Happy happy 4th birthday Teagan Mac!

Happy 4th birthday Teagan! I'm not going to sugarcoat it, she's mischievous, a bit naughty and irreverent. She's also goofy, clever, generous, sweet, hilarious, a great sister and friend, and incredibly kind. If you're considering behavior, so far 4 is off to a bit of a rocky start (and it's only been about 12 hours). But if you're considering her beautiful soul, the sky's the limit for the year to come - this little girl puts magic and love into the world.

Welcome to the world of wizardry

Piper and I started reading the first Harry Potter book together at night before bed back in July.  She loved the book once she got into it (bit of a slow start), and so she started reading it on her own and finished it quickly with the incentive that she'd get to watch the movie once she'd read the book. 

We watched the first Harry Potter movie a few weeks ago on the movietron, and Teagan hung around for that despite every effort to get to her to do or watch something else during that time.  It's not a movie for a four year old.  Turns out, it's a rough movie for a seven year old!  I'd forgotten how scary the end is in the movie.  Much less so in the book, but leave it to Hollywood.  Since then, there has been an increase in bedtime fear, and Teagan now sleeps with her door open.  (Piper always has so no change there.) 

But not to be deterred, Piper wanted to start right in on the second book.  She read most of that herself and today we watched that movie.  (Fool me once...?)  It was also scary. 

It's hard, because Harry Potter is such a magical (pun intended) reading experience and Piper is at a place where it fits for her.  It's just those darn movies.  The third movie gets much scarier, so I think for now we'll pause after book two and allow the dust to settle. 

Fingers crossed!

Both Piper and Sadie were crossing their fingers that they'd get the same 2nd grade teacher - the cards with the teacher assignments came in the mail today. 

Alas, there was only disappointment in the end.  At least they'll always have recess.

Farmers Market

Today we went and checked out the Farmers Market for the first time.  We'd been to other fruit/veggie markets around, but not the official shindig that happens every Thursday evening.  We had a fun time!  They give each kid over 4 (so Teagan didn't qualify this week, but will next week!) a $2 token for produce, and I think if they come a certain number of times between now and October they might get something else.  I wasn't really listening.

While at the FM we ran into some old friends from TenderTime whom we hadn't seen in ages.  And then the girls spent some quality time playing on the playground.  A nice near-end to our week.

 

 

You sunk my... American flag?

When left to play with electronic Battleship on her own, this is what Piper came up with:

A little bit of summer slacking

This week I was home with the girls Wednesday-Friday to allow them an opportunity to sleep in, hang out at home, and enjoy summer without a schedule for a few days.  We had a great time!  The weather, however, was definitely not on our side. 

On Wednesday we went swimming at the Maple Grove pool and Piper was super brave and tried the giant waterslide for the first time!  She also tried some obstacle courses in the outdoor pool.  We didn't spend much time in the outdoor pool, though, because it was freezing out there!  After swimming, we climbed around the Maple Maze. Teagan can now navigate through there on her own!  She's a little tiny for some of the climbs, but she uses her grit and guts to make it work.

On Thursday we went to the playground and saw Nut Job 2.  It wasn't the best movie we've seen.  But we had the theater to ourselves!, and we had popcorn, so all was well. 

At the playground we met a kid who does a crazy T-Rex impression.  I mean, it was practically like being back in the Mesozoic era.  But the girls indulged the fact that he wanted a dinosaur to be a part of the gang, when the game we were playing was about a bunch of orphans who live in an old broken down railroad car.  Ah, the flexibility of youth...

And on Friday we went to Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America.  We only did a bouncy house and the rides this time around.  Piper was a really good sport about only going on the rides that Teagan is tall enough for - she didn't complain once!  I couldn't resist getting some pictures of the girls on that crazy Swiper's Sweeper ride again - their facial expressions are just too much!

 

  

  

  

On Saturday Dan had work so we entertained ourselves at home and then on Saturday evening Piper was invited to attend a 50s dance with her friend Sadie!  Here are the little retro-cuties:

Riders

After The Crayola Experience the girls wanted to head to Nickelodeon Universe to go on some rides.  It was really crowded and there were looooooong lines, but the girls managed to have a few fun times!

 

And of course, we ended our day at Jamba Juice. ;)

The McAveys experience... The Crayola Experience

Yup, we sure did!  We finally went to the Crayola Experience at the MOA.  There is so much to do there!  It's, of course, all about crayons mostly.  But there is a lot of fun stuff you can do with crayons!  The girls got to make crayons with their own personalized wrappers, do spin art, mold a crayon into a shape (ring for Piper, car for Teagan), make a coloring page with their image inserted onto it, and lots more!  They also had two big play/climbing areas, which the girls loved.

(Of course, we started our day out at Jamba Juice!) 

 

Girls weekend

This weekend Dan went to a guys' weekend at his friend's cabin.  He had a great time swimming, boating, gambling, card playing, and relaxing.  While he was doing that, we ladies kept ourselves busy!

On Friday after work/school we went to Central Park, a favorite nearby playground.  Then we got Noodles and Company takeout and went home and watched the movie Ramona and Beezus (so cute).  After that, we piled into 'the big bed', with the girls in their sleeping bags camping style, and had a family sleepover.

 

On Saturday we took Piper to Taekwondo, and then went to see the Emoji movie.

After the movie, we made a quick stop at Target.  This ended up being a much more eventful stop than we anticipated.  Teagan got lost.  Well, okay, it was a little bit more premeditated than that.  Teagan ran away. If you've ever wondered what it means when they declare a 'code yellow' at Target, I can fill you in.  It means a kid's gone missing, a parent is frantic, they've shut down the exits, and a virtual army of khaki and red clad soldiers has formed an admirably organized search party.

All's well that ends well, and in the end all three McAveys returned home in the minivan. Some of us may have been a little more wary (me), a little more diligent (me), and a teensy bit angry (also me), but we were all safe and sound and that's what matters most.  I applaud Target for their well executed 'code yellow' protocol, and as always am a loyal and satisfied customer.

On Sunday, we woke up bright and bushy-tailed and headed to...  the Crayola Experience at the Mall of America.  Post about that adventure to follow immediately :)

Sleepover and Jack and the Beanstalk!

Last night Piper slept over at her friend Sadie's house, and today they went to see the play Jack and the Beanstalk with Sadie's family (she has 4 brothers).  Piper LOVES sleepovers, and loves Sadie, so it was a great combination. After the performance they got their pictures taken on set and with the cast!

Teagan will go to see the play next week on a daycare field trip!  And Piper has another great memory of a day with her bestie.

Solo artist

We also inflated the bouncy house in the playroom, and in between bouts of water slide fun Teagan could be found there working on her latest art project. :)