Valentines Day 2012

After school on Valentines Day the kids opened their Valentines that they had gotten in the mail.
They sure love to get mail!

And money in a card - whoo hoo!

Then the goofiness began.

Next came our heart hunt. Elizabeth read all the clues for the hunt.

They kept searching and searching...

until they found their special treats! They each got a book, a placemat, a tiny bit of candy, and Ben got a fun workbook (he really does think it's fun!)

Elizabeth got a couple new chapter books - she devours books so we are always on the look out for new ones!

We ended the evening with our hearts desire dinner - each of us picked our favorite thing to eat - it was a fun way to end our Valentines Day!

Broken Elbow

Poor Elizabeth - in February she was riding her cousin's electric scooter (I allowed her one trip up and down the sidewalk and that was it!) and on that one trip she fell off extremely hard onto her elbow.
It didn't look swollen or anything so we ended up sending her to school the next day (bad mommy!) even though she wasn't really moving it. We took her into the nurse's office who said she didn't think it was broken because her range of motion was pretty good. Once she got home and in the bathtub we could see that her elbow was now swollen so I took her to the doctor the next day and it was slightly broken.

She wore a cast for 4 weeks. No biking, scootering, running, recess, P.E., etc.. We went to have a treat with our neighbors after she got the cast on.

She thought the idea of a cast was fun for the first few days, and after a while was very tired of it. She handled it really well and is glad to now be cast free!

Valentines Day at Elizabeth's School

The first graders at Elizabeth's school had a program right before Valentine's Day. They sang 4 songs for us, which was so much fun. Elizabeth was so cute and shy. She was so excited before the show, but kept telling me that she was just a little bit nervous. She did a great job singing along, she just looked a little nervous up there!
There she is, way at the top left.

The next day Elizabeth had a Valentine party in her class that I was in charge of. I decided to do a "minute to win it" theme party. We did four different games in four groups. They really had a great time.

The first game was how many marshmallows could the kids pick up in a minute with chopsticks.

Next the kids had to throw as many mini marshmallows into a basket as they could in a minute.

Then the kids all worked together to see how tall of a tower they could make in a minute with candy hearts.

Lastly the kids used straws to move M&M's into a bowl.

After the game the kids decorated a magnet with their photo and an assortment of other Valentine decorations.

Lastly they got snacks and a gift to take home. The girls got the necklace that Elizabeth has on that I made out of gumballs and the boys got a dog tag necklace. I think they all had a great time!

Something Exciting...

We've had something exciting going on in our backyard!
This big digger came and took out our old 10x10 slab...

and dug this!

We're getting a pool! After last summer with a million 100+ days, Tom couldn't stand the heat anymore and talked me into a pool :) I have a feeling this is where we will be all summer long.

We're exciting to have it be finished soon!

Birthday Present and a Field Trip

Ben got this really fun science kit from his cousin Cooper for his birthday so while Elizabeth was at school one day we had fun experimenting.

He was seeing what things dissolved and he really loved it!

I made this ruler from pinterest - I added all the measurements from the kids from 6 months on - it's so fun to look back at all their heights and how their heights compared at each of their ages.

A few days later Elizabeth had a field trip to a local pool. What a fun field trip!

Parents were allowed to come, but we had to stay up in the stands and watch from above.

If the kids weren't going off the diving board they were crammed into this little area :) I think it was easier for lifeguards to watch them here.

Ben is really starting to come out of his shell. He had never met this little boy before but he immediately went off to play with him.

After swimming the kids got changed and ate lunch in the bleachers.

It was a very fun day for the kids, I'm so glad I was able to come and watch for a bit!

Ben is 5!

I can't even believe it but on January 22nd my baby boy, Ben, turned 5! He woke up to a floor full of balloons.

He came right down stairs and found his first present - a bag of balloons. Ben loves to blow up his own balloons and was so excited to get an entire bag all to himself.

In Ben's room and the playroom the doors were covered in streamers that Ben had to break his way through.

Ben loves to bake, and he loves muffins so he helped me make his breakfast muffins that morning.

Present opening time!

Elizabeth was so excited to get Ben this Dagudar present. It was one thing Ben really really wanted!

Ben talking on the phone, hearing a birthday wish from his Grandma.

Ben got to eat off of our special birthday plate and drink out of our birthday glass.

A few hours later we headed to a birthday party at Aqua Kids - an indoor pool. We had a monster theme.

Some of our guests ready to jump in the pool!

The pool was pretty warm - look at those pink cheeks!

The slide is one of Ben's favorite things at Aqua Kids.

The party room. The boys who got finished swimming early helped me set out all the ice cream and spoons. They were a big help!

Almost time to blow out the candle!

Everyone munching away.

Present time!

Whew- we were getting overrun in the present corner!!

Ben had a wonderful party and I can't believe he is 5 years old!! What a wonderful little boy we have, we love him so much!