Day 38

While watching the pre-game stuff today there were some shots of Rabid Crazed Fans all decked out in face paint and such. So, Bradley drew his own version - meet Rainbow Head Man. He wants the Saints to win, by the way.

Day 37

How cute is this? Alec and Chloe are both sporting some big ol' gaps through which to slurp macaroni. Both of them will need braces in a couple of years - at least they can be awkward together. They love each other dearly and I'm glad Chloe will have her cousin to look out for her since Bradley will be two grades behind them. I only wish Chloe had some of his darling freckles!

Day 36

Tonight we had one of our Family Dance Parties and wore the kids out before bed. Bradley is so much more dramatic with his dancing than Chloe. She is still pretty impressed with booty shaking and is starting to do more "real" dancing with her chassés and little primitive leaps. Bradley throws himself into his "moves" and it's hilarious to watch. I think his expressions says it all, though. Lost in dance. I can't think of a better way to end this crazy week!

Day 35

I try not to let the kids drink too much water at the dance studio or their class time gets interrupted by frequent potty visits. Tonight, though, Bradley was already done with his classes and we were hanging out waiting for Chloe to finish hers and he was SO SO thirsty. "My tongue is so sad and thirsty," he wailed dramatically. Who can argue with a sad tongue?

The problem is, Bradley is not quite yet an expert at using a water fountain. He inevitably gets soaked and really doesn't imbibe much water. That doesn't change his love for that big, loud fountain of fun, of course. When he drinks from a fountain, he laps at the water like a puppy. I've tried to explain how to kind of suck the water, but he insists that his way is best.

And so I had to change his shirt, clean the floor, and clean the wall after he was done. But at least his tongue was happy.

Day 34

Chloe's love for Zeke is true love - no matter what he does, she loves him unconditionally. Bradley, on the other hand, is much more sensible. If Zeke does something wrong, Bradley will let him know it was dumb. He's not afraid to discipline him, and will let us know if he needs to be in time out. But, they also play differently. They are rough and tumble with each other and enjoy romping around together. I think they will be grand friends as they grow up together.

"The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic." ~Henry Ward Beecher

Day 33

Today was the Big Day! During Circle Time (on the big rug, no less) Chloe "wiggled and wiggled her tooth until POP. It just came right on out." She got a special little tooth-shaped box on a string to wear and keep her tooth safe. But it seems there was a box malfunction and my poor girl LOST her tooth during Extended Day. They searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Chloe is, of course, quite upset about everything. But, she wrote a letter explaining the whole situation. So, hopefully the Tooth Fairy will be okay without collecting the tiny white gem.




She also drew her a couple of pictures. The first one is "Of the Very Day My Tooth Came Right Out of My Mouth at my Favorite School!" And the second is "A Picture of the Famous Tooth Fairy on a Rainbow." (click on them to open in a new window)





I still can't believe she's old enough to be loosing teeth. You can see in the top picture that the tooth next to the one she lost is about to come out, too. Her first two precious tiny baby teeth. The ones that bit me (only once) while nursing one morning before work. The ones we used to clean with a teensy soft finger brush while she sat in her bath seat. Those sweet little nubs that caused such gassy agony when they were trying to come up. And, oh, the drool that gave her a rash on her chin for weeks. How on earth has time gone by so quickly?

Day 32

I've mentioned before that we are a book reading family - we read together every night for 20-30 minutes. This is such a special time and one of my favorite things that we do together.

My kids are on a Mo Willems kick right now, and I love it because his books are so much fun to read. We have all of the Elephant and Piggie books (looks like there are several more coming out this year!), almost all the Pigeon books (we are missing The Pigeon Gets a Puppy), Edwina, Knuffle Bunny, Knuffle Bunny too, and Time to Pee. The kids have all the Elephant and Piggie books memorized and act out the scenes from them - it's hilarious. My favorite is probably There is a Bird on Your Head because I love the way the kids act it out - they use funny voices and move around the room pretending to be the characters. I think Bradley could have a career as a cartoon character some day! :)

I'm going to start doing a Monday Memories Link on here every Monday so we can maybe have some audience participation. :) So my Monday questions are:

What books do you like to read with your kids? What was your favorite book to read as a child? Join the fun and share your memories!

My favorite books that my dad read to me were the Shel Silverstein poetry books. I memorized most of them when I was really young. Later, I read and re-read all the classics (I had a large collection that someone had given us - hardbound with 2 novels per book, one on one side and you flipped it over for the other one. I wonder where those are now.). As a tween I fell in love with Anne of Green Gables and still enjoy snuggling up and reading them again. I don't really read as much now for my own pleasure (other than craft magazines!). Can anyone recommend something good that doesn't have sparkly vampires in it? :D