Learning In Progress

With school out, ironically Abby and I have more time to work on learning :). My goal is to spend 30 minutes a day with her working on reading, writing, and math skills.

Goals this summer:

Be able to identify and write numbers 1-10.

Be able to identify and write all letters of the alphabet (upper case).

Be able to say each letter's sound.

Start simple math skills (addition, subtraction).

Start simple phonics skills (identifying which pictures/words start with which letters, etc).

Learn to write her name.

It's Summertime!

Today was our first pool day of the season!

Abby was excited to show Lilly her new Ariel swimsuit - seeing as Ariel is their mutual favorite princess and all. :)

(She's not sad, she's trying to make a silly face lol)

The pool was gorgeous! Thanks to the homeowners (friends of Beans) who graciously let us enjoy their luscious backyard!

Lilly is all prepared. :)

The pool had a big shallow area at one end, which was perfect for the girls to splash around in.

But I was surprised at how brave they were in the "deep" water, too!

It looked for a bit like Caleb might not enjoy his first-ever pool day, but once he found a toy to play with he decided it wasn't bad, after all. :)

First Flight!

You waving goodbye to us at the gate.

Today was your first flight! We got to see it because while you were waiting to get on a plane and fly to Orlando to feed the dolphins, Maggie and I were waiting for our flight to Alabama. :)

Chris told me that when you go up this morning, the first words out of your sleepy little mouth were "Daddy, we have to go to Target and buy dolphin food!" Maggie and I almost died laughing.

When we met you just outside of security, you were a little teary because your stuffed walrus had to take a ride through the X-ray machine, but a few snuggles and reminders of dolphins and you were back to anticipating your fun trip. :) You were super excited about seeing all the airplanes around us and couldn't wait to get on one and go!

Strawberry Picking At The Farm!

This week we got to go to the farm with Abby's preschool class to see the animals and go strawberry picking!

 Abby & Lilly with their teacher, Mrs. Jones.

First we got to see the animals - we waved "hi" to the piggy.

The poor piggy wanted way more attention that that - he was crestfallen that the girls kept petting the goat and not him!

The owner of the farm caught one of her chickens so the kids could pet it.

Abigail is an experienced chicken petter! :)

Then it was time to pick strawberries!

Abigail went to it with a vengeance.

Lilly & Bean picking berries.

We talked about what color the berries needed to be for us to pick them - red all over!

It didn't take Abby long to fill up her box!

One proud berry picker!

All done!

After all that hard work, we spent some time in the farm's play area.

They had a ginormous sandbox!

Abigail, "the other Lily," Lilly, and Emillie.

Cousins playing together.

Patting the resident puppy with another teacher, Mrs. Sowa.

The play area also had a saddle on a barrel suspended with springs and rope. I was surprised at how brave Abby was on it!

Just as I took this picture, she yelled out "Yee-haw!" :)

Abby and Lilly also played on the swingset.

Double swing - just perfect for cousins!

But it didn't take them long to find the slide! :)

All in all, it was a lovely day! :)

Horses!

Last week, we got invited by Grandma to go see horses! Obviously, Abigail loved the idea and was very excited! We brought Lilly, Bean, and Caleb along, too!

Isn't somebody just too cute? :)

Lilly got to ride first, and she was fearless!

My favorite shot! :)

Then it was Abby's turn!

Lilly "helped" guide the horse lol!

One happy horse lover!

We also got to hang out with the horses in the stable.