Spring Break on a Sprained Ankle

I made awesome plans for spring break.  We were going to go to the dinosaur museum, farm country, the new aquarium, the indoor pool in Provo, and the playground.  I think I may stop making plans.  The week before spring break, I tripped on a hole in the floor during Zumba class.  Just in case you were wondering, that is exactly as graceful and dignified as it sounds like it would be.  I sprained my ankle badly, and then it was also kind of embarrassing to explain that it was a Zumba injury.  However, it was not as embarrassing as the time I cut my foot on a cookie cutter or sprained my ankle walking on a flat surface, so I'll count that as a win.

I was determined not to let my injury stand in our way, so we went to the dinosaur museum as planned.  The kids loved it!

Petting a lizard

I think I asked them to pretend to be dinosaurs here.  Miles was amazed by how big the dinosaurs were, and how he didn't even come up to their knees.

They also had a tinkering exhibit.  Their favorite parts were a toss-up between this air tunnel and a shadow camera that was impossible to get good pictures of.                                                                                                                                   

                                            

Tangrams and blocks are always fun, too.

                                           

Little paleontologists.

 Overall dinosaur museum score card:
Kids: Had a blast
Dinosaurs: Always win
Ankle: Not amused.

We ended up cancelling the rest of our spring break plans to rest my ankle.  Luckily, my mom was in town because Emily had just had her baby, so things were more fun than they might have been otherwise :)

Aunt. Uncle. Cousins.

Meet my beautiful new nephew!  My sister and her husband had their first baby, William James Marshall, on April 5th.  He's my first nephew, Gerrit's first nephew, and Miles and Molly's first cousin.  We're having so much fun with our new roles of aunt/uncle/cousin!

He's an adorable baby, and it has been a lot of fun to give him lots of cuddles.  Miles and Molly adore him!  Molly calls him "Baby Will" and is really soft and loving with him.  Miles has been telling me about all the things he will teach him, from racing to reading to computer games.

We love you, Will!

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

From this video, can you guess

A) What video Molly got for her birthday?

B) What Miles and Molly's favorite song is?

C) What their favorite part of that song is?

D) How many times they sing it per day?

I really do love hearing them sing together, though.  Other favorites are "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home," "The Wise Man Built His House Upon a Rock" and "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, " but this one is the clear favorite.

Two Years Old

Molly turned two at the end of March.  Here's a little bit about what Molly is like right now.

She is sweet as can be and loves to give hugs and snuggle.  She wants to have fun all the time and play games.  She is also definitely a two-year-old.  "No" is a favorite word.  Random crying over crazy things like not letting her hurt herself are more common than I would like.  Luckily, I think that sweet wins out on the whole.

She is obsessed with playgrounds, especially slides and swings.  I think she could stay at the playground all day!

She also loves sweets of all kinds, which is why she got birthday muffins for breakfast.

Molly is a little girly-girl.  She loves jewelry!  This is a little light-up ring that Joel and Emily got her.

Coloring is also a favorite.

She's finally getting some real hair!  Pigtails or "piggies" were a birthday request.

She loves story time.  She is glued to the stories and delighted by the songs and finger plays.

We went to Arctic Circle for lunch.  My parents took us several months ago, and ever since then, it has been her favorite.  I think her favorite parts are the fry sauce, the juice, the mini ice cream cones, and the playground.

More birthday presents!  She got this alphabet puzzle and a letter book.  She's actually getting really good with her letters and her numbers!

Miles got her sunglasses because she is always trying to steal my glasses and wants to try on all the sunglasses at Target.  She was so excited!

Molly's favorite show is Curious George.  I made her this Curious George cake.  The Samoa cupcakes were for my brother.  I'm definitely not a cake decorator, so I was just glad that it resembled a monkey!

We love you, big girl!

Sewing for Molly

Sewing for a little girl is lots of fun!  For Molly's second birthday, there were a few different projects that I wanted to make for her.

Project #1: Birthday dress

The pattern is McCall's 5791.  I bought the fabric when I found out I was having a girl…so yes, it took me over two years to actually use it.  I'm not very quick.  I really liked working with the pattern, though.  It makes for a nice, finished product.  The bodice and skirt are both lined.  The skirt and sleeves are gathered and the arms end in cased-in elastic.  It also has a sash in the back.  The only thing I didn't like was installing the zipper with the lining.  That was a pain.

I love that the fabric is very "Molly" and also very spring-y.  I think it will end up being her Easter dress, too.

Molly found a feather.  She loves feathers!

Miles saw me taking pictures and said "Mom, take a picture of me being handsome!"  Here you go, buddy!

I love my Molly!


I decided to make this top when I saw the fabric.  Molly loves all of the Mo Willems pigeon books, so I just couldn't pass up this fabric.  This is made from an Oliver + S Ice Cream pattern.  I had heard good things about this brand of patterns, and they really were great!

Things I love about this pattern:
*Sleeves that are just part of the yoke/bodice and not inset.
*The cute little notch neckline
*The lined yoke
*The gathering at the bodice line.
*That it closes with a button and a loop.  No buttonholes.  No zippers.

Front view.

Back view

Fabric view

Back button closure.

Molly loves her pigeon books!

So cute!

Gymnastics Day

Miles's preschool put on a special gymnastics day.  The kids got to try the rings, the bars, the vault, and lots of other activities.  I went to volunteer, so I also got to see how much fun he had!

The opening parade.

Getting his medal at the end.

He was so proud of this medal!  He was also really excited about his new "gymnastics pants"

Class photo!

He still brings it up, and it has been almost a month.  I guess I'll be signing him up for gymnastics in the fall!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I really like celebrating St. Patrick's Day with the kids, probably because there isn't much else going on so it isn't as busy.  We did a few different things this year, like watching Irish step dancing videos and finding green things in our house.

We also made green bean fries.  When I saw the recipe in Family Fun, I though they looked good, but the kids wouldn't eat them.  They actually ate so many that I hardly got any!

Miles dipped them in flour, I did the eggs, and then Molly did the bread crumbs.

Molly was also happy to make a mess when we were done.

Yummy!  I think Miles ate almost a whole pound of green beans.


We also made a leprechaun trap.  I let Miles pick what a leprechaun would like.

This says "I love lepraachauns."  Pretty close!

Leprechauns like green.  And also rainbows.

Miles thought it would really trick them if it looked like grass.

Rock Art

I really can't say enough awesome things about the toddler art program at the BYU Museum of Art.  I've been taking the kids for about three years now, and every single time we've gone has been awesome.  I feel pretty strongly about introducing kids to lots of different areas, and this is the perfect way to introduce them to art.  Every month, they pick a kid-friendly theme, and then go through one of the exhibits and look at art that fits those themes and do some fun activities.  At the end, they do three art projects.

This past month was based on rocks.

Miles is sorting rocks by shape, size, and color.

Molly is refusing to share the rocks.

They put paint and rocks in an oatmeal canister and then put paper around a side.  Miles loved shaking it around.

Finished project.

Mom!  I am drawing on a rock with more rocks!  They painted rocks with chalkboard paint and then the kids could draw on them.

They also do a lot of sensory tables, which have always been a big hit with both Miles and Molly.

My only complaint is that they are so popular that we can only get in for every other month :)  Seriously, though, they are great, and if you live in Utah County, you should totally look into it.