It's Bath Time!

Live from the bathtub, it's Daniel Min Jae Richard Stott and Mama's current favorite shoes!

Potty-Trained!

Yo Ho Ho! Ahoy, me Hearties! I, th' cap'n 'o 'tis ship, hereby declare 'tis wee scurvy pirate henceforth potty-trained!

More Snow

We got a nice little reprieve from winter a few days ago and enough snow melted to allow us to see some green and our roof again. But alas, it is still February and we do live in Minnesota. This morning brought about five inches or so of new snow and the green and our roof are once again hidden.

Financial Literacy for Children -- A Crash Course for Daniel

Daniel LOVES credit cards! Each night Will gives Daniel the junk mail. This is probably Daniel's favorite part of the day. On super lucky days, the junk mail contains a "credit card" and Daniel squeals with DELIGHT, "I got a credit card." On the days that the mail does not include a credit card, Daniel repeatedly asks, "Can I see yo' credit cards?" Will is much nicer than I am about showing Daniel his credit cards.

The other day I decided to buy Daniel a wallet of his own for his credit cards. Daniel carries it around and rearranges its contents regularly. Last night, he even took the wallet to bed with him.

Yesterday's mail brought Daniel a Valentine from Grandma and Grandpa Engelhardt. I thought he would be excited to put the $5 that was included in the card in his wallet. Daniel wasn't particularly interested in the money, but I didn't think much of it and put the money in his wallet.

This morning for some reason I decided to look in Daniel's wallet and discovered that the money was gone (the credit cards were still there). I asked Daniel what he did with his money and he said, "I crumpled it up." I followed up with, "Where did you put it, Daniel?" And he replied, "I put it in the garbage can for the garbage man."

Luckily, Abby found the money in Daniel's waste basket. She tried to explain the value of money to him, "Daniel, if you save your money you can buy a milk truck!" But, to be quite honest, I just don't think Daniel cares about cash at this point. For him, it's all about the credit! So, for now, the money is safely tucked away for Daniel until he learns that you should never throw your money away.

Science Fair Day

Today is the science fair at Abby's school. I took her to school early this morning, so she could set up her display. Her friend Ani (pictured below) was also setting up her display. Check back this weekend, and maybe Abby will share her hypothesis, results and conclusion with you.

Abigail's Quilt Story

When I was pregnant with Abby, I began making her a quilt -- stitching one square each month. I never entirely completed the quilt, and it's just been sitting folded up in my sewing basket for years. I finally gave the quilt to Abby this morning.

Her reading assignment for today was to read to an adult a story called The Quilt Story.  The story is about a mother who makes a quilt for her daughter, Abigail. Abby and her classmates have been reading the story in school this week and have LOVED that Abby's name was in the story.

I too stitched the name, Abigail.

I've always regretted not finishing the quilt in time for baby Abby to enjoy it, but it somehow felt right this morning to see seven-year-old Abby excited to take her new quilt to school (for Friday's "Snuggle Up and Read") and show her teacher and classmates her very own Abigail quilt.