April was our first full month of pandemic life. I feel like we all had pretty good attitudes about everything this month (it was all still pretty new at this point!) and made plenty of memories at home. Here’s the recap!
The month started off with Brooklyn teaching Savannah another art lesson :)
Their cat artwork turned out so cute!
We got a special surprise from the Hesters later that day. It was so sweet of them to think of us, and I loved the poem.
Back to the creek for more rock throwing!
Daddy came with us this time, which was a special treat :) For the first couple of weeks after he started teleworking, things were pretty slow so he was able to do more things with us during the day.
One thing that was interesting at the beginning of the pandemic was seeing which items were hot commodities that were hard to find online and in stores. Toilet paper, paper towels, and many grocery items were flying off the shelves faster than stores could restock them. (Sidenote: It is still hard to find Members Mark toilet paper at Sam’s even 6 months later!). Interestingly though, there were other things like puzzles and sidewalk chalk that were hard to find online too…I guess because so many people were stuck at home and trying to find things to keep their kids entertained. I managed to find a Wild Kratts puzzle in stock on Amazon and the girls enjoyed putting it together when it came.
We ate lunch outside on April 2nd to enjoy the beautiful spring weather…
…and we were cracking up at Abigail sitting with her leg crossed :)
That afternoon, the girls had fun riding Abigail around on their scooters. Abigail enjoyed it too!
I love catching the girls reading and looking at books upstairs :)
We tried playing hopscotch in the driveway :)
Our neighborhood had food trucks coming regularly during the beginning of the pandemic, and we were excited to get ice cream cones one evening after supper! The girls always pick “birthday cake” flavor whenever they can.
We walked home with our ice cream, and Travis showed off his hopscotch moves for us and made us all laugh ;)
On April 4th, our landscaping crew laid the sod in our backyard and side yard, which was the last thing that needed to be done. We were so excited with the way everything turned out! This view gives you a better idea of how shallow our backyard is. The area behind the arborvitaes is technically a drainage easement. When it rains hard, it turns into a river back there that flows into a nearby drain. So that’s why the row of arborvitaes and crape myrtles are located where they are.
It took a few weeks for the sod to grow together and fill in, but it’s really looking great now! Our crape myrtles have bloomed, and we can tell all the trees are growing taller and thicker already.
Brooklyn wrote this (hilarious) note to the Easter Bunny: “Dear Easter Bunny, I am not trying to be picky, but I have a few certain things that I want. Would you mind dropping off these things? iPad, the movie Charlotte’s Web, craft kit, baking set, a Publix gift card, and a kitten.” Haha! We had a talk afterward about contentment and not asking for too much, and she ended up NOT leaving the note out for the Easter Bunny ;) But it was too cute, so I had to take a picture!
Brooklyn decided to test out our new grass with a game of soccer in the backyard ;)
When all of that extra concrete from our patio got broken up and hauled off, our back windows and patio table/toys got pretty dirty in the process. Travis had some little helpers cleaning and washing off everything :)
On April 5th, we walked to the greenway and played at the creek for a little while. I thought this picture was so sweet!
We had to stop and see the horses on the way back home…
We definitely took advantage of the nice weather this month and played outside a lot…
I don’t get to be in too many pictures these days, so sometimes a selfie will have to do ;) Love this little girl!
Peekaboo! Where’s Savannah?
When Mommy doesn’t get breakfast ready fast enough, someone takes matters into her own hands…haha
I found this COVID-19 time capsule for kids online and thought Brooklyn would enjoy filling it out. That kind of thing is right up her alley…and sure enough, she was all about it! We saved it in her “momento box” in the garage, so it will be neat to look back on when she’s older.
Cheese!
Thursday, April 9th was Brooklyn’s first official day of e-learning. We had daily Google slides to go through, videos to watch, and worksheets to do. We were supposed to take pictures of her completed worksheets and upload them to the Google classroom to turn them in. Nothing was for a grade, but was still technically “required”.
After we finished “school” for the day, we celebrated by dyeing Easter eggs :)
We were so proud of Aunt Jenn for her hard work taking care of COVID patients in NYC….it was truly a scary time up there with so many people being hospitalized and dying.
Early morning kitty cat snuggles :)
Two perks of teleworking: getting to eat a home-cooked breakfast…and growing out your mustache while you aren’t seeing anyone anyway ;)
They were excited about putting glitter on the eggs after they dried…
On April 10th, we went on a bike ride/stroller ride to look at some balloon decorations around our neighborhood.
Brooklyn had her first Google meet with Ms. Carter and her classmates later that day. She was excited to see everyone even though it wasn’t in person!
I got the idea for this handprint craft from my friend, Sarah….I loved how it turned out :)
We had our own Easter egg hunt in our backyard on April 11th since we still weren’t seeing anyone in close proximity at this point in the pandemic. Cici came over to watch from a distance (and record a video for us!). It was sad to not have the egg hunt with the Loveless cousins, but hopefully next year will be back to normal again.
Abigail was really into it this year and had a lot of fun!
Brooklyn always runs around as fast as she can scooping up all the eggs she can find ;) Savannah has learned from her big sister!
I also hid some eggs in the front yard since our back yard is so small ;)
Once all the eggs were found, of course we had to eat some of the candy inside ;) I thought it would be safe to use chocolate since it wasn’t that warm outside, but I was sadly wrong. I’ll have to remember that for future years…the sun was shining enough to melt the chocolate pretty quickly!
It was a fun afternoon!
The next morning was Easter, and Brooklyn was naturally the first up to see what the Easter Bunny brought ;)
Savannah, on the other hand, takes her time in the morning and is never in too big of a rush to see what’s in her basket…
Abigail was excited about her coloring book and candy!
Showing off the new bath slime she got ;)
That Sunday was actually the first drive-in worship service that our church had. (We had been meeting on Zoom at home for the previous few weeks after everything shut down). It was good to see everyone–even if it was only through the car windows–but honestly I left feeling really emotional and sad afterward. It was a stark reminder of how abnormal things are during a pandemic.
Another week…another Magna Tile creation ;)
It was funny to see how interested Savannah and Abigail were in some of Brooklyn’s e-learning videos…
I never get tired of this view at the greenway!
We brought bubbles along with us, which entertained the girls for a few minutes when they weren’t throwing rocks into the creek.
Brooklyn’s teacher, Ms. Carter, had a birthday in April, and this was Brooklyn’s birthday “poem” for her: “You’re sweet. You’re caring. You’re nice. We hope this birthday is your very best one.” :)
Paw and Rae Rae came up to our house for a “socially distanced visit” outside. We did the best we could, but the concept of staying 6 feet away from your grandparents is pretty hard for kids….and the grandparents too ;) It was definitely very unnatural.
When the pandemic started, I was actually just starting to teach the preschool bible class that Savannah was in at church. Travis was in the one of the adult bible classes. So when everything shut down, and the adult classes started meeting on Zoom, Travis continued in his same class, and I became the de facto bible class teacher for all 3 kids on Sunday night and Wednesday night. It was a challenge trying to cover 3 different lessons twice a week, but we somehow made it work.
Love this little girl SO much!
This month, Disney came out with a Family Sing-Along on ABC, and the girls loved it. I enjoyed it too!
On April 17th, I wore a mask out in public for the first time today. It drove me crazy for the first few minutes inside the grocery store, but I got used to wearing it not too long after that. Every week I’ve noticed more and more people wearing them.
I liked how Savannah would often get out her notebook and draw while Brooklyn was doing her schoolwork.
One of Brooklyn’s art assignments for school was to pick two animals and combine them into one in a drawing. She chose a lion and a cheetah and made a “chion”! I thought it was very creative :)
I loved Abigail’s face in this one…haha
We also found a really cool YouTube channel called Art Hub 4 Kids, and it’s a dad and one of his kids who do directed drawings where you can follow along step by step. Brooklyn watched one of the videos and drew this monarch butterfly! I was so impressed!
…and here’s a caterpillar she drew with the same YouTube channel!
We love our little artist!
I’m married to a masked bandit! ;)
Brooklyn got a unicorn craft kit for her birthday, and quarantine life was the perfect time to do some of the crafts. She loved making this unicorn “headband” :)
She also enjoyed giving Abigail unicorn rides around the house…haha
We went on a family walk around the neighborhood on April 20th after supper.
Another morning of “school” at the kitchen table…
I ordered a DIY cookie decorating kit from Peaceful Pastries, the bakery that made Abigail’s 1st birthday cake/cookies for her party. It came with 12 cookies, 4 bags of icing, and a cup of sprinkles for $20. They made a delivery to our neighborhood and dropped our kit off right at our front door! I thought it would be a fun thing to do while we were spending so much time at home.
The cookies were all shaped like flowers or butterflies.
The girls really enjoyed decorating them!
I helped Abigail with her icing, but she put most of the sprinkles on herself :)
Brooklyn went heavy on the icing, of course! ;)
Savannah did a great job with her cookies too. We all had fun with it!
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve gotten Abigail out of her crib in the morning and she’s had a nosebleed in the middle of the night. Thankfully, it doesn’t happen too often, but I don’t remember it being a problem at all for the other girls when they were little.
Brooklyn had a weekly Spanish lesson to do at home during e-learning, and each week there were optional activities to go along with the lesson. She was always interested in doing anything that involved arts and crafts, so that’s how we ended up making this super cute sombrero out of a paper plate and solo cup. I’m continually impressed by her creativity!
Looking happy at dinnertime, but getting her to eat is a struggle sometimes…
Brooklyn made this for art class during e-learning one week during April! They were learning about how you can add texture to a drawing using lines. (We printed and cut out the rabbit, and then she added the lines, flowers, and grass.)
This was another directed drawing that Brooklyn did by watching the Art for Kids Hub on YouTube. I liked how this one turned out!
On April 24th, the Hesters came over and we had a socially distanced pizza dinner in our backyard. It was really nice to get to spend some time with them after being feeling so isolated for the last several weeks. We were all cracking up at Abigail, who rubbed orange chalk all over her face after dinner.
Our driveway was bright and colorful by the time they left that night!
Jenn reached out and asked if we could send a “selfie” of our cat, Gabby for her to use in an Instagram contest. I loved what she came up with! :)
Gabby felt honored to be the only cat invited to participate…haha.
Savannah enjoyed her YouTube bible class video with Mrs. Gina on Sunday afternoon. It’s not the same as being there in person, but it was a good temporary substitute, and we were thankful for all her hard work making the videos.
We had Savannah’s 5th birthday party on April 26th. It was a first in two ways…the first birthday party we’ve ever had on a Sunday…and the first ever Zoom party ;) At this point in the pandemic, we were still not having close contact with anyone else, so we decided to try a Zoom party so that everyone could still celebrate with Savannah virtually. We made sure to talk it up so that she was really excited to have the first ever Zoom party in our family :)
Savannah really enjoyed it! It was the most simple and stress-free party we’ve ever had ;) All we did was have her open gifts in front of the computer and then blow out her candles and eat cake. I think this was the first year Savannah wasn’t terrified of the candles. She blew and blew and blew before she finally blew them out :) So much for not sharing germs…haha
Gifts included a craft kit and glow-in-the-dark star stickers for her ceiling from Cici, an American Girl gift card and remote control monster truck from Paw and Rae Rae, lots of books from Jenn and Chandler, a book and Frozen stationary set from Alex and Melissa, a Lion King puzzle from Mommy and Daddy, and a slime making kit from Brooklyn. (Brooklyn wanted to buy something for Savannah with her own money…so sweet!!).
It was fun to see all of our family on one screen together…
…we even tried to pose for a picture with everyone!
I let Savannah pick out all the colors for her cake when I ordered it from Publix’s website, and she picked out a crazy combination of colors :) The lady at the bakery said they got a good laugh when they were decorating it (I’d put in the notes that my 5 year old picked out the colors…haha). It tasted yummy, and Savannah loved it, so that’s all that matters.
It was a fun afternoon—although nothing replaces seeing your family in person!
Ms. Carter asked the kids to make a robot to show the class at their next live meeting, and I cracked up when Brooklyn’s robot joined us for dinner one night ;)
You know it’s a weird kind of year when your child makes and decorates her own face mask out of a paper towel and thinks it’s the coolest.
I probably say this a lot, but Savannah always amazes me how well she shares with Brooklyn…even sharing the birthday gifts she just got a few days earlier. They both really enjoyed this unicorn sticky mosaic kit.
Brooklyn was proud to show off her robot to the class during her meeting on April 27th!
The girls wanted to have a picnic on the driveway for lunch that day. It was super sunny outside, so the sunglasses were definitely needed.
Savannah loved mixing up the slime from the slime kit that Brooklyn gave her for her birthday :)
…and yes, she let Brooklyn help mix and play with it too. Savannah is such a thoughtful and giving child.
Savannah was hoping to have a piñata for her birthday after Brooklyn had one at her party back in February. So, we decided to let the girls hit one in the front yard on the 28th, the night before Savannah’s actual birthday. We invited John and Sylvia to come over and watch from a distance, and it was fun to get to talk to them for a bit while the girls took turns hitting the piñata.
We were cracking up at Abigail trying to swing the bat with one hand!
I don’t remember how many turns each girl took, but it took a LONG TIME before the piñata even began to crack at all. That thing must have been made of steel ;)
It was a race to see who could collect the most candy anytime they were able to make more fall out.
It was a fun way to spend the evening before Savannah’s actual birthday!
I don’t cook breakfast very often (we stick to easy stuff like cereal most of the time!), but I decided pancakes would be fun for breakfast on Savannah’s birthday, April 29th.
This is a pretty accurate picture of how Brooklyn felt about NOT having candles on her pancake ;)
We sang happy birthday, and then the girls started decorating their pancakes with toppings :)
The morning was off to a yummy start :)
Abigail had Zoom bible class with Mrs. Gena later that morning…
One neat thing about having Travis working from home is that he was able to take a short break during the day to watch Savannah open a few more birthday gifts on her actual birthday. Brooklyn made her a sweet card!
Rae Rae and Paw came up on the 28th for an outdoor visit with the birthday girl and brought the sign that they had displayed during Savannah’s Zoom party. She was excited to have it in her room, where it stayed for a couple of months ;)
Sylvia surprised Savannah by crocheting her a new, bigger blanket. Sylvia had made Savannah a baby blanket (“pink”) that she was still using even though she had really outgrown it in terms of the size. Sylvia decided to make this purple blanket out of the same material that is SO soft and cuddly, and Savannah loves it! She has affectionately named it “purple”, of course :)
The Hesters dropped off a gift for Savannah that afternoon with a balloon, some new books, candy, and a set of the cutest garden stakes that we put outside later. So thoughtful of them!
Savannah was excited to display all her birthday cards on her dresser.
Needless to say, Savannah had a great birthday despite it being so different this year. She is one loved little girl!
Notes and Quotes from April:
- 4/1/20 – Savannah: “Daddy is the washer disher.”
- 4/3/20 – I was getting ready to change Abigail’s diaper before her nap this afternoon and noticed that she was about to poop, so we hurried to the potty. She’s still never actually done anything in the potty, although she likes to sit on it sometimes and claim that she’s used it ;) But today, I showed her the M&M jar, let her pick out what color she wanted, and she actually pooped in the potty. I couldn’t believe it! She’s probably the only child who has pooped in the potty before peeing in it, but leave it to Abigail ;)
- 4/6/20 – Travis was out cutting the grass, and Abigail asked, “Is Daddy still motoring?”
- 4/10/20 – Savannah: “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Travis: “I don’t know.” Savannah: “Because it wanted to get run over!”
- 4/10/20 – Savannah: “Why did the lion chase the cat?” Travis: “I don’t know” Savannah: “Because the cat wasn’t a lion!” When we all started laughing, she replied, “You’re not getting any of my jokes!” Haha!
- 4/12/20 – Abigail is a terribly picky eater, but one thing she loves to eat at dinner is sauce! She loves to eat just plain ketchup or ranch dressing by themselves. Many times, that’s the only thing she will eat off of her plate!
- 4/17/20 – Abigail loves to ask the same questions when we read her favorite books and when I give her the answer, she says, “Oh”. Over and over.
- 4/19/20 – Savannah: “Hey Brooklyn! One time when I went potty, I forgot to flush…and then my poop melted!”
- 4/23/20 – I picked up Abigail and she said, “I’m up berry high! You a big girl, Mommy!”
- 4/24/20 – I made some red Koolaid thinking that Abigail could sit on the potty and drink it and then have to go while she was sitting there. She drank 2 full sippy cups of Koolaid and we read 4 or 5 books. She sat there at least 30 or 45 minutes. Finally, we gave up, and I put her diaper back on. She peed in her diaper within the next 5 minutes after I put it on her and pooped a few minutes after that. “I pooped in my diaper, Mommy! It’s really stinky! It’s a big poop!” She knows exactly what she’s doing, but isn’t willing to put it in the potty. I’m not willing to push it (she is so stubborn!) that I think we’ll just wait a few months and try again. It’s not worth trying until she’s on board. So far, she has pooped in the potty 3 or 4 times, but usually only when I’ve caught her in the act. Still never peed in the potty. She acts excited, loves to pick out what color M&M’s she wants, and everything…but it’s not resulting in any real potty training yet. I think we just need to take a break and try again when she’s on board.
Thanks for reading!
