Pull ups & Penguins

Today is the last day of our summer holidays! Tomorrow Dylan is starting in 1st class, he is so excited to start. Tonight we will be getting all ready for school!

To celebrate the last day of our holidays, I took Dylan and Lauren to the cinema with some friends, we went to see 'Mr. Popper's Penguins,' They really enjoyed the movie. Lauren did so much better than the last time we took her.

Of course I had to take a picture, all be it a really really bad iPhone pictures!!

The bottom one is hilarious, Dylan looks delirious, with the popcorn hanging out of his mouth!! He's just so dramatic!

Speaking of drama, we had Lauren up screaming most of the night, so this morning I took her to the doctor. She has a chest and ear infection, my poor little baby! The doctor gave her an antibiotic and told me to keep giving her pain medicine. She seems fine now though, that's why I decided to go ahead and stick to the plan of going to the cinema, since I had already promised Dylan. So I got her all wrapped up and the movie seemed to distract her for a while. I hope she will be more comfortable tonight.

In other Lauren news, she has not taken very well to potty training. I just don't think she's fully ready so I got her these today...

So I hope they will encourage her to pull them up and down, and maybe ask to use the toilet. She keeps saying ' I love my big girl pants Mommy,' so we will wait and see!

Now I am off to get my big boy all ready for his first day back in school. I can't believe how fast the summer has gone... ( don't I say that every year? )

Cupcakes & Cuties

Yesterday we were having a pj day because we all have colds. Lauren has the worst one! She is so sick. So we decided to do some baking to occupy ourselves for the afternoon.... The kids had great fun, initially it was the kids and I making the cupcakes, but then Daddy decided he had to help!

Dylan loved to lick the spatula after we were finished.... yummy!

Please don't pay any attention to Lauren's hair.... it look likes we brushed it with a toffee apple!!! She just wasn't well enough to get up that day!

On Friday, we had Dylan's prize giving ceremony in Cul camp! He won a lovely medal and we are so proud of him. His best friend won 'personality of the week,' and we are so proud of him too!

He did so well at Cul camp! I hope he enjoyed it and we can't wait for him to go again next year!

Love my lil cuties....

Picnics & Playtime

The last few days have been so much fun. Lauren and Mummy went to the park in Dun Loaghaire and had a picnic while Dylan was at cul camp. First we had our sandwiches....

Then we played in the park for a little bit.. Just the girls.

Lauren loved having Mummy all to herself, it was nice spending mother and daughter time together. I think about when she gets older and we'll be doing this all the time, like Dylan has boy time with Daddy. They do boy things together like sports and watch matches on the Tv. We are going to have so much fun....

The day before we all went to the park with Dylan's friend, they had so much fun. Dylan loves being back here with his friends having sleepovers and play dates. He is so much happier these days!

Dylan's cul camp is going really well, he is thoroughly enjoying himself, he is learning lots of new skills. His coach told me that he is really good. I'm so proud of him.

I got a video of Dylan scoring a goal in cul camp yesterday, followed by a 'very modest' celebration. He is just so funny. I was grinning like a fool I was so proud of him, what is it about your child scoring a goal that makes a mommy go all funny!!

( Just in case anyone is wondering, cul is the Irish word for goal, and it sounds like cool! It's a camp that is held every year and they build on their Gaelic football skills)

We've all really enjoyed our week, tomorrow is the prize giving day at camp, and they will play some important matches! I will  go down early to watch Dylan, Lauren will be glad he's finished so she can have her big brother all to herself again.

Summer playtime

We had a relaxed weekend here, just getting Dylan organised for his summer camp this week. We had to practice a few of the skills with Daddy though yesterday...

While Daddy and Dylan were playing, Lauren and Mommy played with the bubble machine...

Lauren LOVED the bubbles, she is always so happy when we play with them. They both loved playing in the garden. After dinner we went for a drive, and I saw this...

Yes they are hay bales in the fields, the brown fields! Autumn is creeping in, oh I love the change of seasons...

This morning Dylan was so happy to go off to this Gaelic football summer camp. He and his best friend went off together... so happy....

The picture above is of the stadium where they play. You have to love Dylan putting his head in his hands when he sees me taking photos in front of everyone! oops proud momma alert, at least I wasn't as bad as the mom who ran down to plaster cream all over her little boy! I'm getting better! I love the first picture, since he's grown this year his legs have gotten all skinny and scrawny! they are too cute! I hope they really enjoy their summer camp...

Love these kids...

Back to school traditions

I'm taking part in this weeks SUYL over at Kelly's Korner It's about back to school traditions Our back to school traditions aren't very exciting, they are really just the usual things. We get a new uniform, new school shoes, and get our hair cut. The night before school we have our bath and go to bed early! This  year Dylan isn't back until the first of September, and he will be finishing an hour later than last year because he is in first class now! He is really looking forward to the school year, and I can't wait to see what the year brings...

Dylan's first day of Montessori 2007
 

Dylan's first day of school 2009
 

Dylan's first day of Senior Infants 2010
 

It won't be long now and it will be Lauren's first day of school. She will start Montessori school next year. I can't believe how fast they grow!

Family Update in pictures 20/08/11

We are all settled into our new home in Dublin, I have to say I absolutely love the house. I love having a big bedroom, and I love that we have a playroom now! The kids love the house and Dylan has already been to a birthday party yesterday! I am so happy that we are all together again, it has made so much difference! Everything is so much easier with a second pair of hands around the house!

Dylan lost his final top tooth! he has a big gap now. The tooth fairy made another trip to our house this week.....

The tooth fairy even left us a note this time! to thank Dylan for all the lovely sparkly teeth he had given her this year! He was delighted with this! ( It had lots of fairy dust inside too)

I suppose I'll just add some photos from the past week, to show our life lately!

We went to the park the other day....well we go most days now, and Lauren had her first ride on her Daddy's shoulders! It only feels like yesterday when Dylan was doing this for the first time.

Dylan has been getting better on his roller skates! He's been practicing! He's doing so well.

I love these photos of Lauren running around barefoot outside! She wore this as a dress last year! and this year it's a top, I matched it with some leggings from GAP and we have a whole other outfit for the summer!

This is what happens when I get distracted with packing, and Lauren entertains herself for a while...

Very  pretty!



And finally, Lauren had a nasty fall this week, we were walking to the park and she stumbled over her feet and fell flat on her face! My poor little baby, she literally did a somersault in the air. She got an awful fright, and so did Dylan and I, we weren't the better for it. She gave herself a nice big bruise, it's healed really well though and she just has a little bruise now. She is a calamity, after she fell this time she fell twice more on the way back to the house! I had to get her to sit in her stroller so she wouldn't hurt herself again.

My poor lil baby

So everything is unpacked, and we're getting all organised for the back to school rush. I can't believe it's that time of year again. I'm just so glad that Dylan is going back to the school he loves, with the friends he loves. He is so much happier since we moved back. I know I am..... as long as my family is happy then I am too!

What I Love - Education

Now that Dylan is in school, I like to supplement his schoolwork during the holidays, or times when he is struggling with certain things. I love Jolly Phonics

Dylan's school uses the school version of these, they are excellent and fun too.

For Lauren I love to use the Dora flashcards

I ask her questions about what's on the cards. I'll say ' What is Dora doing?' or 'What is that in the picture?' She always loves them, and she finds them great fun, so she really loves them.

I love letting the kids play with play- doh, they really use their imagination. It can be really messy, but they love it.

I played with play-doh when I was little too!

I am also a huge fan of arts and crafts. I think Crayola make some of the best products out there, colouring is so good for Dylan and Lauren, and I am always surprised at how creative they can be.

I also love Ladybird classics and their new books too, they are colourful, well written, and they have been around for decades. I love that they have all the modern tales now, and they have the old favourites too.

They also do a range for children just beginning to read, which are great, as Dylan reads them by himself and loves them. His favourite is book to read on his own is Marley & ME,

I'm also a huge fan of singing nursery rhymes to my kids. I sang them to Dylan all the time (apparently he's too big to sing them now!)  he would sing along with me, and now I sing them to Lauren. I do all the actions with them, and I have a cd of songs that I play in the car for them.

I also think that some television and movies are really beneficial for children. I believe that kids can learn a lot about relationships, and friendship and kindness from watching movies. A lot of the shows on television for kids can be quite educational too. I love the Disney movies, and so do Dylan and Lauren.

(Images courtesy of Google images)

We would also have all of the Disney books too. They love to read about the films after they watch them. Their favourite television shows would be, anything on Nickelodeon for Dylan and anything on Playhouse Disney for Lauren. I do have to limit the amount of time they spend watching shows though!

And finally the thing I love the most about education, is teaching them about the world myself. I explain everything as I go along. I don't use baby versions of things, I just tell them things in age appropriate language. I feel my Kids are more intelligent because of this. I also see that Dylan seems to have a better understanding of things than his peers do. I think that parents are their kids most valuable educational asset!

Again, these are just my own views, and I receive nothing for this. My own Mommy opinion again!