Julia’s Gallery – The Goose

Julia drew this picture the other day and when she was finished she brought it to me and told me that she had something “very special” for me.  When I asked her what she had drawn she told me that this was a goose.  She then proceeded to explain that the red circle and orange at the top is the body, the red in the lower right corner is the mouth, the pink line coming out of the circle on the left is it’s tail, and the pink spots below the body are the wings that go “flap, flap, flap.”  This was the first time that she has narrated her art for me and it was amazing to hear her explain the details.  I think we have lots of entertaining stories to look forward to! 

Play Ball!

We went to Julia’s 2nd baseball game tonight.  Last weekend we went to a Pawtucket Red Sox game with my parents and Julia had a great time.  Tonight, our friends and neighbors were kind enough to share some tickets for the Nationals game.  The game was supposed to start at 7:05.  At 4:00 Julia was insisting that it was time to go to the game!!!  So we got there early, watched some batting practice, had some hot dogs (and chili cheese fries from Ben’s Chili Bowl – a DC institution), stayed in our seats for a total of two innings, had some ice cream, and then headed home.  It was a fun night with a few special moments:

• Julia kept asking where the chicken was – she meant Screech the Nationals mascot, who is actually an eagle… not sure he would appreciate being called a chicken!
• Julia was completely wired and kept dancing around the concourse making everyone laugh.
• Julia singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” – enjoy!

Rainy Days

We’ve finally reached the end of a very long week.  On Sunday we returned to VA from a successful trip up to Rhode Island where we found a house to rent for the next year.  We’re excited to have that settled but we’ve all been feeling a little down about returning to VA and having another month ahead of us before we will be up there and getting started on our new adventure. 

For this week, we did not have any classes or organized activities arranged.  The kids in the neighborhood went back to school.  And we were stuck inside A LOT because it has rained every single day.  Not little showers either – torrential downpours that lasted for hours. 

While we did get out of the house each day to do our normal weekly errands like grocery shopping and a trip to the library, there was a lot of time to fill up.  Thankfully, I have been thinking about new activities to do with Julia and have recently been inspired by many posts on a website called Pinterest (a very cool and addictive site).  So we made a trip to the store early this week to stock up on some new craft supplies and we were set. 

We created pictures of apple trees with construction paper and paint, using straws to make the apples.  We made and played with playdough that smells like apple pie.  Julia explored a discovery box that I put together with different objects hidden amongst dried beans.

We made sculptures out of marshmallows and toothpicks:

And more sculptures out of pipe cleaners and a colander.

Our neighbor Meg came by today and helped with that one.  And when it was finished we decided it looked like a silly hat so we all tried it on.

We sorted through buttons, finding ones of the same size or color and picking out our favorites.  We hula-hooped.

And today, when we were very sick of rain, we made chocolate cake… with peanut butter frosting… and chocolate chips.

And then the sun came out!!!

A Budding Photographer

So Alyssa and I have never been great about getting pictures of the two of us when we go somewhere. However, it looks like we may have solved that problem. Julia, who has been fascinated by the camera since she first saw it, asked to take a picture of Alyssa and I together tonight. It took a couple of tries but in the end she got a great shot.

Julia’s title for this photo is “Mommy and Daddy Snuggle.” I think she is a natural!