The spider

We set up the kids pool on the deck today. They were both standing in it and they had a quiet discussion. They were pointing at something but I couldn't see what it was. I asked what the problem was and John said "We need a bigger bucket." I told them that there were two buckets in Gillian's room. She went upstairs and came running back. "Johnny! I got the bucket!" They filled up the buckets and dumped them on the railing of the deck. John said "It didn't work!" I asked them what didn't work. Gillian said "There a spider!" John pointed it out to me and again tried to dump his bucket of water on the spider. It didn't work. He didn't have the right angle to knock the spider off the deck. So I picked up the small bucket (the one they had the whole time). John said "The little bucket isn't going to work!" And I poured the water on the spider and knocked him off the deck. John was not too happy that my method worked. Gillian was super happy that the spider was gone. Overall a win-win!

I a girl

I went to a baby shower today. Daddy was home with the kids. At some point John asked "Where's Mommy?" Daddy told him, "Mommy's at a party," John whined "I want to go to a party!" Daddy told him "You can't go. It's a girl party." Gillian, who was listening to their conversation, said "I a girl! I go to party!" Daddy tried to backtrack and said "It's a big girl party" But Gillian countered. "But I a big girl!" Daddy clarified "No a grown up girl." John also helped "You need to be big like Daddy to go to the party!"

Tea Party

Gillian was playing quietly with her Barbies tonight. She set up a little tea party for Cinderella and a Barbie. She asked me "Where the cups? You find them!" I helped her find the tiny cups and I also put Minnie Mouse at the table. Gillian loved that Minnie was at the party. She told me "Mindy (not a typo that's what she calls Minnie) need balloon. Help her with balloon!" I helped with the balloon. She paused and took a quick picture for me. Then she said "Ok we knock it down!" And she pushed over the little table and the chairs that Cinderella and Barbie were sitting in. And then she set up the party again. So funny. 

Water park

We were invited the go to an event at Breakwater Beach Water Park in Seaside Heights on Monday for a local radio station. But there was a little thunderstorm on Monday and it got moved to Wednesday. We told John on Monday morning that we would have a surprise for him after school. He was a little disappointed when Daddy told him that it was cancelled. He said "Oh, it was an outside surprise?" We eventually told John that the surprise was a trip to the water park. He was so excited. I picked the kids up from school today and John came running to me. "Is it today?" I nodded. He immediately told his teacher "Miss Denise! Today is the day! I'm going to a water park! It's the best day ever!" 

We got to the water park and John went running. He didn't know which way to go first. He wanted to try everything. We stayed in the kids area for awhile. Gillian played on the small slides and John slowly ventured higher and higher. He and Daddy would go to the top and I would catch him at the bottom. Not that he needed catching. It was more so we could keep track of him (he moves really fast). 

Then Aunt Missy arrived. She took him to the top and they both went down a blue slide. Daddy then decided to show John the BIG slides that you need to take a tube down. John was not afraid. On his first trip, Daddy and John went together and Aunt Missy went down after them. Gillian and I waited at the exit. John and Daddy came out and John had a huge smile on his face. He said "This is the best ride ever!" Next Aunt Missy and John went together in a double tube and Daddy followed in a single. Again he loved it. He said "Let's do it again!" Now it was my turn. We climbed and climbed up the steps. As we got closer, John said "The blue is the best!" And "Mom, don't worry we will go backwards." As we climbed into the tube, John told me "You can close your eyes. It's ok!" He giggled and laughed the entire trip. It was awesome!

Overall we had a great trip to the water park. Can't wait to go back again! 

Friends

This morning I asked Gillian which one of her friends she liked to play with most. She immediately said "Dorlisa!" The. She paused and said "Johnny!" When I dropped off the kids at school this morning the whole school was outside on the playground. We went on the playground together and John immediately went running to find his friends. Gillian was being a little shy and wanted me to pick her up. I kneeled next to her and said "Do you want to play in the sandbox?" She shook her head. I pointed out some of her friends and said "Do you want to hang out with JoJo on the bench?" Again, she shook her head. I then said "Well John is playing in the playhouse. Do you want to go play with him?" And she ran away from me to go find Johnny. He took her hand and the two of them ran around the playhouse a couple of times. I didn't get any goodbye kisses or hugs this morning. But I did get to see my big boy take good care of his little sister. I am lucky that they are good friends. 

Nail polish

Saturday morning while the boys were doing yard work, I painted Gillian's toenails and fingernails. She wanted blue toes and pink fingers. She was super patient and stayed very still while I painted. When I was done, she ran outside to show Daddy and John. 

I put all of her nail polish in a basket and put it in her room. Sunday morning, she woke up and brought the basket of nail polish downstairs with her. I had to do a little bit if work on the computer while the kids watched a few cartoons in the living room. They had been very quiet for sometime, so I decided to check on them. I found Gillian sitting on the love seat with an open bottle of nail polish. She was painting her nails (along with everything else). I pulled her off of the couch and brought her upstairs and threw her in the shower. As I took off her shirt, I found streaks of nail polish all over her belly. 

Daddy and I explained to Gillian that she couldn't paint her nails without Mommy or Daddy.  She said "But I paint!" We finally convinced her that she could paint her nails but Mommy and Daddy need to be with her. I'm curious to know why John didn't tattle on her. He is so quick to tell me when she is doing something wrong but yet he sat there while she painted her hands and belly and pajamas. 

St. Leo's Fair

We drive past St. Leo's church everyday on our way to school. Every year they have a fair in June. The kids have watched the rides slowly assemble and every morning as we drive past, I hear "Can we go tonight?" This week has been a little busy for us, so last night was the first night we were able to go.

We arrived around 6 o'clock. We were able to walk around and figure out what rides each of the kids could go on and which rides to avoid. The first ride the kids wanted to go on was the Dragon Wagon. The Dragon Wagon was a little roller coaster. Gillian was a little short to ride by herself so Daddy was going to go on with her.  But Daddy was a little too big. We just let John and Gillian ride together.  They loved it.  When the ride was done, Gillian said "Again!" 

 

Daddy took John to the Super Slide and I took Gillian to a small kiddie ride.  She was not too impressed.  

 

We met back up at the Elephants. John and Gillian went together. While waiting in line, John held Gillian's hand and made sure she gave the attendant the tickets. They climbed into a blue elephant and off they went.  Gillian was much happier on this ride, because it went higher in the air.  Next they went on the "Tub of Fun" (basically the wild teacups).  John was determined to spin their tub as fast as possible.  Gillian was loving it, until her head kept bouncing on the side of the tub.  Daddy and I would watch Gillian's face and then tell John to go fast or to slow it down.  Again, she loved it.

Our next stop was the Super Slide.  John was going to go by himself, but there was a last minute change, and Gillian and I went too.  We got to the top of the steps and climbed onto the slide.  John waited until I was settled with Gillian.  He held my hand and off we went.  Gillian giggled the entire trip.  Check out the video below.

We then let John go on a bunch of rides without Gillian.  He went in the fun house, on the elephants, and again in the fun house.  He loved the fun house.  I think it was just because there was a slide at the end.  While John was on the Elephants, Gillian said "No go on the Elephants.  I go on the crocodile."  She kept calling the Dragon Wagon, the crocodile. 

The kids went on the Crocodile, aka Dragon Wagon, two more times.  The last time, they got to ride up front.  Gillian says "The crocodile in the front." was her favorite ride of the night.  We ended up our trip to the fair with a cotton candy to share.  Overall a fun night out with the kids.

 

Ponies

Gillian loves the "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" show. She always wants to watch it. When it is her turn to pick a show, she screams "Ponies!" 

There are six ponies:

Twilight Sparkle: a magical purple unicorn

Applejack: an orange country pony

Pinkie Pie: a pink pony with lots of energy

Shutterfly: a very shy yellow pony

Rarity: a fashionable white unicorn

Rainbow Dash: a blue Pegasus pony that can fly really fast

Also, Twilight Sparkle has an assistant. He is a dragon named Spike. 

When we play ponies, Gillian is always Twilight Sparkle. Johnny is Rainbow Dash (because he is really fast). The first time we were pretending to be ponies, I said I was Rarity. John said "Of course because she's so pretty!" For awhile Gillian determined that Daddy was Spike. But as of yesterday Gillian changed it. Now Daddy is Pinkie Pie, John is Rainbow Dash, Duncan is Spike and I am Rarity. And Gillian is Twilight Sparkle. You can try to be Twilight Sparkle, but Gillian will argue with you. She will say "No! I Twilight Sparkle! You not!"

I love that she watches "My Little Pony." I can remember watching "My Little Pony" when I was little. 

Wake Up

Gillian is very difficult to get out of bed in the morning. On the weekends we just let her sleep until she is ready to get up. However on the weekdays, either Daddy or I get the pleasure of waking her up. Some mornings she rolls over and tells me "Two more minutes." Other days, she doesn't say anything and rolls over and puts her manket on her head. This morning, John was awake before his alarm. He got dressed and then offered to wake up Gillian. He went into her room and I could hear him say "Gill! It's time to get up!" She must not have responded because again we heard him say "Come On Gill! It's time to wake up!" He then came running back to me and said "I've got nothing!" Sorry, it's not easy to get The Bean out of bed. 

Kick!

We took the kids to Aunt Missy's parents house today to go swimming. It was our first time in a big pool this summer. John was super excited to go in the water. But once he was in, he got a little nervous. He forgot that he could touch the bottom on the low end and that his vest would keep his head above the water. We reminded him of these two things and he was off. 

Last summer, Gillian was a water baby. She wasn't afraid of the water. She would just jump in and not pay attention to who was around her. Daddy and I bought her a new floatation device. It goes around her belly and on her arms too like swimmies.  She was a little unsure when she went in the water the first time. But I coached her and told her to kick her feet while she held my hands. After about five trips across the pool she was confident. She was jumping off the edge of the pool to Daddy and swimming without holding onto anyone. As she swam she would say "Kick, kick, kick!" She also found it necessary to tell us to "Kick!" 

Gillian and I swam across the pool to the deep end. She climbed up the ladder and out of the pool. I assumed that she was headed to the steps in the low end, but she went right to the diving board. She climbed up and stood at the edge. She jumped right to Daddy. She did go underwater for a few seconds and was a little shocked. But that didn't stop her. She climbed the ladder again and stood on diving board. I ran to get my phone to video tape it. I took too long and she chickened out. She got off the diving board and walked to steps in the low end of the pool. As her feet hit the water she stopped and said "I peep! I peeped!" She was shocked and a little embarrassed. We reassured her that she wasn't the first person to pee in a pool. 

We all got out of the pool for a little bit and then John went in all by himself. He swam all over the pool while Gillian and I tried to spray him with a water gun. I sat at one end is the pool and aim at him. While Gillian would get up walk all the way around the pool to where John was and then spray him. 

We had so much fun. Thanks to Aunt Missy and her family for letting us play in the pool. 

Kindergarten Graduation

Today was John's Kindergarten Graduation.  I can't believe that my little boy has graduated Kindergarten.  It seems like it was just yesterday when we were bringing him home from the hospital. 

Our day started early.  John woke up and found me in the bathroom.  He told me "I need to get handsome."  And he proceeded to comb his hair (he has a crew cut).  Then he brushed his teeth.  He informed me "I'm going to make them shine!"  He knew today was a big day and made sure he was ready and looking good. 

At breakfast, he informed Gillian "After graduation, you can stay at school or you can come home with me.  I'm going with Daddy.  I'm not staying."  It was at that point when Daddy and I decided we should just let the kids come home after the ceremony.  I dropped them off at school and told them I would be back in time for the ceremony.

Daddy and I got to school and we pulled Gillian from her class and brought her into the earth room.  Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi and Poppy all arrived at the same time.  We only waited for a few minutes before the procession started.  John proudly lead his classmates into the earth room.  Miss Mary Ellen said a few words and then it was time for the pledge of allegiance.  John got to hold the flag.  He had the biggest smile for the entire pledge. 

Next it was time for songs.  The first song was "It's a small world."  Next was "I'd like to teach the world to sing."  Below is a video of the kids singing.

Next the kids sang, "Somewhere over the rainbow." I didn't get video of it, but I'm sure you can imagine how wonderfully they all sang.  Then they presented the diplomas.  John was first to receive his diploma. After all the kids received their diplomas, they read "Thank You for Me" a sweet little book.  John read the first set of pages.  Below is a video of them reading.  Notice when the third kid reads John taps Jillian on the hand to signal that she needs to flip over her paper.  The kids did an excellent job reading. 

After the reading, the kids did a few dances.  The first dance was to"Down the Avenue."  In this dance, the kids listened to the music and walked or skipped or jumped.  Then they danced to "Brazilian Carnival."  John told me last week that they were going to samba at graduation.  But I really didn't believe him.  I was wrong.  Well, I take that back, I was right.  John was the only one that actually did the samba.  Check out the video below.  Notice how John shakes his hips.

In closing, they sang "So Long, Farewell."  What a beautiful ceremony.  I'm so proud of my little boy.



 

The hoarder

Daddy picked up the kids from school yesterday. He found them outside playing on the playground. Gillian came running up to him and said "I have sticks in my pocket!" Then she proceeded to pull a few sticks out of her pocket. She said "I throw them away." And she put them in the garbage can. This morning I went to pack her book bag and was surprised to find a little stockpile of sticks and mulch. It looks like she has been taking pieces of mulch from the playground and hiding them in her book bag. John tried to take one of the sticks out her her bag and she yelled at him "My mulch!"

Audience

I asked John if he had graduation practice today. He said "Yes. And we had an audience today!" I said, really? Who watched you practice today! He said "Gill!" I was a little surprised and asked if it was just Gillian or if her whole class got to watch (I was a little afraid that Gillian was in trouble and her punishment was watching graduation practice). John said "The whole class." Gillian described practice "I sit in a chair! Johnny sing a song. Then sit on the steps. I clap." She was so happy that she got to watch John practice. She told me all about it again when I was tucking her in to bed. She is so proud of her big brother. 

Favorite animal

Today Mimi gave me cookies to give the kids, a giraffe and a lion. I picked the kids up from school today and when we got in the car I showed them the cookies. John asked "Can I pick which one I get?" I told him yes. He said "Can I have the lion? Cause I'm so brave!" (As he said this he flexed his biceps). Gillian didn't mind. I think she wanted the giraffe because it was a bigger cookie. As we drove home, I asked "Gillian, do you know what is Grandma's favorite animal? I'll give you a hint look at your cookie." Gillian was a little unsure. John shouted "I know! A giraffe!" Gillian said "I know!" (That's what Gillian says when she doesn't know).

I asked John, "What is your favorite animal?" He said "How many fingers do I have behind my back?" I cringe a little. I hate when he asks me that. I guess and say three. He says "No. I'll give you a hint. One has five." He has completely tricked me. He never puts two hands behind his back. So I guess and say two. He says "No! Six! I have six favorite animals!" I ask him to list his favorites. He says "Leatherback sea turtles, sea turtles, turtles, cheetahs, lions and the animal that Black Panther is." Let me take a second now and explain Black Panther one of Marvel's Avengers. I am laughing in the front seat as he is listing his favorite animals. I respond to John, "It's in his name, Black Panther." I say it slow so that he will listen to what I am saying. He says "I think it's a cat. You know what animal Black Panther is." I again say "It's in his name. Black Panther." John was a little confused. So I finally said, "He is a panther." I asked him  why he had three different turtles on his list. He said "Turtles have regular legs. Sea turtles have fins. That's how you can tell the difference. And leatherback sea turtles are black!"

I asked Gillian "What is your favorite animal?" She said "Giraffes and pandas and snails and bugs and spiders. I like spiders!" John says "I have seven now. I like spiders too!" We arrived home and Gillian waited for me on the front porch as I got everything out of the car. As I approached the porch she screamed "Oh no! A spider!" Guess they aren't her favorite after all. 

Cookie helper

I made cookies the weekend for John's kindergarten graduation. When I asked John if he would like me to make cookies for his class, he said "That would be great!" He wanted to help me decorate the cookies, but when he asked I was working on the outline for the caps and I told him no. Instead he stood over me while I outlined saying "Steady. Steady." As you can imagine, he was very helpful. But it didn't stop there, on the next cookie he said "Steady, steady. Whew, that was a close one. You know, I could help. It's going to take all night to do all of these cookies."  

Running Errands

Daddy and I had to run a few errands this morning. I got Gillian dressed. She was very excited to go shipping. John, on the other hand, was not happy to hear that we were going out. He asked "How many stores are we going to?" Daddy told him "Ten, maybe fifteen." This news did not improve John's attitude. "Come on! Really? Ten stores? That's going to take forever!" In the car on the way to Costco, John suggested "Maybe we could split up and Daddy and I can go to two stores and Mommy and Gill can go to two stores. That means we will go to four stores. Cause two plus two is four!" Daddy said, "You may be right. I think we will only go to four stores. But we aren't going to split up." John was not happy. But we got to Costco and his attitude quickly changed. He sat in the cart and asked for free samples. He didn't insult any of the employees. So all in all a successful trip out. 

Our next stop was Target. We only had a few things to pick up and we were only in the store for a little bit. On our way out of the store, John says "It's raining." Gillian says "Only a little bit." John says "No. It's raining a lot. We need to hurry up and get in the car." Gillian says "Only a little bit." My tough girl. But she was right. It was barely raining. 

We only stopped at one more store. And Daddy ran in and left us in the car. I am not sure why John was unhappy about running errands. I wish someone would push me around a store while I ate free samples. 

Firefighter

I made chicken tonight. Some of the pan drippings hit the bottom of the oven and the kitchen quickly filled with smoke. It also set off the smoke alarm. I had Daddy help with the smoke alarms while I called the kids for dinner. John came upstairs, waving his hand in front of his face and said "Can we turn the fan on?" He then pinched his nose with his hand and sat down at the table. Gillian, on the other hand, said "Oh come on Mom!" As if I stink up the house every night. I told John that it wasn't necessary to hold his nose. He said "It's like you burned down the house!" Daddy didn't miss a beat and  said "John, you need to get used to this if you are going to be a fireman when you grow up." John said "You mean firefighter! Girls and boys can be firefighters." He then proceeded to lecture Daddy on calling people firefighters verses firemen. Gillian listened to this entire discussion and said "I be a princess!" Yes, Gillian you can be a princess when you grow up. 

The goods

Tonight, we were talking to John about his day. John had Amazing Athletes today. He told us, "We did running today." I asked him if he won any of the races. He said "No. I wasn't one of the goods. The goods kept winning. We didn't win because one of my team was slow. I don't know his name." He was so angry.  I asked him to name all the kids on the other team and then name all the kid on his team. He kept saying "There was one slow kid. I don't know his name. He's in the dinosaur class." Daddy ask him "Were you the slow on one your team?" John whipped his head around to face Daddy and said "What?!?! No!!"

Everyone

Last week, Gillian wore a cute top with pink leggings. When Daddy picked her up from school, Gillian said "Everyone like my shirt!" While saying that, she would run her hands down the front of her shirt. She proudly told me the same thing that night. "Everyone like my shirt!"

Today, Gillian wore her new shoes to school. The shoes are black Toms. Daddy picked the kids up from school. He got Gillian first and they went outside together to get John. While Gillian was looking for Jphn, Miss Denise (one of John's teachers) said "Gillian, I love your shoes." Gillian responded by saying "Daddy, everyone like my shoes!"

Sunday adventures

This morning, we went to Mimi as Poppy's house for breakfast. Gigi and Pop-Pop (the kids great grandparents) were in town and breakfast was the perfect opportunity to get together. After breakfast the kids ran around the backyard blowing bubbles. I had to help Gillian with we bubbles. She has a tendency to spill bubbles. She wasn't happy with my assistance and kept saying "I do it myself." I finally caved and watched her spill half of the bubbles in grass. 

After breakfast we went to Uncle T and Aunt Missy's house. Uncle T, Uncle Kevin, Daddy and Billy (Aunt Missy's brother) were fixing Uncle T's boat. The kids were not too excited about fixing the  boat, they really just wanted to visit with the dogs. We were surprised to see Aunt Trish, Sammie and little Kyle there when we arrive. The kids were happy to see their cousins and they all played nicely on the boat. We also got to spend some time with the dogs. Plus, Miss Kalyn taught the kids how to weed in Aunt Missy's garden. 

Gillian and I beat the boys home. We decided to fill up the kiddie pool and get her dressed in her "bath-ing suit." Gillian was ready to jump in the pool when John and Daddy got home. John ran upstairs and got on his suit too. The kids played outside in the pool and with their water table for hours. 

Overall a busy but fun day! And a special thanks to my sister. She took the picture of the kids below!