4Q 12X February

Our Four Quiggles Twelve Times blog has been updated for Februray.  You can check it out Here.

If that link doesn't work you can go here:  http://allthequiggles.blogspot.com/

Lego creations

The creation process.  Tyler loves legos kits (we all know that right) but he really doesn't need them.  He's also very happy just being inspired and building.  Here's how it works.  Ty gets inspiration from a book, something he's seen, a lego video, a show, or an idea in his mind.  He hurries to his room (requests company while he is building).  There are legos rustling around as he opens and closes drawers, searching for just the right piece.  And then like magic, there is a wonderful creation.


He's been Star Wars inspired the last week or so.  He's spent quite a bit of time looking through his Star Wars lego book that he got from Santa.

Getting inspiration.  Searching for just the right thing to build.

Once he's found something he goes and busily builds.  Then he comes out with something like this (see pic).   I am sure I am a biased parent but I really am in awe of his building skills.  He often asks me to build with him and shows me a picture of what to build.  I struggle and struggle and come up with something that is not even identifiable.  Then he shows me his creation and it looks almost exactly like the picture that inspired him. 



the picture that inspired him and his resulting creation

 

Some of his current star wars ships

The inside of a ship and a Darth Vader battle

Bzzz

By Tyler

swim practice

They say practive makes perfect. She's practicing.....

eyes down

big rainbow arms

And breathe to the side

Insanity

In case you are wondering what it's like at the Quiggle household on a daily basis.  This is a typicla day (what I hear):

I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win
I got it first
I'll beat you
I win

It drives me a little nuts after a while.

Hailey stuff

Four random things about Hailey -

1.  She's learned how to wink.  And she'll throw a quick wink at you at just the right moment.

wink

2.  She loves gram crackers and cream cheese.  She is more than willing to sit on the kitchen counter and "mend" a broken cracker. 

favorite snack/lunch



 

 3.  She loves to play with her animals by lining them all up or building a fort/nest/home for and putting them all inside.

Her friends

 4.  She likes to get dressed in lots of colors.  It made her life easier to get a very colorful pair of pants and a worm shirt.  Now she can wear lots of colors and match :). 

favorite outfit

Tennis

We went out and played tennis at our local high school a few weeks ago.  It was freezing cold and windy.  We were frozen like popsicles and Tyler had the greatest time.  Thinking he would probably enjoy some tennis lessons I was checking out some options.  Turned out there was a session about to start and it would perfectly fill the gap before baseball starts....and it will give Tyler something fun to do on Saturdays (Hailey has her ballet).  This last Saturday was his first session.  I belief he had visions of great tennis matches and rallies.  In reality they spent the whole time working on drills.  Though I don't think it was what he expected, he seemed to have a good time.  On Sunday, Dave taught him the joy of hitting the tennis balls to yourself off the playground wall at school.  He's hooked (though he doesn't like to do it by himself).

practicing the ground bounce

practicing the racket bounce

Walking to the net and back without letting the ball fall off the racket.

 

I believe he was supposed to be practicing his forehand ground stroke here.....but it looks like it could have been a killer serve.

Forehand ground stroke practice

Our poor Hailey girl.  She's been sick forever.  She got Tyler's cough/runny nose.  That lasted forever and ended with an ear infection.  For the last week she's been complaining of headaches, and being tired, and just more or less grumpy.  She had a headache and fever a few days ago.  On Saturday she said she had a bad headache again and didn't want to go anywhere.  She was not happy about going to tennis and eventually fell asleep on Dave which is unheard of.  Today she got the full on cough and runny nose again.  And has added a full body rash as well.

Office Artwork

I think Hailey noticed that my office walls had mostly "Tyler" drawings on them.  The last few days she's been coloring, coloring, and then presenting them to me and saying, "you can hang this up in the office".  She seems to be partial to "spring scenes" right now.  She draws the sky, sun, and grass and she's happy.  Not to be out done, Tyler did present me with this heart to hand on the wall.

Hailey's Spring picture

She also gave me a palm tree - I LOVE palm trees

More spring

 Here are my finely decorated office walls with artwork from both Tyler and Hailey (though most of Tyler's is dated now.).

Water Girl

I think it is safe to say that Hailey loves water.  She has been flourishing at swim lessons.  She can swim the length of the pool doing the crawl stroke with elongated side breathing (she totally gets it but hasn't mastered the quick breath yet), length of the pool doing backstroke, length of the pool on her back doing the frog legs? (chicken airplane soldier?), she can do breaststroke for half the pool,  and is just learning the butterfly stroke.  When she is done with all that she loves to play in the little pool or sit in the hot tub and warm up.  After much coersion getting her out of the pool and into the shower, she can stand in the shower for ages.  To top it off, it is not unheard of for her to request a bath when we get home (yes, after the pool and shower) where she will play for another 45 minutes.  She plays with bath toys, holds her breath underwater, pours, etc.   She is happy as can be.  Oh and on days she doesn't have swimming and showers she still LOVES her baths, the longer the better. 

Hard to believe she fills up the whole tub ehad to toe already

He can't help it.

One of the kids' jobs is emptying the dishwasher.  For Hailey this means putting all the silverware away.  For Tyler is means stacking all the rest of the dishes in piles (all the same size plates together, etc) on the counter.  He can't reach the cabinets after all.  It seems like a simple enough task.  I just don't think Tyler can help himself.  There is a builder in that brain of his that lets loose whenever it can....even if there are no legos around.  Which is why I often turn around to see "stacks" like this.

 and this.

 He has clearly put some thought into it.

It is also why a game of Jenga always turns into the building of towers, ships, you name it.  And Hailey is not to be underestimated.  She can hold her own when wants to.



A Sign of the Times

Air Hockey on the ipad.  Good Times.

Hailey's Valentine Party

On Monday the parents were invited to the last part of Hailey's preschool to be part of their Valentines party.  It is really fun to see Hailey in her room with all her classmates.  She is so proud to show us around.  The class started off by singing us a song.  Then we did lots of fun stations.  First off cookie decorating.

Hailey loves cookies so this was a great station for her.

Train room at work.



These are their valentines bags.




Hailey and Daddy



Hailey and mommy

Bingo

 At the stamping station they worked on a page for their color book which they are working on all year long.

Heart stamps

And at last she finally got to eat her cookie....not a crumb to spare. 

When we finally got home both kids poured out their valentines so they could take inventory :)

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!  Sending you a special valentine from Hailey and Tyler (these are also the valentines they will be handing out to their classmates.

Tyler  addressing his valentines

The kids have also been busy making heart Valentines for Grandmas and Dad and a few others.  Hailey mostly LOVES covering every inch of the heart in stickers.

The beginnings of a valentine and the red check/lips remnants of her cold.



Hailey's completed Valentine for Daddy

 

Ty's completed Valentine

 And here's a sneak peek at what is waiting for Tyler and Hailey at the breakfast table.

Finally, Tyler gave me a Valentine today.  One he worked on all by himself.  It's a dementor with a big heart.  Great. 

Too much Harry Potter?