Cousins and a Bounce House

Some of our relatives were visiting their parents recently and hosted a joint birthday party for some of the cousins who live out of town. The boys and I drove up to Aunt D's in the afternoon for the party and brought along what was left of the wheat free, soy free, oat free, dairy free cake that we had made for Pequeño's birthday for  our kids to eat.

When we got there, the kids were a little shy at first because they had not seen these cousins in a few mints (I think the last time was at Thanksgiving?). Then one of the adults mentioned that they were going to blow up a bounce house and the kids all ran to watch it get set up. Once it was ready, they all hopped in and were instantly having fun together.

Pequeño was too little to go in the bounce house but he still had a lot of fun visiting with relatives, watching an laughing at the other kids, and playing in the grass.

The kids took a short break from bouncing to eat and have cake and then went right back to jumping around.

We had originally planned to go home that night but after an issue with the van, we ended up spending the night at Abuelo and Abuela's (who were away in Puerto Rico). The next morning, while Papa Bear worked on the van, the kids and I went back to Aunt D's to visit with the relatives again. Since they didn't have to return the bounce house until later that day, the kids were all able to play in it some more! They also played on the swingset for a little bit before we had to leave as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pequeño is ONE!

How is it possible that our little baby has gone from 

To

in one tiny year? 

Happy Birthday Pequeño! 

Dorney and Dinosaurs

Grandma came to visit for a few days again so we decided to go to the water park for the day. We stayed there for a few hours and checked out most of the things that the kids were old enough to do. They had a lot of fun although the water was pretty cold. Pequeño decided not to float down the lazy river with Papa, Grandma, and Little Bear at the last moment and ended up whining about it the entire rime that they were gone instead. Then we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the dry side. So, we went on a few rides, ate various foods, saw the bike, gymnast, and tricks show that we saw before, and went to the dinosaur exhibit. Pudge fell asleep on the walk over to where the dinosaurs were and wouldn't wake up to see them. He ended up waking up after we were done with the walk and was very excited about the dinosaurs that he was able to see from there so we have decided that we'll have to go for him again next time. Little Bear had a lot of fun seeing all of the dinosaurs and finding out which time periods they were from. However, he didn't want to wait for the rest of us to look at them or read the signs and had to be slowed down  a few times. He was ecstatic to find that there was an "archeological dig site" for the kids at the end of the walk and went to work trying to make a discovery. Neither of the older two kids wanted to be done for the day when it was time to leave but they were pretty easily bribed with ham &turkey hoagies. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parfaits for breakfast

The kids asked for parfaits this morning so we through some together for them. Since Little Bear can't have dairy (or soy), we used his coconut yogurt and then added some vanilla granola and blueberries. Little Bear and Pudge both asked for more!

 

 

Who broke Laundry Bear's toe?

It's a mystery, I suppose...

This is Laundry Bear:

Laundry Bear is a bank that Mema (my grandmother) gave to me while I was pregnant with Little Bear. Originally, Laundry Bear was his bank. Then he received a crayon bank and Laundry Bear was given a new duty. She sits ontop of the washer/dryer and eats any loose change that the family forgets to remove from their pockets before throwing their clothes into the hampers (or various places on the floor to be picked up by Mama Bear... Looking at YOU Papa Bear...). Every once in a while, Laundry Bear gets emptied out and Mama uses the money for random things (split between the kids banks, picking out quarters for tolls, spending money for trips to the zoo, or getting Mama an iced coffee...) 

This afternoon, as I picked up Laundry Bear to put in a few pennies , the top of her foot fell off. 

Now regardless of what Little Bear would like me to believe ("Maybe it just fell off because it's old?"), I think that someone in this house broke my poor Laundry Bear, balance the broken part back on, and left her there to sit with a broken foot.

So far I've ruled out Pequeño. He's quick and destructive but not quite tall enough (or skilled enough) to scale a dryer. Pudge is a climber and has a history of breaking my valuables (Santa figurine, trolls) but I don't think that it was him unless he had an accomplice. That leaves me with Little Bear or Papa Bear. Both are good suspects but neither will admit to the crime. 

 

 

Bedtime Sweetness

If you ask Little Bear if he likes sharing a room with his brothers, his answer will depend on how bedtime went on the night before. Most nights are easy- We read one or two stories, sing each child a song that they pick (or someone else picks for Pequeño) while they are tucked into bed, and off to sleep they go. Other nights, much MUCH few nights, there is whining and "But I have to...*insert random thing that doesn't need to be done but now seems REALLY important to them ("put my shoes in the closet" anyone?)"'s or escape attempts made by Pudge which then result in his whining. 

Even with the few rough nights (remember the first night of the shared room?), the kids love having the same room.

Tonight, the kids went to sleep with no issues. A little while later, I heard Little Bear "reading" an animal story out loud (presumably) to Pudge. And when I checked on them they had set up their pillows and blankets in the floor space between their beds so they could sleep by each other. 

Even Pequeño was sleeping in the corner of his crib closest to where the boys were sleeping.

 

 

Back On Duty!

Daddy charged the police cruiser so the kids were back to catching bad guys tonight!

 

Splash All Day

Since Little Bear had camp this morning, I used the opportunity to get some shopping done with two kids vs. three. Pudge has been so excited about the fact that he is going to be starting "pwescoo" (preschool) this year. While in The Children's Place, he noticed the book bag that he just HAD TO HAVE! From in the front of the double stroller, he started pointing and saying "A doggy book bag! I neeeeeeeed it! For pwescoo! Pweeeeease!". How could I say no? He was so happy that he then wore it in the store while still in the stroller and only agreed to take it off so that I could buy it.

After that, we decided to spend the rest of the time before we could pick Little Bear up from camp at the plaza's spray fountain. So, we went back to the car to change Pudge into his bathing suit (Pequeño was sleeping in the stroller) and spent the next hour or so watching him play in the water.

When we picked up Little Bear, I told him that we could check out a new (different) spray area. So we ate a snack (apples, raisins, and pretzels) in the car while we drove there. I was surprised by how nice this splash park turned out to be and the fact that there was a park with jungle gyms there as well. 

The kids were begging to get out of the car before we were parked! So, we got them all (Pequeño was awake by now) changed into their bathing suits, put on more sunscreen, grabbed towels from the back of the van, and headed over. 

At first, Little Bear wasn't too sure about getting his face wet and would stay where the water only sprayed low. Then Pudge started running through the "car wash" and Little Bear decided that it looked like a lot of fun. After that, he had no fear. Both older boys kept running over to where our towels were hanging to dry their faces but would immediately run back to get soaked again. Pequeño had a great time splashing around and getting sprayed. He didn't really like when his hair/face got wet though. Pudge loved every part of it. When it was time to go, the older two were already asking if we could come back another time.

 

 

 

 

 

Dorney Day

Since Grandma was going to be staying at our house this weekend, we decided to spend all of Saturday at Dorney.

We ate breakfast (pancakes, eggs, bagels, fruit) at our house around 8:30 and then started getting ready to leave. Papa Bear needed to shower (Yes, he showers immediately before going somewhere that he fully plans on getting sticky, gross, and dirty...Don't ask me why.), the diaper-bag needed an inventory check and slight restocking, Little Bear couldn't find his shoes, a car seat needed to be put in the car (none of those fancy stow and go seats for us... You'll find me awkwardly hefting bucket seats into place instead.), and car-seats needed to be rearranged. So, around 10:30/10:45, we were ready to go. Luckily, the trip is a short one. 

When we first got there, Little Bear decided that he wasn't going to go. Papa Bear told him that was fine but that we were all going and closed the door. Little Bear's tune changed immediately and we were ready to start the fun. 

Our first stop was Planet Snoopy. The kids weren't sure where to go first. Little Bear made the decision for them and he and Pudge went on a flying school bus ride which would later then out to be Pudge's favorite ride. 

Then they went on a little Farris wheel while Pequeño and I looked on. 

 

 

Then off for some pictures with Snoopy and Woodstock.  Pudge didn't want his picture taken because he wanted the pretend cookie that Snoopy was holding. 

Then Grandma, all three boys, and I went on a little car ride. Pequeño loved it (the other boys did too) and was happily babbling and playing with the steering wheel for the entire ride. (*I'm hoping to insert pictures from Papa Bear's phone here later...)

Off for more rides,

Photo booths (*pictures to insert eventually),

Meeting Snoopy,

a late lunch at Chickies and Pete's which was pretty good, some face-painting (a definite highlight of the trip) 

an awesome show with bike tricks and gymnastics (The kids were in awe the entire time and we plan to see it again!)

The kids were so excited to be able to give some of the people high-fives after the show and Little Bear said "If I keep exercising, maybe I can do that! I can already lift up my basketball hoop!" (The basketball hoop lifting has been a very exciting accomplishment lately an is mentioned often.) One trickster got a double high-five!

Pequeño took a small nap and snack while the kids, Papa Bear, and Grandma went on a few more rides. 

After a break for Rita's Italian ice (Swedish Fish and Blue Raspberry), a train ride, and ride around the carousel, we headed home around 7:45pm. 

We ended the fun with a pizza, chit-chatting about everything that we did that day, and then headed to bed.

Cleaning Day

It's Cleaning Day (Although, really, isn't every day?) and even Pudge is in the clean up spirit! Well, kinda. He saw me scrubbing the counters and asked if he could clean his house. So, armed with a spray bottle full of water, a cleaning cloth, and a freeze pop, he spent the next few minutes scrubbing the playhouse before deciding that it was more fun to play with the messy chalk.