Maple Syrup

We went to California Woods today with Jonathan's preschool class to learn how to make maple syrup.  It was a little chilly but Jonathan was prepared...snow pants, mask and all!  He even shared his extra pair of gloves with his friend Lola.  Jonathan was lucky and got to be the very first person to drill into the tree.  He will tell you that you need to drill at a slight angle up so that the sap can flow out of the tree.  The kids then got to try the sap, which Jonathan didn't like and said it was bitter so I had to try it to see.  Sure enough, it is bitter.  We then learned about how they cook it and got to try more at different stages of the process.  We then went inside to do a craft and while the rest of the class was on the one side of the room, Jonathan was at a table in between Gracie and Lola!

Buddy Drew

Shonda and I are still doing our weekly swap days and today I caught Diana and Drew laying on the trampoline together.  Too cute!

Focused Kids

We had some focused painting time in the house this morning.  Jonathan was working on painting his fire truck that he built with Daddy yesterday and of course because "bro-bro" was painting, Diana had to paint too.  She actually did quite well and it maintained her interest for quite some time.  She was very determined to do it herself though with no help whatsoever and of course was very vocal about what color paints she wanted. 

Lollipops Concert

Jonathan and I got to go on a "date" this morning to the Lollipops concert at Music Hall downtown and hear the symphony play music with a space theme.  Jonathan actually won these tickets from the summer reading program last year at the library and this was the concert he picked.  Before the concert, they had a petting zoo where the kids could touch and play all sorts of different instruments.  It was very crowded and a little overwhelming but Jonathan waited very patiently in line so he could play the violin.  He had a big smile on his face after he played the violin for a little bit.  During the concert he was on the edge of his seat for the first half and would clap when everyone else did, he was smiling and other times was in total awe.  It was a very fun morning.

Call Me Maybe

Brad and I went to the play "Memphis" tonight and apparently there was a dance party going on at our house while we were gone.  Megan, our babysitter, said that Jonathan asked to play the song "Call me Maybe" so he found it on the iPad (after he Facetimed with GB & Grandpa Weeks, who were calling at that time) and played it over and over again.  I guess Jonathan, Diana and Megan were all dancing and having a crazy fun time.  I can only imagine how many times Jonathan played this song, as it was on repeat when I turned on my iPad.  Megan said that if anybody was watching they would probably think she was nuts because the blinds were open and no one would could probably see the kids.  These are the times I wish I had that Nanny camera or whatever it is called.

Roooaaarrr

We decided to go to church this afternoon and as Diana was being very busy like she always is, Jonathan was looking at a dinosaur book and decided to "rooooaaarrr" really loudly right after the priest finished his sermon by saying "what would Jesus do?"   I was mortified!  To make matters worse, Diana roared right after him because she repeats everything he says these days.  People around us couldn't help but laugh.

Update: Brad asked Jonathan today if he remembered roaring in church yesterday and he said "No." And while Brad was telling him that it was bad and shouldn't be done again, Jonathan said "Oh yea, but it was funny!"

Let it Snow!

Jonathan woke up yesterday super excited. He came rushing down the stairs, burst into my room and said, "Mommy, Mommy! You have to look out your window." I asked if it had snowed and he said, "Just look." I went to look fully expecting to see snow at least covering the ground, and it was just a dusting on the roofs and some parts of the ground. Last night before I went to bed, I noticed that it was snowing and knew that Jonathan would be excited about the snow. As soon as he saw it this morning, he said "Oh yeah! Let's go outside and play!" It was 7:30, awfully cold (10 degrees) and not quite light out yet so I held him off until about 9:30. He was so excited! Mind you, we only got a dusting again but this time it at least covered the ground. Regardless, he had to find to find the steepest part of our hill to go sledding down. I convinced him to go to the front yard where it wasn't quite so steep and asked if Diana could ride with him. She went down one time, seemed like she enjoyed it. Then about 1 minute later, she touched some snow with her left hand, which she refused to let me put a mitten on, but I had one on her right hand, and that was it. She screamed and walked straight to the door crying the whole time. She watched Jonathan from the windows inside making snowballs, shoveling and sledding. She kept asking him to make "more" snow balls but she refused to go back out. It's funny how different my two kids are. Jonathan loves the snow and cold weather. Diana has zero tolerance for it, wonder where she gets that.