fun day at gymnastics

Bear seems to have fun at gymnastics every week, but this week they brought out the fun inflatables and really disguised learning as fun. There was a big bounce house, tire swing, rope-climbing mountain and tunnel, zip-swing, swinging rope, and of course, the ever favorite foam pit. (Or as Bear calls it, the "stone" pit.) It was interesting to see that my little girl climbed up the ropes this time AND slid down the other side into the foam pit. She was too intimidated to complete the activity last time. However, she still needs to work on following directions... instead of letting go of the rope swing and jumping into the other foam pit, she swung across the pit and back and dropped onto the mat.

while mommy and daddy were away....

hannah went to cousin juliana's to play





I stole the video from Aunt Becca's blog.

bath time with bunny

somebody snuck a friend into the bathtub with her...

experiments

Today's "science projects":

• Hannah wanted to plant tangerine seeds in the dirt to see if they'll grow.
• I showed her ice in the gutter tray, and explained that when water gets very cold it turns to ice. She picked it up and began sucking on it. Don't worry, I didn't let her keep sucking. I told her it was dirty, and she said ,"yucky!"
• We cut a piece of aloe of the plant and put "lotion" on our hands and lips. We also added some dirt/coffee grounds to the pot because the roots were beginning to show.
  

1st "class"

today was our first kindermusik class! hannah was a little shy, but i think she'll enjoy it. when we pulled up to the building, she immediately noticed the thespian masks on one of the signs on the building. she saw the ribbons behind the masks and thought they were spider legs. "spider's sad, mama!"

during the class, her favorite songs included the rhythm sticks and jingle bells. she also loved the dancing time, of course.

as we drove away, she begged, "more singing time?!?" hopefully she'll be excited to go back next week.

language doesn't matter..

Baby Bear fell in love with Mickey Mouse back in May when we had access to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at Grandma and Grandpa's.

We don't have cable. I do have small collection of kids' videos in Spanish left over from my teaching days. One of these is the old Prince and the Pauper, starring Mickey, Pluto, and pals.

Hannah is carrying on her own little conversation with the TV, as though she understands what the characters are saying. I supposed I should be limiting her exposure to violence (there are lots of sword fights and such), but she is happy. And hysterical to watch.

silly mommy should plan better...

after breakfast, mommy showed me how to finger paint. i created 10 custom cards for her to send to people, most likely grandparents, great-gramma, aunts & uncles, etc... she says they could be on display at the Met in New York someday; they are priceless.

of course I needed a bath after art time. but after bathtime, mommy wanted to go outside to play in the dirt. she promised grandaddy he can have some cherry tomato plants if the extra seeds take, so we dug dirt out of the big pot and patted it into small starter pots. we were a mess by the time we finished. i especially liked squishing the nice black dirt between my fingers and dumping it onto the grass. after the outdoor excitement, helping mommy water the flowers, dropping my pet rock on the front porch and seeing pieces splinter off from it and petting the lily leaves, it was time for the 2nd bath of the morning. it was also the perfect way to calm me down since i was growing cranky.

bath was followed by lunch, and mommy is typing this for me while i nap. (she can read my mind for things like this.)

today's tidbits

when we went for our afternoon stroll, a neighbor's tabby cat walked up to us and rolled on its' back, as if to request, "pet me, please!" i asked hannah if she thought we should get a real kitty. "yah!" she responded enthusiastically. then i told her she would have to talk to her daddy about it.

i've had to put away the folding chair that we use as our desk chair. she likes to climb onto it, stand up and rock back and forth. that's just not safe.

new firsts

Baby Bear and I were outside picking dandelions when someone jogged by with their rather large puppy. I could tell it was a mixed breed, and suspected part of the mix. My suspicions were correct.... it was half black lab an half pitt-bull. Anyway, it was a beautiful dog. The owner said that the shelter had told them it was half german shepherd, and as a young pup it looked more like a lab. The vet could tell the difference and revealed the truth. Now, at 6 months old and 35 lbs., it's starting to show its' other bloodlines. Anyway, we chatted for a moment, and I let Baby Bear pet the dog. It was no more hyper than the jack russell that lives across the street and its master assured me it had never been aggressive toward any people, children or even dogs. She also shared that because of the pitt-bull bloodline, they are not allowed to take it to the dog parks. Besides, she held it tightly leashed. baby bear LOVES animals. She giggled with glee as the dog licked her.

we went out for mexican tonight. the new restaurant literally within walking distance (1.5 miles) is just too tempting. i ordered consome de pollo (chicken and rice soup) for myself, which was only $3.25. so i also ordered a chicken burrito and rice off the reasonably priced children's menu for baby bear. she ate about half of each, and some chips. this was her first "children's menu" meal. oh, yeah, she also had a peppermint patty.

a weekend of jumpin' elephants, giraffes, grandparents & singin' in the rain... well, splashin'...

Yesterday morning, Hannah and I joined some friends for a trip to the zoo. Her favorite part was bouncing in the toddler play area. She did enjoy seeing the elephants and giraffes, and playing with her buddies Brayden and Will. She thought baby Julianna (Will's sister) was adorable. After the bounce-fest in the play area, we decided to visit the animals. The larger animals were much easier for her to spot, and Hannah seemed to enjoy the fresh air as much as I did.

After a catnap in the car on the way home from the zoo, Hannah played with GranWendy and GranDaddy while I went to an appointment. It sure is nice to have them live so close. We have to take advantage of the free babysitting a little more often.

Gramma & Papa T. arrived on Friday night and spent the rest of the weekend with us.
It started raining just as we were about to go for a walk on Saturday, so we decided to sit on the front porch. Hannah decided she liked playing in the rain, and kept running off the porch. She especially like splashing in the water that came down the gutter spout. We let her play in the warm rain for about 5 minutes, then she got to take her 1st bath in the big tub in the master bathroom. Great Gramma sounded worried that we were letting her get wet, but so far there are no signs that our nature-lover caught a cold from the adventure.