Monday, December 31, 2012

Christmas Break

We took a break from the Letter-A-Week for Christmas, some family time and playing with all our cool new toys. Javin slept in until almost 10 - it was AMAZING!
9:40 am Christmas morning in his new Monster "Inc" pjs
"Oh! That's a BIG box! Is it for me?!"
Big Wheels! 
Yay, Liberty Park!
YAY! SLEDDING!!

R Week

Monday:
I was hoping to make a quick trip to the dollar store for some cheap stocking stuffers before we headed to the library, then over to a friend's house, all before work at 1. Unfortunately, we got a late start AGAIN and once we were done and checking out I realized I had no way to pay for it all AND a screaming child. WONDERFUL! Luckily, the clerk held my bags while I Ran home to grab Mr. Robbins' credit card. By the time I was really done I had about 30 minutes before work, so I spent my time tearing every room in my house apart for my credit card - checking all my pants' and hoodie pockets, all my purses and Javin's room. I found it under my bed, of course, that's where everyone keeps their credit cards. Grr! Needless to say, no library today.

It was a wet day so we talked about R and how Rain, Rainbow and Road all start with R.

Book# 17 (from the Christmas Countdown): Christmas with Rita and Whatsit by Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod

Tuesday:
We went to the library nice and early, Javin Ran around with the gaggles of 8-9 year-olds for about 45 minutes while I grabbed a few books. Then he pitched a fit when I tried to get him to leave. I finally had to put him in time out for 3 minutes, he screamed the whole 3 minutes and held my leg, but kept his butt on the stool I put him on. Afterward, we had a long talk about how he can NOT act like that or we won't be able to go to fun places; only good, obedient children get to go do fun things - it worked the rest of the day, we'll see about tomorrow.

We came home and ate hot dogs, Rice and Raisins for lunch.

We read: Raisin and Grape by Tom Amico
Rude Ramsay and the Roaring Radishes by Margaret Atwood (fun, but A LOT of Rs)
One Rainy Day by M. Christina Butler
Raccoon on His Own by Jim Arnosky
Chester Raccoon and the Big Bad Bully by Audrey Penn

Book# 18: A Shepherd's Gift by Mary Calhoun

Wednesday:
It snowed and we stayed in, boring, I know.

We read: Elmer and the Rainbow by David McKee
Rainbow Fish Discovers the Deep Sea by Marcus Pfister (we already read Rainbow Fish for F week)
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
R Robot Saves Lunch by R. Nicholas Kuszyk
Robot Dog by Mark Oliver
Robot by John Scieszka

Book# 19: Robot Santa by Phil Parks (LONG)

Thursday:
We originally had plans to go to the park and Run around, but it was FREEZING, literally. So we went to the Utah Museum of Natural History, it was super fun (as always) and Javin had been asking to go back to the "big building where the dinosaurs live" for weeks. He Ran around with his friend, Luke, for a few hours. He also drew a Red Raptor and at the end we ate some lunch - it was a good day.


We read: The Big Squirrel and the Little Rhinoceros by Mischa Damjan
I know a Rhino by Charles Fuge
Hippo! No, Rhino! by Jeff Newman
Rhino's Great Big Itch! by Natalie Chivers
One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert

Book# 19: Melrose and Croc: A Christmas to Remember by Emma Chichester Clark

Friday:
We kept today mostly low-key, I had work and was starting to get overwhelmed about the impending holiday. We Read our Christmas book early and had arts and crafts seen here.
When Mr.Robbins takes Javin on Mondays and Fridays they usually go shopping somewhere (ie, DI, Ross, Walmart). I can tell where they go by the toy of the day, if it looks big/expensive and maybe a little used it was a DI find. Which was what we had on our hands this day, a Robot. A big, white, walking (rolling) Robot that Javin wouldn't put down, he slept with it - while it was on, all night.

We read: The Little Rabbit Who Liked to Say Moo by Jonathan Allen
Really Rabbits by Virginia Kroll
Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
White Rabbit's Color Book by Alan Baker

I wish we would've had time to read, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, but it was long and I was having a issues.

Book# 20: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Alan Benjamin

Saturday:
Book# 21: The Elf on the Shelf by Carol V. Aebersold
I didn't just borrow this book from the library, I bought the box set from Barnes & Noble with the toy stuffed elf. We read it this year to prepare for next year, I think an elf spy was just a little too much for him to handle this year, but next year I'll hold Christmas over his head like nobody's business. Any hint of an attitude and I'll whip out the "Elf/Santa is watching" card. You better believe I'll guilt trip to get good behavior.

Sunday:
Book# 22: Christmas Eve The Joy of Giving by Lisa Johnson

Monday:
Book# 23: The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Q Week

Monday:
Suppose to be our library day, but we got a REALLY late start and Mr. Robbins came home early from school. So, Javin wanted to stay home and play with daddy rather than go to the library.

We read: The Teddy Bears' Picnic by Jimmy Kennedy (we didn't get to it last week)

Book#10 (of the Christmas Countdown): We Believe in Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

Tuesday:
Ok! Woke up with a good-get-stuff-done attitude. On the agenda for today? Library, Store, Michael's, Friend's & Young Women's.

We did get to the library and it was great, we got a ton more books than I thought we would. We talked about what a Question is and how you can tell a sentence is a Question (its a Question mark, duh). Javin then tried to pass off an exclamation mark as a Question mark, I explained the difference, who knows if he really gets it.

We read: The Three Questions by Jon Muth
ABC Kids by Basher (great)
Little Raccoon's Big Question by Miriam Schlein (great)
The Big Question by Wolf Erlbruch
Why Not? by Mary Wormell
Do Cows Meow? by Salina Yoon (LOVED)

We ate Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash and Quinoa, you can find the recipe here. (I excluded the olives and parsley - the people that I feed aren't parsley people, they're more meat & potatoes or mac & cheese with hot dogs kind of guys.)

Book#11:This Is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten

Wednesday:
We watched Mirror Mirror, the Snow White movie, I thought it was hilarious. We watched it for the Queen, Julia Roberts. Javin wasn't too interested in it, but liked the fighting parts and the part were Brighton gets turned into a bug.

We read: The Human Alphabet  by (Human) Pilobolus
Mrs. Armitage Queen of the Road by Quentin Blake

Book#12: Queen of Christmas by Mary Engelbreit

Thursday:
I don't even remember what we did today. I've really gotten off the Letter of the Week track with Christmas gift shopping and wrapping and list making. I think we were suppose to go to the park and feed the ducks, they say Quack - duh, but we didn't make it.

We read: Be Quiet, Mike by Leslie Patricelli (great)
Q is for Duck by Mary Elting (confusing for kids that just barely know their alphabet and sounds)
Little Quack's Bedtime by Lauren Thompson
Alphabeasties by Sharon Werner (still LOVES)
This is what happens around 7:30 most nights because Javin refuses to nap, but obviously still needs one.

Book#13: N Is for Navidad by Susan Elya

Friday:
We talked about some opposites, mostly Quiet vs loud and Quick vs slow. We did some experiments with the opposites, it was super fun!
We read: Quick, Slow, Mango! by Anik McGrory (cute)
While Mama had a Quick Little Chat by Amy Reichert (great)
Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood (cute)

Book#14: I'm not Santa by Jonathan Allen

Saturday:
Book#15: Always the Elf  by Kimberly Jensen (cute, but long)

Sunday:
Book#16: On This Special Night by Claire Freedman (great)

Monday, December 10, 2012

P Week

Sunday:
Book#2 (of the Christmas countdown): Inside, Outside Christmas by Robin Spowart

Monday:
Library Day! We talked about Pants and Pink and Purple on our way to the library.
We read: A Penguin Story by Antoinette Portis
Playful Little Penguin by Tony Mitton
Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester
The Little Penguin by AJ Wood

Book#3: The Perfect Present by Michael Hague

Tuesday:
We went to the Post Office and mailed out some of our Christmas cards. 

 Then we went to the  Park and had a ton of fun! 



When we got back home we ate Pistachios. And Petunia, the cat, caught Javin in a weak moment and scratched him on the face.

We read: The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Lowrey
Puppy is Lost by Harriet Ziefert
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems (cute)
Please Take Me for a Walk by Susan Gal
A Porcupine Named Fluffy by Helen Lester (good)
LMNOPeas by Keith Baker (GREAT)

Book#4: The Legend of Papa Noel by Terri Dunbar (GREAT)

Wednesday:
While I made Pancakes for breakfast Javin while he went Pee Pee on the Potty. We tried going Poop, but that didn't work, he Pooped in his diaper in the 15 mins we were out of the house.

We read: Pretty Pru by Polly Dunbar
Petunia by Roger Duvoisin
Princess Penelope's Parrot by Helen Lester
Three Hens and a Peacock by Lester Laminack
Madam President by Lane Smith

Book#5: When Posy Peeked at Christmas by Ann Dixon

Thursday:
I asked Javin what he wanted for breakfast, he said Pistachios - what 'normal' kid wants Pistachios for breakfast? They are delicious, but for breakfast?
Today was our Pirate day! I was so SUPER excited about it too! I made this treasure map for Javin, I had to get some stuff done and I wanted to make it fun for him.



First: We had to traverse the "Mountains of dirty dishes" - he rinsed while I washed.
Second: We stopped at the "Apple Juice Tavern & Grill" - he only wanted applesauce.
Third: We went back to the "Mountains of now clean dishes" to put in our dirty dishes.
Fourth: We quickly stopped by the "Waterfall & Tub" for a bath.
Fifth: We "Scrubbed the deck" by cleaning his room, just a few things on the floor.
Sixth: "Hiding the Booty", Javin doesn't only have toys in his bedroom, so we hid/put away the toys in the livingroom too.
Lastly: I had put some starbursts, bag of Popcorn and thumb drive with the movie Peter Pan in his sea turtle backpack and hid it under the table in the hall.


It was way fun and reminding Javin of the treasure hunt kept him on task, it worked like a charm :)
We read: How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long (LOVED)
Pirates Don't Change Diapers by Melinda Long
Pirate Pete's Talk Like A Pirate by Kim Kennedy (good)
Papa is a Pirate by Katharina Grossmann-Hensel (ok)
The Pirate Cruncher by Jonny Duddle (LOVED, again)

Book#6: Jesus' Christmas Party by Nicholas Allan

Friday
I introduced Javin to the wonderful world of Play-doh today.
 He made a all sorts of animals, when I put away his yellow seahorse he cried, it was so sad. I reminded him that we can Play with it another day, he seemed to be satisfied with that answer.
 We made Pink Play-doh Ps, He LOVED it!
We read: Pigsty by Mark Teague
Pie for Piglets by Michael Dahl (LOVED)
Some of My Best Friends are Polka-Dot Pigs by Sara Anderson (weird)
Panda & Polar Bear by Matthew J. Baek (great)
Pickle & Penguin by Lawrence David

Book#7: Prancer by Stephen Cosgrove

Saturday
Book#8: A Christmas Tree for Pyn by Olivier Dunrea

Sunday
Book#9: Have You Been Naughty or Nice? by Ethan Long 

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Oh! week

This week has started out great, both really and sarcastically. Mr. Robbins FINALLY got a crew to come tear off our existing multiple layers of roof and replace it with the beautiful architectural shingles I picked out two Falls ago. YAY! NEW ROOF! Also, ugh! new roof noise and inconvenience - luckily Tara's brand new baby, Carson, is a super sleeper and the days that Javin naps, he's out cold.

Monday:
Library day! Once we get to the library Javin never wants to leave, I had to bribe him with a different I Spy book and an Orange (he loves Oranges).
We read: The Friend by Sarah Stewart
Ocean Babies by Hiroe Nakata (great)
WOW! Ocean! by Robert Nuebecker (LOVED)
Otis by Loren Long (LOVED)
Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long (LOVED)
Oh, No! by Candace Fleming (good)

Tuesday:
Niece/friend Brit came over and color/trimmed my hair - she did such a good job! Needless to say, it was an indoor day. Javin snacked on Fruit Loops because they look like little Os.
We read: A Garden of Opposites by Nancy Davis
Hands Off, Harry! by Rosemary Wells (great)
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood (great)
Owl Howl by Paul Friester
The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
Owl Babies by Martin Waddell (great)
White Owl, Barn Owl by Nicola Davies (great)

Wednesday:
Really Great day! Started early (7:30 am), made great breakfast (pancakes), stopped by Smith's for some last minute ingredients and some snacks on our way to the zoo. We say the River Otters, they were so cute and playful.
And the Orangutans never disappoint :)
 Even when all they do is sun bathe.
 I don't know if you can tell, but this Owl was totally giving me a crusty.
We came home from the zoo after only a couple meltdowns and two timeouts to make Ornaments. My mom gave me a recipe for homemade cinnamon Ornaments:
1 C. ground Cinnamon
3 Tbs ground cloves
3 Tbs ground nutmeg

3/4 C. applesauce
2 Tbs white glue

Combine dry together, also combine wet - then slowly add dry to wet. Roll out dough to 1/4" thick and cut out shapes with cookie cutters. I also made holes in them with a straw while wet, dry them on a wire rack for a day or so, then color/paint if you want to. They smell divine!

We read: Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller
Little Otter's Big Journey by David Bedford (great)
Utterly Otterly Day by Mary Casanova (LOVED)
Stop Snoring Bernard! by Zachariah O'Hara
Little by Little by Amber Stewart (great)
Utterly Otterly Night by Mary Casanova (great)
And I wrapped the 24 Christmas LIBRARY books for Javin to open everyday til Christmas, he is SO excited. He's been grabbing one from the pile and walking around the house with it saying, "This is my surprise. What is it? Can I open it?"

Thursday:
Brit and Danny came back over and took some super cute pics of us, here's a little preview:



We read: My One Book by Jane Moncure (good)
The One And Only Marigold by Florence Heide (weird)
My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Kimmel
Inside, Outside Christmas by Robin Spowart (great)
One Two That's My Shoe! by Alison Murray

Friday:
We made an O Octopus because Mr. Robbins was suppose to take Javin to the Aquarium later to see one, but the Aquarium didn't happen - maybe it'll happen tomorrow.
We read: We'll Paint the Octopus Red by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen (not what I expected)
Cowboy & Octopus by Jon Scieszka (good, but weird)
Octopus Hug by Laurence Pringle (good)
Follow Me! by Bethany Roberts (great)
Ollie the Purple Elephant by Jarrett Krosoczka (great)
Tickly Octopus by Ruth Galloway (great)

Saturday:
The Aquarium HAPPENED! They got to see the Otters and the Octopus, he was actually moving around the tank, usually he just sits in the corner.


AND we opened our first (and second, without permission) of the 24 Christmas books today - Christmas Oranges by Linda Bethers, Gram was here for the unwrapping :)

Monday, November 26, 2012

N week

Should be called Not Feelin' It Week - the steroids that my doc put me on to get rid of the rash that the other meds gave me are giving me a mini Roid Rage - I'm mad at everyone.

Monday:
Library Day! Javin likes to play the I Spy game on the library computer while I grab our week's worth of books. I love it because I can leave him to play on his own, while I get my stuff done. I found an I Spy book online that looked simple enough and revolved around Nests and birds, but I couldn't find it on the shelf :(  So I got a different one: Seymour Makes New Friends by Walter Wick. We read it tonight and Javin loved it. We also read: Night at the Fair by Donald Crews
A Quiet Night In by Jill Murphy (good)
The House in the Night by Susan Marie Swanson

Tuesday: 
Javin went pee pee twice in one day! So we tried some undies, and he peed them. Two steps forward, one step back :)
We're still playing inside - so rash doesn't flare up. Javin watched Finding Nemo while sitting on the potty, so I could get food in the crock pot for dinner in peace. We had Chicken Noodle Soup, it was delicious, recipe here.
See? Tuesday 20th...TWO pee pee stars!
We did a lot of Number talk today. Each time Javin pees in the potty we (he) get a pee pee treat AND put a star sticker on the pee pee chart, when he gets 7 pees in a week we'll have a party. He loves counting the days to find out where to put the star. So we kept the theme going with Number books.

We read: Cecily G. and the Nine Monkeys by H.A. Rey (good)
Eggs 123 by Janet Halfmann (great)
123 To The Zoo by Eric Carle (great)
The Nose Book by Al Perkins (LOVES)
Dog's Noisy Day by Emma Dodd (LOVES)
Clifford's Noisy Day by Norman Bridwell
The Loud Book! by Deborah Underwood

Wednesday:
I bought a container of Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts for us all to snack on, Javin picked out all the pistachios, then all the cashews and is now working on the pecans. The only ones left are almonds and brazil Nuts, the kid likes his Nuts :)
Weather wasn't great so we painted Nails instead of go outside. And for lunch we did the Noodled Hot dogs from pinterest, he loved stabbing the hot dog chunks, but actually eating them was a different story.

We read: A Nap in a Lap by Sarah Wilson (great)
The Napping House by Audrey & Don Wood (great)
The Pirate Nap by Danna Smith (great)

Thursday:
Danny is the BEST child wrangler in these-here parts :)

Turkey Day! We read: The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman

The Nest Where I Like to Rest by Dawn Prochovnic
The Perfect Nest by Catherine Friend (LOVED)

Friday:
We made a Noodle Necklace for daddy, Javin had a hard time getting it around daddy's neck (SO cute to watch).

And read: Newton by Rory Tyger
A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry (good)
On Noah's Ark by Jan Brett (great)
Naamah and the Ark at Night by Susan Bartoletti (LOVED)
A Stormy Ride on Noah's Ark by Patricia Hooper

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Mmm...week

We started M week on Saturday with a Mustache Bash Baby Shower for my neighbor and best friend, Tara. Super fun! Javin is wearing 'The Villian'.

On Monday we bundled up and headed out to the library.

Then we realized it was closed for Veteran's Day.

So we went home and waited for my niece, Britney Magstadt, to come over and cut Javin's hair...
...into a Mullet. 

Tuesday we went to the library AND the Natural History Museum of Utah (aka. the dinosaurs in the big building). Since D week he's been asking to go back, I figured M week was a good one.
 Playing with the Map.
'My Backyard' exhibit - AWESOME!
 Magnets AND dinosaurs?! Mind officially blown!
Javin drank Milk, which he does everyday, but we talked about how it starts with M, you could also do this (it looks fun).
We read:
Bailey at the Museum by Harry Bliss
All by Myself by Emile Jadoul
It's Milking Time by Phyllis Alsdurf
Can Hens Give Milk? by Joan Betty Stuchner

Wednesday:
Javin woke up in the Lightning McQueen pjs that he LOVES, good start to a good day.

Britney came over again and we watched a bit of the LDS General Conference (we didn't get to watch it when it was broadcast). Javin watched his owe Movie, Monster's Inc.  Then proceeded to cause Mayhem the rest of the day.




Javin is scared of everything. If someone knocks on the door hard - he cries, he's afraid of this and almost anything monster-like. But he's also interested in anything monster-like. So we just found some non-scary monster books.
We read:
Meet the Monsters by Jane Yolen (creepy)
My Friend the Monster by Eleanor Taylor (good and not scary)
Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli by Barbara Hicks
Goodnight, Baby Monster by Laura Leuck
Slow Down for Manatees by Jim Arnosky (great and educational)
I'm A Manatee by John Lithgow

Thursday:
I woke up on Thursday with a possible Medical emergency, always fun to wake up to one of those. Apparently, I'm allergic to a common antibiotic, Bactrim. I woke up with a rash, called my doctor and had to go in so she could see how bad it was. Her number one instruction? NO SUN for at least a week?! Which, unfortunately, means no zoo. Javin was SO sad :( We were suppose to see the Monkeys. We stayed inside all day and Javin watched Monsters, Inc (again).

We read: Monkey with a Tool Belt by Chris Monroe
Monkey and Me by Emily Gravett (LOVED)
A Monkey Among Us by Dave Horowitz (great)
Monkey Truck by Michael Slack (great)

Friday:
Mr. Robbins took Javin to the zoo, they had a great time - he said they saw Monkeys, Meercats & Macaws.

We ate some dinosaur Muffins, because everything is better when its dinosaur :)
A super nice neighbor gave us a dinosaur Muffin Mold, Javin is holding the T-Rex, you can't  tell because its the back.


We read: The Useful Moose by Fiona Robinson (good)
Ernest, the Moose Who Doesn't Fit by Catherine Rayner (great)
Have you ever seen a Moose brushing his teeth? by Jamie McClaine (great)
Beaver Pond Moose Pond by Jim Arnosky
If You Give A Moose A Muffin by Laura Numeroff (great)

Saturday (we meshed into Saturday because Monday was a wash)

We read: Moon Dreams  by Ruth Martin (good)
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (LOVED, again)
Moonlight by Helen V. Griffith
Happy Birthday, Moon by Frank Asch
Mavis & Her Marvelous Mooncakes by Dar Hosta
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen