Blissful Weekend

This weekend, I spent Saturday with my folk dance group (along with Tamar and Daniel) at various street performance venues in the Adams Morgan area of DC.  The little ones loved watching the dancing and listening to the music, and they surprised me (and astonished my friends) by trying their best to join in the singing!


On Sunday the dance group reconvened at my friend Mary's house for brunch.  I brought all three kids and they were really well behaved.  I spent some time soaking up the zen from the many plants in the house.  Mary set up an area for the kids to play in her basement with some crafts and toys.  When Benji learned that Mary's birthday was the previous day, he gave her a picture he had drawn (a portrait of one of the Lego Ninjago ninjas, of course).  He also worked on a big homework project in the car on the way to and from brunch, and then he surprised me while we were there by saying that he wanted to keep working on the project before we headed home (that's what's going on in the fourth photo, which is a little dark).  We also went for a walk around the block with Mary and some friends and visited local dogs and admired Mary's garden.


It was a blissful weekend.


--Victoria

What Tamar & Daniel Do All Day

Every day when we pick them up, we get a report from the daycare about how much they ate, when they used the toilet, and what activities they did during the day.


3/15/17:  "Review numbers, played ABC bingo, made shamrock headband"


3/16/17:  "Listened to The Three Billy Goats Gruff and colored wood shapes to complete shamrock headbands"
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I love knowing what they do during the day, and anticipating what crafts they'll bring home in the future.  I'm also very grateful that their daycare is preparing them so well for pre-school next fall by working on numbers, letters, and social skills.


--Victoria
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Benji's School Project (Matthew Henson, Arctic Explorer)

Benji is working on a report about Matthew Henson, an African-American man who was one of the first Americans to reach the North Pole.  We used Benji's globe to figure out some of the places Henson had traveled (before he was an explorer in the Arctic, he worked aboard a ship in his teens and visited China, Japan, the Philippines, and France, during that time).  It's exciting to work with Benji and learn some interesting history! 


I spent some time reading about Henson to all the kids at dinner time, and they decided to "play Arctic explorer" after dinner.  This was aided by the play tent and tunnel that Victoria's parents sent to Tamar and Daniel for their third birthday, which quickly became an igloo.  All the stuffed dogs were turned into a sled team and several unlucky stuffed animals were hunted to keep us all fed.
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--Victoria
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Benji earned his karate orange belt!

Sensei Patrick told Benji that he is proud of how Benji persevered through times when he was getting discouraged.  We're really proud of him too!  --Victoria

Tamar loves her High Five magazine!

The subscription is a gift from Victoria's parents.  Tamar is pretty delighted with it, as you can tell from the smile on her face.
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--Victoria
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Saturday Fun

Tamar and Daniel's friend R came over for a playdate.  He and Tamar discussed counting while they played with their Pokémon toys (it was adorable to hear them talking) and then he and Daniel dressed up in winter hats and sunglasses.  After some reading and some play-doh time, we cleared off the table and Benji came downstairs from his room (where he had been building with his Legos for most of the morning) and joined us for lunch.
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--Victoria
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Happy Third Birthday to Tamar and Daniel!

They started the day by opening gifts from Grandma and Grandpa (from Canada), including a dress for Tamar, a sweater for Daniel, and stickers, a play tent, and a play tunnel/tube to share.  Lots of fun!


In the afternoon, we had a few friends over for a playdate-party in which I gave each kid a small puppy in a "doghouse" that they could decorate with markers and stickers.  They played with their puppies and ate some snacks while the grown-ups hung out in the kitchen.  Aaron's parents arrived (bearing gifts) before the lighting of the birthday candles on cupcakes.  Low key = perfect.


--Victoria