Play Day

Kwamai and Felicity spent the better portion of the day today playing with the two neighbor girls. They were busy arranging the many, many Little Tykes toys we've had lurking under our back porch, in a gated off undercroft now known as "the ground hog home." (I'll let you guess why!) They arranged all the toys and furniture "just so" to create a combination beauty and pizza parlor. Then, after they arranged it all, they spent a couple of hours playing with it, followed by an obligatory water fight. I had invited the girls over for pizza (which I made just for the youngers, to eat outside, together -- do you hear clandestine planning for a "night in" for Erol & me?). After pizza and some more playing, Felicity settled back into the house and Kwamai remained off playing. He always mourns not having "enough time" to play with the girls. So, hopefully today gave him a necessary shot in the arm.

I should have pictures, but I don't. Maybe tomorrow.

Firefighters to the Rescue!

Kwamai and Felicity were deeply involved in a long game of firefighter last night. Here is Felicity the firefighter. (This picture persuaded me to trim her bangs in the bathtub last night!) She has rescued one of the cows from the burning barn, and is now chewing on him.


Here is Kwamai inside the firetruck.


Here is Felicity in the driver's seat of the truck, with Papa the firefighter in the side car. Note she is properly dressed in her fire boots and fire underwear.

Karate Dog Versus Super Duckie

It is all voluntary, and no superheros were injured in the making of this picture.

Felicity Plays Independently

... almost all day! No, you don't get it; she hardly ever does that. She's gotten the nickname "velcro girl"! I actually sought her out several times today and found her happily playing (dress up, dolls, little people, with Kwamai and his friend, in the sandbox).

I wonder, though, how much it has to do with Kwamai's friend having been over here since about 1:30. She adores Jonathan. Maybe his presence transports her somewhere beyond constantly being at my side!

Felicity's current fascination is with Bill Nye the Science Guy. We have his Water Cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection) video from the library right now, and Felicity has watched it about a dozen times. Kwamai likes it too. For that matter, I like them too! We will pick up another from the library shortly (although we have to special order them).

Kwamai picked up one of Felicity's books last night (a basic story book), and with help on only a few words, read the whole thing to her. His reading proficiency has shot up this year to be sure!

Mushrooms

Felicity has been very interested in the mushrooms which have been growing in abundance in our back yard. She's harvested three crops in the last few days.

Here is the first crop.

And here is today's crop, artfully arranged in a vase.

I wonder if they are edible?

Rejoicing at the Water Fountain

Bike Takes a Hike

Well, the bike riding joys were short lived. Last weekend Kwamai left the bike at the end of the block when he scraped his toe on the sidewalk. He didn't remember to go fetch it for nearly 48 hours. And of course, it was gone.

Sigh.

Well, they say you never forget how to ride. He may have to test that saying for awhile, though.

Kwamai Rides a Bike

Completely on his own, Kwamai mastered bike riding today. I told him he accomplished this feat a full 17 years younger than I did! He was a bit shaking due to being filmed, but you can see him happily riding off into the sunset. And this on a bike once used by our 17 year old neighbor, which was just given to Kwamai three days ago.

Growth!

In January we did one of those making-a-mark-on-the-basement-wall to show how tall Kwamai and Felicity were. Kwamai saw the marks today, and had me compare his height. It seems he's grown nearly an inch since January. Felicity on the other hand seems to have gotten shorter.

Um... or something.

What we're reading these days

Doctor Doolittle's Caravan, by Hugh Lofting. This is the fourth out of ten Hugh Lofting books in the Doctor Doolittle series, when read in order of internal chronology at least. Kwamai absolutely loves these books, and generally he follows every detail very well. It may also help that we often read before bedtime lately, so he's keen on having me read and read and read without stopping.

Flip Flops

is the name of the latest craze!

We bought Kwamai a pair while at Shopko (buying a new air mattress). Felicity didn't seem too interested, and they had none in pink or in her size. But we all quickly discovered that she was just as interested, and even declared green her new favorite color. At one point a significant fight ensued, which finally resolved with Felicity consenting to return Kwamai's shoes, and a pledge from Papa to buy her her own. I told those adults assembled, "and you think brokering peace in the Middle East is hard work!"

And yes, if you look closely you will noticed Felicity has hers on the opposite feet. The amazing thing is she can point out left and right correctly and will say "I have left on left and right on right" or "left on right and right on left".

Planting Flowers

Kwamai and Felicity each planted a flower in Grandma's garden area.

This is the "aerial" view from the porch upstairs.

Kwamai posing with his finished project.

Felicity works at digging a hole.

Kwamai waters the "Felicity" plant.

The happy gardeners, job completed.

Kwamai's New Kite

Kwamai loves the kite he received from Tama Bonnie. We took it to the field across from Grandma's condo to try it out.


Kwamai had it up and flying in no time, and even figured out how to do some stunts with it.



Felicity gave it a go, too. Not bad for a relatively windless day!

Sleeping Beauties

This is the inevitable, but unenviable, reality of long car trips: kids sleep and parents stay awake. Of course, upon arriving at the destination, there is a strong inclination the opposite way on the part of both parties. Therein lies the rub!