Caity is fond of wearing my accessories. She’d borrow my bracelets or necklaces which sometimes lead to mishaps. You know how kids (mis)handle things. So I got a chipped stone pendant, a broken string, or missing beads.
When we were out shopping in a toy store one Sunday afternoon and I saw this DIY bracelet/necklace, I immediately foresee the creative play Caity will have making her own accessories. Also kids are more interested in using or eating stuff they make or took part in making. So it’s a better choice than buying her ready-to-wear products.
Wooden beads.
Caity stringing a bracelet for Mama.
Caity wearing her beaded accessories.
She’s been using it everyday when she gets home from school. (:
I left my computer opened to a website dedicated for preschoolers’ activities. Caity saw it, clicked on the pictures and saw a post on making big bubbles. “Mama! Let’s make bubbles!” The little girl requested. Seeing that we have all the tools needed, we took a break from our shopping-shoppingan for bubble time.
You’ll need a plastic bottle, dishwashing liquid soap, water and a deep container (where you’ll mix the water and soap), and tadan, you’re ready for lots of bubble fun! It’s a great way to recycle those water bottles you have.
We took the kids in the playground later that afternoon together with our bubble arsenal and it drew attention from other kids (and adults too).
Click here for more ideas on water bottle bubble fun.
M picked Caity’s Minnie Mouse shopping cart from the post office on Friday. By the time he came home, the kids were already asleep. But the first thing Caity saw in the morning when she opened the bedroom door was the package standing by the wall. I told her the night before that Táta (Daddy) has a surprise for her, so she knew it was hers. She was elated! “Surprise for me???!”
It was a happy Saturday morning for her! M assembled the cart right away and off our little girl went to play with a little fight with Adie who also wants to push the cart. Poor Adie, ’twas a torture for him! The shopping cart is small for Caity! That’s one downside of online shopping, you can’t scrutinize the product before buying.
When little bro went to nap, Caity and Mama played.
Here’s Caity in her store where she took the role of the cashier and me, as the shopper. (: We switched roles later.
Caity was such a brave little girl on her first day of school. She didn’t cry or made a fuss when we left her there. I think she was excited with all the new toys she saw that she didn’t mind us leaving her. We (Hubby, little Adie and I) stayed for awhile to help her get acquainted with her new environment, but when it was time for us to go, she bade us bye-bye without any problems.
First she made a circle, then I told her to put eyes, nose and mouth, etc… she drew a face! (:
Even little brother gets to play in the school.
When I picked her up after lunch, I asked her teacher if Caity had been a good girl, and with eyes open wide she told me our girl was very good. That made me a happy mama. For the first time in her life, she was with strangers for about 4 hours and behaved pretty well. (: Way to go Caity girl!
Caity told me she ate ABC, drank water, went to pee and washed her hands by herself, played cooking, jumped on the yellow bed, and played with toys. I am looking forward to lots of interesting stories from her each day after school.
What’s summer without water? Exactly the reason why we decided to hold Caity’s birthday in an outdoor pool, which turned out to be a failure coz it was 17-19C with forecast of rainfall in the afternoon. We went ahead with the plan though, as there is an indoor pool anyway for those who wanted to swim. Unfortunately, they don’t have pools for kids inside. But the kids braved the cold weather and still had fun outside. The weather proved to be a blessing in disguise coz we had the whole place to ourselves. Usually, on hot days the place is jampacked with people, you can barely move. So it looked like we reserved the place exclusively for our group. Bongga!
Adults’ pool…
Kids’ pool…
The birthday girl!
Nikki, Caity, Tita Aileen, Tita Floe and moi (with Adie).
With Vladi… and there’s Caity’s little bro walking all over the place while nibbling on chicken leg.
Opening her gift from KaFlo.
At the pool’s restaurant with Tita Floe, Tita Tess and Leah while waiting for the rain to stop.
It was past 4 when we ended, still a bit early. The group was looking for a place to hang out. Friend Angie was kind enough to offer her place as the others including me were hesitant to receive guests with all of us having the same excuses – messy house! It did rain in the afternoon and our friends got all soaked while waiting for the bus to Angie’s place.
So the party continued…
With Martin, Leah and Nikki…
When we got home, Caity opened her “surprise” from us. (:
Eyes closed, waiting for the surprise.
Happy girl!
The shopping cart didn’t make it on time! Sayang. Until now, we’re still waiting for notice from post office.
Anyway, ’twas a happy birthday for our little Caity! Thanks to everyone who took part in our simple celebration!
Lookie!!! We’re joining May’s Colorful Weekend for the first time:
Caity’s birthday is on Saturday already. We went out to shop for her party and pick a gift for her yesterday after M’s work. She wanted a Minnie Mouse cash register and shopping cart which she saw in YouTube. I found these two in Ebay which M ordered immediately but he didn’t see the link I sent him for the cash register so he didn’t get to order that one.
So we went to a toy store to hunt for any cash register, found one and bought it. The little girl has been asking for it. We have to tell her many times it’s for her birthday. Shhhh, don’t tell her we hid it up in the closet.
Here’s what Caity wore when we went out:
The dress was a gift when she turned 2 years old. She wore it then during her party. Since summer is about to end, I thought the dress need to be taken out for a spin, even when we’re just going shopping. What I like about this dress is that it can be turned into a blouse paired with leggings when it gets too short for Caity.
At her 2nd birthday party, August 29, 2009 in Lipence.
Caity’s little bro wanted to join the pictorial too!
I still can’t get over the fact that my little girl is going to preschool in less than two weeks. Sigh. Where did all the years go? When school starts, she will be away from me 5 days a week, for about 4-6 hours a day. ): Caity on the other hand is excited about going to school, I don’t know how she will handle it when she later realizes that she has to stay there by herself with strangers. Also, I think Adie will wonder where her ate is when we’re left at home. Though they fight over petty things sometimes like toys, he still enjoys hanging out with his big sister. Case in point, when Caity is still sleeping in the bedroom, he’d pull me to the door asking to open it while saying “Kitty, Kitty.” Yeah, Caity will be surely missed by Adie and I.
Anyway, the school complex is newly constructed. Aside from the school, the complex also has a convenience store and a police station. We got the chance to see it yesterday when they had their opening for students, parents and visitors to check out the place. The interiors have an airy feel, with tall and wide glass walls, glass walls for the toilet and wash area, and spacious rooms.
The playground, still no toys but there will be.
The mini water closets and wash basins.
Coat/shoe room…
The classroom upstairs…
The pictures were all taken at the second floor. I didn’t get a chance to take pics of ground floor.
Caity’s friend Nikki was also there with her parents. The kids immediately hugged. Sweet. Then they got stuck at the balcony upstairs where the school set up an inflatable pool with plastic fishes. The girls went fishing!
Before going home, we hang out a bit for some hors d’oeuvre, drinks and chitchat. We will be back there for the first day of school on Sept. 1!
Last week, our friend Ai asked if they can leave their 5 y/o daughter with us for a night coz her husband will be performing in a band and she wants to watch the show. I didn’t have any problems with it. Nikki is one of those few friends Caity have and I know my little girl would be thrilled to have her playmate in our house, and sleep with her? Oh yes! She liked the idea so much.
I brought the kids to the playground after Caity’s little brother woke up from his nap. We stayed there until they got tired. Then it was dinner time. It was a bit challenging to make them eat their food coz all they can think about was to ran to the living room to play more. But the Jelly Belly laid out beside their dinner plates was a good motivation for them to finish their food, or else they won’t get their sweet treat!
After bathtime, munching on raisins.
Goofing for the camera…
Later that night, the kids had fun in the tub. Even Adie joined them. But our bathroom floor was a mess! They splashed water which accidentally landed on our floor. Talk about mini-flood in there. The next challenge was making them sleep. The set-up was to let Nikki use Caity’s bed while the latter will sleep with us in our bed. BUT, Nikki asked if she could sleep beside Caity. So I pulled the bed beside ours, close to Caity’s side. BUT, Nikki asked again if she can sleep with Caity on the same bed. Okay I obliged. In the end, it was all four of us in our master’s bed – Nikki, Caity, me and hubby.
The next day, I got them involved in baking chocolate cupcake and they enjoyed decorating/eating their baked goodies.
Decorating their cupcake.
Nikki’s cupcake…
Caity and Nikki eating lunch of shrimp noodles.
All in all, the sleepover was a success. I didn’t encounter problems with Nikki, and the kids had a blast. I brought the kids again after lunch to the playground where our little guest was picked up by her dad. Both kids didn’t want to part ways. It was much harder for Caity to see her friend leave. She bawled loudly in the street “I want Nikki! I want Nikki!“
Knowing how Caity loves farm animals, I thought she’d be excited to see them up close. I read from an online article about this place called Toulcův dvůr which is like a mini-farm. They grow herbs and few crops in a small land, not the usual big acres of land for farms. They also raise chickens, geese, pigs, rabbits, sheep, cows, goats and horses. I really don’t care about its size, I just want our kids to be able to see how animals look in real (again). The place seems to have plenty to offer too, like a cafeteria, stores selling their own produce, playground, and even a simple accommodation; and the best thing about it is that it is open to the public to visit with no entrance fee.
We went there on a Sunday, a couple of hours before they closed. To our disappoinment, most of the animals weren’t in their shed. We only saw the geese and rabbits.
Caity was beaming with smile when she saw a pig’s picture pasted in the wall, but when we peeked inside the pig pen, it was empty! So sad. Then she also saw pictures of sheep, cow and goat, and asked “Where is the sheep? Where is the cow, where is the goat?” hahaha Poor Caity. Fortunately we lingered a bit, and we were rewarded when the chickens showed up which brought happiness to our little girl. And when the animals exited, we also headed for home.
She thought she heard an animal sound…
Now what?
Then Caity saw this stage just beside the main entrance, ran to it and started going up and down there. A brilliant idea struck me. I tried to ask her if she can sing which she willingly did. She did a little performance for us which really made us very proud of her. She sang English and also Czech children songs, and also danced. What a talented performer! (proud mom lang po) (:
Here’s Caity singing Twinkle Little Star:
Here she is dancing to a random song from M’s phone:
I’ll update later with her singing a Czech children song.
