who was in the ICU for a few days. He was a very sick baby. And the day Matt and Sam brought him home their daughter Alexi came down with pink eye. Oi. They had a rough week. I seriously think they were/are at their wits end. I had planned on coming down this week for quite some time to help Sam with Matthew and Alexi, meals, and cleaning. I'm so glad it still worked out. I remember how much it meant to me when Matt and Sam came up and cleaned my house and "installed" my new bed, and when my mom and sister Mandy came up for a week to help me after I hemorrhaged. Hopefully I was a blessing rather than a pest.
Other than keeping Brielle from poking Braylon's little eyeballs, or sucking on his face, I took on the task of entertaining Matthew and Alexi. (Talk about a fun undertaking!) I got this idea from my friend Megan (who blogs
) to create a summer to-do list. I couldn't resist doing the same with my niece and nephew. I let Matthew (who's 6 years old) name it. He called it "To Have Fun List" and Alexi (who's 2) also thought it was a fantastic idea.
This is what we plan on doing this week. (I got there Monday afternoon and a whole 24 hours later, I was pooped. Haha!)
After creating the list I told them they could pick one to do in the afternoon. OH. MY. GOODNESS. It was a difficult decision. They wanted to do it all, at once. I had to remind them that if we did all of them in one day we wouldn't have anything to do at the end of the week. It wasn't an easy concept to understand. I got a good giggle out of it. Before dinner Matthew chose to bake strawberry cookies. I was racking my brain to try and figure that one out. Thank goodness for strawberry cake mix turned cookie (it's so easy,
check it out)!
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| They were yummy and were gone within two days. |
Once everyone was showered, teeth brushed and Brielle in bed we dumped the Lego's on the living room floor and began building a Lego town. We had so much fun. It brought back a lot of memories for my brother Matt and I. I love having kids in my life, hehe, I get to play again. I built Alexi a house and after about ten minutes it was destroyed, so I asked her, "Alexi, where is your house?"
"I don't know! Where is my door?" It was the most random comment, said in the most adorable way that made Matt and I giggle for quite some time.
Our Lego adventure...
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| When the Lego's were dumped on the floor, they thought it was the COOLEST thing ever! |
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| I built an ice cream shoppe, every town needs one of those! |
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| Little Matthew insisted I take a picture of his Lego man and his pet alligator visiting the ice cream shoppe (cause every one needs a pet alligator). |
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| Little Matthews house that we built (he wanted those pink stairs in his house soooooo bad)! |
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| Matthew driving the truck Matt built him, it was an awesome truck. |
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| These pile of Lego's were the same pile of Lego's that we played with growing up (Matt has kept them all these 20 some odd years) and in the pile I found a little Barbie shoe and a visor. LOL. |
Although the Lego night was a long one (we stayed up too late) it was one of my favorite nights with them. It was a blast and brought back so many childhood memories.
The next morning Matthew and Alexi decided to color their own plate and cup set. I LOVED how they turned out, however, the directions I found on Pinterest weren't entirely accurate, because even after baking them in the oven the permanent marker washed off in the dishwasher. (Dang it.) Still, it was a fun activity.
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| Her tongue was out with every activity she did! |
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| Brielle loved sitting with them! |
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| I told Alexi to pose with her dishes... and this is what I got. Haha. |
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| Baking in the oven. |
Matthew was such a big help!
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| Feeding Brielle... |
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| Kneading bread... |
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| Holding his little brother Braylon... |
On the day we checked off "blowing things up" we tried the ziplock bag, vinegar and baking soda concoction, but it failed. I think my ziplock bags were too big (get the smaller sized ones). The mentos and the diet coke was a hit, the kids loved making soda fountains.
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| They decided to do four at a time... ready... 1...2...3! |
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| Yes, this was a common occurance. |
Alexi was cracking me up with all the goofy things she said, like this conversation:
Samantha to little Braylon: "I think you're going to be a little blondie like your sister Alexi."
Matthew: "I have blonde hair!"
Samantha: "You're kind of a dirty blonde."
Me: "Brielle's hair is strawberry blonde."
Alexi: "No, she's a yucky blonde."
Or...
Me: "Alexi, you're so smart and pretty!"
Alexi: "I know."
Or...
Alexi: "Aunt Ducky" (Yes, when she says Becky it comes out Ducky.) "Can I have Lucky Charms for breakfast? Please?"
Me: "Yes!" (I pour her a bowl of Lucky Charms.)
Alexi: (Pouting.) "No! I wanted Fruit Loops!"
Me: "You said Lucky Charms!"
Alexi: "Yes. Aunt Ducky. Fruit Loops!" (I was so confused.)
Oh, and she wore her bike helmet
all the time, every where she went. She loves that thing and every second of the day she wanted to ride her bike in the driveway, to the park, at Poppy's.... she
loves it.
She even wore it while painting her "pet rock."
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| Meet Ralph the Rock (I couldn't resist creating one myself). I kept asking Alexi what she named her pet rock, but she'd just answer "mmm hmmm" whatever that means. |
The week flew by and I finally have time to sit down and tell you about my week in the Unruh household. It was quite the adventure and I love them so very, very much. I'm beyond thankful that Braylon is on the mend and that mommy caught up on some much needed sleep. I'm sure they were happy to get their house back (without me in it) but I'd go back in a heart beat and make more Unruhly memories.
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| Hopefully someday we'll get a "normal" picture where everyone is smiling and looking at the camera, haha. |
This is what we plan on doing this week. (I got there Monday afternoon and a whole 24 hours later, I was pooped. Haha!)
On the day we checked off "blowing things up" we tried the ziplock bag, vinegar and baking soda concoction, but it failed. I think my ziplock bags were too big (get the smaller sized ones). The mentos and the diet coke was a hit, the kids loved making soda fountains.
You are quite talented with legos! We will have to paint a pet rock!
ReplyDeleteI've had a lot of practice with Lego's... it was our FAVORITE activity. :) The pet rock thing was a hit. Definitely take pics of yours, I'd love to meet him/her. Hehe.
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