Pets Week

This week Charlie and Lily learned about pets. We read Hide and Seek Playful Pets and Fifteen Animals. We sang BINGO, which has always been a favorite around here, watched Baby Einstein Neighborhood Animals, practiced dog and cat sounds and put together the pet puzzle.

For art Charlie and Lily made goldfish bowls. The only way that Charlie would cooperate with this activity was if he constantly had a goldfish cracker to eat. Whatever it takes, right?

During nap one day this week I put out some Valentine's Day decorations and found these two toys - a puppy that sings a Valentine's Day rendition of "Shout" and a monkey that wiggles its arms and says things like "You make me go coco-nuts!" Charlie and Lily were up from nap for approximately 0.5 seconds before they discovered the toys, and after 35 straight renditions of "Shout" I started to question the decision to put them out.

"Mommy, you're not shouting!"

Happy Charlie!

When our friends Ryan and Stacey visited with their daughter Rebecca last weekend, Rebecca enjoyed riding on Charlie and Lily's Mickey airplane. Before then Charlie and Lily had never attempted to climb on it, but after seeing Rebecca do it Lily became determined to get on there herself. It took many, many attempts - during which she'd get frustrated, shove the plane away and stomp off in anger - but finally Lily conquered the plane! Look how happy she is. (And please don't tell her she's on backwards.)

19 months!

Happy 19 months, Charlie and Lily!
Charlie models his awesome bed head. (He's getting a haircut next week!)Poor Lily's battling a cold, but she still tries to look her best. This is what our backyard looked like this morning. Is it spring yet?

Play dates!

This past week Charlie and Lily have been quite busy entertaining their friends. Yesterday, they met Rebecca for the first time. Rebecca is the daughter of our good friend, Ryan, and his wife Stacey. Joe and I actually hadn't even seen Ryan and Stacey since my baby shower 15 months ago (!!!) so we were long overdue for a visit. They came to hang out and have lunch with us on Saturday, and Charlie and Lily had a great time playing with Rebecca. She is such a smart, sweet little girl!And, as you can see, Rebecca is also very pretty. Which is why Charlie did not mind at all when she gave him his first kiss! The two of them were crawling through the tunnel when Rebecca stopped, turned around and gave Charlie a kiss on the lips. It was adorable, and he was totally blushing afterwards ;)

Rebecca liked using the ride on toys the way they were intended - to be ridden on. Charlie and Lily never try to ride then, but today Lily climbed on up. She obviously learned from watching Rebecca yesterday! We also had a visit last week with my friend Jill and her daughter, Maya. Maya is such a trip and loved exploring all Charlie and Lily's new toys. She brought her baby doll, which prompted Lily to bring out her baby, and the two of them sat swapping dolls. Maya also helped her mommy give Charlie and Lily a good tickle.

This morning I came into the living room and found this:

I can only assume that Lily thought Roy looked lonely on the couch and was inviting him to play with her. A few days ago she spent time combing Roy's fur with the toy comb from her jewelry box. Roy looks thrilled to be included in all the fun, doesn't he?

Charlie thinks breakfast is better with bacon. Mmmm!

O and P Week

This week Charlie and Lily learned about the letters O and P. We read Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? but sadly it took a backseat to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? Apparently the polar bear does not hold the same appeal as the brown bear. We sang "Have You Ever Seen a Penguin?" and made pineapple pudding. This pudding is delicious and super easy to make - just mix one 20 oz can crushed pineapple with one large box of instant vanilla pudding mix. Stir in one 16 oz container of sour cream, refrigerate and enjoy. (Thanks Aunt Patty, for giving me that recipe this summer - I've made it many times since then!) Charlie had no interest in making the pudding with me (he snagged the empty pudding box and wandered off) but Lily was super intent on stirring the pudding and loved tasting it.

We did two art projects this week, since I didn't want to gyp either of our letters. In honor of the letter O we glued Cheerios to paper Os. Charlie only managed to grab and eat one glue-covered Cheerio, so I consider the project a success.

We also made potato prints. I cut potatoes into shapes, and Charlie and Lily used them as stamps, dipping them in paint and pressing them on the paper (with some help, of course).

I kept asking Charlie to say "cheese" and this is all he'd give me - over and over and over. Goof! But look at all the teeth he has now!

This week we finally set up the tent/ball pit/tunnel that my best friend Colleen and her family gave Charlie and Lily for their birthday.

At first Charlie and Lily were afraid to go through the tunnel, so I decided to show then how it was done. This tunnel is NOT made for adults.

But it's perfect for toddlers!

And cats.

Winter Week and a snow day

Since I knew that snow was in the forecast for this past week, I decided it was the perfect time for Winter Week for Charlie and Lily. We read Penguin's Snowy Day and sang "I'm a Little Snowman," a song that I found on a wonderful blog, No Time for Flash Cards. The blog is full of amazing lessons, crafts, songs and book suggestions for young children - check it out! For our art project, we made cotton ball snowmen.
Then, on Wednesday, we were treated to the perfect winter lesson - a snow storm and a snow day! School was closed for Joe due to the weather, so Charlie and Lily got to spend a great morning cuddling with Daddy while watching Sesame Street.
Then they watched Daddy shovel the snow. They enjoyed it from afar, but were happy to stay inside where they were warm and cozy in their snowflake pjs.

Like any good snow day, you get a little restless after awhile, so Charlie amused himself by tormenting Roy. Roy was decidedly LESS amused.

We also had many, many readings of their new favorite book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear. They bring it to us over and over and over again.

In the afternoon we baked cookies. A few months ago my Mothers of Multiples group did a fundraiser at which I purchased tubs of Crayola cookie dough. It's sugar cookie dough that's brightly colored and made with pasteurized eggs so it's safe if kids eat it. We gave some yellow and blue dough to Charlie and Lily, along with some sprinkles and white chocolate chips and let them go to town. Unfortunately, there was more tasting than shaping the dough.

Our finished cookies. Masterpieces, no?
Then, after a much needed bath, Charlie and Lily took time to text their peeps to tell them all about their fun day. It's important to stay connected, even on a snow day.

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Today was Joe's birthday and Charlie and Lily were more than happy to help him celebrate! We started the day off nice and early with breakfast at Perkin's. Charlie and Lily loved their pancakes and breakfast potatoes, and Charlie really enjoyed the piece of bacon that came with his meal. When we got home, Charlie and Lily couldn't wait to give Joe the presents they'd gotten him.

And they couldn't wait to help him unwrap them.

In the evening, our families came over for a little party. Charlie and Lily insisted that everyone wear their party hats and be festive.

Joe wanted untraditional pies for his birthday, but they still got candles on them! Charlie and Lily both helped him blow them out.
Then they enjoyed some ice cream...they weren't too interested in the pie!

It was a really nice day!

Note to Joe from me: Happy birthday, baby! This is the 14th birthday of yours that I've celebrated with you, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You're the love of my life, my best friend and the most wonderful husband and father I ever could have dreamed of. I love you!

M and N Week

This week we were back on track with our lessons, focusing on the letters M and N. We read If You Give a Moose a Muffin and sang "Five Little Monkeys." We practiced saying names and worked on identifying nose and mouth.

For a special treat, Charlie and Lily enjoyed some mini M&Ms that Charlie received in his Christmas stocking.
Lily was very, very suspicious of the little M&Ms.

For art we made nighttime Ns. Charlie and Lily are getting really good with the glue stick, so I think it's time to try out crayons again. The first time we tried them Charlie and Lily just wanted to eat them, but maybe we'll have better luck this time.

There was also some mischief to fit in with the "M" portion of the week. The other night Joe and I were cleaning up dinner and left the plate of leftovers within Charlie and Lily's reach. Needless to say, we spent a good portion of the evening cleaning corn, fish sticks and corn muffin off the dining room floor. But look how proud of himself Charlie is!

I just love these shirts :)
Charlie loves to climb on things...me included.

Tomorrow is Joe's birthday, so I'll be back with another post this weekend showing all the festivities :)