Big Kid Room

     Tuesday Froggie made the move from the "baby room" to the 1 year old room at school. This meant a more structured schedule, no morning nap, planned academic/craft time, etc. that was a little more free flowing in the infant room, it also meant that she got a new teacher - me. She was a champ about giving up her nap and only got fussy when she got bored (right before we went to the play room) and when she was too tired at lunch. She was able to sit and pay attention and play with the "big kids" and she was able to do it all without climbing all over me. 

     This is a big deal since Big Brother has a hard time being in the same room with me and not being all over me. Speaking of Big Brother, he was SO excited to see that Froggie was in "The Blue Room", the snack room and the playroom. He's such a good brother but sometimes he takes it a little overboard. Here are some pictures from her first day in the 1 year old room. 

reading a book

Snack time! Mmmmm pears

A visit from Big Brother

Coloring a star

Froggie's star

passed out after her first day with the big kids. 

The Simple Things

     After work today we headed to the library as a family. Big Brother ran around saying he wanted to buy some books and had to be reminded that we borrow books from the library and have to take them back. He picked out 10 books and a movie and we had to read ALL of the books tonight before bed!
     We also made a pit stop at the craft store. Hubby and I wanted to look at some things and we noticed that Crayola supplies were buy one get one 50% off. So we picked up some new finger paints for Froggie and Big Brother got a GIANT coloring book. It makes me so happy that he is so excited by things like reading and art. Hopefully Froggie will love these things as well since we're going to be doing some craft nights in the near future!

Coloring books bring such joy!

Clowning Around

     Well, we're still a single car family and that means that between leaving work and picking up Hubby I have to entertain Big Brother and Froggie. We've been going to the zoo and looking at a few animals before playing at the play ground until either the zoo closes or Hubby is finished working. It's worked well and the weather has been beautiful... until today! A few days ago the temps were in the 80's and I'm pretty sure we didn't get out of the 50's. It was also pretty rainy and just wasn't good weather for an outdoor activity like the zoo.
     So we went to the library instead! Big Brother LOVES to read and I'm sure if he were able to just pick book after book he would have someone read to him all day! There are several books that he can almost recite verbatim and he will happily sit and look at a book by himself whether he knows the story or not.
     I had several books on hold for work and we had books to drop off as well. There were some issues with my holds and they hadn't arrived yet but Big Brother picked out 5 books for himself and probably would have picked out more if given the opportunity.
     When we checked out Big Brother was given a clown nose (which he was a little afraid of at first, until I told him Froggie was going to wear it anyway...) and a ticket. The ticket is good for a free children's ticket to the circus which is coming next month! We may or may not go depending on how things go with Hubby going to school, we'll have to wait and see.

Cutest clown I know!

Beating the Heat

     It's been pretty hot for the last few days and it's all over the news that the East Coast is experiencing a heat wave. So instead of coming straight home after work the kids and I strolled around the mall to enjoy the air conditioning.
    We tested out our "new" double jogging stroller and checked out a few stores. I found an amazing deal on shorts for the kids at The Children's Place. All of their clearance was an additional 60% off. This was actually pretty good timing considering how hot it has been and the fact that Froggie has been wearing dresses and onesies for the last few months.
     The jogging stroller worked great and will be nice for my next 5K and any others we do in the future. The only downfall to using it at the mall was that it was a little difficult to get through some of the displays in the smaller stores.
     After our mini shopping excursion I took the kids to the new Kidz Zone that was funded by a local credit union. It's really a very nice place for the kids to play and everything is padded and made of foam. Big Brother had a lot of fun but some of the kids in there were obviously not accompanied by a parent or were being minimally observed, which would be fine if they weren't almost 10 and running over little kids. Oh well, Big Brother liked to climb on EVERYTHING and then jump off of it. He was pretty well behaved and even played with some of the other kids.

Strolling in style.

Big Brother on a GIANT basketball!

     We went out to dinner and came home with enough time to get Big Brother ready for bed and read a few books before bed time. Froggie slept for a little bit in front of one of our fans and then had her squash. Tomorrow we will try a new food. We haven't decided on on carrots or peas but it'll probably be a last minute decision. She got a quick bath and played a little on the floor. She spun herself around and played with her toys for a few minutes before passing out on the floor under the fan.

Knowledge IS Power

     There are some things that are just too important to forget to do. In our family reading is one of those things! We try to read at least one book on a nightly basis. Big Brother has read "Brown Bear, Brown Bear" so many times that he can now "read" it to us!

     Normally Hubby reads Big Brother his book(s) while I feed Froggie. Tonight Froggie wasn't ready to eat yet and so she joined Big Brother in his comfy bed to listen to their daddy read to them. 

     I have big plans to hit up our local library's summer reading program for kids and to try to head to story times (though they all seem to be at 10am while I'm at work and the kids are at day care). The kids are both signed up to receive free age appropriate books every month through a program started in our county through the United way. 

     In terms of Hip Dysplasia there aren't many books about the subject, especially for kids. I have not read it yet but I did come across Hope. Hope is a hippo and her story is one about hip dysplasia targeted at a young audience. The book has only 5 star reviews on Amazon.com ! I plan on ordering it soon and will write more once it arrives.