Z week

This week took two weeks to accomplish. For various reasons: holidaying, half marathon training, job shadowing, job interviewing, Stake Temple daying, Tire troubling and working; I could only salvage one weeks worth of Z time, so I mostly just added those days.

Monday:
I've learned my lesson. If Monday is a holiday, I don't even go see if the library is open, I just assume its closed. I picked up a shift for someone at work - I worked 8 hrs on my President's Day :) AND I ran 4 miles of intervals all by myself - it felt good too! Not much Z stuff happened today

Tuesday:
Library Day! We got our Z books and discussed Z things. Like: Zebra, Zoo and I added in Zero. I taught him how to do a Zero with his hand - so funny watching him try to figure out finger movement and placement.
We read: Zlata, Me and the Letter Z by Cynthia Klingel
My X, Y, Z Sound Box by Jane Belk Moncure
It's Z!by Mary Elizabeth Salzmann
The Sound of Z by Celcilia Minden

Wednesday:
I had to pick up extra shifts so that people will pick up mine while we go on vacation soon. I hope we can get to the vacation, we get to fly stand-by, as in you can go if space is available. After work I trained at the gym, showered quickly then headed to the temple with some of the cutest 12 year-olds ever. I managed to squeeze a few books into the day here and there.
We read: Potty Time by David Bedford
On Beyond Zebra! by Dr. Seuss (long)
Z is for Moose by Kelly Bingham
Zara Zebra Draws by Brigitte Weninger
A is for Zebra by Mark Shulman
I Love My Mom by Anna Walker
Do Zebras Have Stripes? by DK Publishing, Inc.

Friday:
More work, running and then more work. No Z, except for the Zzzzzz in bed.

Monday
I ran in the morning, then Javin and I worked on some numbers all day. We focused on Zeros, he calls them Zerrios. Why he makes it MORE difficult to say I'm not quite sure, but we're working on it.
We read: Zero the Hero by Joan Holub (simple adding, we'll keep it for 1 more week)
Zero Is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco

Wednesday
I had an interview with JetBlue today that I bombed. Not a HUGE deal, its a bit disappointing, but it doesn't jeopardize my current position - so I guess its ok. Javin and I went to the Zoo for a little bit, then we had a late lunch with Mr. Robbins. It was a good end to a depressing morning.
We read: Peek-a-Zoo! by Marie Cimarusti (Great)
At the Zoo by Priddy Books (LOVED)
Two at the Zoo by Danna Smith (LOVED)
1, 2, 3 To The Zoo by Eric Carle (LOVED)
The Zoo by Suzy Lee
Zoo-Looking by Mem Fox (Great)
When No-one's Looking At the Zoo by Zana Fraillon (I LOVED)

Friday
I had the last of the extra shifts today, then my regular shift so my awesome mom came to play with Javin for a bit.
Gram read: Zoom Broom by Margie Palatini
Zoom, Zoom, Zoom by Kirsten Hall (which inspired him to drive his cars around)
Zella, Zack and Zodiac by Bill Peet
Say Hello to Zorro! by Carter Goodrich
Zip It! by Jane Lindaman

Its been super nice having some relaxing days, but I can feel the laziness taking over. I must get a new teaching schedule in place before the lethargy takes over completely. I think I'll do letter combos like: sh, ch, ing, ed, er, th, etc. Also on the list is the silent e. Any other topics or letter combos I should do? Please share, this is my first teaching experience.

Y week

Monday:
Library day! Got a late start, but still had enough time for the library - YAY!

We read: Star Wars ABC by Scholastic (Javin's pic, he LOVED it and Yoda was in it!)
Sometimes Y by Mary Salzmann
Yum! The Sound of Y by Alice Flanagan
Yesterday and the Letter Y by Cynthia Klingel
It's Y! by Oona Gaarder-Juntti
Yana and Yosef by Pam Scheunemann

Tuesday:
We had a doctor's appointment in the morning, by the time it was over we were hungry, sooo hungry we couldn't wait to eat. We stopped at Village Inn and had a wonderful brunch, just Javin and me. We brought some books to read while we waited. **If you have a slow eater or even a non-eater who likes books, bribe them! For every bite, you'll read another page - it works!** Also during brunch, we tried to find things that started with Y. I found the Yoke of my egg and Javin found a Yellow light (that was really orange).

We also tried to say, "Yes!", as much as possible all day. It was surprisingly really fun.

We read: Yes by Jez Alborough
Yes, Please! No, Thank you! by Valerie Wheeler
Oh Yeah! by Tom Birdseye (LOVED)
Yes We Can! by Sam McBratney (LOVED)
Yes Day! by Amy Rosenthal
Yes, No, Maybe So by Charise Harper (LOVED)

Wednesday:
We ran a TON of errands all day, while we were out I was hoping to grab Mr. Robbins from work for a lunch appointment at Zupas. But that didn't happen, so Javin and I went anyway (he and I are eating out A LOT). After Zupas I sent Mr. Robbins this pic of what he missed, Javin all sugared up on fruit punch and me out of my pjs, makeup and hair done (hardly happens mid-week).

Javin has called Yellow "Lellow" since he started speaking. Try as I might, I've never been able to convince him that its Yellow, with a Y. During W week I got him to read the word Wall-e and say it right so I had hopes for Y week and Yellow. I had him read it all day and we discussed ANY and EVERYTHING that was Yellow. No luck today, hopefully by the end of the week he'll get it.
We got to hang out with Mr. Robbins a little later anyway. I got some tickets to the Grizzlies HockeY game through my work, Javin's first hockeY game! He loved it, mostly he loved the big foam finger and the bear that was running around.

Now when you say, "Number 1!", he'll  point his index finger skyward, even without the foam finger.

The bear was doing the rounds and didn't quite make it up to us, so Javin Yelled at him for about 5 minutes, something like, "Hey, you, bear! Get over here!". Finally, we had to chase down the bear so Javin could see him and give him a high-five and bones. **Side Note: Its amazing the power of a costume. Javin would NEVER approach a stranger under normal circumstances, but a stranger in a bear costume is TOTALLY fine.

We read: Yellow Bird, Black Spider by Dosh and Mike Archer (LOVED)
The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger
Yellow Blues by Sean L. Moore
Red & Yellow's Noisy Night by Josh Selig

Thursday:
Since it was Valentine's Day and we talked about You a lot, with all the "I love You"s and such. I got Javin his very own heart shaped box of chocolates (mostly because I didn't want to share mine), his own special Valentine.

We read: Yucka Drucka Droni by Eugenia Radunsky (WEIRD)
Why Do You Cry? by Kate Klise
Look at You! by Kathy Henderson
I Love You Dude by V. Radunsky (Also WEIRD)

Friday:
I've mostly decided to do the Thelma & Louise Half Marathon in Moab, this June. I say mostly because I haven't paid for it yet, but I've begun training. I've never even run a 5k in practice or in a real race, so I'm not quite sure how my body will react. Today was the first day of training, and it went pretty well. I didn't get to finish the whole run (another time commitment), but I ran 3.5 miles and I was sweating like a pig.

X Week

Monday:
Library day! The ONLY words I could think of that start with X are X-ray and Xylophone (which doesn't really count because it makes a Z sound). So, I made an eXecutive decision to include words that have X anywhere in them. Best decision of the week! We didn't go straight home after the library, I had to stop off at Walmart to get some stuff, so we ate McD's since we were there. I brought some books in and we read while we ate, it was awesome! And we found an X word at lunch, boX!
We read: Alex and Max by Mary Salzmann
My X Words by Sharon Coan
A Fox: The Sound of X by Alice Flanagan
Alex and the Box Shop by Cecilia Minden
It's X! by Katherine Hengel (LOVED)

Tuesday:
Super eXciting day! We were suppose to have a nice leisurely day talking about foXes and maybe doing some eXploring, but instead we cleaned up the "water" coming back up the sewage drain pipe in our/Tara's backroom. I say "water" because it was MOSTLY water and I don't have any real evidence that there was anything eXcremental in it, but it smelled gross, that's enough for me. I've convinced myself its Poop water. Tara and I spent the morning, well into the afternoon diverting "water" flow, wet-vaccing rising water and cleaning carpets - then I did my side (which was considerably worse, Tara caught the flood early). After the majority of the clean up was done I moved on to the task of finding a local, affordable plumber. Luckily we found Dan the Drain Champ, he was amazing at doing the plumber thing.

We read: Dinosaurs by Simms Taback (there is a T-ReX)

Wednesday:
I meet my friend at my gym and we did a free spinning class while Javin eXercised in the kid's club. After I picked him up I had him fleX his strong muscles for me. On our way home we talked about muscles and bones and how a picture of  bones is called an X-ray. We even made our own 'X-ray' (skeleton), don't judge my artistic ability - I know the arms are attached to the rib cage and the legs are shorter than the arms.

We read: Hospital by Jess Stockham
and I tried to read: A if for Musk Ox by Erin Cabatingan (I thought it was good, but Javin wasn't in a patient mood).

Thursday:
Javin's friends, Luke and Stanley, came over and played for hours - its SO nice to have Javin play in his room and not have to worry because he's being too quiet. After they left we have some lunch, PB and Js with celery and carrots in the shape of X's.

Mr. Robbins had to take over for bedtime because I had to complete 3 hours of mandatory overtime at work. They read: Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
My Six Book by Jame Moncure
Fox Tale Soup by Tony Bonning
Aesop's Fox by Aki Sogabe
Little Fox Goes to the End of the World by Ann Tompert

Friday:
I woke up at 4:30 am to go sit by the Porcelain God for about a hour. Being ill is eXhausting: chills, dry heaving, doubled over in pain, fever. Not sure if it was something I ate or something someone breathed on me. Regardless, it was a couch day. Until Javin and I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies for the YW Girls Camp fundraiser (I didn't breathe on them, just in case). Javin actually did most of it. He poured the boX of cake miX into the miXer, I put the can of pumpkin in and he poured in the chocolate chips. Then I had to go to work AND do the rest of my overtime :)

Javin has started sounding out words on his own, he sounded out Fff Ooo Xxx all by himself today!

We read:
Thesaurus Rex by Laya Steinberg
Outfoxing the Fox by Friederike Rave
Fox by Kate Banks
Hello, Red Fox by Eric Carle

W Week

Monday:
Fail. We didn't even venture out of the house. Last snow storm I got my car stuck 3 times getting in and out of my driveway, no way was I trying to leave by myself. On Sunday evening I knew Monday was going to be an inside day. We did talk about the new letter of the Week, W! Gram came over for a minute (while I went to work and Mr. Robbins was on his way home), they Watched Wall-e. He LOVES that movie, his favorite undies are Wall-e. Javin has always called it "lolly", but since it was W Week and we were focusing on the sound, he recognized the W at the beginning of the word and he realized he wasn't saying it right. I was amazed! I've been telling him its Wwwwaaall-e for years, he just needed to read it for himself.

After work I found it appropriate to discuss Winter with Javin, since we've been sledding and playing in the snow so much. As homeowners we get to shovel our sidewalk within a few hours after each storm or run the risk of being ticketed. And since the city blessed us with not only a front sidewalk, but a side sidewalk too its twice three times the work (the side sidewalk is LONG). If I shovel it myself, I'm wiped for the rest of the day, luckily I've only had to shovel it alone once. This week has been great though. We all donned our layers and trudged out into the quiet night and got to work, even Javin. Mr. Robbins gave him a hoe (the lightest semi-shovel we have) and he 'shoveled' away.

After all the shoveling Mr. Robbins still wasn't done with the elements, so we had a mini snowball fight, made several snow angels and a My Sized Snowman for Javin.

Tuesday:
We made it out of the driveway and got to the library, YAY! On our way to the library it was snowing and Javin said, "Mom! It's snowing, it's a White Christmas!". So random, but it made me laugh. I made some lunches and after we got books we sat by the big Windows at the library and Watched the Windy Winter Weather. While reading: Stormy Weather by Debi Gliori
Winter Is by Ann Dixon
My "W" Sound Box by Jane Moncure (great)
Snowy, Blowy Winter by Bob Raczka.
Next we went to Walmart, got the essentials (Tuesday afternoon at Walmart wasn't too bad) and headed home.

After YW we got ready for bed and read: Smash Trash! by Laura Driscoll (WALL-E)
There's a Wocket in my Pocket! by Dr. Seuss
Where's Walrus by Stephen Savage
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
Wormy Worm by Chris Raschka
Worm Gets a Job by Kathy Caple
Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin

Wednesday:
We talked about the days of the Week, I don't think he gets it yet, but maybe soon.

We read: What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins
The Wednesday Surprise by Eve Bunting
One Windy Wednesday by Phyllis Root

Thursday:
Zoo day! Even though we've been to the zoo weekly since the Summer, Javin was really surprised and upset when we didn't see a Walrus. I can't ever remember a Walrus being at the Hogle Zoo.

Javin was scared of the Wolf, he was just staring at us. While we ate our lunch at home we watched an episode of Wild Kratts, they were teaching about Wolves! He felt more comfortable about the cartoon Wolf pup on the tv than he did the real one at the zoo.

Creepy peacock, giving us the stink-eye.

After the zoo we ate some lunch, read our books and hit the gym. Javin really enjoys his time at the gym, I'm all about the dual functional activities. He plays while I do something for me, in this case, work-it-out. The 'Body Pump' class at the Trolley 24 Hour Fitness was awesome, until I got paged into the kid's club. Javin peed himself, GRRR...second time today. When we got home I had had enough of everything, the attitude, the accidents, the whining, the crying, everything. I bathed him, put him in a diaper and pjs, shoved some food in him and sent him to bed. Very, Very Long day.

**As a side note. Javin has had a dry fake-sounding cough since the beginning of the month. In the beginning I wasn't too worried, as time progressed I set up an appt. with the Pediatrician. She gave us a prescription for Amoxicillin, since I was up at the U already (for the appt) I just drove down the road to the Walmart on Parleys Way. Oh My! The nicest, calmest, cleanest Walmart I've ever been to. The pharmacist was very pleasant and helpful, great experience. Javin has been taking his meds for a week, cough is reducing and life is good. The pharmacy called me today, I thought it was to advise me of a problem with Javin's medication. But, no. They just called to see how Javin was feeling and see if the Amoxicillin was working on his cough. I almost dropped the phone, Walmart called ME to see how my son's cough was! Pleasantly SHOCKED**

We read: The Runaway Whale by Keith Faulkner
Wolf Won't Bite! by Emily Gravett
Woof! Woof! by David Carter
Little Wolf's Song by Britta Teckentrup (Great)
Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby
Red Wolf Country by Jonathan London

Friday:
We went to Jump Around Utah, ever since I bought a punch card its been more of a temptation. I love that  Javin gets to run and jump and exhaust himself, while I get a break (or catch up on my blog).

This is kind of a weird, gross question for the parents of potty training/trained kids: Do you ever look at the #2 that just came out of your child and wonder if there is anything left in them? Seriously, I don't think Javin eats THAT much, but the poops this kid leaves in the toilet are, in one word, amazing. Javin isn't pushing really hard, so I'm not worried about his health, I just wonder if any other kids have adult sized excrement? I warned, "weird, gross question".

We read: Wiggle by Doreen Cronin
When You Wish Upon a Star by Ned Washington (with DVD)
The Elephant Wish by Lou Berger
A Wish for You by Matt Novak
The Big Wish by Carolyn Conahan

V week

Monday:
No library today, it was Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I think the library was closed. Plus, one of my Young Women needed some help getting an outfit ready for a job interview, they grow up so fast. So, we made it a family outing, we all (Jaron, Javin, YW and I) went to DI and had a blast!

We did talk about the letter V and put a Violet V on a Vertical Violet piece of paper.

Tuesday:
We went to the library and then mostly hung out at home. We ate some Veggies and Javin argued with me about how lettuce isn't a Vegetable. This kid! He argues with me about EVERYTHING. Most days I have the patience to set him straight nicely, but sometimes I just want him to accept what I say as truth. I can't help but think this shouldn't be happening until he's at least a teenager.

We were going to do some Veggie painting, but I couldn't in good conscience buy Vegetables just to paint with them. I guess, we could of just used potatoes, they're cheap.

We read: Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
June 29, 1999 by David Wiesner
When Vegetables Go Bad! by Don Gillmor

Wednesday:
We took advantage of the Winter Wednesdays at the Tracy Aviary. What is that? You ask. Well, each Wednesday until March-ish the admission fee is $1 per person. Hooray! Also, at 11:00 they do a reading time and the book was The Sulky Vulture by Sally Grindley, it was pretty good and the reader did a surprisingly good job. After he was done they brought out Chewy, the Vulture, for an up close encounter. He was REALLY excited for something (either the food, being out of his cage or the captive audience), but he kept squawking and running, which mostly scared the little kids.

Later that night my mom came over (on her birthday) to watch Javin so that Jaron and I could go out. Its a very long story, but she really wanted to and to make up for it being her birthday I made her birthday dinner and lemon bars. They watched Jungle Book and sang the Vulture song, "...we're your friends to the bitter end...".

We read: Zagazoo by Quentin Blake
Veronica by Roger Duvoisin

Thursday:
The inversion was so bad that we just stayed inside and talked about Violins.

We read: Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss
When Uncle Took the Fiddle by Libba Gray
Valentine and His Violin by Philip Hopman (OMG, Hilarious)

Friday:
We were going to make a Volcano, but that didn't happen on the account that my house was a mess from being inside the day before. Since we didn't do the Volcano I was going to get Javin to make a Valentine for Mr. Robbins, but I couldn't find my heart punch or my contact paper to do this (that's the whole project). I really need a craft room.

We read: Uncle Blubbafink's Seriously Ridiculous Stories by Keith Graves
An Island Grows by Lola Schaefer
Dear Katie, The Volcano Is a Girl by Jean George

U Week

Monday:

Library day AND free quarterly Utah Museum of Natural History day! We took full advantage of both. We grabbed our U books and then some food and hit Up the "Nuseum".

Apparently my superstar can't be seen in public :)

"Mom, don't take picture of me - I'm just relaxing."

We saw the Utahceratops :)

Mom:"If you don't smile we'll go home right now." and this is the cheeser I got.

We had a great time, as usual. The museum never disappoints. When we got home 'we' (he) put on some Undies and took a nap (hardly ever happens)! When he woke Up he was still dry and went pee pee on the potty the rest of the night!

We read: Let's Have Fun With Alphabet Riddles by Caolan Madden
Bear in Pink Underwear by Todd H. Doodler
Charlie's Superhero Underpants by Lee Wildish

Tuesday:
We went to the store and cleaned a bit, but mostly I tried to keep my foot Up - I was being not so smart the other day and fell off my rocking ottoman, legs flew Up in the air and back fell down on the floor. I'm not sure what gouged the soft, tender Underbelly of my foot, but it HURTS (especially after a full day of walking the day before).

Javin was in Undies all day and watched Up.

We read: The Midnight Unicorn by Neil Reed
An Undone Fairy Tale by Ian Lendler (good)
The Fish Who Cried Wolf  by Julia Donaldson

Wednesday:
We talked about Umbrellas and that they can be used for rain and sun. He wasn't really interested so we just hung out, U week is difficult.

While getting ready for Relief Society Javin told me he wanted to wear his Undies, so we went for it. First time out of the house in Undies and no accident! Thanks mostly to the wonderful gentlemen that were in the nursery watching the "kids" (just Javin).

We read: The Umbrella by Ingrid & Dieter Schubert (cute)
Rain Song by Lezlie Evans
Never Give a Fish an Umbrella by Mike Thaler (LOVED)
Yellow Umbrella by Jae Soo Liu

Thursday:
We stopped by Jump Around Utah so Javin could 'jump Up, jump Up and get down' (or Under).

We read: Up! Tall! and High! by Ethan Long (LOVED because he read all the "up"'s)
Great Day for UP by Dr. Seuss (great)
Up Above & Down Below by Sue Redding

Friday:
We talked about the only other U word I could think of Uncle. I told him that he has two Uncles; Briggy (brought Javin the Horseshoe for H week) and Scotty.

Then Uncle Scotty came over with his girlie friend, Amanda, right before bed time. YAY! It was a perfect surprise on the last day of U week!
Then we read: Willie and Uncle Bill by Amy Schwartz
Uncle Wally's Old Brown Shoe by Wallace Edwards (LOVED).

T week

I get SO frustrated when I've saved my blog work daily on the same tab, then I close it and (of course) it didn't save. RRRrrr! Anyway...

Monday:
We made it to the library, YAY! Since work starts at 4:30 now it makes Mondays a little more relaxed - I'm not in such a rush to get everything done. Being a mom is stressful.

Because I'm cheap and don't want to pay to park, we park on the South-East corner of the library, so each trip we get a little bit of a walk. On the way to the library we decided that Tree starts with T. On the way back to the car we looked at what was around and I suggested Toes and Teeth start with T and Javin shouted "Tongue!".

On the way home from the library we made our first trip to the new Trader Joe's, we got Grape Tomatoes, Blue Tortilla Chips and a Turkey Wrap (unfortunately it was unappetizing).

Mr. Robbins and Javin read: Dear Tyrannosaurus Rex by Lisa McClatchy
The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens
DC Super Friends: T. Rex Trouble! by Dennis Shealy

Tuesday:
We made and ate Dino Muffins for breakfast, they were delicious and way too many calories. Javin ate the Triceratops. We went to the gym next and both LOVED it. He gets to play in the kids club while I sweat it up - its a win for both of us! We we got home he ate the T-Rex muffin. Javin watched Land Before Time and drew a couple pictures of dinosaurs while I did laundry and then we got ready for Young Womens (it feels still pluralizing 'women', oh well).

We read: It's T! by Kelly Doudna
Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss
I'm a T. Rex! by Dennis Shealy
The Voyage of Turtle Rex by Kurt Cyrus
Tadpole Rex by Kurt Cyrus
No T. Rex in the Library by Toni Buzzeo

Wednesday:
We went to the gym again (the Sugarhouse 24 hour Fitness), and I did my first Spinning class. It mostly feels like my inner butt cheeks are on fire and there is NO way that I can go again on Friday. The leg workout was great though, I just need a squishier seat :)  then we had lunch at Chick-fil-A. And I ate all the calories I had just burned. Hooray! On our way home Javin was complaining that his Tummy hurt (for my son that means he has to poop) so we went home and I stripped him down and sat him on his potty. Six hours and two pees later we had a POOP in the POTTY! I'm pretty sure I heard the angels singing 'Hallelujah' with me. For more on the Potty Training experience go here (yes, there are details).

We read: I Love Tools! by Philemon Sturges
Tired Trucks by Melinda Crow
Freight Train by Donald Crews (LOVED)
Prairie Train by Marsha Chall
Whoo! Whoo! Goes the Train by Anne Rockwell
Busy Busy Train by Melinda Crow
Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton
Thomas the Tank Engine: Stop, Train, Stop! by Rev. W. Awdry

Thursday:
It was such a lovely warm-er morning, so we went to the zoo. It was so nice. We walked the whole zoo and talked about the difference between Tortoises and Turtles. And we stopped by the Tigers too.

We read: Riding The Tiger by Eve Bunting (weird)
The Dancing Tiger by Malachy Doyle
Tiger and Turtle by James Rumford
Read to Tiger by SJ Fore
Tiger Can't Sleep by SJ Fore
Raj the Bookstore Tiger by Kathleen Pelley

Friday:
Javin is in LOVE with his 'shooters' (I don't like calling them guns), you know, those Nerf guns that shoot suction cup darts. So I  thought we'd make him a Target. I put tape on some paper I had and poured some red pant on it and told him to go to town. He liked his 'hexagon Target' - the darts wouldn't stick to it though :(  I was hoping they would so I could stop having to pull darts off my ceiling for him to reload.

S Week

Monday:
Library! We made it! As we got our coats and boots on to go outside I told Javin that it was S week. He said, "S?! Skunk starts with S!" - yes, yes it does.


Javin has been Sick since Sunday when he threw-up on the livingroom carpet at Grandpa's. He keeps having the 'Hershey Squirts', poor kid, has the reddest butt cheeks I've ever seen. So I drugged him and put him to bed early. I snuck over to Tara's and rung in the New Year playing Scrabble - good times!

We read: "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Diary of A Spider by Doreen Cronin
Spartacus The Spider by Etienne Delessert
Skunkdog by Emily Jenkins
Sleepy ABC by Margaret Brown

Tuesday:
Javin and I drove down to Herriman to drop off his cousin gift from Christmas, Nate got a flying Millenium Falcon. Then we stopped off at Ikea (in the neighborhood) and had lunch, kids eat free Tuesday. YAY!

We read: Stanley at Sea by Linda Bailey
Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea by Jan Peck (LOVED)
Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle
Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman

Wednesday:
Snow day! Which normally means that we stay inside and watch movies while I clean; however, today it meant Snow talk and errands. You know, gotta get things done when there is motivation, because it'll fizzle in about 2 weeks, so I must get everything done now :)

We ate Salad, one of Javin's favorite, and Soup at Zupa's. Mmmm...Soup.

We read: The Snow Show by Carolyn Fisher (very informational)
This Place in the Snow by Rebecca Bond
Snowmen at Work by Caralyn Buehner (great)
Snow! Snow! Snow! by Lee Harper
Super Snow Day by Michael Garland (LOVED)
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (I forgot it has no words and that it has a sad, yet predictable ending)

Thursday:
Zoo day! Oh my goodness, it was FREEZING!

The first S we saw was an ice Swan making an S.

We had to go see the Snakes - his favorite place. 

We ate some Sandwiches. When they are cut into 4 triangles like that we call them Sailboats (thanks mom). 

Lazy Sealion :)

The next animal after the Sealions are the bears. The Polar wasn't out, but the Grizzlies were just waking up and it was hilarious. You could tell they weren't 'all there'. They were stumbling over their own feet and their fur was so disheveled. It just makes me happy that the post-wake-up grogginess crosses species.

Successful zoo trip - Smiles all around!

We read: King Snake by Wendy Slotboom
Diamond Jim Dandy and the Sheriff by Sarah Burell (great)
Hank Finds Inspiration by Craig Frazier
How Snake Got His Hiss by Marguerite Davol
Splendid Spotted Snake by Betty Ann Schwartz (LOVED)
Opposnakes by Salina Yoon
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and The Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood
The Sandwich Swap by Kelly DiPucchio

Friday:
We opened a Cyprus Credit Union Savings Account for Javin. Its a great little program called a Dollar Dog Savings Account, they give you a little Dollar Dog Stuffed animal (he has a cape=Super hero), a Sticker, a Bouncy ball and a Stamp for every $10 deposit you make and when you get 10 Stamps they give you a gift card for somewhere. They even have online games for kids.

We read: Light Up the Night by Jean Reidy
On The Launch Pad by Michael Dahl
Super Duck by Jez Alborough
Eliot Jones Midnight Superhero by Anne Cottringer (LOVED)
Super Hero Squad: Things That Go Bump In The Night by Marvel
The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers

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

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)

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 

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 :)