Pink Slime

Cornstarch and water. There is no person ever too old to stop being amused by this mixture. While looking up online about whether or not it would upset Lyra's tummy to be eating so much of it, I learned that this concoction is called a "suspension". The cornstarch doesn't dissolve, but the particles are suspended in the water. You can squeeze it into a ball or let it goop out between your fingers. Ryan has made this before with Lisa, but with green food coloring. This time she wanted pink, just like in her new science book. 

I used about 1 cup cornstarch and 1/2 cup water. We added just a little more water when it started to feel like it was drying out. I did read on one website, after I had already washed out the bowl, that it is better to scrape it into the trash when you're finished because too much cornstarch can clog your drain. I found it fascinating how much detail that website also went into about what was going on with the cornstarch and water. Such an easy activity and so much fun.

p.s. You may have noticed that Lyra's bangs recently suffered the wrath of her mother with a pair of scissors...I really never have caught on to the right way to cut bangs. Maybe it's genetic, as my dad used to do the SAME thing to me right as I was walking out the door to elementary school. Oh well, it grows back.

I see you!

It is so fun listening to kids learn new words and phrases. Lyra just recently started copying the phrase, "I see you!" Except in her interpretation it comes out more as "I EE OO!" You can tell from the video how she just loves how we keep asking her to perform for us. :)
 



p.s. You notice how daddy had to pull out Lyra's constant pal, the pacifier. We are on the verge of eliminating any day-time pacifier usage. She is getting more and more attached and wants it even at very inconvenient times, like when she is eating food. yuck! It kinda gets in the way. 

Spring break

Since last week was Ryan's Spring break, we tried to take advantage of our time together and decided to tag along with Lisa's friend, Anna, and her family to the Boise Zoo. It was a somewhat gray day, but we still had fun seeing the animals. 

Lyra does not seem to possess any of the fear Lisa once did with goats at the Zoo.

We were excited to see this zoo had a giraffe

Also during this Spring break we were able to make a trip to Idaho Falls, but I ended up leaving the camera in the trunk of our car, so we didn't take any pictures. We stayed with Tom and Molly Brinkerhoff and had great fun visiting with them. Lisa and Lyra chased their cute, little dogs around and Lisa got to pretend to drive Tom's motorhome. We also got to spend time with Mat and Andrea, Becky and her kids, and even got treated to lunch with Lyn on Sunday. We are so glad for the friends we've been able to keep in touch with in Idaho Falls. On our way out of town, I stopped by to see Cortney and baby Austin. He is only a few days old and we didn't want to expose him to lots of germs, so Ryan waited in the car with the girls for a few minutes while I said hello and dropped off a little quilt I had made. We hope to make another trip to IF some time in the summer or sooner.

Stages of discovery

Dad brought home some supplies from a DNA lab at school and let Lisa make a model. Lisa will never turn down anything involving candy!

Lyra is busy making discoveries of her own. Lately she imitates everything we do, but I'm pretty sure she came up with this one all by herself.

Dancing and singing to Secret Garden music

We all know how much Lisa has always loved singing and dancing. It is no surprise that Lyra is now also discovering this joy of expression and it makes me SO happy to see.

This girl

At 16 months old, Lyra is a little bundle of energy and spunk. This curious, excitable stage is quite a lot of fun. When Lisa was this age, I really let communication barriers (ie. screaming every time she isn't getting what she wants) get in the way of having fun. This time I am trying to have more patience and realize that sometimes babies are just going to yell and scream. We have made more of an effort to use a few signs with Lyra with hope that it will alleviate frustrations that accompany limited language skills. She is imitating more of everything she sees every day. Her recent favorite is to be an elephant, waving her arm next to her face while letting out a high-pitched squeal. She loves being read to and is very creative in her play-time. Her face often lights up when she first sees Lisa in the morning and it is heart-warming to think a special sister bond is being formed. She really loves her sister, despite the teasing that already takes place. She definitely shares Lisa's love of music and it is fun to watch them dance together.

Getting creative with those rings. She does sometimes put them on the stand.

EARTHQUAKE!!! That is how Lisa deals with Lyra's attacks on her dollhouse. 

Favorite silly face. Tuck in the upper lip and open your mouth as wide as you can.

Mom, you are seriously interrupting my downward-dog. 

Hey, what's for dinner?

Christmas Vacation 2010

Nothing like being unable to locate your camera as you are walking out the door to drive to California for Christmas vacation. We took a few pictures the night before we left, but we did not take any while in California this year. Sometimes that can be a good thing because then I just enjoy the moment instead of taking tons of pictures. Grandpa Lee did email a few pictures he had taken at the cabin, so I'm glad to have those.
Although this trip was a little shorter than usual, we enjoyed the time spent visiting with family and friends. We were able to stay with Karl for the few nights we were there and had a great time hanging out.  I was very grateful for the special arrangements Katie helped to make so that Grandpa Joe could be with us at the Fieth family Christmas Eve dinner.  He has been staying at a care home since his recent decline in health and is not able to get out very much. On Christmas morning we gathered at the Terry home to share gifts and eat breakfast together. Then we met up with the Fieth family at Grammie's to visit with her for an hour so that she wouldn't have to travel to Yuba City. It was great to see her smiling and I think she was glad we came. When we got back to Yuba City, we had our usual time at the Fieth house opening gifts and eating great food. We made sure to head over to the Terry's before too late so that we could say hi to Grandpa, Lonna and Afton. I've always considered it a luxury that our families live in the same area so that we can see everyone each year, even if it does mean a bit of scrambling around on Christmas day. After spending 4 days in Yuba City we drove up to Truckee to spend one night with the Terry Family before driving back to Twin Falls. Lisa was excited to see so much snow, much more than we have in Twin. We all went out and played in the snow and Gramommy even went sledding down the road with Lisa. It was super fun to watch them play together. Lyra loved just sitting in the snow and tasting it's frozen goodness.
When we got back on the road to go home it was definitely nice to have a shorter drive going from Truckee to Twin Falls.

Lisa's gift to daddy-to count the days until vacation

Lyra loved her book from Lisa

Lisa has been watching all the musicals we can get our hands on that we think she'll enjoy and one of her favorites  is The Wizard of Oz. She saw a Dorothy doll at Barnes and Noble she wanted badly enough that I decided to make one. Not too shabby for my first doll making attempt. Now if she only wanted to play with it. :)

Gramommy receives critical instructions from Ryan on steering the sled down the hill. I crash into the snow bank on the side of the road every time!