Review: Sweet Shine Dolls

A couple weeks ago, Cepia (a small toy company that we've worked with before) sent us 2 dolls that are limited in their release to the Phoenix area right now.  They have created an adorable line of dolls that are colorful and fun to play with called Sweet Shine dolls.  We received Lola Twinklepink (see her there in Lydia's backpack ready for one of our camping trips!) and Pipsy May Peachburst (which we are donating to the NSA Silent Auction to help raise funds.)

One of the fun features of these dolls is taht they light up and project secret shapes!  Twinklepink has a button on the back of her head, that when pressed, displays shapes on the wall or ceiling.  Lydia likes the fact that she's like a doll AND a flashlight!  She also likes the tiny accessories that came with her, which included hair flair, a tiny purse that looks like a cupcake and a pet bunny.

After the jump, Lydia made a video review for all my readers!

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Wordless Wednesday - concentration

She is 5!

Quotes from this morning:

"Mom!  Look!  My feet have grown since when I was 4!"

"You can still call me 'baby.'  I'm pretty comfortable with that.  We know I'm bigger than a baby, but it's okay."

"My brothers really need to wake up so they can give me their presents!"

Lydia turns 5 today!  She has been counting down the days to her birthday for a long time, so she is thrilled that the day has finally arrived.

At 5 years old, she is still independent and spunky.  She has a mind of her own and isn't afraid to tell you what she thinks!  She has a fierce love for her brothers. Her hair is still long, although it seems to have reached that point of not growing much longer.  She is friendly, inquisitive, eager to learn and such a happy child!

This past year, she has played soccer, begun gymnastics lessons, had dance lessons, and is about to start horseback riding lessons.   She learned how to ride a 2 wheeler bike without training wheels.  We still haven't made a decision about where she'll spend kindergarten.

I worry since she doesn't have a built-in playmate, defender, cohort like her brothers (who are only 18 mths apart and still inseparable), but she seems to be just fine.  And, even though there are 5 & 6 years between them, her brothers are playmates, defenders and cohorts!  I just hope they always stay as close as they have been the last 5 years.

Click the break to take a look at her over the years!

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Magic words

Yesterday, we were with a group of kids and preschool-level teachers and the teacher said "What's the  magic word?" as she was getting ready to hand out marshmallows.

Lydia looked at her and said "Abracadabra??"

(And, yes, she knows how to say "please" and "thank you"  But, in our house, those are polite words, not magic words.  Just a pet peeve of mine.)

Another Rite of Passage - Riding on 2 Wheels

I think she's the youngest in the family to learn to ride without training wheels, but I can't find the dates the boys learned!  It feels like they were 5, though, and she won't be 5 until the end of April.

Bo had a clue when she mastered balance on the scooter a couple weeks ago.  Yesterday, she insisted on climbing on her brother's bike and took off!

On her 4th birthday, she received this princess bike, with training wheels.  She has had only one training wheel for a couple months now, but after she hopped on her brother's bike, Bo took that training wheel off her bike.

She zipped around like a pro and her Dad found her a larger bike on Craigslist that they picked up last night.

It happened with almost no help from anyone -- but she had lots of motivation to keep up with her big brothers.  That's my independent, motivated girl!

Wordless Wednesday -- Rite of Passage

Lydia's First Season of TBall

Lydia's TBall game

Bo put together this slide show from one of Lydia's tball games this season!  For some reason, I can't get it to embed, so hopefully the link works.

Wordless Wednesday -- sparkly

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wordless Wednesday - Lorikeets

Celebrating Four

When Lydia woke up on her birthday, the first thing she exclaimed was "Today is the first day of me being 4!"  She was pretty excited!

We have an 3.5 foot inflatable birthday cake that is pulled out for every birthday (we bought it when Colin saw it at the store when he was 3.) Next to the huge birthday cake, we had placed her brand new Disney bike w/pink camo helmet.  On top of the cake, I nestled the Max & Ruby stuffed animals.  And I put a new bracelet and a tiara in the pouch on the front of her bike.

She was a bit overwhelmed at first, but quickly got excited and tried out the bike.  We all had to get dressed and out the door, though, because the boys' school was hosting a family breakfast.  So, we went off and Lydia wore her tiara and enjoyed baked goods at school before sending the boys off to their classrooms.

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She's Four!

 I can remember sharing my pregnancy news on my blog more than four years ago, then sharing our baby girl's birth on April 29, 2007.  (I spent some time  yesterday re-reading the posts during my pregnancy and it brought back so many memories!  It also reminded me how this blog used to be a small-picture of our life and it has become much more big-picture.)

Did you know I chose her birth date?  I have email proof that I decided months before she was born that April 29 would be a good birthday.  The pregnancy was tough on me, but I wanted her to be full-term.  On April 29, she would have been full-term (her "due" date was May 14) and it was a Sunday which meant that my sister wouldn't have to take a day off work to keep the boys.  Bo was working a job where his weekend was Sunday & Monday, which meant that he wouldn't have to miss any work.  It just seemed like the perfect day.

And then it ended up her birthday!  Of course, it didn't go quite as I expected.  I had every intention of having another VBAC, but my blood pressure was high, and bed rest was difficult and not really helping keep my blood pressure down.  We didn't have much choice but to force her out.  On the plus sides, my sister didn't have to miss work to keep the boys and Bo had the day of her birth and the next day off of work.  My doctor was great, the delivery went fine, (and Lydia is convinced that her dad was a doctor on that day because she has seen pictures of him in his scrubs for the OR) and I went home 2 days sooner than they usually  let c-section moms go home.

She's been a joy and a delight ever since. She will quickly tell you that she is my angel child.  She also will tell you that everyone looks at her because she is just too cute.  And, that she is.  Humility, however, is in short supply.

Her hair is down to her waist, and she proudly exclaims that she wants to grow it to her toes!  (But, she is starting to get used to the idea of getting a trim one of these days.)

Her brothers fight with her and play with her and delight in reading to her.  The first question she asks after I pick her up from childcare is "Are my brothers home yet?"  When we're spending a day at home during the week, she asks by 10AM -- "Isn't it time for my boys to be here yet?"  I worried when she was born whether or not they would be close, but my worry was unfounded.  They are definitely close and find ways to play together all the time.

Bo likes to say that she is just like me -- stubborn and willful and insistent and independent.  I think those are all wonderful qualities to have.

She is also kind and inquisitive and spunky and loving and intelligent.  Her favorite spot in the evening is curled into my arm while I read a chapter book aloud.

Happy Birthday, my dear Lydia Jane!  I can't believe 4 years have gone by!  I treasure each day I have with you!

Last year's post

Her Last Day of Being Three

Unlike my boys, she can't wait to turn four tomorrow!  I remember each boy feeling nervous about turning four, but Lydia is ready to face the next year head on!

Lydia's Disney on Ice Video Review

Look how she's grown! -- Lydia's review from last April

Review: Bob Books Reading Magic App (iPad and iPod Touch)

Bob Books was one of the tools I used to help my boys learn to read. I remember thinking they were ridiculously simple, but then realizing that was what made them amazing.  Both boys quickly mastered the small words and short sentences, which gave them almost-instant satisfaction and a confidence boost.

I fully expected to make them available for Lydia, and already have a few sets on the shelves ready for her. When I was contacted about the Reading Magic app they recently released, I was excited to try it out!  There is an app available for the iPod Touch and iPhone, as well as one for the iPad.  We tried both out, and the video shows Lydia using our iPad and the Reading Magic app.



As you can see, she enjoys it!  I was surprised at how quickly she picked it up.  I really liked the fact that you can change the settings so that when they are matching the letters to the word, you can choose from actual letters, or the phonic sounds.  Since she is so comfortable with her letters, we set it for phonics.

She thinks the change from black and white to color is interesting, and laughs at how the characters jiggle on the screen.  I like that they kept the same simple line drawings and backgrounds -- but added the color as tasks are completed in the app.


This gets a 5 star, thumbs-up score!

I'm really excited that I can share a code with one of my readers so they can try it out. Let me know if you want to try the app on the iPad or the iPhone or iPod Touch.  They are 2 different downloads, but the app works almost exactly the same on each platform.

To enter the giveaway, click HERE to jump to the giveaway form.  Before you click, take note of the giveaway name and mandatory question so you can fill in the blanks on the form.  Also, be sure that you have an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone to install the app. (Link to my giveaway rules can be found to the right)

Giveaway Name: Reading Magic
Mandatory Question: On which device will you install Reading Magic?

This giveaway will end on January 7, 2011.  Good Luck!!

*Disclosure: I received 2 codes to download the Reading Magic app for the iPod Touch and the iPad.  I also will receive a code to give to one of my readers.  No additional compensation was provided.  All opinions and thoughts are my own and Lydia's.*

Review: Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah's Ark for Nintendo DS

Lydia (3yo) had a chance to try out a game for Nintendo DS -- Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah's Ark.  It's a new release from South Peak Interactive for kids ages 3 - 6.  Lydia is my little tech-baby, comfortable using her own iPod, our iPad and a few other video games. Until now, we didn't have any DS games that were appropriate for her, so she was excited when I let her use my pink DS to try this one out.

The game has a narration of the Noah's Ark story, which she enjoyed (all my kids love audiobooks), but her favorite part is the coloring pages.  The game also has a few games included to help with reading and music, but she mostly played with the coloring pages and the narrated story.

The graphics are well-done and the game is easy for a 3yo to navigate (granted she's been navigating video games and apps for over a year, but I still think it's easy to navigate.)  I shot a video of her playing with it recently, and I can tell you that it's a big hit.  I look forward to seeing what other titles they add to this series!

(And, I know that's not a pink DS in this video.  That was on the charger, so she was using her Dad's.)




*Disclosure: I received an advance copy of the Nintendo DS game, Noah's Ark to facilitate this review.  No additional compensation was received.*

Travel with Kids: Wisconsin

At Betty Brinn, in the space shuttle area

Last weekend,  my sister, Lydia and I took a trip to Wisconsin to celebrate my and my mom's birthdays. We went last year in November, too, and were pleasantly surprised when the temperatures were at least 20 degrees warmer than last year.

Lydia still proves to be an excellent traveler, and I think it is just her personality that makes it easy.  Her iPod Touch and our iPad definitely helped pass the time, and I'm grateful for the amazing apps that people create, and how easy it is to load episodes of kid-friendly shows.  I also absolutely love that Netflix has a streaming app for the iPad, because when we had wifi, she was able to watch things straight from our queue.

The trip was short, but we were able to spend some great quality time with my parents, visit downtown Waukesha (including the gelato shop) and the Fox River, visit the Betty Brinn Children's museum (where they accused my brother of being a pedophile since he arrived before we did -- that was fun!!), saw my in-laws and even visited a dairy farm, thanks to my brother's girlfriend.

Even though she wasn't feeling great (she has a lingering cold), it didn't stop her from being gregarious, independent and a delight to everyone around her.  We packed carefully so that we didn't have to check any bags, and she was great about carrying her own backpack through the airports.  She didn't even complain at being woken at 4:30AM so we could catch our early morning flight home.

She said a lot of amusing things, but she kept asking about things in "this world" and how they were different in "our world."  Things like the leaves falling off the trees, and the dreary, gray skies.  I wasn't sure why she was thinking we lived in different worlds, until I came home and continued reading The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis to the boys.  I have been reading it as a read-a-loud for a couple weeks, and there is much talk of different worlds.  It makes perfect sense that she would see the landscape and lives of those in Wisconsin as a completely different world as the one we live in here in Arizona. 

Traveling with one child is much simpler than traveling with three.  It helps that she is an easy traveler!  (Doesn't mean I didn't miss my boys though!)

(ETA: I realize this post is a grammatical nightmare . . . but I'm exhausted (Did I mention that I came home in time to see Bo off to Minnesota for a week? And that Lydia is sick? And so is Nate? And I have work commitments like crazy to take care of?) and I wanted to get this up before too much time went past because mostly I wanted to remember about Lydia and her worlds.  So, forgive me. )

Lydia's First Dance Recital

This is the first 2 dances from Lydia's first dance recital.  She's been in class at the community center for just 6 weeks.  The girls are 3 and 4 years old.  No boys in this class -- it was called the "Fairytale Princess Dance Class." 

She does a pretty good job of following the dance teacher (off screen), but, well, she's 3 years old. 

Review: Punflay ABC Numbers iPad App

We had the chance to check out Punflay's ABC Numbers app for the iPad.  They included the alphabet as well as the numbers, and Lydia has had a blast playing with the letters and pretending to trace the letters on the screen.  Here she is!




*Disclosure: Thanks to Punflay for sending us a promotional code to try this out!  No further compensation was provided.*

Wild Vegas Ride

When we were in Vegas last May, Nate and Lydia made this video.  He was a great sport, and took direction wonderfully. All he saw was the carpet and green screen.  He didn't even watch anyone else do it before he and Lydia hopped on the carpet.  (And Colin could have been part of it had he wanted, but he declined to play.)

Review: Mother Goose iPad App (and Giveaway!)

Lydia (3yo) takes over Bo's iPad whenever she has the chance.  I recently added another app for her, which means that Bo uses it even less.

This video is of her playing with the Mother Goose Reader by My Own Kid Books, LLC.  As you can see, she has no problem navigating through the app and choosing different nursery rhymes. She is adept at touching various areas of the screen to find out what hidden things may appear (sounds, pictures, etc.) and delights in listening to the rhymes being read.



Do you have a preschooler who loves nursery rhymes?  I have TWO codes to give away for this great iPad app.  Winners must have an iPad to use the code.

Giveaway will end August 5, 2010.  Review my giveaway rules here.  Fill out the giveaway form by clicking here.  (Entries left in the comments will not count! Please use the form for giveaway entries and the comments for comments.  thanks!)


Giveaway Name: Mother Goose
Mandatory Question: What is your favorite nursery rhyme?

*Disclosure: I received a code to try this app at no cost to me.  No  other compensation was provided.  All content is my own.*