So, bubbles are like, the cheapest toy in existence. At Target, the kids kept asking for all of these crazy, ridiculous toys. So, we plunked some bubbles in the cart instead, and *shazam*, super happy kids, for like, six bucks. We got bubble blowers, extra bubble solution, and even a throwable foam airplane that spits bubbles out of the back as it flies. Magic.
Accidentally Uncovered a Den of Baby Rabbits
So, first mistake: I let the girls watch our turtles roam around the grass while I cleaned their tank. One of them wandered off, Phoebe and Charlie each blamed each other, and now we're down to one turtle. Honestly, it was my fault. I should have never expected the girls to keep their eye on two different things at once, pretty damn irresponsible. So, during the search for the missing turtle, while looking under all manner of bushes and grasses, I effed up again. Hello, baby rabbits. Then, just to make sure I made all of the mistakes possible in one day, I let the girls find the nest, by shooing away one of their friends that almost stepped on it. For days, they couldn't stay away from it. Now, the babies have left the nest with the mama... probably to be sure I didn't screw up again, and accidentally throw one across the yard. :(
Mission? Completed.
So Belle and a few of her friends love the band Basic Vacation. Like, a lot. So, they've gone and seen them a few times, with one of the other girls' dad. They had a blast, and came home elated, like, cloud 9 elated. So, a show was coming up, and Belle asked if she could bring some friends, and if we'd take her. We're awesome parents, so we said "sure", and bought the tickets. Since it was in NYC, I asked Belle if she'd want to drive, or go via train/subway. She wanted to drive. Christa spent an awesome night with the littler kids, I picked the girls up at a friends' and away we went. They had so much fun. This was after the show, after they guys in the band had remembered each of their names, they had hung out with them for a bit, and bought some more band swag. Squuueeeee!
Phoebe: Gymnastics Part II, Electric Boogaloo
Oops, accidentally got some other kids in the video. Oh well, it's focused on Phoebe, and if you're looking at the other kids, you're doing it wrong. That there is the little springboard that Phoebe flipped off of, but I didn't catch it on video, so she's only tumbling here, like she was supposed to. She was also the only kid in the class that was able to cartwheel over the obstacle without falling. On her first try. Nailed it, again.
Phoebe: Gymnastics
Christa and I had been talking about getting the kids into some sort of extracurricular activities since their swimming classes ended. When we first moved here, they went to MyGym to play and have fun, but it was overpriced for what they were doing, and we ended up pulling them out of those classes. So, we talked to the kids, and Charlie decided that she wanted to take karate, and Phoebe wanted to do gymnastics. I'm not permitted to take videos at Charlie's karate studio, but Phoebe's going to The Little Gym, and as long as I don't include other kids in videos, they're fine with me taking them. So far, she's done amazingly well. On the first day, they were supposed to hop off of a springboard, and do a little tumble. Phoebe did a complete flip. Nailed it.
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
Isn't there always a straggler? While we were playing games, Thea fell asleep in my lap. Once I moved her to the couch, Charlie climbed into my lap, and then she fell asleep, so I moved her to the couch as well. So, Phoebe and I continued to play two-person-Pictionary, for pretty much forever, and ever. It was almost midnight before she finally crashed, and if I remember correctly, she fell asleep while it was my turn to draw.
Strategy
I've been teaching Phoebe how to play chess for about two years. The thing about chess is that with as much strategy is involved, it can take years to learn how to play properly, as opposed to just knowing how all of the pieces move. She's known how to move the pieces for more than the two years, but Phoebe hates losing, and that applies to anything, even a game where you learn by losing. She's very, very smart, and has what it takes to learn the strategy of the game, and looking several moves ahead, but what she doesn't have, is patience. She's getting there, but I think it might be a few more months of playing every week before she's really got it down.
Pogo
Phoebe tends to be our athlete. She's tiny, agile, and enough of a daredevil to climb a tree, or jump off of something high. One of the neighbor kids, Dia, had just gotten a pogo stick, and offered for Phoebe to try it out. Dia was having a bit of trouble, and couldn't quite get the hang of it. This was Phoebe's second try, and she pretty much nailed it.
Skates
Charlie is amazing. She's our superhero too, and here, she's refusing help, and teaching herself how to rollerskate. Charlie may not quite be the natural athlete that Phoebe is, but when Charlie wants to learn how to do something, she will not give up until she learns it. She's incredibly brave, tough, and determined. She will fall down, skin her knees, wince, and get right back up and try again, she rarely cries about it, and she has no fear. I was looking forward to teaching Charlie how to ride her bike without her training wheels. When the day came, and her training wheels came off, she just rode that damn thing away. I never had to hold her shoulders, give her a push, or even run behind her. Why? Because Charlie had wanted to learn, so, before those training wheels came off, she borrowed bigger kids' bikes, and rode, and fell, and got up, and tried again, and again. Phoebe learned to ride without her training wheels over the course of a week, with our help. Charlie taught herself, in three days. She's really, really incredible.
Kids: Always Eating In Their Sleep
Kids. Aren't they always doing something nutty in their sleep? If they're not mumbling, sleeping in some confusingly uncomfortable position, or kicking someone, they're probably not really asleep. This particular evening, Phoebe mumbled something about "tasty", so I paid attention for a second. Sure enough, "sleepNOMs". I only got a few seconds of this, but she went on chewing away for a good five minutes.