Ho! Ho! Ho!

We are getting ready for Santa and already have lots of presents under the tree! The kids saw Santa at Enchanted Airlie. This is an annual lighting of some nearby botanic gardens. Sky asked for a "toy baccuum" -- translation: Toy vacuum. She has been very consistent with this. Lest you fear she is falling into gender stereotypes at the tender age of 3, Clif does all the vacuuming in our house! Parker is desperate to get the new Nintendo game system -- the Wii!! But, he has a gift card from last Christmas he is planning to use for this. Consequently he has had trouble finding something to ask Santa for. I think he is hoping for Heelies -- shoes with a skate wheel in back. Sky couldn't keep her eyes off Santa after she saw him.

There was a girl with a curl

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead;
And when she was good,
She was very,very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

Who knew that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow knew Sky?

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch on October 24th. As you can see - Sky was excited. We selected 1 large pumpkin and 2 small pumpkins. Carving will be happening Sunday. Sky has a Pumpkin in the "science center" in her classroom. The children have formed hypothesis about what is inside the pumpkin. Sky thinks there is candy inside the pumpkin. Some of her classmates have different ideas of what could be inside. Other guesses include: ice cream, marshmallows and ice cream. I think there will be some surprised (and possibly disappointed) 3 year olds when they carve it. 

Balloons!!!

Someone gave Sky a bunch of balloons at the ice rink. What fun! Luckily none of them went "POP"!

Photo Shoot

We went to Portrait Innovations for a photo op today. If you've never done this it is quite an experience. They take approximately 100 pictures in a variety of poses with the digital camera - then they put them up on a LARGE (4'x3'?) flat screen monitor. You go through in groups of 3 and pick the best 1 of 3 - then they put together a package and a price. From there you have to whittle down to a reasonable price. The best thing is you get a cd with all the images. They are low resolution, but look good enough on the screen. See all the pictures at

Portrait Creations

Sky LOVES her Brother -- every day when we drop him off at school she says "There goes my big brother. When I five, I go to school like Parky." Recently she noticed that the kindergardeners are pretty small. I am still convincing her that even though they are little, they are in fact 5 and are not actually kids her age getting away with going to Parky's school. It may be a long 2 years until she goes to kindergarden.

Terrific to be THREE!

We celebrated Sky's birthday at home with a small family party. Then she had cupcakes with her friends at school today. Parker & Clif decorated the cake with a "Dora" theme. She received a Leapster game/learning system, some games, a stuffed pony, a handpainted piggy bank (elephant actually - painted by Parker) and a Playmobil airplane. She is having a terrific time playing with her toys today.


Sky's Stats:
Age: 3 Weight: 28 lbs Height: 37 inches

TROUBLE

If you remember the classic board game "Trouble" you will enjoy Sky's new use for the game pieces! 

Mentos & Diet Coke - the Simmons Experiment

After enjoying watching the videos last week of people creating fantastic fountains by putting Mentos candy in Diet Coke ( http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html ), we decided to try it at home. We used 2 Mentos candy. Sky helped Clif drill the candys and hang them in the bottle cap. Then Parker and Sky "pulled the pin" (actually a paperclip) & RAN! The fountain was pretty impressive, although I think the anticipation was the most fun.

 

Captain Sky visits Wintergreen

We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend at the House Family reunion in Wintergreen Virginia. Highlights included scenic mountain views, hiking, swimming, seeing some horses, visiting with family from across the country and arriving by PLANE!!! We had great weather for flying both directions. The flight was about 2 hours each way. Sky wore her headphones and was pretty comfortable on the trip. She liked showing Blue Bear the view out the window and she slept some. After she got out of the plane Sky commented, "That was a great trip!".

 

Lets Go Canes!!!

The Carolina Hurricanes are heading to the semi-finals for the Stanley Cup this week. We are all hoping for a win! 

BEEVO

Sky takes her longhorn, Bevo, to school for naptime. But she brings him home on weekends. Beevo can be very silly!

Strawberry Fields Forever!!!

We had a good time strawberry picking on Friday. Sky is learning you have to get the red ones, but not too red and definately not the green strawberries.


Parker thinks the best part is the ice cream afterwards!

Big Swings

Sky is now able to enjoy the big kid swings. She knows to "hold on tight". She had never really been into swings before. I think she feels trapped in the little kid swings. But now, she loves swinging just like Parker! 

Easter Egg Hunt

Sky's school celebrated Easter with an egg hunt. As you can see Parker helped her out a bit. He also helped hide all of the eggs for the kids.

Singing in the Rain!

Sky enjoyed listening to the sound of the rain on her umbrella during a recent spring storm. She also finds splashing in puddles to be quite a thrill! 

Career Plans

Sky - pictured here getting her every other night "spa" treatment - a bath followed by a comb-out and blow dry and on this special night toenail polish - has her career planned! After Clif read Sky a book about fire engines, he asked "Sky are you going to be a firefighter when you grow up?"
Sky replied "No! I be a snowman." 

Lets Go Canes!!!

Sky is ready for the NHL Hockey Playoffs with her "Canes Shirt" for the Carolina Hurricanes - just like Parker's!! She probably won't go to any games, but she is still a fan! Fortunately the Hurricanes are doing pretty well this year - so it is o.k. for Sky to be a "Caniac"! This was another one of her if you get potty trained items.