Muffin Cup Mondays

A fairly new weekly tradition for us is Muffin Cup Mondays.  Nothing fancy...we just have lunch in muffin cups...but the kids love it!  

Isaac is giving me a wink of approval

I stumbled on these silicone muffin cups in the target dollar bins a while back...they work perfect.  For MANY more muffin cup monday ideas...check out The Muffin Tin Mom.    

A Warm Winter Day at the Zoo

On an unusually warm January day, we decided to get out for some fresh air and time at the zoo with friends.  Our first stop was to visit the Otter.  With very few people there...Hannah got his full attention., he was so much fun to watch.  

One of my favorite parts of the zoo is watching the polar bears swim.  The last few times we've been there...they haven't been swimming so it was a treat to get to sit and watch.  Clara had fun too...isn't she the cutest?!!!  

 Isaac and the ice wall.  

 Hannah had so much fun with the butterflies.  One of the zoo workers gave her a butterfly identification chart.  She walked around matching the butterflies that she found to the ones on the chart.  She loved learning their names this way!  

 Clara needed to eat before we headed home and Hannah is always SO happy to help with this .  What a great day with friends!  

Some Winter Preschool

 It's been a while since I've given any preschool updates.  Here's a bit of what we have been up to this winter:  

Examining snowflakes  

Shaving cream snowman. Mix part shaving cream, part elmers glue to make a really fun paste that dries fluffy.   

Christmas patterning  

Growing borax crystal snowflakes.  We found the idea here.  They turned out really neat!  

Hannah loved reading "The Mitten" and we did several different activities to go with the story.  Here she is matching the characters to words from the story.  She also loves retelling the story with the characters.  We got our printables here  

Our Big 4-Year Old!

It seems impossible that our baby girl is 4 years old!  What joy she brings to our lives!  Everyday is full of fun and adventures with Hannah around.  

As always, here's a little of what she has been up to this year and some of the things she loves:

This year, I'm starting a tradition of "20 Questions".  Each year at her birthday, I'm going to ask her these 20 questions and keep them in her Life Story Binder.  Thought I'd share her answers:  

1. What is your favorite color? blue

2. What is your favorite toy? balls  

3. What is your favorite fruit? apples

4. What is your favorite tv show? Word World  
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? peanut butter and jelly  
6. What is your favorite outfit? Hello Kitty shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Guess Who
8. What is your favorite snack? cookies 
9. What is your favorite animal? zebras
10. What is your favorite song? Ladi Da (Grace- Eph. 2:8 from Seeds Family Worship)
11. What is your favorite book? The Bible
12. Who is your best friend? Milan
13. What is your favorite cereal? Rice Crispies
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Blow bubbles 
15. What is your favorite drink? juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Trick or Treat
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Blankie
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Toast
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? a teenager 

Some of these answers crack me up...and some of them were just true of that day, but many were accurate :)  Here are some more details:  

-she still loves her Bible...her favorite Bible story seems to always change.  Right now, she loves the story of Samson and the Good Samaritan.  

-She loves tv and playing on the computer and would do it all day if I would let her (I don't, she has time limits :)).  Her favorite shows are Dr. Suess, Super Why, and Word World.  She loves to play www.pbskids.com, www.starfall.com, and www.veggiestales.com.  

-She loves anything artsy...coloring, painting, cutting with scissors, etc.  

-She is learning to read...and doing quite well.  She knows LOTS of sight words and is pretty good at decoding CVC words.  (She also knows all of her letters and sounds)  

-Hannah counts to 14...she loves to count higher...but always misses that 15.  :)  

- she LOVES to pretend.  She loves to act out Bible stories, books, movies or pretend whatever comes to her mind.  She loves to play doctor and house.  She has a great memory and imagination!  

-She loves music..one of my favorite things is listening to her sing in the car.  

Boy I love this little girl...I could go on and on about her.  Looking forward to having a 4 year old..we have so much fun together!  

Uncle Adam, Auntie Beth, and E come for a visit

With just a few weeks before baby Abby arrived, Beth and Adam decided to make a trip to come visit us.  It was so much fun to have them all here!  We loved playing "Go Fish" with the kids  

Ethan was a good fisherman  

Isaac's first game...he loved it too!  

Isaac learned how to "bump it".  He has to get a bump from everyone in the room  

and don't forget the high 5's  

Bump it Aunt Beth!  

Hannah and Ethan dot painting  

yay for cousins...this is so much fun!  

Isaac and Clara

Clara is one of Isaacs favorite little friends.  He loves her...

They see each other usually at least once during the week and at church on Sundays.  Here he is "helping" by feeding her cheerios.  Isaac loves to help take care of her and give her hugs....but he also likes to wrestle with her and ride on her back like shes a horsey.  Clara has turned out to be a tough little girl because of her friend Isaac and is such a good sport about his playfulness (thankfully her Momma is too :)).  We are beyond blessed with such wonderful friends!  

"Notemeal"

Mr. Isaac LOVES oatmeal.  He asks for it for breakfast and lunch whenever he gets the chance.  He calls it "Notemeal" and will say the word over and over again.  He eats it with cinnamon and raisins...yum!  

Boy I love this face...

Isaac loves to feed himself (actually, he won't have it any other way) and does a really good job with his spoon.