Trees of Thanks

This week I did Thanksgiving Trees with the kids.  I'm pleased that I remembered them and took the time to do them since I totally skipped it last year.

I asked each kid separately what they were most thankful for.
Here is Lydia's list.  She actually named Jesus first which my heart very happy.
Jesus
the Bible
my family
my school
my teachers
my friends
my house
toys

 Wesley was most thankful for hermit crabs.  Here is his list.
hermit crabs
milk
pasta
teacher
friends
"Josiah but not Lydia."  I asked, "Why not Lydia?"  He answered, "She sometimes annoys me. Well, I like her sometimes but not all the time."  I said, "That would hurt her feelings."  He then said, "Okay, my family.  I'm thankful for my family."
books
plants
snails
He is our nature lover.

 Josiah immediately said, "My mommy!"
my daddy.  Then he said, "My daddy's head."
my Lydia
my Wesley.  My Wesley's head.
me
bananas (they were right by him)
trains and toys
blue blanket

I didn't do a tree but here is my list.
Jesus, my Lord and Savior
Chris. who is the best husband
my children who are such blessings and call me to a deeper relationship with Jesus
my parents
my in-laws
Chris' job
my job
our schools.  I'm so thankful for Wesley and Lydia's school, their teachers, and the other families there.  Josiah is at a wonderful preschool and has teachers who love him.
my Bible study.  I love those girls and I'm so thankful for them.
I could go on and on.

So, what are you thankful for this year?

Thanksgiving Program

Tonight, Wesley and Lydia had their school's Thanksgiving program. Lydia's class recited "If I were a Butterfly" by Brian M. Howard.  The picture quality is horrible on this video.  I didn't realize I was out of memory space but that's why the video is so short.

Here is the video of Wesley's class reciting "God and the Soul" by John Lancaster Spalding.

Scissors and Two Year Olds

When I assess infants and toddlers for the early intervention program, I have to test their gross motor, fine motor, and self-help skills.  For two-years-olds, I have to see if they can cut paper with scissors. A young two-year-old should be able to snip paper with scissors IF they have been exposed to using scissors. Most of the time, the moms all say, "S/He has never used scissors before." My standard response is, "I understand. Most people don't give their two year old scissors."  

If parents want to teach their two year old how to use scissors, I suggest using play-doh and the scissors that come in the play-doh kits.  Josiah loves play-doh and he loves using the scissors to cut it.

Well, I didn't give regular scissors to Josiah but Lydia leaves them out often enough, that he has had multiple opportunities to try them. Here is a picture from September. This is when he first figured out how to snip the paper.

He found another pair last night before dinner.

He makes one snip in the paper and then rips it the rest of the way.

This kept him busy for a long time.

I am sure he will cut things he shouldn't. His seven-year-old brother recently cut recently cut a tablecloth. 

Carousel Ride

Sunday was a beautiful day here and we were able to enjoy some time on the National Mall.

We rarely go into DC and this was our first opportunity to get food from a food truck.  We got homemade ice cream.

This was also our first time riding the carousel.

 I rode the horse beside of Josiah but once we were moving, I realized that maybe I should have just stood beside him.

Lydia wanted to ride a dragon but the first kid in line got it.  I offered to wait until the ride so she could be the first kid but she said that she didn't want to wait.  She rode the horse next to the dragon.

As soon as the ride stopped, she jumped down from her horse and got on the dragon for a quick picture.  

Here is a funny picture with me and the kids.

Everyone wanted to hold Josiah's hand.

My three little sweeties.

A little sibling love.

We met up with Grandma and Grandpa at the Natural History Museum.

Baltimore Aquarium

The kids didn't have school on Friday so we headed to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. We were last there on a Saturday in January and I don't know if I will go back on a weekend because it was so crowded. Friday it was not crowded at all and it was more relaxing with fewer people there.

We saw an Australian bearded dragon when we first got there.

When I ordered the tickets on line, I was surprised to see that they no longer sell tickets to the dolphin show.  The information I found said they stopped doing the shows because less than half the people at the aquarium on a typical Saturday (more than 10,000 people) could see the shows due to limited capacity (only 4800 people).  The article said that now the program is open continuously so visitors can see the dolphins whether they are eating, working with the trainers, or posing for pictures.

I overheard an employee tell another family that there was a dolphin in five minutes so we quickly walked over there.  It was a demonstration of some of the tricks the dolphins have perfected and some that they are still working on.  It was a slightly shorter show but still very enjoyable and it made Lydia's day.  She was really disappointed that they had stopped the shows so it was a wonderful surprise to get to see the dolphins perform.  

I didn't have my dSLR with me; not that it would have helped me as I was trying to take pictures while Josiah was climbing all over me.

I'm so glad we got to see the show.

Right after the dolphin show, Lydia started crying saying her tooth was hurting.  We knew one of her upper front teeth was loose but it turns out the other one is loose too and that was the one bothering her.  I think that is why she is making the funny face in this picture.

I think this starfish is beautiful.

We had to take the stairs a lot because several of the escalators were being worked on.  The rays exhibit was closed as that area undergoes a $12.5 million renovation but the moving walkway ramps in that area were still open.  We did see this polka dotted ray and a few other rays in another exhibit area.

This picture was taken in the rain forest area and it looks like there was some water on the camera.

The kids had a really good time.  As we were walking back to the car, Josiah told me that his shoes were hurting.  I think he meant his feet were hurting.  He slept on the way home but he woke up when I got him out of the car.  I put him in his highchair for dinner as soon as we walked in the door.  He immediately started begging to go to bed so he went to bed at 7:30 with no dinner and slept until 6:30 next the morning.

Here is a picture of us with Grandma and Grandpa.  Chris had to work on Friday and he missed all the fun.  There was a lot of traffic going home but I didn't think it was too bad.  I called Chris and asked, "Can you make chicken parmesan?"  He had a delicious dinner ready when we got home!

Father Daughter Date

On Saturday, Chris took Lydia out on a lunch date. She wanted to go to Nordstrom Cafe because she thinks that is a fancy restaurant.

Here she is in Pottery Barn Kids.

She had a great time and loved having her Daddy all to himself.

They Fixed It!

A little over a week ago, two men from the factory in Tennessee drove eight hours one way to fix our range.  I felt bad that they had to drive so far, but they said they usually don't fly because of all their tools.  They told me stories of how they drove to Winston Salem one time to fix a 48 inch range and it turned out the only thing wrong was the fact the knobs were installed in the wrong order.  Once they drove to Arkansas only to connect one missing wire.  All this made me feel better about taking up their time.  

What are they doing in these pictures?  They videoed what was happening when the range wasn't working.  The oven cooling fans,  that come on at 300 degrees, were causing the flame on the burners to go out.

They removed the gas burners and took the top off the range.

Then they changed some wires and added some copper that will be standard on future ranges, put it back together, and it worked!  They also videoed it working properly.  One reason the company was so interested in my range is that in 2013, the island trim will be standard because they have found that no one wants the 6 inch high back.

In addition to the two men from Tennessee, the salesroom manager from where we bought all of our kitchen appliances came over to the house to watch all of this.  He turned out to be a nice guy but on the phone the previous week, he said that perhaps the flames were going out because there wasn't enough fresh air in house and perhaps our builder should have installed a makeup air damper.

When he said that I was a little worried that everyone was going to try to blame everyone else involved.  The technician who came out to the house twice said the sales company should not have sold the range with the island trim, the sales company said they wouldn't give me another range until they made sure it wasn't something wrong with my kitchen.  My builder was so frustrated he said he would buy us a new range and install it so the sales company could see it was not the kitchen.

I did feel better that every I time I talked to someone from Thermador, they assured me that they would get the problem resolved.  The engineering group looked at the pictures of our kitchen and knew right away that "lack of fresh air" was not the problem.  The factory representative told me on the phone, "Your kitchen looks like a Thermador kitchen.  There is nothing wrong with your kitchen."  

Josiah wanted me to take a picture of him so I took a picture of both of us.  When the men left, he wanted to give the sales manager a kiss goodbye.  Instead the man gave him a high five.

I am so grateful that it is fixed and that it works.