Fire Trucks and a Lightning McQueen Party

 Friday, March 16th Eve got to see a fire truck! Reed had a make-up preschool day, so it was a girls outing. We ended up being super late because traffic is pretty much awful all the time and I was late getting Reed to preschool, but ah well - we did make it eventually.

Eve loved watching the fire truck and everything going on. She didn't really want to be involved - just wanted to observe what was going on around her. She reluctantly sat in the chair and even sat on the front of the truck long enough to get a picture of James and her.

As we were all heading out, the firefighters got called on an emergency, so we even got to watch them leave with the sirens blaring. Then, the mom's talked while the kids found rocks to play with. I also happened to have a little thing of bubbles in my purse (from when Eve went to the ER) and she blew some and poured out most of the bubbles. All-in-all a successful trip.

The chair

BFF James 

Tuesday, March 20th Reed had his official Lightning McQueen birthday party. He was SOOOO excited about his party.  Thankfully, those crazy cold sores and swollen gums were gone and he could eat like normal. We made some awesome cupcakes (shown later - not to worry) and put a bunch of balloons up 'pinterest style' (hung them from crepe paper so the kids could walk through them). We had the party at Taryn's house since ours was in boxes (quite literally). When the kids arrived, they played with balloons inside for a while. Then, we took them outside, did some races and a few rounds of duck, duck, goose. Reed loved opening all his presents and made sure to say "Thank you" to each of his friends. He just loved playing with everyone. After presents we ate lunch - chicken nuggets, fruits, and veggies - and then had cupcakes. Reed did not want us to sing to him, so we didn't. But, everyone enjoyed the cupcakes. It was a great morning/afternoon.

Looking back, I think maybe I was a little crazy to have a birthday party less than a week before moving across the country, but I really felt like Reed needed it. I am always one for birthday parties because I think they are so fun. But, I was getting everything packed and ready to go, so this was just one more thing and I was debating not doing it. But, in the end, I knew that Reed would miss his friends terribly. I knew that he really needed more playtime with them more than I needed to pack one more box. So, we did it. It was great and I would do the same thing again in that situation. I love my little man!

Opening presents:

Lunch:

 The cupcakes:

They turned out seriously awesome! Thanks for the help, mom!

Reed turns 4!

 On March 14, 2012 my little boy turned 4! I cannot believe that he is so big. I understand why people always say that time flies - it certainly seems to in my life. Sadly, on his birthday Reed had a mouth full of cold sores and red, swollen gums! Ouch! Also, he was getting over a huge bruise in the middle of his forehead, so his head is a light shade of green. Needles to say, he was not eating much because everything hurt. But, he stayed in pretty good spirits for most of the day.

He was super excited to open his presents from us and from his grandparents. He even got to choose what he wanted to eat - he wanted Lightning McQueen mac and cheese. The only Lightning McQueen kind I could find was the easy mac kind. So, I bought one of those for Reed and ended up with some non-Lightning McQueen mac and cheese for daddy, Grandma Rowberry, and Eve.

The day was spent going to preschool (always a plus for Reed), opening presents, making cupcakes, talking to Grandma and Grandpa Walker (and cousins and aunts) on Skype, and playing with Grandma Rowberry when she arrived after work. It ended up being a pretty fun day. I still feel bad about his mouth, but there was nothing that could be done about it. I even went to the doctor to see if we could give him anything, and he said there wasn't. I did get some kids acidophilus that I mixed into chocolate milk. That went over well because chocolate milk is a special treat at our house.

I still marvel that I have a 4-year-old child. For part of me it seems completely normal, but the other part if completely amazed. I guess kids do grow up. It just seems like it happens all at once. He is a little man now. No longer a toddler - Reed is a little boy. He has opinions, likes/dislikes, friends, and loves to do almost anything. He particularly loves running and is a good big brother. He teaches me a lot about myself and how to be a mom. He truly strives on schedules. He loves to know when we are doing what. He loves to read with me, practice his letters and numbers, and, of course, play with his friends. I love my little man! I could not have asked for a better first child. We are learning from each other.

Happy birthday Reed! I love you :)

The 'trying to be excited when I don't feel good' birthday boy showing off his Lightning McQueen shirt. 

Attempt at a big smile 

Opening presents

I found a bag of CARS cars on craigslist. Reed was so excited!

It even came with a MAC truck.

A Thomas shirt was one thing he asked for .

His presents were wrapped in newspaper. 

He loved running through his balloons. 

Putting together his spaceship puzzle

I made him  a little birthday sign. He is also showing off his dinosaur hoodie. 

A bare wall (since we were in full-on pack mode) with only one little sign on it. 

He did gulp down the Lightning McQueen mac and cheese (thankfully, because he hadn't eaten very much in the past few days). 

Final Weeks

Our final weeks in Virginia/D.C. seem like a million years ago and, yet, I still remember them like they were yesterday. Tyson and I wanted to visit some of our favorite D.C. spots before moving. We started with the American History Museum - definitely a favorite of ours. We love all the history, especially being able to see the flag. Another favorite part of that museum is definitely the transportation section where we can see some really cool trains, buses, and cars.

At the time, it seemed almost unreal that these things would not be around for us to visit in just a few weeks. But, luckily, we knew we would regret not coming to see them, so we did. I am so glad we got to see some things one last time. We haven't done much of that since Aria was born. It was a blast!

March 10, 2012

You can't photograph the actual flag, so this is the entrance to see it . 

The American History Museum 

Sense of Sight and Wrap-up

 Our last 2 days of the 5 senses were awesome! Here's what we did:

March 5, 2012 - Today we learned about our sense of sight. We talked about our eyes, the different things we might see, and read a Magic School Bus book about the senses. We played lots of games. and made some really cool stuff.

For our game I put a lot of different objects on a tray. The kids had to hide their eyes while I took something away. Then, they had to tell me which object was missing. They got it right every time! Smart kiddos!

We also got out magnifying glasses (I forgot to take a picture because we were just having that much fun) and looked at a bunch of different objects (crayons, orange peels, coins, plastic bugs) I had one big magnifying glass and then gave the kids their own. It was a hit!

We also glued googly eyes on our paper to remind us that our eyes help us to see.

Another fun craft we did was to make a pair of glasses using pipe cleaners. Whew! What a busy and fun preschool day!

March 7, 2012 - Wrap-up to the 5 senses was another fun-filled preschool day. We made the letter X out of sticks and velcro. I still think that is an awesome idea. Now, if I could find sticks that are curvy, that would be amazing! Then, I could make all the letters!

We did a few fun activities to quickly go over sense of smell and sense of taste (they were more fully covered at someone else's house). I had a bunch of different things in cups for the kids to smell. They each smelled it and guessed what it was. I put pineapple juice, ketchup, mustard, apple cider vinegar, and apple juice. They got almost all of them right!

For our sense of taste, we had a bunch of different things to taste: fruit snacks, sugar, salt, honey, and others.  They had to tell us what it was and if they liked it. Another hit! This is why the 5 senses are awesome - everything is a hit!

We also made little packets to put our papers in. The kids got to color each of the pictures representing the 5 senses and glue them on the front. Inside went each page we had done for the 5 different senses.

I think it turned out amazing! Another week of preschool done - it was awesome, fun, and tiring. :)

The cover 

This is for sense of taste

This is for sense of smell. We sprayed perfume on it when they were finished coloring and gluing! 

Being Cute and Having Fun

 March 2, 2012 - Nothing out-of-the ordinary happened. My girls were just being cute and funny. I love that! Aria is really getting a personality! She is just a fun little baby and really wants to move! Uh-oh for me. She is already on the move.

Eve loves sitting in the boxes that we get when our fruit and veggies are delivered. For some reason, this box must have been extra tasty because I found her biting it. Funny Eve :)

March 4, 2012 - Grandma and Grandpa Rowberry got to come over and play games! It is always the best when grandma and grandpa come to play!

Sense of Touch

 February 29, 2012 - Our preschool lesson was about the sense of touch. I started off with some baggies filled with shaving cream. In hindsight, I should have done paint, I just didn't want to pay that much. Ah well. The kids used their fingers to make circles and whatever else they wanted to make.

We were still going over the letter W, so we made some out of sticks and velcro. We took them apart and put them together and it was a lot of fun!

We also felt rice and beans. We talked about what it felt like and the kids LOVED playing with it during free time. Rice and Beans = Always a good sensory activity :)

We even traced our hands to learn how we can touch things.

I also put various objects in socks. I had the kids feel it and guess what was inside. Then, we pulled it out to see if they were right. For the most part, they got them right!

We also played and played and played!

Then, we made our touch turtles. I had a baggie filled with lots of different objects: cotton ball, tulle, rubber band, sand paper, felt leaf, puff balls, velcro, and bendable wire. They glued on the ones they wanted.

Next we had free time and this is what they did:

Another great day of preschool!