E day

Last Saturday, Michaela picked out the first letter for our alphabet challenge.  The letter was E.  I was worried at first that she was not going to have as much interest in this project as I thought, until she started saying things like..."I'm elated, Mom" and "ENOUGH!", all with a little smile on her face.  

EVERYONE

We started the morning with EVERYONE in our family sitting together, thinking of E things.  I made EGGS for breakfast.  We then EXERCISED at gymnastics.  When we got home Ryan and I taught Michaela about *EMAIL.  We had asked family to send some emails and we went some time reading through the ones that were sent.  Michaela LOVES to "type", so she was all too happy to send some emails back.  Later in the afternoon we EXERCISED some more by going to the pool.  When we got home we had an ENCHILADA dinner with EDAMAME.  Overall, I would say it is an EXCELLENT E day.
 
*Several years ago, there was a commercial in which a Dad created an email for his newborn daughter.  The commercial shows the Dad sending emails complete with photos and videos to his daughter as she grows up.  Ryan and I both thought this was a great idea and he followed through and created an email account for Michaela shortly after she was born.  E day was the first time it was really used.    

EMAIL

EXERCISE at the pool

 

Summer Alphabet Adventure - Prep

Back when I was a kid, my Mom had this great idea to entertain my younger sister during the summer.  She created an alphabet jar and allowed her to pick a letter out on special days in the summer.  Then, they would create a day filled with activities to match the letter of the day.  Fast forward about 20 years and I have my own preschooler who is starting to learn to read (not sure how that happened, one day she was all of a sudden reading me an "I Can Read" book), the summer is quickly approaching and I feel like we definitely need some type of structure to survive!  So, I pitched the idea to my two girls and they got on board right away.  

I started the prep work by purchasing a smaller Project Life album and page protectors from Michaels so we could document all our adventures. This way, Michaela and Avery have an ABC book filled with great memories when we are all finished.  Pretty shortly after getting those supplies, Michaela woke asking if we could work on our special project, so we started right away.  First, I had her write all the letters onto a big sheet of paper (this activity already got her practicing writing and remembering her letters) and then she did her favorite part, cutting out all the letters into strips.  Finally, she folded them up and placed them into our letter bowl.  We have also been brainstorming some of the letters ahead of time so that we have a few ideas before we get stuck with a letter and have no ideas.  Can't wait to see where this summer alphabet adventure takes us!

Disney Reflections

When we decided to go to Disney World with a two kids under 3, I thought we were crazy.  I knew Avery wouldn't remember a thing and figured Michaela wouldn't either.  Plus, everything we read said not to go in July...the weather would be too hot and the lines too long.  However, Ryan had a conference to attend there in July and children under 3 get free admission to the parks.  So, we decided to go for it.  The trip and the timing of it couldn't have worked out better.  Sure it was a little sticky during the day, but the evenings were beautiful and we broke up the outdoor time with shows or meeting characters inside.  We did get a bit lucky when a rainy afternoon sent most people back to their hotels.  I think once it rained the majority of the afternoon, families decided to make it a resort day and not return to the parks.  When we headed back after nap time we had no trouble getting on any rides we wanted.  We got so much done and had no trouble with the crowds.  The whole trip was just amazing!

Day 1

Meeting Minnie and Mickey

Taking in a show on Main Street

On our first evening we also went to see the Monsters Inc. comedy show and really enjoyed it.  They even put Avery up on the big screen and talked about her in the show.  She's already a star!

Day 2

Started the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios

Waiting to see Buzz and Woody

Ended the day at EPCOT

Epcot at Night

Day 3

Breakfast at Chef Mickey's 

Avery LOVED Donald

Animal Kingdom took up the rest of our morning

The rain during the day kept most people from heading out to the parks in the evening.  Due to the lack of people, we had the opportunity to take the resort boat by ourselves to the Magic Kingdom.  It was definitely a small thing, but it added a bit of special Disney Magic to our day!

Michaela looking back at the resort on our private boat ride

Meeting Rapunzel...and shyly LOVING IT

Day 4

We made our final day at Disney World all about the Magic Kingdom.  We went on all the rides we missed earlier in the week, visited with characters like Tinkerbell, and made a point to see the parade and fireworks.  

What a Difference a Week Makes...

Well, last week at this time I was thrilled after experiencing my first football game at Soldier Field.  The Bears played a great game against the Seahawks in order to make it into the NFC Championship game.  I wasn't too worried at the time that the championship game would be against my husband's favorite team, the Packers.  The game was such a fun experience, it was hard to think about anything else!  The play on the field was great and for most of the game it snowed big fluffy flakes making the atmosphere unforgettable.  Thank you to my wonderful husband for the tickets, it was one of the best gifts I have ever been given.  I just LOVED it!  

Fast forward one week and our season is over.  Now add insult to injury, my husband and his family get to celebrate while my family has to break out the old Cub mantra...wait until next year.  I am trying to remind myself that it is only a game, but boy would it have been nice to see the blue and orange in the Superbowl.  Oh well.  One bright spot from today...Michaela did tell me this morning she wanted "a bear" to win!

Michaela dressed for the game.  Bears sweater, one green sock, one gold sock...looks like the socks won out.