Learning about how baking soda reacts when vinegar (coloured with food colouring to make it a bit more fun!) is poured into the same container. We made fizzy bubbles!
Mixing paint colours to see how they change when mixed with other colours. I didn't have enough of all the primary colours so we had to get creative. I also put the paint in bags then taped them to the table (with white paper underneath to make the colours pop!) so that it would be a mess free experiment. We're definitely doing this one again!!
Blowing bubbles!!! For this activity I cut the bottom off of a water bottle, fastened a wet wash cloth to the bottom using a rubber band, poured some dish soap inside, then let Layla blow! The washcloth gets pretty heavy with the water and bubbles, so it's important to teach them to hold it upward to blow, but not too far up so that the bubbles run down into their mouths.
You know she loves to learn about everything astronomy, we have that huge book that she loves to go through looking at the pictures and asking about what everything is. The other day I was going through a few boxes we have in storage and found a few more books about astronomy, so she was thrilled to have even more to look at. She had a lot of fun painting this poster of planets & stars! We used fun, glittery paint!
We had such a busy month. Gymnastics was cancelled and she only had her ballet class to go to every week. So we kept active by going for bike rides & going to the track to let her run around.
Layla had a really bad bike accident before we left Monterey (she flew off the bike & landed face first on the concrete, he face was pretty messed up) & since then she's been reluctant to get on the bike, but after a few times riding in the trailer behind my bike while running errands, she decided she wanted to give it a go again. She's still a bit shaky & won't go very fast, but she's getting more and more confident.
Bundled up at the track. I was walking around & she cuddled a bit before deciding to run around.
Pretending to be a fountain in between laps on the track!
We also had a big milestone this month; Layla had her first slumber party at home!! While a friend was moving into a different house we watched her daughter (one of Layla's best friends) & ended up keeping her over night so her mommy could get some work done on their new house.
They cuddled while watching a movie. They were nice & quiet, but that didn't last long! We had a fun evening, played games, watched movies, ate dinner, and played some more.
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| Isa & Layla ready for bed! |
So these two woke up, ready to play. They were both sniffling & sneezing a little bit, but I was just thinking they were sleepy from their exciting night and were up pretty early. As the day progressed we didn't get to do any of the fun things I had planned because they got sicker and sicker. They just wanted to lay around and be cranky. So we went back to the house, laid around on the couch, and watched some movies & fell asleep.
Layla & I both ended up sick & were actually sick for quite a while. So instead of going out and staying busy we spent about a week and a half cuddling, watching movies, and playing.
Things Layla Says:
- "I want to send Grandma Bird a flower. A purple flower. I think that would be lovely." So we sent her a picture of Layla standing next to some lovely flowers.
- "Mommy, what are those?" "Cough drops." "What are they for?" "When my throat hurts they make me feel better." "Sorry" "What are you sorry for?" " For choking you."
- "Don't put tape on me, I don't want to go to the arm doctor."
- Layla is in the bath & I'm in the next room while she plays. "Mommy, I got somethin'!" "Okay honey." "Mommy, I got somethin'! Come look at it!" "I'll see it in a couple minutes when I come in to wash you." "Mommy....it's nipples!"
- "Mommy! I said you're welcome!" "Did someone say thank you?" "No, but I was being polite."
- So we were out walking in our neighbourhood & Layla sees some boys picking on their little sister (poor girl had 3 older brothers) & they were just being mean siblings to her, nothing malicious, but Layla thinks it's mean. So she yells from her stroller as loud as she could "Don't do that! Girls are superheroes!!!!
- She put my bra on her head & told me that's what Wall-E did!
We've also had a busy month with friends. For a week we went to a class called "food play date" hosted by the health and wellness center on base. It was a week long class about the food pyramid and why we eat healthy food. Layla had a lot of fun because her friends Isabella & Jojo were there too. They not only learned about the food groups, but they also had exercise time. Layla had so much fun running around. She didn't like the zumba day, so she led a revolt & got the other kids to run laps instead of dance too. The other days there was more running and fun obstacles to climb & jump & all that fun stuff. She also loves burpees now! Her favourite part of the non-exercise portion of the class was the hands-on stuff in the kitchen. She liked cutting things & now she helps me cut up her snacks at home!
One especially warm evening, Jer had gone to bed (his work schedule this month has been insane!) so Layla and I were trying to find creative ways to stay cool. Sitting in front of a fan just wasn't working, and it was pretty boring. We don't have a pool, but Layla wanted to sit in some cool water to relax. I made a bath at a comfortable temperature for her & turned the lights off. Then I threw some glow bracelets in with her!! She sat in there playing with the bracelets, mesmerized by the way the light bounced through the water. She took the bracelets apart and put them all together to make one giant ring around the tub. It was fun & a great way to cool off!
I've talked about them before, but this past month Layla has become really close with two other children. After months of living here and not meeting a lot of people, we've finally made great friends with Jojo & Isabella. Their daddy's work with Jer & their mommy's are really great! It's always nice when Layla makes friends with kids who have awesome parents. It's an added bonus for us, because get-togethers & play dates are so much more fun for us when we can get along with the parents of friends. & these two kids are great! We've had so much fun playing with them & I'm so happy Layla finally has friends to play with.
At the end of the month we went in to Layla's school for an orientation! She starts school at the beginning of September, and she is SO EXCITED. The visit to her school was great. We met 2 of her teachers, toured the grounds, and played with the toys! She loved that all of the furniture was HER SIZE! Even the toilet was tiny!
The grounds were just beautiful. Out back they had a little play area with tiny play houses & little cars & fun outdoorsy things to play with. Just past that was the farm. This place was huge! There were green houses, and outdoor gardens where they grow beautiful flowers as well as vegetables. There was a fruit orchard as well! There were also farm animals! They had alpacas, chickens, goats, and mini horses! The kids are going to learn how to take care of these animals, and the school sells all the produce! You can buy the vegetables & fruit, as well as chicken eggs! & someone mentioned something about yarn from the alpacas!! Gasp!! I might have to buy some of that & make Layla a sweater or something fun.
She had so much fun at the school, and I can't wait for her to start! Once a week she'll be taking swimming lessons in the indoor pool! She's really excited for that! We're also thinking of putting her in a language class. They offer French & Spanish. I really wish they offered German, but she can take that when she's older. I think Spanish would be more practical back in the states, but she could become a world traveller & French could be useful in her future. Plus, French is so much cuter!
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