An old camera, a new toy

Colin was playing one of my least favorite games the other day (fish around in a drawer until he finds something he wants) while I was trying to clean up our kitchen when he came across an old digital camera.  He asked to take pictures, and I said yes.

Colin's first photography exhibit:

'Take Picture Christmas Tree'

'Take picture face'

"take picture outside'

'Take picture cam-binets'

'Take picture too bright'

'Take picture floor.'

 It was actually really fun to watch him wander around the kitchen taking pictures and playing with the camera.  And I was excited to see how and if any of them would turn out.  It's fun to see my world from his perspective.  I also found a surprise on the camera, some picture of a few month old Colin!!

Preschool at the Griffins

Last week we hosted the Ladera Learners at our house for the first time.  I am scheduled to host May and have already started planning, so I had to be a lot quicker getting ready in two weeks for December!

Circle Time Board

Preschool Tables

For our first week, I decided I wanted to do a preschooler friendly service project.  I contacted the Ronald McDonald house about their pop top houses.  They were so wonderful and mailed them to me to avoid an extra drive to Orange.  We prefolded all of the houses so they would be ready for the kids.  Sadly, I was too busy to get pictures of the kids doing the activity, but it was a hit!  Most of the kids dumped the pop tops and did it several times!   We hope to keep this going at our house, although we don't really drink soda anymore.  

Since we had the little houses, I went with house/home as a theme.  Our sancks were little houses! :)

Snack time is always popular!  After snack, we did our craft/ activity.  We cut out family members and houses out of felt.  Each child picked out the members of their household and stuck them on the house.  It was really interesting to see how the kids view their families.  For example, most of the kids with a baby sibling put the baby with mommy.  (The exception being Colin, who put the baby with daddy.)  We actually had so much fun with the felt, that I think we are going to get Colin a little felt board for Christmas.  

We made a patch of playdoh for Colin birthday party and it was fun and the kids really enjoyed it so I decided to make up a second patch for the party.  I didn't like how the first one smelled, so I added lavendar essential oil to the second patch.  It came out awesome! The kids had a good time laying with it.

We closed with Three Bill Goats Fluff and our circle time songs.

It took a lot more energy than I had anticipated, but the kids did great and we had so much fun!

The Play Room

I am in love with our house's slow but steady evolution into our home.

Today, we will visit the room that should rightly be called "The Dining Room."

"Dinning Room" Today

Only, it's not a dining room.  If I use it's history, I suppose I could more accurately say 'fun room.'  But it currently goes by 'play room.'

When we moved in, or at least when we toured our house, it was a dinning room.

But we quickly decided that we didn't really need a fromal dinning rom.  Our kitchen is huge and we decided it would be a much better place for us to eat.  So we turned it into a Game Room!

We quickly made a few other changes, we tore out the carpet and painted it to be more 'game feeling.'

For a long time, it stayed this way.  It was home to Gavin and my rockband, as well as where I curled up playing elder scroll games during a few very difficult weeks.

Then somebody came along and it took a whole new direction!

Colin needed a place to play and grow and the game room became the play room.

But spending hours and hours in that room, the color really started to wear on me.  It wasn't a play room color, it was too dark and too serious.  So last week we made the latest revision!

 

There are still things we'd like to do, but the color made a huge difference in the feel of the room.

I know this room isn't done with it's evolution.  More than any other room in our house, it will need to grow and change with the needs of our family.  It will probably be a game room again, who knows, maybe it will even be a dining room again one day!

In the meantime, it's host to hours and hours of fun and play.

Our bedtime Routine

It's impossible for me to think that someday I might not remember the details of our go to sleep ritual.  It's such a integral part of our lives right now.  It's something we do twice a day, every single day with Colin.

First Our Book: Snuggle up Sleepy Ones.

"The Sun paints the sky a soft glowing red it's time to stop playing, it's time for bed.  In soft swampy mud baby hippo so snug, cuddles up close for a big hippo hug.  Through wild waving grasses shy antelope roam.  It's been a long day their ready for home. Bold leopard cubs rest from practicing roars, they snuggle together all tired tangled paws.  While up in the tree tops birds twitter and cheap, until quieter and quieter they fall fast asleep.  Below in their nests baby porcupines all curl up snug and tight in one spiky balls. Mischievous monkeys shout down from the trees, "It's not really dark yet five more minutes please!" The zebras lie panting tired out from their play, they sink into sleep as the sun slips away.  The moths go but fluttering the bats flitter by, the elephants rumble their deep lullaby.  The shadows grow deeper the lion cubs doze drowsey heads nod little eyes start to close.  Stars twinkle brightly the moon softly gleams, snuggle up sleepy ones, good night and sweet dreams.  

Then Our prayer:

"Dear God, thanks for the sun, thanks for the moon.  Thanks for my house and thanks for my room.  Thank you for my mommy, and daddy and brother, and thanks for a family that loves one and other. Amen."

And finally our song:

"You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are.  You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are.Why are you so bright? So that you can find your way in the night night night, why are you so bright? So that you can find your way in the night.  You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are. You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are. And your belly does glow, so that you can find your way home home home. And your belly does glow, so that you can find your way home.  You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are.You're a bright little bug and I love you, yes you are yes you are yes you are. Why are you orange and green?  So that you can find your way back to me me me. Why are you orange and green? So that you can find your way back to me.

Having a bedtime routine has been awesome.  Colin knows it means it's time to sleep and it gives everyone a chance to wind down.  I also love the cuddles.

After much debate, we've decided to try a new routine with Alex.  I don't have his as fully memorized yet, but it will start with the book I love you as much, then the same prayer and finally the lullaby that I used to make his rooms wall decor. (Photos to come!)

Someday my boys won't need or want me to read and sing to them, but in the meantime, it's one of my favorite parts of the day.

A Beautiful Mess

Last years MOPS theme was A Beautiful Mess.  It's a perfect theme because life with kids, especially babies, is exactly that.

Over the weekend we had an impromptu toddler playdate at our house.

A Beautiful Mess, indeed!

There is nothing quite like the sound of more than one toddler melting down at the same time... but there is also nothing quite as beautiful as the sound several babies all laughing together, combined with the sound of little feet slapping on the floor.

This life isn't for everyone.  It's always loud, rarely clean, sometimes frustrating and frequently exhasuting, but I am so, so, grateful I get to live this beautiful mess!

A Day for Daddy

Things are still chaotic around here.

So Father's Day this year was a laid back event.

Although that picture is a lie, daddy only got to relax for a few minutes in the middle of the chaos that is adjusuting to our growing family.

Thank you daddy for loving our relaxed celebration at home.  There are too many things to thank you for to list them all here.  We love you and we are so very lucky to have you!

How Does your Garden Grow?

Summer must be here, the tomatoes have arrived!!!

So far, the Garden is doing fantastic.  Last year's plant that we left is huge and already producing some delicious tomatoes!

It is a little weird though, because they look like heirlooms (they aren't, at least to my knowledge) and the bottom of them are a bit... well, strange.

 I think it looks like it's giving birth to a little baby tomato.  Weird.  But they were delicious so I didn't worry about it!  I suspect it might have been because it took so long for them to ripen.  The rest of the green tomatoes I see on the plant don't seem to have these anomalies.

Colin is enjoying the garden so far, especially eating tomatoes.  He wants to pick all of them though, so we are working quickly on the difference between red and green!

Look how much it's grown already!!

Looking forward to an entire summer of yummy homegrown tomatoes (and by the looks of it, even some peppers!!)

Garage Sale

Last weekend we decided to participate in the Ladera Garage Sale.  We mostly were using it as a motiviation to get some project done around the house.  It seemed to go well, but mostly we had an awesome time with our little helper!

"Step Right up!"

Supervising

Sometimes I'm amazed at how much more fun Colin can make less than appealing tasks.

Easter Part I

We had quite a busy Easer weekend!  Gavin's parents made a surprise trip to visit and we were busy enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

On Saturday, we attended an Easter Egg Hunt at Holy Trinity.  Colin loved it!!  Before we left, I showed him how to put a plastic egg into his basket and he really took it!  As soon as we set him down in the Easter Egg Hunt area he ran straight to an egg and ran back and put it in the basket.  It was so sweet and so much fun to see him excited about his task!

He did take a few quick breaks to investigate the decorations and give kisses to the bunny.

  

Saturday night we attended the Easter Vigil Service and on so on Sunday morning we didn't have anything to do but play and enjoy the surpises from the Easter Bunny!

This picture reminds me of his face from last year!!

Whoa!

It cracks me up how much the kid liked collecting eggs!  He never stops surprising me.

He got a new desk for Easter.  Here he is completeing his first official tasks:

Opening a present

Analyzing data reports (or stickers)

His favorite egg had a chocolate cookie in it.  Yummy!

Happy Easter!