Lately...

Lately...well, I've actually been keeping up pretty well, but of course I always end up with some random pictures and things worth noting, so here we are!

First up, I've got a camera phone dump (from Ben's phone of course, def not mine if you recall my stubborn refusal to upgrade my flip-shut phone- hanging on to that one for dear life, new battery and all!) and these go waaaay back, to like last January...just random moments with Daddy, mostly I don't think I was around for these shots. They sure do love to play with Daddy's camera phone. Check these cuties out! 

January 2014, almost a year ago today!: Playing around with that garbage man costume Daniel wore for Halloween two years in a row...and playing with camera settings, too, apparently. Kinda cool. Check out that cutie- she was still 2 at the time!

 February 2014: Annabel has always loved to help pick out birthday cards. This often means aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas often get cards with penguins, cats, Snoopy, Minnie, Transformers, etc. on them.

 March 2014: Tall tower of Duplo Legos!

May 2014: Trying out chopsticks at Noodles & Company.

June 2014: A hot late summer afternoon at Grandma Mary Kay's often means this big purple bucket gets filled up and the kids have at it, splashing around in there, filling up their watering cans and watering her plants or the patio!

August 2014: We drove past a hotel on the way home from Grandma Mary Kay's one night and saw this big Idaho potato in the parking lot...couldn't resist a photo!

August 2014: Such a cutie! The kids sure love their McDonald's (aka- Old McDonald's) lunch dates with Daddy after gymnastics on Saturdays. Mommy loves her quiet time at home.

September 2014: Ben took the kids mini-golfing at a park back in Downers Grove. They had a good time and of course loved playing at the park, too!

September 2014: Peek-a-boo fun at the park near our house!

  

October 2014: Apparently running errands with Daddy means trying on hats...see another photo below also...

November 2014: Running errands at Menards...the kids have fun trying out the doors and showers, and sometimes, if they are lucky, the car shopping cart is free for them to drive around, too.

November 2014: Need to keep kids busy? Take them to Toys R Us and let them try out all the cars. I think they were also there for a Lego building activity. In any case, they were gone for a long time!

December 2014: The kids sure loved wearing Christmas pajamas and they were always excited to match each other, too! They look so much older compared to this Christmas picture from 2013!

December 2014: See? More trying on hats while running errands with Daddy. Annabel says this is her favorite picture of the bunch here.

 December 2014: Back at Menards, I believe, checking out all the Christmas decorations.

December 2014: Goofing around with Daddy...

I love Annabel's expression here, and that picture of Daniel and Daddy making funny faces cracks me up!

January 2015: Daniel had a swimming birthday party for a classmate, which Daddy took him to, and they had a GREAT time! Annabel was quite jealous. Apparently it was a nice place- warm and all, and they gave us a free family swim coupon to use that I think the kids would just love! So that's on our list of things to do together soon. Anyway, this was the first post-allergy party for Daniel...it was so nice for him to be able to eat the pizza and cake just like everybody else! He sure loved that!

And lately around here, just a few randoms...

Our poor street is now about 80% treeless thanks to the Emerald Ash Borer killing all the ash trees. They are just now getting around to cutting the trees down in our area. Luckily, they got to our street when Daniel was home from school- he REALLY wanted to watch them! Also luckily, the tree directly in front of our house is not an ash tree, so we still have a tree! The kids are very glad- they like the leaves this tree gives us in the Fall, and after all these years, it's finally giving us a lot of leaves, too! Anyway, we had a great time watching the trees get cut and pushed down and then chomped up the other day- so many trees to watch! So sad, too, really.

The kids have already picked out their Valentine's cards for their parties at school- Annabel chose Sofia the 1st and Daniel chose Power Rangers (???- he must watch at Grandma's house, or on the tablet?- it's not a show we watch here, that's for sure!) and they were very excited to get started on writing their names, Annabel especially. That lasted about two minutes, though. So...I guess if we do two cards a day we might make it for the party? Still, it was fun while it lasted on this particular occasion!

Annabel just LOVES her new big girl gymnastics class. If you recall, I mentioned that Annabel was able to move up a level in gymnastics (and actually, it finally dawned on me the other day when I checked Daniel's papers- he was ready two sessions ago to move up also- oops! for now we like them at the same time, though, so we'll wait on him anyway- but, yay, Daniel!- lest it looks I don't celebrate his accomplishments, too! he really has gotten so strong and he's the most focused of all the boys, too- Daniel rocks!). Anyway, Annabel loves going at the same time as Daniel, too. So far so good. Annabel is really focused and loves working hard to improve herself. She's been working very hard to do a back bend pushing up off the floor and she finally did it the other day! She was beyond excited! Snapped a pic...Look! So awesome!

In a (rare, these days) moment of cooperation the kids were playing tic-tac-toe together. I loved this sweet moment. Annabel is already in her pajamas ready for bed, but Daniel wanted to show Aunt Christina, who was on her way to babysit shortly after this moment in time, his spiffy shirt.

The kids love drawing on Annabel's Boogie Board. Daniel loves making pictures "to Ben" these days! I had to take a picture of this one!

It seems like we've been getting constant snow showers ever since January started basically. The other day was no exception and the kids were inspired to go out and play; it's been warm-ish and most of the snow from these snow showers melts, but we do still have that snow pile next to our driveway left. Daniel was very busy making a castle- first the gate and then the walls around it, and finally a table and chairs with a bowl on top. So cute! Annabel had fun digging away at the pile and making her own snow piles and snow balls, too!

We were browsing our TV options through Amazon Prime on our Roku box the other day and Daniel spotted The Nutcracker Ballet (they'd read the story at school and apparently watched part of it, too- that's how he knows about it) and wanted to watch it (which was too cute!) so we did. He was glued to it for the entire thing! I was impressed. And at one point, I said "Isn't this delightful?" and you know what? I didn't get a "mom is lame" eyeroll- I totally got a nod, cute eyebrow raise, and cute smile- Daniel really liked it! It was just so sweet. Annabel, meanwhile, was quite inspired to dance her own version of The Nutcracker Ballet and so spent most of the time dancing and prancing and leaping and such back and forth across the room. Oh my goodness- it was so cute! She'd stop and watch, get more inspiration, and then be off dancing again. At one point, she stopped, looked at the TV, then turned and ran to her chair saying, "Actually, I DO want to watch this!" and then she curled up in her chair, new big purple Care Bear in her arms, and she watched with big eyes and a big smile, just delighted with the dancing and the colors and the magic of it. And then she'd start dancing all over again. I took a few videos! Oh, we had the best time! Another wonderful afternoon with my kiddos to top my list of all time faves!

Daniel had been wanting to make an "Olaf" (the snowman from Frozen) with donuts, chocolate chips, and carrots, like he did at school. So we bought the ingredients he needed and voila! Edible Olaf. Pretty cute.

We subscribed to this monthly kit called Tinker Crate for a few months for Daniel- it's a kit with hands-on science activities, perfect for the tinkerer in my life! Daniel has loved doing them, though he is a tad young for the actual building of the main projects in the kits we've done so far...of course I've enlisted Daddy, the science/logical man in the house, to help Daniel (I'm all about art projects and I'll do the cooking with Annabel, but science and math I leave to Daddy!). It's been a fun thing for Daniel and Daddy to do together. And Daniel loves playing with the kits and experimenting with them, once built. They come with a little magazine with extension activities, too. The trebuchet kit we just did had the idea to make a marshmallow launcher/slingshot and we had all the parts needed, so voila- an hour's worth of fun and two happy kids "attacking" each other in their fort! The launchers really are cool! So fun!

In other news, I mentioned before how the kids had fun pointing out all the Wizard of Oz characters in the train display at the Arboretum...since we'd just watched that movie, which they LOVED! Not sure how we don't own that movie...we're gonna fix that real fast, thanks to Ben's blood donor points earning us an Amazon gift card, but anyway, we got it from the library and the kids just loved it. But that's not even the beginning of the story I hinted at...Daniel got the movie Stuart Little from Grandma Cheryl for Christmas. I believe this was his first real introduction to a live action movie (I maaaay have tried some years ago only to totally flop, I don't really remember), and he, well both kids, LOVED it! They were glued- even Annabel who is totally NOT a TV watcher (so my daughter!), she wants to watch it but her attention is rarely held beyond the 5 minute mark and she's done. But Stuart Little was a hit. So I decided to see what other live action movies I could get them into, and pulled out one of my favorites, Swiss Family Robinson, telling the kids it was an adventure movie. Once again- they were GLUED and they just absolutely loved it. It was the best night of that week- the week our friends officially moved away, a sad week, and boy did I need the cuddles I got while watching that movie. The kids thought it was great. Annabel loved the animals in that movie, Daniel love loved that treehouse and the whole adventure of it, and the pirates cracked the kids up- they were belly laughing so hard, it was just the best. I will forever remember what a fun night that was to watch that with my two kids curled up thisclosetome in my arms, glued to my side, not wanting to stop the movie (stopping only for a dinner break and then wanting to get right back to it!), and just laughing and laughing and loving it. Oh. The best.

So, adventures were a hit, nothing fazed them, so far...what else could we watch that might be a hit? I decided to try The Wizard of Oz, even though it can be a bit scary in a few parts, but again, it was a hit. The kids loved it- the color part, anyway. The monkeys and the Wicked Witch were not well-liked of course, but I kept telling the kids it's part of the story, it's the problem they have to get past, the obstacle they have to figure out how to beat (we got this fun new game for Christmas called Obstacles where you make up crazy ways to use your "tools" to get past obstacles) and this was the perfect way to explain it all and really helped the kids not mind the Wicked Witch and obstacles the characters had to get past. Really, all in all, big success with our first viewings of live action movies! It's been SO fun! We even watched Star Wars: a New Hope (the first of the original ones) this past weekend, and Daniel seemed to enjoy that, too- it took a few sittings to finish it, but Daniel kept asking to continue, so we took that as a good sign that he was at least interested. Even Annabel made sure she was sitting facing the TV so she could watch while she and I played games, which I thought was pretty cute. We'll have to see what else strikes our fancy to try...we still want to keep it pretty tame though (not that Star Wars fights and Wicked Witches are tame, just that we don't want to get into too much too fast). Annabel has asked to watch the Wizard of Oz again...

Okay, next we have...
Things we've heard from Daniel:

"These (Alaska) socks were made in California." This struck me as funny!

We loved listening to Daniel explain first grade to Annabel- "I'll go to a different school than you. But it's only half day like you will be, so then I can come home and play with you again." Welllll, we might have some explaining to do ourselves, but we'll wait till it's time to cross that bridge.

Just the other day, Daniel asked:
"Do the elves keep working all year? Do they keep spying?"
Perhaps he's worried? (And no, we don't have that darned Elf you see everywhere- I want absolutely no part of that, but he did tell me his friends at school have them.)

"Don't throw that away! That can be useful!"- proof that Daniel is his father's child.

One afternoon a couple months ago, the kids and I drove past the Home Run Inn pizza place where Brian and Amelia's Wedding Rehearsal lunch was held, and Daniel immediately exclaimed that he remembered that place, "It's where Bella and Kaleb got married!", which is funny because Bella and Kaleb are brother/sister and it was obviously Brian and Amelia who got married...I just thought it was cute that that's how Daniel clearly processed all this!

While we're on the subject of weddings...
The kids are all over trying to figure out this wedding/married business these days, I'll tell you...here's another funny story about getting married: when we play "family" Annabel is forever saying, "I'm going to marry so-and-so," usually a Grandpa or an Uncle or a random friend's dad, and of course we keep telling her she can't marry her own family/relatives and she can't marry somebody who's already married, it's a hard concept when you're that young and that's okay- Annabel is still only three and it's all kinda cute at this age. Anyway, during one of these more recent conversations, Daniel chimed in, "I already know who I'm gonna marry" and then proceeded to totally blush (I don't think I've ever seen him blush!) and bury his face in his pillow, evading my immediate curiosity and subsequent questions of who indeed that was...it was the. cutest. thing. ever. He never did say, though I have a pretty good guess which girl from school it is, but that's okay, the whole thing was cute enough! All this "married" talk- sheeesh! So not ready!

Ben had to wake Daniel up one morning to get ready for school, and Daniel said, "Next time, don't wake me up. I was having a good dream." We thought this was cute. And by the way, Daniel never talks about the dreams he has- never.

Back in like September or October...we were driving home from school one day and Daniel was making plans to watch Tom & Jerry later that afternoon...
Daniel: Mom. Is it okay if I fall out of my chair??
Me: ??? What do you mean?
Daniel: Because Tom & Jerry make me laugh so hard I fall out!
This kid- he cracks me up! I loved this. And yes, Tom & Jerry do actually make him belly laugh, which is the cutest thing ever to listen to.

At Christmas time, the kids sang lots of songs, and my favorite parts were always the misspoken parts of the songs; a few of Daniel's were (there are others I can't remember):
"Bells on cocktails ring" (bells on bobtails ring)
"Deck the walls" (deck the halls)
but of course most were corrected very quickly once he'd heard them some more. Still, it was always cute! I love to hear him sing- and he sings a lot more now that Annabel sings so much!

One bright sunny afternoon, we drove past a cemetery, Daniel asked, "Why is that graveyard not dark?" He's got a point- after all, graveyards on Scooby Doo are spooky and dark! I thought this was too funny!

And the BEST news we have for Daniel is that he is really reading a LOT these days. He spells very well, too, and so far, has aced his spelling tests at school. Some favorite books he's read so far, to name just a few: I Can Teach My Dog 100 Words, Fred and Ted Like to Fly, and Snow Dance (a book with Busytown characters), along with many other board books and sight word books. He prefers the longer books, with substance and story to them, over the (boring) sight word books, which is actually really great. He really isn't daunted by much, he remembers a lot of the words from page to page and book to book, and he tries all the words without hesitation...which is all so great! It's just the best! So now we have a new nightly routine, I read to Daniel and Annabel in Daniel's room, I read to Annabel and snuggle her in her room, Daddy reads to Daniel, then Daddy comes and snuggles Annabel, and I go back to Daniel's room and Daniel reads to ME! Love it! I'm just so impressed with Daniel and his reading! Way to go, buddy! Wow! This is so fun. Can you tell I'm loving this?!

Things we've heard from Annabel:

Singing the months of the year..."January February March and April (etc etc) These are the weeks of the month." Love weeks of the month- so cute.

"You made up my mind!"- you read my mind. Too cute!

"Price card"- credit/gift card.

This is the funniest story- I about died (and I thought I'd shared this story, but I couldn't find it on the blog, so if it's a repeat, I apologize!): Annabel and I were playing school one morning back in the Fall, while Daniel was in school. We were both students and had an imaginary teacher. I asked her what we were learning about. Annabel said, point blank, "Faucets." I tried very hard to keep a straight face as I repeated that, "Faucets?? And what do you know about faucets?" She told me they were dinosaurs, which just made me laugh harder, "Oh you mean fossils!!!" I said. Oh my goodness, talk about dying with laughter! I was cracking up! Faucets. Love it!

When we play hotel/plane, Annabel often needs to talk to the "manger" (manager), "sir..." she says and then carries on this conversation with the manger, then she comes back "okay, he said we could!"

I loved listening to Annabel sing all these Christmas songs, it was just SO cute. My favorite funny lines were:
"We wish you Happy Holidays, we wish you Happy Holidays, we wish you Happy Holidays, Thanksgiving Day, Thanksgiving Day" and sometimes she added "good timings for your friends." I think her school did the Happy Holiday part instead of Merry Christmas, but I'm confident Thanksgiving Day was not part of this...Annabel did finally later correct it to Happy New Year! "Good timings" however still stands in for "good tidings" which is just cute, I think!

A few weeks ago, before our friends even moved, I was showing Annabel the house that Delilah and Asher would be living in, and she wanted to look at houses for us! I took her up on that- it's so fun to look. And let me tell you, listening to Annabel looking at houses is too funny, because we hear: "I always wanted..." or "I can choose which bed!" if there are two "girl" rooms currently pictured which also leads to "There's no boy room so Daniel can just borrow one of my beds" and also in the case of two girl rooms, she once said, in her girliest voice ever, "This can be my dancing room!" Oh boy. And yes, we keep explaining that the people take all their stuff with them, just like we'll bring all our stuff with us, and we'll paint the walls! (She's also been promised her big girl bed when we move- she can't wait for a big mattress just like Daniel!)

Just the other day, Annabel said, "Today I might prize (surprise) you like a begician (magician)!"- Love those misspoken words!

And while we're on be-gician, Annabel also calls the computer a "beputer"- no idea why there's a "be" for both of those words, and those aren't the only words with "be" either!

One morning I came down after showering to find all my couch cushions off and on the floor (this never happens, so yes, I was surprised). I asked Annabel, the only one around at the moment...
Me: Why are the cushions off the couch?
Annabel: I don't know. Daniel didn't tell me.
This cracked me up- Daniel didn't tell her. (Daniel later said he was looking under the cushions for something, I don't remember what anymore, but it's as good a place to look as any I guess!)

And let me tell you- this girl is spelling words! Whoa! And she points out sight words in the books we read. She is desperate to read just like Daniel. But here's where she's still very much three, almost four- her attention is not focused on the words in a book just yet, she jumps all over the page. She can sound out a word in isolation just fine and she can sound out words and spell them in her mind and then out loud- she works very hard and does very well at that. In any case, this girl is learning fast and she's very eager...she'll catch up in no time! That spelling- blows my mind every time! You go, girl!

And I'll end with this bit of love from Annabel: "I love you with all my heart, EVERYDAY!" said while patting her own heart, or giving the biggest hug ever. My heart melts.