Cardboard fort

We installed a new hot water heater on Friday.  When I say "We" I mean Daddy.  As soon as Daddy brought home the new water heater, John asked for the box.  Saturday morning, we put the box on the back deck and let John go crazy. 

John spent hours working on the structure of the fort while Gillian decorated the outside.  I had John show me some of the features of his fort.

Once again, I'm impressed with John's craftsmanship.  He never ceases to amaze us. 

Gillian's Art Show

Tonight was Gillian's art show. The boys stayed home to work on John's book report, so it was just the girls. Gillian was so excited! We ran into her art teacher and she told me all about the projects they have worked on this year. 

Here are some of Gillian's pieces. 

Fashion by Gillian

Friday afternoon, I found Gillian glueing construction paper together in the laundry room. 

 

I asked "Gilly, whatcha doing?" She looked up and said "I'm making a dress!" Don't know why I didn't think of that. I left her alone. Later I asked "What made you decide to make a dress out of paper?" She said "Remember when we were doing crafts this morning? That's where I got the idea!" Earlier in the day the kids spent time in Monmouth Museum's art studio creating. She glued all her paper together on Friday and left it to dry. 

She continued working on her dress on Saturday. 

I helped cut a whole for the head. But she added ribbon and made the straps all by herself. 

She made a beautiful dress!

I can't wait to see her next creation.  

Early morning

This Saturday, Daddy had to work. He and I got up early to get the day started. We were in the kitchen when John came downstairs. It was 6:15. We looked at him and sent him back upstairs. I said "It's too early for you to be up!" He reluctantly went back upstairs. Daddy left for work and it was probably another 20 minutes before John joined me again. He said "What? I can't sleep!" He then asked me "Can I build something out of the boxes in the garage?" Last week at school his class got to build things out of cardboard boxes, string, toilet paper rolls and etc. John loved it. And wanted to build again. Daddy and I will always encourage the kids to use their imaginations. I said "Yes." And he ran into the garage. He occupied himself for a half hour.  

He ended up building a house for his stuffed animals. When Gillian woke up she wanted to help too. John was patient but it don't take long before they both had enough. 

The Battle Bot

Daddy introduced John to BattleBots.  Since then, John has been designing a Bot in his mind.  Today he drew it out and I got him to describe it for me. 

I love how he took what he learned in the first show and applied it to his bot.  After the video (while I cleaned up the glass he knocked over), John also explained to me "the ultimate weapon."  Basically, the ultimate weapon is when all the bot's weapons activate at the same time.  He is currently working on a name for his bot.  Got to love his imagination. 

The map

John made Gillian a map today. He cut it into pieces and hid it around the house and the backyard. Gillian then had to start in her room and find all the pieces of the map. Once she had all the pieces she would be able to find the "treasure." Gillian loved this and volunteered to make the treasure. While John was making the map, she was coloring a Lego man. John agreed to make her picture the treasure. He then rehid the map pieces and the treasure. They ran around the house and the backyard looking for the hidden pieces. After they were done, Gillian cut up her Lego man picture and she hid them for John to find. 

It was such a simple game, but they loved it. And I loved watching them. 

No TV

We have a no TV during the week rule for the kids. We don't have a lot of time with the kids at night and no TV just makes it easier to do homework, eat dinner, and get everyone to be in a timely manner. Most nights TV isn't missed. Tonight was one of those nights. We got all of John's homework done, read books, took baths and got ready for bed with no arguments. After reading John wanted to make a rainbow loom bracelet and Gillian played with her Monster High dolls. Who needs TV when we can use our imagination and be creative?

Chalk pictures

John and Gillian spent the day at Grandma's house. They spent most of the day playing outside. Aunt Betty sent me some pictures of Gillian's chalk pictures. 

That's Gillian. Aunt Betty traced Gillian and Gilly added the tutu! Then she added more detail. 

Gillian laid next to her chalk picture. 

When I picked up the kids, Gillian proudly asked "Did you see my picture?" She was so proud. 

At dinner tonight she said "Oh no! I wanted to make Elsa's ice palace." John said "Well, if it rains tonight everything will wash away and you can make the palace." I love her picture and how excited she is to create something new. Can't wait to see what else she makes. 

The Story

Everyday Gillian comes home with a stack of pictures that she made at school.  Today was no different.  She folded all the pictures together to make a book and then she "read" John and I the story.  She created the story in the car, but after bath time I asked her to tell me one more time.  Here is a video of her story.

 



The map

This morning I let the kids paint.  Gillian made a beautiful rainbow.  John made a treasure map.  He put a lot of thought into it.  I had him describe the map and all the traps. 

Empty Room

Daddy and I are in the process of updating our bedroom (well Daddy is). So we have temporarily moved to the basement and our bedroom is completely empty. On Thursday we let the kids run around the empty room. I found them pretending to be characters from the show Slugterra. They found water guns and were "shooting" each other with slugs. 

Here are a few pictures of the action. 

The duck part 2

Tonight, I picked up Gillian from school. In the car I asked "How was your day?" She didn't answer me. I asked again "Gillian, how was your day?" She said "I don't want to talk about it now." Ugh. I hate that. So we sat in silence for awhile until she heard something on the radio. "Mama, can you make it louder?" It was a commercial for the new Imagine Dragons song. She said "I want to hear it. Mama where did it go." Unfortunately it was just a commercial, and we didn't get to hear the whole song. So again we sat in silence. Then she said "Can we play the duck game?" About a month ago I blogged about how she was quacking in the backseat and I kept asking her about the duck. Well that's what she wanted to do. So she quacked and I asked "Gillian, did you hear that?" And she laughed. Then she quacked again and again. I played along and questioned if she saw the duck. She thought it was hilarious. Finally she said "It was me! I am the duck!" Love her. 

The bracelets

This morning, I found two paper bracelets in Gillian's bookbag. I asked her about them. She said "They're bracelets. I made them." Yup.  She was very helpful. 

Tonight, Daddy asked her "Gillian, what are these?" She said "Bracelets. And when you wear them you turn into whatever super hero you want." She put them on, and said "I'm Wonder Woman. And now I'm Cat Woman." John asked "Can I try them?" Gillian took off the bracelets and John put them on. He said "They don't work. I wanted to be Superman, but I'm not." Gillian looked at him and said "That's because you're a boy. They only work for girls."

Here is Gillian modeling her magic bracelets. 

The fortune

Tonight I gave the kids a bath, John read books to Gillian, and I read a few pages of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Then the three of us snuggled in my bed with Gillian's manket. John decided to get his Grandma blanket so we could all get under it. After about thirty seconds, the kids got bored. John said "I wish we could build a fort." I said "Go for it." They went running to John's room. They were working for awhile when Daddy got home. Gillian heard the front door open and she greeted Daddy when he walked upstairs. "We're building a fortune!" she said proudly. Daddy questioned her "A fortune?" Gilly nodded and said "Yup. We're building a fortune in Johnny's room." Daddy said "Oh a fort, go help John." She ran away and about two minutes later they both were standing in our doorway. John said "You know what? We need some help building our fort." Daddy went to John's room to help out. 

Soon all I heard was giggles. I checked on them. Gillian proudly said "Daddy made our fortune! And we can watch movies in here!"

They played in their fort until bedtime. When I tucked John in bed, he was telling me "I want to make it so it's taller. That way we can bothe sit up in it." When I tucked Gillian in bed, she said "I wish I could have a fort in my room." I love that a simple fort made them use their imagination.  

Tea Party

It's been a long time since I have enjoyed a tea party with Gillian. Yesterday Aunt Betty and Justin came to visit. The kids were playing happily downstairs while Aunt Betty and I talked upstairs. We went to check on them and found John and Justin playing video games. Gillian, on the other hand, had on a pretty dress up skirt and fairy wings. She was setting up a tea party. Aunt Betty and I joined her. I laid out a blanket and helped her set up the plates and napkins. Aunt Betty worked on the cookies and sandwiches. Gillian got some friends (stuffed animals and babies) to join us. She brewed up some coffee (in her coffee maker). And then she said "We need a menu!" She found the Magna Doodle and gave it to me. "Write the menu." Aunt Betty and I laughed and she insisted "Write the menu." I asked her "What do I write?" She gave me a little list of what we were having. "Mac & Cheese, chips, coffee, drinks, cookies, sammiches." I wrote her list and she got mad because I missed something. And I had to rewrite it. Aunt Betty and I really enjoyed our tea party with Gillian and her friends. 

Here are some pictures of the party. And yes, I know I can't spell potatoes. 

Pictionary

When I went to get Gillian from school today, I found her in her classroom with some of her friends. They were sitting in a semicircle looking at a dry erase board. One little boy was drawing something on the board and they were all guessing what he drew. They were so cute raising their hands when they had a guess. Gillian saw me and came over looking very sad. "But I didn't get a chance to play!" Miss Denise heard her and said "If Mommy has time, you can go next!" How can you say no to that?!

Gillian was given a marker and she confidently drew a loopy line. I immediately thought it was a tornado. The kids guessed all kinds of things. Finally Clarissa said "A tornado!" Gillian would smile and shake her head. Miss Denise said "Gillian can you give us a hint?"  Gillian said "If you want. I can draw more." And she did. She drew all around her loopy line, until there was a big scribble all over the board. I wasn't sure what she drew. And her friends were just guessing random things. "A butterfly." "A dog." "A mountain." Finally I said "Gillian, we can't figure it out. Can you tell us." She giggled and said "It's just a silly fly." I love her imagination. She drew how the fly flew around (his whole silly path).  It was also really nice to see how she interacted with the other kids and how confident she was around her peers. It was a Great Mommy Moment. 

Cartooning

John's camp elective last week was cartooning. I have to say that I am really impressed with his drawings. The picture below is my favorite. 

 

He also made a whole series about a pig and a cow. He says "The cow is the good guy. And the pig is bad. The pig is driving a tractor. He is going to rob a bank. You know why?" "No John. Why is the pig going to rob a bank?" He giggled and said "Becaue he wants to make a piggy bank!" Check out the pictures below.

Bean's adventure

Gillian's school was closed today for an in-service for the teachers. I asked Grandma if she would watch Gillian during the day. Gillian was super excited to have a day at Grandma's all by herself. On Monday when Daddy picked Gillian up from school, Miss Patti asked Daddy "Is Gillian going to be in school tomorrow?" Daddy replied "Yes. Why?" Miss Patti said "Gillian told everyone that she was going to her Grandma's house." Daddy laughed "She is. On Friday when school is closed." 

This morning, I went to wake Gillian up. I whispered "Good morning. What's going on today?" Gillian opened her eyes and said "I going to Grandma's today!" As I got her dressed, she said to me "We go after I eat breakfast!" Gillian and I got John on the bus and went to Grandma's house. Gillian was super excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. She immediately asked for paper and crayons. She didn't even notice that I left. 

I went to pick her up this afternoon. She was hiding in Grandma's kitchen. When she saw me she said "Why are you here?" (Wow. Thanks Gillian.) She wasn't happy to hear that I was picking her up. "Can't I sleep over?" I told her that John and Daddy were waiting for us at home. While she was getting her stuff together, Grandpa and Grandma told me that Gillian was very good today. Gillian went to church, shopping with Grandma, watched "Rella" with Grandpa and colored with Justin. Sounds like a pretty awesome day. 

She was exhausted and fell asleep in the car. Grandma keeps you busy!

The list

John and Daddy went on an adventure yesterday. They needed to get silly socks for John for school, and flour and creamer for Mommy. When they got home, Daddy told me that John was a big helper. John kept a list in his head. He described it "I had pictures in my head and then when we got something on my list I made a check (and he took his finger and made a checkmark on his temple)." John was so proud of his list. After he described his list, he told me "When we got everything I erased it!"

Last week

One of Gillian's favorite things to say is "Last week..." She, like most children, has no concept of time. Here are a few of my favorite "Last week" stories. 

"Last week, I was a baby and Johnny feed me."

"Last week, I go to the crayon factory. I want to go right now! I need to make more crayons."

"Last week, I was a baby and I no wear socks."

"We already come here! Last week, we go to this store and I get donuts!" (at the mall)

"It's my Dad's birthday." We tell her that it isn't. She says "It was. Last week!"