Another Day, Another Park

This weekend we went to visit Andy's family. There is a new, huge playground that opened there a few months ago. We have been wanting to take Arin there to play, but when we drive by, there are always so many people there. Today, we decided to go ahead and try it out and we were not disappointed. Although there were many, many people there, it didn't feel crowded because the park is so big and there was so much to do. We all had a blast!

Mesh Feeder

Thanks to my friend, Shannon, for suggesting that I get Ella a mesh feeder. She loves it! This morning's breakfast - blueberries!

Seven Months Old

Yesterday, Ella Jane turned 7 months old. She is such a happy baby. She says mama, self-feeds, crawls all over the place, pulls herself to stand, stands for a few seconds without holding on to anything and tonight has even taken a few steps on her own without holding on.

Sight Word Fishing

Today, we played sight word fishing. I cut fish shapes out of orange cardstock. Then, I wrote the words I, a, me, we, by, is, it, the, and, at on the fish. I attached a magnet to each fish. Then, Arin used her fishing pole (from her puzzle similiar to this). I would tell her to find a word, such as "Find the word we." and she would try to fish for this word. Today was the first time that she has been introduced to these words, so she needed a little help with some, but she thought it was fun to fish for the words.

Blueberries

This morning, my mom mentioned to me that they are doing the u-pick blueberries right now. That is something on our list, so I called the farm and they are only open through this weekend. We made plans to go on Friday (my mom's first day off). Just as my mom was getting ready to leave for work, her boss called and said that she was sick, so she didn't need to go in today. So my mom and I decided today would be a great day to take Arin to pick blueberries. This was also my first time picking blueberries. It was very wet from all the rain we've been having, but it was so much fun! Arin went with her grandma and they picked in one section while I picked in a different place. Arin kept saying to grandma, "I love this bluebery farm!" Arin picked two pounds (just less than half a bucket) by herself and I picked six pounds. Some of the blueberries were so big and hung in clusters like grapes! This was a great experience and the berries are delicious!

The Park

Andy's brother, Todd, came to visit us this weekend. One of the things we did today was go to the park to feed the fish. We had tried to go all weekend, but it always seemed like there was something stopping us - nap time, raining, the park was closed, etc. First we fed the fish, which is always a highlight to Arin. Then we walked around the park for a little bit. On our walk, we saw hundreds (maybe thousands) of tadpoles by the edge of the pond, a turtle sunbathing, a snake (which was very brave), and a salamander.

Bowling

As part of our 162 Things to do Before Kindergarten, we went bowling today. It was the first time that Arin had been bowling. She was very excited to be there and had great fun at first, but it lost its novelty by the 8th frame.