1 Second Everyday

In February I tried to take a video everyday for the month.  I actually want to do it everyday for the year but I just started in February, and I missed a couple days already.  I used a free app called one second everyday.  I wish the clips could be a tiny bit longer, like 2 seconds.  And I wish I could changed it around a bit, like share two videos from one day and none from the next, but it wouldn't let me do that.  By the end of the year I should have about a 6 minute video of our year.  Enjoy.
 

Scarlett Mom

Scarlett came crying to me the other day and it was so cute.  She was really upset because "She just wants to me a mom for real, now."  She said, "it is taking a long time and she will forget her good names."  Even though she was completely earnest I thought it was hilarious and took a video of our little conversation.

Olympic Game Farm #2

The bears were by far my favorite animal we saw this trip.  Last time we got to see the bears but it was packed and by the time we tried to feed them they were uninterested and just walked.  This time we were the only car and they were all coming up to the fence to us and wanted us to feed them.

They were even waving to us which we didn't get to see last time.  Look how big his paw is!

And the double wave!

Here are two videos.  This wasn't the prettiest bear but he was on my side and I had the camera plus he was willing to play with us.




And here are a few random videos from the trip.
First is a Llama, these were the first animals so the kids were kind of freaking out.


This one is the Llama running with the car.


And here is one of the kids feeding Bambi,


After we drove though we walked around to see some smaller animals close up.

I think going to the Olympic Game Farm is one of my kids favorite all time activities!  

Leon's Birthday Video

This is pretty late but it has taken me this long to get Leon's video put together.  He has grown so much in the last year.  I love watching the video and seeing him transform in a matter of minutes.  He is such a fun happy little boy and I love him!

Lick your Elbow

Bob was trying to get the kids to lick their ears and so naturally I went and grabbed the video camera.


Since none of them could do it and they really wanted a cookie they countered with licking their feet.

We ended up making the cookies.

Happy Valentines Day

This year for Valentines day Bob and I went out to Anthony's with some friends for dinner.  It was nice to get out and my steak was yummy.

Afterward we got some ice cream and headed home for games.  We stayed up kind of late and Bob was exhausted, but we had a good time!

We also got some little treats for the kids and made valentines as a family.  Everyone had to write one thing that they love about each member of the family on a heart.  Then we taped them up to the window.  

Happy Valentines Day from the Woestmans!

Dude Awesome

While Bob was gone last week I was sick one day and Tucker had to miss his basketball.  To make up for it I helped him make this video.  He worked really hard on the shots and we both had a lot of fun making it.  He loves the Dude Perfect youtube videos and this is meant to be like that.  Check it out.

Ice Skating

On Monday I took Tucker and Penelope ice skating.  Tucker had no school because of Martin Luther King day so we wanted to do something fun.  Bob was nice enough to stay home with the two younger kids.  The reason we went on Monday is because they had free lessons.  They were very informal but they had people around teaching everyone basics and even some tricks.  It was really helpful because I've only been a few times before.

They were offering a dollar off for everyone who wore their helmets.  At first I was hesitant but I went ahead and wore mine to be a good example.  We were some of the only people with helmets on and I was probably the only adult, but I'm still glad we did it.  About half way in a adult fell and got seriously injured.  I'm talking, he was on the ice and couldn't move.  Someone shouted for help and within a few minutes the ambulance came.  They said he was moving around and will be ok, but after they took him out there with a big blood pool on the ice.  I tried to divert the kids attention but they saw it.  It was a little scary.  I'm glad that it wasn't worse, and that we wore helmets even though we didn't hit our heads.  You just never know what will happen.  

Penelope was so cute on the ice.  She was scared and had to try very hard not to fall down, but she did it.  She went slow and I encouraged her not to hold hands or onto anything as much as possible.  Tucker was different.  He went much faster but also fell a lot more.  Here is a short video I got of Tucker.

Christmas Gifts

I thought this video was cute, and it got me thinking about what gifts I can give this year.

Princess Party with Friends

Along with having a surprise birthday Penelope had a surprise party.  I told her that none of her friends could come to her party and so the family one was it.  But I secretly planned a friends party for the next day.  Bob was going to get home early and take her out of the house for a few minutes while all the guests arrived.  But he got a flat tire (he rides his bike home from work) and couldn't make it.  So I had a friend, another princess's mom, come early and take her.  We had to be sneaky and her daughter snuck in the back door while Penelope went out the front.  Penelope was confused as to why she was going with her friends mom with out her friend, but she did it ok.  I also had a hard time convincing Penelope that she should put on princess clothes instead of doing her after school chores.  Luckily we managed it.  All her friends arrived and she had no idea.  When she got home they all jumped out and yelled surprised.  I think she got a little scared.



After letting the girls play for a bit in the castle we made princess crowns.  They were sooooo easy.  All I did was have the color a piece of construction paper (I precut the papers to match the size of a party hat) then I taped a long piece of tulle to a regular party hat and taped the construction paper on top.

I tried to set a princess theme with decorations and music.  Throughout the party we played songs from princess movies.  Bob and I stayed up late the night before trying to get the house to look more like a princess castle.

Next we went into the kitchen and had a fancy little snack.  I cut out pb&j sandwiches in heart shapes and served them on little cake stands.  We also had pink lemonade in fancy plastic cups.

Here is a close up of the cake stands.  I made them.  I love how each one is different.  These doubled as party favors so all the princesses got to take one home.  

Next we did presents, always a party favorite.

Then back to the kitchen for cake and ice cream.  I was originally going to have them decorate their own cupcakes but I decided that would take forever and skipped it.

After that we played a few princess games.  The first was to find Cinderella's glass slipper.  To play we had all the girls leave the room except for one.  Then when one girl was done hiding the shoe everyone else came back and tried to look for it.  The first girl to find it would get to hide it for the next round.  It worked pretty well.  Some people were getting a little sad because it wasn't their turn, but that always happens with kids.

Here are some princesses waiting to find the slipper.

We also played "pin the gem on the crown."  I liked this better then traditional pin the tail on the donkey because there was no wrong spot to pin the gems.  Plus a giant crown also worked well as another wall decoration.

The last game was probably their favorite.  I'm not sure what to call it but I told the girls that Queen Elsa was learning to use her magic and when the music stopped she accidentally froze the kingdom.  So we played "Let it go" and sporadically paused it while all the girls froze.  They loved it!

I'm so glad that her friends could come and that we could make such a fun special birthday for Penelope.  It was kind of a lot of work but it barely cost anything and she only turns 5 once!

Tucker's Birthday Vid

Ok, so Tucker's birthday way a month ago, but I'm finally finished with  his birthday video.  Check it out.

And here is the full interview video for those interested.

Be prepared for a few more late birthday posts!

Frozen's Elsa Braid Tutorial

At first I felt a little silly doing a tutorial on a french braid but my girls are always asking for "Frozen hair,"  so I thought why not?  Elsa's braid from the movie frozen it basically just a loose french braid with lots of teasing on top.  The day I did my hair like this for the tutorial I went to my sons first grade class and several of the girls commented that I had hair like Elsa.  It's funny to me because a year ago everyone just called it a french braid.  Anyway, below is the tutorial and step by step instructions.

Watch the video to see how I did it.

1) Tease your hair!  And use hair spray. Elsa's hair is huge on top, so this is a must.

2) Use bump its to keep it looking big throughout the day.

3) Start a loose french braid just above the ears.

4) Once all your hair is added pull it over your shoulder to the front and continue the braid.  Use Hair spray to give your hair texture.

5) Put a rubber band on it.

6) Gently pull on the braid to make it look thicker.

Bye

Leon has started to pick up a few words here and there.  Mainly he says uh oh and I swear he sings Let it Go" but last week he started waving and saying hi and bye.  Getting it on video is always tricky but we managed it.


The next one is "let it go"  I know it doesn't sound like it exactly.  But he does is better than we got in the video and he sings it whenever the girls sing it, or whenever we turn the music on.

It is so fun watching all the new things kids learn!

Preschool Graduation

Penelope graduated from preschool last week and they had the cutest little ceremony.

At the beginning all the kids were supposed to spell their name for the group.  This was funny to me because Penelope could spell her name decently without looking at a paper before she started preschool.  But doing it in front of a group is a whole other thing.  She ends up whispering it to her teacher.  Check it out.

Then they sang a few song.  Almost all of which Penelope refused to sing but she did do the hand motions.  I think it is cute how shy she was.  Even before they started all the kids were running around being crazy kids except for Penelope.  She just sat in her seat with her hands in her lap like a little lady while waiting to start.  She did sing the last song but I messed up the video and didn't record it. :(

Next the teacher showed an adorable video with pictures through the year.  Scarlett did very good sitting still the whole time and watching.  Tucker got a little restless and wiggly.

The teacher played commencement music while the kids walked around.  It was so cute!

Then they got to walk up to the teacher one at a time and shake hands and get a certificate.  Penelope was really excited and happy when it was her turn.

I know that a lot of people think these graduations are silly and rewarding kids for doing only what they were expected to do.  But it was the first one I'd ever been to and I thought it was great.  Penelope had a good year and really enjoyed preschool.  It was the perfect way to celebrate what they did!  I know she will miss preschool a lot, but I am looking forward to keeping her home with me a bit longer each day.

Scarlett's Third Year Video

I finished putting together a video for the last year of Scarlett's life.  Check it out.

Mother's Day Video

With Mother's Day coming up I want to share this inspiring video with you.  Reading articles or watching videos like this one always want me to be a better mom and spend more time with my kids just playing.

T-ball Videos

As promised here are just a few of the t-ball videos.






This last one is kinda long.  I just thought it was hilarious watching him wait on base for the ball to be hit.  Also notice the kids in the background right after he runs to third base.  He was trying to hard.


I need to make a correction from yesterday's post. I said Tucker made 4 outs but I guess he is very adamant it was 5 and Bob said he actually thinks he made 6.  It doesn't matter to me, but to Tucker it is important.

Tucker's second game is tonight but he is missing it because his 1st grade performance is at the same time.

Officially Walking

About a week after his birthday Leon started walking unassisted.  He had been so close for a long time but after his birthday I kind of stopped practicing with him.  So I was surprised when I was sitting on the couch watching Arther with the other kids and Leon started walking over to us.  He didn't just take a step or two.  He straight up walked across our living room.  It was kind of crazy.  I ran and got the video and took this.

All I want for Christmas

Tucker know's what he wants.