Toys and Siblings

We got our little music table out of storage today, and Anna was pretty enthralled with it.

So was her brother.  In addition to teaching about colors, shapes, and letters, this toy will apparently also provide lessons in taking turns (we hope).

Of course, no education is complete without physical education. 

Sometimes Daniel-sized roadblocks appear.  Such is life.

Digging and Swinging

We met some friends at the park today.

Joy and Jonathon tried to dig to China.

Daniel preferred to dig in the shade . . .

. . . but we coaxed him into the sunshine to ride on the swings.  Daniel maintains that, as long as you fit in them, you're never too old to ride in the little bucket swings.

When she wasn't swinging or digging, Anna loved chasing her shadow on the grass.

Shamrock Cookies and Pots of Gold

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Only a small fraction of our ancestry is Irish, but hey, any excuse to celebrate, right?

Last night we left out some sugar cookies for the leprechauns.

This morning the kids found a note that read: "Hendricksons, thanks for the shamrock cookies!  Seamus loved the ones with no sprinkles.  We left you some pots of gold to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.  Sincerely, The Leprechauns.  P.S. Please ask Joy not to set any more leprechaun traps.  She almost caught Liam!"  Joy has been making "leprechaun traps" out of our big Lego blocks all this month.  Who knew they'd be so effective?

Here is one of the pots of gold, inspired by a picture I saw on Pinterest.

At Pink Grandma's house today, Joy decided the holiday was a great reason to dress up.

Anna doesn't need any excuse to play on the slide.

The Playground and the Pink Player

Joy played in her first baseball game this afternoon.

The team's uniforms haven't arrived yet, so the players got to wear whatever they wanted.  Since Joy is the only girl on the team, she was also the only one wearing pink. It made her easy to spot in the outfield. 

I try to watch as much of Joy's practices and playing as I can, but sooner or later the younger kids ask to head over to the playground.  Anna likes the slide.

Sometimes she has second thoughts on the way down, though.

Daniel prefers the jungle gym, and he's become very proficient at climbing up and down it.

Back at home, Daddy makes a fine jungle gym, too. 

Jog-a-thon

Joy's school held a jog-a-thon fundraiser today.  The kids collected pledges beforehand for every lap they would run in a certain time period.

The kindergartners ran around their playground . . .

 . . . and each time they completed a lap a parent volunteer made a mark on a sticker on their back.

By the time they finished, Joy had run 26 laps and earned $130 for her school!  Way to go, Joy!

Books and Such

I am grateful to say that my kids are big fans of books.  I read the big kids stories at bedtime--a short story for Daniel, then a chapter of some larger book for Joy.

Joy often reads ahead on her own, or picks up a different book to read in her leisure time (Mr. Popper's Penguins, in this case).

Daniel's favorite books to hear are Danny and the Dinosaur and Here Comes the Strikeout.  He asks for them over and over, and he's heard them enough by now that he can look at the pictures and know what each page is about.

Anna doesn't read about Clifford yet, but she still loves cuddling with him.  Her current favorite board book is "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home."  No surprise, there.

Up a Tree

The kids and I went to the park today, and happened to see Joy's friend Miles and his dad, who was helping Miles climb the big tree at the playground.

Joy has wanted to climb that tree for months, and after Miles's dad gave her a hand and a few tips she was finally able to do it.  She's pretty thrilled.

Anna and Daniel preferred to keep their feet (and hands) on dear old Mother Earth.

Cousins and Jack

 

We gathered at my parents' home this evening to celebrate Mom S and Uncle Sean's birthdays.

Joy and her second cousin Gabby helped decorate the cupcakes . . .

. . . while Cousin John showed off his new iPad mini . . .

. . . and Daniel and Anna had a blast with the jack-in-the-box.

They cracked up every time that little toy popped open.

Little Leaguer

Joy started her first season of Little League baseball this afternoon.

Coach John went over some important safety rules (note that most of the kids are paying close attention . . . to something else), . . .

. . . then the team practiced some basic skills like hitting the ball (it's a "coach pitch" team, but since Joy has never held a bat before they started her with a tee) . . .

. . . and some throwing and catching.  Here, Joy tosses the ball around with a couple teammates, one of whom is named Daniel (that should be easy for us to remember).

Daniel: "Hey, that's MY name!"

Anna doesn't really grasp the rules of the game (not that the big kids do, either), but the fact that a ball is involved is good enough for her.