Slow Down, Gym Shoe!

Pump It Up!

Little Bear and Pufferfish and I went to this place with our playgroup called Pump It Up Party. Its a birthday party place with a whole bunch of those big inflated jumpy things like you sometimes see at carnivals and stuff. Every Wednesday morning they have open jump for preschoolers.
We went there one other time, back in February I think, but we didn't have such a great time then. Pufferfish couldn't even crawl, and so she was too little to go on any of the things, and spent most of the time in a sling with me, just watching everything. And Little Bear got upset and wanted to leave early because she said nobody would play with her... mostly because Little Bear's idea of making friends was to dominate what all the other kids did, and the other kids didn't necessarily want to do what she wanted, when she wanted!
This time was much better, though. Pufferfish can walk now, and I took her with me on the jumpy things. She absolutely loved it! She couldn't really jump, but she could bounce on her bottom, and she could try to walk in there and fall down, and she could climb around, and she could watch all the big kids! She just kept smiling and saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" I even took her on one of those huge slides with me a few times! She liked it so much, she kept trying to climb back up, even when I was tired!
As for Little Bear, she made friends right away with a 5-year-old girl in the playgroup, and they spent most of the time playing. She also has a younger friend, a 2-year-old boy named Andrew who comes to a lot of the playgroup events! Andrew loves Little Bear, and Little Bear is very nice to him. Andrew's mom actually came up to me and said that she was happy that Andrew was playing with Little Bear. She said, "Little Bear is such a leader, but in a good way! I worry a lot because Andrew is a follower and sometimes older kids teach him to do bad things, but Little Bear gets him to do good things!"
Thats my Little Bear!
Anyway, a great time was had by all. I don't know what we'd do without our playgroup! Check out these pics! They're not of the best quality, because I took them with my phone again... I figured my digital camera was too bulky to be jumping around with! Remember to click on them to see them in all their full-sized glory!





























 














































*****
QUOTABLE MOMENT

Nicki: "Little Bear, today I'm going to get a hair cut! Next time you see me, I'll have short hair. Maybe you won't even recognize me!"

Little Bear: "Yes I will! I'll recognize you by your clothes!"

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Playground Playdate

Last night we were all at a family Mother's Day party until pretty late. This morning, Pufferfish woke up all congested, Little Bear was sneezing and coughing and said she had a sore throat and a headache, and even I had a sore throat!
Here was my dilemma... Usually on Monday mornings the girls and I go to our playgroup, which meets at a different playground each week. How we treasure these playdates! Little Bear isn't in school this year, and she doesn't have a lot of chances to play with kids her own age. I mean, she has a few neighborhood friends: a little girl a year older than her, whose parents think my family is complete white trash and don't really like their kid to play with Little Bear; and a little girl two or three years older than Little Bear. At the playgroup, Little Bear gets to play with kids her own age... the same kids each week! She gets to make real friends, instead of forging temporary friendships with random kids in the McDonalds PlayPlace! The playgroup also goes for a long walk after playing each week, often through a forest preserve.  I think its good for Little Bear to have that regular chance for physical activity and being in nature and fresh air and all that!
Plus I just enjoy being around some other grown-ups. Even though I have absolutely no social skills, it still feels good to get to hang out with someone over the age of 5!
So this morning I thought to myself, "Hmm, should we just stay home for the day?"
I also had to consider the fact that Monkeyboy had a day off from school today, so he would be hanging around, which can make the day more difficult since he and Little Bear could spend the entire day fighting!
Little Bear and Pufferfish were cheerful and not tired. I asked Little Bear if she'd rather stay home and rest, and she said, "No, I want to go to the park!" And Pufferfish was absolutely blissful, more so than most mornings! She was just laughing and playing the whole time, even when I got her dressed, which usually makes her scream!
So I dosed Little Bear up with some Children's Motrin, dressed both the girls in warm clothes, and off we went... and Monkeyboy too!
I'm glad we went. The kids had a great time! Here are some pics to prove it! (Remember to click on them to make them bigger!)

So, do you hate me for bringing somewhat sick children to the playgroup?

Cinco de Mayo!

Hope everyone had a great Cinco De Mayo! We did! We went to our playgroup in the morning, which involved playing at a playground and then going on a hike through the woods. We actually did hike, on a dirt path, hauling strollers and toddlers and everything! It was lots of fun!
Here's a picture of Pufferfish on the swing... the only thing she can really do at the playground besides try to eat the woodchips. (I actually didn't get any pictures of Little Bear, because she was busy running around with her friends, and because I had Pufferfish in my hands the whole time!)

(Remember to click on the pictures to make them bigger so you can see them!)

We also tried hard to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! The holiday is important to us because Monkeyboy's birth father was Mexican, and we try to teach him about his heritage in whatever ways we can. He was at school all day today, but I did things with the girls anyway. We read a book about the meaning of Cinco de Mayo and how it is celebrated in Mexico, and we listened to tapes of Spanish children's music in the car.
We also made maracas. A very easy way to make maracas is to take two plastic or foam cups. Fill one about halfway up with rice or beans or something else that will make noise. Glue the second cup on top of the first one, mouth to mouth. (I also like to tape over the crack to make it more likely to stay closed!) You can also decorate them however you like.
For a different sound, make a long coil out of tinfoil, and put it in the cup before you pour the rice and beans in!
Here are some of the maracas we made...

And here is the picture of Pufferfish trying to eat the maraca I made for her!

Finally we went out for Mexican food and fried ice cream!
A great time was had by all!

Did you do anything to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?

Nature Is The Best!

Little Bear and Pufferfish and I belong to a playgroup that I found on Meetup.com. Once or twice a week the group meets in public places and does activities together with all of the kids, who range in age from newborns to about five or six. Now that its nice out, a lot of the activities are outside.
Today we went to this awesome nature center where they have rescued wild animals. Little Bear had a great time running around with all of the other kids, looking at the animals, and pretending to be animals! We had a picnic lunch, the kids played tag and stuff in a field for a long time, and then we went for a mile-long walk on a walking trail!
The cutest thing was that there was one little boy there who Little Bear really got along with. He's the same age as her, although he's a lot taller. They only met each other once before, because he doesn't come to all of the activities that we do. But today they spent the whole time playing together, and were even holding hands a lot! It was so sweet.

(Click on the picture to see it bigger!)

Here are a few more pics from the nature center today...

Little Bear looking at a rescued raccoon in a cage

Pufferfish by the goldfish pond

And the best part? They're both asleep right now! Pufferfish fell asleep in the car on the way home, and stayed asleep. Little Bear fell asleep resting and watching Sponge Bob! And, by the way, Little Bear never takes naps! Its a miracle!

In other news, I'm a little worried that ten-month-old Pufferfish is going through the Terrible Two's a little early. Whenever she doesn't get her way, she throws herself backwards onto the floor and screams, banging her head on the floor! This morning she followed me around the house throwing tantrums. I was trying to make lunch to bring with us to the playgroup, and I let her stand up on the steps and watch me at the counter (She knows how to climb up them already!) which made her happy for a while. She's usually such a happy baby, but when she's angry, she is aaaaaangry!

Well, Monkeyboy is home, and I gotta go check on the baby, so, until later... C-ya!