Happy 4th Birthday Little Bean

Happy Birthday Little Bean!  It is so hard for me to believe that 4 years have passed since you decided to enter this world.  It was a rough start for you when you were born 6 weeks early, but you are amazing and looking at you today, you would never know.  You are my little fighter and are so head strong.  I am so lucky to be your Mommy and you teach me something new every day.  You love to learn and will speak French to me at the most random times, it is the cutest thing.  You are so caring, compassionate and loving.  I hope that I make you as proud as you make me.  I love you more than you will ever know. 

Mother's Day Concert

Last Wednesday, Arabella's preschool class surprised us with a special Mother's Day concert.  It was so adorable and all of the kids were excited to sing us songs that they had learned especially for this day.  Arabella also presented me with a handmade sunflower, a card and a heart necklace.  She was so proud of her work and it just melted my heart.  She sang her little heart out and had such a fun time.  Thank you my Little Bean, I am so blessed to be your Mommy!

Old Books

Much to Jay's dismay, I have a collection of books. New books, old books, textbooks, I just love books. I have passed on that gene to Arabella too. She loves books and loves to read! Jay keeps some books, but usually when he is finished with one, he gets rid of it. I on the other hand can fill shelves with books without a problem. I am especially fond of old books and when I was on my solo trip to Connecticut a few weeks ago, I was given a family heirloom. My great aunt Moona asked me if I had any need for a dictionary. Truth be told, I have no use for one as I already have one and more often than not when I need to look something up, I go to the internet. But when she pulled it out and told me that I could not get rid of it, I was sold. It is a Webster's from 1930. She told me that she remembers when her father, my great grandfather, brought it home - she remembers being in grade school. It is an amazing book and I am so honored to have it in our family. Arabella was excited to look through it, she was so gentle with the pages. I need to find a good stand so that I can display it. Thank you so much for sharing this with our family Aunt Moona.

WIMGYM

Arabella still loves gymnastics, although she sometimes has issues going to WIMGYM. She seemed to love her Coaches today, but some days she fights going. She does great, but I think her issues are with the discipline and focus that she has to do - it is not all fun and games like Petit Gym was. She is so head strong and sometimes just wants to do what she wants to do and not what anyone is asking her to. With that said, she is amazing and has the gymnastics gene! This is the first time I have taken pictures of her at class (and she started at WIMGYM in September) - and in doing so, I got in trouble. I was told that it could be a distraction...yes, I get it, but come on, I wasn't using a flash and I was up on the second floor area. Normally, we have to watch behind a one-way glass window so the kids can't see us. So in my haste, these are a few of the pictures I was able to snap before they kicked me out!

Big Girl Bike

For a few months, Arabella has been asking for a pink bicycle with a basket for Ted and a bell. We had been holding off and when the nice weather started, we realized that she was way too big for her tricycle! So on Friday, Jay stopped at Toy-R-Us on the way home an picked up a bike for her. It was a total surprise and it made her day as she wasn't feeling well. At first she had no idea what was in the box and then when we opened it, she was so excited. She and Jay put it together and as soon as it was assembled, she had to take it for a spin!

Silliness

We had beautiful weather to start last week and since then it has all gone down hill. Arabella's friend, Ronald spent some time at our house on Monday afternoon and the kids had a blast. They enjoyed lunch outside in Arabella's playhouse, played with bubbles and all of the outside toys. They even got creative and used the garden to dig in and build castles. It was nice to enjoy a little bit of warmth and sunshine even if it didn't last. I just hope we get out of this wet and cold and dreary pattern that we are in now...but I guess April showers bring May flowers, right??

Green Thumb

On the way back from Quebec City last week, we made a pit stop at a very big and very nice garden center. It was such a beautiful day and seeing all the flowers and plants made it hat much nicer. Arabella was so excited to see all of the colors and kept smelling every single flower she could, it was adorable!


We looked at herb plants and also at all of the different seeds that they carried. I was amazed at how many there were. Arabella wanted to pick out some seeds to plant with the pumpkin seeds that Grammie had sent to her. So we let her pick some out and we also purchased a seed starting greenhouse. I was planning on waiting a little while before we planted the seeds, but as soon as we walked in the door, she had to plant them!




We checked on the seeds on Tuesday and were amazed at what we saw...


Arabella is checking the progress on a daily basis...and they are growing and growing, much fast than I thought they would. Stay posted for more seed updates!

Mail From Grammie

Arabella loves to get the mail each day when she gets home from school. And she really LOVES when she gets something in the mail. So much so, that is there is nothing for her, she gets disappointed. Last week, Grammie sent her a few old magazines with butterflies, birds and beautiful flowers - all of Arabella's favorites. For whatever reason, she had to sit on the table when she opened the envelopes and then read the magazines right there. I loved watching her and seeing her excitement when she saw something that she knew the name of or really thought was beautiful.


While enjoying the magazines, she had to have 2 of her favorites with her...Teddy and green olives stuffed with blue cheese! Thanks Grammie - You made her afternoon!

Bunny Bait

At the last minute last week, Arabella decided that she wanted to hand out Easter treats to her preschool class. I wanted to do something fun, but it had to be easy since we needed to hand it out the next day. Once again, Pintrest came to the rescue. I had started a "board" with Easter ideas and that is where I found the idea for "Bunny Bait"! It was so easy and Arabella loved helping mix it up and put it in the bags -

All you need is popcorn, pretzels, mini marshmallows, and some chocolate candy, actually you could put whatever you wanted in it. We used pretty Easter/Spring colors and it looked so pretty. It tasted even better and was a hit with the kids and adults!

Brynn's CandyLand Birthday

On Monday morning, Arabella went to her friend Brynn's birthday party. (Yes, I said Monday morning...) The theme was Candy Land and all the kids were asked to dress up in a costume or fun candy colors! The kids played games, danced to candy themed songs and enjoyed yummy cupcakes! At the end there was a pinata that they went to town on with hockey sticks! Arabella had fun and was glad to share in Brynn's special day!


Arabella is sitting next to Jack, her prince!
Candy land jump!

Sugaring Off

One of the big events that is currently happening here in Quebec is Sugaring Off! It is a Quebec tradition to go to a cabane a sucre or a sugar shack to see how maple syrup is made and to take part in sleigh rides, traditional Quebec food, song, dance and maple toffee on the snow.

Arabella a field trip today where we went to the Morgan Arboretum where we learned all about maple syrup - where it comes from & how it gets so yummy! It was a cold and overcast day, with some snow flurries (gulp, isn't almost April??), so we had to bundle up to stay warm. Arabella loved the tractor ride we took, all the kids did! It was so cute to hear them answer the questions the guide asked about the trees, sap and syrup. Arabella was so cute answering so many questions - and she had the answers correct! I am amazed at how much information she retains - I can't even remember all of it, but she is one smart cookie!


Learning about how the Indians discovered maple syrup.


The sugar shack!
Maple toffee...everyone had some but me! It is too much maple for me to enjoy!
Arabella loves it and was so excited! Look at the smile!