Water Bugs

They simply cannot get enough of their weekends in the pool!

Jumping in.

Getting stronger every week.

Listening.

Camp Out

Last week, Elizabeth's school sponsored a "camp out" and it was pretty neat.  The kindergarteners, first and second graders and their parents showed up at school on Friday night in their pajamas, with their sleeping bags, flashlights and favorite books.  The kids had the chance to draw some great pictures around the "camp fire" and then we did some flashlight reading in the dark.  Then, a storyteller told some great stories and finally, all of the children gathered around the camp fire and sang songs.  Elizabeth had a wonderful time!!

Coloring with Chloe and Summer (notice the "camp fire").

Listening intently to the storyteller.

The storyteller - she was so great!

Kid City

When Grammy and Grampy were here, we visited Kid City.  Lee and the girls have been there many times, but it was my first trip and I was really impressed.  Because we went on a Sunday, it was pretty crowded - but the girls hardly seemed to notice all the people and we practically had to drag them out when it was time to leave.  I'm sure that we'll be making another trip soon.

"Take my picture"

Making bubbles.

 

Writing on the walls.

Riding in a hot air balloon.

The see-saw.

Christmas with Grammy and Grampy

Last weekend, Grammy and Grampy visited us in Connecticut.  Because they spent Christmas in Arizona and New Mexico with Uncle Mike, Auntie Kelly and Felix, we were just getting around to celebrating the holiday with them - don't feel too badly for the girls, though, as they love never-ending holidays and birthdays!  We had a good time exchanging presents, playing games and hanging out.  We are grateful that they made the trip down to see us and can't wait to see them again soon.

Opening some crafty gifts.

More presents.....

Jackpot!

Check out Emily's face.

Grampy got the Patriots sweatshirt he wanted (too bad he has to wait until September to see them play again...)

Lee got some sort of drill....but this picture was more amusing to me.

The sleeping bags were a big hit!!

They could have hung out in these all afternoon.

Final presents - sentimental religious medals that used to belong to Memere.

Finally - No Hands!!

You know when you reach a point as parents when you decide that you child is just never going to get over a certain hurdle?  Never going to sleep through the night; never going to be potty trained; never going to learn how to swim?  And then, just as you've pretty much given up, something clicks - and they get it.  That's what happened with Emily last week at YMCA pool.  Emily has never taken to swimming like her sister - for the last three summers, she has pretty much lounged on the steps/ladders of swimming pools, all but refusing to go in.  Even at the beach, she does little more than get her toes wet.  Lee and I were ready to give up hope that she would swim on her own, because she has simply shown no interest in doing anything other than being towed around a pool by one of us or sunning herself (after all, she is a bit of a diva!).  Well, right before our very eyes last week, Emily let go - she let go of Lee and started swimming around the pool by herself (with her PFD, of course).  And she liked it, which was the best part of all!  We are so proud of her!!

Swimming with Daddy at the beginning of the class.

Sitting pretty.

First moments swimming without Daddy's help.

Look at that grin (it gets better).

So happy and proud!

Putting a little distance between herself and Lee.

Cellar Savers

Last weekend, we checked out a really great train display that Alicia recommended after seeing our post about trains.  Although the museum was really small, it held several different train displays, which were as enthralling for the girls as they were for Lee and I.  The detail in all of the miniature worlds was unbelievable and the girls were fascinated as they watched the trains run on the various tracks.

Main Street, U.S.A. was set up to have a bit of similarity with our town.

The North Pole - or at least some sort of winter wonderland.

Emily was completely enthralled by this glimpse into the inner workings of one of the trains.

Elizabeth was pretty impressed as well.

  

Starfish

At the end of the last swimming session, we were surprised that Elizabeth was promoted to the next level - even though she did really well with the older kids, it was her first session in the large pool and we weren't certain if she should move up.  We followed the instructor's recommendation and enrolled her in Starfish, a 45 minute class that is held solely in the big pool.  Forty-five minutes is a lot of swimming for a five year old and the large pool is significantly colder (about 15 degrees colder) than the small pool where Emily swims.  Elizabeth surprised us once again with how well she handles swimming - aside from some shivering near the end of the class, she was strong and steady and did a great job!

 

She was a little hesitant about starting classes again, but that faded the moment she hit the water.

Floating on her back, just like a starfish!

By the end of the first class, she told me that she didn't want her noodle anymore and started pushing it ahead of her while she was swimming.

She is obsessed with her goggles and is finally figuring out how to de-fog them.

Off she goes!

BINGO!

The only thing that Emily asked for from Santa was a Bingo "twirly whirly."  Since attending Turkey Bingo at Elizabeth's school, she has been fascinated by the game of Bingo and the cage with the balls in it. So, Santa complied and brought her a Bingo game, thinking that it would just sit on a shelf and get dusty.  Instead, Emily forces us to play Bingo all the time - she twirls the balls in the cage ("I'm the Bingo girl") and Elizabeth either yells out the numbers or plays - but one thing is for sure, Lee and I always have to play, sometimes with as many as three or four cards going at once.  The girls love it - and while I actually don't mind playing that much, the game is already driving Lee out of his mind!

Playing Bingo with Aunt Denise on New Year's Eve.

Elizabeth plays with two cards at once - the game is actually great for her to work on recognizing larger numbers.

Emily gets some help from Lee with the "twirly whirly."

The girls in their roles as "Bingo Girl" and "Bingo Yeller."

Bird Houses

Lee knew that he was going to have his hands full with the girls over Christmas break, between the cold weather and the holiday energy high, so he did a great job of planning ahead.  Beside doing small crafts with the girls almost every day,  he made two birdhouses from some scrap wood that he had so that they could decorate them.  Once they are finished, we plan to hang them in our yard give them away as presents.  So far, they are quite decorative....

The birdhouses, primed and ready for the girls' creativity.

A coat of paint - Elizabeth (on the right) insisted on using all the colors of the rainbow.

Fully decorated with glitter glue and stickers - what bird wouldn't want to live here?