My Hoarder

 One of Victoria's nicknames is 'Hoarder'.  Ever since she was a baby (see below) she had to have something in her hands.  And it wasn't just one thing.  It was as many as she could hold.  As a baby it was socks.  Not it is all over her lovies.  She has to have her blanket, 2 monkey's, 2 Hello Kitties and as many small lovies.  She even has to hold onto them when I change her.  After awhile you can't even see her under the pile except for her bum to put on a new diaper.  Not quite sure what this personality feature means when she gets older.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

  Around here if one is doing something, you will find two others following.  And that doesn't always mean the twins are following Izzy.  Here's a sample of what this looks like.

 Tinker Toys are a favorite.  Coming up with designs to satisfy three of them is a bit of a challenge as we are constantly losing pieces.  I haven't quite thought of what to do when the designs become more intricate.

 You can put more than raspberries on your fingers.

Who's calling?

I was just grateful I had three hand held phones.  I went into the other room and called them from my cell phone which caught them all of guard.

Projects

 My project at home has been to get Izzy to get ready in the morning on her own.  To help avoid conflicts and quicken our morning routine, I developed a reward chart for her.  I took my own advice that I give parents at work.  Sure enough it works.  Izzy get a sticker for brushing her teeth and another one for getting dressed.  Once she earns 10, she gets a reward.  Since she's into My Little Ponies, I purchase a few which are sitting in the living room as a visual reminder.  After she earned her 1st 10 stickers, she picked Nightmare Mood and was very, very proud / excited.  Mornings are now alot easier in our house.

 A school project was to build a city.  The kids got to pick the theme and means to make the city.  They then brought them to school and had to present them in front of the class describing their city.  When Oma & Opa visited for Christmas, Opa helped out one night to create Izzy's 'Pumpkin City'

 Izzy an done of her best friends, Aesha.

This was another city that was out on display.  All were so very creative and fun to see.

Snow Fun

 Today was a glorious 50 degree day.  Since we've gotten several inches per storm over the past several weeks, there has been plenty of snow outside.  But it is quickly melting.  Before it was gone, we had some fun with the snow.  We were creative with food coloring and water making all sorts of designs.  It must have looked like fun because our two neighbors, Zoe & Fennell, came out quickly asking if they could join.  So back in to make a second batch of colored water for the 3 of them.

A few weeks back there was another period of 50 degree weather.  We went out an made a small snow man from what was left over before it all melted.

Tie Dyeing

 With this past Monday being President's day, daycare was closed.  I had to be creative to entertain the masses for a 3 day weekend spending most of it inside because of the cold weather outside.  One project was creating tie dye shirts.  After wrapping and dyeing them, we had to let them sit for 6 hours before looking at our creations.  I wasn't sure if this way would work so I was hoping it wouldn't be disappointing.

 I purchased an iron-on butterfly in the same colors for Izzy to decorate her shirt.

Modeling our finished projects.

Disney On Ice

 Tonight was a special treat for Izzy.  I took her to Disney on Ice with her good friend Leelah.  We've gone together for the past 3 years.  Since going to Disney World, Izzy has been very particular in asking when she will get to skate with the princesses again.  This year we were seated in such a good spot that we were feet away from the skaters.  Very fun to watch at this distance.  It made me think I would like to go watch the Olympic skaters.  Izzy also had a better appreciation for the skating since we've been watching the Olympics.

 Izzy and Leelah wearing their crowns and princess dresses.

A picture with mommy.  Her smile says it all!

Happy Valentine's Day

 A special thank you to Oma & Opa who provided the Valentine's Door decorations.  It took some explanation on what 'Be Mine' meant.  We also had to discuss who Cupid was and why would he shoot sharp arrows at someone to make them fall in love.  Izzy wasn't so sure she wanted to be in love because that would hurt.

 Izzy's class made Valentine's bags to put all their notes, treats and favors in from their friends.

 Starting on Monday, we were asked to write a note to our child and bring one in daily for them to read.  They spent the week learning about the postal system and how letters are mailed.  They practiced their public speaking skills by reading their notes (with the help of their teachers) out loud at school.  Then they displayed all the notes on the wall.  It was fun on Friday to read them all.  Here is the one I wrote to Izzy on Valentine's Day.

As part of their Valentine's Day party, they had music playing in the room.  At one point the song "What Does the Fox Say" came on.  Izzy is obsessed with this song and started to dance like the background dancers.  She knows every move.  For those of you who don't know this song, go to YouTube and watch it.  It's a song made from the children's book but done in such a unique way.  The groug (Ylvis) also stared on the Jimmy Fallon show this fall.  Once you watch it you will completely understand Izzy's dancing in this picture.

 As a special treat, we all shared a Valentine's mini cake that night.

Weekend Fun

 There is an indoor play area made for kids up to 5-6 years of age.  Izzy & I have been going there for years.  I have taken the twins there as well but have found it difficult for everyone to have fun since they are at different stages of development.  The babes would be in the fence in section which states no one under 2 years of age is allowed.  So I would either sneak Izzy in and make her be quite to not hurt anyone or draw attention to the fact that she is there.  Or she would have to play outside the fence by herself.

Today was the first time we all had fun in the big kid section.  They spent the most part in various push cars.  Victoria did the best with self pushing and turning her wheel.  Micah was along for the ride but giggled the whole time.  I was a game of who could catch who making all three have a good time.  This picture doesn't capture their smiles.  They weren't happy that I made them stop to 'capture the moment'.

This was the best push car I found.  None of them would fit the babes so I spent a good amount of time coming up with all sorts of ways to help push them in separate cars.  This one let me push the babes after Izzy which got pretty rowdy.

 This one just made me laugh.  These 2 spent a good amount of time 'talking' to each other at the phone booth.  The twin connection is so fun to watch.