Friday, April 27, 2012

Fishing

Last Saturday we enjoyed a trip on the boat with Zach.  It was a beautiful day!  Life has been very busy lately, and this fishing trip couldn't have come at a better time.  We spent 8+ hours on the boat and Brooks and Adlyn had a great time.  The fishing was good and action packed. 

Brooks was the net man and enjoyed his duties of netting the fish.  Adlyn was excited to play on the beach, although she was a little disappointed that the water wasn't blue.  We didn't meet her storybook expectations of a beach.  Both kids insisted on being barefoot in the sand.  Brooks & Adlyn took a short nap on the boat and it couldn't have been a better day!

On Wednesday, Zach took them back to the lake again.  It was another beautiful day and they enjoyed the full day of fishing.











Jammie Day

On Tuesday, the kids enjoyed jammie day at preschool to celebrate the Week of the Young Child.  On Monday, they had hat day.  They were excited to wear their jammies to school, and I hope they have more dress up days in the future.  Brooks and Adlyn are doing very good at school and they enjoy it!

Lately, we have noticed them using the past tense of words.  They are also doing well at saying his or her.  Every week they continue to improve their skills.  Next week, we will visit the preschool they will be attending next fall.

Tango

We enjoyed a trip out to a ranch near town last Sunday.  The kids were excited to see a farmer, and luckily Bill was wearing a cowboy hat!  Bill showed us a two day old calf that was really cute.  We also met Tango, a brown colored horse.  The river was nearby and we threw lots of rocks and sticks before we enjoyed brownies and ice cream. 

On our way home, we were able to see a tractor and let Brooks and Adlyn sit inside.  We are looking forward to returning soon!

Tango enjoys some horse candy.

Dirt Cake

A&B have now enjoyed their first dirt cake.  How delicious!  They didn't eat very much, but I finished it for them. 

We mixed up the chocolate pudding and they were great helpers.  Zach put some Oreos in a bag so the kids could crush them.  Brooks was interested in the Oreos, and was suprised to see they were stuck together.  It made me realize that at the age of three, he has never had an Oreo before!  Zach put the bag on the floor so the kids could stomp on them.  Brooks threw his Oreo on the floor and stepped on it.  Ahhhh!  I cleaned up that mess.  He was only doing what he was told! 

We sprinkled the crushed Oreos on the puddding and added the worms.  What a great treat!


Monday, April 16, 2012

Hang Loose

Tonight, as I am washing the dishes, Adlyn comes up to me and puts up her pinky and pointer finger, and tells me to "Hang Loose".  Cute kid!  I asked her where she learned it, and she told me school.  I'll have Zach check with her teacher tomorrow.  She's never done that gesture before, but it was really cute to see her do it.

Nothing & Anything Mixup

The kids have the phrase "Nothing" and "Anything" mixed up, along with the words "Nobody" and "Anybody". 

For example, if I ask them what they would like for lunch, I know they want to say "nothing" but they say "anything" instead.  Someday I'll correct them, but for now, they are just happy and we know their intention.

Sure, Maybe Not

Brooks has a new set of words for Yes and No.

"Sure" is now his response for "Yes".

"Maybe Not", said with much skepticism, is his response for "No". 

Did he learn this from me?  Maybe I say "maybe" too much, when I should really just have a firm response of "No".

What these numbers say?

In the past few weeks, we keep hearing the same phrase, "What these numbers say?".  They are really interested in letters and words, and are eager to learn.  Numbers is often used in exchange for letters, but we don't mind.  Brooks told me the other night that he wants me to teach him how to read.  They are interested, but I think we need to learn our letters first.  As we drive down a road, they notice all of the signs, and ask what they say. 

Adlyn loves to sing songs, and is getting close to singing all of her ABC's.  It typically goes like this:
A, B, C, D, L, M, N, O, P, Y, & Z.
Not bad, what she has in the correct order.
Last week she kept saying, "Minnow, minnow, P."  It made me laugh.  She sings a lot, and is very close to singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Row, Row, Row your Boat to perfection.

In addition to Brooks asking about numbers and letters, he is curious about "What kind ____ this is?" and "Where _____ at?"  For example, he sees a tractor, and asks us, "What kind of tractor this is?".  Or, "Where Salt Lake City at?".  I think I'll need to pull up a map sooner than later to show him where things are proportionally.  In regards to tractors and every other item he sees, I often don't have another word or more information to share with him.  (For example...  Brooks:  What kind of tile is this?  Anne:  I don't know, just tile by the front door.)  Or, he wants to know who built things.  Such as, who built our house, or who built the street, or who built our bathroom.  If I respond with "builder", it isn't good enough. 
Brooks:  What kind of builder?
Me:  A construction builder. 
Brooks:  Where construction builder live at? 
Me:  In town. 
Question after question...at least he is interested in a lot of different things!

Airplanes and Helicopters

Both kids like to see airplanes and helicopters.  They call them "air-pa-planes" and "hill-pa-copters".  A few weeks ago, we were close to their airport in Cheyenne and the kids liked watching the huge airplanes come and go.  Adlyn really wanted to see a helicopter, but I told her we probably wouldn't see one.  Shortly after, we were on I-80 and the kids got to see two helicopters!  They were very excited, and I was shocked!  Perfect timing.

This is one of Brooks' favorite shirts!

Water Mountain

A few weeks ago we were with Grandpa at a Mexican restaurant that had a water fountain.  It was full of pennies, and Adlyn was eager to throw in her penny.  I thought she called it a water mountain, but I wasn't for sure.

This weekend, at the greenhouse, she noticed a large water fountain on display.  Zach and I confirmed that she does call it a water mountain!