the teapot and we had a fashion show. Then we made our own sundaes and Bailey opened her gifts. It was a lot of fun and definitely a party to remember!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

Today we took the girls to Magic Kingdom (Liam had a babysitter) and to B's favorite restaurant, Chili's, for lunch. We got to meet Rapunzel and Alice and the White Rabbit for the first time!

Liam: My Little Character

Liam has been an absolute RIOT lately.

Yesterday we were coming home from the store and he took his shoes off in the car. He announced: "I take shoes off! P-U!" I laughed SO hard, which of course made him laugh, which made me laugh even more.

Then, today, he came to me with a poopy diaper. When I opened the diaper, I said, "P-U!" And he said, "That STINKS!" LOL!!

Finally, this morning he was playing with his race cars when it got very quiet. I called him and this is how he came out of the playroom:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, right? :)

Poop Happens

Liam has pretty much given up his afternoon nap (although he will surprise us and take a 3-hour one sometimes--go figure!). Today, he opened the door and called to me: "Mom (yes, he calls me "mom"), I poop!" So I went to get him. I took him to the changing table and I opened the diaper. Well it was a mess in there so I said, "Liam, what happened?" And he replied, "Poop happened!" LOL!!

Easter

We had a lovely Easter this year. On Saturday night we took the kids to Epcot to see the fireworks. They loved it--especially Liam, who kept yelling, "More fireworks! Fireworks go BOOM!" They have a show called Illuminations and the idea is that you are gathered around the fire with a storyteller. There are torches that are sometimes lit and sometimes not. Well at one point the barge in the middle of the lake was on fire, and we were pretty sure that was NOT supposed to happen! The kids were fascinated, though.

We also dyed eggs on Saturday. The girls especially loved the magic crayon and they wrote their names and drew pictures on some of the eggs.

Sunday morning, Emily and Bailey woke us bright and early (5:45!) because the Easter Bunny had left some "treasure" in Bailey's room! (The girls later confessed that E woke B up--she was just too excited to wait!) This year, the Easter Bunny did something a little different. He hid eggs as usual, but instead of being filled with candy, treats, or coins, each egg had a clue inside. He also left us this note:

Dear Emily, Bailey, and Liam,

Your Mommy and Daddy told me that they got you some candy, and NuNu told me that you were hoping for some toys, so this year I left you a special treasure hunt! First, you will need to collect the eggs I have hidden around the house. Inside those eggs are clues. The clues are written on different colored paper. Once you have all of the eggs, open them up and put the colored pages together. All of the clues in each color will lead you to a spot where I’ve hidden a gift for you.

Help each other and have fun!

Love,

the Easter Bunny

So, the kids worked together to find the eggs and unscramble the clues. Then they raced all over the house to find their treasures! Some of the spots were in the dryer, in Bailey's kitchen, in a drawer in Emily's room, in Liam's closet, and in the playroom! They each got some books, toys, and goodies.

We finished our day and our Spring Break vacation by enjoying a delicious lasagna at Mimi and Grandpa's house. It was a wonderful day that I am sure we'll remember for a long time.

Disney Days

We got Walt Disney World annual passes last month. So far we've been there just about every weekend! We went to Magic Kingdom first (of course!) and had a fun but COLD day checking out the new Fantasyland. It was very busy so we didn't get to do a lot of rides, but we enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere. Aunt Theresa and Uncle Matthew were able to meet us there and that was really special for us. The girls especially love spending time with them.

 

Here we are on the carousel!

The next weekend we went to Hollywood Studios. We were able to get there pretty close to park opening and we got to ride Toy Story Mania with minimal waiting. We were also able to see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid and the Disney Junior shows (the kids REALLY liked those). We met Mater and Lightning McQueen (Liam's favorite!) and saw the Muppets in 3D. Then we headed over to Epcot to see some things there. Emily and Daddy rode Mission: Space! and she loved it. We all did the Seas with Nemo and Friends and that was a hit, too.

Two weekends ago we went back to Epcot to see some more but it was packed--it was the first weekend of the flower and garden show and apparently that is a big draw! We did get to do Imagination and the boat ride in the Land. The girls were able to check "getting a Mickey ice cream bar" off their list of must-dos!

 

 

 

Yesterday we visited Animal Kingdom and we had a great time. We took the kids on a safari ride that was really good--we saw lots of animals up close, including a giraffe right next to our tour jeep! Liam was a riot. I kept pointing out all of the different animals and he was not very interested, but when another tour jeep came around the corner he jumped up and yelled, "Truck!" LOL. We also did the nature walk and we got to see a hippo swimming. We met Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger! Mommy, Bailey, and Liam did the Triceratops Spin while Daddy and Emily rode Primeval Whirl. We also went over to Magic Kingdom and I guess because it was getting late and it was raining, the crowds were starting to thin out. We were able to ride Winnie-the-Pooh (which said it was a 20 minute wait but was really about 5 minutes), Peter Pan (said 55 minutes but was only about 15!!!), and the new Little Mermaid ride (said 20 minutes but that was only because it takes 20 minutes to walk through that queue, LOL!!). We also got to meet Ariel and when we left there, the fireworks show was in progress so we had a pretty good, uncrowded view. It poured on our way out and we were all soaked by the time we got to our car,  but it was still a pretty great day!

 

Adventures with Liam

Liam has been really fun and funny lately. I guess it is all part of being two and being adorable! He's starting to talk a lot more (and actually be understandable) and that makes for some fun conversations with him. And I definitely have to watch whatever I do because he imitates EVERYTHING!!

Last week when we took Bailey to pre-k, Liam wanted to use the potty there. For some reason he loves the bathroom at preschool and also the one at Walmart (ICK). Anyway, he goes into the girls' bathroom, stops, walks back to the door, looks at the picture, walks out, and goes into the boys' bathroom! So I follow him in there. I have to take his pants completely off or he can't sit on the toilet, so I do that but I leave his sneakers on. He pees and then goes to the side of the toilet to flush. I laughed so hard when I saw him trying to flush the toilet with his FOOT! He was naked from the waist down except for sneakers and the handle was at about his shoulder height, so it was  hilarious to watch him try to do that! Now I know he learned that from me because when we are in a particularly icky bathroom, I will flush with my foot. But for him to try it was just SO funny.

Another adventure this past week was a trip to Publix. Most kids look forward to going to Publix because they get a cookie. Liam can't have the cookies because of his food allergies, so he gets a balloon. He starts getting excited as we near the registers because he knows his balloon is coming. He knows he has to ask nicely to get one and he is pretty good about saying, "Purple balloon, please" (he always asks for purple but he doesn't care what color he gets). This past week we got our balloon as usual and then went to the car. I loaded the bags, put Liam in and buckled him in, pressed the button to close the automatic door, and walked around to my seat. About halfway there, I hear a "POP!" I open the door and there's the baby holding the string with a dead balloon, crying, "balloon pop!" He had the biggest, cutest, most pathetic pout I've ever seen. So I go back around the car, get the baby out, and go back into Publix. He's still carrying the dead balloon and crying, "Balloon pop! Balloon pop!" As soon as we walked in, the manager came over and said, "Oh, no! What happened to your balloon?" And Liam replies, "Balloon pop!" So the manager went over to get him another balloon. Meanwhile Liam is telling everyone who walks by "balloon pop" in a tearful voice. It was so sad and so cute at the same time.

Finally, vacuuming with Liam is like an extreme sport. I have to vacuum every two or three days because the kids bring home so much MULCH from the playground that it just gets everywhere. Liam likes to "help" so he follows me around with the corn popper. He likes to race ahead of me into a room, then anticipate my move and "vacuum" that spot first before I can get to it! He'll crash his vacuum into mine, too. It's hilarious. It's also really helpful because I know exactly what he's doing while I'm cleaning.

He is definitely in the terrible/terrific twos!

Bailey's reading trophy!

Bailey finished the 100 Lessons book and earned her trophy and her Kindle Fire! We are so proud of her and her great reading skills!

Poop Picasso (and the crappy day)

Yesterday was sort of an adventure for me. I had an appointment to get my oil changed at 9:15. I told the service advisor I needed to pick my kids up at noon and she said it was no problem because the service would take no longer than an hour and a half. I walked over to Target with Liam and we shopped and had a snack. Around 10:15 we headed back to Toyota and waited in their kids' playroom, which has toys and Disney Junior on tv. I noticed that Mickey Mouse was on. Then Jake and the Neverland Pirates came on, and then another Mickey--and I realized, hey, I've been here for a while! SO I went to check on the status of my car and it was already 11:25! They promised me it was almost done, but I didn't get out of there until 11:47! I got to Bailey and Derrick's school at 11:58! Talk about cutting it close!!

Anyway, by the time we got home, Liam and I were both tired and hungry, so I made lunch and put him in for a nap. Only he didn't go to sleep--he pooped. Not only did he poop, but he took his diaper off and then smeared the poop EVERYWHERE. I mean, on the walls, on the door, on himself, all over the carpet--it was a royal mess! So I had to put him in the tub, start a load of wash, wipe up all of the poop and then shampoo the carpet! It was definitely NOT the quiet, restful afternoon I'd had in mind! Of course he didn't get to nap before we had to go to the bus stop, either, so he was a real joy! I told Will that he needed to take me out to dinner or at least order a pizza, because I'd had a truly CRAPPY day (with literal crap!!). LOL. I am sure I will laugh about this someday.