Neighbors
Now that the weather's been consistently pleasant we've been spending a lot more time playing outside with our neighbors. Pulling out riding toys and playing out front is always popular, but we've been retreating to backyards too since more of us have aquired swing sets and things in the last year. One of the highlights this week was playing in B's yard and having his mom, Miss A, catch a great big toad that decided to attempt hopping through a yard full of preschoolers. The poor thing was probably traumatized by the experience, but the kids loved getting to see and touch him before we let him go in the flower bed.

Later in the week, we were playing outside before any of our little friends were awake and watching Mr. B across the street spreading mulch in his flower beds. At some point he realized he had purchased far more mulch than he needed and offered to share. The entourage was excited to find their own shovels and help him spread it around our bushes. They even thanked him for being a nice neighbor and sharing with us.

Artistic Endeavors
So, at some point this week the entourage was quietly coloring with markers at the kitchen table while I simultaneously cooked dinner and talked to Daddy on the phone. I realized they were VERY quietly coloring with markers and looked over to discover than they had quite industriously moved from coloring the paper to coloring themselves!

We also pulled out our sewing projects again this week. I worked on cross-stitch, Monkey and Bug practiced stitching in felt, and even Goose pulled out the cardboard sewing cards.

Library Day
Since we were going to be out of town all week we didn't check out any books, but we did get several videos for the drive to Nana and Papa Bear's later this week: Make Way for Ducklings, Is Your Mama a Llama?, (these two videos also included a few other familiar books) and Fantasia. We also had a great time at stortime. The librarian read a few silly books, and the kids got to make silly monster popsicle stick puppets. All three girls loved this activity--even Goose could complete it with minimal assistance.

Doctor's Appointment
Monkey and Bug had their four-year-old well check this week. We prepped by watching an episode of Curious George going to the doctor (a happy coincidence) and talking alot about what the doctor was going to do and why, how they should behave (with bravery and no meltdowns), and what to do if they were worried or scared (talk about it and hold my hand). They are perfectly healthy, and things went as well as can be expected. Monkey took it all like a champ and only cried and screamed during/after getting four shots (a perfectly valid response in my book). Bug required a bit of forced cooperation at times, but we got through it anyway. The most exciting part of the visit was getting in on the new literacy program the hospital is sponsoring and coming home with three new books.