Musician in the Making

     I'm a firm believer in the fact that creativity fosters language development in children along with a better ability to express themselves. That being said, I work with one year olds and to go along with my previously stated belief I frequently let the kids play with a variety of art supplies (they LOVE paint!) and once a week they have some time to freely play with the rhythm instruments.

     Like the rest of my kids at school Froggie LOVES when the instruments are out but seems to have a hard time deciding which one to play with!

Decisions… decisions...

A Saint Patty's Celebration

     After this morning's 5K and some relaxation this afternoon we headed over to our church's Saint Patrick's Day party. There were irish dancers, music, and corned beef and cabbage (the kids had hot dogs of course) as well as auctions/prizes.
     Big Brother was SO excited to wear his new green hat an he had a ton of fun watching the dancers and then dancing for the rest of the evening. He didn't want to leave when the party was over! We also took home some prizes from the chinese auction, Big Brother won an Iron Man figure while Froggie won a princess bag and I took home a basket with candles, soaps and sprays.
     The party was a lot of fun and it was fun to watch the kids while they danced and ran around!

Green tongue!

Showing off his fancy new outfit

Watching the Irish dancers

Watching the Irish dancers

They really liked watching the dancers

Wearing her brothers hat

I actually ate this… 

She decided to do her own hair!

Improvising after we realized we forgot her cup

Some AWESOME dance moves - sorry about the turn at the end

I don't know where he came up with these but I love it!

Tumbling, Bunnies and Music… OH MY!

     We started out our Saturday as usual, we packed everyone up and headed to the Y for tumbling. This time around it has been a "parent free" class since kids were struggling to focus when their families were sitting against the wall. I popped in towards the end of his class to check on him after he fell off the bar, but as you can see he was just fine.

Back on the bar

Climbing

     Then we had a snack and headed off to play with some bunnies! Every year a local photographer welcomes some bunnies into the studio to take some pretty unique pictures for Easter. Both kids fell asleep on the way there but weren't too grumpy when the woke up, especially once they met Mr. Checkers! They had fun playing with the bunny and having their pictures taken. I'm not sure what Big Brother liked best, playing with Mr. Checkers or the big bunny cookie he got when it was time to go!

Yummy cookies!

     When we were done with pictures we weren't ready to head home just yet so we took the kids into our local music store. It had been a long time since I'd been in there and it looks quite a bit different but the kids were really excited. Big Brother and Froggie both loved looked at the drums. Froggie found a pair of bongos while Hubby set Big Brother up on an electronic drum set. He did surprisingly well and decided he wanted to take a pair of drumsticks home. Both kids also picked out a shaker shaped like an egg. 

     We've also been looking into enrolling Big Brother in lessons so that he can actually learn to play an instrument. He has such a love for music and all things creative so we toured the building and showed him some of the instruments that he would be able to play now. He showed some interest in the keyboards but it didn't last and he played with the drums for awhile. he was pretty interested in most of the brass instruments but they're a little too big for him at this point (and if he wants to learn later I still have trumpets and books from when I was in middle and high school). He seemed pretty interested in the violin and stated that he thought he would like to play one. So we filed that away and came home to show him some videos of kids and adults playing the violin. He still seemed pretty excited so I started looking into where he could take lessons. Nothing is set in stone and he may change his mind between now and this summer but it looks like he may be starting violin lessons in may!

Playing the bongos

playing on the set

concentrating

He loved it!

Disney On Ice

     Wednesday night we took the kids to Disney on Ice. It was a gift for both kids because of when it fell, we had given the tickets to Big Brother on his birthday and Froggie's birthday is this coming weekend.

Our tickets

     We left a few minutes later than I had wanted to and pulled into the area where the parking garages were about ten minutes before the show. Hubby and I decided that Big Brother and I would get out and walk in to the arena while Hubby and Froggie would park and then join us. Big Brother and I got inside, waited in line to have our tickets scanned and then waited a little bit for Hubby but he hadn't come in and I was starting to get worried that we wouldn't be seated when the show started so we went to our seats. 

The view from our seats

Aladdin

Mickey, Minne and Snow White

the seven dwarfs 

Everyone watching

Snow White and the Prince

Excited for intermission

She made it to intermission!

     We were a little afraid of how the evening would go since the show didn't even start until a half hour before Big Brother's bed time and Froggie normally goes to bed within a half hour or so of him. They amazingly made it to intermission with no problem (although Froggie was starting to look a little sleepy). We had packed glow necklaces and light up toys along with drinks for both kids and that seemed to be helpful. At intermission I took Big Brother out to see if he would use the restroom and to look at the snacks and souvenirs. He had a hard time deciding whether he wanted a snack or a toy and eventually decided that he wanted a snow cone. After we waited in line for his snow cone he decided he wanted to pick out a toy for Froggie. Initially he wanted to get her the toy he had wanted (a sword) but then decided that she would like a stuffed Pascal (the lizard from Tangled). He did a pretty good job because she loved it! As soon as we gave it to her she squeezed it tightly and tried to chew on it - which, if you have a baby or toddler, you know it as good as saying "thanks, I love it".

Big Brother's snow cone

Froggie and her toys

Watching the princesses

Trying to get a picture of her smiling - I promise she did, a lot

Big Brother watching the ice skaters while Froggie nursed

My favorite part!

Cinderella

     A little bit after intermission Froggie got fussy and didn't want her cup, which she had already dropped on the people in front of us to accompany the spoon Big Brother dropped down there as well. I nursed her and thought for sure that she would fall asleep until the dragon started breathing fire and it got loud. Then she decided to pay attention again and play on my lap. After the show had ended we headed out for a potty break before heading home and Big Brother was SO tired. He got upset and asked again for a sword and in typical toddler fashion began to cry. Hubby and I talked with him and he was able to calm down and we came to an agreement that included buying the last sword on the table and taking it home with us. 

     We survived the cold walk to the parking garaged despite another melt down from Big Brother about having cold hands, thanks to the fact that he lost one of his gloves on the way in to the arena. After warming up the car and settling Big Brother in his car seat with a blanket we headed for home and I was certain that the kids would both fall asleep. Of course, Big Brother had gotten a second wind and was still alert and showing off his sword when we stopped for gas. Froggie passed out, as expected, and snuggled a little with Pascal before moving to bed.

Showing off his "dragon sword"

Froggie and Pascal

He HAD to take the sword to bed with him!

Repurposing the snow cone cup!

Saturday Night Fun

     Saturday night we headed up to Hubby's parents house to hang out with family. Hubby's sister and fiance are getting married this coming saturday and they came in a week early to make sure that everything was in order. While we were there Big Brother found our stash of instruments that is being stored there and had fun playing with my old trumpet. He wanted to bring it home, but we packed it back up and left it there to be played with another time.
     He actually did a lot better with it than I thought he would. Froggie also finally warmed up to Hubby's sister and let her hold her for a little bit. She even smiled! It takes a little bit, especially for an 8 month old who isn't familiar with you.

Future trumpet player?

Froggie and Aunt Amy

     Big Brother also went a WHOLE WEEK with no accidents and waking up dry! So to reward his amazing progress and remind him that he's a super hero he got an Iron Man figure! He played with him and his Spiderman figure for a little while but ultimately went back to his Cars. He's definitely in love with his cars... 

Showing off his surprise

He was really proud of himself!