Playing Blogger Catch Up! Part IV

After our birthday supper with Oma on Saturday we had a wild and crazy Sunday.  And Sunday's are supposed to be a day of rest!

We started off with a movie.  That's right, the Bubs first movie in a movie theater.  This was big and he was great!  We were worried he would be too squirley but other than switching seats a few times he really did well.  What movie you ask?  Gnomeo & Juliet

 When we were done there we hit the pet store and book store for some browsing before heading home for the snow gear.  We thought it may be the last snow of the season and we didn't want to miss it.

Here he is trying out some new boots we got from friends.  Looks good huh?

It was well worth it though!  Look at those mountains!!!

Playing Blogger Catch Up! Part III

Happy Birthday Oma!

We never did get a picture of the birthday girl but we spent a leisurely three hours at Purple Cafe because this little guy was an angel!  We had a couple of people comment on how good he was and I have to agree.  He was patient, sat at the table, visited with people, whistled, sang songs, ate calamari, and was just an all around gem.  I love this kid so much!  How did we get so lucky!?!?!

Playing Blogger Catch Up! Part II

We got some new chicks in the hood this week.  These lovely ladies met us at the mailbox and while Bubba loved them he also feared them.  He backed his way in circles around me while they followed suit clucking and cooing at him.  It was hilarious!!! 

I really want chickens too!  I want them in our back yard and I want them to get to go on outings like these ladies!

Playing Blogger Catch Up! Part I

I had several days last week where I couldn't upload any pictures and it got me all off my game.  We're back in business now and I have some catching up to do!  OK, so I could upload them on Sunday but we've been busy.

Going back to Valentines Day...

The Bubs got to start using sharp instruments in the kitchen

He also got his first Cadbury Creme Egg from Dada

And we made Sweetie Pies from Our Best Bites

Our mantle with all of the adorable little Valentine's

 

The Sweetie Pie filling was really good but the store bought crust wasn't.  I knew there was a reason I've only ever made a pie with Martha Stewart's Perfect Pie Crust.  It's perfect.  We will be making these again though!

A Sunny Evening @ the Park

   

Laundry Basket Ball

Today was laundry day and when I say laundry day, that means a day full of washing everything from the bedding, to the couch blankets, to the ottoman cover, to the rugs.  On top of that you can add several new shirts that had to be soaked in vinegar (yes, I'm old fashioned) and 4-5 regular loads of the everyday stuff. 

It's hard here with the two cats, a husband with cat allergies, and a 3 year old to keep laundry up on a regular basis so I've just resorted to one day every other week where I tackle it all and that was today.  What made today different though was an email I received yesterday with a section in it about the 5 best non-toys in your house.  One of those was the laundry basket, and one of the suggestions was to roll up socks and play basketball with it.  I was not prepared for what a big hit this was going to be.  At first I only rolled up 3 of Daddy's clean socks but by the end we were set up with five socks, an additional bucket to hold them until it was their turn, and the laundry basket hoop was perched on a chair. 

The game has been going off and on since 9 this morning and he hasn't tired of it yet.  I wasn't allowed to unroll the socks to put them away and I haven't gotten my one, single laundry basket back.  It's worth it though since usually there is at least one quarreling session on laundry day about no knocking my folded pile down.

On a side note - have you ever noticed how closely the words 'bucket' and 'basket' are spelled as well as how similar their function?  I never had until writing this.  Now to look up the origin of the words.....

Happy Love Day!

Here's a wrap up of what's happened so far.  On Saturday morning we made Valentine's for all of our friends at school.  We pulled out the stamps, embossing powder and embossing gun which was his favorite job to do.  Between burnt Valentine's and burnt fingers (mine) we did alright.  No serious injuries and he was happy!

Then yesterday we went to Nana's for a Valentine's breakfast with the entire family and the Grandma In-laws as well.  And Annie too for good measure.  We had a great time and the Bubs and I were there from 9:30 in the morning until 3:30 in the afternoon!  Talk about having a good time!  So far though, I've not seen any pictures from the event so if I get any I'll put them up.

Then at school today we had our Valentine's party as well as a visit from a local dentist.  I think they should do that on Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Easter as well.  Her 'sugarbug' talk went very well with the bag of candy we brought home.  Here he is giving me a Valentine's flower that all of the kids got to give to their Mom's.  So sweet!

We left school and headed to Papa Murphy's to get our heart shaped $8 pizza.  We splurged and got 1/2 pepperoni and 1/2 Hawaiian but it will be worth it. 

Now it's time for me to get the house cleaned up the rest of the way, finish all of the laundry, and get ready for a rainy Valentine's night.  At least we've got supper covered and a free On-Demand movie.  Should be pretty easy.

An Evening at the Park

Last night we went to pick Dada up from work and spend some time playing at the park.  It was a beautiful, cold evening but it was great light for us non-photographers. 

Oh Those Hippos!

So the story goes.... Some friends of ours put up a picture of their boys playing HHHs on Facebook and I thought 'how cute'.  Then I read on a board how another person I know has their 3 year old playing HHHs and how much she loves it and I thought 'huh, maybe I should get it for the Bubs' since Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, and Kids Sequence haven't really caught his attention. 

Moving forward to this past Sunday and I had him at Target looking at toys and we saw the game.  I asked him if he'd ever played it and he said 'no but I want to, how do you play it?'.  From there on out all I heard Sunday evening was 'can you get me Hungwy Hungwy Hippos now?' or 'can we go to Chris & Sarah's and play Hungwy Hungwy Hippos' or 'can we pleeeeease go to Bubbas and play Hungwy Hungwy Hippos now?' and every answer was 'no.'  Even when we called Nana he got on the phone and asked her if she had it so he could come play it.

Moving forward to yesterday... I bought the B&N Groupon specifically to get him this game.  It's a $20 game and the Groupon was $10 for $20 worth of games, books, or toys so SCORE!  Perfect match, they carried it, all was right with the situation.  The plan was to get it today.

Moving forward to today... I dropped him off at Oma's and told him if he was really really good I would have the game when he got home.  He was soooo excited!  When I got to B&N though it's an online only purchase item with $4 shipping and a 4 day delivery.  Just great.  After that I ran the rest of the errands and honestly forgot about it.  Turns out he didn't.  When he got home with Oma I opened the door and instead of a 'hi' 'hello' 'how are you?' I was met with 'did you get Hungwy Hungwy Hippos?' and when I told him I didn't he walked 4 feet to the carpet, laid down, and fell apart.  It was so sad.  Sad for me because I had completely disappointed him and I felt awful.

So Dada got a text saying 'If you want to be a superhero to your kid, go get that game on your way home' and really, you would have thought he had lassoed the moon by the reaction he got.  So many hugs and kisses and 'you're the best Dada in the whole world' and so many other sentiments I couldn't even list them.  And we all spent the evening slamming the tails of plastic hippos while they chomped their little white marbles and all is right with the world again.  Oh those Hungry Hungry Hippos.

The Music Man

This kid comes by it naturally.  From as early as we can remember he loved to bang on drums, blow whistles, strum a guitar, play a harmonica, pretty much do anything he can to make music.  He started singing at a really early age and loves to listen to songs and pick out the instruments in them. 

So tonight we were at Oma's and the boys were in the attic doing something and a few minutes later we hear this BWWWWAAAAAAAHHHHH from the other room followed by giggles.  Oma just smiled, it must have brought back memories but it made me jump.  Turns out Dada's old trombone was down and being brought back to life.  It only took him a few minutes before he was set up in a chair by himself playing Jingle Bells.  Honest, this wasn't ten minutes after it had been pulled from the attic and he'd never touched the thing before.  I guess letting him blow as many whistles, horns, and harmonicas as he wanted to has paid off.

Baking with Mr. Rogers

We had 'cookie making' on our list today since we were signed up to take them to a meeting tonight.  We don't usually have the TV on this time of day but with the projects that I'm working on I needed a little extra help.  When it came time to bake the cookies, Mr. Rogers was just coming on and I was informed 'I've never seen this show before!  Big boys do like this show!'  So we left it on during the mixing part and when he was done with his cookie duties he moved to the living room and was fascinated.  Telling me everything that was happening with the puppets.  Some things just never get old I guess. 

This kid will cook if I have anything to do with it or if he has anything to do with it.  He's off to a great start asking to help with stirring, wanting to smell ingredients, cracking eggs, pretty much anything short of knives and hot things.  Those will come though, those will come.

Brilliance in a Book

This is one of the books we got from the library recently and it is so clever!  There's a little Prince who refuses to go to bed and the King calls for anyone that can help to come to the royal address.  There's a doctor with sleeping potion, a magician, dancers, etc, but none of those can get him to sleep.  The one that finally gets him to sleep is an old woman who reads him a book with no pictures so he has to close his eyes to see them.  This has been so great because the Bubs will now close his eyes at bedtime and try to imagine the pictures of the pages.

When Piggy's Plug is About to Pop

We have a little piggy bank that has been drug, shook, dropped, trotted, and rolled all through the house.  He was a baby present for Bubs and we love him dearly.  The only problem is that he is a little small and sometimes he fills up.  When the coins will no longer fit through the slot we take them out, roll them up, and cash them in for the dollar coins to make room. 

Today I started the process and it was quite different from before.  Instead of having little hands toss, scatter, shuffle, or smash the coins and their piles, I had a little helper sorting and counting the coins.  He's growing up (and rich) so fast!  Together we rolled $27.50 in coins that we'll be taking to the bank to cash in later.

The Box Car Mystery Has Been Solved

When we left school last week there was a lot of drama over a box car that the Bubs had made.  He wasn't able to bring it home because it was still drying and this did not make him happy.  Every day since school got out in the middle of last week he has asked if we could go get his box car.  Today was the day and he was so excited!  I wasn't sure what it was he was talking about but he kept asking if I would look at it with him.  Well it's no wonder he was excited.  Look at this thing!  I expected something along the lines of a tissue box decorated but this was literally a BOX CAR.  And just look how happy he is to show it off.

He's in such a great program.  It's play based and we get so much inspiration for things to do at home.  Remember the pudding mud bogging?  We got the idea when one day at school they got to drive cars through paint at school to make pictures.  Another day they had little record players where the kids could stick a paper plate in the middle and make their own version of spin art while the plates spun around and around.  So much fun!

New Favorite Books

The library has been a huge hit in our house.  Each new book that comes home has become the instant favorite.  This week it has been Three Little Rigs by David Gordon.  I think it's the whole library experience - from getting the book off the hold shelf, to scanning it out, to having it in the car, and then bringing it back to drop it off - that's making it such a great treat for him. 

I'm Havin' FISH Tonight!

If you channel Bruce from Finding Nemo while you think that, it just sounds better.  While I was off at book club the boys and Oma went to the Sportsman Show and the Bubs caught his first two fish.  I'm sorry I missed it, I'm sure it was quite a show. 

Isn't he just the cutest little fisherman?  I think so!

Jump Planet - A Place to Let Your Inner Maniac Free

Today was a no-school day so we took the cousins to Jump Planet and that place is crazy!  It's full of waist high maniacs running, jumping, bouncing, sliding, climbing, clinging, and crawling.  They all come out panting, sweaty, sticky, and disordered but as happy as can be.  And I think this picture proves it.

Ducky Love

OK, so there aren't any actual ducks here but we consider this activity 'feeding the ducks' anyway.  We did have Canada geese, mallards, crows, and seagulls and plenty of them so there's really no harm in saying we're going to go feed the ducks.  No harm, no fowl ~ right?

The World As Bubba Sees It