In the Car

Our New Garden

Here is one of the many projects on the to-do list that is finally "done" (as much as a garden can be, that is).

We tried to let the kids help with everything... seeds in the dirt, labeling plots, transplanting...

We planted carrots, green beans and tomatoes (for now) and some sunflowers that Chloe wanted which we put along our back fence.  Hopefully we'll be enjoying food that we grew ourselves this summer!

A Long Walk

There's a sidewalk ramp a few blocks from our house that Evan is constantly requesting to go do jumps on.  So last night we did.

Chloe couldn't make it up this ramp by herself last year, but look at her now! 

 Evan did this jump dozens of times -- so proud of all the air under his tires.  He is so confident on a bike!

Tired guy taking a break for twenty seconds...

After lots of ramping they found a puddle on another block and proceeded to soak themselves till they were freezing. 

 Good thing we brought some sweatshirts along :-)

 They kept riding through with their eyes closed.  Evan was avoiding the splash waves he was creating.

 And Chloe was hiding her eyes from me and the camera.

Lots of laundry to be done later, as usual.

 Good times.  Cold, wet, tired, but still smiling kids.

Evan started a tradition years ago where on the way home, he would have our house in his sights and hurry ahead of me on his bike, ditch his bike in our yard and come running back to me.  Then I would run towards him with open arms and pick him up to swing him around and carry him home....  Chloe does it now too. 



Last night they ran to us, we spun them around and Todd carried them both home.

Random Snapshots

It's finally kind of nice outside and we're really enjoying it.

So Far This Spring

He::
 
*has wiped out on his bike (hard) only once so far
*has about a dozen bruises up and down his shins and a skinned elbow
*usually ends every day with no shirt on
*asks almost every day if he can use the hose
*has declared he will be the boy who never gets stung by a bee... ever
*plays outside till he wears himself out and collapses into bed
*is starting to actually sleep in (for the first time in his life)

She::

*has wiped out on her bike several times but has quickly picked up on Evan's way of saying "That didn't hurt" and going on with her ride
*is always sporting at least one band-aid at any given moment (paper cuts and hangnails account for most of these)
*has a giant scratch down her belly from falling on a big stick -- ouch :-(
*ends most days with no shirt on
*is usually in tears over nothing by five o'clock as we are still adjusting to not napping
*plays outside till it starts to get dark and yet still wakes up before Evan every morning

Blogger Problems

I was adding labels to some old posts and for some reason this one below (Swings) jumped up to be published today.... blogger issues.  Anyway keep scrolling down for today's REAL post.

Swings!!!

 Our backyard tree has one perfect low branch which used to hold the kids' baby swing.  It's been empty for years, and since the tire swing rope broke last fall it was time for something fun there again!

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Anyone who tried commenting anonymously or with openID and had trouble, I fixed my settings to allow that -- sorry for the trouble!!

Reading

The Bookshelf

 Evan is reading:

*Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
*Flat Stanley books
*Star Wars books (still) -- Todd has read them aloud and now Evan is re-reading them
*Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
*The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales (which he chose because of the title, obviously)
*I Can Read with My Eyes Shut by Dr. Suess (which he also chose because of the title)
*Bartholemew and the Oobleck by Dr. Suess -- Evan loves to read this really long book to Chloe
*Superman

Topics he is interested in:

*paper airplanes  -- these are all over the house
*volcanoes
*the space shuttle
*molecules -- we had a hard time finding books about this, but we finally got a few
*honeybees
*gemstones -- particularly the names that go with each kind
*muscle cars
*how engines work

Chloe is reading:

*Breyer Stablemates and other books about horses
*Big Bad Bruce and others by Bill Peet -- she loves to stack them all in a pile next to herself and flip through each one
*Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig
*Curious George
*Over in the Meadow by Olive Wadsworth

Topics she is interested in:

*dinosaurs
*horses
*snakes
*wild animals
*drawing and tracing animal pictures

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I used to keep up with the kids' reading interest with an ever-changing bookshelf list on the sidebar, but I've since realized that I have no permanent record of it that way.  So, I think I may do this sort of post monthly.  This is a good record of what "school" looks like here too since what we do is interest-based.

Motor Bikes

The kids both have spoke beads on their bike wheels.  They got them for their birthdays and have always loved them.  But just recently they were talking with their Grandpa who told them he used a clothespin and a playing card to make a motor sound on his back tire.  We had to see if this would work.

 

It does :-) 
I have tried to get this on video, but Evan is so fast it is completely pointless.

Playgrounds and Puddles

Blooming

The name, Chloe, means blooming, and she truly is.  Each day she is growing and becoming more of a big girl.  The road we've traveled with this child of ours hasn't been easy, but as I think over some of her recent changes I see that our world is opening up -- blooming right before our eyes.


*She doesn't scream as her first reaction to Evan's teasing anymore -- she uses actual words!!

*She stopped saying "ratherize" and now says "otherwise" -- we were actually saddened by this because it was so very cute and she said it all the time.  Her only baby-ish word left is "sawn" (as in "I haven't sawn this one before").

*She carefully chops her own apples slices into chunks with the sharp knife.

*She sets the table for dinner.

*She makes efforts to change things we ask her to (for example not poking her elbows into us when she climbs on for a cuddle -- she now climbs up carefully and says,"I didn't poke you with my elbows!") and she is so proud when she remembers.

*She brushes her own teeth in the morning and takes a turn with mom or dad helping at night without fighting at all. (oh, the years and years of fighting over this are finally over!)

*She grabs the tiny broom and dustpan when she sees crumbs or a pile of dirt on the kitchen floor.

*She flies down the sidewalk on her bike, keeping pace with her speedy brother, laughing and goofing together as they cruise along side by side.  No more need to yell "Wait!! Evan!!! Wait!!!!!" all the way down the block.

*She cleans up messes when she hears me mumble "It's getting really cluttered in here...."  When I walk back into the room she'll announce, "I cleaned up for you Mom!"

*She accepts no for an answer without incessantly protesting and filibustering and whining until I think my brain with implode.  Now, more often than not, she'll say ok or make a counter-offer or discuss it with me.  This is groundbreaking, I tell you.

*She, who has never been much interested in letters or reading or words, wrote her own name yesterday for the first time without tracing over dotted lines I usually make for her.  She asked me what the letters looked like and then just did it.

 

She is blooming  :-)

Just Chloe

She loves hair accessories some days, and other days cannot be bothered with them -- this time it was pigtails, sparkle clips, barrettes and headband.

She thinks that this serious face bothers me and that I won't take a picture of it.... but I will, and I love it.

And all it takes is, "Please, whatever you do, DON'T SMILE AT ALL!!!" and she lights up :-)

Her favorite outfit is her new long-sleeve tie-dye and rainbow stripe pants.  Whenever anyone sees her the comment is always the same:  "Looks like someone was born in the wrong decade..."

I'm pretty glad she was born here and now because life would be so dull without her.