Yesterday I Would Have Said 'No'

So, I started reading this book called The Child Whisperer. I have only gotten through the type I section and, oh my goodness! This is totally Ryanne. A type I child wants to have fun and be happy. They love pretending and having fun. So many things about Ryanne make so much more sense now. These children often come up with ideas they think would be fun. Of course, I cannot always say yes but these ideas must be acknowledged. I used the tips from the book twice today. At the grocery store she was saying something. I can't even remember it now. I said no and she kept asking. Then I remembered the book and said, "That would be tons of fun and such a great idea but I don't think the grocery store is an appropriate place for it."
She replied, "Really? OK."
That's it. She let it drop. I was so surprised. Haha. It worked.

The other example was this morning. We woke up to rain;no thunder or lightning, just rain. She asked, "May I jump in the puddles?"
In my head I was thinking, no way! Then I thought, this is fun for her and it will make her happy. It won't cause any harm. So, I said yes. She had on her pajamas and just threw on her jacket and boots and ran out into the rain to jump in puddles. She loved it and had so much fun. Love it!

She wanted to play with the water hose in the sun. Again, I said yes.

All the pics are below b/c I am doing this mobile and cannot control where the pics are positioned. Enjoy the joy shown in the pics below.

Hiking with 6 kids and a grandma

This time my sister's oldest was going to a birthday party. Since she lives 30 minutes out of town we thought it would be fun if we hung out together. It was a beautiful day and we were both broke so we decided on a free, outdoors activity. In our little city there are 1200 acres of forest and wetlands in the middle of it. Isn't that odd? Yes, but it's awesome! We get cell reception in the middle of the woods. So, we decided to go hiking. My mom was in town as well so we took their grandma along as well. So fun! Here are some pics from our 2 mi adventure in the woods. Collin and my 2nd oldest niece are both in first grade and have been learning about habitats in science. This was a great opportunity because the route we took was through wetlands and forest habitats. We were able to talk about book and make it slightly educational as well. ;)

State House Field Trip

So, my sister and I did a little switch-a-roo for this field trip. I have Collin and Ryanne but Collin is the only one in school. My sister has 5 kids and only the oldest two are in school. So, I left Ryanne at her house and Paul and I took her oldest two and Collin to the state house. The younger kids had a blast playing at my sister's house and the older 3 had fun on an educational day at the state house. :) I am so glad that Paul went with us b/c I HATE driving in the city. I find it very intimidating. So glad we live in a tiny city. ;)

This was my oldest niece's favorite monument. She had recently learned about the emancipation of African Americans  in her history class so she was going through the monument telling us what everything was. 

Some of the classmates gathered together for a pic. This wasn't all but the best group picture I had.

Collin is in the white and red shirt sitting behind the kid with his arms spread out wide. My nieces are  just a few steps below him on the right side.

The mosaic glass was amazing.

This is some of the architecture and colors of the main lobby. I thought it was really pretty.

The dome from the inside. This is actually a fake dome placed inside the real dome because the real dome isn't centered in this room.

During the civil war, the northerners started firing and  hit George Washington's monument. Then they realized who  it was and stopped because they actually like him. :)

The stars are where cannon balls hit the state house during the civil war. There are 6 total.

This is a wider shot of the African American monument.

Main lobby

Upstairs mosaic glass. They said this is priceless.

Parents Magazine had a SPD article in it. :)

I thought I'd share it here. It's kind of long so that's why there is a page break. If you want to see the rest of it then click below. Of click here to see it on their site. :)

Dance

I am proud of my little Ryanne. She started dance back in October. She was 4, almost 5, so they went ahead and put her in the 5-7 year old ballet/tap combo class. She has worked hard, practices almost daily and her work has paid off. Her little recommendation sheet was sent home yesterday and she is going to move up to the pre-ballet and jr tap classes. Her teacher also thinks Ryanne will love mini jazz. I agree. We can only afford two of them so now I have to figure out which two to put her in. Oh, the decisions....

Easter Sunday

The kids woke up this morning watching The Lamb of God as they ate their breakfast of eggs and strawberries. Yum! As we prepared for school I put the tv on you tube and we left it playing Easter songs and videos. It was a nice way to start the morning.

When the kids came home we gave them their gifts. For those of you who are wondering, we gave them chocolate. ;) I did allow the kids chocolate for Easter. They each got m&ms, a chocolate bunny, a small toy (my little pony for Ryanne and Legos for Collin), and a book each. Grandparents each gave them an outfit and my mom also gave them each a book as well. Yay! We love books!

We also dyed eggs last night but we did them a little differently. We dyed marble eggs. So fun!

Also, the pollen is crazy. My black shoes were covered with yellow powder. Haha! No wonder everyone is sneezing.