Trike-a-Thon

The trike-a-thon was a big success today. Photos and story to follow later, but here is a short video.

Almost as Good as Mom

Reading and Listening
Originally uploaded by erika8602

LP was in a reading mood the other day. After we had finished a bunch of stories I had to leave her to her books by herself so I could make dinner. I heard a little banging around in her toy bins, then all was quiet. I walked back in to find her comfy on the couch with a substitute reader, her books on cd. I have transferred some of the stories onto her Fisher Price FP3 player from Eka and she loves being able to do it by herself. She looked so old sitting there with her headphones on.

First Cookout of the Season

Last week Alessandro and his mom came for a playdate. The weather was beautiful and LP Dad was home for the day, so that playdate turned into the first cookout of the season. Burgers, lamb steaks, yellow squash, and corn cooked perfectly on the grill, while the kids helped LP Dad and Uncle Dave get the firepit ready. The kids were both great helpers, carrying armfuls of kindling and small logs.



After dinner was done the fire was lit and we pulled out the marshmallows, chocolate bars, and graham crackers. The kids had more fun toasting the marshmallows than anything else, Alessandro toasted all of LP Dad's for him and LP set her marshmallows on fire, made a s'more, took a bite, then passed it off to someone else to eat while she made another. We had a great night and can't wait to do it again throughout the summer.

Stop to Smell the Flowers

But watch out for that pollen in your nose!

Gifts for Mom

Just a little reminder that Mother's Day is this weekend. I'm a little late with my post this year, but if you have already taken care of a Mother's Day gift, you can tuck this idea away for another time. Even though you don't have time to get the finished necklace before Sunday, it would still make a wonderful gift as a kit or a gift certificate. I am glad that I was involved in the actual process, LP Dad gave me the kit and we did the cast together as a family. Everytime I look at my necklace I remember sitting with my husband and my daughter, laughing at our practice attempts.

I have had my fingerprint necklace from Tina Steinberg for over a year now and still receive compliments on it all the time. A little silver polish is all it takes to keep it looking brand new, and I love having a little bit of LP with me even when she's at school. I find myself feeling her tiny little print when she isn't with me, almost as a subsitute for holding her hand. She loves to put her finger back in the print to see how much she has grown.

One of the most common questions (after where it is from) is whether she has options for moms with more than one child. She now has many different options for multiple fingerprints, whether you want one charm with all the prints on it, or individual prints put together in one piece of jewelry.




She other has other types of mom jewelry now, my favorites is the round glass pendant with your children's names.



All photos in this post are the property of Tina Steinberg and are posted with permission.

Lessons

Lilypad Princess and her preschool classes are learning two very important lessons this week - tricycle safety and helping others. They will be learning about tricycle (and bicycle) safety during class; always wear your helmet, never ride in the street, always be careful near driveways, and always watch where you are going then on Thursday they will bring their helmets and tricycles into school with them. That day they will learn to check that everything is safe before getting on to ride and then will participate in a Trike-a-Thon.

The Trike-A-Thon will help teach them the second important lesson, helping others. The children all have pledge sheets and are collecting pledges for how many laps they complete (or flat donation pledges.) Lilypad Princess knows that she will be doing this ride to raise money and that we will be giving the money to help sick children. The money will all be donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. LP is more excited about helping kids than she is about bringing her bike to school. This is a good starting point for getting her involved in community activities and doing thing to help other people.

If you would like to make a donation, you can call me and I'll record your pledge per lap (or flat donation) or you can sponsor her online. (Please ignore the goal listed, it wouldn't allow anything less than that.)

April or August?

We had a few 90+ degree days last week. LP and I were so happy for the sun and warm weather that we didn't mind the heat, we spent all day outside. The second day I pulled out the little pools from last year and let LP splash around all afternoon. It was a little disconcerting to see the tulips in bloom behind her.

LP's First Overnight

Last weekend was Lilypad Dad's fraternity formal. It was a special event this year, so LP Dad and I headed up to Massachusetts for it. LP spent her first night without me at Grandpa and Nannie's house.

They had a couple of special places planned but LP loves playing at their house so much that they never even made it. They did get out to a playground for a while, and LP talked them into McDonald's for dinner. Then they headed home for popcorn and a movie, Grandpa still wants to know where she put all that food plus two bags of popcorn!

Apparently she went to bed without any problems at all, but woke up about 2 am. She didn't want to go back to sleep, so LP and Grandpa spent the rest of the night cuddling in the chair watching movies until the sun came up. LP had a wonderful time and is already asking when she gets to do it again. It was definitely an easier adjustment for her than it was for me, I wanted to at least be able to say goodnight but she was too busy when I called! I'm glad that she feels so comfortable there and is happy to stay and be spoiled by Grandpa and Nannie.

Catch!

Last seen heading west:

1 for Nana, 1 for PopPop, and, of course, 1 for Molly

Last seen heading north:

Grandpa, Nannie, Eka, Auntie La, and Auntie Diane keep your eyes open!

Flower Fairy