Pink Milkshake

We took the kids to Johnny Rockets for Gillian's birthday dinner. On our way to the restaurant we told Gillian she could have anything she wanted to eat or drink. She said "I want a pink milkshake!" Daddy and I were a little shocked. We could only think of one other time when she had a milkshake so we were a little surprised when she requested one.  We got to Johnny Rockets and ordered the kids a vanilla and a strawberry shake.  The waiter asked us if we wanted kids sized shakes, but we said no.  Gillian was very impatient.  She kept asking when the shakes were coming.  "I got a pink milkshake!" "Where my pink milkshake?"  Finally the waiter delivered the shakes.  The kids attacked them.  I was afraid that Gillian wouldn't like her "pink" shake and that I would get stuck drinking it.  Well I was wrong.  She loved it.  She drank about half of her big shake, while John drank all of his.   

The pink milkshake made quite the impression on Gillian.  After we went to the Crayola Factory on Sunday (don't worry there is a blog post coming about that adventure), we stopped at a diner to get something to eat.  In the car on the way there, Gillian kept telling Daddy and I, "I have pink milkshake!"  When we walked in the diner, Gillian announced "I have pink milkshake!"  The diner wasn't packed with customers, but everyone in the place knew that my little girl was having a pink milkshake.  While the waitress was making Gillian's shake, Gillian covered her ears so that she couldn't hear the noise of the blender.  I told Gillian the noise was from making her shake.  That's all it took.  She took her hands off her ears and grinned ear to ear.  She was so excited about her shake.  The waitress put her shake in a small cup with a lid and a straw.  Somehow Gillian still ended up with a pink milkshake mustache. 

 

 

The Birthday Girl

Gillian's birthday was Saturday, so we celebrated at school on Friday.  I brought in pizza, cupcakes, cookies and goodie bags for her class to celebrate.  Gillian consistently asked Daddy and I, "Johnny come to my party?"  We made sure that John was included too.  When I arrived, Gillian was already wearing her birthday crown that her teachers made her.  The kids ate all their pizza quickly.  I think they were just excited to get their hands on the cupcakes.  John and Miss Margaret walked around and handed out the cupcakes.  The kids sang Happy Birthday to Gillian.  It was perfect.  They are at the stage where they yell more than they sing.  But it was perfect.  The kids ate all the icing off the top of the cupcakes and only a few of them actually ate the cake.  I snuck out while Gillian was distracted washing her hands. 

 

Daddy picked up the kids from school and Gillian was still wearing her birthday crown.  In the car on the way home, Gillian was singing "Happy Birthday." Daddy assumed that she was just singing "happy birthday to me." But when he turned around he noticed that she had placed her birthday crown on her knee.  She was singing, "Happy Birthday to knee."  Next she moved the crown to her foot and sang it "Happy Birthday" too. 

Saturday was her birthday, and I woke up early and put her presents on the kitchen table.  I was downstairs working on the computer and I could hear someone up and walking around the house.  I assumed that it was John (he is my early riser), but soon I heard two sets of footsteps walking down the basement stairs.  Gillian and John were on the stairs.  I hugged my little 3 year old.  I noticed that she had two new My Little Ponies in her hand.  I asked her if she just woke up by herself.  John said "No.  I woke her up.  I was real gentle."  My sweet little man woke up his sister to give her the presents he picked out.       

The Spider

John and Gillian's school had a visitor last week.  The kids were visited by Insectropolis and they brought all kinds of insects for the kids to see.  Gillian was not too excited about the bugs coming to school (even though it was only a few weeks ago when she told me that spiders were her favorite animal.)  John told me that he saw a tarantula at school.  He also said "I didn't touch it.  But it was hairy!  Did you know that there are no kinds of spiders that can hurt you?"  I'm not so sure about his fun fact, but I do love how he says tarantula.

 

Bedtime Songs

After we tucked the kids into bed tonight, Gillian started talking to herself.  This is nothing new.  She does this every night.  As a matter of fact, Daddy actually encourages her to talk to herself.  She still takes naps at school, so most nights she is not always ready for bed at bedtime.  But we still like to keep the routine.  Anyway, after she was in bed for a little while tonight, we could hear her singing a little song.  It went something like this "I love my pink room.  I love it because I like it.  I like my big girl bed.  No more baby crib!"  I got up to start recording her singing.  Below is a video of what I was able to record.  It was as if she knew I was recording, because she stopped singing and just started talking. 

Goodnight kisses

I went to give the kids some goodnight kisses tonight. Gillian was snug in her bed and she refused to let me snuggle with her. But she did give me a "kiss on my face" (aka a kiss on the lips) and a squeezie. I went to check on John. It was super quiet in John's room. With his new tent on his bed it was really dark in his room. I stuck my head in the tent and gave him a kiss on his cheek. He rolled over and said "Hi Mom!" I was surprised to see him awake and I said "You're awake?" He said "Of course, I couldn't go to sleep without giving you a kiss." He just melts my heart. 

Super Hero Book

I red the kids a Super Hero book and a princess book before bed tonight. I read both stories in Gillian's room because John has a new tent that covers his entire bed. Anyway, I read the kids the books then tucked them into their beds. Daddy and I were sitting in our room when I heard a little voice say "Mommy?"  And Gillian appeared in our doorway. We asked her what was wrong. She said "Super Hero book still in my room." I said to her "And that's a problem?" She nodded and started to cry. I "rescued" Gillian from the Super Hero book and I tucked her back into bed. Love when the kids are afraid of inanimate objects. 

Fast friends

We went to Mimi and Poppy's house today for a barbecue. We were having a barbecue because the kids' Great Uncle Jay was in town with his daughter. Since Uncle Jay was in town, Pop-Pop and GiGi came to visit too. John and Gillian briefly met Makenna last year but today was their first time playing together for an extended period. The kids were fast friends. They played nicely on John's water slide. At one point Gillian came to me and got a snack. She ate and said "Her's my best friend." And then she went running back to play with John and Makenna. They had so much fun playing with their cousin today. As we were leaving Gillian ran Makenna and gave her a big hug. I'm so glad that they had fun with their cousin today. 

Shopping Assistant

I had to run a few errands today and before I left the house, I asked the kids if they wanted to go with me. John said "No!" Gillian said "Yes! I go shopping!" 

One of our stops was a craft store. We were looking for princess toppers for Gillian's birthday cupcakes. Gillian kept stopping and picking up random things saying "Mommy! We need this!" Or "Mommy! Look flowers!" We didn't find  toppers in that store, but we did get a few things for her goodie bags. 

Our next stop was the food store. When I parked the car, Gillian said "I'm tired." This was her way of telling me that she wanted to sit in a shopping cart. I loaded her into the cart and as I pushed her into the store she yells "This da food store?!" I was not the only one that heard her, because as we walked thru the produce section one of the employees stopped to say hello to both of us. Gillian conned me into buying bananas and donuts. She had to hold them on her lap. When I tried to hand her something else, she told me "I not a octopus!" A fellow shopper heard Gillian say this and laughed and stopped to say hello to Gillian. As we went thru the dairy section, Gillian told everyone around us "We need yogurt!" And then proceeded to argue with me when I told her we didn't need yogurt (she got the yogurt). I can't remember what she said in the meat section, but she made another shopper laugh and laugh. We got to the register and she told me "Mommy, put get everything out of the cart!" 

We went home. Gillian had a little snack. She started with a yogurt. We called John upstairs for a snack. I told him that Gillian was eating yogurt. Gillian added her two sense "It's really good!" They ate their snack and we headed back out to do more errands. 

In the party store, she had to touch every  princess thing in the store. In Target she arranged everything in the cart. Twice. In Costco, she held my membership card and proudly handed it to the cashier. 

In the car about two miles from home, she fell asleep. She was exhausted. A full day of shopping was too much for my little lady. I am thankful. She made my errands an adventure. 

All Aboard

I'm not sure when or how this started, but recently Gillian has been pretending that she is on a train. She will yell "All Aboard!" Then she will pause for a few seconds then says "Hey you! Get back on the train!" 

I love this whole thing. While I am cooking dinner I get Gillian to play train. She and I compete over who is louder yelling "All aboard!" Gillian then will say "Get back on the train!" And then I try to catch her off guard by saying "I'm already on the train. You get back on the train!" She laughs and laughs. 

I love this little skit. If you have the pleasure of seeing Gillian face to face. Just say "All aboard" and watch her reaction. It's totally worth it. 

Legos

John started building one of his new Lego sets on Sunday. He has been working in the living room on the coffee table. All the little pieces have been very tempting to Gillian. Any chance she gets, she touches the pieces or the Lego men. Which always ends up with John saying "No Gill! Mom, Gill is touching my Legos!" John finally completed his set today. He brought the vehicle downstairs to show Daddy. While John was distracted, Gillian took the Lego guy out of the vehicle. John yelled at her "Gill!" Daddy said "Gillian, you know you have your own Legos." Gillian didn't know that we kept the Legos that Gillian bought for her big brother when she was born. They are Toy Story and Cars Dupleo Legos. We showed the bin and she went right to work building. John started to help her, but Daddy stopped him. "John, you don't like it when Gillian plays with your Legos, then you shouldn't play with her Legos." John left Gillian alone. She built a little castle while he played with his new Legos. Great night with my little builders. 

Duck, duck, goose

Daddy went to pick the kids up from school today. He found Gillian in the big room with all of her fiends. They were all sitting in a circle playing "Duck, Duck, Goose." Daddy watched them play from the hallway thru the window on the door. He watched as a little boy tapped Gillian on her head and said "Goose!" Gillian got up right away and chased him. He was just a little bit faster and sat down before she could tag him. Gillian then walked around the circle tapping her friends on their heads and saying "Duck, duck, duck." Daddy knew that she was headed right to Dorlisa. He was right. Gillian reached Dorlisa and said "Goose!" He decided to walk in the door while she was distracted running from Dorlisa. That didn't work. Because Gillian saw Daddy right away and went running to him. She ran super fast and wiped out. She hit the floor with her outstretched arms. Daddy consoled her. One of the teachers suggested that Gillian have another turn. While Gillian walked around the circle Daddy whispered to the teachers "She's just going to pick Dorlisa again." Again Daddy was right. She reached Dorlisa and said "Goose!" And went running around the circle until she got back to Dorlisa's spot and she sat down.  

The artist

Today we went to lunch at MJ's in Tinton Falls with Grandad. The restaurant overlooks a small waterfall. We were seated at a table by the window. John and Gillian were given crayons to draw on the paper-lined table. Gillian started scribbling right away and drew a rainbow. John, on the other hand, stared out the window before he started drawing. He drew a big blue circle and colored it in. He stopped and explained his drawing to Daddy, "It's a waterfall that has a hole at the bottom that drains to the ocean. Can I make the rock green?" He added his rocks and a big yellow sun. The whole time he was coloring he would stop and look out the window for reference and then continue. I asked him how big the whole was to the ocean. He said "Not too big. It's tiny. You wouldn't even know it was there!" I love that he took what was out the window and put his own twist on it. Love his imagination. 

What did you learn?

In the car on the way home tonight, I asked the kids what they learned in school today. Gillian said "Red means stop!" She paused then said "Green means go!" I asked her "What does yellow mean?" She says "No yellow!" John said "No, yellow means go slow." 

During dinner tonight, Daddy asked Gillian what she learned in school today. I was grinning ear to ear because I knew what she was going to say. Gillian said "I learn Hide and Seek!" Daddy looks and me and I just start laughing. Daddy asked her "How do you play Hide and Seek?" She said "I hide under the table. And you can't see me! Then you find me!" I told Daddy to ask Gillian what red means. Gillian quickly yelled "Stop! Green means go." Daddy asked Gillian "What about yellow?" John said "I know!" Gillian said "No yellow."

Sounds like she had a great day learning about red and green and how to play hide and seek. 

The Frog

Daddy and I put wood chips down around the kids swing set on Saturday. We loaded the kids up in Daddy's truck and Mr. Matt's truck to pick up the chips. We filled both trucks and let the kids play in the house while we moved the chips from the trucks to the swing set. We found a couple of frogs in the wood chips.  Daddy caught one and put him in a bucket to show the kids. John wasn't really impressed. He took one quick pool and went back inside. Gillian loved the little frog. She said "I hold him?" She didn't actually touch the frog, but he insisted on holding the bucket. Below is a picture of Gillian holding the bucket and the tiny frog just hanging out at the bottom. 

Line Leader

Everyday when Daddy picks up the kids, one of them gets to be line leader. They get to lead the line of Daddy and their sibling to the car. Daddy is very diplomatic and alternates the line leader everyday. John and Gillian love to be line leader. It is their chance to be first. Gillian was line leader on Friday, so today was John's turn. Daddy picked the kids up from the playground today and told John that he was the line leader. John waited patiently at the sidewalk for everyone to join him. When Gillian lined up behind him, John moved next to her and put his arm on her shoulders and they walked side by side to the car. My sweet little boy shared being line leader with his little sister. 

Ice cream

I decided this summer I would finally use out ice cream maker that Daddy and I received as a wedding present (I know. We will be married 10 years in September. What was I waiting for?). I figured I would start with a easy recipe and a crowd pleaser. Daddy loves pumpkin ice cream. Well actually, John and Daddy love pumpkin ice cream. Gillian loves pumpkin muffins, so I assumed that she would like the ice cream too. I have never made ice cream before I didn't realize there would be so many steps. But I started first thing this morning and had everything ready so that we could run the ice cream maker after dinner. 

During dinner Gillian was fussy and didn't want to eat. We told her that if she didn't eat than she couldn't have dessert. John whispered to her "It's pumpkin ice cream. You know you like ice cream." John's little pep talk didn't help. John didn't even want to finish everything on his plate. Daddy told John "It's ok. I'll eat it all!" John said "No you won't you'll get a belly ache!" John ended up eating everything on his plate and he helped me set up the ice cream maker. We poured the pumpkin mixture into the ice cream maker and told John it would be twenty minutes before the ice cream was ready. John sat and watched the clock for about two minutes and got very impatient. Daddy let him lick the bowl. That made him happy. Gillian finally finished her dinner and was able to lick the spoon too. 

After waiting forever (it seemed like that for an impatient 6 year old), the ice cream was ready. I gave John and Gillian a scoop while I emptied the ice cream maker. John said "Why did I only get one scoop?" We gave him a few more scoops and Daddy took the remaining ice cream for himself. John couldn't finish all of his ice cream so he brought it to Daddy. Daddy told him "I can't." And showed John the empty bowl. John said "I knew it! I knew you would get a belly ache!"

The kids had a great time with the ice cream maker. The ice cream came out pretty well (if I so say so myself). 

The fortune cookie

We ordered Chinese food for dinner tonight. The kids ate all their dinner and were able to have a fortune cookie for dessert. John opened his first. He asked me to read his fortune for him. The fortune was perfect for John. It said "Great success comes from patience." John didn't understand his fortune, but we explained it to him. We told him that he needed to slow down and take his time with things and everything will work out. He seemed to understand. 

Gillian broke her cookie and handed her fortune to Daddy. Daddy told her "Your fortune says 'You are a princess!'" Gillian shook her head and said "No! It says ..." As she spoke she got quieter and quieter. Daddy looked at me to see if I understood what she said. I had no clue. Daddy asked her to tell us again. She said "It says 'Beep boop dop dupe'" I think I would rather have the fortune that Daddy read. 

Waterlogged

John and Gillian spent the night at Mimi and Poppy's house last night. Daddy and I went to pick them up and found them playing in Mimi's backyard on John's big water slide. They were so excited to see us and tell us about their night. After a quick hello, John showed us how he went down the slide (Last year he was a little unsure, check out last summer's blog post called "Water slide."). While we were watching the kids play, Mimi got a call from Uncle T. Uncle T and Aunt Missy were at Aunt Missy's parents house and we were all invited too. We let the kids play for a little bit longer. Gillian finally got the nerve to try the slide. She did it once and landed in the water and said "Yes!" She loved it. But only when she was by herself without a big audience. 

Gillian does not like to be in a wrt bathing suit. If she is out of a pool for longer than two minutes then she wants out if her bathing suit too. Before we went to Aunt  Missy's parents house, Gillian asked to be changed. When we arrived at Aunt Missy's parents house John and Daddy went right into the pool. I had to convince Gillian to put on her bathing suit (or bath-ing suit as she would say). I got her in her suit, but she was unsure about going in the pool. Aunt Missy found Gillian some chips and she happily sat in a chair and ate her chips (and didn't share). 

John, on the other hand, was swimming all over the pool. He made friends with Aunt Missy's Aunt Maryann. With the help of Aunt Maryann John swam easily fifty laps. Gillian finally joined us in the pool. She swam all over the pool too. We pulled the kids out of the pool to eat. They both ate dinner. And John was dying to go back in the pool. I told him he had to wait until an adult was in the pool. The second an adult had their toes wet John asked me "Can I go now? Please?" He went back in the pool and had a great time with less people in the pool. He wasn't afraid to just swim everywhere. 

Again we pulled John out of the pool but this time for cake. He ate his cake and again asked to go in the pool. This time he went in the pool without his floatation device. He can touch in the low end, but he gets very nervous and worried that water will hit him in the face. Since this was now his third time in the pool today he was very brave and didn't get scared when more people joined him in the pool. Gillian also joined John in the pool. She didn't have her floaties on either. Aunt Missy gave her a raft to sit on. She kept showing off the raft to anyone who would listen "Look at my new thing!" "It's for princesses!" "I just laying here!" She was shaking and I decided to pull her out of the pool. She was not happy with my decision. She was also not happy that John climbed onto her raft. "It's for princesses, not brothers!"

Being 6 Rocks!

My little man turned six today!

First thing this morning, Gillian went running into his room saying "It's your birthday Johnny!" Once the kids were dressed and Gillian brought John his birthday present. She was so excited. John took the box gave it a quick shake and said "It's Legos!" He was right. He was still excited about the new Legos and gave Gillian a hug and kiss. In the kitchen he found a new book bag on his chair. He assumed that the book bag was his whole gift. He checked out the inside and found some more Legos. He was super excited. He didn't have any of these new Legos. He decided that he needed to bring his new book bag to school along with his collection of "If you give a mouse a cookie" books. 

When we arrived at school everyone said "Happy birthday!" And he got tons of compliments on his birthday shirt. Gillian told anyone that would listen, "I go to Johnny's party!" I left the kids at school and came back with pizza and cupcakes. Gillian was already hanging out in John's class with all the big kids. Lunch was pretty uneventful. Next it was time to sing. The kids did the typical rendition of Happy Birthday complete with the "cha cha ca" after every verse. The kids loved the cupcakes. Gillian licked most of the icing off of her cupcake, and then dropped it. We gave her a new cupcake and she ended up with an icing mustache. John then handed out his goodie bags. The kids were so happy with their goodies. And Gillian was excited that she got a goodie bag too.  

Overall a great 6th birthday!