Preschool - One month in

We're one month in to "preschool" and starting to find our new rhythm for the year. Some things have already been dropped,*  other things tweaked and worked out and new things becoming "my favorite thing** about school, mommy!"

We've done A-D in the alphabet path. You already saw A.

B ended up being a full two weeks starting with Lucy's First Cardinal's Baseball Game. This was another lucky timing. I didn't plan for it to fall in B week but she won tickets through the library summer reading program and this was the only game that didn't fall during naptime or too late at night. She actually lasted longer than we expected (5 innings!) and told me all about the escalators she rode on, the pretzels she ate and the men that called out "beer, beer, pretzels, pretzels." She didn't mentioned baseball at all but she seemed like she had a good time on her daddy date.

The next weekend, I noticed some baseball gloves 75% at the grocery store. For less than $7 total, they each got a ball and glove. I won't say Lucy's a natural but she has really enjoyed playing catch with us since then and has told me she is"ready to be on a team because my glove is pink and purple and will be the most beautifullest - unless someone else's has diamonds."

We made some Bees.  For all the complaining people do about pinterest, it has its purposes. I wasn't planning on doing any crafts but the day we were supposed to start the letter B (as in, the day the kids KNEW we were supposed to start the letter B) I still hadn't gotten over to pick up our books for the library. I told them this and Lucy says "Oh, that's fine mom, we'll just do the crafts you planned instead." Uhm...okay then!

But 2 minutes of pinterest and a new appreciation for my overly full art supply closet and we were all set to make some Bees. Lucy did all her cutting and gluing herself. Jonah normally prefers to rip paper and smear glue but once he saw Lucy he started very carefully gluing his stripes on. It is nice when she is a good influence.

Later on we made butterflies from watercolors, coffee filters and pipe cleaners after another pinterest session. Jonah's were more moth colored by the time we were done but we all had fun. We also took our buckets, balls and a brand new balloon boat to the creek to play.

I had wanted to get to the Bird Sanctuary because everyone keeps telling me how great it is but this week was hot. I'll save it for E is for Eagle or H is for Heron or something like that.

Practicing our letters in some salt.

A few favorite B Books: Blueberries for Sal, It's about Time, Jesse Bear, Pete the Cat and 4 groovy Buttons.

We did another letter craft for C because "mom, we always make a letter!" How can kids do that? You do something one time and it becomes a tradition.

So I thought we'd cut out Cs and add cotton ball clouds but I couldn't find my cotton balls (until the next day that is) so I mixed white glue and shaving cream and the kids used q-tips to paint clouds on blue construction paper Cs - except Jonah cut his out himself so it wasn't really very c-shaped and Lucy refused to cut out the middle, insisting she had "a plan of my own." Her plan ended up being to keep the clouds in the c area and leave the middle blue so you could see the sky. It turned out really well and I'm glad I fought my type-A personality side who wanted to insist she do it right.

Then we made cookies. No pictures because I was too busy watching Jonah every single second to stop him from putting things in his mouth. He loves to put both scissors and cookie dough in his mouth. The cookie dough I can live with, the scissors drives me crazy!

A few favorite C Books: The Carrot Seed, Caps for Sale (the audio one which has additional songs), Chanticleer and the Fox and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

For week D, the only crafty thing we did was cut out crowns and decorate them. What do crowns have to do with the letter d? Nothing, she just wanted to do that so we did. Why plan things when I don't have to?!

We still did our poems and stories. I try and read a couple poems every day. This week they both got a big kick out of Daddy Fell Into the Pond.

A few favorite D Books: Have You Seen My Duckling. Dance at Grandpa and Deer in the Woods (little house picture books), Duffy and the Devil (preview this one. It's the dutch version of Rumpelstiltskin but before you know his name, it calls him a devil and there are witches too. I'm okay with fairy tales but this was borderline for me. Lucy and I talked about what devil means, how people use the term sometimes, etc. Just a heads up.)

We aren't just doing letter-y things, those just tend to be ones I take pictures of. We also had a lot of fun nature time. Lucy found these really big mushrooms and insisted we take pictures and bring them home to draw. Luckily there was enough that Jonah could have his own since his investigating tends to not end well for the specimen.

Lest you think we're just a poem in action I'll tell another little story about our recent nature times. A few days ago Lucy spotted some weird bugs on our brussel sprout plant and wanted to draw them. But then she decided she didn't like that they were yellow so she made hers purple and pink and three legs on a side were boring so she gave them seven instead. Then she got upset that mine looked like the real bugs and hers didn't! She did make some good observations and we were later able to discover they were harlequin cabbage bugs and the two sized we saw weren't male and female like we hypothesized but nymph and adult so I still count it a success.

*Catechism questions and hymns. The one were working through is very similar to this but came as a booklet from Children's Church. We enjoyed working on it  and talking about what the questions and answers meant until we hit the 40s when it started getting more theoretical.  I could tell she wasn't understanding so we'll just put it aside for now. She doesn't go to CC anyway so it doesn't really matter but I will try and work though the ones we know every couple weeks just so we don't forget. Similar with hymns, we've started just reviewing the ones we know. We enjoyed those but it was too much to add new and review so we'll stick with the old ones for now.

**Tea Time! This is so great it deserves its own post.

3 Not Too Weird Gluten-Free Starter Recipes

I've been gluten free for about 3 months now and for the most part, I've just given things up instead of trying to find replacements. I haven't even tried any gluten free bread although several people have mentioned brands they didn't think were awful.

 I love to bake so I'm sure I could have a lot of fun trying gluten free recipes but right now I'm on a crazy amount of supplements which is taking up all the spare room in my grocery budget. Giving up most bread products is a lot more economical. And so much easier. We basically eat a lot of meat, dairy, fruit and veggies. If I have to keep going with a gluten-free diet, things might be different but for now, it's working for me.

That said, sometimes I miss the texture of bread, pancakes and cookies so I've found a couple recipes that are easy. These use mostly items I already have on hand. I was about to say "normal" items but what's normal in your kitchen might not be normal in mine so keep that in mind. But I'm comfortable with oats and making my own oat flour in a blender. I've been doing that since I was a teen since my favorite (completely not healthy gluten filled) cookie recipes uses it. The only item I had to specifically purchase for any of this was tapioca flour. Just one, no gums and I promise nothing requires a scale. Perfect for when you're just starting a gluten free journey or if your gluten eaters that need something to serve or share with non-gluten eaters*.

Oat Pancakes: 

These are based on these pancakes but while I liked the original recipe a lot, they were still kind of heavy and sometimes fell apart. I discovered if you let the batter sit for a good 5-10 minutes, they stay together better but I also played with adding some tapioca flour and that helped the texture. I'm actually kinda proud of myself since this is the first time I tweaked a flour-y gluten free recipes. And the result was actually successful! These are really good and since I buy oats 25lbs at at time and only use a tiny bit of tapioca flour, they are still pretty inexpensive but if you don't have tapioca flour on hand, just use more oat flour.

1.5 cups oat flour (just grind oats in blender until fairly fine)
1/4 c tapioca flour (or another 1/4 cup of oat flour but they will be more dense that way)
1 Tablespoon baking powder
pinch salt
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
1.5 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Make a hole/dent in the middle of the dry ingredients, add eggs and use a fork to break yolks, add milk, oil and vanilla and stir to combine, a few lumps are okay but without the gluten you don't have to worry as much about over mixing. Let batter sit for 5-10 minutes. Cook on a griddle with generous amount of butter or coconut oil.

Any extras are good for lunch as a vehicle for peanut butter. Without gluten and bananas, my peanut butter options are limited so I really appreciate these.

Flourless Monster Cookies - These are so good. The fact that they are gluten free is pretty much just coincidental. I couldn't wait for "C Week" in our alphabet path because as we all know, C is for Cookie.

Brazillian Cheese Buns - I've loved Lynn's baked oatmeal (another gluten free breakfast favorite that we eat at least 1x a week) but didn't even realize she had other gluten free recipes until recently. I really like these when I'm craving something sandwich-y and don't want to eat it on lettuce. Perfect for a tuna salad or egg salad sandwich or as a compliment to spaghetti. My only issues with them is that Craig and the kids always want to eat them too! I don't make them a lot because they are a bit pricier but its a nice option for when I'm desperate - and I'm sure they are still cheaper and healthier (and probably tastier) than buying gluten free bread or rolls.

*Insert standard gluten-free qualifier here. People are different and react differently to things like cross contamination, oats (gf or not) and their comfort level with eating food prepared by others. I'm lucky in that I don't need to be that careful but just talk to whoever you will be serving. 

Celebrating Two!

I love the second birthday because they get it. The first the might understand presents and like cake and ice cream but this year, he knew it was coming, he was excited and he can hold up two fingers when you ask his age.

 And now, with most of his presents coming from extended family who live out of town, he knows that when the mailwoman comes, he can run up to her to get a package and say "Happy Birthday to Me!" I'm sure he'll unlearn that soon as the real truth that we all have to come to grasps with replaces it and he comes to understand that mail is normally boring bills or things that go straight to the recycling bin. But for now, the mail enthusiasm is quite charming.

I think this is my favorite cake picture. It's not the most flattering picture of me I've ever seen but on Jonah's side, doesn't that just scream "I'm Two!?" He kept trying to put his whole hand in the cake and was saying "My cake, my dino" over and over again like I didn't know it was actual his. A long day with an airplane flight and no nap probably contributed to the issues but once we moved on to the singing and candles and cake eating part, he did better.

The funny thing is that he doesn't actually like cake, he just eats the ice cream. But he didn't skip the cake because of taste. It was from a box which I hardly ever do but GF baking is still intimidating and I must say that the King Arthur Gluten-Free Cake Mix is superb. Probably my favorite boxed cake ever. With a simple chocolate frosting and a Schleich dino stuck on top.

He got lots of books, some dress up stuff and a bunch of dinos. Here he is with his "Big Dino Thomas" after an unfortunate chin + concrete = urgent care incident. He wanted "Big Dino Thomas" to have a chin band-aid just like he had. That's my sweet, crazy, energetic, injury-prone little boy!

Happy Birthday Jonah!

Dear Jonah,

I can't believe that just two years ago, this was happening. I want to say that I can't believe you're two years old but that isn't true. You are such a little man these days. I'm trying to hang on to your babyhood but you're just not having it. You've been at a real seat at the table with real dishes and silverware for a few months now.  You have your own ideas of how things should be - and yes, you get quite upset if things don't go your way. You like to do things "Jonah own" with as little help as possible. Except when it comes to walking, you much prefer being carried. You love to join in the conversations just like a big kid and have quite an impressive vocabulary. I prepared myself for you not being quite as talkative as Lucy but the family genetics for talkers are too strong and you've joined the ranks as one of us talkers. I'm not sure if very many people other than Daddy, Noona and I can understand you but you try anyway. Basically, you refuse to be my baby boy anymore. But too bad, you always will be!

Other things you love:

• Books. No surprise there. Current favorites are Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Magic Flute and Farmer in the Dell but these change weekly. 
• Ice Cream. You don't really like cake, brownies or even most cookies but mention ice cream and you're in!
• Dinosaurs. You've got a dinosaur toothbrush, pajamas, large foam lovey, little ones to carry around. You can pretty much spot a dinosaur from a mile away. 
• Moving. Dancing, jumping, climbing, hanging. Pretty much anything physical (except walking - see above)
• Counting (more or less accurately, you doesn't care for the 4 much). 
• Colors. You are best at the colors of plates we have (and since we have Fiesta-ware, there are several) but you're starting to add in other ones like purple and grey. You're favorite is yellow. You might say its blue but if you have a choice about anything, you want it to be yellow. You point out yellow things everywhere and often will spontaneously hug something because its yellow. 
• Anything your "Noona" is doing. Sometimes she'll see you start to copy her and turn to me and say "Mommy, monkey see, monkey do!" 
• Playing games with Lucy. Her favorites are eye-spy and hide-and-seek and truthfully, you are really bad at both but you just HAVE to participate anyway and she's a pretty good sport. 

Things I want to remember about this age:

• Your prayers are always exactly alike and phonetically go something like this; Day Ga, Na-Noo Food, A-may (Dear God, Thank You Good, Amen). It works well at dinner time, not as much at bedtime. 
• Your "This is scary" face. You put a palm on each cheek and open your mouth wide and say "scary." If I was cruel I might put on Thomas the Tank Engine just to watch you make that face.
• You say "Sorry Noona" when she's been told to apologize to you. 
• The way you hug things up close to your face and saw "awww." You still do this to every egg you bring down to the house before you will let us put it up. But also babies (of both people and animal variety) in books, fluffy things, anything that Lucy says is cute. 
• The way you like to talk to be at bedtime now. You tell me all about your day and what happened. Of course, I was present for 90% of it but it's always fun to hear your highlight reel. I just love getting a peek at what is in that little head of yours. 

Weekend at Grandpa's House

We went to my dad's last weekend. Of course, we had planned our San Antonio visit for early September thinking the heat would be down a bit but still nice enough to swim. Ha, we should plan to lottery because what are the odds of us visiting Texas in September to experience fall weather! (Probably the same as us getting married in Texas in January thinking it would be fine only to end up with a blizzard! Oh Texas, you do us wrong) So it was a bit brisk but we promised the kids so I did brave the water not just once, but two times! Lucy was a fish but kept asking why her tooth were tapping and Jonah decided he's rather run around the outside of the pool naked and dry. But fun was had and that's what is important.

We also played at the park

rode a train

fed some horses

and deer.

(although in this picture, that apple was really Jonah's snack that I didn't realize he hadn't finished in the car. He was supposed to give them a carrot. No deer were harmed but Jonah was a bit upset!)

We also celebrated Jonah's birthday a bit early but I'll post about that next week after he's official two. No need to rush the "terrible twos" on to me just yet. I still have 48 hours of baby-hood to savor.

In which I ask for recommendations

In addition to reading more this year, a goal I'm doing well with, I've also been trying to expand what I read. In the past I could pretty much hang out all year in modern non-fiction (If I'm going to read something written about this century, it will probably be non-fiction), historical mysteries and children's classics and be happy but I'm trying to push myself.

My two goals are to read 1) more challenging books and 2) a wider variety of genres. This has been slightly easier now that I'm forcing myself to keep 5-7 books going at once. But one category that I keep coming up short is biographies. I want to read biographies, I think its good to read biographies and honestly, I've even enjoyed reading the ones I've read so far this year (The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, Abe Lincoln grows up, and my current one, Julia Child's My Life in France) but once I finish one, I find it hard to pick up another.

It might have something to do with my dislike of sad books or those with many deaths. Most biographies, at least full and realistic ones, have some level of sadness in them and most tend to end in death. So as understandable as that is, it also an immediately bullet point on the con list. But still, the point of a challenge is to be challenging so I press on. But I need help! What are your favorite biographies that I absolutely positively must read?

A Mother's Daybook - September 12

Oops. Thought I got this post all set to go for Friday morning but came back from our (mostly computer-less) trip and it hadn't posted! Oh well, better late than never. 

Reading - A million things right now. I like the idea of having several things going at once but its gotten out of hand. I'm absolutely forbidding myself from starting any new books until I've finished up a couple of the ones I'm on right now but I don't often listen to myself so what can I do? But this was my new score from a library book sale last weekend. 

 

Overall a disappointing sale but I'm happy with the really cute hardcover Lamb's book of Shakespeare I got for $1. I already have a copy but its really large and the paper is annoying so its not conducive to reading on a couch. This new version should speed up my progress a bit. I also got Jonah a small copy of Beatrix Potter's Tale of Jeremy Fisher. I love the little versions. He carries it around calling it his froggy bible (he calls almost any hard cover or grown-up book a "bible"). It's too bad the whole set of those is so expensive. I think I need to start searching ebay for one. 

Listening/Watching - Phantom of the Opera and The Magic Flute. The kids are a bit obsessed. We sometimes let them watch a few clips on the computer if they get ready for bed quickly enough and they always ask for same things in the same order, first one or two clips of Phatom of the Opera, described by what outfit Christine is wearing and whether the guy is wearing a mask. (No, not the white dress one. The cape and the mask one!) Then they want Papagana and then if we still have time, Pete the Cat and the New Guy. It's an odd bedtime routine but if it gets teeth brushed without fussing, I'm okay with it.

Drinking - Kombucha. I've come around and am actually starting to like this.

Jonah loves it. I still prefer it with a shorter brewing time then either juice or strawberries for a second ferment (although I'm trying lemon/lime with my next batch). I've just set up a continues brew system that will make it much easier but I'm hoping the flavor won't be too intense that way. I do feel a bit sorry for the chickens though. The continuous brew system won't give me a new scoby each week to cut up for them and they love that. It's chicken candy!

Making - Jonah's birthday present. I can't wait to give it to him but I'll contain myself by showing you all first if you promise to keep the secret. Maybe this will replace Lucy's purple princess dress as his dress up item of choice.

Doing - Night Weaning. It's time. I knew he was ready and that was confirmed by how well it has been going so far. We are using Dr. Gordan's method for toddlers, reading Nursies When the Sun Shines and talking a lot during the day about how love mimi at daytime but mimi likes to sleep at night. And by mimi, we really mean me. I like to sleep at night. The first night he cried  threw a tantrum for about 5 minutes then Craig started quoting Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and he stopped to listen, by the time that was over, he was out. The rest of the wake-ups were even easier and involved no fussing at all. Actually, his tantrum the next morning when I took away the cup of milk he kept trying to dump all over the table was worse. Tonight is the first night of step 2 so I hope the easy streak continues.

Planning and Preparing - More individual time with Jonah. He took a early nap a few days ago (see above) and Lucy took a long late one which meant I had a couple hours just with him. We played trains together and then he helped me cook.



I love the way Lucy and Jonah interact but it was a lot of fun spending time with just him. And he had so much fun helping me cook. I actually liked cooking with him too. If both kids are around in the kitchen, I feel like I spend all my time stopping one kid from doing something just to turn around and find the other getting into trouble. Or trying to explain that each "Yes, you will each get a turn, I promise." Lucy doesn't always take a nap so I get one on one time with her several times a week but I've got to figure out a way to fit some just Jonah time in. Maybe she and Craig need more date nights?

The things they say

After listening to Where The Wild Things Are for the 100th time, Lucy turns to me and says "Mom, I think Max must have been dreaming all those things"

Stolen from Craig's fb page:
Me: ♪"This is what it sounds like when doves cry."♪
Lucy: "Animals can't cry, they have all their legs on the ground so they can't wipe their tears."

Lucy: What flavor is this lollipop mom?
Me: well, the wrapper doesn't say so you'll just have to try it and find out. 
Lucy: Hmm, it tastes like sugar. No, it takes like Manna!

Jonah: Lull-bye, Lull-bye. Peas!
Me: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little...
Jonah: No, no no nursery rhyme. Lull-bye!

Lucy: Mom, can I do some art with my royal pastels
Me: You mean your oil pastels?
Lucy: No, Royal pastels. I'm a princess so they are Royal Pastels. 

Jonah, while eat his dinner of salmon: I la you sam-on! Takes a bit and picks up another. I la you sam-on...

Lucy: I love you as much as the stars in the sky. 
Me: I love you as much as the number of books in the library
Lucy: I love you as much as God loves me...and that's a lot. 

Lucy, singing a song she learned at her bug class: Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen. Head, thorax, abdomen, abdomen. Compound eyes, two antennae and 6 legs. Head, shoulders, I mean thorax, abdomen. Mom, I keep singing shoulders because it reminds me of that other song. It's very similar to that one. Actually, very very similar to that other song. Did you ever notice that?

Lucy: There are two couples in the backyard right now. You and daddy and me and Jonah. I'm going to marry Jonah. 
Me: Well, brothers and sisters aren't allowed to get married. 
Lucy: But I love him.
Me: I'm so glad you love him and he will always be your brother, but its against the law for you to marry. 
Lucy: Is it dangerous?
Me: Kinda...

Me: Lucy, go call daddy. It's almost time for dinner. 
Lucy: Finally, my dream come true! (I promise I feed her on a regular basis)

Can I get some Eyre in here?

I've been on a bit of a Jane Eyre kick lately. It started when someone recommended I watch, The Autobiography of Jane Eyre, a modernized web series. So I watched it, all 101 episodes, over the course of a week or so (but they are short episodes! I promise I slept during that week).



Now, I want to be cautious in recommending this because its far from perfect. It's a loose adaptation. The plot sticks fairly close although obviously changes had to be made for it to work in modern Canada (I think?). I love these modern adaptions because it forces me to think about the essence of the book and how that is, or is not, retained, in an adaption. And the characters are a big part of that. They changed small characters quite a bit but I think they did okay with the two we all real care about.

Some say that having a vlog doesn't seem like a very Jane thing, that the real Jane wouldn't put herself out there like that. But as in introvert that writes fairly openly on her blog, I disagree with that. And the original was written in the first person so the "real" Jane does put herself out there.  That said, I do think that this Jane isn't the Janiest Jane there ever way, but I still like her. They didn't totally drop the religion thing which I was worried about although there are instances where I wish her moral fortitude was clearer since that's a big part of her character. And in both the book and the vlob, I find myself thinking that Jane and I have a lot in common and would probably make good friends, as long as that friendship didn't rely on long phone conversations.

Reader, I married him.

And I actually like how they portrayed Rochester in this version, not because they made him this great stand-up guy, but because I can at least kinda see why she loved him. Because, unlike these people, I would NEVER have voted for Mr. Rochester as the most romantic character in literature. I don't know who those people are but they be crazy! Yes, the very thought of voting him as that makes me loose my grammatical sense. But after seeing him in this and shaking my head, "Why are you making him funny and dorky-witty and not creepy" then re-reading the book, I was able to see a new side to him. I still want Jane to end up with him mostly because she wants him and I still think this cartoon I found on pinterest represents Rochester well but I'm coming around

So despite it's flaws which I'll mention below, it really did help me see the book it a new light which is very helpful for those classics that I want to read and re-read. I'm not interested in analyzing in a clifs notes way but this time of comparing and contrasting is just fun.

It's pretty low quality. I think that adds to its charm. Not just the realistic vlog not produced show aspect is part of that but also because it really feels like this project was a labor of love. I appreciate that more than flashy special effects.

The big issues is the ending. I don't fault them for the ending because they lost the actor who played Rochester and that's a big deal. I think they did the best they could have. Maybe finding a fill in would have worked better but then I'd probably just be complaining about that. I really just wish I could have seen what they had planned, there was some foreshadowing and I think I would have liked it. So be forewarned. But all in all, I enjoyed it. It may not be the most dignified re-telling or win any awards but in the words of Bronte herself...

Of course, after watching that, I had to read the original again. I think this is the fourth time I've read it.  It really does get better each time - or maybe I just relate to it more the further into adulthood I get. As opposed to when I read it in high school, I've had to make those hard decisions, the ones that cost me dearly and I've struggled with relationships and boundaries and forgiveness. Time makes a difference. I think this reading has moved it up to being one of my top 10 books of all time.

I've also seen one or two movie versions but not any that I really liked. Unlike the vlog, they seem to make the story seem more distant and less real. I understand its supposed to be gothic but enough with the shadows and fog already. Suffice it to say, I wasn't really interested in watching any other movies.

I picked up "The Eyre Affair" which was amusing because so much of it dealt with the end of Jane Eyre. I think The Eyre Affair was better for me because I was reading the original at the time and was kinda
obsessed with all things Jane. I still think I'll pick up the next one though.

It's a bit sad. I still feel like I need more Eyre but there isn't any to be had. Well, there is that graphic novel but even I won't stoop that low. I guess this is just the burden a book lover has to bear. Right? Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way?

Let's start at the very beginning.

Except not do-ra-me. A-B-C. A to be exact. For the Letter A we started at the transportation museum , looking for Airplanes and Automobiles.

It was really more trains than anything else but I really just wanted to go there to try out the creation station again and see if I thought it would be worth a membership for the winter. The Auto and Airplane thing was an afterthought. Actually, that's how a lot of the letters stuff has been but it still works.

Highlights include:

• Finally finding an airplane at the very back of the museum, long after Jonah had given up on walking by himself.
• The creation station. It was almost empty despite the heat so Jonah had two train tables to himself and Lucy got to do some art one on one with the guide.  
• Lucy getting "chosen" to call out All Aboard and sit in the special seat. There were only three kids and since Jonah and the other were both under 2, I don't think it was a tough decision for the driver but no need to tell her that.

Later on that week, we did some apple stamping which was mostly for Jonah's sake. I laugh when I see pinterest apple stamping projects because this time turned out exactly how last time's did - a big mess of finger painting. Which is totally fine with me although I do wish I had thought to take Jonah's shirt off before he dipped his hand in the paint. We started with one stamp and some letter writing....

5 minutes later...

We read lots of poems. There favorite was about Animal crackers and since I read poems at snack time, I had to serve some. This is the face I got when I asked for a smile.

And we read lots of A themed books, can you tell which one we had just read here?

Ten Apples Up On Top, of course! And no, I did not give them the idea to put apples on their heads and keep dropping them until they are so bruised we have to throw them out. That was all Craig. But the book was a bit hit. Jonah also really liked Animals Should Definitely Not Act Like People. I didn't care for it but still had to read it probably 50 times before I declared it was "due back at the library". Don't judge me, it was due back eventually, I just speed up the process.

And not everything is A themed. We also did read lots of non-A books, did some math

and sangs lots of songs, oftentimes while sitting in baskets (I don't know why, this is just a thing they have started doing, sometimes before I've even put the folded laundry away but if they are playing nicely together, I tend to let the little things like that go).

And that's how we spent our first week of preschool! On to B!