Mighty Machines

It was a dark and gloomy rain-filled afternoon, so we decided to put in a DVD for fun. The kids decided on one of their "Mighty Machines" DVDs, which basically explains super-machines like car crushers, excavators, and super tow trucks in kid-friendly ways. Little did I realize how the DVD would spur their imagination. Yes, they did sit transfixed by the TV for about 20 minutes, but then they decided to bring out all of their Matchbox cars, Bob the Builder figurines, and diggers to recreate the scrap yards they had just seen. It was quite an elaborate production, with both kids squealing in delight. Soon enough, the kids forgot that the TV was even on. Thank you, Mighty Machines' creators, thank you.

A Walk of No Particular Significance...

There are flying squirrels among us. In Northern Virginia. Supposedly. We wouldn't know because Katie and Mike did not see any tonight while attending a "Flying Squirrel Walk" at the local nature center. Apparently they don't come out in the gusty winds. Oh well, we had fun joining friends Mr. Jim and Patrick (5.5 yrs) for the program anyway...followed by a yummy dinner at Fuddruckers!

Here is the only damn flying rodent we saw all evening. Katie's beloved figurine named Sophie. Oh well, Mike can't be too bitter. The father-daughter time was priceless...

Who Needs the Gym?

Who needs a gym membership when you can shake all of your sillies out on a playdate? Between all the jumping and impressive yoga moves, we think our kids got in some quality exercise time. By the way, thanks to Ms. Asa, Max (5.5 years-old), and Sam (almost-3!) for coming over to keep us company while Mike is away in Philly. Fun time had by all! (And, isn't it funny that all of Katie's male buddies that come over end up in a princess dress?)

Da-Planes, Da-Planes!

So we wanted to take the kids somewhere fun today and, although Katie begged for the zoo or an aquarium, we opted for the National Air & Space Museum to give Michael a reward for an initial smooth transition into his big-boy bed. However, matters were complicated when Michael came down with a bug and kept most of us up for a large portion of the overnight. Although we ended up missing out on meeting up with some co-workers at the museum, Mike made it out with the kids later in the day to give Traci some much needed rest.

Michael seemed pleased with the "a-pays" and "al-copt-as" and the abundant space to run around in the Udvar Hazy center's airplane hanger style layout. At one point, he was approximately 50 yards ahead of Mike and Katie, weaving through tour groups without a care in the world. He and his sister did manage to stop and pay their respects to Mr. Brian's "u-e al-copt-a," albeit the U.S. Army version.

Katie seemed to gravitate towards the biggest and fastest aircraft, although she did not seem a bit interested in the Space Shuttle Enterprise. Here she is posing with the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which she deemed the "fastest airplane in the world."

Hush, Little Baby

Shhhh...everybody stay quiet now... Just look at big boy Michael, all snug in his bunk! We decided to take this three-day weekend as Big Boy Bed Bootcamp for Michael since we feared the worst. VERY luckily for us, Evening #1 went about as smoothly as we could ask for. When we told him that he would be sleeping in the bottom bunk, he willingly climbed in on his own, looked for his paci and blankie (of course), and settled in without complaint. (Even Katie was cheering as we had warned her it might be a difficult evening.) When we hadn't heard from him after 45 minutes, Traci went in to check on him. Much to her surprise, he was still awake, smiled and said hello, and then snuggled back into his pillow. Hooray! As for today's nap, we cheated a little. We took the kids to a playground and ran them into the ground. After lunch, by the time we got home, he was half-way asleep anyway. After three hours, he happily woke up and climbed out of his bunk to greet us! Even if the novelty wears off over the next week and he regresses, we at least had a successful first 24 hours!!! Yay for big boys!

Today's Art Project: Mosaic Cheetah

To pass the time during Michael's nap today, Katie and Traci tried their hand at a different art form: mosaic. Katie picked out the cheetah from one of her nature books, Traci drew the outline and tore the construction paper, and Katie then went to town with the paper and glue stick. Traci didn't know if Katie would have the patience to finish the project, but Katie was amazingly meticulous and thorough. She wanted the cheetah to look realistic (no pink or purple on this mosaic!), and she wanted to find just the right piece for each angle. We think the finished project turned out pretty darn cool. This was worth skipping Traci's little mid-day nap!

Math Geniuses

Mike took one look at this picture and immediately thought of the scene from "Good Will Hunting" where Matt Damon's character was figuring out complex math algorithms all over the chalk board. Maybe we could pretend the same here...or......maybe the kids were just having fun with our window markers. Talk about a kid toy invention that would have been a blast to have when we were young! Anyway, Katie had fun trying to draw new animals (a snake! bird! giraffe!) while Michael was just obsessed with drawing vertical lines. Was just a nice way to pass some time on a rainy afternoon.