We started off the year right... We watched the ball drop (last year's) on Youtube at 5:30 and partied til bedtime at 7. Peanut and Sister had a blast and Best and I enjoyed celebrating with them and then also some sushi and movie night after they went to bed. I can't think of a better way to spend New Year's Eve than right at home with my family.
If you know me then you know I love a bargain and I was so excited to find this little purple car for sister for only 5 dollars! Peanut loves his that we got for him last Christmas so much and although he is good about sharing it's so fun now to caravan. Their favorite game to play is "Going to the Store". Sister requires some assistance driving still, but she can honk the horn and yell at the other drivers...she would be fine in the big city.
Speaking of communicating, Sister is really starting to sign a lot. She signs milk, brother, book, Mama/Dada, all done, and more. Here she is signing "Brother". I first noticed her doing this sign on the changing table when she would look up at the pictures of Peanut and herself hanging on the nursery wall. He was so excited to see her sign it to him!
They are really beginning to look alike. I've had so many people comment on their resemblance. And especially when they eat their yogurt...smile.
Last Sunday we were invited to a birthday party at a kid's playplace. We had been there before, but it was the first time Sister got in the ball pit and on the jumpers. She loved it and Peanut had so much fun showing her the ropes.
After the party I couldn't resist walking down the shopping center to the thrift store where we scored this new in the box USA floor puzzle. Peanut has known all his states and capitals for several months, but we are now working on identifying each state's place on the map. His Gammie and Papa gave him a talking globe and a magnetic map that are really helping! The East coast is tough, but he's doing great and you will notice he insisted on having AK and HI in their correct geographical location.
And on the same day 2 different friends shared more dollhouses with us for our village. We are building quite the metropolis and it's so fun to arrange them and make up stories. A common storyline is "the Minnesota Wild hockey players go to Florida for vacation." Another is the houses catching on fire and yet another is the town's grocery store running out of food. We always give Sister something to hold which she promptly drops in order to grab one of the main characters in our story. We have a saying "Everyone plays."
In addition to learning about the U.S. and some world geography, Peanut has been working hard on learning about numbers, letters, and life skills. He is learning to tell time, can count to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's, knows about 20 sight words and some blends, knows his address and phone number, can do addition on a number line and using touch math, knows his coins and their values, as well as a little US history, a little astronomy, lots about animals and their classifications, the water cycle, plant life, and various other preschool skills. He is so interested in the world around him and I am doing my best to create good learning opportunities for him. Most of our learning is really done just as experience and opportunity present themselves, but we do some by traditional methods as seen below. (and yes, we did change the 61 to 16,
smile)
This is what Sister does during our "Preschool Box" time. She sleeps from about 6pm to 7 am and takes 2 naps for a total of about 16-17 hours of horizontal time! What a life! But when she is awake she is going full force and I'm glad her little body and brain are getting the rest they need. She wakes up happy and rested and is so delighted when I let Peanut turn on her light and be the first one in to say good morning. He turns off the night light and noise machine and gives her a toy while I get her clothes ready. Such a great help.
So that's what we've been up to. Playing, learning, and relaxing. Enjoying the down time between holidays and staying warm inside while the snow falls. Hope you are staying warm and making the most of the new year! Have a great week friends and family!
