Brothers

Happy 8th Birthday NHL

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Dear NHL,

I can not believe that you are already eight years old. It seems like yesterday that Daddy and I were in the store picking out your crib. Then, we brought you home and suddenly you grew up before our eyes.

So much has happened in the last year. Some were amazing, while others ones I wish we could have shielded you from. No matter what, you will learn and grow and have survived these bumps in the road of life.

Now let’s take a walk down memory lane at the last year – NHL at 7.

After your last birthday, you really started to enjoy using the Nintendo Wii, and, with time, the DS. Daddy and I allowed you to try your new games and often your little brother watched on in amazement. Of course, now he’s starting to get some of the Wii games thanks to you helping him. (August 2010)

Second grade, well it proved to be a challenging year. Academically, there was no issues for you. Sad to say, it will probably be the year we hope to forget. Rather than dwell on the drama that included switching schools, let’s recall the happy times. Just after the year started, we went up to the lake for a big extended family weekend. You were so thrilled to drive the boat with Uncle M. (September 2010)

Much of October was filled with preparing for Halloween. You were thrilled to be Luigi again since your love of all things Super Mario was really getting started. (October 2010)

Thanksgiving this year was even more special thanks to Uncle I, Aunt M, and cousins SG and BA coming. This meant celebrating Chanukah a little earlier. I think your favorite part was often reading to the little kids. I loved one of your gifts – your new Thing 1 shirt. You may not remember this, but when JSL was born Daddy and I used to call both of you by those names. (November 2010)

December found us keeping busy with Chanukah, snow, and a fun outing. We all went to see Toy Story 3 on Ice. You loved the entire show and could not wait to see Lotso. It was a magical family outing that we all needed with special time together. (December 2010)

Snow, snow, and more snow greeted us in January. There were several days that school was canceled. This was also the time that I gave you my old laptop to use. You adored playing math games and more on it. I think your favorite snow day was the one where we never got our of our pajamas and stayed warm playing games. (January 2011)

February brought us even more snow and a lot of ice. At a certain point, even you were getting sick of it. Of course, since you were 7, you liked to play outside, build, and try to keep warm. By the end of the month, we were all dreaming of our upcoming trip to Florida. (February 2011)

The magical month of March arrived just in time for a much needed escape from life here in NY. We were lucky enough to be able to go to the second Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. You certainly showed that you are a NDK (Neurotic Disney Kid) and enjoyed every minute wanting to know when we could go back again. Seeing the joy in your face and the stress melt away was beyond magical. I think the highlight for you was meeting Beast since you had been begging for that moment for months. (March 2011)

The snow finally melted away and some warmer weather came to stay. You adored the times when we could head to the park and run around without a worry in the world. Of course, it also allowed you time to be silly in front of the camera. (April 2011)

Much of May was spent getting used to new things. A new school, your little brother turning four, and heading to the circus. You were fascinated with the circus clowns, animals, and acts in general. May was definitely a month where we turned things around and started to see the light at the end of the second grade tunnel. (May 2011)

Lots of things were going on in June. The end of the month officially made you a third grader. Much to our surprise, you were so sad to see things end at your new school. It made my heart so happy that you liked the new place where you learned so much in a short time. We also found a new favorite ice cream location. Yes, we met Nana and Papa there for lunch a few times and we were ok with that. (June 2011)

This summer, we have kept busy going to crafting events. You really do enjoy trying new crafts, as well as learning new things at the library’s passport program. Different countries, lizards, t-shirt making, and more thanks to our travels. Of course, the summer would not be complete without time under the water at the fun new park we found.

Suddenly, it is August again and the end of being a seven year old. You now love chapter books, are into Harry Potter (with a crush on Hermione), and are determined to finish and win DS games. You are a big helper, especially when it comes to your littlest cousin. You loved spending your birthday party weekend helping him around the park and other locations. (August 2011)

With tears in my eyes, I honestly find it hard to believe that you are already eight. You start third grade in a few short weeks. Getting to really watch you and spend time being creative with you this summer has taught me so much. I look forward to watching you grow, learn even more, and become the person you want to be. With some help, I hope that Daddy and I can make it more stress free and fun this year. I truly hope that your dreams and wishes come true and you have an amazing year – you deserve it!

Love,

Mommy

Kid Style Chocolate Blind Taste Testing

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Disclosure: This was a free event at a local library. Thank you to the amazing librarian for organizing this event. I know my boys had a fantastic time and we all enjoyed staying dry during the storm that passed while participating.

Ready for Water Battle

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

Busted During Time Out

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Read To Me Big Brother

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Yarn Art Fun

Monday, March 14th, 2011

It is no secret that I have a lot of yarn scraps in storage from my knitting. I often wonder what to do with them and how to let the boys have some fun. Over February break, the boys and I were stuck at home thanks to a storm. The boys wanted to do an art project.

Thanks to their request, I started to look around the house for ideas. I found some construction paper and noticed my yarn. I quickly thought of something, so I went and gathered Elmer’s glue, scissors, and my scraps of cotton yarn. I had a mission and the boys were ready to be creative. First I cut lots of yarn into smaller pieces for all of us to use with our project.

Everyone picked out a sheet of construction paper. Then the boys made squiggles of the glue on the paper.

After this, it was time to create our masterpieces. Here are some photos of the boys with their work in progress:

I watched as the boys picked their yarn and placed them into the glue. Then I got an idea to make something for TechyDad. Here are our creations below. JSL’s is the top, NHL’s is in the middle, and mine on the bottom.

The boys really enjoyed this, but got sticky from the glue and eventually lost interest. Of course, I had an idea and wanted to do another picture. As I started working on it, NHL came over to help me get colors to use within my work.

The papers looked really great after they dried. The white glue disappeared and we were able to hang them up. I know that we will definitely be doing this again, and I have another item that I hope to try with yarn art soon.

Do you have any ideas on how to use scrap yarn with kids for crafts? If you do, I would love to hear about your projects. Please be sure to share them below in the comments.