Dalton for a day

One of Alex's little friends came over to play today. His name is Dalton.

The kids had a blast showing him all the things there are to do at our house. Alex P and Josh showed Dalton the dinosaurs. Alex showed Dalton the chickens, the eggs, and the ducklings.

The boys all played together on the outside toys. They had a contest to see who could go the highest on the swing set.

They laughed and hid under their blankets, playing a bigger kid version of peek-a-boo. Alex P. had the idea to lay the blankets on the floor and jump over them pretending they were hot lava.

There was much laughter and all had a good time. Dalton may have had a little too much fun as he ran away when his mom came and left saying, "Aw... I wish I was Alex and I lived here."

Pineapple Cobbler

I wish I would have gotten a picture of the finished product but the kids were so excited to eat it that it was gone as soon as it was cool enough to cut into. Today we made a pineapple cobbler. I bought a pineapple on a whim at the store and thought "what am I going to do with this?" once I got it home. This was the first idea I got besides a pineapple upside down cake which I didn't have all of the ingredients for.

The kids took turns stirring and adding ingredients. They were proud of themselves once it was done. Good Job Guys!

A few more pics I took today

Animal Cracker Art

For our art project today we each got a handful of animal crackers. (I doubt you have ever done anything as hard as trying to stop a two year old from eating these gems). Lemme tell ya, animal crackers are the Holy Grail for teaching without the kids realizing they are learning! We named the animals, counted how many of each kind there were, we did a few comparisons ("there are three elephants and six cats, which group has more?"), then we decided where each animal would live. We colored a desert, jungle, and a farm for our animals. Alex added red ants, grass and a river to the jungle. Alex P. added trees, a sun, and grass to the farm. Josh made an oasis in the desert. We separated the crackers into their new homes, counted each group and did a few more easy math problems. Then we played! The kids had a blast and never suspected they were learning some new skills. Bonus- snack time was taken care of which cleared up more time for important things like Ring around the Rosy.

Baby Signing Time

During morning nap the boys get half an hour of either Baby Signing Time or Your Baby Can Read Video. This started as a way to cultivate peace among the kids while I sneak downstairs long enough to fold a load of laundry. I couldn't justify turning on cartoons to catch up on some house work but educational is okay I think.
Regardless, the half hour has turned into a favorite part of the day for the boys. They especially love Baby Signing Time. Alex and Josh know about 25 signs because of this program and a few library books we've picked up about signing. They regularly sign Mom, Dad, Grandpa, airplane, bird, more, please, and cracker. Ava signs eat, milk, and done (not bad for a nine month old!).
I am working especially with Tyler and Kiara to learn the signs for diaper, eat, drink, and please. I am hoping soon they'll be able to communicate with me a little easier.

Duck Love

I didn't realize how big of a hit these little guys would be. Even Ava who is oblivious to much of what happens around here can't resist a peek in the box in the mornings before they go out for the day. The ducklings have been the source of much entertainment for all of the kids (and me). They LOVE water. Even if their water dish is full they still run over to it and splash if you put a drizzle into it. When the weather was warmer we filled the kitty pool a few times and let the ducks in. They swam, jumped over each other, slid on their ducky tummies, and ran around it the water chasing each other. Now that they are outside for most of the day they have a pan filled with water they love to sit in and just hang out.

Silly Sleepers

When Kiara was a newborn baby I used to cover the top of her face with a blanket to keep the light out of her eyes while she napped in the middle of the day. The habit stopped once she was old enough to go into the bedroom where we can close the curtains. However lately when I've come into the bedroom to check on my nappers, I have found her having covered her owns eyes. I guess it has become a comfort to have her face covered.

COULD SHE GET ANYMORE GIRLY?
Avaleigh sleeps with a baby doll and her bottle all the time! I love that about her. When I set her down in her crib, the first thing she does is crawl to reach her dolly. CUTE!

Bella Love and Pine Needle Pics

Bella came to visit today! Joshie loves Bella to pieces! I'm pretty sure if you look up 'puppy love' in the dictionary this is the picture you would see. Josh's favorite thing is to hug Bella and squeeze her! It was no trouble getting the picture at all, it was about the 500th time he embraced her today.



For our art project today we gathered pine needles and brought them inside. We made some watercolor paints and used the needles instead of paint brushes. The pictures weren't as cute as I thought they would be but it was an interesting experience for the kiddos.

Hair Cuts-- 2 bits!

End results-- three hairless and happy boys

Puzzle Pals

Alex P and Alex

Painting our Piggies

Painting our Piggies! Avaleigh and Kiara have bright pink. I chose black.

Ava LOVES herself an Emmett. She is always crawling over to and on him. She gets the biggest grin when he wakes up and comes out of the bedroom. This picture was really hard to get because she kept looking at him and trying to sit in his lap.

Emmett is getting big! 17 lbs and able to hold the bottle by himself. Growing up is so sad for me. I miss my babies even while they're still little.

Sock Sandwiches

One of my daycare moms was a little worried about her son telling her that he ate a sock sandwich at my house.

He assured her it wasn't pretend and I really did serve him a sock. I'll explain for anyone else who is concerned. Since lunch is right before nap time things can get a little unruly. Tired, hungry kids can be... how should I put it... difficult. So, I have found lunch is a little easier to swallow when it is fun. Hence the need for 101 cookie cutters.

Also-- if you hear about any green oatmeal, I assure you it wasn't moldy. It was food dye.

Catching Air!

Some might argue that couches are for sitting and chatting on, napping on or even enjoying a movie on. Not around here!! Alex P, Chase, and Alex are having so much fun jumping off of them. They are competing to see who can jump the farthest. They are turning mid air, rolling when they hit the ground and LAUGHING!

Kiara and the corn binkie

This made me laugh! Kiara is so smart and so, so silly. Eating lunch earlier this week she was able to reach her pacifier from where I had placed it next to the high chair. It is a soothie and the center is hollow. She kept holding it up to her mouth and making happy noises so I sneaked a closer peek and this is what I saw.


She was carefully placing corn and beans from her lunch in the center of her bink and then letting them fall into her mouth. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her getting them into her mouth but as soon as she noticed me taking pictures she stopped, of course. What a goof ball!

Around the house lately

Around the house last week we have been BUSY! We have been making a series of sensory bottles. I found them on the blog Delicious Ambiguity. The first bottle we made is full of star beads and a plastic planet. It is a dark purple color (Starry Starry Night anyone?). We made a yellow bottle with glitter in it that sparkles in the sun. We made a green bottle with dish soap in it that bubbles when it is shaken. We made an orange bottle which is full of confetti that moves down slowly when inverted. A red bottle is a mix of oil, salt and water which makes an effect similar to a lava lamp when turned upside down. Another bottle is blue with oil, the kids have enjoyed trying to shake it fast enough to mix the two. The last bottle we made is a static electricity bottle. It has bits of construction and tissue paper in it. We've been rubbing it on the kids hair to make it stand up.
Here are some other pictures of what we've been up to.

Keira and the Waffle Fort

Last Friday was a special day! Keira came to visit! Yay!! We made a fort and played all morning. The kids gathered all of their pillows and blankets for the fort. Josh helped me drag over chairs from the table and Alex helped me arrange the comforter on top. Best helpers!!
Keira is allergic to milk so we made waffles instead of our normal oatmeal. The kids took turns adding ingredients and mixing. Once they were done cokoing we enjoyed the waffles in our fort. Kiara loved them!

Enjoying the sunshine!

It is always so nice when the sun comes out to play! The boys have been really enjoying the extra outside time. It's so much easier to slide on some sandals and GO rather than waiting for me to zip up coats, find the match to gloves, finding a warm hat, etc.


Alex P. and Tyler have been having a great time with the chicks. Every day Alex p. asks to go and get the eggs with Alex and I.



Avaleigh LOVES the baby swing outside. She giggles and laughs and it is the cutest thing EVER.

Ava takes the cake-- Literally!

Avaleigh was wearing a beautiful white dress on Kiaras birthday. So I took it off while she enjoyed her cupcake, (okay half a cupcake. I had to try some). When she was finished I sat her on my lap while I did her buttons and the tie in the back. The only thing is-- I was sitting directly in front of the high chair where Kiara was having her cup cake and Ava considered this self serve. It was pretty stinking cute! Kiara was fine sharing and even pushed a piece over to her.


Look at the look on Avas face when I set her down, C'mon Mom! There is cake up there! Why would you put me down?

Happy Birthday Kiara

Okay... try number two. You see--I have all of these great ideas and then I forget about them or get sick of them. But since keeping a blog for my daycare parents really is a great idea I'm going to try REALLY hard to keep up on it. (Unlike the one post from last year).
Here goes! Happy Birthday to Kiara! Happy birthday to Kiara! Happy Birthday sweet one year old Kiara, happy birthday to Kiara!
Here are some pictures of the kiddos enjoying cupcakes on Kiaras special day. We started the special day making pancakes. The boys decided Kiara's favorite color was green so we dyed them to match. The kids watched a movie and had popcorn. We opened her presents, sang to her and made personal pizzas. Happy B-day Miss K