Nothing Beats Free

On our way to Kimball Farms yesterday, I saw a kids' wheelbarrow outside a local kids' consignment shop and pointed it out to Dan.  I suggested we stop by on our way home and Dan convinced me that we should stop by now in case it isn't there later on.  I popped into the store to ask what the price was and the teenage salesgirl inside, said, "Oh, it's free."  Music to my ears--so I went back out and brought it over to the car to show a wide-eyed Finley before popping it into the trunk.  Score!  Finley commented how much he loves it when things are free and while we know he is far from financial understanding, at least he grasps this one concept!

Later in the day, Finley and Dagny couldn't wait to take their wheelbarrow out for a test drive (and pour).

 Finley was a pro and while we have never owned a wheelbarrow, he seemed to know just what to do with it from loading it up, steering it around, and tipping it forward to dump out the contents.

 Family yard work time went really well and Finley was surprisingly effective and helpful with his newest tool.

 Dagny wasn't the best driver of the wheelbarrow since she couldn't lift and roll it, but she was game to show Finley where to take the load they had put in.

After naps, we were all back out in the yard and Finley donned his new gardening gloves to help us clear out all the leaves in the front flower beds and dump them in the woods with his wheelbarrow.  All this fun and productivity for free, love that!

Dagny at Nearly 22 Months

Next week, Dagny will be 22 months and frighteningly close to turning 2!  She keeps us on our toes, makes us laugh, and seems to learn new things at every turn.  She's been talking like a preschooler for months now but every once in a while she will say something that just takes my breath away--either because it's ridiculous or because it's amazing. A few examples:
1. After Finley "read" her a book, I said, "Wow, Finley!" and then Dagny chimed in, "Wow, Finley, I am so proud of you!" I was speechless!
2. If she asks you for something and you say "no," she'll often respond, "oh, man!" Wherever did she get that??
3. When we come into her room after a nap or in the morning if she's been talking to herself or whatever, and we will ask her, "Whatcha doing?" and she'll say, "Nothin'" and we know she got that from Finley!
4. Once when Finley pinched his finger while connecting a toy and cried a little, Dagny went straight over and asked, "You sad? Want a hug?" So cute!
5. She's also VERY assertive (we are trying to use that word instead of "bossy" at home these days) and if you do something she doesn't like, she will point her little finger at you and say "You no touch that." or "My do it, no you."  We are working on the no-pointing thing but she'll often just repeat your words back to you saying "No pointing!" I think we're in trouble...

She continues to adore singing and often makes her own medleys as one song seems to lead into another like Twinkle Twinkle into ABCs or Happy Birthday in English into Happy Birthday in Hebrew or I am a Pizza into Baa Baa Black Sheep.  She, like Finley, loves to get to make the song choices in the car and bops along with each tune.  At night, before bed, she always has a playlist in mind and tells you exactly what she wants you to sing and thankfully there's great variety from Lyle Lovett's "If I Had a Boat" to "Puff the Magic Dragon" to the "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

She's very adventurous on the playground scene and doesn't seem to be phased by a tumble or missed step.  We love her "get back on the horse" attitude! Recently, she fell backwards while trying to step into her little picnic table bench and hit her head on the porch.  She wailed for a minute or two in Dan's arms, but then crawled out and headed straight back to the bench to sit down as she had originally planned with greater success the second time.  Tough as nails! She's even learning how to ride her strider bike (a bike with no pedals) and will probably be gliding around us in circles by summer's end.

While she can be assertive, independent, and smart beyond her months, Dagny has also been quite a snuggler lately.  She is great at giving hugs and can finally give kisses that aren't so slobbery.  She loves reading books in your lap and if you aren't sitting close enough, she'll tell you to "move closer next to me."  Here she is with Dan down in NY last week.

She has a great sense of humor and always reports when something is silly or funny. "That's silly, mommy," she'll say, if I try to put her socks on her hands.  Here she is at dinner shoveling in her pesto pasta with tomatoes and trying not to lose a single noodle.

 Finley continues to adore his not-so-little sister as she grows up and he is quick to help her with anything whether it's putting her croc back on her foot, opening a bin in the playroom, or finding the book she's looking for.  She's much more interested in playing with him now and that's mostly fun for him, but he's still trying to understand that she will sometimes want to play her way with him and not his way.  They love to sit at our art table and do stickers or color together and their teachers often comment how wonderful they are with one another, which makes us delighted.  Happy (almost) 22 months, Miss D!

Pesach 2014

We are nearing the end of this year's Passover holiday and it has been one for the books! With both kids attending our temple's preschool, they learned so much about the history, traditions, and foods of Passover that this year's seders were much more interactive on their parts.  They have been singing Passover songs for weeks and Finley can basically retell the story of Moses from when he was found in the river to when "the bush on fire told him to go help the Jewish people."  At one point, I pretended to be shocked about the bush, asking, "Could a bush really talk??" and Finley quickly responded, "No, mommy, I think it was just God."  Needless to say, the kid was really taking in all that was being talked about and sung about at school and Dagny wasn't far behind as she walked around singing about Pharoh, frogs, and Moses.  Eating mostly matzah at school was tough at times, but matzah pizza was a hit with both kids and Dagny also enjoy matzah brei with cinnamon sugar generously sprinkled on top. Apparently, Dagny was also HUGE fan of the day when her class tried the vegetable dipped in salt water.  Her teacher explained that everyone had a piece of celery and got to dip it in the bowl of salt water as it was passed around but after her first taste, Dagny got up from the table and followed the bowl around for additional dips!

This past Monday and Tuesday nights were spent in NY with our White Plains family celebrating Passover with one seder at GG and Grandpa's and the second at Linda and Jacob's.  The kids were great sports and did wonderfully well staying up later than usual and participating when necessary.
The wild animal puppets from Great Aunt Annette and the new kippot from GG were big hits with Finley and Dagny and kept them happily occupied during the first part of the seder.  Thanks to Aunt Caitlin for this sweet pict!

Here's one from GG of our side of the room.

 When "Go Down Moses, Way Down in Egypt's land" came around, Dagny couldn't wait to belt it out! More photo creds to Aunt Caitlin, who really got an earful on this one!

Dagny soon went to bed and Finley and cousin, Charlie, stayed up a bit later to have dinner, find the afikomen, and enjoy some marble cake for dessert.  The second night at Linda and Jacob's was lovely, too.  The kids had fun with Oreo, the dog, and playing with the excellent afikomen gifts they received. Thank you, Aunt Linda! 

We left on Wednesday after a delicious lunch of all the leftovers GG had in her fridge and everyone got a kick out of watching Dagny slurp up every last egg noodle from GG's matzah ball soup.  She was covered in broth, needed a new shirt, and couldn't have been more pleased.  Finley and Dan reluctantly put away ALL the legos that had been taken out and played with over our two day visit and we headed out.  What a difference a year makes:

http://findingfinley.blogspot.com/2013/04/passover-2013.html

 And what about three:

http://findingfinley.blogspot.com/2011/04/chag-sameach-finley.html

Old North Bridge

On a sunny after school adventure last week, we headed to the Old North Bridge in Concord (town next door).  This is the site of the first day of battle of the American Revolution.  We'd been once before last year but Dagny was in the front pouch so I was not sure how far she'd be able to walk, though it's not terrible far--she does have pretty short strides and the tendency to wander....

 But before I knew it, we were at the bridge!

 

 We carefully crossed the wooden bridge (replica of original) along with locals walking their dogs and a busload of tourists.  On the other side, we came around some great rocks and Finley couldn't wait to collect them to toss them into the river.

 Finley put them in his empty snack tupperware while Dagny put hers in her still-half-full-of-goldfish tupperware until we realized the problem and asked Finley to carry all their rocks.

 Then, it was time to head back to the bridge to toss the rocks.

They threw all the rocks they had found and the finished crossing the bridge only to find a great pile of new rocks that "needed" to be thrown in, too.  We did more than our share of contributing to erosion...but it was fun!  On our way back to the car, we stopped for some photo ops and goofing around.

Dagny was a champ walking all on her own without a single "pick me up" request.  I can't get over what a difference a year makes and how much our two kiddos have fun chatting, laughing, singing, and encouraging each other.  When I told Dagny to keep walking on the way back to the car, Finley ran over to her and asked if she wanted to take his hand.  While she said, "No, thank you," the sentiment was totally adorable.  Finley told me that he can't wait to go back to the bridge :)

Spring is FINALLY here

Warm(er), sunny weather has finally come to us in New England (mixed in with some rain and chilly mornings, of course) and spring feels great! The kids can't get enough of being outside and the fresh air is good for all of us.

Finley's been experimenting with croquet and loving setting up his own course for himself and his sister.

The swingset and sandbox in our backyard are finally defrosted and back in action.

Finley's love of sports continues to shine through and he is thrilled that he can dunk his basketball as well as take shots from "farther away."

All the local playgrounds are returning to our memory after the frozen winter and it is fun to check out different ones each afternoon.  Last week, we were at Rideout Park and the thrills were all around.  Middle school kids playing ultimate frisbee, kites flying, baseball diamonds to race around, commuter line trains passing nearby, and of course - the playground.  Dagny LOVES climbing and sliding and this structure is one of the best ones for tikes her size.  

After watching her go up, down, and around for a while - Finley found a way to play with her.

Dagny Sings Like a Pro

Dagny has a knack for song lyrics and she has been singing this song/prayer that is sung before meals and snacks at school for a month or so now.  I have tried to capture it many times but this was the first time she made it beginning to end without getting distracted or being interrupted by Finley.  She does repeat the first verse, but it adds to the adorableness!

At 21 months, we think she's a musical prodigy!

On a side note, knowing that this prayer is sung before eating--it is all the more awesome that Dagny digs into her pretend pizza after the song is complete :)

Assorted Picts

One afternoon, Dagny and I were left to our own devices and what was first on her to-do list...lining up trucks and trains (channeling her inner-big-brother).

 Then, it was time to load up the dump truck and take it for a spin.

 Her stuffed penguin got quite a ride!

 Running errands doesn't always have to be boring, right? We love Target!

 And Home Depot...

 And ToysRUs!

 Saved the best for last...here's Dan feeding his little baby bird some Ramen noodles last weekend.