Memorial Day Weekend

   Daddy was away in China over Memorial Day weekend, so Anthony and I were on our own.  We spent Saturday at Happy Hollow with one of his daycare pals.  They had a great time and were WIPED out at the end of the day.

  Monday we joined the Donahues for a day of minor league baseball.  Anthony ate all sorts of great ball park food--the top picture is of Anthony shelling a peanut while clutching his beloved cotton candy.

Generosity

Sometimes I am stunned by Anthony's generosity.

He came home from Yesenia's First Communion with a huge back of pinata candy.

This morning he divided up the leftovers.
1.  All the lollipops were sent to my friends at work.  (Why he decided they need the lollipops is beyond me).
2. The intact roll of Smarties went to Maria at daycare.  Its because the kids always eat hers.  (Of course, she brings them FOR the kids, but that's okay.)
3.  The last two Smarties of the previous roll are for the toddlers at daycare.
4.  The last of the Starburst are for all his daycare friends. 

His goody-bag was empty and he was fine with that.  He was just happy to share his treats with his friends.

And I am proud.

Solar Eclipse

 Our next-door neighbors pulled out their telescope for an impromptu eclipse party yesterday.  The adults thought it was cool, the kids were content to play.

  The most amazing part was the discovery of how the eclipse affected shadows.  Everything was really fuzzy around the edges.

Yesenia's First Communion

   Anthony's birth-sister Yesenia had her First Communion today.  I was pretty apprehensive about how he'd do during the long Mass.  He generally goes to Sunday School while we're in "grown-up church".  He was amazingly well behaved.  Tatyanna took care of him the whole time.  When he started to act up I threatened him with having to go outside away from her and her straightened right up.

  The three of them were pretty much inseparable at the party afterwards, too.  It was really very sweet.

USGS Open House

   In an attempt to make my sister insanely jealous, we took Anthony to the US Geological Survey Open House.  Some of the demonstrations were incredibly cool.  We loved the flour volcanoes.  Bob finally understands that Crater Lake was NOT dug by the Civilian Conservation Core, but rather hollowed out by a bicycle pump.  The liquid nitrogen tricks were a great success and I learned a new trick, how to carbonate a grape.  If you look closely at the bottom picture you'll see the live-action of Anthony smashing a frozen leaf with all the bits falling to the ground.

  What wasn't a success.  The demo about a natural disaster in Africa where thousands died due to a carbon dioxide release and a poster describing a solution to keep it from happening again.  The poster was at child's eye level and included a picture of several dead bodies.  Anthony was pretty upset by it and spent the rest of the day asking questions.  I'm sending a thank you note to the USGS for putting on an amazing event with a thought that maybe the poster wasn't completely appropriate for all children.

Airplane Day

 While I was off having fun at One Hundred Fun Hundred, Bob and Anthony went off on an airplane excursion with Robert and his Daddy.

  It was a little less than successful.  Robert put it best, "Anthony erupted vomit."

  We're a little worried that Anthony won't ever fly again.  Obviously we'll give him dramamine, but he's a bit insistant on not wanting to fly.

Front Yard Friday

   Now that spring is here, we can start having our Front Yard Friday celebrations.  I did the paperwork with the city so that we could legally close off the street for May and June.  (I'll press my luck and try for July and August soon.)

  Anthony doesn't appreciate kick-ball, which was the game of the night for most of the kids.  He still shies away from some of the rough and tumble play.  He and H had a nice time playing taxi, though.

"I want to ride on the Ferris Wheel"

 One of the CDs we listen to in the car has a song about riding a Ferris Wheel.  Its Anthony's favorite song and he's been begging to ride a Ferris Wheel for a long time.  He didn't know what it was, but by golly he wanted to ride one.

  Last weekend St. Joseph's school had their annual carnival, so we invited the Donahues children to join us.  We biked over there as a group and then let them ride two rides and have one treat.

  Anthony was SO excited about the Ferris Wheel.  Bob and I were a bit worried, though.  The sign said you had to be 42" tall, which he isn't.  All I have to say is, "Hurrah for poorly trained under paid ride operators!"  Robert was on the step with the measuring thing, so the guy measured him.  He passed, barely.  The guy didn't even noticed Anthony who is CLEARLY shorter.  The kids enjoyed the ride, but honestly, it didn't meet expectations.  But then, how could it?

Claire didn't need to ride any more rides, so the boys rode both the roller coaster and one of those spinny cups things.  They LOVED it.

One Hundred, Fun Hundred



 Today was the big One Hundred, Fun Hundred celebration for the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouting.  While I'm a member, I'm not an active volunteer anymore and a bit out of the loop.  I'm so thankful that my friend Kathryn bought two tickets to the celebration and invited me to go.

  It was an amazing event.  While waiting to enter the event we met a woman who has been a Scout for 72 years and was there with some of the women from the first troop she led as an adult.  We both really enjoyed the Girl Scout museum and talking to the docents there.  We learned about the nationwide Senior Jamborees that were held back in the 50's and '60's.  They had displays of uniforms throughout the years, I told Kathryn she could find mine instantly--my Cadette uniform would be the ugliest uniform in the room. 

  They had great activities for the girls--lot of science stuff, scuba in the pool, zip lines, fun camp activities...  I saw a little-visited booth and went over to see what it was all about.  They had signs for all the different Girl Scout camps and you could put your name sticker on the camps you attended.  Camp Mountain Meadows had a small presence, I wish I'd gone back at the end of the day to see if anyone more checked in.

Kathryn and I stayed until the fireworks at the end, it was a great day!

 (When I get the photos off the camera I'll write about Anthony's day with Daddy.)

May Day

Anthony's preschool class celebrated May Day today.  They danced around a May Pole, had someone leave them flowers at the classroom door, and then made their own May Baskets using flowers they'd brought from home.  Anthony came home SO excited to make May Baskets for his neighbors.  We came home and hurriedly put together 4 baskets with roses from our yard.

The best response was from H (the proverbial little red-headed girl), "Oh, are these for ME?" and from M next door who invited us in for cookies and a ride on her tire swing.

Highlights of Spring (so far)

 1.  Watching Anthony perform in the Spring Sing (video to follow).  Daddy came straight from the airport; he got back from China just in time.

2.  Easter and all the fun it entailed.

3.  The first hot day of the year.  We did water play with the neighbor kids.  Playtime was followed by a mass bike ride to Baskin-Robbins.  Daddy accompanied five kids on his scooter while the Mommies walked.  We were thrilled to arrive at the ice cream store to discover that Daddy had the whole scene under control.

4.  Cheering for our friends matching in the Community Parade.

5.  The first San Jose Giants game of the season, complete with bounce houses!

Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

Today was our block's third annual Easter Egg Hunt. The hunt took place in four yards on both sides of the street (we closed the street), then with bikes and other outdoor play and brunch to follow.

Anthony ate a STUNNING amount of sugar. At one point he quit the hunt to start eating his candy. Miss Kathryn brought out her portable fire pit to make s'mores out of Peeps. Anthony rejected those, but ate plenty of uncooked goodies.

It was a great party until the police came and broke it up. Evidently someone tattled on us for closing the street without permission. It certainly wasn't anyone on our end of the street, they were all outside with us. The policeman was really very nice about it, actually. It was a pretty sedate at the time--kids were lined up for the stomp rocket and the adults were sitting down chatting!

Four and a HALF

Anthony was quite excited to be four and a half. You see, four and a half year olds can do all sorts of things that regular four year olds don't do, like being in charge of feeding the cat. In this case, he climbed up in Miss Kathryn's olive tree following the college kids. He made it about 8 feet up. He might have been able to go further if allowed.

The big thing that he's been working on in the last six months is phonics skills. He spends a LOT of time saying words and then announcing what they start with. If it follows a normal rule of speech, he gets it right. He's also starting breaking down words into syllables and identifying which letters he hears.

He can read a few sight words--open, stop, exit come to mind. There might be more, but those are the ones he knows for sure. He is VERY proud when he can read a word.

Marley's Birthday

   Anthony was SO excited for Marley's birthday party.  It was in the evening, after daycare.  I told him that I'd pick him up and take him to her party.  He then asked if I could pick him up before the little kids took their naps.  Umm…  No.

  We haven't been to Chuck-e-Cheese in over two years, so he has no real memory of the place.  His favorite part by far was the carousel that you pedal around.  I tried to teach him how some of the games worked, but they were well above his comprehension level.

  Probably his favorite part of the party was cupcakes, I'll ask in the morning.

  I have to say, I think our friend Rob is right on the money about C.E.C birthday parties--they're very antisocial.  All the games and rides are for one child, two max.  The kids don't really get to play together.

Palm Sunday

 I love Palm Sunday services at church.  Its great watching all the children in the processional with their palm branches.  The littlest kids still have a big kid holding their hands just in case.  Anthony did fine.  His pal A, needed to be carried as he found the whole thing a bit overwhelming.  You know packed church full of people singing and watching you.  Can't imagine how a small boy would find it stressful.

  Church was LONG today, a full hour and a half.  It was over an hour before they even finished the "sermon" which was given by the 8th grade confirmation class.  Then there was still communion.  Daddy is still in China so I was happy to enjoy the peace.

 Anthony has gotten much better about separating lately.  Sunday school drop-off used to be pretty bad.  It was all an act, but he'd cling tight and the teachers weren't quite willing to physically remove him from Daddy's leg.  The last week or two drop-off have been pretty easy, hopefully it will continue.  Even today when he saw me in church he waved excitedly and went on his merry way.

Happy Birthday Auntie Erika

Anthony made the card himself, both inside and out.

In case you can't tell, all the letters are there. Happy should be readable. He ran out of space for the final letters of "birthday" so they got wrapped around on top.

On his teachers' recommendation we decided to delay starting kindergarten for a year. One of their reasons was his fine motor skills, or lack thereof.

We're live to adopt #2

Took longer than we initially expected, both to start the home study and to get it all done.

Last week we finally went live with our agency. No idea how long it will take, but we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Thank goodness we hired a graphic designer to do our outreach materials this time around. Jamie did an amazing job and was FAST.

Check us out at:
http://www.bobandkarin.us/
I heart adoption

Baking Bread

This was a project my mom did with us when we were kids. One summer my mother's rule was that we could bake whatever we wanted, as long as it had yeast.

We used my mom's recipe to bake bread from scratch, using my stand mixer to knead. Anthony seemed to understand the process a bit and certainly enjoyed punching down the risen bread dough. He fashioned his loaf into a crown of sorts.

Rainy Day Fun

 Anthony received a dinosaur themed science kit for his 3rd birthday.  The kit was labelled 4+, so I set it aside for a rainy day.  Well, Saturday was a rainy day so I pulled it out.

  The first toy was nearly a bust.  It was a glow in the dark dinosaur skeleton to assemble.  Anthony loved watching it glow, but it was hard for Daddy to assemble, no "help" required.

  Excavating for dinosaur bones, on the other hand, was a hit.  Basically we had a chunk of clay with "dinosaur fossils" buried inside.  We used tools to chip and brush away the clay.  Theoretically you can assemble them into a skeleton, but we're NOT going to torture poor Daddy that way.

St. Patrick's Day

Anthony came home from preschool yesterday very excited about the leprechaun that came to preschool. Despite setting a trap for it, they weren't able to prevent him from causing all sorts of mischief including peeing green in the toilet.

I was happy to leave the St. Patrick's Day fun to that. Then Anthony woke up this morning wanting to go out into the garden to find the chocolate coins the leprachaun left. (I wish preschool had given me a heads-up on that one.) I snuck out to the grocery where there weren't any chocolate coins but I they did have some VERY intensely colored sugar cookies.

The leprechauns didn't pee in our toilet, but we did have leprechaun poop a day or so later!