FOUR Years Old!
Monkey and Bug turned 4 years old this week! This is the first birthday they've actually been aware of ages, so it was a big deal for them. The day started with coloring projects from Uncle K and Aunt A and Aunt E.

We decided to skip the big party for our little introverts, and instead opened presents with just our family, had one of their favorite meals for dinner, and invited our next door neighbors, Mr. S and Miss N and their daughter LA, to come over and play. Miss N offered to make them "fancy cakes" in their favorite colors for their birthday--very popular (and tasty)! The grown ups got to chat, the kids got to play with the new toys, and everybody had a great time.

Thanks to generous grandparents the entourage started their Playmobil collection for their birthday, and they have spent hours since then taking their "little people" on adventures--visiting the doctor, fighting bad guys, playing house, going fishing, going camping, going shopping . . . the possibilities are endless!

The next day they went straight to the Playmobil sets!
They didn't even bother eating breakfast first.

Magic Math
As a testament to the true geekiness of this family, Monkey and Bug have been asking me to teach them to play Magic: The Gathering for weeks. (For the uninformed, Magic is a strategy game involving battles between mythical creatures played with trading cards.) While the actual game is above their ability, it finally dawned on me that I could come up with a simplified version, which they love! Most of the time, Monkey is the first to lose interest in an organized game, and it usually happens pretty quickly. Not with this game! She was highly motivated to see what creature she would draw from the deck next (Dragon Hatchlings and Invading Fairies were her favorite cards), and she was very willing to do the math to figure out whose creature would win a fight (each card has two numbers at the bottom; I have the girls add the numbers and compare cards; whoever has the larger number wins the fight). Bug is also a big fan, of course, and we discovered that she is capable of doing math in her head. At some point, when we each presented our chosen card, she quickly declared that we tied. When I asked why, she explained: "Because I have 2 and 2, and you have 3 and 1, so we both have 4!"

Job Charts
We decided that as part of Monkey and Bug being 4 years old, and therefore old enough for more responsibilities, they now each have a job chart that includes tasks for keeping up their own well-being (like brushing their teeth) and for helping with the household (like feeding the cat and participating in the nightly clean up of toys). They get to put a sticker over the clip art that represents each job as the task is done. Right now it just lists the jobs they already do, but I'll be adding new jobs over time as I decide I'm ready to fully enforce their getting done. So far, the charts are a big hit--we'll see how long the novelty lasts!

Playgroup
With the academic school year starting up for the rest of America, our homeschool group is also in full swing again! Things are a little more formally organized this year since someone volunteered to lead a real gym class for the elementary school aged kids. (We even have a list of tentative field trips for the school year--looks like fun!) For the preschool set, there's a gathering to include storytime, crafts, games, songs, or whatever the mom volunteering to lead that week decides to do. Somehow I ended up as coordinator of this gathering, and my first week leading went really well. I shared Pete the Cat with 8 little ones and 3 moms, and everybody brought crayons for Pete the Cat coloring sheets I brought. Then we migrated to the gym and the little ones got to run around and play with basketballs on one side while the big kids finished up their gym class on the other. Despite not having this gathering all summer, the entourage jumped right into the chaos and had a blast. They were particularly excited because their friends N and G are in the group this year.

Outside!
It's finally a little cooler in the evenings, and we've been regularly going outside to play with their friend LA after dinner. They've been organizing alot of races around our postage stamp yards, but so far they've been declaring each girl the winner when she crosses the designated finish line.

We pulled out the field guides again this week. Goose pored over the insect guide, while Monkey, Bug and I identified the trees in our and our neighbors' yards.

For the entourage's Daddy Date Night this week, they bought and assembled a bench for our front porch. They were quite proudly sitting on their creation when I came home from my pilates class. It's going to get a lot of use!