Dyllan's 8th Birthday

Dyllan celebrated her birthday early last month, and because it was her 8th birthday she got to have a party.  She decided to have an Under the Sea theme and invited some homeschool friends and friends from church.  The invitations were super cute, but I didn't take a picture.  I got the idea from here. 

We started out with a paper craft for the kids to do as everyone arrived.  It was a simple crab.  I cut out all the pieces before the party and they just had to glue them onto a paper. 

Then we moved to the kitchen for dinner.  Dyllan originally wanted to make mini-pizzas, but my oven was broken, so we made PB and J sandwiches shaped like starfish and fish.  There were also blue jello and gummy fish, chips and pretzels, veggies, and juice boxes. 

Next were games.  I made a fishing-Simon says game.  The kids "fished" and caught fish that told them things to do. 

Another game was Shark Attack.  We all tied  balloons to our legs and ran around the room trying to pop each others balloons.  The last one with a balloon was the winner.  I have a video of this but blogger won't let me upload it.  The kids looked like they were having fun.  We also played Don't Eat Pete with ocean pictures. 

After games Dyllan got to open her presents then we went back to the kitchen for cupcakes.  I made cupcakes in an ice cream cone and the kids decorated their own with whip cream and sprinkles.  What a mess!

 

We played more games like Fish, Fish, Shark, Musical Beach Towels,  and an under the sea version of Hide and Seek.  As much as I hate throwing birthday parties, I had fun with this one. 

Dyllan's party was the weekend before her birthday.  On her birthday she got to choose her meals and open presents from her family.  She got some new clothes and a new bike.  Another special thing that happens on birthdays in NO CHORES!  The kids love that one. Happy Birthday, Dyllan!



 

Dyllan Turns 7

Earlier this month Dyllan turned 7 years old!  She started the day with her breakfast choice--muffins--then opened her presents.  She is such a girl, so it was easy to find stuff she would like--earrings, play make-up and clothes.  She had a day free of chores and picked her favorite foods for the other 2 meals. 

We also had cupcakes.  Dyllan wanted to try to light her own candle.  She was too scared to hold the match long enough to get the candle lit.  Then Corbin tried to light it and blew it out along with the match.  I hope my kids don't end up hating me for how much I laugh at them.

It's not a party year so for the family activity she picked going to the store to buy hats, then going on a hike and then coming home to eat ice cream.  Buying hats was a fun idea.  I liked everyone's choices. 

Jonathan and I were able to talk Dyllan into going on a trail that we've never hiked before.  It was fun, the kids complained a little, but they did well. 

looking at scat

Dyllan picked Neapolitan ice cream and it was good after a long, warm hike.

Dyllan also got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Mecham.  She made a cute skirt, but I didn't take a picture.  I did get a picture of the cute sock monkey, though. 

She'll get the spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa Garrett and her cousin later this month and they'll go shopping and have tons of fun.  Happy Birthday!

***Pictures added from date with Grandma and Grandpa and Hayley.***

The girls went sopping and to a movie and had a great time together..

Dyllan's New Hair

Dyllan has been growing her hair long so that she could donate it.  It has taken a long time, but finally it was long enough.  I was glad that it was because I have wanted to do something different with her hair ever since the comb got stuck and we had to cut her bangs.  This new style looks super cute with her bangs and looks good on her, too.

Cave Art

Have you ever had a kid that you didn't know what they were interested in?  That you couldn't figure out what they wanted to learn about?  And neither can the kids?  I have one of those kids--Dyllan.  Dyllan is so easy going.  She just goes with the flow and doesn't express an interest in anything in particular. 

A few months ago I learned about a way to inspire kids--build off their sparks.  How do I do that if the child doesn't show a spark?!?!  Last month at my leadership education family builder meeting a friend mentioned how she follows Dianne Jeppson's idea using the Core Knowledge books.  I have thought that is was a great idea just not something that would work for my family, but that night I had an epiphany.  I felt that I could use those books with Dyllan to give her a place to start picking something that she was interested in.  I found What your First Grade needs to Know at the library and today I pulled the book out while working with Dyllan. 

She went right to the art section.  The first chapter in that section was about the first artists and their drawings.  These artist were the "cave men" that probably living during the ice age and their drawings were cave paintings.  We talked about what kinds of pictures they would draw and why.  There was an activity idea at the end of that part: get a cardboard box and pretend it's your cave and draw your own cave painting.  Dyllan was very excited to do this project.  I didn' have a box, but I had some large paper.  We taped it to the wall and she went to work.  While she drew I read some more from the book (in the History section) about the people that lived during the ice age.  Now maybe we can get a book about the ice age and learn a little bit more.  It was fun to see her get excited about something. 

A Stuck Comb

After showers Thursday night, Dyllan brought out the comb to have me help her comb her hair.  I guess she got bored waiting and started playing around with the comb.  She ended up getting it tangled in her hair.  I tried to get it out, but it was too twisted and I only made things worse.  I called a friend for advise and she told me I would have to try to pull out the hair strand by strand or I could try to break the comb.  For almost 3 hours I worked on pulling out Dyllan's hair strand by strand. 

Then Jonathan came home and we broke part of the comb.  That didn't work.  I pulled out more strands and got it so that only a little in the front was left in the comb--the worst part.  I told Dyllan that as part of her consequence she would have to help buy a new comb.  Her response was "but I didn't break it!"  By this time Dyllan and I were both tired. I put her un-tangled hair into a french braid so it wouldn't get more tangled, pinned the comb part to her head so it would be too uncomfortable and sent her to bed. 

The next morning she decided that she didn't want to sit through more hair pulling and wanted a fast fix.  I took her to Great Clips for help.  I hoped that they would have a simple solution to getting the comb loose, but they had to cut the hair.  Thankfully all that was left in the comb was enough to cut into a side-bang.  There are no bald spots in her hair and the bangs look cute.  I hope she learned her lesson and won't do that again. 

French Braids

When we went to the carnival awhile back, Braedi got her hair french braided at one of the booths. That night, after her shower, she asked me to put another braid back into her hair. Unfortunately, I never mastered that skill. I've been taught a couple of times but with no success. I recently bought a girlscout handbook and one of the pages in it taught how to do a french braid. I followed the directions and came out with a pretty decent french braid. Tonight both Dyllan and Braedi asked for one and I decided that I could use the practice. I'm pretty proud of myself. It feels so good to learn something new. I still need to figure out how to get the sides smooth (a comb didn't help), but with more practice I'll get it.

Guess Who is Ridin' Without Training Wheels, Now!

Dyllan decided that she would get on the bandwagon and learn how to ride without training wheels.
She says that she wants to practice where she has more room, so we'll try to go out tomorrow and practice. Now all I have left is Faythe. Unfortunately she doesn't even know how to pedal her trike. She has a long way to go.

Dyllan's 6th Birthday

Dyllan celebrated her 6th birthday on Saturday. She chose to go she "Gnomeo and Juliet" as her family activity. We had to go on Friday because of Jonathan's work schedule. It was a cute movie. The Grandma and Grandpa Mecham came over to wish her a happy day. Grandma made a ding-dong cake and hid a surprise in the middle (it was money).
Dyllan chose to have crepes for breakfast. Jonathan and I made them the night before because they take so long to make. We spent the day at Estrella Mountain (a later post) then came home and had gnocchi for dinner. I don't like to make birthday cakes so Dyllan chose to have a birthday donut. She got a new barbie and some clothes.

My parents came over on Sunday. They brought their traditional ice cream cake, but we couldn't eat it because it was fast Sunday. In hindsight, I could have given the kids some, but we decided to have it as a family home evening treat. Dyllan got some new clothes from them.

Dyllan is such a good helper. She is usually the first to volunteer for a job or to help a sibling. She is a peacemaker and tries to do what is right. She loves to wear dresses and skirts and is trying to grow her long so that she can donate it. She likes to read and play with friends. Her favorite color is scarlet. We love her and are glad that she is part of our family.