Super Why

 David's new favorite show (of which he consistently watches for about 5 minutes before getting bored and running off to play) is Super Why from PBS Kids.  He knows when it comes on and shouts, "WHY!" in anticipation.  Today, Wyatt said "Say your name" as David stood by watching.  David obediently said "your name."  Cutie!

WHY! 

(that's an Elmo box currently functioning as an arm accessory) 

 

And he's over it.  

We definitely prefer playing, especially with trains.  David has spent hours with the Thomas trains lately.

Summer before Spring

We have had insanely beautiful weather this week and last, we we have spent every spare moment outside.  I also have gotten that spring cleaning bug, thus my lack of blogging during "down" time here at home.

 Kate is becoming much more adventurous outside.  She's been playing in the woods, biking, climbing, and rescuing poor little worms that end up on the pavement.  

We haven't taken the time to teach Michael to ride his bike without training wheels, mainly because we don't have a good place to practice.  He has decided that he will not be riding his bike again unless those training wheels come off.  He is attempting to remove them here while David helps.  Michael has discovered the woods behind our house.  He's sufficiently caked his sneakers with mud yet again today.  

David LOVES to be outside.  He yells, "SIDE!" and brings me his shoes all the time (though we've spent most of our free time outside anyway).  He is really good at climbing the ladder and he loves coming down the slide.  He's a big fan of swinging, too.  Lately, he's been a huge fan of bubbles.  

These guys are so fun!

Baby Love

I got to watch this little cutie last week, and it made me realize just how big my little David is getting!  

Growing David

Our little David is not so little anymore.  He's really growing up!  I took care of a friend's little baby on Tuesday, which made David seem that much older.  

He loves to play, and he's all boy! 

Don't let the shirt fool you.  He's not that little.   

And the closer we get to age 2, the more he likes to show his little attitude, which we are working on.  He sure can make a nasty mean-face and do some serious arm-crossing. 

But in general, he's a happy boy.  

Why do boys do weird things?  This is David tasting the chalk art.  

David is a good climber.  He's mastered the steps, and he can really get going on the roller coaster.  And as you can see from his facial expression, David has not been a recent fan of being photographed.  

Winter or Spring?

On Monday, we got a couple inches of snow. 

By about 4pm, there wasn't a trace of it left.  

Today, it was 74 degrees. 

We spent hours upon hours outside today. 

 Kate even got a chance to float her boat that she made in Bible Study this week.

Michael expended some energy after school.  He can get SO high on the "horse."

A Visit with The Grands

This week, we have Grandma and Grandpa Blakemore visiting.  

 We are enjoying their company, especially the kids.  They love all the extra attention. 

Looking Like a Teen

I found a skateboard for Michael at Goodwill today ($2.99, thankyouverymuch), and he is learning that it's a lot harder than it looks to skateboard.  He asked me to take this a picture of him holding his skateboard like this:

because he said that makes him look like a teenager.  :-)

Adventure Seeker vs Play-It-Safe

Michael and Kate are opposite when it comes to what they consider "fun."  

Kate loves to swing so slowly and gently, and "not too high," all while wearing a dress and a bow. Of note, today she started out in jeans, but just couldn't bear it any longer and asked if she could "please go get pretty after lunch."

Michael, on the other hand, likes to go as high as he possibly can.  

He can really get this thing going.  Adrenaline junkie. 

Library Day

We always look forward to library day.  

The kids just devour new books 

(and it was almost 70 degrees out today, so we read on the deck).

Even David enjoys them (though we did have a mishap last month in which he de-paged a book.  I was fully ready to pay for the book, but the kind folks at the library said it was easily repairable and waived a fine.) 

Michael is an excellent reader.  He is reading Level 3 Scholastic books and is at a guided reading level of O.  He's a quick learner, so reading was not too hard for him.  He loves books.    

Kate is learning to put simple, short-vowel words together.  She will be so excited when she can read Fancy Nancy on her own. 

David loves to look at pictures.  He enjoys turning the pages, and he adores anything with trucks, balls, or dogs.  

Exciting Snacks

I guess the kids missed having in-season grapes, since they were pretty excited when they were on sale this week at Giant.  

Oh, yummy grapes! 

Kate jumped up and down. 

 And she did a little spin.

David was sad when his bowl of grapes was empty. 

But Kate remained elated long after her bowl was empty.

David at 19 Months

David had his 18mo check-up today (one month late- oops!), and he is doing great.  

He is talking quite well for his age and is growing nicely.  He has all his teeth except the 2yr molars, which he is working on.  He's also working on his Terrible Two attitude.  His ears are clear (thank you, ear tubes!), and he got a HepA and a DTaP vaccine.

Here are his stats:

HEIGHT: 35in (95th %)

WEIGHT: 26lbs, 9.5oz (53rd %)

HEAD: 49cm (76th %)

Girls' Day: Disney on Ice

Sunday after church, we all went to lunch at Firehouse Subs (thank you, cheap coupons).  It was delicious!  

My girlie Kate 

After lunch, we came home and got ready to see Disney on Ice.  We were able to go with some friends and their girls, and we had a wonderful time.

 Kate didn't quite understand what we were seeing until it actually happened.  We had seen a preview of Disney on Ice online, so she thought we were going to see a movie.  

Aladdin with a plethora of Genies.   

Nemo 

Princes and Princesses 

 Toy Soldiers drilling right before Buzz and Woody made an appearance.

It's A Small World After All 

Cool lights show

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald 

 Mulan: I'll Make a Man Out of You

 You must be swift as a coursing river, With all the strength of a great typhoon.

 The Incredibles

They were Incredible

 Belle does some fancy footwork

The great finale

What fun to spend some time with my favorite girl and to hang out with some friends!  

Snow, Glorious Snow

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the cold weather, especially when it involves cold precipitation.  Luckily, Jon is from the midwest and enjoys the cold.  While Kate and I were enjoying our Girls' Day, the boys had some fun in the snow. 

 The snow just starting to stick.  We ended up with a couple inches total. 

All bundled up and ready to play. 

David had fun jumping on the slippery trampoline. 

The boys had fun riding their bikes in the snow. 

And they capped it off with hot chocolate.  

My husband is such a great Daddy!!