Day of Firsts

We have had a great day today. It has been fun, calm, and lacking the normal amount of fits. I tried some new things today with the kids, and I just might continue to do them from now on!

This morning I put my newfound spontaneity into practice. I was just about to change Charis into her clothes for the day when all of a sudden I asked Cayman if he wanted to go to the pool. At first he said no (imagine that!) because it was too cold. I told him that it was hot outside and that the water wasn't going to be cold (our pool is heated until summer rolls around.) He changed his mind and so we dressed for the pool! I have never taken the kids to the pool by myself. I probably wouldn't if our pool didn't have the zero depth. But the kids LOVE crawling/walking around in the really shallow water, and I can just sit in the water and watch them. Unfortunately Charis also LOVES to dig in the mulch in the landscaping surrounding the pool. So I'm going to have to find her some pool toys or a float to keep her occupied. Cayman felt very comfortable in the water today. He was moving around in the shallow water on his hands (laying flat on his tummy with feet suspended in the water) and his chin was constantly in the water. Once he started going a little too deep, and I saw above the water was part of his nose and two VERY big eyes! But he quickly realized what he needed to do and started moving his hands even quicker to get out of the deeper water (it didn't dawn on him to just stand up!) He coughed a little and sneezed a few times, and then a few minutes later he said was "Dat was a close one, mama!" But no crying or anything! I was proud of him! He definitely was not thrilled about going home when our timer went off letting us know it was time to leave. But once we got out of the van, he said "I hungy mama! I want a BIG samich!"



[caption id="attachment_1844" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="They love playing with the leaves and mulch around the pool....."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1845" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Charis is ALWAYS too busy at the pool to look at the camera for a picture!!!"][/caption]

Charis also ate a big samich for lunch - it was her first time eating a grilled cheese sandwich, and she ate almost the entire thing! I made a pizza quesadilla for my lunch, and I had leftover sauteed onions and peppers. I put them on her plate and she gobbled them up! Cayman HATES peppers and onions. But Charis seemed to love them. Then she drank a full bottle and went to bed.

Charis had another first today....

[caption id="attachment_1847" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="She's saying, "I'm so big!" "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1846" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Of course Cayman had to do the same thing to get the same attention Charis received for her new trick... :)"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1848" align="aligncenter" width="194" caption="She looks so big in these pictures!!!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1849" align="aligncenter" width="213" caption="Noo!! I'm not ready for a big girl in our house!! :("][/caption]

Once she was in bed, I tried something new with Cayman: Center Time. I set the timer on my phone (he LOVES timers right now - sometimes they seem to calm him down when he's upset) for 10 minutes. We started our first center: cars and trucks. We played with his trucks and the track until the timer went off. Then he quickly cleaned everything up and I reset the timer. Our second center was the arts and crafts table. Today the table had a Spiderman puzzle, crayons and markers on it (special markers that ONLY mark on special paper - not on anything else...fabric covered chairs included!) He picked up the markers right away and told me to work my puzzle. He wasn't quite ready for that center to be over once the timer went off, so we sat a little longer. Then our third center was the reading center. I sat in my chair reading my book while he sat on the couch and "read" his books. He looked through Ian's book that he's reading, then he jumped down and said he had to go put Ian's shoes in the closet. Then when he came back, he told me he needed to go throw a sock in the dirty clothes hamper. Then he looked through another book. Then he had to go do something else. He was very quiet the whole time though (whispered everything he needed to do.) And then the timer went off and he hurried off to his room to put his books away.

I was impressed! But now I'm in need of new activities for centers! Cheap ideas, preferably stuff we already have laying around the house, and also preferable learning ideas - sorting/matching/etc. I have a game I want to make, but I need to get rid of the eggs in the fridge first so I can use the egg carton! :) What are your ideas???