Lynx Game QOTD

We went to the (first half of the) Lynx home opener tonight!  It was so fun to be back at the Target Center as a family, cheering on our favorite basketball players- Maya, Linsdey, Simone, Monica, Rebekah, etc... And Chris even had an NBA sighting- Kevin Durant was sitting on the baseline!

But, of course, Callie's favorite thing to do at Lynx games is to watch their mascot, Prowl.  They even showed a short funny clip of Prowl on the big screens that she was enthralled by.

He's pretty funny.  And, apparently, makes her think.  On the way home, I fielded many questions about Prowl.  Some I was able to answer, others stumped me.  It went something like this:

Callie: Why doesn't Prowl talk?
Me: Well...probably because animals don't have voices.
**Pause**
Callie: Do animals whistle?
Me: I don't know.  That's a good question.
**Pause**
Callie: What does his home look like?
Me: Um, maybe it is a den by the Target Center...?
Callie: I don't think he lives in a den.  I think he lives in a little house.
Me: Yeah maybe.
Callie: Where are his mommy and daddy?
Me: Um...I don't know. But I like all your questions!
**Pause**
Callie: What does he like to eat?
Me: Maybe green licorice?
Callie: Why does he like to eat green licorice?
Me: Because maybe his favorite color is green.
Callie: Why is his favorite color green?
Me: Well that is the color of the Lynx shirt.  He might like blue and white too.
**Pause**
Callie: Where was he when we watched him on the big TV?
Me: I don't know.  He was probably in the locker room.
Callie: Yeah.
**Later, getting ready for bed**
Callie: Am I going to be a basketball player someday?
Me: You might be!  Maybe you can play for the Lynx!
Callie: Yeah, I can be Maya!

I clearly need to get better at thinking on my feet when it comes to answering her questions.  I have no idea why green licorice came out of my mouth as Prowl's favorite food. 

Anyway, we're looking forward to another Lynx season and more fun watching that silly Prowl.

Happy Birthday Bops!!!

Bops' birthday is always a fun start to the month of June!!!  Happy Birthday Bops!



We love you and your goofiness!

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

This has been an emotional week that has made me very thankful for all the blessings in my life.  And I have a lot of pictures to show for it.  As usual, all of the pictures are of my biggest blessing.

Favorite Thing #1: Toddlers who love to play in dog kennels

Favorite Thing #2: Those rosy cheeks after sleepies

Favorite Thing #3: Lilacs!

Favorite Thing #4: A new summer toy from Daddy

Favorite thing #5: Playing with Auntie Cat...Part 1

Favorite Thing #6: Playing with Auntie Cat...Part 2

Favorite Thing #7: Finding the perfect place for a fresh rose

Favorite Thing #8: Dress up clothes for everyone!

Have a great weekend!

Vocabulary Development

As a teacher, I have seen what happens when kids aren't exposed to a lot of different language experiences when they are young.  A lot of times when that happens, the kids don't like to read.  And it makes me sad.

So, obviously, I have tried really hard to instill a love of words and reading in Callie.  The girl loves books.

And lately we have been playing a lot of word games.  Her favorites are listed below.

1) The Categories Game- I list 3 or 4 things that go together, and she tells me the category.  For example:
Me: Okay...car, truck, boat.
Callie: Things you ride in!
I like this game because I can teach her big words like transportation or accessories. Every girl should know a fancy word for necklaces, bracelets and rings, right? :)

2) The Doesn't Belong Game- I list 3 or 4 things, with one that doesn't belong.  She has to guess which one doesn't belong.  It is fascinating to watch her think about it- you can literally see connections being made in her brain.  For example:
Me: Are you ready?  Fork, spoon, cherry, knife.
Callie: (thinking for a few seconds) CHERRY!
We take turns on this one, which is pretty hilarious.  She doesn't quite get the concept of making sure something doesn't belong.  For example:
Callie: Okay Mommy.  Fridge, spoon, grapes, table!
Me: (thinking of possible connections to make between the random objects) Um...
Callie: (thinking for a few seconds) None of them belong!
But even though she still doesn't quite get it when it is her turn, she totally nails it every time I give her the words.  It is a great way to help her understand how things relate to each other.

3) The I'm Thinking Game- This is by far our favorite.  We take turns giving each other clues so the other person can guess what we are thinking of.  I took a video of how this game usually goes.  It is pretty funny.  And we can go for a long time without getting bored. 


I'm Thinking Game from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

I love how it teaches basic problem solving skills.  Again, I love how I can see her wheels turning as she is putting all the clues together in her mind.  I also love her voice inflection.  She says her clues like that every time.  SO adorable.

So there you have it.  If you know of any other fun word games, feel free to send them my way.  She's getting so smart we're going to need to up the rigor soon. :)

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Memorial Day Weekend Wedding Edition

Happy Memorial Day everyone!  We were fortunate to spend the entire Memorial Day weekend out east with my mom's side of the family celebrating my cousin Karl's wedding.  Karl also happens to be a veteran, as he served in the Marine Corps.  It was wonderful to spend such special time with family members who we don't get to see very often.

We left on a 7am flight on Friday morning, and everything went fairly smoothly considering the 5am wake-up time.  Callie was a stellar traveler and even helped us pull our suitcases.



She rocked the jammies until we got to Connecticut!

We gathered at my Uncle Joe's house for lunch with him, Aunt Margie, Uncle John and Aunt Jenny.  Then we all headed to Sturbridge, MA where most of the weekend festivities took place.  Friday evening and Saturday morning were spent hanging around with family...mostly indoors because the weather was cold and rainy. 

But we had fun anyway!

Karl and Erica's wedding took place at a very special church in Holden, MA: Immanuel Lutheran.  It just so happened to be the church that my mom's dad (Grampy) was the pastor at for four years (1955-1959 I think), and also the church that my mom was baptized at. 

The ceremony was lovely.  My mom and Laura played a couple duets, and I ended up reading some of the prayers during the ceremony.  Karl and Erica were so happy and excited- it was so much fun to witness.

Their wedding colors?  Red, White and Blue!  What else would you expect from a former marine? :)

After the ceremony we wanted to take some pictures outside of the church, since it is a significant place to my mom and her siblings.  They found the picture of my grandpa on the wall, so the siblings got a picture with it.

Joe, Margie, Polly, John

We also got a family picture in front of the church.

We won't be a family of 3 for long!

We then headed to the reception for the evening of fun times, good food, and even some revolutionary war actors!

On Sunday we headed to the National Basketball Hall of Fame!  It was fun...lots of very large shoes and basketball playing, obviously.

Fun times!



Checking out our wingspans against Kevin Durant's.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with family: mini-golf, playing with ducks, ice cream, and hanging out and playing in the hotel room.

We headed back this morning and got home in time for nap time.  Traveling with a toddler and being 32 weeks pregnant was exhausting, but we had a great trip.  I'd love to have a weekend to recover from our weekend, but no such luck!

Hamsie update: She is 32 weeks!  That means (hopefully) less than 8 weeks left.  Hamsie now weighs around 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long.  She will gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next seven weeks...holy moly.  She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair. 

The amount of stuff we will be doing in the next 2 months is insane to think about.  So I try not to look too far ahead, and instead just focus on a week at a time.  There are 2.5 weeks left of the school year, though I will be working throughout June as well to prepare for maternity leave.

Crazy!  Crazy!  Crazy!

Hope you all had a great long weekend.

QOTD- Daddy's Sarcasm

Earlier tonight we were watching Sydney and Kylie for a bit.  Kylie started fussing, and this came out of our daughter's mouth:

Callie: Uh oh!  Somebody better call the WAM-bulance!

All we could do was giggle.

We're going to have a whirlwind weekend with my cousin's wedding, so my usual weekend posts will be delayed until Monday.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

41-Months-Old!

This little punkin in the "flowers" is 41-months-old today.  41 MONTHS.  That is crazy.

Thanks for the picture, Boom!

She is equal parts sweet, sassy, and a little LOT stubborn when she wants to be.  Lately, we REALLY hope for the sweet, but the sassy and stubborn have been coming out more.  I'm guessing it has something to do with all the changes that she is sensing around her.  The fact that in less than two months her world is going to be ROCKED.  On multiple levels. 

But dang it, no matter how sassy or stubborn, when I hear her little voice say "I love you Mommy," my heart melts every time.