Opening day at Lagoon

Today was opening day at Lagoon.  And the weather hit 80 degrees, it was perfect.  The kids had no idea we were going until we got there.  We're all a little out of shape from being inside all winter though and ended up leaving a little early because Phoebe was crying about her legs hurting.  That and a few of us have raging allergies going on.  But it was lots of fun and we're all excited for another fun season there.

Phoebe grew two inches over the winter and it now tall enough for a few new rides.  Hazel got her own pass this year and loved the rides she went on today.  John only grew about half an inch and is hovering around the magical height for the good roller coasters.  They let him on one ride saying he was just barely tall enough, and didn't let him on another because he was just barely too short (same height requirement.)  He just needs to grow a little more to really be in the clear.  Bella is still a little daredevil, and I'm still a wimp.

Growing Dinosaurs

We bought these dinosaurs a couple weeks ago.  You put them in water and they grow, take them out and they shrink.  They're pretty pointless but still fun.  So they just sit on our counter growing and shrinking over and over.

We don't throw rocks

I've told the kids a hundred times "we don't throw rocks."  Apparently John took that to mean we don't throw rocks at people.  He threw a rock up through a tree and it just happened to hit Bella in the head.  So today we had our first set of stitches.  Hopefully John learned to never throw a rock because you never know where it will land.  He felt pretty bad about it.  She's fine though, she thought the doctor was fun because she got a ball.  And she's outside now running up and down the street like nothing ever happened.

Math

So I finally got around to switching the kids math curriculum. We were using Singapore math (which we also used last year) and it was going okay at first. Then awhile ago I started feeling like the kids just weren't really mastering the concepts enough before the book moved on (especially John.) Finally it wanted them to start doing multiplication and division and I decided we were through. They don't even have all their basic addition and subtraction skill mastered yet. And even with getting additional math books and flash cards to practice with I knew we needed to find something new.

So I did a ton of looking around and decided on Math-U-See. I got Alpha which is basically 1st grade. A large portion of it will be review but I think it will be good for them to go over and I can use the instructional part again with Phoebe and Hazel. We're quickly going through the stuff they know and will work through the summer on math and hopefully be caught up to 2nd grade level by early 2nd grade.

I think this is going to be a much better fit for John.  And they both loved watching the lesson on the DVD.

Someone doesn't like the doctor

Hazel went for her 2 year check up today.  She was NOT happy about being there and screamed everytime I put her down.

The good news is in the last 6 months she has gone from below 0% on the growth charts to the 29% for weight.  She's almost the same weight as Phoebe now.

And we got a prescription for the sore on her face.  Hopefully it will clear up now, everytime it almost goes away she scratches a huge chunk of skin off of it or it breaks out again.

Then all the kids went to the dentist.  Still no cavities for any of them.  And I'm totally exhausted from trying to keep four kids happy in waiting rooms all day.

Geography

John and Bella were coloring last night and I found these after they went to bed.

Bella drew this on the board, the last one is California.



And John did this.  Those are backwards check marks after his name and the word.  Anyway it says Cambodia.

Sonic

The weather was so perfect tonight that we all walked to Sonic after dinner for ice cream.  And I managed to snap this great picture on the first try.

Sidewalk chalk paint

One of the kids favorite thing to do outside is paint with sidewalk chalk paint.  It's super easy and cheap to make, just mix a little cornstarch and food coloring into some water and start painting.  We've used various containers in the past to put the paint in, little containers tend to spill.  Jumbo muffin tins work great but then the kids have to all be in the same spot to get to the paint and it doesn't work so great. 

Anyway I got a coupon to Lakeshore Learning and decided to get a set of their spill proof paint cups to use.  With the coupon they only cost a dollar.  And I got a set of matching paint brushes, which makes it easier for the kids to not mix up which brush goes with which color.

Spring!

Spring has officially arrived with temps in the 70's.  And it's supposed to stay like that through the weekend.  We're taking a break from school and just staying outside all day enjoying it all.  Words cannot express how happy this makes me.  The kids clearly feel the same.





And the ducks are back.  They come around every spring and we love them.  I simply adore ducks, used to have pet ducks when I was younger.  Two of them, who went on to have 14 babies (all at once.)

Piano Music

This morning John and Bella made me some piano music before I woke up.  John's is on the left and Bella's on the right.  They're so sweet.

Sick Girl

Phoebe is sick with a cold.  Not very sick but milking it for all it's worth in true Phoebe fashion.  She loves to be "sick" but rarely actually gets sick.  So she spent the morning laying on the couch trying to get me to let her watch cartoons.



Hazel saw I had the camera out and thought I was trying to take a picture of her so she posed.



She was pretty happy then.  But then I got a snack for Phoebe, which Hazel thought was going to be for her, and threw an awesome two year old tantrum.  Screamed for an hour and a half (not even kidding.)  She'd calm down a bit then if anyone so much as looked at her she'd throw herself onto the floor again and start all over. 

Rocko

Phoebe's got a pet rock now.  She found it outside and named it Rocko.  After carrying it around and playing with it for 3 days I let her decorate it with markers.  Now she's really attached to it.  She even snuck it into the van and tried to take it in a resturant because "Rocko was hungry too."

A very quiet shopping trip

I was shopping with Hazel today and noticed at the very beginning that she could barely keep her eyes open (she missed her nap.)  So I gave her my jacket and she fell asleep instantly and stayed that way the entire time, until we got outside where it was snowing.  I think it's the first time any of my kids have slept in a cart outside of the newborn period.  Made for a very nice, quiet shopping trip.

Ice Cream

Sleepy Girl

All the playing outside we've done this week caught up with Phoebe the other day at the store.

Tying Shoes

John and Bella both got new shoes yesterday.  Usually I get John shoes with straps but Bella can't use those (because she walks on her toes and the stress of that breaks the straps in a matter of weeks.)  Anyway I got John shoes that tie as well and figured it would be a good time to teach them to tie their own shoes.  I had tried to teach Bella last year but she just wasn't quite ready.

I looked online for some tips and saw a suggestion to put strings through a box to practice.  Perfect, especially since we had new shoe boxes to use.  Plus by putting two strings we could tie at the same time and she could watch me do it.  Bella caught on very quickly.  After doing it several times on the box we moved on to real shoes.









John said he didn't want to learn and I told him he didn't have to.  I really wasn't sure if he was ready for it, as far as motor skills go.  But as soon as he saw how excited Bella was about her new skill (which included calling Daddy at work to tell him) John wanted to learn too.  And he caught on fast.

Warmer Weather

This week we've finally had some warmer weather.  Still not as warm as I would like but it's an improvement.  Monday we spent all day outside as it was actually sunny.  Yesterday and today we played outside as well but it's been cloudy and windy so even at 60 degrees it gets a bit cold.  Next week is supposed to be the return of winter so I figure we better enjoy it while we can.  It's nice to see that Spring is just around the corner though.



I stuck some wet sand in Phoebe's little wagon and she played quietly by herself with it for an hour. 

Pretty Hair

Hazel has had like 6 haircuts in her two years.  I just didn't want it to get too long because it makes the baby look go away too fast.  So I just kept cutting it.  Finally after the last Corey said I wasn't allowed to cut it anymore, and while I considered doing it anyway I decided to let him make this decision.  Now Hazel's hair has finally gotten too long to leave down, she has to tilt her head all the way back to see under her bangs now (which I won't cut because I'm anti-bangs.)  So now every morning I get to do her hair and I have to say she looks absolutely adorable with her hair up, but still a little too grown up for my taste.

My handsome man

John has decided he likes button up shirts lately.  He started asking for a tie a few weeks ago and this past weekend we went and got him two ties and a new button up shirt.  I love how excited he was to go shopping for clothes.  He was a huge fan of the Easter dress clothes the stores had on display and even wanted the nice socks in matching colors.

Random pictures from the mall

Hazel's birthday

The little tea set toy she got has been a HUGE hit. She loves it.

"Remember we only color on paper"

At least that's what I tell them.  Doesn't always end up that way though.

Hazel isn't quite tall enough to reach the dry erase board...




And that's not the first time that part of our wall has been hit by a not quite tall enough toddler.  This one is from Phoebe last year.  As you can see I lowered the board after Phoebe drew on the wall, just obviously not low enough.