Scenes from our day

 I heard C in the office getting something from the toy box, and was very pleased that he was occupying himself.  When I went in there to check on him, I found that he was actually in the toy box! So, of course I had to run and get my camera!

 I found the Ed Emberly Thumbprint art book at Goodwill this morning, so we just had to do some art from it today!  H really liked it.  He took the book with him to his room for rest time and when he came out he knew just what he wanted to make. 

(Yes, we have out a Halloween coloring book.  I think Halloween is H's new favorite holiday.  At Thanksgiving someone asked him what he was thankful for, and his reply was "I'm thankful for Halloween and trick or treating and candy.")

 A frog!

He did it all by himself!  I'd say it is pretty good for a "three and four" year old!
(When people ask H how old he is, he says "three and four"  which is his version of "I'm three, but will be four soon" or three and a half.)

We did some snack time FaceTime with Pop and SweetHart.  I discovered this summer that an upside down popsicle mold makes a great iPod stand!  When C woke up from his nap he joined in FaceTime too.  I love technology!  Even though we are miles away, we can still have an active role in their lives!

 

 Daddy took the boys out while I was cooking supper, and after a few minutes I heard a noise at the door.  I went over and saw them at the glass, longing to come in.  It's too cold!  After I recovered from laughing at the smooshed red noses and lips through the glass and took a couple pictures, I let them in.  

Even after a long hard day, these two cute little guys can make me laugh and smile.  I am so thankful for them!

Bilibo

 I found these two silly little things at a children's sale for a great price and thought I would get them for the boys.   I didn't know if the boys would like them, but they love them, and once I started taking pictures of them using them, I realized just how much they use them.  It is a bilibo, and can basically be whatever you want it to be. 

 

 H watching his show, brother just wanted to be close.  Sitting in them like this takes some balance and coordination.  It is fun to sit in them and just move this way and that. 

 C has discovered what a great stool it can be.  He carries it all around the house to climb up and see.  He takes it to check out what is on the counter, to look out the windows, to check on Daddy while he is still sleeping....

 Another stool use.  He really wanted to be on the couch or chairs like big brother but just wasn't quite tall enough.  He discovered that with the bilibo, he can get up there.  So now we have to make sure he knows how to get down safely...

 They are great for loading up with toys to carry from point A to B.  This time they were rolling their balls around in it.  (The orange ball in H's bilibo is actually C's.  When they are both playing with the same kind of item, C always lets H have the bigger one.  They both have a ball, but H has the bigger one.  When they play with our cymbals, C lets H use the bigger set.  He doesn't object to it. )

 Watching a show.  C likes to put it upside down and tuck one edge of it up under the TV stand. 

 Today H told me, "Look Mama, I'm a turtle!"  and then C tried to step on his back...

They also make great hats!  They have two little holes that H likes to use as a mask, C looks like he's trying to protect himself (from brother?).

I will look forward to seeing what these two come up with next!

Thanksgiving, Part 1

 We went to Louisiana for Thanksgiving, and as always it is great to see family!  We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at PawPaw and GrandMissy's house.  The weather was so nice, and it was great to let the boys get some energy out.  

 Sitting cute!

 The men.

 Sitting on the porch.  The boys loved having little chairs just for them!  C kept bringing acorns to PawPaw. 

Climbing in the tree. 

The boys are very into exploring these days, so it was nice to have somewhere a little new to go exploring in. 

Yesterday

 Yesterday, we had a

 

 nature exploring,

 two-kinds-of-snacks-at-the-same-time eating,

 

 tree hugging, 

 bad-to-the-bone feeling,

 

 brother loving,

 big stick carrying,

sunset-in-the-woods watching,

kind of afternoon.  

And it was great!

Water Marble Rave

 Have you heard about water marbles?  They are the coolest things ever!  I'm not sure what the official name is, but they are in the floral section.  I found ours at Tuesday morning for about $0.50 a bag. 

 

 They start out so tiny, think a large mustard grain, and you put them into a big container of water and they grow and grow and grow!  They turn into little wet marbles, about the size of regular glass marbles.  Each package contains about a teaspoon full of these little colored balls, and they end up big!  H enjoys checking them out at each stage.

 It can get a little messy with little guys, but at least its only water!

 

 Once they start to grow a little, they get very lumpy and bumpy, H thinks this part is silly!

(The previous pictures are from this summer, I just never posted them - or took any pictures of C with them.  He loves them just as much as H!)

 A few days ago we got another batch going.  After they grow, I just leave the container on the counter with some scoops and stuff and let the boys play with them when they are ready!  They feel good, I have to go play with them every now and again too!

 H's favorite thing to do with the water marbles is to put his face in it!  I guess it feels good.  He says that he is making a silly face into it.  I'll have to take his word for it.

C loves to scoop them and feel them.  He doesn't even try to put them in his mouth.  

(Notice his "owl tufts?"  His hair seems to do this all the time!  He wakes up with his hair like that most mornings, and there doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it - I try to comb them down, wet it, etc, and within about five minutes his hair will be trying to fly away again!  (His Daddy often wakes up with hair like that too!  Maybe it's inherited!)).

I sent this video to KK, Pop, and SweetHart of C playing happily with the water marbles and H dancing to the music he created on the Zoundz music toy we have.  Pop replied that it looks like this was their first rave!  Sort of looks like it.  We were having a great time being silly and dancing.  They were so happily occupied for a good thirty minutes or so that I was able to get the dishes taken care of and the kitchen clean with minimal interruptions.  This may become an after supper routine!

Thanksgiving party

 I feel like we just had the Halloween party at H's school, today was the Thanksgiving party, and I'm pretty sure before we know it we will be preparing for the Christmas party. Time is flying!

 

 The kids playing Gobble, Gobble, Cluck (Like Duck, Duck, Goose)

I'm not sure what H's expression is about - I think he and Davis (the boy running) like to irritate each other a little...

 Making thankful turkeys

 Story time from one of the daddys

 Snack time!

 C as usual did not want to be left out!  He had to do what the big kids were doing!

 Turkey trotting

H and his bestie, Kylie, did teamwork today.

 C found sweet little Payton (they play together on Wednesday mornings) and kept coming up to give her a pat on the back. 

H in his Indian gear

 (although his feathers look a little more Jester-like than Indian-like)

A sweet video of the class singing their blessing.  

I'm not sure if it is his typical personality in school, but H was very animated with his expressions.  He was a little bit silly and goofy.  I hope he is not the class clown in the making!

SweetHart and KK, Part 3

 The Queen and Princes of Oxford

(Somehow everyone ended up wearing stripes that day, KK too!)

SweetHart and H had been collecting leaves on our walks and made crowns one day.  I sort of thought the boys would hate wearing them, but they loved them!  They went exploring in the yard (H brought his magnifying glass and C his golf club so they could really check things out!).

 Then they took a walk/ride with their crowns to meet KK coming back from her walk.  H was yelling "KK, where are you?  KK come see us!"

 We had a delicious lunch at BottleTree Bakery, followed by an exciting desert at YaYa's.

After naps we took H's bike and went to Lamar Park ("Mar Park" or "Supermarket", according to H)

 Since the sun has been going down a little earlier, we had our fun against a beautiful sky!

We had fun going up

 and down the hills!

(How many grandmothers do you know that wear converse?!)

 We had so much fun in the cold!  Up and down little hills, over bridges, by the lake.

 

 Morning snuggles before H heads to school.  We kept these ladies busy!

Choo-choo! The SweetHart and KK train is leaving soon!  

We had such a wonderful and exciting time with you, we miss you already, and can't wait to see you again!

SweetHart and KK, Part 2

 I'm sure I was as excited as the boys were to have them here!  I barely restrained myself from taking SweetHart by the hand and giving her a tour and showing her every single detail about our home too!  It feels so good to have family close by!  Especially my Mama and sister (and Daddy when he can make it!).

 

 More projects!  I don't feel like we do as many projects as I'd like - sometimes because it is too extensive to set up and clean up, and because C can't always participate, etc... So I know that H enjoyed having someone to give him undivided attention and do a project with him while brother was happily occupied by Mama or KK.

 KK, you in there?

H used to do this when he was younger, and it is so cute to see C do it now to.  They only do it to KK, though.  She's pretty special!

A little while ago, SweetHart sent us a geode (rock with crystals in it) to crack open, and it just never happened.  When they came to visit, KK wanted to see H at his school, and we thought the geode might be a fun thing to do with the kids.  Mama is a nature educator/liaison/ambassador and gave a fun little presentation to the kids. 

 She talked to them about geologists, experiments, and geodes.  They looked at one we had cracked that morning with magnifying glasses.

 We brought some wooden hammers so the kids could all take a turn trying to crack the geode.  It was very difficult, so SweetHart had to go outside to the concrete to give it a good whack with a real hammer. 

 While they were waiting for her to come back with the geode, KK read a book to the class. 

 Then, after they inspected the newly cracked geode under the magnifying glass, it was time to go!  H was line leader that day. 

 H showed them his artwork from school

We had a cold and rainy afternoon, so we put back on our Halloween costumes and went trick or treating through the house.  The boys were so happy to go to the bedrooms, bathrooms, and office and get candy in their bags again (the same candy that they got on Halloween night).  This was so much fun, and such a great rainy day activity.  We might just have to do this again!