Rainy Day Fun

A few weeks ago I told the girls that they could play outside in the rain, as long as it wasn't storming or too cold.  Making this promise probably wasn't such a smart thing to do since we are in the middle of a drought. There have been so many days that rain was in the forecast, the skies darken, and then the rain goes right past our area and we remain bone dry.   

On this past Thursday, the chance of rain was 70%, the highest chance in over a month. I put Amelia down for her nap and told Allison that she had to sit down for some quiet time.  I closely watched the radar and could see rain everywhere on the radar, everywhere except over our neighborhood where there was a clear patch.

Finally the rain came. Allison and I tried to wake up Amelia, but she wanted nothing to do with it - she was out cold.  So I bundled Allison up in her rain coat and boots. She had a ball walking around with the umbrella.  After a while, Allison had enough and went back in the house. 

A few minutes after Allison went inside, Amelia woke up and came down excited that it was raining out.  I put the boots and rain coat on her and we headed outside. At first, Amelia wasn't sure what to make out of it. I had to encourage her to splash in the puddles and run around.  The rain then really started to come down and Amelia ditched the umbrella so she could take full advantage of every puddle and splash to her hearts content (of course this was after I put the camera away).

As Sung by Mia...

"Baa Baa Black Sheep"
'Baa baa, baasee, special, special, any bags full....one for my little brother who lives down the drain. Baa Baa baasee, special special, any bags full."

"The Farmer in the Dell"
"The farmer and the dog, the farmer and the dog, hi ho mumble mumble, the farmer and the dog."

Cheap Entertainment

Twins

My wonderful friend Amy P. recently passed along some of her daughter's clothes for Allison. Allison was there when I sorted through them and was so excited when she saw the Red Fish, Blue Fish shirt. She used to have the same shirt but it was passed down to Mia.  She couldn't wait to dress like Mia - Allison made sure that they both even had matching shorts.

Garage Sale Time

A few weeks ago we had a garage sale at my sister's house.  Allison was my little helper for the day (or maybe about 10 minutes or so, but still she was happy to help).  Since then, Allison has been very excited whenever she sees a garage sale as we drive by.

When we were at Grand Haven last week, Allison saw a group of chairs and blankets that some people laid out but were currently unoccupied.  Allison yelled out "LOOK MOM!  A garage sale!"   Because as you are well aware, there are always garage sales taking place on the beach.  

A few days ago, we set up a "garage sale" in our driveway for Allison and Amelia to play with. They each took turns shopping and buying the multitude of bargains.

Today they had the real deal and helped out at our family garage sale. Allison wanted to make cookies to sell, so she and her Nana made a batch of no-bakes.  She and Mia, along with the cousin Jack, took turns selling cookies.  At the end of the day, they each made three dollars.  Allison is saving her money to buy a souvenir at Brookfield Zoo when we go on vacation this summer. 

Pomp and Circumstance

During Allison's last week of daycare they had a preschool graduation ceremony. I picked Allison up early so that I could change her into her dress. I was surprised to discover that the center had caps and gowns for the kids. I wasn't expecting that at all.  Allison was so excited and looked so cute in her gown. I got a little teary-eyed upon seeing her.

During the ceremony the teacher, Ms. Karen, spoke a little about each child. When it was Allison's turn, Ms. Karen talked about how Allison is very curious and loved doing her 'Grapeseed', which was the curriculum they used at the center. It includes books and CDs they could follow along with and we also received a set of books to use at home.  Allison is a huge fan of her Grapeseed and still continues to use the books even though she is no longer at the center.

For the most part, Amelia did very good sitting still to watch Allison's graduation. She became a little antsy towards the end.  After the ceremony, I tried getting some pictures of Allison and Amelia together. Allison wanted nothing of it. She was very serious looking and would not smile for any of the pictures.  I don't think Allison knew what to make of the whole thing as Ms. Karen got a little choked up when she was talking about the kids and then one of Allison's friends started crying too. I think Allison was a little freaked out about it all. While we didn't get a great picture of her smiling, in the end I did capture a picture of Allison in her preschool graduation robe that I will treasure forever.

Little Gardeners