Bubbalicious!

One more I had to share from yesterday.
I found a cute bubble whistle at Walgreens and
meant it for his Easter basket, but yesterday at
the park seemed like a great place to play with it.

Beautiful Day!

Yesterday I just had to get out of town for a bit!
We went to Faver Dykes State Park and did some trails
and played outside for a while. It was a beautiful day to
be outside, and it felt good just to get away for a little while.
Ander just saw this picture and said "I wanted to stay there
longer!" So, I believe we will be going back!

A pretty rainbow

Here is a project we did for St. Patrick's Day.
Ander had more just as much fun gluing the Fruit Loops
to the page as he did eating them!

125 things update on #55

Ander has known the name of our president since the election, but it was cute today...

We were standing in line at the book fair at his school when a teacher asked a 4-year-old the name of our president. As soon as she said it, Ander matter of factly said "Barack Obama," and the other kid hemmed and hawed.

125 Things Before 5

I have seen a couple of cool lists lately for things to do with your children before they get to kindergarten. I went through a list and created one of our own. Ander has already done some of these, so I'll mark them with a different color. Maybe I'll be more diligent about taking some pictures to post with items as we complete them.



1. Sit back and listen at a library storytime
2. Go to the zoo
3. Visit a farm
4. Go on a hike
5. Play with kittens or puppies
6. Make a snow-man
7. Blow bubbles
8. Plant seeds and watch them grow
9. Have a pillow fight
10. Jump on a big bed
11. Jump on a trampoline or in a bounce house
12. Hang out in a tent
13. Spend days at the beach
14. Build sandcastles
15. Play with blocks and puzzles
16. Read the classic picture books
17. Read a classic chapter book
18. Check out library books with their own library card
19. Get a passport
20. Carve a pumpkin
21. Love a special doll or stuffed animal
22. Bake cookies and cakes
23. Help plan their own birthday party
24. Go to the circus
25. Go to a museum on a quiet weekday
26. Play hide-and-seek
27. Play a board game
28. Try a sport
29. Learn to swim
30. Be tickled in hysterics
31. Paint and draw as much as desired
32. Have the use of scissors and glue
33. Display artworks and other creations around the house
34. Learn to use a camera (and keep an album of the results!)
35. Pick flowers
36. Climb a tree
37. Gaze at the moon and stars
38. Toast marshmallows
39. Learn to eat an ice-cream cone
40. Watch a sunset
41. Learn to write their own names
42. Learn their addresses and telephone numbers
43. Learn their parents' full names
44. Set the table
45. Clear the table
46. Learn to say their pleases and thank yous and excuse mes
47. Watch fireworks
48. Go to the ballet or theater or a puppet show
49. Face paint
50. Dress up in costumes at will
51. Learn rhymes and poems and songs by heart
52. Invite friends over to play
53. Get to know grandparents
54. Play with cousins
55. Learn the name of our president
56. Know the name of their town, state and country
57. Listen to music from many different ages and genres
58. Learn the difference between trash and recycling
59. Grow their own vegetables
60. Learn to ride a bike (or try!)
61. Take a road trip
62. Draw a self-portrait
63. Slurp alphabet soup
64. Learn to twirl spaghetti on a fork
65. Pick apples
66. Practice writing letters
67. Practice counting to 100
68. Make up stories
69. Send a letter
70. Receive a letter
71. Ride on a merry-go-round
72. Give away toys and books to less fortunate children
73. Learn the value of coins and bills
74. Keep a piggy bank
75. Try a musical instrument
76. Swing high up into the sky all by themselves
77. Ride on a merry-go-round
78. Pick Strawberries
79. Go to an Aquarium
80. Pick Blueberries
81. Go to an Amusement Park
82. Camp
83. Splash in a Puddle
84. Play in the Sprinklers
85. See a manatee
86. Bake cookies for your neighbors
87. Play Putt-Putt Golf
88. Go Bowling
89. Fly a kite
90. Help make pancakes
91. Go to a science museum
92. Go on a water slide
93. Have a "paint your own pottery" afternoon.
94. Throw a Ball
95. Kick a Ball
96. Hit a Ball
97. Fold a paper airplane
98. Jump in leaf piles
99. Build a fort out of blankets
100. Find the US on a map
101. Find home state on a map
102. Recognize 5 types of bugs
103. Recognize 3 types of flowers
104. Name the 4 seasons
105. Explore the properties of water
106. Look through a microscope or magnifying glass
107. Hear the ocean in a shell
108. Button buttons
109. Zip zippers
110. Snap snaps
111. Ties shoes
112. Open a milk carton, juice box, and snacks
113. Make a PB & J sandwich
114. Go on a treasure hunt
115. Pour a bowl of cereal
116. Read 10 words independently- start a, and, the, it, I, we, at, by, me, is
117. Copy text that is written for them
118. Write/dictate, illustrate, and publish a story at restaurant?)
119. Be able to say a few words in a foreign language
120. Name the 12 months in a year
121. Name the seven days of the week in order
122. Learn birthdate
123. Say "Nice to meet you."
124. Shake hands
125. Know where to put a stamp on a letter

Project 365 - 14/365

Playing Postman at The Children's Museum

Project 365 - 12/365

Playing with "jewels" we got for projects.

Project 365 - 11/365

Kid Food!
Craig tries to make Ander's food so cute! I don't quite have the patience!!

Project 365 - 10/365

We celebrated our Christmas with cousins late this year.
We went to AnnMarie's and had a lovely lunch. The kids
got along great and had so much fun playing together.

Hannah, Jessica, and Ander

Painting in the tub!

Shaving cream with food coloring mixed in to paint in the bathtub with. Not recommended for white grout!  We rinsed it off quickly so we didn't have any staining. Fun, fun, fun activity - until he knocked it in the water - then we had meltdown!

Homemade Play-doh!

I've been perusing quite a few "homeschool" blogs, and we have been trying some new stuff lately.  On this day, we made a homemade pumpkin pie play-doh. Oh my, it smelled lovely, but was a little too oily for me.  We'll be trying more in the future.

Making cookies!

Having fun popping bubble wrap

The boy likes to run.... and JUMP

Ander likes to be active! He loves to run and run and run! Lately, he has been into hopping.

Today, we went down to "the fort" on Fort Caroline to let him get his running out of his system. What a beautiful day to go! We had a cup we picked up to throw away,and as we strolled along, Ander put his treasures in it - a small pinecone, Spanish moss, nuts, a few flowers, and leaves!

P.S. Ander has tons of clothes from my thrifting, etc., but you might not know that by looking at this post and the last. The same outfit!! I love these shorts! They are pretty much too small, so we had to get one more use before they get donated.

Oh what they say!

Ander was placed in time out last week - I think for hitting his cousin Jessica. Anyway, I put him on the "the monkey mat" and heard him saying "This is ridiculous!" Oh my!!!

When did my baby become a kid?

Daddy is out of town this week, and Ander and I have been keeping busy. Apparently not busy enough for him though. On Monday, we ran a few errands and then played at the children's museam for 1-1/2 hours. When we left, Ander thought he needed to go to the toy store too, so he said, "Can I, can I, can I, can I ....pwease....!"

I thought that was pretty funny, and then at dinner he cracked me up again (although I tried not to let him see it.) I was talking about making fish for dinner when Ander said, "I am ABSOLUTLEY not going to eat that!"

He's only 2-1/2 - oh my!!!!

Spreading the love

Ander has recently begun saying "I love you". He says it to Dad and Mom. He also said it to the five year old girl he passed by in the wagon at the zoo. He also said it when saying goodbye to the boy and girl who remained at the gym kids lounge. "Bye Boy. Bye Girl. I love you."

Ander sings

Ander has begun singing songs with us. If I remember right, the first one he started singing was Happy Birthday. At home, he will act goofy with his singing when he is playing, but if we sing at gym or the library, he is so serious and doing so great!

See what I mean about the wind?

Me and my Shadow

WindyDay at Hanna Park on Saturday after the storms on Friday.