kwak kwak kwak

This week we had a fun surprise @ 7 am!  ...frogs at the playground.  No other kids around yet...just us and Annelies.  We were able to get close and really study them. A few were stuck in the sandbox....so K built a bridge for them so they could get out. We talked about their color, how high they can jump....what the 2 frogs on top of each other were doing...where they were all going ...and what they will do etc etc. The whole frog life cycle was discussed.
K came home with several frog coloring pages and we added them to our spring tree! ....K found a special spot for them ...in the sky! Because that is how high they can jump according to K.

K came home with to big packages of  sidewalk chalk after an afternoon of Bingo at school. He was so proud! You should have seen his smiley face. He had won 3 times. The first price he picked was a ball. And the other 2 prices were the sidewalk chalk.
He had a great time with the chalk. ...according to K it makes the same sound as tiles..but it breaks more easily than tiles. He spent some time with a hammer and the chalk. On Saturday afternoon he took it outside and the neighborhood friends joined in. It was good to see everyone again. It has been a long winter.
At the end of the day he was disappointed that he did not have any chalk to draw anymore. ..but he did like that he had had a good time today with his friends.   ...he had a good time..and found out what happens to chalk when you break it...add water to it etc. ...I have already found a recipe online so he can make his own sidewalk chalk.

We set up a practical life activity for the boys this week. ...sorting and folding socks. K had a great time and I only had to show him once how to fold the socks. O enjoyed the socks too. He was filling up the bowl with socks...and emptying it :-)

DO NOT DISTURB! --- we are enjoying the sun!

FINALLY!    The wind settled...the sun was out....the temp was around 10 C.....good enough to enjoy some outdoor fun this past weekend.

We started of with a spring walk with Lisette and Raven on Saturday. The walk itself could be nice if the bulb fields are in bloom. But..because of the cold weather...no flowers yet. The catch is...tickets for Keukenhof are included & no parking cost. The spring walk was 6km...add the time spent in Keukenhof...we  & the kids walked 7,5km.

O was in the pram most of the way...but he also this his fare share of walking.

Some people say it is to early to go to Keukenhof. Well yes...not all flower beds are in bloom.  This did not make a difference for the kids. They enjoyed every single flower...especially the ones that weren't in the official flower beds.

Raven had a camera...therefore K asked if he could take pics with my camera. He shot over 200 pics. Was very serious about it...was very careful with my digital SLR camera...and had a great time. It is interesting to see what he saw...and what he found important to take a picture off.

O ran around in Keukenhof...stopped by every stroller to see who was in there...waved at people he found interesting..and spend some time in the playground. He is very good at the playground..he can go of the slide himself and loves to play with sand. He can easily entertain himself for 30-45 min.

According to mytracks app..we walked 7,5km in total.  Who needs a gym :-)

On Sunday we walked to the library (yes it is open on Sundays! from September till May)...and spent some time there. Enjoyed a lunch at the coffee/sandwich shop there. K picked out books and a puzzle...O entertained everyone around him. We tried to get the IPADS to work...yep they also have IPADS in the library these days. Unfortunately other customers had set the passwords on the IPADS ..grrrrr . I have mailed the library to see if they can find a solution & to install some kids apps.
Afterwards we stopped by a playground..where the boys entertained themselves. The both found a friend real fast and played for a long time.
Another stop at the new water playground in the city center...more play in our street.
....2 tired but happy boys went to bed @ the end of the day :-)

The new water playground in our shopping street.

The puzzle K picked. It did not have an example picture..so I took this one so we can use it as reference. It is really nice quality. All wood and very detailed.

O has made another development 'jump'. All of a sudden he said: apple and later on also said car.  He has also stopped saying cat to the dogs we pass. He now says: ond   (in Dutch dog = hond)  ..which is close enough. His favorite word is: kijk (look).  This is his way to get you to do what he wants you to do. He will say kijk ..and point towards the sink ..meaning: I want to play with water :-)
Or kijk ..and try to open the kitchen drawer where we keep our rice wafels and crackers...meaning: mom I am hungry!
He knows what he wants and he makes sure he gets it. He is a great little man.

This week I had set up an invitation to play to paint flowers using forks. But...we ended up painting a cleaning towel tube instead :-)

We are discussing spring every day. Everything starts to grow...new life. So we pay extra attention outside to the trees, bushes and flowers during our walks to and from school (it is 1,5km one way so plenty of time to talk!). We listen to the birds...and we watch our own 'garden' . Lia and Jamilla gave us bulbs and mushrooms to grow...so we have been following the instructions and of course the development daily.
We have more seeds to plant..so stay tuned!

A little boy climbed into our spring tree and he even made it up to the clouds! It is Ermias, one of K's school friends. I am amazed that he already knows most of the names of the kids in his class but also knows who is in the other class next to his. We now run into class mates all the time during our walks.

Pics of Keukenhof taken by K

Wooden tulips in the gift shop

 His shadow...he intrigued by his shadow. ...always trying to catch up with it..etc

 ...attention to detail :-)

 More flowers at the gift shop

 Tulips!

 Picture of me!

 Very good find...a heart on a tree...

 A sculpture & the beautiful spring sky

 More flowers

 The windmill ...we forgot to go in ...to much to see outside

 Flower art made by kids who did the kids guided tour in Keukenhof

 Part of the playground. Really great playground...lots to do for all ages.

 And of course! He spotted an egg

Cat!

K has  a special relationship with eggs. O has a very special relationship with cats. O finds cats in every book, he chases them around the house, all dogs are called cat and rabbits too. Cat is of course not his only word but it is the word he uses most every day. It is fun to see him so enthusiastic. I found a book with loads of cats in it...it is his favorite at the moment.

K is his cheery self again. He is not as tired anymore. He talks more than ever. ...he loves to share his adventures about school with everyone.

K and part of his egg collection :-)

 We hung O's art work on our fridge ...at his eye level so he could see it.  He loves to look at his art work. He likes to add more to it too :-)

The progress of our spring tree...we added clouds & blossoms

Time to start suzuki classes with O