fish, beads, and treats

Last week, there was just the tiniest hint of spring in the air. The snow melted, and the sun was beating down, warm on our faces. The birds were joyously chirping in the mornings. Even Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring.

Now, last night, we endured a “real feel” of negative 4 degrees. Welcome back, winter! 😉

We took advantage of the glorious weather while we had the chance. 40 degrees means you need to get on your coats and hightail it to the nearest playground! I’m not sure my kids have ever been so excited to see a slide as they were on this first day out after our big storm. Most of the ground was still covered with old snow, but they didn’t care one bit.

There’s nothing like the great outdoors (and a mouthful of fruit snacks…)
I hosted our co-op preschool last week, so for the letter F, we had to make some “fish”, of course. I love how they were all so unique (left to right: Kaya, Mia, Bennett).

The girls have started spending the majority of the day playing together, not just side by side. Kaya is definitely the leader, and can sometimes direct Kaelyn around a little too much, but overall, they truly enjoy being together.

Doctor Kaya (notice her name tag), now offers (pretend) hair cuts as well as medical services. I guess this is what it takes to have a competitive business these days._MG_0889 Kaya loves to help with anything and everything we’ll allow her to. Lately, I’ve put her to work washing windows and scrubbing potatoes. This is a truly happy kid!_MG_0896

She’s also really gotten into her perler bead kit, and made her first project all by herself- a turtle! She somehow convinced Daddy to make her a horse, too._MG_0923We’ve done a little Valentine crafting this week. Kaya really liked pompom painting this heart._MG_0930She also helped me put together her Valentine treats for her preschool friends. She loved mixing and scooping all the ingredients into the bags, and frequently asked “where’s mine?” We got the idea for “s’mores” bags (animal crackers, marshmallows, and m&ms) from here, and printed the tags from here. Easy, tasty, and adorable._MG_0932Also tasty… the dessert we got at the mall on Friday night. Fudgiest. brownie. EVER.

Also adorable… the way that Kaelyn so fervently waves “bye!!” to Daddy when he leaves for work, and how she rushes over to hug him when he returns home. I love her sweet, pure love for her family.
_MG_0936She also adores it when he plays “airplane” with her. They have frequent tickle fights. It gets kind of crazy, but she obviously loves it.
_MG_0935 Kaya is almost getting too big for this… but she had to have a turn too, of course!_MG_0937

And that’s what we’ve been up to lately. One day until my birthday!