field trip

I chaperoned on Keaton's field trip to Hidden Pond which in Keaton's words is a "really cool place for animals and us!" They had a chance to visit with some pond animals in the nature center and even touch a bunch of them.  The toad was a big favorite until it peed all over the place.  Then we took the kids all down on docks to scoop up some pond life with their nets.  They found tiny clams, snails, mosquito fish, and even tiny shrimp.

tidbits

Some random tidbits:

This is possibly Aiden's last ride in the turtle cart at the grocery.  Daddy long legs can only fit one leg inside and his head hits the top of the car.  Oh, those were the days…

Keaton is enjoying his music class although it's possible that he'd like to just sign up to be a racquetball sports fan… He loves watching the games through the second story glass window before and after class.

Great Poppie, the pool shark, was highlighted again on his nursing home Facebook page.  I thought these photos need to be archived on here - Look at that surprised expression!  He must have just sunk a shot in the left pocket.

Aiden is back on his bike after learning the fundamentals last summer - He's really fine tuned as we kick off this season.  He can kick off and stop without any trouble and his s curves and recovery are much quicker now.  He says he's pretty much ready for the mountain biking course ;)

Another 4 foot long puzzle is a big hit around here.  This one is trickier since a lot of the colors look the same, but they keep at it! 

more cuz

The last of the cousin pictures that I can't resist adding in to the mix.  The trips to get Aiden on the bus where a highlight for big vehicle lover Cameron!  One time the trash truck pulled up just as the bus pulled away, it was the height of excitement!

My sister brought her Vitamix for us to try and the recipe that she made was pretty yummy!  We joked about smoothies for daaays… and we'll have to make more next time.

Keaton is a very huggie guy and mostly learned when people would like to be hugged and when they wouldn't ;)

We went for a spin on our trikes on a really beautiful afternoon. Lizzie got an ab workout.

well well

Just in case you weren't already sure that everyone has WTF moments… Keaton decided to eat a nickel and it got lodged in his throat. Yep, after my initial disbelief as he simply told me that he "swallowed a penny" it was a little scary because he kept crying about how much it hurt and acting hysterical. As I tried to call the doctor, I popped him right in the car and drove straight to the ER. Turns out with little guys like him it doesn't always just make its way to the tummy where it just passes on its own. If it gets really stuck, they need to remove it with sedation and surgery. When we arrived he calmed down a bit but was still clearly uncomfortable, so they gave him an X-ray right away.  It showed up right away lodged in the lower part of his esophagus just about in the exact spot he was pointing and holding onto in his squirmy pain.

The doctor told me that this was her sixth case of a kid swallowing something in two days! It still doesn't make sense to me, and Keaton has no explanation for why he did it. He hasn't mouthed things here at home or at school in years, and wasn't ever really that interested in mouthing things even as a baby. My only theory is that there is a kid at his school that puts everything in his mouth (even licks metal rusting doors which gets Keaton all upset) and his mom really gets on his case about it - so I think it planted a really nasty seed of curiosity in Keaton's head?  It was just such a huge relief that after a little over 5 hours in the ER eating just popsicle and juice, they did another X-ray and it had made it's way into his stomach.  Hurray!  Everyone was relieved that he did not need to be admitted and deal with the surgery. I never realized what an ordeal it can be!  This guy, even in the womb, has a habit of giving us big scares, followed by a huge sense of relief. I do think he learned a good lesson and won't ever do that again.

IKEA

We dropped Keaton off at school and ran down to Ikea as fast as we could… It was Lizzie's first visit in many, many years, so naturally she joined the Ikea Family club.  We snuck in breakfast and lunch there, because we couldn't miss the meatballs!  Cameron was so excited by all the stuffed puppies and the giggles of joy were so fun!

portrait

We ate dinner with Uncle Woah at Shake Shack - double chocolate peanut butter shake yum! - and took a cruise over to the Portrait Gallery atrium. Cameron was a big fan of the dirt filled planters and the 'walk on water' fountain area…and best of all, trying to combine the two.

blue

We introduced Cam to the Play, Work, Build zone too.  They have a huge collection of the Imagination Playground pieces that are somewhat recognizable, since they have them at lotsa kids museums throughout the country (I wonder if these kids will have internet lists that say, 'you know you were a kid in the 10s' if you recognize these big blue building blocks...)

builders

The Building Zone was a hit. Any place with trucks and orange cones I knew would be a win for little Cameron.  The construction team worked together on projects Aiden created.  It was the best place for a little almost two year old mighty machines loving guy.

building museum

We went on the big choo choo (aka. the metro) to the Building Museum.  Keaton was thrilled to cruise next to his cousin buddy in the giant double jogging stroller because it's such a novelty and I think a pretty smooth ride. Cameron was pretty excited to march around the giant atrium as we got our tickets to the building zone...

liz n cam

My sister was in town for a few days and it was such a nice visit! Thanks for coming!! Cam is getting ready to turn two and he's at a fun age for some cousin bonding. My favorite is when he leads Aiden around by the finger.  We built lotsa forts, extended bedtime cuddles, piano picking, walks to see Aiden get on/off the bus (trash and postal truck bonuses!), and even dragon storytime with the gong!  More cousin adventures coming soon...

chalkers

We've been trying to grow new grass in our backyard, so we've setup shop on the driveway.  Lotsa chalk, and gifted gliders and Velcro catchers...

school cool

The past few at school have been all about spring!  Keaton now knows all about planting and rescuing worms. He spots flowers everywhere we go and will tell you about their seeds and roots. He shared his Great Wolf Lodge ears and showed off his howl.

party hardy

It's probably not a coincidence, but most of Keaton's buddies have spring birthdays. So we are really booked with some party fun for a while, and the boys are into it.  One party had a photo scavenger hunt where they had to get a picture of a squirrel.  No squirrel in his right mind was coming close to those rabble rouser kids, so they came up with this drawing on a hunk of wood as a solution. Smart, eh? Keaton thinks it isn't a party until the watermelon is cut.

doodlebot

This is a super fun robot present from Gran and Pop.  It's pretty neat all the different directions it will go. Fun to watch!  Thanks G and P, and especially Pop who worked on assembling it.

tidbits

Getting back to the groove after what seemed like a nice long break... Aiden started a new drawing class where they learned how to use guidelines, etc - check out that yummy looking sundae drawing.  He also joined this new improv group focused on Fables where he's really having fun.

These guys had so much fun at the fancy dentist with the motion sensor dancing in the waiting room and the tv in the exam room ceiling.

Aiden made this 3D wolf mask in art class - it got a little smooshed on his way home.  

Keaton joined a rec center variety zone class.  He just finished the first two classes which were art.  Next up is gardening which may actually be less messy than glitter glue.

Keaton was so happy with his cuddly new birthday toys - who knew iron man was so lovable?!

Aiden was fascinating Keaton as he explained the fancy way his teacher eats cupcakes - carefully removing the bottom half of the cake and putting it on top to make a sort of frosting sandwich.

talent show

This guy may be missing some teeth but he doesn't miss a beat...I'm making myself giggle just thinking about how he was the very first kid up on stage and he bounced out from back stage like a little ping pong ball. The crowd clapped as he gave a little salute wave as he marched right over to the piano, they would've never guessed that his rushed energy was nerves. This is the very first time he's ever told me he felt nervous. He played his Chariot Race piece (by Faber) better than I'd heard him play it all week. His teacher even came with a nice present to support him and was just as proud as we were.

soccer

This guy has been dying to get out on a soccer field since before he could walk.  He would play on the sidelines during Aiden's games and he was so excited it was his turn to get out there this past weekend.  The new coaches were part of the British league something or other and their accents mesmerized the kids.  Keaton was thrilled they called them Glactic Soccer Stars. They needed to stay in the field galaxy or their star would burn up!  In one drill, the cones were comets they needed to knock out of orbit by kicking them over with their balls.  They counted with soccer, one and run! Two and three were tapping their toes on the ball!  Four hit the floor was putting their tummy on the ball! Five was look alive!  Six was show me your tricks! Seven was send the ball up to heaven!   Then half the group threw on some giant orange jerseys and they played a very loose game.  Most of them love getting in to kick the ball but need to figure out which direction they are supposed to be heading. They really went for it, and "scored" a bunch with lotsa celebrating.

tinkersketch 2

I almost forgot to post the rest of the photos from the month long tinkersketch instagram challenge.

keaton 4.0

We were so grateful to have 25 kids and 15 adults join us at the park on a beautiful day to celebrate Keaton 4.0! My folks came this year and were a huge help!  The make your own robot magnets and fun robo guys on a stick were all created by my creative mom and she should be outsourced. Both of them were an immense help getting everything setup at the park too.  The robo kids were all most excited by the four piñata. Aiden had created a "welcome robot" out of foil and boxes. Keaton enjoyed introducing to his guests to his robot friend and the wubble bubble I drew robots on... It didn't survive the party, but it's guaranteed so we just send in for a new one ;). J worked hard on making all the robots out of juice boxes, etc and a cute robot cake with donut legs and arms.