Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Photo a Day: Days 74- 81

Some photos from the past week~

Day 74: 4.17.12- Lucy posing with her Kiwi Crate creations.


Day 75: 4.18.12- Fun with his new sippy cup!


Day 76: 4.19.12- Baking some pastries with our strawberries from the farmers market. Yum!


Day 77: 4.20.12- Sunny park day!


Day 78: 4.21.12- Having fun at a birthday party.


Day 79: 4.22.12- Relaxing on Earth Day at our local beach.


Day 80: 4.23.12- Walking around the farmers market.


Day 81: 4.24.12- Ready for bed!









Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Children's Creativity Museum- San Francisco

We finally took a trip to 'the city' (San Francisco) to visit the Children's Creativity Museum where my sister works. It was so worth the drive and I wish we had done it sooner! We all had an absolute blast! Here's a few photos from the trip~

Lucy and Aunt Jill getting the museum ready- We were lucky enough to be the first guests on that particular day!


The 'Build It' area~


Theo absolutely loved building! He was not happy to move on to other areas and probably would have been content to stay there all day.


They have a fun puppet theater area with dress up clothing as well.




 Lucy creating her own creature.

Even Paulie had a blast. Here he his working on his stop-motion video using letter magnets.


Here's Aunt Jill helping Lucy do some claymation. I thought this may be beyond her 4 years, but it ended up being Lucy's favorite part of the museum.



They have an area in the museum where you can make a dance video. (Lucy wasn't quite ready for that, but we had a blast watching the other kids make theirs.)


The 'Mystery Box' area! This was one of my favorites. It really inspired me with lots of classroom ideas and even stuff to do with Lucy at home. Basically you are given a task card- Lucy's was to create a bunch of flowers that can fly. Then, you choose a mystery box. You have to create your task using what's in the box. Each box is filled with different materials. Really loved this! Started thinking how we could do mini-versions of this at home or even transition it to different subjects in the classroom. 




The Lego Wall~ Paulie and Lucy could have stayed for hours. We want one in our house!


Love this ceiling decoration! I want to now try this at home with the whole family involved. Maybe gather some longer twigs to hang our flowers and origami from?



I think we all came home inspired. Lucy immediately got out of the car, headed for her bristle blocks and started creating all kinds of 'inventions'. Paulie and I got so many neat ideas to try at home and school, and I'm sure Theo was still dreaming about those giant, foam blocks he loved!


Photo a Day: Days 68- 73

More photos from the last few days~

4.11.12 (Day 68)- Theo having a blast at music time at our local library.


Day 69: 4.12.12- Lucy and Daddy playing at a park in San Francisco.


Day 70: 4.13.12- Two kids worn out!


Day 71: 4.14.12- Lucy and her friend at the local fair.


Day 72: 4.15.12- Outside playtime!


Day 73: 4.16.12- Enjoying a sunny day at our farmers market.







Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Photo a Day: Days 61- 67

Pictures from the past week~


4.4.12 (Day 61)- Lucy posing with her artwork. Although we've made a special place to hang artwork in the house, she prefers sticking her finished pieces on the door with stickers!


4.5.12 (Day 62) A little cuddle time with Daddy


4.6.12 (Day 63) Theodore has decided it is much easier to just bypass using hands.


4.7.12 (Day 64) Lucy and Theo at Bunnyland! 


4.8.12 (Day 65) Easter morning 



4.9.12 (Day 66) We finally got around to planting. Lucy was mostly excited about wearing her gardening gloves. Since we haven't gardened in our new town yet, we bought a little bit of everything and are going to see how the plants do. I'm hoping for some good peppers this summer!


4.10.12 (Day 67) Daddy telling stories and singing to Lucy (part of the extravagant bedtime routine Lucy has somehow convinced us to do.) 








Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Lucy's 4th Birthday

Lucy's 4th Birthday


I can't believe I actually have a 4 year old! I know we all say this every year, but how did that go by so quickly?! We had a very low key day on her actual birthday. She work up and blew out the candles from her birthday ring. (This year she actually set it up herself- Miss Independent!)


Later, she opened gifts from the family. Daddy and I got her this wooden workbench.


Party Day

The next day was her party day! She had her heart set on a princess fairy birthday party at the local children's museum. The kids played first. Here's Lucy doing some acting on the stage! And then we did cupcakes. I ventured out of my comfort zone and actually made them myself this year.

  


This year instead of receiving gifts, we requested the kids participate in a book exchange. (We had actually taken part in one at a recent birthday and loved it!) Each child brings a wrapped book and they all choose one they didn't bring and get to open it. So each child leaves with their own fun present!



After the book exchange the kids played some more. Lucy had a blast!




The Preparation

I really wish I had taken pictures of everything, but as the party grew near, it was the last thing on my mind. Here are a few shots I had taken throughout the process.

The cupcakes- I found a yummy chocolate cake recipe online and also chose a cream cheese frosting.  Lucy and I watched youtube videos on how to frost cupcakes. We went to Michaels and picked out the toppings for them. She and I actually made quite a few batches thoughout the week trying different batters and practicing our icing skills!



I made each child a fairy wand (dowel with ribbons and a little bell up top) and some fairy headbands. The picture below is the headband before adding the ribbon hanging down. It was cute seeing all the girls wearing these during the party. I had also bought supplies to make some woodland elf hats should any boys had come, but it ended up being an all girl party!








Lucy and I also made some centerpieces. We bought a plain, plastic green plant on clearance and then added some flowers and other decorations to it. Lucy also painted some fairy houses to set on the table.







Another favor each child received was a wooden fairy. Here they are before finally being finished. It was actually quite relaxing sitting around and painting them. I bought plain wooden pieces from Michaels and then just painted them with simple craft paint. I added a layer of Modge Podge after the paint dried.





Here are the favor bags fully assembled.


The museum already pre-sets up the party room for you. I was too rushed to remove the red tablecloth they had set up and just ended up putting our party decorations over it. 










I made a few appetizers for the party as well. This is not the greatest picture, but these were actually fairy wand sandwich skewers that turned out pretty cute!



It was a fun day. I especially liked that Lucy was now old enough to really help with preparing her party. She's already brainstorming ideas for Theodore's 1st birthday in June!