March Wind

Last week we had some more fun in the March breezes. This time our wind catcher was one of those parachute guys. Kaitlyn also had fun with some driveway marking sticks and the broom. She chose those over all of the bazillion toys in the garage. Go figure!

Indoor Egg Hunt

Last week we had the first indoor Easter Egg hunt of the season. Kaitlyn and Diego found all of the eggs and togther they looked at the picture cards inside and identified which letter each one started with. After reading a few of our Easter books, she now knows that the eggs are supposed to have candy inside so I think next time I'll have to fill them with jelly beans.

Purple Day

Last Wednesday was "Purple Day" at our house. We dressed in purple, made purple-spotted pancakes for breakfast (blueberry) and drank grape Kool-Aid. We listened to "The Purple People-Eater" song while we mixed red and blue paint to make purple and then finger painted with it. We read some Barney (the purple dinosaur) books and watched a Barney movie. And then we sponge painted a picture of Dora's backpack and a tulip purple. We had peanut butter and grape Jelly sandwiches and grape jello for lunch. Grandma Jo stopped over after work and surprised us by bringing some purple balloons, since she felt bad because she wasn't wearing purple. These color themed days are some of the most fun days that K and I have at home. And she's got the Spanish word "morado" down pat as well.

Easter Eggs & Jelly Beans

Last Tuesday, Kaitlyn and I spent the morning doing activities and crafts with an Easter theme. First, I hid a bunch of picture cards in a tote filled with Easter grass. Kaitlyn had to find them and then decide if they started with the "/b/" sound or not. If they did start with "/b/" then she put them on the Bunny, otherwise she tossed them aside.

Next we did hopscotch while shaking easter eggs that were filled with jelly beans.

Then we did two flannel board stories that had to do with Easter Eggs. And lastly we did a Jelly Bean craft where we put a Easter Egg cutout in an empty shoe box and then dipped eggs in paint and then put them in the shoe box and then shook it up. It made for an "egg"-cellent morning!

Swimming with my Best Buds ...

Last week, Kaitlyn found the newest additions to our Beach dramatic play box - goggles and a snorkel! She had fun "swimming" with Woody and Rescue Pack.

Wedding Day

Last Saturday my brother Timmy married the love of his wife Mary and the Alt family gained a wonderful new member. Jeff sort of became the "Master of Ceremony" and he was busy the entire day, starting at 9:30am. Kaitlyn and I met him at the church at noon to get some family pictures taken. Kaitlyn was excellent; we brought along the portable DVD player and a new Diego movie and she was set until we had to leave the church and then be seated by the ushers.

My friend Caitlin took this cute picture of K & I after the wedding.

The wedding was beautiful; the cathedral is simply breathtaking, as was the bride. Kaitlyn thought she looked like Cinderella! After the wedding Kaitlyn took a shorter than I had hoped nap and then we headed back the reception. Dinner was excellent. Instead of cake, we got brownies - Kaitlyn's favorite. My Dad gave a beautiful speech, as did my older brother Jason. And then the fun began. I brought Kaitlyn to the dance floor to check it out while it was still empty and we noticed that the DJ had a whole box of props including hula hoops. We asked him if we could play with them and he said "Sure!" Before long, the dance floor was full of little girls doing all kinds of tricks with hula hoops. Kailtyn's favorite prop to play with was a set of pom poms. The Disco ball above the dance floor made it look like there were spots on the floor and Kaitlyn thought it was a riot to use the pom poms as mops and pretend to sweep the floor clean. She did that until it was time for the First Dance and then the rest of the night, everytime I brought her to the dance floor, she wanted to do the same thing - regardless of how full the dance floor was ... and it was packed. Kaitlyn and I left around 9pm; my poor peanut was pooped. Jeff stayed till the very end and helped clean up - thanks so much honey! And congrats, Tim and Mary. We wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Second Best ...

The night before my little brother's wedding, he hung out at our house and had fun playing with Kaitlyn. At one point my Dad was rehearsing his speech and it brought my brother to tears. Leave it to sweet Kaitlyn to lighten the mood and help to get Timmy's mind off of the wedding. Although Mary has captured Uncle Timmy's heart, we know that Kaitlyn holds a piece of it too. She doesn't mind being "Second best!"

Birthday Party - Take 2

We rescheduled Elisa's party for Friday night since they never made it to Michigan for the party that was supposed to be on Wednesday. So most of my family got back together for a meal, cake and presents to celebrate Elisa turning one.

Playtime with Elisa

It was great to have Jason, Annabelle and Elisa stay with us this past weekend. This is only the second time that we have gotten to see Elisa since she was born and we were honored that she got to spend her first birthday with us (Friday). When we saw her at Christmas she was just learning to crawl. I am amazed at how fast she can crawl now. She isn't walking yet, but pulling herself up on everything. We borrowed a "baby fence" and put most of Kaitlyn's little toys inside a fort for her. She retreated there many times as Elisa was very curious and always wanted to do what Kaitlyn was doing. We did manage to find some things that they could both play and it was great to see the two cousins together.

Rehearsal Dinner

Thursday afternoon my brother and his family finally arrived from New York, just in time for rehearsal. The wedding was to take place at the St. Andrew's Cathedral down town, and what a beautiful church it is. While rehearsal was going on, Jeff and Kaitlyn had fun playing catch on the stairway outside the church so that I could pay attention as to when I was supposed to go up and read. Kaitlyn also got a new Diego backpack full of art supplies so she had fun coloring while she waited for rehearsal to finish.

The bride and groom . . .

After the church, we went to the Main Street Pub for a delicious dinner. Kaitlyn and I had fun playing Polly Pockets and Diegos on the floor. At one point Kaitlyn went up to Timmy and Mary and asked them if they wanted to see a trick. They said sure and then she proceeded to stand on one foot for a few seconds. She was so proud of herself and they and the rest of the wedding party thought it was hilarious. We didn't get many good pictures at the church or restaurant but we did have a great time at both.

Rehearsal Dinner . . .

Kaitlyn - The Mechanic?

Last year on our way to Gymnastics one day, the doors at a local mechanic shop were open and I pointed out to Kaitlyn that she could see a car up on a lift and men working under it. Now, every time we go to Gymnastics, she asks if the doors are open at the garage so she can see more cars. Since its still pretty cold out, the doors have always been cold. But after Gymnastics last week, I decided that we would stop at the Garage and go inside and see if they minded if we just looked around. We opened the door to the Service Dept and Kaitlyn was so excited with the view. There were at least 10 cars/vans/trucks up on lifts. Her eyes lit up. I waited in line and then asked the worker at the desk if it was okay if we just looked around from a distance and he said sure. So I did my best at describing to Kaitlyn what she was seeing - although I am definitely lacking in the "car mechanic terminology". Right away we saw a mechanic working on a tire. Kaitlyn thought it was neat watching him spinning the tire on a machine. There were many vehicles with their tires off but by looking at the hub cap of the tire the man was working on, Kaitlyn was able to match it to the vehicle. And sure enough, shortly there after, the mechanic wheeled the tire over to the matching vehicle. How is that for paying attention to detail. I didn't even prompt her to do it; she just said, "Mommy .. that tire goes to that van." Kaitlyn had fun mimicking the "bazzzooooooop" sound of the tool that the mechanic used to fasten the tire back on the car. We saw vehicles get lifted up and back down again. We saw men working under cars and under hoods. Surprisingly, it was a super fun 20 minute impulse field trip and I think we might actually try and schedule a more organized tour of the shop this summer as Kaitlyn certainly was entertained and excited during this short trip. Thanks to the Tolman staff for letting us look around and for answering some of our questions! :)

My "Jumping Bean"

Kaitlyn's leg seemed to get better and better with each day last week so I went ahead and took her to Gymnastics. I was careful to catch her on most of her jumps so that she didn't aggravate the already sore foot/leg/whatever it was. She had a great time with Miss Jenn and the rest of the girls, as always.

Doing "Butterfly" stretches ...

Making a "Slide" . . .

Doing "Hip Circles" and "Peek-A-Boos"