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

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

L week

Monday:

Library Day! We got Javin his very own Library card, he was excited for about 5 minutes, then it passed. Maybe he'll be more excited about it next week when we go back and he can use it.   

We read:
Maisy Goes to the Library by Lucy Cousins
DW's Library Card by Marc Brown
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen (great)
Crunch Munch Dinosaur Lunch! by Paul Bright

Tuesday
We read: Big and Little by Samantha Berger
The Little Red Lighthouse and The Great Gray Bridge by Hildegarde H. Swift
Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems (cute)
Little Boy by Alison McGhee
Leaf Trouble by Jonathan Emmett

Because I'm the YW President in my ward and Mr. Robbins has homework most nights Javin gets to accompany me for most activities. This Tuesday we raked Leaves, he Loved it and the girls were good sports. They threw him in the piles and played with him, I Love my girls!

Wednesday
Zoo Day!
We read: Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah Guarino (LOVED)
The Littlest Llama by Jane Buxton (LOVED)
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney (LOVED)
Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney (LOVED)

Lemurs!

Log

Mom! Lauren

He had the choice of riding a Lion or Ladybug - and chose the Ladybug.

Thursday
I cleaned the house most of the day, it was pretty gross and needed some TLC.

We read: Randy's Dandy Lions by Bill Peet (LOVED)
We're Going on a Lion Hunt by Margery Cuyler
The Lion's Share by Matthew McElligott
Wee Little Lamb by Lauren Thompson
Mary Had a Little Lamp by Jack Lechner
The Lamb-a-roo by Diana Kimpton (cute)

Friday
Mr. Robbins thought it would be funny to give Javin Lemon juice and then leave out the back door and let me deal with the aftermath. Javin whined about how it was icky on his tongue, then whined because he wanted more. I Love my three year old.
We read: Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis (cute)
The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (cute)
The Lamb and the Butterfly by Arnold Sundaard
The Lamb Who Came for Dinner by Steve Smallman
Buzzy Had a Little Lamb by Harriet Ziefert

eeK weeK

Monday
Library Day! I tried something new I saw on pinterest here, tracing letters in highlighter and have Javin go over it in pen or crayon. It worked better than making all those stinkin' dash letters :)
We read:
A Place Called Kindergarten by Jessica Harper (good)
The Nothing King by Elle Van Lieshout (ok)
The French Fry King by Roge (great)
Princess Kim and too much truth by Maryann Cocca-Leffler (too long)

Tuesday
We needed an outdoor day, it was SO beautiful. I was thinking about flying Kites, but there wasn't enough wind...so we Kicked a ball around instead. It was AWESOME!

We read: Fly, Kite, Fly! by John Winch (weird)
Henry and the Kite Dragon by Bruce Edward Hall (good)
Kite Day by Will Hillenbrand (great)
Koala Lou by Mem Fox (good)
Koala and the Flower by Mary Murphy

Wednesday
We dressed up in our Halloween costumes and went to the zoo. I thought that the Hogel Zoo have a Kangaroo, but we only saw a couple wallabies - Maybe its too cool for them to be in the outside yard?

We read: The Duck & The Kangaroo by Jane Wattenberg (weird)
Does A Kangaroo Have A Mother, Too? by Eric Carle (great)
Where Are You, Blue Kangaroo? by Emma Chichester Clark
Class Two at the Zoo by Julia Jarman (great)

Javin was showing me the baby Kangaroo in the pouch on the Carousel

I guess we did see the Kangaroo.

I had a Mary Poppins moment on the Carousel,  and imagined the animal jumping off their poles - Good times!

Thursday
We went to story time at the Foothill Library and Javin was a complete pill! We had to go outside and have a time out so that he wasn't disturbing anyone with his screaming, also if I would've be alone with him I would've beaten his bum. I know this is awful to say, but sometimes he just needs a smack on the tush. We got through it though and went back in to 'enjoy' story time, he was 'scared' of the books they were reading.

Because Kitten and cat are pretty much the same thing and start with the same sound we had to talk about how sometimes two letters make the same sound, you just have to know which to use.
We read:
A Kitten Tale by Eric Rohmann
Clifford's Kitten by Norman Bridwell
Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes


Friday
We had lunch at Zupas, Mmm...it was good. We talked a lot about Kisses and that's how we show that we love each other. We also make a Kaleidoscope, we got directions here.
We read: Kiss Good Night by Amy Hest (great)
Kisses by Nanda Roep
Kiss! Kiss! Yuck! Yuck! by Kyle Mewburn
Kiss Kiss! by Margaret Wild

J Week

Monday

Library Day! On the way to the library every week we discuss the letter, the sound and a few words that we can see that it starts with.

I asked him, "Who's name starts with the 'J' sound?"

To that he replies, "Daddy!"...technically, yes, that it true.

I say, "Yep, Jaron does start with J, but how about someone in the car?"

He says, "Mommy!"

Um...no sweet child. We had a good talk about how Javin starts with the 'J' sound.

We had a ton of fun at the library today, normally I grab books while Javin quietly runs around informing all the other kids at the library what letter week it is or he goes and plays on the computers. Today, though, he helped me pick out the first few books and he even found a board book he wanted to get that had a "J!" on it.

When we got home we read:

The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure by Laura Numeroff (good)

Sheep in a Jeep by Margot Apple (great)

Josefina Javelina by Susan Lowell (great)

Tuesday



I'll be killed for this when he's 16, but 1st pee pee on the potty!

Jungle Day. We woke up on the right side of the bed for once, it was amazing! I am not a morning person and I have passed that on to my child, unfortunately. But this morning we woke up chipper and excited to try and go pee pee on the potty! I bribed him with a special toy if he did, who knew that going to DI for a toy was so motivating? I gave him a crap-ton of apple Juice and we (he) sat on the singing potty in the livingroom so we could watch Junglebook while we waited for something to happen...and it did! YAY! Luckily, I wasn't naive enough to think that it was the end of diapers, but its a great first step. We went and got him a car garage from DI and some cars from Kid to Kid. He was SO happy with his toys that he wasn't interested in the potty the rest of the day.

I was able to pry him away from the cars to read a few books:

Deep In The Jungle by Dan Yaccarino

Just The Thing by Damian Harvey (good)

Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler (great)

Jungle Gym Marsha Gray Carrington

If I were a Jungle Animal by Tom & Amanda Ellery (good)

Wednesday

I tried to set the day off good with another pee pee in the potty, you know, make a routine, Javin wasn't interested in anything potty related. I threatened him that we'd stay inside all day and not watch any tv if he didn't pee on the potty (probably not the best tactic, but it worked). He peed and we left, good thing too, I could see him really weighing the choices in his mind. We went to Jump Around Utah, a blow-up playground place on 700 E 1700-ish S, of course Javin LOVES it. He Jumped for hours and still pitched a fit when we left.

I read these while Javin reluctantly sat on his potty:

Jack & Jill by Daniel Kirk

Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara

Jubal's Wish by Audrey Wood

John, Paul George & Ben by Lane Smith

Thursday

Wrong side of the bed morning (aka. most mornings) and I didn't want to deal with bribing or threatening so no pee, oh well. The morning moved along with absolutely no motivation, but we read:

Adventure of Meno by Tony DiTerlizzi (weird)

Peanut Butter and Jellyfishes by Brian Cleary (LOVED)

The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Lord (great)
And by noon we made some PB and Js, while I finished up our Halloween costumes for the Haunted Library.

Tara gave us a yummy treat, Peanut Butter Jelly Bars - They were delish and of course, I didn't get the recipe. However, I found one online from Martha, so you know its good - here.

Friday

We met up with my sister, Hollis, at my nephew's grave (I hadn't been there). Javin and I had a good talk about my nephew, Josh, and how some day we'll see him again - its hard to talk to a 3 year-old about death. On our way back to the freeway we stopped at Jamba Juice, one of our favorites.

And we made paper plate Jack-o-lanterns, instead of a real one because of family time restrictions - I wanted Mr. Robbins to be apart of the pumpkin carving, but the only time we are all together is late at night when Javin is in bed :(  Oh well, paper will do.