Project Alphabet (Week 7)

Project Alphabet is something that I thought of last week. I realized that there were less than 50 days left in the summer and that I should plan out my goals for being a nanny. I decided that one of my major goals was to get Danny to learn the alphabet, and another was to have fun. I combined these goals to make our fun each day revolve around a different letter of the alphabet. I wrote out a calendar with the letters A-Z and then planned an activity for each day. Before we do the activity together, I announce the letter of the day to Danny, show it to him, and let him color the letter. Then we hang the letters near the ceiling on the wall (which will later form the whole alphabet) in his room and begin our fun. So far he has been anxious every day to find out what letter we will do that day (aka, what activity it will be) and has been able to remember the letters that we've learned so far! I believe that this is based on the association he has with the letter and the activity of the day. I've been sure to really build up the first few days to make sure that he is excited about it and that this project goes over well. I'll keep posting updates of all of our adventures!

"C"
We went to visit the children's museum at the American Indian museum today. There Danny was in little kid heaven, as there were many fun things to do at this Smithsonian. Entering the museum, they gave him a "passport" which he could stamp after he completed each activity, such as basket weaving, playing the drums, walking through Indian homes, or reading books about Indians. My friend Carissa works there, so she came and met up with us. Danny loved that she was there! He said, "I really like Carissa, because she showed us where she works." While we were playing in the tepee, he also thought it was "funny" that she worked "in a toy where kids play." :) We explained to him that she worked in the whole museum, not just the kid's area.

Children's Museum...and cookie!

"D"
 Dancing and discovery day at the Library: Danny and I walked to the Shirlington Library, and did a kid's dancing work out video. (This was super cute to watch him do!) We only did it for a little while because of his short attention span, but it was fun while it lasted.

"E"

"E" is for Eat in the Park! :) and...explore!

Eating at the park.

"F"
We made fruit smoothies and did fitness activities. Shirlington is great for having lots of outdoor workout stations, and it was the perfect day!

There is a huge problem with squirrels in this neighborhood! They eat everything and break into everyone's trash.
While we were working out, I left my BYU-Idaho bag on the table. A squirrel came and ate a hole in it to try and get the trail mix I had left inside. I could not believe it!!

"G"

We made goodies today! We went to the store and got the ingredients to make chocolate covered pretzels. (Using dairy-free chocolate!---If only it were sugar free too, because it made Danny really hyper!)

Danny with his chocolate mustache

Here are some of my own adventures this week:


On Monday night, I went to explore the monuments with Carissa and Stephen.

We found the Jefferson Monument....

I took a picture that reminded me from a scene in Pride and Prejudice:

Carissa and I

Modeling for the Jefferson

We saw a beautiful sunset.

Yes, I took this picture. The lighting was incredible!

We also went to see a movie that was shown on the grass on the mall. This was a great activity!
It was a beautiful, warm night (probably about 80 degrees), the Capitol was in front of us, the Smithsonian
Castle on the right, and the Washington Monument behind us. We had blankets, and just sat in the
grass under the stars and enjoyed a movie shown on a screen in front of the Capitol. I  never felt so lucky
to be in DC as I did that night as I realized that I was here at the nation's capitol enjoying such
a unique experience. Where else do you get to watch a movie with this kind of environment,
temperature, and setting?

Blurry picture of me trying to capture this event.

On Wednesday night, I went to a....
Baseball Game!!


The Nationals vs. the New York Mets


I had always wanted to see these two teams play, and finally my wish came true!
I found a friend from church who wanted to go with me and we were able to have a lot of fun!

The youngest player on their team is 19 years old and he is one of the best!

Two thumbs up!


I got to babysit Danny a little bit extra this week! On Thursday and Friday night and Saturday morning I was able to spend a little bit of extra time with him.


Then with the extra money that I got from babysitting, Carissa and I had a fabulous girl's day out! We went shopping, split a bottomless salad at Olive Garden, and got (our first time ever) massages! We spent the rest of the evening together having lots of fun too! It was wonderful and quite a fun and relaxing day!! The only stressful part was the public transportation system. For the first time ever, I missed having a car around. Up until this point, I have been enjoying taking public transportation everywhere. I like it because I can meet people, do what I want while going from place to place, and don't have to worry about navigating the busy roads of Washington, DC. However, today I realized that waiting for a bus to come when you have an appointment to make makes taking public transportation a little bit more stressful. For the summertime, public transportation is fine, but I'm grateful that I will have a car when I need it to get to places on time in the fall. That way I can leave whenever I want to. It was okay to have a little bit of stress though before going to get massages today because then it just felt even better!