pre bday

Exactly two weeks ago, right before spring break started, we celebrated Keaton's birthday with his class with blue cake robot cupcakes.  I couldn't find robot plates, so I made some with pipe cleaner antenna which Keaton thought was so funny.  He was also so excited for blue cake ;)

He added his candles to his cake at circle time and then transferred his class photo from the 3 to the 4, which he was excited about.  He counted birthday candles, and built robots out of foam blocks - all birthday kick off favorites!

He wore his birthday crown all day!

Since the celebrating was already in gear and daddy was out of town, I kept everyone happy with an early birthday present, a lion castle!

more great

Great Wolf hosts a ton of fun kid's events like dance parties, story times, character meet ups, and their big clock tower show where according to Keaton, "The robot animals come alive and sing!"  They have a pass you can buy where it lumps in a bunch of fun stuff including game passes, candy stations, and even a make your own stuffed animal spot.  The birthday boy made a red dragon!  The huge arcade was a really fun treat on his real birthday too.

great magis

The MagiQuest was created with kids like ours in mind. They were sold on it the minute they found wands in their favorite colors with matching dragon toppers.  You can buy so many different toppers that hold different powers (your kids will somehow intuitively know what these powers are and parents will be left to follow them around, hoping they don't get frustrated because you won't really know how to help, because you know less than they do about what's going on...) But I digress, since the boys loved following the different quests to earn runes to then take on a challenge battle with a dragon, a troll, or a pixie. You start at these quest trees full of screens where you select what you hope to accomplish with a weak set of clues in your mission book.  Keaton mostly followed his brother and pointed his wand at everything, earning a lot of gold by opening treasure chests along the way.  He also loved the animatronic animals you could activate with your wand - because who doesn't love dancing squirrels or talking raccoons.  But even with that strategy, he did manage to advance from Jr Magi to Magi, while Aiden defeated both the red dragon and the goblin king to become a Senior Magi.  I was betting that J would've been sold on this all too, but instead he took care of a tired, water parked out Keaton while I helped Aiden stay patient and truck down the corridors and tall stairs an obscene number of times. It was definitely a huge lesson in perseverance for everyone and a huge sense of accomplishment for Aiden especially. Our Magis are ready to go back for more quests and I'll be sure to bring my comfy shoes.

great water

I have a feeling we are right at the beginning of the water park years around here, and these water rats are ready.  They provide floats or life preservers for kids Keaton's age, but wearing it gave him the freedom to go down the big slides by HIMSELF!  Aaahh!  He was only allowed to go on his own, and when I went ahead of him I was sorta freaking out as I gained speed. I couldn't believe that the slide attendant was going to let my BABY slide down that big slide on his own.  Turns out my big 4 year old flipped around backwards somehow on his first ride, but he was hooked.  He loved slipping down super fast and I didn't even need to catch him at the big splash at the end after the first couple of rides. He also loved giving me a thumbs up at the top of the tiny slide in the kid's area. The lazy river was a big hit with everyone.  J and Aiden went on all the other big slides, and loved the big toilet bowl effect on the Hurricane tube.  The big play area had a big bucket on the top that periodically dumped a huge batch of water, which Keaton thought was hilarious.  I really liked giving the big wave runner that was just like the now on our cruise many moons ago. I managed to balance on my knees again, J flipped over on his back and recovered, and even Aiden had a chance to ride this time.  Most of the time I didn't have my camera at the water park, but here are some snaps.

great wolf

Within a half hour of arriving at the Great Wolf Lodge, we had two howling wolfie boys that were thrilled.  The boys got their requisite wolf ears and Keaton even asked to be painted like a blue wolf.  They checked out all the peep/mike and ike candy art.  Then once they peeked through the window at the water park they were ready for their swim suits!

mary wash

We stopped in FredVegas on our way to Williamsburg for second part of the break.  We caught Mary Washington in action with students and tours galore.  I took my last peek at Seacobeck (the dining hall) before it closes in a few weeks for good - sad face, it feels like the end of an era! We ran into a Dean that gave me a big hug and made me feel like I just left campus - when in reality it's been 14 years!  The changes in 14 years are amazing… but it still feels familiar.  We had lunch at the very familiar Sammy Ts and dark chocolate Carl's milkshakes for everyone!

sci museum

We continued our kickoff to spring break with a visit to the Maryland Science Center. We caught the planetarium show called We Are Aliens that completely sold Aiden. Those shows are really well done on that huge dome screen. Aiden had been talking about the bed of nails since the last time we were there and he thought it was "too crazy" - but this time he jumped right in line and giggled as all the nails raised and lowered him off the table.  The rest of the pictures speak for themselves.

happy bunnies

A little bunny ear action to add some Easter cheer - Happy Easter!

eggies

These big boys decorated eggs pretty much all on their own.  There were a few cracks, but they were excited to take charge and let me sit back and enjoy.  They were excited by how bright the colors they combined became. They used the extra dye to paint some paper towel, which has become a tradition.  Otherwise, we'd need a lot more than two dozen eggs!  Keaton was amazed by the wax resist from "the invisible crayon" that they used to add some letters and designs.  They were also pretty happy to eat up the eggs after peeling them themselves.  

visionary

The A mercian V isionary Art Museum - where to begin on this place... I'd read people talk about how it was their favorite museum in the world, and that is going pretty far, but it's a cool place.  They don't let you take photos in most places, but you can see that it's a feast for the eyes.  The coolest no photos part were these sculptures that moved when you pressed buttons - it was like a menagerie of robotic art - dragons, boats, animals, runners...a huge lineup of them.  The outdoor courtyard and the shiny bright building were neat.  The gift shop was full of curios and chotzskies and hats!  The boys both picked funny hats. K's with what he calls tentacles. A's hat has a bright idea light bulb on top.

interview with KC

Happiest of fourth birthdays to this super spy, battler, helper cleanup guy, egg dipper, apple eater who really wants strawberries, super speed swing champ, wolfie guy...who likes to give himself names like all those above.  We love you!

One word to describe you would be: 

Cleanup

Why do you like being a kid?

Because people think I'm cute

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

Cheetah because they are fast and I like fast

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

This is a story that you will recognize, you know when we played laser tag and you were on the blue side and we all got points from you!

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Play because it's fun as easy as 1-2-3

What do you love most about your sibling? 

When he doesn't hit back

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

Cleanup toys or a mess

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

Playing imaginext

What is the grossest thing you can think of?

This is a thing that you haven't knowed - I haven't say it yet - it's barfing!

What is your happiest memory? 

The place we are just at (G reat W olf Lodge Williamsburg) and I liked how we got sprayed by that big water bucket - me and mommy together!

egg hunt

It was a treat to get a hug from the Easter bunny, run through the new mini maze, pet the farm animals, and nab some easter eggs at the Sully egg hunt.  It's become a mini tradition to get the cousins together to do this, but this year someone invited the wind and it was coooold.  Turns out it's tricky to carry your Mickey Easter egg basket and wear mittens… Keaton would like you to know that.  We thawed out over a yummy early dinner at Eggspectations...

bubble

This W ubble bubble is a hit.  It starts off tiny and eventually can grow to over 3 feet.  We haven't even maxed it out yet, because we plan to bring out the big bubble for Keaton's birthday party.  In the meantime, I'm hopeful it doesn't pop before then - it's supposed to be pretty hardy….but the Brennan bros will test that out.

literacy night

Aiden's school hosted a Heritage and Literacy Night.  The gym was packed with families offering food and information about their cultural heritage to kick off the evening.  The playground was also packed with lotsa kids burning off steam (the gym was toasty!) before the classrooms opened to showcase all the kid's hard work.  They showed us all of their writing and some fun art projects.  Aiden's journal was  my favorite part with some really awesome stories.  The art, music and gym teachers were also there highlighting all the fun projects.  In Aiden's class the kids have created an elaborate town out of paper (on the top left).  The boys loved the animal matching in the cabinet outside the office (bottom right) while dad ran to get the car in the rain.  

brunch

A good weekend starts with brunch at Ted's with old friends. Our littlest friend had his first Mr. Breakfast and even put the pancake face back together for my picture.  We headed to the playground afterward to run off the treats, and the frogs were singing to us.  We headed down to see them up close and everyone eventually spotted them.

chalkers

Continuing in my denial of the cold temps and wind outside the window right now, here are some chalk drawers enjoying the 70 degree weather that snuck in earlier this week. Keaton made a chick all by himself and helped color in the bunny he asked me to make for him to copy Aiden's bunny.

cya winter

Supposedly there were snow flurries last night after a beautiful 70 degree day yesterday, but we're just going to ignore that and say a big see ya later Winter - catch ya next year!


Winter from LB on Vimeo.

J would like me to add this reference:

buddies

Keaton has a best buddy at school.  The kind of buddy that he asks to see and tells me lots of stories about... They share a love of just about everything, but especially making everything into a sword.  They congratulate each other on building the tallest marble tower.  They chit chat about super guys and ninja turtles while lounging in the reading corner.  They chase after each other on made up obstacle courses on the playground.  They pull each other in the wagon.

Keaton's teacher said it best: "My very favorite part of teaching 3- and 4-year-olds is witnessing the development of those first true friendships outside of family and family friends.  I just love to see it – they are so delighted to share the love they’ve learned about from you, their parents, with their new friends.  So, I’m thrilled that A and K are experiencing that intoxicating feeling of having found a friend!"

good list

More good stuff in spring!

Lemon pudding cupcakes to donate to the cake walk at the Spring Fling at A's school - there were four batches and two were gone in the first hour, so some kids must love lemon as much as I do ;)

This fast melting snow on the first day of spring makes the good list because it didn't cause any major trouble.  No school closing, no delay, no shoveling… you are good snow.

School projects are really fun for this guy.  He took charge and finished his seven page prairie dogs report by filling in facts from his favorite Pebblego online "research" site.  I was charmed that he picked feefers as his animal all on his own!   The were studying shapes and their reflections, etc in their big geometry unit for his math pull out group.  He put together a big reference sheet of all his info.

Keaton trying to play chess against the dinosaurs while we wait around for Aiden to finish ice skating.

The neighborhood kids are into Pokemon so it was inevitable that we'd eventually have more than a few that came in birthday presents. He spent all his tooth fairy money on a big pack, and now has enough cards that he can now play the actual game.

I have been buying way too many tshirts lately, especially on shirt woot!  It was like my summer dreaming spilled over into tshirt buying.  My favorites are the hedgehogs.  J actually found that 'just share the hedge' one for me, so he's supporting my habit.

I've been volunteering in the art room at Aiden's school. I have fun getting my hands dirty for the very nice teachers.  I cut a bunch of clay and cleaned up all those paint bottles the other day!

Dreambox in the dark after a tired little brother goes to bed.  He really concentrates on those number lines!

A's piano teacher gave him a big batch of really old printer paper, which he thought was just the coolest.  He says he's going to us it to make birthday banners, and not just huge messes.

school is cool

Pet week meant visits from new family friends, including this cute puppy guy... Keaton will tell you how much work a doggie friend is now, so that was a nice reality check from learning about pet care ;). Keaton always tells me about the small group activities and I think making patterns is his favorite.

Keaton looooved dinosaur week.  They made volcanos on paper, created 3D dioramas, and even erupted a volcano they made out of play dough.  Shrieks of glee erupted along with that baking soda and vinegar!