Projects, Projects, Projects!

We did lots of projects this week—mostly because we went to Walmart early in the week and some art supplies just jumped into the cart! The entourage was really excited about a pack of iridescent pony beads, and Monkey and Bug made necklaces. I decided not to trust Goose with the beads and pulled out the stringing noodles (dry penne + a few drops of food coloring) instead. Not that she can string them yet, but at least while she’s happily flinging them around the kitchen it doesn’t matter if they get lost or broken.

Bug says, "Look, Mommy, I made really cute bling!"

The project requiring the most Mommy initiative was the flower suncatchers (construction paper outlines + contact  paper + tissue paper squares). Monkey and Bug were puzzled by the circle I put in the middle, so we did a Google image search of daisies to prove that flowers really do have circles in the middle and talked about how that part of the flower helps make more flowers. We gave Goose a mini flower and some tissue paper too. It all ended up in a crumpled ball on the floor, but she had a great time.

Next we tried flower stamps (milk jug lid + foamy sticker = stamps; juice can lid + paint = ink pad). Monkey loved these, and Bug came around once we convinced her that the imperfect could still be pretty (I suspect this is going to be an ongoing issue). Of course once they realized I had used foamy stickers for the stamps, they just wanted to use the stickers. Bug stuck with the flower theme, but  Monkey was thrilled to discovered we’d acquired some sea animal stickers and picked out a piece of purple construction paper to be her ocean.

Milestones

Mobility: We took down the baby gates this week! Goose is pretty steady crawling up and down the stairs, plus we realized she was the one who most frequently opened and closed the gate.

Privacy: Monkey and Bug have started wanting their own stalls in public restrooms (so far nobody’s gotten herself locked in a stall, but I’m just waiting for that moment). Bug has also requested her own bathtime, “all by herself.” However, I suspect this has more to do with avoiding the boisterous waterplay of her sisters than privacy.

Speech: Goose has two more words: this and bar (as in, homemade granola bar). She’s also started pointing at objects to get Daddy or I to say them, then attempting to mimic them. She’s doing a lot more articulate babbling too—looking you in the eye and saying something. It just isn’t English yet.

Library Day

This week's excitement at the library was the great big puddles outside the library. Monkey introduced Goose to the joys of puddle jumping. The unstoppable gleefulness of two little girls stomping and kicking through a puddle was just incredible! (Bug, however, plopped down onto the sidewalk and cried because Monkey got a few drops of water on her *sigh*). We came home with these books this week:
One Potato: A Counting Book of Potato Prints
Read-aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo
Little Red Riding Hood
The Post Office Book: Mail and How It Moves
Word Bird's Shapes
Oh, look!
Jubilee
Counting To Christmas
The Magic School Bus Answers Questions

On Saturday, the entourage decided we needed a second library day. We didn’t check out any books, but they all “read” lots of books, and Goose spent some time coloring while I worked on this blog. It was a great way to spend a drizzly Saturday morning.

More Puddle Jumping!
I had the entourage try on bathing suits today to see if we'll need new ones for this year, and Bug and Goose decided to try them out.