Playdate at Buckman

Madeline, Henry and Greta met up at Buckman school last weekend to play, and had a great time! Steve and I enjoyed the time to chat with Isaac (Greta's dad) and Stephanie (Henry's mom) while the kids played. Buckman is the elementary school near ChildRoots and the kids go there often to play during their school days.  I was amazed that all three kiddos went down the BIG slide!

Not the Princess Diapers!

Madeline loved the monster diapers and the Minnie Mouse diapers from the latest case of night-time diapers but she very much disliked the Princess diapers.  Each night I let her choose her diaper, warning her that once monsters and Minnie were gone, she'd need to wear the Princess diapers.  "Okay, Mommy" said Maddy. Well, once the inevitable time arrived, it wasn't okay, and Maddy threw a fit when presented with a Princess diaper.

And then I had an idea. 

"Maddy, what would you think about coloring your Princess diapers? Then you can make them look however you want!"

It worked, it worked! Win, win, and a fun project to boot. (And a glass of wine for Mommy didn't hurt, either!)

Spring is in the Air

Happy Spring! We have been keeping busy and enjoying the glimpses of sunshine.  I love how early the flowers start to bloom here in Portland.  Daffodils arrive in late February/early March and the magnolias (my favorite!) are in full bloom.  Steve, Maddy and I have discovered that our house has daffodils out front!  Little surprises bring lots of smiles.

Maddy has been very busy lately making up songs and stories - she is a very creative, imaginative little girl (BIG girl in her opinion).  She is kind and thoughtful and also very stubborn, which causes grief once in awhile, but then again, she IS two-and-a-half (sometimes I need to remind myself of this).  Routine is important in our lives, but it's also nice that we can inch outside of our regimen once in awhile and Maddy handles it just fine.

Potty training is going much better, thank goodness, and accidents most days are few and far between.  We do still need to remind Maddy to try and go, but more often than not, she'll start yelling "I...have...to...go...pee!!" and then we run.  Most of the time we make it.

She is just a joy, and words cannot express how lucky we are to have such a wonderful daughter to love.

Maddy loves her tutu...

...but not quite as much as her bathrobe!

Dado and Rose go for a ride in the stroller

Silly Maddy!

Sporting the new Nike sandals!

Helping Mommy make St. Patty's Day cupcakes!

In the Fort

Madeline's new Tricycle!

Fun with Play Doh

 

One clean Maddy: Ready to brush teeth!

March Drum March

Drum March at ChildRoots (Learning Circle board in background)

Saturday, March 1, 2014 was ChildRoots annual March Drum March.  This event is a celebration welcoming Spring and draws inspiration from the children's story: The Root Children by Sibylle Von Offers.  In this story, little children sleep underground all winter under Mother Earth's care and when spring nears, they wake up, clean themselves up and make colorful clothes. They also work hard painting and washing the ladybugs, beetles and other insects of summertime. These children are the spring and summer flowers that emerge from the ground once spring has arrived and they play all summer long.  When autumn comes and the cold wind blows, they return to the ground, where Mother Earth awaits to welcome them home for the long winter's sleep.

The children at ChildRoots make headbands or sashes out of flowers and learn new songs in preparation for the Drum March.  On the day of the Drum March, the children gather with their families and teachers to sing the songs and show off their headbands.  Then the whole school processes outside, picks up a drum and walks to Buckman school (just down the street) where there is a sheltered area with drummers (and a playground to enjoy!) 

Maddy was pretty shy during the song portion of the morning (she informed us later that there were too many mommies and daddies - adults - and that's why she was shy) but we had a good time listening to the drumming and playing at the playground.

After the Drum March, we decided to head to East Burn restaurant for Brunch, and happily, Maddy's classmates Karina (and mom Deepti) and Greta (and dad Isaac) joined us.  It was a very fun morning for all.

Singing songs with Krystal and Ashley

Daniel and Madeline

The drummers at Buckman

Buckman's playground

Our little Root-Child!

Winter Festival in Bend

We spent the weekend of February 14-16 in Bend, OR and had a blast.  Our friends Eric, Melissa, baby Althea, Christy, Andy, little Luella, Daynia, Brett, Eric and Emily and our family all rented a fantastic house right on the Deschutes River, a short walk away from the Old Mill District, where a Winter Festival was in process.  We had a great weekend enjoying the music, snow and hanging out with friends.  Friday we celebrated Melissa's birthday and Sunday we celebrated Steve's birthday.  It was a great weekend, all around.

Maddy's Fort

Dirty Dozen Brass Band!

Maddy and Luella swinging away at a local park