Life as We Know it

Science Week

The week Ethan was in Seattle we watched WAY too much tv so the week after I decided that we were not going to watch any tv. Instead we were going to do science projects. Now I can't say that we made it the whole week but we found a much healthier balance. And we made it until Wednesday with no screen time. On Wednesday I let her watch one Magic School Bus, on Thursday she watched a Magic School Bus and a Wild Krats and on Friday she watched a Wild Krats. Not too shabby if you ask me.

I do not take pride in my mothering geniusness, but Science week rocked. It was so much fun. Most of the science experiments failed miserably but it was so much fun.

This is how it worked. Every time she asked to watch a show I would pull out a science project and soon she started asking for Science (along with "can I watch a show?") At least I got her thinking about other past times even if it was for a brief moment

Baking soda and vinegar in a bag= Failed because it was supposed to pop but she thought it was cool that they expanded so WIN!

Water changing colors- WIN! Thank you food dye

Dancing gummy bears= Major fail but she got to eat some gummy bears not involved to WIN

Cornstarch and water= WIN

Rain cloud over water= Major FAIL because I did it wrong but it involved shaving cream so major WIN!!!

So naturally right when Kelsey started playing with the shaving cream, Madison exploded everywhere. For once in my life, I laughed at the situation. Madison sat in the sink chewing on the faucet while Kelsey washed her hands (touching everything on the way to the sink) while I was slipping on shaving cream trying to stop Kelsey and get to Madison all at the same time. It really was hilarious.

Rainbow in a jar- Started as the best project and a major win until I let the 3 year old help and then it failed miserably, but Kelsey had a blast. She talked about this one a lot so WIN!

Dying white flowers purple- Major FAIL. They are still sitting in colored water and not an ounce of them have changed.

Glitter volcano- Super WIN!!!

Here's Roosters position during most of Science Week. This is where the explosion happened

We also got interrupted once by this little guy. I still hate him and his friends so much!

Butterfly food life cycle- Super WIN

Quote "Tornado in a bottle. The easiest science experiment." and yet we FAILED but it involved shaking things so WIN

The BEST experiment- Raisins in sprite. We watched them dance for like 10 minutes. It was so so so so so fun!!! Major WIN

Pop rocks in soda- Fail because I didn't follow the directions and tried to do it too fast but it involved candy so WIN

Elephant tooth paste- WIN

Gymnastics

Every Wednesday in July Kelsey got to got to Estrella for a city gymnastics class. It was essentially open gym for 3 year olds for 45 minutes every Wednesday. The teachers were more like spotters to make sure that we followed the rules because it was up to the parents to stay with the kids. Regardless it was the best purchase I have made in a long time. Kelsey LOVED gymnastics. To be perfectly honest I don't know if she liked gymnastics or the outfits better but either way, Wednesday afternoons were fun.

Kelsey is a pretty confident, mobile, and daring little girl. When ever the teachers tried to help her she would look at them like this...

First Friday

The first Friday of every month, Phoenix opens its museum doors free of charge to anyone who wants to come. The first Friday in July, Aunt Kay graciously offered to take the girls so that we could go to a museum and dinner. I love going on dates with Ethan. We went to Joy Ride and Churn: DELICIOUS!!!! and then went to the Phoenix Art Museum.

Joy Ride was a yuppie place with delicious tacos and Churn had the best homemade ice cream I have ever had

As you can tell, Kelsey got to watch a movie while we were away. It was so good she couldn't even smile for a quick pic

Aunt Kay is wonderful. She even offered to watch the girls so that we could go to the temple. I am so grateful for Aunt Kay, for temples, for two beautiful daughters, and an awesome husband who laughs his way through life.

Rooster rolls and Roosters rolls

Madison is so wonderful. She will be 6 months in a few weeks and I refuse to believe that. She is such a mellow baby; so happy, so go with the flow, so smiley. The biggest difference that we notice between Kelsey and Madison is this: Madison smiles at the drop of a hat but only Kelsey can get her to laugh where as Kelsey would laugh at everything and never smile. Two very happy girls who choose to show it in different ways.
I remember being really nervous to have Madison right before she was born. How was I going to love her as much as I loved Kelsey? How would I find the time to bond with her and hold her? How would I know what she needs and likes and wants? Oh how silly I was. I am so grateful Madison is in our family and especially in my life. There have been so many moments during this stage of life where I just want to quit and look at Madison with tired eyes and she just smiles back. She is such a ray of sunshine. I love her so much.

Right now she can do lots of fun tricks.
She sits like a champ, LOVES the water, can roll onto her stomach, holds up her head, has starting eating solids, sleeps like a champ, thinks Kelsey is everything, sleeps from about 7-6, sits in grocery carts car seat free!!!, is super happy in the mornings, loves to play with toys, has this really breathy laugh that you can't help but laugh with, and my personal favorite when she flaps her arms so much that she literally starts to scoot across the floor. Madison is my ball of squishy joy. I want time to slow down so I can enjoy ever last second of her.