Yy is for Yellow Yarn

Today, the girls had fun gluing small pieces of yellow yarn to the letters Y and y.

Next, they took pieces of yarn, dipped it in yellow paint, and made pictures.  They did have fun with this, but eventually asked for paintbrushes so they could control the paint better.

Finally, the girls learned how to finger knit.  We used this video.  Originally, I had only planned this project for Arin. She picked it up right away.  While she was busy working on her bracelet, Ella got very interested too.  She took a turn at it.  I wrapped the yarn around her fingers and she would take it off each finger (the right way), but her hands are small and the yarn got too tight, so I ended up making the bracelet for her on my fingers.  I should have bought a thicker yarn for this project. 

Pregnancy Journal: Ultrasound Scheduled!

After I wrote here that it'd probably be five or six weeks before my ultrasound, the birthing center called to tell me that they had it scheduled.  I'm having my ultrasound on Monday, May 2!  I won't be quite 16 weeks along, so I am hoping that they will be able to tell the gender.  It'll be the earliest ultrasound that I've had.  Arin's was in the 18th week and Ella's was in the 17th week.  Please leave a comment with your guess - will it be a boy or a girl???  Thanks!

Pregnancy Journal: Week 13

Yesterday was my first prenatal appointment.  I was very anxious for this appointment and it felt like it was never going to get here.  Originally, my appointment was scheduled for last week, but the midwives had something going on, so they rescheduled me for yesterday.  The thing I was most anxious about was hearing the heartbeat.  Despite the fact that I have heard the heartbeat four times prior (thanks to my sister's midwife) and despite the fact that I have been getting sick sometimes (if I wait too long to eat or when I brush my teeth), I was still nervous about it.  Finally, at the end of the two-hour long appointment, it was time to hear the baby.  My midwife tried and tried for what seemed like ten minutes, though I am sure it was less than that, to find the heartbeat.  No luck.  She did say that she picked up some kicks.  I am not sure if they were really kicks, or she was just trying to make me feel better???  I had told her that I had already heard the heartbeat, so she changed dopplers and in the first few seconds she was able to pick up a nice, strong, healthy heartbeat in the 150's.  Phew!  It was a few nerve wrecking minutes, but all seems well and the baby sounds healthy.  My next prenatal appointment is in four weeks and in the week or two after that, I will have an ultrasound.  We are very excited to find out if we will be welcoming a little boy or another little girl into our family.

Busch Gardens

Recently, Andrew's work hosted their annual company picnic at Busch Gardens.  It was the first time that the girls have been to a major theme park and they had a blast!  Andrew and I used to go to Busch Gardens just about every year from the time we were dating until we had kids.  Back then, we used to spend all day riding roller coasters.  This time, the park was a much different experience for us.  We spent our day walking around, looking at the animals, watching the shows, and playing with the girls in the kiddie area.  It was a whole new kind of fun.  As an added bonus, Busch Gardens is running a special right now: Pay for one day, play the rest of the year free.  Andrew's work paid for our tickets at a discounted rate, so for a small out of pocket fee, we will be able to go back and enjoy the fun until the end of the year.  This is great news for Arin.  She was not ready to leave and she asked to go back the next day!

 

The kids got soaked in the water area.  They especially loved it, because the temperature was a high of 91 that day!

L is for Lemons

Arin loves lemonade and has been asking to make some.  We bought a bag of lemons.  Arin (with my help) cut the lemons. 

We needed one cup of lemon juice for the recipe, so I asked her how many lemons she thought it'd take to make one cup of lemon juice.  She guessed two and Ella guessed four.  Arin squeezed two lemons and found that she was about half a cup short.  She juiced the other two lemons. Perfect!

She poured the cup of lemon juice into a juice pitcher.

Then, she added one cup of sugar.

She stirred them together.

Then, it was time to pour in five cups of cold water.

Stir again.

Then add some ice to make it extra cold.

Time for a taste test.

The results??  It was fantastic!

Next, we did a science experiment.  I asked Arin how to clean a dirty penny. 

She said, "Soap and water, of course!".  I gave her a bowl of soapy water and a wash cloth.  She scrubbed and scrubbed.  It never got sparkly clean. 

We squeezed more lemons and put the juice in a bowl.  Arin dropped the copper penny into the bowl of lemon juice.  We set the timer for five minutes. 

What were the results?  A nice, shiny copper penny!  She was amazed!

The reason for this?
"Oxygen in the air combined with the copper to form the dull copper oxide coating. The acid of the lemon acts chemically to remove the oxide - and the result? A bright coppy penny." - from 365 Simple Science Experiments with everyday materials

Wedding

Yesterday, Andrew's cousin got married.  It was a lovely ceremony, held outside followed by an indoors reception (which was nice because in Florida it is H-O-T at this time of the year!).  We had a great time, especially Arin who found lots of new friends.  She loved the dancing and the time spent with her cousins. Andrew and some of his family were in the band which played during the dancing portion of  the reception.

Cousins





Jim & Gina

First Dance

Matthew & Ella dancing.  They were so cute together.  He was so gentle with her.  He even spun her around.  Adorable!

All the dancing tired her out.  She slept for a couple of hours.

This was one of those group dances where people take turns dancing down the middle of the two rows of people.  Arin loved this and kept cutting in line for more turns!

Dancing with a new friend.

Bubble Exit for the Bride and Groom