Going on a trip

Tyler and Sydney do a lot more imaginative play now a days. This is a great example:

Today Tyler and Sydney were "Mom" & "Dad" with their baby (Sydney's build-a-bear pony Cash). They were on a flight to McSwanson, a far, far away place. There were going there to play and watch a dance show. But they were not going to dance themselves -- just watch!

McSwanson sounds like a great place to me!

Swimming at Foss

With all the time we spend on or near water, we decide it was time that Tyler and Sydney have some swimming lessons. Today was the first day of their first session. Knowing how bath time goes, I was a little nervous; but it went so well, they are asking when they get to go again. It is so great to see their excitement in learning something new!

Sydney: The Diva

As a follow-up to the playground fun of earlier in the week, Stacy and I have been asking Sydney a little more about Cam. It went a little something like this:

Mom & Dad: "So Sydney, did you play with Cam on the playground today?"

Sydney: "No I didn't hear him."

Mom & Dad: "What do you mean?"

Sydney: "I didn't hear him calling."

Mom & Dad: "If you didn't hear him calling how do you know he was calling you?"

Sydney: "He told me inside that he was calling, but I didn't hear him."

Mom & Dad: (Light bulbs) "Oh okay, We get it now. Do you ever call for him when you see him?"

Sydney: "No. I always let him call for me. I don't ever call for him."

(What? Oh my! And she's only 4...look out boys!)

Sydney's BFF

It has been no secret that there is a boy in the 4 year-old class at Mount Olivet Preschool that never forgets to greet Sydney when he sees her. His name is Cam. It wasn't shocking to learn that they play together during recess. However apparently, this friendship has grown into best friend status since Sydney told Nana Margie that Cam kissed her on the playground...I know. Shocking!

Sydney has created a drawing to capture their interest in one another. One one side is a picture of Sydney and Cam holding hands -- hearts circling around their heads and at the top Sydney had Stacy write "I Love Cam" and on the back she had Stacy write "I love Princesses".

Sorry Cam -- this one can be a little fickle.

Hit and Run (over)

Easter Sunday.

The sky was clear and day was shaping up to be pretty nice. It wasn't long before Tyler and Sydney wanted to be playing outside in the backyard. They have reached an age where we trust them a lot more to play independently and we don't have to be watching them 100% of the time.

Now Nana and Bapa's house is extra fun because of the yard toys -- in particular a battery powered ride-along Jeep. We would look out now and again and see Sydney at the wheel of the Jeep and Tyler walking behind her. They were making quite a good pair both content in their roles. That is just before things turned ugly. The details are a bit fuzzy but in the midst of a tranquil afternoon we suddenly glance up to see Tyler pinned under the back of the jeep with Sydney, her foot pressing the accelerator of the jeep to the floor, attempting to back over Tyler! Half of Tyler's body was under the back of the Jeep -- wheels spinning -- as he was yelling at Sydney to stop. Sydney, seemingly oblivious to the whole incident, just glanced around unsure what to do next until Stacy's shouts caused her to release the pedal. Tyler was extracted from beneath the vehicle and quick cuddle with mom calmed his shaken nerves and left him unharmed. Good thing drivers training is a good 11 years down the road!

Princess in Training

Just overheard Tyler saying (in a very Disney-esque voice), "Someday your dreams will come true Sydney, and you will become a princess.  A real princess."  To which she replied, "Oh yes.  Someday."

Star Lake

Today I gave Tyler a map of Utah and Nevada. He loves maps (as does Sydney), he immediately opens it up on the floor to examine what I gave him. They were both drawn to the city insets that give the magnified view of select cities -- we saw Reno, Las Vegas, and Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe of course has the lake as a landmark and I was able to give them a sense of scale: "Here is Lake Tahoe on the big map, and see here is a larger view of the same lake..." to help explain what these marginal maps were all about. Satisfied, they brought the map to the table to look at it in greater detail.

Then Tyler noticed a feature on the map that for most would have been over looked. In the center of the map was a compass rose. It just so happened that this perfect 8 pointed star was the same color as the lakes and he confidently declared "...this is Star Lake!"

It was a wonderful moment to witness -- the creativity of this age and his imagination working to put it all together. It was hard to correct him; looking at the map threw his eyes (a 3 almost 4 year old), it really did look like a lake.