Season of Firsts

The last couple of months have held some firsts for Little Man and Little Miss.  All of which kind of make me want to cry!

LITTLE MAN

Cut his hair at school...ugh!  Can you tell he is mad that I was taking his picture?  Promise he didn't get in trouble...ha!

                                     

He lost his first "loose" tooth!  Was a bit afraid of the tooth fairy...couldn't sleep on pillow, bed, or his room because he was worried that a fairy would be close to him.  

                                                

FIRST FIELD DAY...he has the shirt to prove it!

                                                   

LITTLE MISS

She started going to her library classes and LOVES it!  Miss Thang prances into the class ready to learn, sing, and read.

She has been taking gymnastics classes.  I cannot believe her improvement.  This is another activity that she just loves.  I see her practicing what she has learned everywhere she goes!  

  

Sensory Table...of sorts

Last year, while Little Man was in preschool, he would come home excited about playing in a sensory table.  I tried to figure out how I could make one and got to talking with my friend, Colleen.  She gave me the great idea of using a flat storage container.  I change the "sensory" material every so often.  The possibilities are endless...flour, rice, beans, shredded paper, pebbles, pasta, etc.  In the following picture, we were using Moon Sand.  I love it!  I throw in some tools that they can use to explore.  Rules are that no tools can be taken out of table and "sensory" item must stay inside.  This makes clean up super easy...pop the lid on and forget about it.

Irresistibly Adorable

Okay, I have a couple of posts in the making, but came across these of Little Miss.  She put this little number together herself.  I think I see a trend setter developing.  

 

***I still haven't done my Mother's Day date with her.  Look for it soon...my mother is coming into town and gets to go with us too!

Mother's Day Tea Party

It's all about creating memories in this house.  Brian and I cherish all of our childhood memories, so we are constantly reminiscing and recreating.  We really love to set up traditions that remind us of our favorite memories.  One of my favorite childhood traditions was going to the Mother/Daughter Tea (Banquet) at our church.  I am not sure what it is exactly that made this so fun.  Was it getting dressed up?  Was it that my mother planned it?  Was it going with my mother?  Was it socializing with everyone from church?  Was it all of the amazing food that we got to eat?  I guess it is a combination of all of these!  When I got married, I was devastated that I wasn't able to go with her anymore.  I was even more sad when I had a little girl!  I want so badly to be there, just one year, with Little Miss P.  It would be so fun if we could all go together.  

A few years ago, I tried to recreate this tradition here in Ohio by having a tea party with the kids.  It has been a hit ever since!  This year, Little Man had a huge part in setting up which made it so special.  While I prepared the food (mini sandwiches, sugar cookies, and kool-aid), he set about the details of the table.  

He had to have a tablecloth...a bit wrinkled, but p-r-e-c-i-o-u-s. 

The MENU:

His Place Setting...notice the silverware is wrapped in a paper towel with our initials written on it:

Looks like the goal of making a special memory was achieved!  Look at those faces:

           

Date with Mommy

I have to admit that Mother's Day is one of my favorite times of the year.  This is not because I get a lot of presents.  I would say that Brian and I really don't do the material gift kind of thing for the "parent" holidays.  If we do, it is something really small that means something extra special.  Not that there is anything wrong with giving or receiving a present...I wouldn't turn down a pair of Jessica Simpson shoes...for sure!  We usually focus more on the simple gifts like a date night with mommy or like this year...a card where Little Man left his mark...with his lips...with lipstick on...my new lipstick.  I could tell the wheels were turning when he volunteered to get my make-up out of the van.  Isn't that where everyone keeps their make-up?  It took him a while and I heard a commotion.  I walked into the kitchen to find him and Brian in a scurry.  They were wiping something off of his lips...my lipstick...my new lipstick.   Little Man was devastated to say the least.  I thought he was embarrassed that he got caught with lipstick on...my lipstick...new lipstick.  This was not the case.  He thought he had ruined the card he got for me.  He kissed the card and messed up, so he tried to draw a square around the lips using lipstick...my lipstick...my new lipstick.    He was then crushed because the lipstick got all over his picture too.  Check out the photo...I think it is precious...I told him that he looks like my lipstick kisses are all over him which is not too far from the truth.

I should have known that this was the start to an interesting night!  As you will notice, LM takes "Date Night with Mommy" very seriously.  He selected his outfit and dressed himself for the evening.

Every year on Mother's Day and Father's Day, the kids take us out on a date.  This has been such a wonderful thing because the kids get one on one time and love to feel like they are treating us to a special night out.  Can I tell you how much I absolutely love this?  My focus is on one child and I don't feel guilty about it because I know that the other is the total focus of Brian.  

Our original plan was to go to out to eat and then I thought we would go see "How to train a Dragon."  I should say this was our original, original plan.  After we looked at the trailer, Little Man decided this wasn't a movie he was really interested in.  We made arrangements to go out to eat and then go shopping for new shoes.  He is the best little shopper and has great taste.  Well, before our "official" date began, I ran into Wal-Mart to get him a little thank you treat for taking me out on a date.  Inside Wal-Mart, he decides to change our plan back to the original, original plan of going to the movies.  We rushed like crazy to get to the movie theatre.  We made great time and had a few minutes to spare, so he wanted to spend his Toys 'r' Us gift card.  After a quick jaunt to Toys 'r' Us, we returned to the theatre with just enough time for popcorn.  Drinks and candy were bought at Wal-Mart and stuffed in my purse.  We rushed into our assigned theatre only to find this:

Yup, not a single soul was in the theatre.  Were we in the correct theatre?  Um, yes!  Were we early?  Um, yes, but not by much.  When the movie finally started, there were a totally of 10 of us in there.  I think this was a bust for Little Man...he likes a crowd.  About 10 minutes into the movie, he looked at me and said, "I am going to give this 2 more minutes and if I am still scared, we are going to have to leave.  Is that fine?"  Wouldn't you know, we had to leave...after I had paid $27.  UGH!  We were able to get a couple of photos with our 3D glasses.

We ended our night at Friendly's.  This place is wonderful for kids!  My favorite was Little Man asking the hostess for a table for two.  The ladies were loving it!  Oh, how I love this boy!
 

SWAGGER WAGON

I am really kicking myself for not coming up with this idea before Sienna!  My brother, Cam (check out his blog), posted this on my Facebook page and I couldn't stop laughing!  I had tears rolling out of my eyes because I could totally see Brian and me doing this!  Do you remember my van post from last summer?  I am beginning to love my swagger wagon!




Energizer Mommy...isn't this your dream van?