Hot Hot Lava

As I've previously mentioned a new favorite show in our house is Jake and the Neverland Pirates on the Disney channel. Our latest interest and inspiration from the show has been volcanos - there's an episode that features one along with the catchy tune Hot Hot Lava (FYI, if you click the link and watch the video - I am not responsible for any songs that are running through your head at 2am!).

Julia's class had talked about volcanos a little last year and their teachers had made one for them to watch erupt. And after seeing the Jake episode she asked if we could make one at home. of course we could! So thanks to some newspapers from Grandma Les we I constructed a volcano (J took one look at the messy process of paper mache and decided that was not her thing). Hence no photos of this part.

After a couple days of drying Julia and Benj did the painting... they also painted themselves and almost the entire deck in the process!

 

Then a couple of days later we moved onto the main event - the volcano erupting!

It kept them (and Andrew) entertained for quite awhile!

Everyday Moments - Emptying the Dishwasher

Usually in the space I'm sharing about something special or new that we or the kids have done but the other day I was watching Andrew and Benj go about their morning routine and I was struck by the thought that this is a very fleeting time in our life. The kids change so quickly and it's so easy to forget about little, everyday moments that seem so special at the time. So going forward I'm hoping to capture some of these regular, everyday occurrences too so we have those memories (and also so that I can point out to Benjamin and Julia that yes, there was a time when they were eager to help with the chores!).

First up - emptying the dishwasher. This is task that Andrew and Benjamin do almost every morning after breakfast. They start with the bottom rack as Andrew tries to quickly grab all the sharp knives and other potential weapons from the silverware tray before Benjamin begins pulling out utensils and handing them to him. 

Benjamin is also tall enough now to be able to open some of our kitchen drawers (although he has to blindly grope around once he opens them) so he is able to put a few utensils away himself. They then move on to dishes - Benj pulling each one out individually and handing them to Andrew to shelve. 

Next up is the top rack. Invariably, Benjamin tries to climb up and stand on the door of the dishwasher to do this part and is repeatedly taken off and reminded that he needs to get his stool.

He eventually complies and begins pulling glassware from the rack as Andrew scrambles to take it from him before it is dropped on the floor. I will say that Benjamin has never actually dropped a glass from the dishwasher on the floor but the frantic reaction that Andrew has each morning would make you think that we are often dodging a sea of broken glass! (note: I am not immune from this reaction either it's just amusing to watch it play out)

 The top shelf usually also contains several snack containers that have upended and are filled with water so another challenge for Andrew is not getting drenched during this whole process.

Once everything is put away, Benjamin very proudly closes up the door and I'm pretty sure that Andrew mentally sighs a huge sigh of relief that this particular chore is done for the day!

clubhouse update

Great progress has been made on the clubhouse front. The roof is being shingled and trim work put on! And the kids shared their first meal inside!

Adventures on Swings

First there was this:

Then this:

(which BTW he went from not knowing how to do to taking running leaps onto his stomach and swinging high in about 5 minutes)

And finally this:

crazy kids!

Sweet Dreams

A few months ago Julia transitioned from a toddler bed to a big girl bed. For a variety of reasons (including us being worried about her falling out and none of us having a good idea of exactly what type of bed frame/headboard/bedding we wanted) this meant a twin mattress on the floor.

However, when we were on vacation in Maine, Julia became quite enamored with the bed that she slept in. A shiny brass bed. As she told us one morning, "I love it because it's so shiny."

And so began our search for a twin size brass bed. In case you're wondering these are not easy to find - they don't really make many new ones and most of the ones I found used were queen size. But after many trips to new and used furniture stores, consignment shops, extensive web searching, and craigslist stalking I found the perfect bed.

It's a great compromise of classic bed (my & Andrew's preference) with some shiny details. To make it special we also ordered some new bedding including a pom-pom quilt which is so soft and snuggly that I kind of want to order one for myself!

Julia was thrilled with the finished product! Sweet dreams sweetheart!

Julia's Gallery - Black-eyed Susan

Julia created this while we were in Maine. Grandma Su-Su and Grandpa Herb's house is right on the lake and surrounded by lots of wildflowers. So one afternoon when it was too chilly to go swimming Julia and I went out and decided to draw pictures of the flowers. Julia chose the black-eyed susan for Grandma Su-Su!

Cousins!!

One of the highlights of our summer has been spending time with far-flung cousins. At the end of July we were able to spend time with cousins from both Maine and St. Louis. Hannah and Jordan were visiting from MO and spent a few days in RI. The kids, Julia especially, loved spending time with them and the fact that there was lots of swimming involved was an added bonus!

We spent a day at the beach and then a day at the pool followed by dinner at our house with the whole family. All the girls (Hannah, Jordan, Alex, and Julia) spent the evening playing together which Andrew and I loved to see! From what I gathered afterwards there was a lot of treasure hunting! Alex and Julia had created their own treasure map for them to follow... not sure that any treasure was actually found!

At the end of that week we were back in Maine and got to spend quite a bit of time with cousin Annabel. Benj tried to get her to race down the slides at the playground, we introduced her s'mores, and all the kids had lots of fun seeing and smelling the flowers at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (I highly recommend a visit here if you're ever in the area - it was fabulous!).

And because we so rarely have pictures of the moms here we are too!

What a great summer it has been! 

Benjamin's First Day of School!

Benjamin started at our local Montessori school yesterday! The first couple of weeks are camp weeks just so he can get used to the school and the teachers with fewer kids there and get into the routine. He's going two mornings a week. He did great on his first day. He got a little sad when we left but perked up right away and according to his teachers had a great day and fit right in!

I tried to get a picture when we dropped him off but in true Benjamin-fashion he would not stay still. So here is a more authentic Benjamin pic! "Cheeeeesse!"

I really think that he's going to love being there. He is definitely the social butterfly of the family and I think will really enjoy being around other kids for a little while each week. But it still came up quick for me and I had some heartache leaving him. I did get to enjoy some one-on-one time with Julia but the house was weirdly quiet and even Julia, who I expected to enjoy a little alone time, kept asking "Mom, when can we go get Benj?" awwwwww.

And, apparently, the independence of going to school rubbed off immediately - when we got home from picking him up the first day, he insisted on opening the front door himself, even though he's still a little too short to reach the handle! I'm glad our milkbox has multiple uses!

And so another chapter has begun in the Crowder household!

Julia Gallery - J on a plate

Julia created this during a recent dinner at a sushi restaurant. It's a "J" made from edamame! 

Bowling

We had planned to spend an afternoon with Grandma Laurie a couple of weeks ago but thanks to my rain curse (I apparently should never plan an outing because it's pretty much guaranteed to rain) our original plans had to change. So we decided to take the kids bowling instead. Unbeknownst to each of us we both had our own reservations about how this would actually go (ummm.... Benjamin with lots of balls lined up just waiting to be thrown?!?!?) but as neither of us voiced them we finally found an alley that was open on Thursday afternoon and went ahead with it. And to our surprise it turned out to be great!!

The alley we went to was perfect for kids, they already had bumpers set-up and they brought us a ramp for Julia to use when she got tired. As for Benjamin, you forget as an adult how things you find ordinary can be so magical and thrilling to a little kid... like the automatic ball return! It was so much fun to watch him get so excited every time a ball came up the ramp - we spent the whole afternoon laughing.

The alley had a deal going on where you could bowl as much as you wanted for about 2 hours for a set price. As we were getting our shoes and paying, the man behind the counter told us we had til 4:00 but that he was sure we wouldn't make it nearly that long. Boy, was he wrong! While the kids did start to get tired they used the entire block of time! Of course, this could have had to do with the pace of bowling with a preschooler! For those of you who have forgotten what that's like here's a refresher:

As for the scores, let's just say that Grandma and I were both happy there were bumpers in the lane! Alex was tough competition!

Alex and Julia's bowing shoes 

 Ready to bowl

Taking a break!

cousins!

Benjamin - 18 months

Benjamin turned 18 months old last month and it seems like a good time to give an update on how he's doing and what he's up to. It's hard for me to believe that he's a year and a half old for two opposite reasons. First, it seems like the months have flown by and he can't possibly be a toddler already. And second, he so often acts older than he is so I have to remind myself that, yes, he is only a toddler!

So basic stats - Benj weighs 23.4 lbs and is 33" tall. He has finally gotten all of his first teeth (the last incisor just came through a couple of days ago) and we're crossing our fingers that we all get a little break before his 2 year molars start showing up. He puts his teeth to both good and bad use though - he's an adventurous eater and will try just about anything. His favorite food is whatever is on Mom and Dad's plates! He loves pizza, french fries, pancakes, and ice cream as well as blueberries, cucumbers, beans, pasta and anything chocolate. He doesn't like bland food and always wants some dip, sauce, or the spicy version of what we're eating. On the downside of the teeth, he is a biter. Hopefully that will diminish now that the teething is over - we'll see.

Personality-wise Benj remains our fun-loving, active, grinning little boy. He always seems to have a twinkle in his eye and a smile on his face, unless you try to take something away from him or get him to do something that he would prefer not to - then his stubborn streak comes out and he makes you well aware of his opinion, usually in a loud and physical manner. But once he's gotten his point across his smile quickly returns - sometimes to my dismay as he has discovered that this is my weakness and that I find it hard to scold him when he's giggling at me. (I'm working on it though.)

While his smile may get him off the hook I don't think Benj will ever be good at hiding what he's been up to.  These two pictures are truly him - fully immersed in what he's doing usually something involving dirt, rocks, or some other messy substance like paint.

As for my comment above about acting older than he is, Benj is our experimenter and pretty much has no fear. He wants to try anything and everything. Things that Julia are doing are especially appealing but there have been several times when Benj has coaxed her into trying things she otherwise would not have even considered attempting. 

His recent conquests include going down the tallest slides at the playground (even the twisty ones), jumping right off the dock at the lake house, beginning to use the potty, jumping off furniture, learning to ride his tricycle, and finding and trying to squish every ant in our house. 

Benjamin watches and examines everything. I don't always realize that he is paying attention to what I'm doing or what is going on because he's constantly in motion but he is and he often surprises me by copying what he's seen and doing things (like latching his own seatbelt) that I had no idea he was capable of. I'm pretty sure that he has figured out most of the safety locks we have on the cabinets, he knows how to turn on the tv and find what he wants on my phone and iPad, and he is great at taking toys, pens, and other things apart and figuring out how they go back together even if he can't quite get the smallest pieces together on his own.

Another thing that amazes me right now is Benjamin's speech. He doesn't have the clearest speech but he can and will say almost any words. He is a great imitator and can repeat almost any sound we make. But he also has his quirks. For example, for some reason he will not say the word "up." No idea why - don't think it's the actual sound of "u" or "p" as he can say "Julia" and "purple." But my and Andrew's new game is keeping track of all the words Benj will say but not "up." So in last couple of weeks a few of the words he has said are:

• treasure (we're on a big pirate kick around here right now)
• Mickey Mouse
• Pippin (the name of Grandma Les and Grandpa Rick's new dog)
• let's go!! (usually with a lot of enthusiasm and arm movements)
• Dada (finally!!)
• shark
• ketchup
• firetruck

He also has started joining in singing songs. He loves the line "one, two, three strikes you're out" From Take Me Out to the Ballgame and last night he was singing and dancing along to the Hot Dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

I really have to say that life with Benjamin is never boring. He keeps us on our toes but he also keeps us laughing. He has an amazing spirit and enthusiasm for everyday. And I am so happy and proud that he is my son! We love you to pieces Benja Benja!!

a little brother's plea

The sound on the video is a little hard to make out but Benj is yelling "J, J, J" as he desperately wanted to join Julia on the playground!

Conspirators

I'm sure I'll have many posts over the coming years that will warrant this same title but this is the first one! Andrew and I were chatting in the kitchen the other day and realized that the house had gotten pretty quiet - always cause for concern! Upon peeking out onto the deck to investigate we saw this:

We were both shocked at how calmly and nicely they were sitting together and playing with the iPad. So much so that Andrew decided to take a video which is when he got a closer listen to what they were doing - singing the theme song to "Jake and the Neverland Pirates." Which means that they have finally learned how to turn on shows on the iPad. I haven't decided yet if this is a good or bad thing - most likely a little of both!

(ps - Julia claims it was Benjamin who put it on which wouldn't surprise me in the least!)

Vacation Part 2 - Maine 2013

The second part of our vacation was our now annual trip up to Cobbessee Lake in Maine to visit Grandma Su-Su, Grandpa Herb, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Helki, and Annabel. It was a wonderful week filled with lots of our favorite activities.

swimming in the lake:

Both kids had a great time in the water which was very warm thanks to 90+ temps we had almost every day. Julia practiced her swimming, some diving, and lots of jumping off the dock. Benjamin was his usual adventurous self and would wade out until he was about chin-deep! He also loved jumping off the dock and there were quite a few times we had to catch him before he jumped in ahead of anyone else! 

fishing with Dad and Grandpa:

exploring the lake in Grandpa Herb's new boat:

a trip to the playground:

checking out the Children's Discovery Museum in Augusta:

picking Maine blueberries

building fairy gardens in the woods: 

and of course, lobstah!!

We didn't capture shots of all the ice cream that was eaten or the kids in action jumping off the dock so we'll have to try again when we're up there in August for our encore visit!