Preschool Picnic

The last week of preschool, there was a family picnic. It was fun to watch the kids play together.

After the family picnic, the kids and I had several hours to pass until daycare and work time. (Time that we usually use to eat lunch, but we had already eaten lunch...) I let Conrad pick any park he wanted, explaining he would have to play by himself because I would stay in the car with Norrie while she napped. He picked his long-standing favorite, which he's nicknamed the "low monkey bar park". Within five minutes of arrival, a little boy from his preschool class showed up with his nanny. What luck! Conrad was happy, Norrie was sleeping, and I enjoyed my iced coffee and novel. Very nice.

Visiting Deidra

In May I took the kids up to visit our friend (and Conrad's godmother), Deidra. It was short, just one night, but in all a good time. The kids traveled well and did well at her place too, allowing for us to actually get a chance to visit. I was a little hesitant about the trip, worried I would spend my whole time chasing Norrie or having power struggles with Conrad. Thankfully not.






Both kids adored Deidra and her dog, Ruby.

siblings

Don't be fooled. There are definitely days they are not this sweet.
But how cute is that?!?! Conrad asked if he could wake up Norrie and I gave him permission because we had to get moving anyway to get him to school on time (this was last month). So he crawls in bed and starts giving her kisses!

This is from a different morning. Playing on the bed. It's all fun and games until someone falls off. But they crawl up and do it again. And again. And again. I'm glad it's such a low bed.

I was in the other room making breakfast and poked my head in to check on them (they were being too quiet). This is what I found.

Now the not so sweet (but still kind of funny) stories. Last week they each had a glass of water. Conrad's cup I fill 1/2 to 3/4 full, Norrie's cup has just a bit on the bottom since most of ends up on her shirt anyway. Norrie hands me her cup, I set it on the table. She reaches up to grasp the cup, and spills the last drop or two on her face as it tips towards her. I give her a bit more, she drinks it and hands it back to me. I set it on the table, this time further from the edge so she can't reach it. Conrad, having watched what happened, pours his water into her cup and moves it to the edge. I caught it just in time. What a stinker! She would have had an entire cup of water poured on her face!

When I asked Conrad why he did that, he shrugs and said he was just having fun with her. I actually believe that a part of him didn't understand why what he did was kind of mean.

Conrad has a favorite notebook. I'll post a picture sometime, it's something his grandma Mary made. He carries it everywhere, even into the grocery store when I let him. He's constantly drawing or "writing" in it. When/if he sets it down, Norrie is quick to pick it up. I think she enjoys the reaction she gets from him. She always does it with a huge smile and mischievous eyes. Conrad has started stuffing the pad/notebook cover/pens into a canister type tin when he's not using it, because he knows Norrie is unable to open it and get at his things. And then he gets a reaction from her because she watches him put them in there and she gets frustrated when the top doesn't open to give her access.

oh, kids.

Playing on the Prairie

We love, love, love the new schedule. It's like squeezing two days into one. In a typical week, I get several mornings on the prairie with these two. We play in sand, garden, ride bikes, garden, play in water, garden, swing, garden. Okay, they do most of the playing, I do most of the gardening. I actually have to keep Norrie out of the garden now. She was watching me weed one morning and then started pulling out lettuce.

It's finally getting easier, having two kids. Conrad does a great job some days playing with his sister, pushing her on the swing for me, shouting out to me when she starts climbing the ladder for the slide.

Our neighbor, Todd, has been working on our driveway a bit this summer. He's moving sand and dirt from his field onto our drive to help build it up. What a guy! Here Conrad is moving some bigger rocks out of the sand and into a pile near the culvert that Todd put in for us.

Yeah for hand me downs! Norrie is wearing lots of clothes in this picture that Conrad once wore...hat, overalls, socks, shoes, onsie, and even the clothe diaper!

The view from our "kitchen". This year we've seen goldfinches, purple finches, house finches, downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, robins, orioles, indigo buntings, rose breasted grossbeaks. A few weeks ago I put out our hummingbird feeder and some mornings we've seen up to four hummingbirds at one time! Norrie's favorite ASL sign is, guess, yep, BIRD!







sigh. She's going to be trouble.