A Day with Cousin Trent

You can tell who the first children in their families are. Helo, attention span...

Elise is enamored with the big kids.

They love the playground in Grammy-K and Grandpa-J's neighborhood.

Lots of sledding together!

Helping Trent build a ditch system.

Elise needs to go to gymnastics classes...

All of the kids love the toys at Grammy-K and Grandpa-J's. Everything comes out. Every time.

Valentine's for the girls

Elise was a big fan of fancy steak dinner. She is her daddy's daughter!

 

Kira likes to eat in a zoo.

The girls got new books, socks, and barrettes. They were excited.

Valentine's for Daddy

The girls got very creative and made daddy some very nice home-made Valentine's cards.

Elise for covered in marker and paint during the Valentine's craft extravaganza. She loved all of it!

Working hard...

The finished products. Yes, they added a gazillion pictures each.

Class Valentine's

Assembly line? ...check

Marker for signing cards? ...check

3.5 year old who's supposed to write her own name on 20 cards? ...check

20 mostly illegible signatures ...check

Finished product....

...x 20.

 

This only took an hour. One of the least fun hours we have had recently. Kira hates it when things, like her signature, do not look "right". Unfortunately, she is only 3.5 and we started her name with a "K" (not an easy letter to learn). I was surprised at how many kids in her class were able to write their names. I was just happy that she was writing herself, knew what the letters were supposed to be, and that it was 4 letters long. I guess I have low expectations for the writing skills of 3-4 year olds.

Doin' Puzzles

Kira loves a good puzzle. She is actually putting this floor puzzle together without any help these days. I think it is her favorite puzzle both because she can do it "all my-byself" and because she can then "match" the dino's on the puzzle with her toy dino's.

Daddy's little helpers!

Santa brought Mommy a "grown up" wine rack (i.e. not a free case box from the liquor store) for Christmas, and it was finally time to put it together. Kira and Elise both thought their help was essential. They got out their tool box and the construction vehicle, just to make it official.

Kira observing in order to learn what she needs to do.

She's a quick study.

Note the construction vehicle. (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Mills!)

Elise needed to get in on the action, too!

She's pretty proud of herself.

Intense work going on. Kira was sure she could do this "all my byself"

Elise thought we might need some extra materials, and a saw.

"Okay, no extra materials. How about I saw something?"

I think Elise's thoughts in this picture can be loosely translated as follows:

"Kira, are you sure you should be using the adult mallet?"

"Dad, are you sure you should have your fingers right where Kira is hammering with the adult mallet?"

"Okay, but I'm going to supervise, and I'll get Mommy if there's an injury"

Who needs a dining room table?

Check me out, I can sit on the couch cushions and eat on the China Hutch. This. Is. Awesome.

No, I'm not willing to share my strawberries. Just walk away.

Kira Ice Skates!

Kira's friend Mia had an Ice Skating Birthday Party yesterday, and it was Kira's first time on skates. Unfortunately, the smallest size they had to rent were size 9, so we just tightened the laces and hoped for the best. She and Ben had lots of fun. And, Will "helped" a little, too, fearing that Ben might not have the "skills" to keep himself upright, let alone Kira! Elise was not happy that she couldn't skate. But, at the rate that her feet are growing, she may be 7 before she wears a size 9 shoe! We had fun, and are going to have to go more often so Kira and Elise can both learn to skate.

Check it out...

I have a tongue. Just sayin...

Dress Up

It's always a good time for dress up, right? And, yes, she always uses accessories. I like to let her pick what she wears and accessorizes with. It is often a hilarious site of mismatched patterns. She also missed the day when you learn to delete the last item, and always wears WAY more than is appropriate. She wore a sparkle antenna headband to school the other day and all the kids wanted one. Sorry parents!

Green Smoothies

Aunt Stephanie inspired Mommy to start having a green smoothie each morning for breakfast. We like to help make it, and drink it! We are in charge of putting the greens and frozen strawberries in. We like to experiment and have found lots of yummy flavor combinations. Thanks for the inspiration Aunt Stephanie!

Waiting for Kira....

Kira started Speech Therapy in January and is working on articulation with phrases. Elise likes to stay in the lobby and play with all the toys that are sooo much cooler than what we have at home. Hey, at least she's easy to entertain.

Peek-a-Boo!

Isn't she the cutest?! She loves this game, especially if I get the camera out.

Stunt Sit n' Spin

 

Elise is afraid of nothing. Stand up while on the Sit n' Spin that is for kids  over 3 years, sure! And, if you offer to help, she says, "NO! MY DO IT!" I think she might be well served wearing a helmet for more than just riding a bike. I foresee several orthopedic injuries in our future!