Baking w/the Boys

Last night Louis wanted to bake some muffins but it was bedtime so I told him we could do it today. He didn't forget. It was the first thing he asked about this morning as I walked down the stairs. The plan was banana chocolate chip muffins but after looking through the pantry we found we were out of chocolate chips. Louis made the decision to go with white chocolate chips and Nutella.

The boys worked great together, Gabriel even managed to stay still for 10 minutes. I see more baking in our future. I gathered the ingredients and the boys helped parse it out. Louis measured it out and Gabriel helped with pouring.

It was a fun activity with yummy results. Louis loves to do things on his own and is very proud of today's product.

Taking turns mashing the bananas after Louis carefully cut them into pieces.

A Very Furry Christmas

Over the past few years we've taken to going away to celebrate the kids' birthdays or at the very least spend some together as a family to celebrate some place special. Louis wanted to go back to Disney or Sesame Place. I would've love to go back to Disney so soon after our last trip but with Matt's hectic schedule over the holidays it wasn't feasible. Off to Sesame Place we went.

This weather in Pennsylvania this time of year is typically well on its way to winter weather. Though the past few weeks have been moderate we knew this weekend was going to be one of the coldest PA had seen since last February. It was the only free weekend we had so off we went. I packed extra cold weather clothes and hoped for the best. Louis was looking forward to the trip and to staying overnight in a hotel room. Made him feel extra special.

We headed out after Leah's dance classes, had a quick lunch and drove the two hours. It was dark when we arrived to Sesame and the kids got really excited when they saw the entrance. A Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place, all decked out for the holidays.

 

I'm Blue

We had some blue and white cupcakes tonight. Louis wanted the blue frosted one because he wanted to be blue.

Favorite Tea

Louis loves tea and he especially loves tea time. Matt was working late so for dinner we had some tea and sandwiches. Louis loves fruit teas. We had a nice black cherry tea.

New Wheels

Louis and his first bike.

Little Friends

We have some friends that visit us on rainy days. We usually find them on our porch or along the sidewalk...snails. Lately we've had the same two come to visit. Louis loves to watch them. Today he asked to take some photos of them and put together a collage. These are some of his favorite shots.

Tumbling Away

Louis started a gymnastics tot class today. He was excited about attending all week and couldn't wait to walk over. He was a bit anxious at first but as soon as the other kids arrived and went into the gym he was happy to follow. It went well. He did all the activities and even some the coach didn't expect he'd be willing to do. It will take a few weeks for him to get the routine down and be a bit more independent, requiring less guidance with the activity circuits. Nevertheless he can't wait to go back next week and there after.

I Love You Day

"Louis calls Valentine's Day "I Love You Day". We're so lucky to have three children who love one another so much. In the morning the kids opened their Valentine's Day gifts.

Read me my card...please!

Leah opening her gift from Louis

"We love each other mom!"

One of our heartbreakers

Waiting for Leah

Family dinner at Friendly's

He who sleeps...

Makes a mommy very happy. When the boys end up taking dual naps together I feel like I've won a huge prize. When they sleep at the same time and usually for the same length of time they are both in a much happier mood. It also gives me some time to get some much needed things done around the house. When we got rid of our full size couch I pretty much gave up on a future of dual naps happening downstairs as they have for nearly 2 years. Turns out the loveseat must be made of the same sleepy dust and the boys don't care that they have less room on it.

Beautiful Sleepyheads

El Conejo y Su Cola

There was a saying as a kid that my mom used to always say about how kids followed their moms around everywhere. Same as in English--a rabbit and it's tail. That is how I see Louis and Gabriel some days. Louis follows me and Gabriel follows him. Most days though they are happy together. We picked them up some Ikea POÄNG Children's armchairs for them. Louis loves when they match and matching chairs made him very happy.

The Love of a Brother

Louis loves with a huge heart. He wants you to know he loves you and looks for ways to show it. Like Leah he makes crafts and gives us cards he's made to tell us thank you or I love you. The kids LOVE Valentine's Day. It isn't a couple thing is our house, it is all about loving our family and using the holiday to celebrate that love. Any excuse for Louis to enjoy arts and crafts.

Decorated frame for Leah

Making cards

Louisism- The Scientific Method

Louis is a pretty kind kid but he has his moments like all humans when he can be less than nice. He has an always evolving relationship with Gabriel. As Gabriel grows bigger and more capable they seem to butt heads more often but they also play together more.

Today there was a moment I noticed Louis wasn't being too kind to Gabriel and it went a little something like this:

"Louis you are being mean to Gabriel."

"Mom, it is an experiment. I want to see what he does"

Pause...

"I think he'll be mad too. Let's see."

We've been learning about the scientific method this week. Today we went over how one forms a hypothesis and goes about testing it.

I wasn't sure if Louis grasped what I was talking about. I see now he did.

After that he stopped being mean after we talked about why it isn't nice to experiment on people. Never too early to talk about ethics with your kids I guess.

Saving the day

Louis spent the afternoon playing firefighter.

Then Gabriel wanted to join in on the fun. They built a building together and pretended to put out the fire and rescue people and their pets.