little loving hands

This month was for a group supporting foster families.  It was a dream catcher and kaleidoscope.  I helped with the yarn wrapping, but the boys worked on all the rest.  

piano recital

I didn't want to forget to post Aiden's piano recital.  He worked hard to memorize and didn't even bring up any music for his first piece.  The whole group of students all contributed to the Peter and the Wolf suite by either playing a piece or speaking. Aiden had played nearly the whole thing for lessons, so it was very recognizable.  He got to play his favorite part - Peter fights the wolf - for the recital. We are grateful that my parents came to hear it all.

Piano Recital - memorized from LB on Vimeo.

pool is open

Pool season kicked off today!  These guys squeezed in two seperate visits to the pool.  The neighborhood band that kicked off the season was rocking out the pool noodle light saber battles.

art show

The school district holds county art shows and a few kids from each class get their work showcased alongside the high school work. Aiden's paper bag house and all its details was on display alongside all sorts of cool wire sculptures, baskets, and clay figures.

faces of the beast

The many expressions of the Beast... Roaring by accident, even roar sneezing, the usual...  They used the Fixer Upper song from Frozen while they tried to teach the Beast some manners (complete with a bag of fur that he threw chunks from while they encircled him and pretended to give him a makeover). There is a core group of these kids who have been together for six performances and they are all excited to move up to the bigger production.

this goof

When you think someone might be having trouble washing all the shampoo out of his hair at bathtime bc it stays this way on its own:

afyp fans

Big thanks to the family and friends that joined us for Aiden's Beast performance this weekend!  The AFYP directors and the whole red shirt team create such a great community.  Mr. Donovan is leaving and man o man, there were tears.  He's been directing Aiden for six productions and selfishly I'm so sad that Keaton won't have the same experience learning from him.  He showed his incredible generosity by sharing such kind words of encouragement and a giant pile of old Pokemon cards (nearly 500!) which just thrilled Aiden. He had given all the kids lucky enough to know him a better sense of self and confidence that they can do anything they set their minds to. He will be missed immensely, but someone said "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened. Thanks for the adventure - now go have a new one!" So true.

enchanted video

Enchanted Adventures from LB on Vimeo.

school is cool

The last week of preschool is upon us and the past three years at the coop are filled with so many memories... Oh man, more tears.

dave or buster?

PopPop was hosting a tour group from Ohio visiting DC and we met him on their dinner break at Dave and Busters. Within the first few minutes, Aiden won a stream of tickets taller than he is - and each was x2!  By the end of the fruit ninja winning spree, they had over 800 tickets which translated to a pack of Pokemon cards and a squish ball.  

When PopPop popped up the boys squealed like a celebrity just showed up and showed him the newest stream of tickets even taller than him!  It was pretty fun and those boys are amped to get back there as soon as possible.  Aiden likes to ask, which was your favorite mom Dave or Buster?  Dave claims to be the game guy and Buster the food guy ;)

wordfoto

Aiden's art teacher had some other classes make some fun graphic self portraits and then they converted them on this iPad app with words of their interests and passions.  Aiden and I have been having fun playing with photos on my camera roll too.  The photo in the top right is Georgetown's Riggs Library where the Provost hosted us for dinner this week - very cool space!

tidbits

The tricky weather lately has led to so many cancelled soccer practices.  But the sun shone through to dry the fields a bit and the kids braved the windy day for some fun kicks.

The Little Fingers Piano class is a great introduction to piano for Keaton. It's the same instructor as the little guitar class.  He's still practicing the violin too.  Aiden likes to tell people that "we're a musical family, but just kinda our mom" and Keaton likes that he's included ;)

This Dragonlogy game that goes with the book is a big hit. You collect transportation and bits of knowledge cards to move around the continents.

Keaton has mastered this nerf bow and arrow and can really get that nerf dart to fly.

treasure hunt

Way back right before it rained for literally 20 days straight we had scheduled a neighborhood event to celebrate Earth Day.  It was supposed to be a big party in the park with a food truck rally, dj, bounce house, face painting, recyclable art, and a treasure egg hunt (easter egg hunt in disguise).  Unfortunately, it ended up being cancelled twice, but the sky cleared just enough to dry the field and we finally squeaked in a smaller version of the fun.  It was a combination of the sun and the cupcake truck that brought out some big smiles in my cheetah and wolf.  It's a good day when these guys have a full face paint by noon.

picture day

This loony tunes on picture day with what he thought was the perfect coif to that hair. Practicing for picture day:

sweet tea

Keaton's class hosted a Mother's Day tea. We had story time with the book "Are You My Mother?" where the collective giggle over Snort was super sweet.  Then the kids taught us a sweet song and we all sang together.  Then it was time for sweet treats and gifts. Keaton painted "a sea with a otter with a big strips down his back."

treats

These boys of mine really pulled out all the stops for Mother's Day and I feel so grateful. Before we left on our mini trip, the boys woke up and made me peanut butter bread with a special heart cut out of bread on top. Then Aiden helped Keaton make a special card and he pulled out all the sweet cards he created at school.  The paper art card with a hedgehog and an otter peeking out from the bottom had a very sweet, carefully edited note and cinquan poem from writing time at school.  He also worked hard in computer class to pick just the right photos he knew I'd like and arrange them in Wixie. I can't say enough how much I love the paper flower bouquet that sweetly sits on my desk now.  J was on a trip and picked out this cool print, big bag (perfect to fill up with fiber), schnazzy miwalit, and Matisse book (which I'd forgotten how much I love).

eat treats

On Mother's Day we ate exceptionally well.  We snuck in breakfast at the hotel as they prepped the big traditional buffet, but we still had an omelet station and all the breakfast treats we could gobble up. The boys went swimming while I jetted back to the festival before our late brunch reservations. We found a Maryland version of our favorite Orso called Facci. They served giant mimosas and I had ravioli verde with this delicious pesto cream. It was fun to try something new, and we were so stuffed we saved dessert until later. We finally had a good excuse to try the Duck Donuts warm donut sundae. Yummo!

turf valley

We picked the Turf Valley Resort off the Festival website as the recommended place to stay near the fairgrounds. Check - indoor pool.  Check - a place to eat outside and play on the putting green before dinner arrives. Check - good drinks. Check - an early brunch on Mother's Day. Check - slightly updated 90s chic fixtures for kitsch.  Check - a memorable place to make some mini vacation memories.

sheep and wool

When J, the Stuff Guy, asked what I wanted for Mother's Day, me, the Experience Girl, thought I want a mini vacation...then I remembered that the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was sometime this month... and it turns out that some genius scheduled it for Mother's Day Weekend!  So we hatched a plan to leave after Saturday morning kid stuff for a quick drive up north to Friendship Heights to stay the night and visit the Festival twice!  

It is just full of interesting fiber related everything, music, story time, chatty sheep and as it turns out the best lineup of fair food - including the best and biggest eclair I've ever had. Story time in the late afternoon was the perfect break for little legs that really hung in there all over the fairgrounds.  The storyteller had this memorable tale about toaster waffles bigger than Keaton that functioned like the sun...  

I was on the prowl for chunky fibers that I could incorporate into tapestries similar to those at the Willette booth.  I came home with quite a haul of fiber including some little gifts (recycled sweater bunny and tiny wreath and a hedgehog needle bag), a lucet (cool wooden tool that the boys think looks like Maleficent and makes square braided cording), and a kumihimo loom (Aiden was actually really interested in learning how to do this), and hexagonal shaped knitting needles (dreamy smooth wood made in Michigan).  

interview with KC

One word to describe you would be: 

Nice

Why do you like being a kid? 

Because it's fun and you get toys

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? 

Tiger, because they are cool and colorful

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

Today when we were reading Are You My Mother? and they said Snort!

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Play imaginext and legos because they are fun together and apart

What do you love most about your brother? 

That he's nice because he helps me do stuff with stuff

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

Clean up my toys and give Mother's Day presents like the otter at sea painting

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? 

Um, play video games and just play stuff that I like, if I do have toys?

What is the grossest thing you can think of? 

Chewing with your mouth open

What is your happiest memory?

When Aiden helped get me up when I fell

happy mom's day!

A Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and people grateful for their moms today!  Random lessons from my mom that fit these random photos:

- Cross that bridge when you come to it.

- Never plant bamboo because you'll never get rid of it

- Just jump on and ride!

- Read!

- Always smile.

Love you Mom!

beast showcase

The AFYP Showcase is always a fun preview of their upcoming show. They sang their songs so we got to hear Aiden's little solo.  They had activity stations and let Keaton try out some choreography. Check out the face paints this year!

art by AB

So much fun art with these funny characters and line drawings from the Aiden-artmeister:

fun run

I'm getting a tiny bit nostalgic about Keaton "graduating" from preschool at the end of the month.  This will be our last Coop Fun Run with this group of kids that Keaton has grown up with... and as they all ran off from that start line I got a little emotional.  Keaton took off by himself and ran the whole way!

thanks mo!

Our proper thank you gave us the urge to tweet our favorite author and he liked it! Yep, I have Twitter just for that and I became "that person" who tweets thank yous at semi-famous people. Ha!  But I'm glad we have a way to send electronic fan mail ;). I hope Mo feels the love! 

5 min with mo

Today Mo Willem's published his last book in the Elephant and Piggie series - The Thank You Book! It's a big Thanksorama around here and I tried my best to not cry... tried. But the very first one was published the year Aiden was born, and now that long legged goofball read that last book to his brother under the READ poster he convinced Mo to sign at the Kennedy Center's Knuffle Bunny Show. Then both boys thoroughly enjoyed Gerald and Piggie coming alive in the Kennedy Center's We Are In A Play! Click those blue words for some flashbacks ;)

The last one... from LB on Vimeo.

hidden pond

Hidden Pond is one of the best field trips for a kid like Keaton and his love of everything creepy crawly.  The big draw is a chance to go "netting" off the dock where each scoop captures a variety of creatures.  Can't forget the huge collection of snakes too!

heritage and literacy

Aiden's school hosted Heritage and Literacy Night. We were welcomed by a gym full of families representing their heritages with food and displays. Then they open the classrooms to show off all their work. Aiden's poem about Mudpuppies was accompanied by a big research book where the "interesting facts" section was bursting at the seams. He was also happy to show us his paper art of a "community celebration" which was his birthday where he was drooling over his cake.

little loving hands

Our March and April Little Loving Hands boxes were fun and instigated good conversations with the kids about needy people. March was a comfort pack for families at a homeless shelter that included a stenciled no-sew pillow and a memory game with painted wooden hearts and stenciled bag. April was a grocery bag with pipe cleaner flowers to decorate it for the food bank. They suggested using hand prints and Aiden created this creative idea of an apple tree with his hand prints. He did such a great job making the pipe cleaner flowers all on his own, my crafty guy.