I'm a middle school math teacher, living in Arizona. I'm married to the love of my life, Aaron, and we have two beautiful girls: Amy (5) and Lauren (1).
Tonight we had our very first official Family Game Night. We've tried to play games as a family before, but as I've said in earlier posts, Amy does not like to sit for too long. When we play Candy Land, Shoots and Ladders, or Memory she usually gives up before the game is over just because she's bored or tired of sitting. So, I was checking out blogs today and came across one that was suggested by my wonderful mother-in-law called Mommy's Kitchen. The creator of the blog talked about her weekly family dessert/game night. I was excited about the idea and ran right out to the store to buy Twister and ingredients to make a giant chocolate chip cookie. I knew Amy would LOVE Twister because it's such an active game. We had a great time playing the game and everyone loved their dessert. I think we'll start this tradition off as an every-other Saturday thing.
Lauren is such a grump if she doesn't get her morning coffee. LOL. She got a hold of my coffee cup this morning and wouldn't let go. She was holding it up to her mouth, trying to get the last drop out of the bottom. We couldn't stop laughing at all the slurping noises she was making!
About a month ago, Amy lost her first tooth. She hadn't even turned five yet! She had another loose one, right next to the one she had lost. Well, she lost that one this morning and now has a huge gap on the bottom. Look how proud she is!
when they want to be. The key with Amy is that it has to be her idea. She's home sick today with a yucky tummy and a fever. (Two things they won't take at day care.) While Lauren was taking her morning nap, I took the opportunity to get some things done around the house. Amy wanted to help by cleaning the TV, but then insisted that the rag wasn't wet enough. Since I wouldn't give in and put more water on it, she refused to help anymore. Oh well, it was nice for 5 minutes anyway.
We were planning on going to Story Time at the library this afternoon, but I guess that will have to wait until next Friday. I was so excited when I heard they changed it to Friday after school instead of the middle of the afternoon on Tuesday. Yay!
Finally! I got a picture of Lauren standing up on her own and look how proud she is. She only does it for a few seconds at a time, not enough time for her Mommy to grab the camera. I'm sure she'll be walking at 10 months just like her big sister was...then I'll have two very busy girls on my hands!
While Lauren was napping and Daddy was at work, Amy and I decided to play Polly Pockets. If you know Amy, you know that calling her ACTIVE is an understatement. I'm lucky if I can get her to sit for a good 10 minutes to play Polly Pockets. Notice how dressed up they all are. I said, "Oh, they're ready to go to the ball." She replied, "No, Mom, they're going to the beach." It must have been a very fancy beach. (For you moms who have trouble keeping track of tiny shoes and outfits, I've found that one of those plastic containers from the sewing isle works well.)
Our baby is a genius. She's only 8 months old and she's doing yoga already. I believe this pose is called downward-facing-dog and she does it all the time!
Now that Lauren is crawling faster than I can chase after her, she's constantly into EVERYTHING. But, her favorite thing by far is the dog's water dish. She looks at me when I sternly say, "NO, NO!" but it certainly doesn't stop her from diving right in. It's just too fun and hard to resist. She's spilled the whole thing over twice. Of course, cat food and dog food is fun to get into also. I've scooped more than one mouthful from her little mouth. She certainly doesn't give up easily.
Lauren is 8 months now and I'm soooo enjoying all of the fun things she's learning to do. She claps her hands when we sing Pat-a-cake and she's standing on her own now. Today, I was showing her how to play peek-a-boo and she caught on right away. She'd cover her head with the blanket and I'd say, "Where's Lauren?" Then she'd pop out and I'd say, "There she is!" She'd give me a huge smile and then cover her head with the blanket again. Love it!
As soon as our baby Lauren started eating fun things like crackers and Cheerios, our big 5-year-old girl, Amy, began stealing things from her sister's tray. Anyone who knows Amy knows that she is a snacker and it's nearly impossible for her to resist taking just a couple of Cheerios. After weeks of getting after her for stealing Lauren's snacks, I finally said, "You are not allowed to take one single thing from Lauren's tray while she is eating or you will have to go to your room until she is done." So, after thinking this over for a few days, Amy came up with a solution to her problem. She would pretend she is a dog and try to get Lauren to feed her. Lauren, of course, had no idea what her sister was up to and didn't cooperate in feeding the "dog" so Amy resorted to eating a few dropped cheerios from the floor.
Tonight we had our very first official Family Game Night. We've tried to play games as a family before, but as I've said in earlier posts, Amy does not like to sit for too long. When we play Candy Land, Shoots and Ladders, or Memory she usually gives up before the game is over just because she's bored or tired of sitting. So, I was checking out blogs today and came across one that was suggested by my wonderful mother-in-law called Mommy's Kitchen. The creator of the blog talked about her weekly family dessert/game night. I was excited about the idea and ran right out to the store to buy Twister and ingredients to make a giant chocolate chip cookie. I knew Amy would LOVE Twister because it's such an active game. We had a great time playing the game and everyone loved their dessert. I think we'll start this tradition off as an every-other Saturday thing. 
