We are having so much fun I forget to post!

Some pictures of our summer fun!

• Sophie, looking so glam in her "polka-dot bikini"
• All uf us playing outside in the pool on a warm morning.
• Some lego fun indoors. (I am trying to encourage small bouts of group play, to work on sharing, taking turns and such)
• And one picture I got at Gibbons Park--I will take more next time we go out!

I realized we never shared Sophie's big news--she became a big sister in May! How exciting. She is very humble, and doesn't talk about it much, but we know she is very proud of her little brother Gabe. :D

We are also on the count-down to Alecia's big day! Happy 2nd Birthday Alecia! We will share a special snack for her special day!

Stinky Feet!

Working on a group picture. We took turns tracing our hands and feet, then comparing them! Hailey has the longest feet. Daniel has the widest feet. Alecia has the shortest feet. Brody has the most ticklish feet!

Backyard Fun

Hailey practising her bubble blowing. Getting one off into the air is very exciting! Daniel is (not so) patiently waiting for his turn to blow a bubble too!

Wow, we have really had a taste of summer this week! Everyone has been really great about putting on their sunscreen and wearing their hats, I am so glad that we can all be safe in the sun.
I am trying to get all the kids to have at least one cup of water (in addition to their usual juice and milk) while they are here on hot days. Not everyone is such a fan, but it sure is easier when they are thirsty!

I am planning a succession of animal themes throughout the summer: backyard animals, bugs and insects, zoo and jungle animals as well as farm animals, which will lead nicely into the end of summer harvest.

We have planted some yummy veggies in our garden and it will be fun to watch them grow and taste them as the summer goes on. We put in some yellow squash, spinach, two different types of tomatoes, lots of carrots and some green onions--I wonder what we will get to try first?

What's Cookin'?

This is a picture I took a couple weeks ago. Alyssa and Amelia have been exploring their culinary sides. They made oatmeal chocolate chip muffins (that were so delicious!) and later on in the month they made some oatmeal raisin cookies that were probably the best oatmeal cookies I have ever had! (Their secret? Substituting cinnamon for the vanilla! We were all out of vanilla, and the cinnamon was sooo yummy with the raisins!) Even Hailey (our resident 'avoider of sweets') ate a cookie.

Flutter by, Butterfly

Amelia and Alyssa are growing a Butterfly Garden in a corner of our backyard! We can't wait to see how the flowers look, and count the butterflies that come to visit us over the summer.

And we finally have grass to play on in the backyard, and sand in the sandbox! When the weather warms up we will pull out the little pool and have some great water fun too.

Happy Mother's Day

Just a quick pic of our latest creations. I hope you all had a relaxing and enjoyable Mother's Day. You all deserve it! (Thank you to Hailey, Lisa and Tom for my "Best Second Mom" Flowers!)

The Middlesex-London Health Unit has been out at our playgroups lately promoting the "Nipissing Screening" checklists. The checklists highlight milestones that are generally accomplished three months earlier, so if there are any acheivements that your child hasn't made yet, it could be an indication of some developmental delays. I think the checklist are great at highlighting a child's accomplishments too. There may be milestones your child has reached without us even noticing!

Summer is on it's way! I have had my 2010 vacation dates posted for quite some time now, but just in case you didn't write them down I will be off from July 5 - 9, and from August 30 - September 3. We are really looking forward to spending some time at the beach and going camping this year!

Ring Around the Rosie

It's funny that the little boys get a kick out of dressing up like a princess, just as much as the little girls do. We put on party dresses, necklaces and carry our favourite things in a pretty purse. Then we top it off with a tea party or a game of 'ring around the rosie'!

April 26, 2010

Happy Birthday Daniel! We had some fun at snack on Monday singing the birthday song and tasting some birthday cake.

Check out all the birthday pictures in the slide show!

"Spring, spring, spring!" sang the robin.

One of favourite spring books right now is "Home for a Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown, in which the robins, frogs and hedgehogs welcome in spring!

We have been going for some lovely morning walks now that spring has arrived. So much time outside means it is definately time to bring in the sunscreen and sunhats. We are also in the middle of landscaping the backyard. While it is still safe to play there, it can be very muddy, so it is a good idea to have some boots here for playtime until we are finished and have dried out a bit.

This morning on our walk we were checking out the mailboxes (we always make sure they are all locked up tight) when the bus drove by. How exciting that the bus driver waved at us and beeped his horn for us when we waved hello to him as he drove by! Then Hailey led us in a rousing rendition of "the horn on the bus goes Beep BEEP BEEP!!!"

We sing another song about the bus which makes the kids giggle:
(tap your thighs while chanting)

"A hip- a hip- a hippopotamus
Went on- went on- went on the city bus
And all- and all- and all the people said
YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!!!"
(squish your cheeks with your hands)

We would also like to welcome Alyssa to the group! Alyssa is in JK in the mornings and will be joining us for lunch 4 - 6 afternoons a month. She is lovely and has really hit it off with Amelia. The girls have already enjoyed an afternoon outside painting their toenails (oooh la la) and an afternoon indoors painting princesses.

Sunday was Hailey's 2nd Birthday! What a big girl. We celebrated on Friday with a little popcorn party and practiced singing the birthday song together. (and of course I forgot to charge the camera, I'm sorry.)

Thanks for your support when I went crazy and decided it would be a good idea to walk 30K. My next adventure is jogging 5K on May 16 for Ovarian Cancer here in London. I'm aiming to finish in less than 45min, which is certainly a drop in the bucket when compared to my previous goal of less than 6 hours. Wish me luck!

March 18 2010: Quack Quack!

Today my friend Tasha and her children, Sophie and Jakub joined us for a March Break outing to the duck pond. We donned our "backpacks" (even Brody!) and walked down Silverbrook to the "marsh". It was SO beautiful out. The ducks weren't home, but we left them a little snack anyhow.