The Parts of My Life I Take Pictures Of

I just downloaded a whole slew of photos from my fabulous new iPhone and realized I have lots of blog fodder and not much time. Here's a quick sampling of the Bonner household as of late:

Jack's a one-napper now, so we've got plenty of time to run errands and play outside. It is heavenly! Every time we're in the garage Jack begs for his (Hazel's old) bike, so I try to let him have some time on it almost every day. Hazel's happy to ride up and down our road on her balance bike while Jack manages to travel only a dozen feet or so, and then when Hazel's ready to really move, I pop Jack in the stroller and we head over to one of the handful of parks nearby.


A couple weekends ago Todd was home on a Saturday for the first time in weeks (between drill, scout camp, and being on call at work he's been gone a lot). We kicked off the day at the local farmer's market, listening to live music and snagging some fresh fish to bake for dinner. Then we went to the library for a while and noticed something was going on out on the green behind the library. After we snagged some books, we went over to investigate. It was an Arbor Day celebration, complete with face painting, lawn games, and free hot dogs. Hazel made a pine cone bird feeder and Jack happily spun in circles, dancing to the live music. The next day was a perfect Sunday. We had church in the morning, took naps when we got home, had our home teachers over for a visit, made cookies, and ended the day with a hike up at Rancho San Antonio. Welcome back, Daylight Savings Time! I love you!!!


Hazel's gymnastics class ended and she's now trying out Princess Pre-Ballet. She is thrilled to wear her leotard and see her bff Nova in class. It's been nice to see her branch out in her dance moves to more than just spinning in circles. (At least, she holds her arms over her head now!) I'm not sure ballet is her true calling - gymnastics was a more natural fit to her interests. But I'm excited to have her try a bunch of different classes out before we try to specialize in anything. I'm planning on soccer and swimming for the summer...
Todd's parents gave us an enormous movie-theater popcorn popper for Christmas. We finally broke that huge beast out of its box on Friday and had a movie and popcorn party before we put the kids to bed. It was fun and made our house smell like a theater for sure, but it couldn't touch the flavor of Todd's Amish blue stove-top popcorn. Only time will tell how often we actually use the thing. I think we're popcorn snobs.
Hazel has completely dropped her nap and we have successfully transitioned to a quiet time that lasts one and a half to two hours during Jack's nap. She hangs out on my bed and I give her a few different activities to play with each day. She always gets a few books to look at, and a few other things to spend her time on, like Mr. Potato Head, a clipboard of blank paper and some crayons, magnetic dress-up dolls, pasta stringing... I've been scouring Pinterest looking for more ideas to keep it fresh so she continues to enjoy it. It has amazed me how much more rested she is after quiet time than when she just plays all day without a break. She has done a fantastic job of not melting down during the pre-dinner hour like she was before when she'd not nap. Hallelujah! (It's quiet time right now. Hazel's singing to herself, and just broke out of song to shout "Off with her head!" twice. She is always playing make-believe. Constantly.)

What do your preschoolers like to play with quietly and independently?