Charlotte Marie: 4 Years Old

Today we celebrated Charlie's 4th Birthday. I feel like the kids really make the move from toddler to "kid" by age 4. Charlie has lost her baby fat and started to look long and lean like a big kid. I cannot believe how much her hair has grown in the past year. Charlie is an easy going kid who loves to do what her big sister is doing. She is a generous and loving sister and Evy is lucky to have Charlie as a sister. Charlie loves to play My Little Ponies and Princesses and dictates to Evy what all of the characters in their imaginary world should say to each other. Charlie is a ham and has lots of funny faces. She trips and falls all of the time. She falls off chairs, trips over the sidewalk, and has more bruises on her shins than any kid I know. She likes me to sing her songs and pat her back as she falls asleep. She sleeps with her flashlight friend on and is our late sleeper. How fun to celebrate 4 years with this sweetie!

 

Q: What is your favorite color?

A: Blue and Pink

 

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: Mac 'n Cheese and Doughnuts

 

Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Norah

 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do?

A: Go to ice cream

 

Q: What is your favorite song?

A: Castle on a Cloud (from Les Miserables, the song she always asks me to sing her at bed time)

 

Q: What is your favorite treat?

A: Suckers and Tootsie Rolls

 

Q: What is your favorite drink?

A: Apple Juice

 

Q: What is your favorite show or movie?

A: Peppa Pig

 

Q: What is your favorite toy?

A: Queen Celestia (My Little Pony)

 

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your family?

A: Stay home and have no Evy (I conducted the interview on Evy's second day of school so Charlie was stoked to be at home by herself).

 

Go to Disney World (she means Adventureland)

 

Q: Where is your favorite place to go?

A: Dunkin Donuts

 

Q: What is your favorite book?

A: Peppa Pig

 

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?

A: Work where Evy works (Petco)

 

Last year's interview can be found here.

 

We Have a First Grader

Our elementary school hosts a "Back to School Night" the week before classes start. This is when the kids learn which teacher they will have and what friends will be in their class. They get to see their new classroom and take their school supplies. When we left the school after the event Evy was so excited to go back to school the following week!

 

Evy wants to work at Petco when she grows up because she wants to be able to dip the net into the fish tank and get the fish. She also wants to package up the pets that people buy and put them in the little containers. I should note that she is talking about small animals and birds, she doesn't think she'll be putting cats and dogs in containers. I think she would be a great addition to Petco!

Evy picked out shorts and a tank top for her first day, but it was about 60 degrees that morning so we had to adjust her attire.

At our school the kids all line up outside and wait for the bell to ring. This is a great time to chat with friends and so fun running into friends in other classes.

Charlie said she was going to miss Evy while she was gone and gave her a great big hug!

So excited for Evy to have a great year making new friends and learning new things.

Squeezing in Summer Fun

In the last week before school started we had some fun to take care of! First on the list, not rushing out the door in the morning for anything! Second on the list...

The Children's Museum. These kids LOVE the museum and could spend hours there every day.

I avoid the museum on the weekends because it is over crowded so I wanted to sneak in an awesome mid-week visit.

The zoo! The zoo was on our summer bucket list and we finally wiped it off the list just days before school started. It was a very cool day which was just perfect!

And, one last trip to the pool. Which lasted only 1 hour because the kids were too cold. Very rare for a late August day. I will admit that the pool was not my favorite place this year. Wrestling Will around the water as he constantly stumbles about was more work than I could handle.

Boat Trip

Scott and the girls were able to spend a weekend at his parent's boat earlier this month. Will and I stayed home...we've learned that the boating adventure is a lot more fun with kids who are older! The girls had a blast swimming at the beach and catching minnows. They did some fishing and had a great time with Grammy and Papa!

 

 

Adventureland

 

We took the girls to Adventureland for the first time last year. We all had so much fun we just had to go again this year. Luckily, Aunt Julie was excited to watch Will while we had fun at the park with the big girls.

 

Evy is an animal lover which means we had to take in the only animal show in the park.

More often than not the girls chose to ride on the pink ride!

Pink boat.

After 8 hours at the park, we spent the night at Aunt Julie's house and had fun playing Sorry with our cousins. 

Don't feel bad for this guy, he had just as much fun playing with Aunt Julie!

2015 Summer Bucket List

 

While not officially on the bucket list, the girls wanted to get to the Iowa City library. So, a couple of weeks ago we took the Cambus down to the Fountains and also made a stop at the library. That took care of two official items on the bucket list and one of many bonus adventures this summer.

 

I planned to enroll the girls in a summer reading program, but that didn't happen. We did visit the library twice over the summer.

Evy thought she was hot stuff standing up on the bus and holding on to the pole.

Bus selfie!

The girls put together a summer bucket list that includes:

 

Picnic at the Climbing Tree

Build-A-Bear

Swimming

Natural History Museum

Cambus Ride

WickiUp Learning Center

Meet Dad for Lunch

Children's Museum

Air Fx

Fossil Gorge

City Park Rides

Downtown Fountain

Johnson County Fair

Raptor Center

Visit Jacob and Mason

Zoo

Indian Creek Nature Center

Day at the Beach

Camping

Farmer's Market

Lemonade Stand

Water Balloons

 

There are 7 items left on the list. I could probably fit them all in this week, but my bucket list includes enjoying our last week of not having to rush out of the house. We'll see what we can accomplish and then just move everything else over to our Fall bucket list.

 



14 Months

While Will has been taking steps for awhile now I think I would say he officially started walking at 14 months. He no longer crawls. As he is getting used to being upright he has taken lots of tumbles. He falls on his bum, bumps his head on everything, and truly defines being a "toddler." He is no longer content being in his stroller as he wants to be in on the action. I hate to say that his first word is "No" but it's the truth. No...No....No.....he will repeat to us. I think he's heard this word a few times in our house. He loves being outside and will bring us his shoes to tell us he's ready to go out and play. He toddles around the driveway pushing his car around and chasing after balls. If he's hungry he goes over to his high chair and reaches up, telling us it's time to eat!!!