Family Night #1

Last evening was our first "Family Night". The night is dedicated to spending quality time together doing something fun as a family. And to make it more exciting, I'm giving each night a theme.

Tonight's theme was "brown bear picnic". We made peanut butter and honey sandwiches, apples dipped in brown sauce (Nutella), and drank brown milk (chocolate).


Then we all got dressed in our brown clothes and sat on a brown blanket with all of our bears to have a picnic.


While we ate, we talked about the different kinds of bears (polar, black, grizzly),


sang songs likes "the bear went over the mountain" and "Teddy Bear Teddy Bear turn around",


and spent time snuggling :)


After the sandwiches were gobbled up we had Teddy Grahams, which were a hit,


especially for someone in particular :)


Then we colored pictures of bears I got off the Internet.


I had some bear crafts to do too, but they wanted to color on the paper,


and on themselves. Fabulous.


After coloring, we played a game of find the "b's" (their names for bears).


Lauren really liked this game!

And finally, it was bath and story time. We read some bear books, and they were both beary tired. Ha!


Okay, sorry for the cheeseball joke. We had a really great time though! Can't wait to prep for next week!

Playdate!

We went to our friends Iva, Sophie and Nicholas' house today, which is like a mini Disneyland for my kids. Iva's house is filled with fun, new exciting toys, including dollhouses, monster trucks, musical instruments, books we don't have, and lots of puzzles. And the backyard? It's even more fun! There are all kinds of outdoor toys; a swing set, slides, scooters, kiddie bikes, tunnels to climb in, bubbles, balls, etc. And when the kids aren't playing? They're eating and drinking from the vast array of snacks/juices Iva sets out. Seriously,we have so much fun playing over there.

The problem is, the minute we step foot in the front door, the train table in their living room SCREAMS their names and Lauren and Jake are glued to that thing. It's like train crack for toddlers I guess.


After asking if they wanted to go outside and enjoy the fresh air 1,000 times, they finally agreed. And I'm so glad we did because the weather was beautiful and I got to talk to some friends. Plus, we played 'ring around the rosie' and some other games, so they burnt off some toddler steam! Yay for that!


And now? All I hear is the snoozing of sleepy, worn out kids. I love me some playdates :)

Pears!

Lauren is our adventurous eater and will try most anything. She likes all fruits, cheeses (even Blue and feta), meats, pasta's, spinach, peas, green beans, carrots, corn, etc...

Jacob on the other hand? To say that he's picky would be an extreme understatement. He lives on bread, fruit, the occasional hot dog and "chewy snacks". The boy hates pasta, meats, cheese and esp. veggies. He won't touch Mac N Cheese and if he sees a green vegetable coming his way, he practically starts dry heaving.

It's charming.

And the newest culinary dislike is anything cut up. Don't even attempt to cut up the choking hazards like hot dogs or grapes because he will melt into a toddler puddle of angst. So I decided to try something new a couple days ago and give him the whole fruit. It was juicy and ridiculously messy, but he gobbled it up:



Forget the spears; we're having a head of broccoli tonight!

"Bigger girl" bed

Ever since we bought Lauren a toddler bed, she's always wanted us to read her naptime/bedtime stories in bed with her. Well, we're not exactly 30 lbs. and neither the Hubster or I are comfy craning our necks to read to Lauren while she lays in her bed.

So, after a lot of consideration, we bought her her forever bed. I say this because it really is perfect for her and it will last her a very looooong time (it's a full so she's have plenty of room to grow into it). Sure, it's MUCH larger than her toddler bed and takes up most room, but she doesn't play in her room as it is (most likely because we have a toy store playroom).

But the best parts (besides the fact that we can lay with her comfortably to read stories), are that 1) it's a trundle bed so that as she gets older, friends can stay and 2) it's a canopy bed! We don't have the canopy up right now, mainly because I think it'll lose it's cool if I introduce it to her at this stage, but I'm excited to make it her "princess bed" as she gets older!

Anyways, I'm in love... and best of all, so is she :) Heck, even Jake liked it and fought going to bed in his crib tonight!


:) :) :)

First trip to the dentist

Yes, I am one of those mom's who documents everything, especially firsts. So today it's the dentist visit. Boring perhaps, but just be thankful that it's not about her first poop. Or that there are pictures!

Anyway, here we are in the waiting room,

being silly,

and getting up close and personal with the "Nemo's":


Finally it was our turn to go back. Lauren sat in the big girl chair, all smiles and proud of herself:


After "gowning up",


Dr. Bell examined her. Her teeth look great and no cavities! We got a clean bill of health! Woohoo!

Then the hygienist came in and gave her a cleaning. Lauren chose the cotton candy fluoride. It could have been called "habanero candy" and she would have chosen it because it has the word 'candy' in it.


As sister got her teefers cleaned, my sidekick and I hung out. He entertained himself with screaming "NEMO!" every single time he tuned around and saw the aquatic pictures behind him :)


Anyways, Lauren did GREAT there. She was a good listener and followed directions from the dentist and his assistant. And not once did she cry or get scared. She was so brave :)


The best part for her? The princess toothbrush they gave her. Who knew she'd be so happy over another dang toothbrush?


:) :) :)