Library Crafts

On Thursday the library had a "Spring Fling" where the kids could come and make crafts and play games. Connor & Savannah loved it. First we made caterpillars that folded and attached to pencils (Connor has been playing with them all day today).Then we made lilies out of the kids' handprints. This was Connor's first time using scissors (which he calls "slissors"). He shredded up a piece of paper and had a great time.

They also made bookmarks (which Connor calls "bookmarkets") and got a rub-on tatoo on their arm. It was a fun time!

Car Seat Canopy

Today my mom called and after a minute said "Is that your sewing machine?" Yes, I was sewing. It doesn't happen very often, so it's worthy of mention on the blog. I made a car seat canopy for the baby. I've seen these and thought they would be so nice for keeping off the sun, wind, and fingers of people I'd rather not have touching my brand new baby. But they're pricey to buy online, so I made my own. It's a tan color on the inside, to keep it cool.

Lesson learned from sewing today: Don't use dark thread on light fabric if you don't sew very well. The contrast looks awesome if you can actually sew well, but not so great when you can see every mistake. Oh well, the baby won't care.
Thanks to my sister-in-law Alisha for posting this link:

http://just-because-i-am-me.blogspot.com/2010/02/car-seat-canopy-tutorial.html

Fuzzy Hair

On Saturday when I cut all the boys' hair I decided to give Connor a buzz cut. It's just so much easier for the summer since it's always sticking up when he's sweaty. Jacob decided that's what he wanted too and they both love it. Connor tells everyone he sees that he has "fuzzy hair" now.

The best thing about the baby...

Zach just came in and asked to see the countdown of how many days left until the baby comes. I was surprised because he hasn't really cared that much so far. We started talking about what the baby might be named, how Zach is going to help, etc. I was thinking "Wow, he really is getting excited about it."

Then he says "You know what will be the best thing about the baby? When it is 3 we get to have a dog that doesn't tear everything up like Cassie did." (Cassie was a puppy we had when Zach was about 3 years old.)

I told the kids a long time ago that when the last baby at our house is 3 then we'll think about getting another dog. Well Zach had been getting excited that Connor was about to turn 3, and then we broke the news that another baby was coming. He wasn't too happy. So at least he's thinking positively now...only 3 years, 107 days to go.

Happy Helpers

The kids were great helpers on Saturday doing yard work. First Savannah & Connor went with Dallin to Home Depot to buy manure for the backyard. They got to ride on top of all the bags on the flat bed cart and both thought it was the funnest thing ever. Then Dallin put everyone to work, but they thought it was pretty fun using shovels, rakes and buckets to move it all around.Connor was in his own little dirt world. He would move manure from one pile to the next and thought it was the BEST thing ever.

Connor's new favorite activity...washing his hands. Or in other words, making a huge mess with soap and water all over the bathroom and I have to change his shirt every time.

When I went out later to spray off all the shoes I found this from when Zach & Savannah stayed out to play for a while. They made flowerpots and replanted the weed flowers.

Zach's fun week...

The boys had a busy week at school. On Tuesday Jacob had a field trip to the YMCA in Leander. They did a bunch of stuff outside and he said it was pretty fun. On Tuesday evening was Zach's musical. It was songs from around the world. He looked like he was having lots of fun. There is a video clip at the bottom.On Thursday Zach had a field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm. I went there last spring with all of my kids, so he was really excited to go back. The parents all drove separately and met the buses there.

We went on a hayride and watched a demonstration of how milk gets from the cow to the grocery store. My favorite thing though was watching Zach with the animals. He gets right down next to them and pets them (if possible) and talks to them. He was really excited to see the chickens because they have baby chicks in their classroom right now.

Ms. Cox's first grade class

Sidewalk Chalk

This is why we don't play with sidewalk chalk at our house very often.

But oh boy they have fun when we do!

Connor played in the backyard for 3 hours straight yesterday, going back and forth between his beloved dirt pile and the sidewalk chalk on the porch. (He also found a small bottle of bubbles and dumped that everywhere too.) He had a layer of chalk dust covering his ENTIRE body. Of course all the other kids wanted to join in too once the boys got home from school, so they all got baths after and I had an extra load of laundry to do. Zach now owns pink-tinged army pants. But it was worth it...the weather was beautiful and they had a great time!

Edit: I'll add that he didn't color himself. This was from rubbing his hands on his cheeks (unintentionally) after having his hands covered with it. If he was purposefully coloring himself it would have been MUCH worse than this.

Busy Weekend

We had a very busy, but fun weekend. Saturday started out with helping Daddy wash the car. The 3 older kids rode bikes while he vacuumed, then helped do the outside. Savannah loved it.While everyone else was washing the car Connor and I went on a walk and picked flowers. Then he played in his favorite dirt patch in the backyard. We have a whole backyard to play in, but he prefers the dirt patch by the hose. Such a boy.

In the afternoon we all went to a fun birthday party for some friends. The kids loved doing the pinata. Then in the evening we went to a church picnic at the park. We had barbecue for lunch and dinner and the kids pretty much lived off of chips and soda all day. They were in heaven.

On Sunday Savannah got to wear her new Easter dress and the shoes that she picked out for her birthday. She looked like a flower princess.

(This one was with Dallin behind me making faces...)

Savannah's bedroom is almost done. I just have to hang some picture frames and a couple of other things on the walls. She LOVES it and so do I!