C is for...

...countless cuddles over Christmas break! Now that my older two are back to school, I'm back to blogging in between trips to the bathroom with my youngest (we're potty training big time today). Hope you all had a wonderful holiday break with your little ones!

Places to go that start with C:
*towns/cities in your area whose names begin with C
*Carlos O'Kellys
*Casey's (convenience store with great pizza)
*Champps
*Cheesecake Factory
*Chili's
*Chips (local restaurant with very addictive homemade chips)
*Chuck E. Cheese's (heaven help us all...)
*Cici's Pizza (for cheap buffets)
*Cinnabon
*CJ's Bagels (local yummy restaurant)
*Cold Stone Creamery
*Cosi Cucina (awesome Italian place)
*Cracker Barrel
*Culver's
*visit your state or nation's capital city
*tour your state's capitol building or the nation's Capitol (the building where Congress meets), if you're lucky enough to live close
*Carney Marsh (nearby area where we can feed the ducks)
*carousels (Story City, Coral Ridge Mall, or Union Park)
*Center Grove Orchard to play in the corn "pool"
*Chinese pagoda on the downtown riverfront
*children's museums (Iowa's Children's Museum is in Coral Ridge Mall, Coralville)
*The Chocolate Storybook (great chocolate shop/bookstore)
*churches (tour some historical sites or just some that have always drawn your eye, or find children's activities like open gym or music classes in area churches)
*city parks starting with C (Cascade Falls Aquatic Center, Crestbruck Park, Cottonwood Recreation Area)
*Civic Center Family Series has plays and musicals geared toward children
*Climb Iowa (cool place with climbing walls)
*community centers with children's activities
*concerts aimed at children
*trips to the country (to look for cows, calves, cats, etc.)
*covered bridges in Madison County
*Creative Kidstuff in Jordan Creek Mall has weekly story time
*creeks
*Crystal Lake Cave
*CY's Kids' Club (children's performing arts series at CY Stephens Auditorium)

Things to do that begin with C:
*board games or card games that start with C (Candyland, Checkers, Chess, Chutes and Ladders, Concentration, Crazy Eights)
*read books starting with C (Caps for Sale, Catundra, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Click Clack Moo: Cows That Type, Corduroy)
*go canoeing
*find a cardboard boat regatta in which to participate or watch
*chalk (sidewalk or on an old-fashioned blackborad) circles, curlicues, or curves
*climbing (jungle gyms, trees, stairs, etc.)
*count all of the clocks in your house
*color with crayons or colored pencils (especially Crayola colors like Cardinal Red, Carmine, Celadon, Cerulean, Charcoal, Chartreuse, Chestnut, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cobalt, Copper, Coral, Cornflower Blue, Crimson, and Cyan)
*cloud watch
*crawl through an obstacle course (existing or home made)
*watch movies that start with C (Cars, Cars 2, Curious George, Care Bears, Casper, Charlotte's Web, Cinderella)
*play dates with friends like Claire, CeCe, Camden, Caleb, or Callen
*listen to music (songs or singers starting with C): I suggest Justin Roberts' "Count Them as They Go," "Cardboard Box," "Cartwheels and Somersaults," and "Centuries."
*watch TV shows that start with C ("Clifford," "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That," "Curious George")
*wear capris or cargo shorts/pants

Foods that start with C:
cabbage
cake
calzones
Canadian bacon
cantaloupe
Captain Crunch cereal
caramel corn
carrot cake
carrots
cashews
casseroles
cauliflower
celery
center cut chops
Charleston Chews
cheese (especially cheddar or Colby-Jack)
cheeseburgers
cheesecake
Cheetos
cherries
cherry tomatoes
Chex
chicken
chili
chimichangas
Chinese takeout
chips (especially corn)
chives
chocolate
chocolate chip cookies
cinnamon rolls
clementines (Cuties)
club sandwiches
coconut
coffee cake
coleslaw
Cool Whip
cork screw pasta
corn
cornbread
cotton candy
crab cakes
crackers
cranberries
Craisins
cream cheese
Creamsicle
crepes
croissants
crumb cake
cucumber
cupcakes
custard

Favorite "C" Bible verses:
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalms 51:10
"In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing." Philippians 2:14
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them." 1 Corinthians 12:4

And finally, (this blog post has taken me the longest by far due to all of #3's trips to the bathroom!) here are the photos of found "Cs" that #1 took during his ABC photography summer. As I mentioned in a prior post, the top photo is a shopping bag hook that was on my stroller. The second is something from a tree (seed? leaf?) that we found on the ground and its shadow at a local park, and the third is the top of the little fountain we have in our front yard. It's amazing where you can find letters!

Soon to come: letter D!

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*