Columbus Day fun

To celebrate Columbus Day yesterday, we made a Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria and had races in the bathtub. Most of the boats sank fast. They never would have made it to America. Maybe the Canary Islands, but not America. We memorized a poem, too.

IN 1492
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Thanks Chris!

Halloween Poems

I was going through "The Scary Book" and found some Halloween poems. Ready, set, go!

The baby bat screamed
out in fright,
"Turn on the dark
I'm afraid of the light!"

Jonny drew a monster;
the monster chased him.
Just in time,
Jonny erased him.

The black bat sat on the black cat's hat.
The black bat sat till the hat was flat.
"Scat bat! Scat bat!"
Said the mad black cat to the sad black bat.
(Try saying it super fast. I can do it!)

My fingers are tired. I'll do more tomorrow.

Sweet dreams

Friday and Saturday we had a sleepover with our Aunt Tawnya, babysitter of Kyra and lover of children.

On Friday night we drove up to have dinner which was salmon, grilled zucchini and broccoli with sauce. Then we got to have Tawnya set up her projector and we watched two movies. The first one was a VeggieTales called "Big River Rescue." It was all about helping others. Bob and Larry had to help Little Jimmy aka Big Jim find his Mama. My favorite part was when Larry came running back from Muscotine yelling, "Beware the babies!" The next movie we watched was "The Love Bug." Good movie!

Saturday we went to a whole lot of parks. There was one that had a playground like the Taj Mahal and we played Hide and Seek there. It was awesome! There are so many places to hide. We went horseback riding as soon as we finished with the parks. Tawnya's friend, Dan, has neighbors with two horses, one named Seeker and he was jealous. The other one we called Peggy. Even Tawnya got a ride!

We went out to lunch at Zupa's and ate 5 huge salads and one huge bowl of clam chowder. Then we went back to Tawnya's and took baths in her big tub. We also got to choose presents from her stash of promotional freebies. I got an electric fan, Jason got a cow, Paige got a Snoopy, and Alexis got a notebook. It was fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Hmmm, seems like it's a little smaller."

That was the first thing out of Dr. Daddy's mouth when the resident pulled up the last two MRIs on screen. It was followed closely by, "It does seem to be a little smaller," courtesy of the resident, and that observation was officially diagnosed when the neurosurgeon walked in and said, "Hmmm, looks a little smaller." With three doctors concluding the same thing, it must be true - the tumor is smaller than it was just two months ago!

Sure, it only went down by about 25%, but considering the only way they know to shrink it is by going in with a knife, no carbs and a few pills is much less invasive. We're thinking the secrets to this success are she's been almost completely off carbs for 4 months (maybe a handful of blueberries and tomatoes, or if she skips the fruit she gets one piece of bread) as well as taking some really strong anti-cancer supplements that seem to have really done the trick. Wahoo!!!!

Happy Birthday to Mom!

Today is Mommy's b-day! She is 35 years old. She got a riveter, hybrid shoes, a CD, a DVD, a vase, blueberries, and a card from me. Tonight we are having a movie night. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!!!!!!!

Baby Boy Time!

Today at 5:54am, Kyra became a big cousin instead of the littlest cousin. My mom's only brother became a dad because my amazing aunt had a wee little tyke! He was 7 lbs 10 oz (which is the same weight as his dad) and 21" long (same length as his dad, too). He has reddish brown hair, just like daddy. So everything is like father, like son! .

When I was little, mom promised my uncle that if he babysat me I would babysit his kids when they were babies. So, it's on to babysitting for me and parenthood for them. I'm so glad I've had practice with Kyra - I'm really good at diapers, even the dirty ones. I'm good at feeding, too. I've had enough baby sisters and a brother so I'm great at playing with babies. I've learned they love patty-cake, peek-a-boo, counting piggies, and newborns love smiles. I'm set!

Red White and Blue - Wahooo Wahoo!

The fourth of July was great this year - it started with close to 2 dozen hot air balloons at 6am, watching them be filled and then lifting off. Then we went down to wait for the gigantic parade that came by our stakeout place around 9:30 and ended about 11:00. I got to see my teacher and give her a hug when Freedom Academy's fire truck went by. They also had an alien Primary Children's float that I liked, too. Then we went home to rest and went over to eat and light fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They're in a culdesac, so we don't have to worry about cars driving by. There was one that sent up parachutes that we had to run to catch and Dad said that something that fun should probably be illegal. I love the USA!