August 2018

"Hello would you like to come to my party? K"

You picked out a small bundle of fabrics at the craft store so I've been working on new doll clothes for Jessie & Tolay.

Working on your Kiwi Crate water pump and car wash.

Butterfly release day.

When talking about your cousins that came to visit last month:  "I thought my cousins were going to be the same size as last year but they came out so ginormous."

Who doesn't love a picnic when it's 106 degrees outside?  At least we found some shade.

Concert.

You dictated and decorated your very own storybook.  There were two stories, with a theme of someone going missing and other people looking for her.  Spoiler Alert:  They were both found at the end.

You've always been a big soup eater.  One day when we were eating soup you decided that when you grow up you will make Butter Soup.  We asked you what exactly butter soup would be like.  Here were your instructions:

"Fill your bowl with butter then put cucumbers on and then put on sugar and then tomatoes."

One day you were trying to guess what sounds a giraffe might make and you started talking in a funny throaty voice.  I said, "That's a good guess.  I don't think giraffes speak English though."  At which point you switched to, "Uno, dos, tres...."

Leaf hat.

You have been working hard to decipher the difference between lying and joking.  It's a hard concept.

I may or may not have written about this before, but just in case I haven't, you have an imaginary younger sister named Noah.  Noah likes to pester you.  She is mostly annoying and you want us to scold her a lot.  On the other hand, you like to dress in coordinating clothes.  Pretty much the same as a real sibling would be as far as I can tell.

We were looking to escape the heat one weekend and Dad suggested a day trip to Big Bear.  I've always been skeptical due to the winding roads, but I agreed to give it a try.  This has since been deemed one of the worst trips ever.  Winding roads and nausea were just the beginning.  There was the disaster of a lunch, the incredibly underwhelming town, and half empty lake.  When we were ready to go home came the rain and floods.  We drove all the way back down the mountain only to find we were trapped and had to drive back up the mountain and down again on the other side, making it a total of 4 trips up and down that mountain.  At one point I made Daddy stop the car just so I could get out and regain my sense of balance.  Mark that one off the list, no need for me to go back.

Nevertheless, we were there, so here are some pictures.  Short hike in the woods.

Rain.

More of the hike.

Kids play area.

At this point we all agreed that this trip had been so ridiculous there was nothing left to do but laugh.

Clay superhero (Goldie) and pet (Jacques).

You love to watch Daddy play a Crash Bandicoot video game and early this month when you kept asking and we kept telling you no, you instead built your own Crash game on the bench for your stuffed animals.  It was so clever and I wish I had taken a decent picture but I have discovered that I did not.  It was complete with things you had to jump on, prizes, obstacles, etc.  I've never even watched the game but I was totally impressed.

When you were done you chose 2 of your animals that you thought best represented the characters from the video game and were trying to dress them up to look as close as possible.  During this process I heard you ponder, "It's hard to make a giraffe look like a human, right?"

Wandering around in the furniture store for fun.

Early morning zoo trip.  Still hot.

Once we were good and hot we went into the discovery center and you had the whole place to yourself.

Getting Halloween props ready.

Another Kiwi Crate project.

Discovering Clay class at Old Town Artisan Studios with Reagan, Emmy, and Ashton.

On your first day of school, I couldn't wait to pick you up so I could hear all about it and because I just missed you.

On the second day of school Daddy came out of his office to talk to you on his break, then was sad when he remembered that you weren't here.

Remember these things in the future when you are having a hard day.  You are so loved.

I recently asked Grandma and Grandpa if they still had my old pom poms from when I was a cheerleader.  It took way more work than I intended but they tracked them down and mailed them to you and you were thrilled.  You immediately ran to put on this costume to complete the look.

First homework assignment!  You worked so diligently on this!

Random dress up day.

Daddy and I were playing Scrabble one night after you were asleep and the next morning you found the box and I explained the game to you.  I told you that it was a little advanced for you right now but that we could use the tiles to practice your letters and try putting words together.  Within the first couple of days of Kindergarten you were starting to try putting different letter sounds together anyway so it seemed reasonable.

A few days later I walked into the kitchen and saw that you had the game out.  First you told me that you had spelled AX.  I looked and saw that you had put together AKS, which was phonetically correct.  So, I showed you AX and BOX then also compared it to SNACKS and talked about how sometimes different combinations of letters can make the same sounds.

A few minutes later you told me that you had spelled CAT and when I looked, you had it totally correct!  I deem this the first word you spelled on your own.

You, Reagan, Ashton, & Emmy.