Category Archives: play

April Showers

So much green everywhere is making me so happy! Which is especially nice on a day that is somewhat somber after the passing of Prince. I wasn’t a massive fan, but he was a talented artist and driving by his home seeing the flowers and many people there is just sad.

I’m holding off for another weekend or two until we go pick out flowers and stuff, but we’re all excited to get outside and work on the landscaping some more. There are so many things I’d like to get done inside and out of the house including little things like upgrades to flooring in the kitchen and even the faucets. In the meantime, though, we wait for the Spring rains to let up.

Thankfully we have lots of games to play inside and we’ve been pulling out the board games more often. Do ignore the fact that this picture was clearly taken in December. We really did play it the other day!

Phoebe doesn’t usually have the patience to sit through games yet, but Enzo is catching on quick to so many games and is still greatly loving Poopy Head. We like to team up and try and get Josh to end up with all of the poops while he’s distracted by Phoebe.

Another great find I came across are these awesome window markers that Crayola makes that crystallize on the window as they warm up. They are so fun to watch as they change, plus they clean up easy and we don’t end up wasting any paper. Considering Enzo reminded me it’s Earth Day today, I felt this was worth noting. 😉

Happy Earth Day everyone and have a wonderful weekend! Do something that brings and spreads joy.

Let’s wrap it up!

Bring on the weekend! We’re in for a busy one, but hopefully we’ll get some rest and relaxation in as well. Tomorrow morning Enzo and I are going to his early childhood screening thing and then probably will do some grocery shopping since he has been chowing down on strawberries and we’re about out. Then on Sunday a friend is turning 4, so the kids are looking forward to that party as well.

I don’t expect to learn much at his screening simply because we know he’s on track… he’s smart and his eyesight and hearing seem to be good, so… I guess we’ll see. Day care thinks we need to mention how active he is and that his listening skills aren’t always the best, but at that age aren’t most kids that way? Sure, his tantrums might be a little intense, but he’s just an emotional guy. With age he’ll learn how to handle his emotions as long as we help him learn how, so if anything we need to learn how to do what’s best for him.

We try not to spend too much time with video games and TV, but the kid has a knack for it. He learns quickly and really enjoys it. Sometimes it surprises me just how quickly he picks some of this stuff up and I have to ask him how to do something. He’s also been working a lot on sounding out letters and learning how to read and all that good stuff. We do try to make sure he’s active too. As for Phoebe… well…

While Enzo might be more like me in personality, Phoebe is my spirit creature. We like to curl up and read or watch movies and too much TV doesn’t affect Phoebe the way it does Enzo. Granted, she is entering the sassy twos right now, and it’s sometimes hysterical to see how Enzo handles her random and ridiculous meltdowns. He already has the eye-roll and heavy sigh down. Ha ha. As they both get bigger I find myself trying to hang onto their “babyhood” as long as possible welcoming the snuggles whenever I can and probably letting them getting away with more than they should since I’m a sucker for dimples and toothy grins. They know it too.

Happy Little Trees

We’ve decided starting sometime this weekend (either Saturday or Sunday) we’re going to have a week of no TV/Kindles/etc. and only limited smart phone usage (especially in the evenings). Since we’ve been cutting back anyway, I’m hoping the kids won’t notice it too much… except on weekends. That’s usually when games are played and the idea is to not turn it on at all. Thankfully we’ve got plenty of stuff to do, and the weather should be nice, so perhaps we’ll get out a bit.

The kids have both been on a painting and coloring kick lately, and for that I am eternally grateful to Crayola for making washable paint. While Josh and I were doing some rearranging, the kids very quietly got into the paints. Thankfully they were mostly painting paper, but the paint had also made it onto the rug and their clothes. They then moved on to stickers… which Enzo promptly started decorating the wall with.

The funny thing is that Enzo has never really been one to color or paint where he isn’t supposed to. I can usually walk away and trust that he’ll only decorate what he’s supposed to. Phoebe on the other hand? The world is her canvas. She will draw on herself, her clothes, the floor, the walls, you name it. Thank you, washable art supplies and magic eraser for the not-so-washable.

So, we’re mostly likely in for a lot of painting this upcoming week, but thankfully some warmer weather as well, which means it’ll be much easier to play outside and go on some walks. Perhaps we’ll head back to the zoo and let the kids run around some more when we aren’t tackling the many things that didn’t get done around the house this week or last weekend. Now that it’s warming up and the days are starting to get lighter, I’m feeling much more motivated!

Oh, those imaginations!

With the cold finally settling in, we’re having to get more creative with how we spend our time around the house, and even though we’re guilty of spending a bit more time in front of electronics than I would like, the kiddo’s imaginations are definitely not suffering. In fact, dare I say it, but their imaginations have actually benefited.

One game that Phoebe has been enjoying lately started somewhat by her brother, but ultimately was created after watching Paw Patrol. Enzo always insists on watching this one episode with a ghost (which ends up not even being a ghost at all), so we now have a new game that started up one day out of the blue. The other morning when Phoebe padded out of her room in the with the sleep barely wiped out of her eyes, she looked at me and her eyes went big and she yelled, “Ghost!” I continued with the game and said, “Oh no! What do we do?” So she continued with the mock surprise and yelled, “Run! Hurry! Hurry!” This morning Enzo pretended to be the ghost while chasing Phoebe who was first in my arms and then at one point in Josh’s arms while Enzo and I chased them both.

I wish I could remember all of what Enzo comes up with (because it’s awesome), but there are always a lot of details to keep track of. It was funny, though, the other day in the car when I realized he was using ideas from Beauty and the Beast, and episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and a Harry Potter game that Josh picked up for the PS3. See picture below:

It was a big story with 2 dinosaurs who happened to be brothers and then there was a spell and the big dinosaur was asleep so naturally the spell needed to be broken before the 3rd petal fell and he would be asleep forever. So, Enzo waved his magic wand and sang Twinkle Twinkle and poof! The spell was broken. Then unfortunately, another spell was cast and Enzo asked me to use my wand because, “You have the biggest wand I’ve ever seen.” I failed the first time and accidentally put the whole car to sleep, but after waving my wand and singing Itsy Bitsy, all was well.

They seriously just get more and more fun.

Those imaginations!

Both kids have such great imaginations, and I love sneakily watching/listening to them as they pretend. Enzo is a little harder to get pictures of lately as he tends to notice the camera more and doesn’t always want his picture taken (which I completely respect). Phoebe, however, is still at that age where it’s very easy to just quietly watch her.

Lately she has been enjoying all of the typical games you associate with young girls. She has a baby doll she carries around as well as a purse, but she also loves playing with various toy houses. When Enzo was this age he had a great imagination as well, but he always tended to be more active whereas Phoebe channels her imagination differently. I love seeing their differences and similarities in all aspects – it’s so much fun.

Enzo always enjoys sending cars crashing off ledges or superhero/villian scenarios where someone needs saving, and while Phoebe also enjoys similar play she’s a bigger fan of playing “house.” She has a little Minnie and Mickey house and also a bigger Minnie play house (she really can’t get enough Minnie and Mickey) and I’ll watch her as she pretends to put Figaro in the bath or tuck them all in their beds. She was majorly stalling at bedtime last night and mostly because she couldn’t find all the beds for everyone in Minnie’s house.

I confess, I’m kind of thrilled that she gets such a kick out of playing with dollhouses and the like because if it keeps up I will probably end up getting her the dollhouse I always dreamed of having as a kid. The hardest part will be actually letting her play with it. Ha ha. I know, I know, one should never live vicariously through their children. I can’t help it if there are some really fun toys out there today that I can finally afford, though. 😉

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures