This year, Carolyn is moving up a level to a 1.5 hour class that includes tap, ballet & jazz, and Anna is starting dance with an hour long ballet & tap (and learning how to listen) class. So we moved “dance night” to Wednesdays so they could have classes at (mostly) the same time.
This means…I get to sit in the lobby with my knitting and my kindle for a whole entire hour *all by myself*. (Oh, wait, that’s probably not what I’m supposed to be excited about here, is it?)
Also, how cute is this?!?
Anna was so very ready to start school that she was beside herself with excitement this morning!
After we put Carolyn on the bus and I managed to drink a little coffee, we headed down to the school and waited for them to open up the doors.
Anna showed her teachers the little treasures she brought with her in her backpack, then made a beeline for the Mr. Potato Head set they had out. She barely looked up when I said “bye”.
Her favorite parts were apparently snack and the playroom. Is it just my two girls that think lunch/snack & recess are the best parts of school?
Anna got to go to her preschool today and meet her teachers!
She was a tiny bit shy at first, but then warmed up pretty quickly.
She apparently thought she needed to show off every bit of knowledge she’s already stored up, as she walked around the room pointing out various things that had her name on them (her star for circle time, her nametag for her seat, her coat hook, etc.) and counting aloud all the numbers she saw. Then, instead of building a tower out of the alphabet blocks as she was instructed to, she lined them up in alphabetical order.
I really hope her teachers didn’t think I coached her to do all that…
It’s been a while since I posted any of the silly things my kids say. I feel a bit sad, because all of the adorable learning language things that I made note of with Carolyn, have been lost for Anna. But, all is not quite lost – she still comes out with mispronunciations and silly things now and then. So, without further ado…
Heard Friday at the pool:
My brother (Dan) and my sister-in-law (Genevra) were over swimming. All afternoon: “Uncle Dad! Aunt Ge-evra! Look, I’m pedaling around the pool!” (She can definitely say ‘n’ sounds, so I’m not quite sure where Uncle Dad came from. And Aunt Ge-evra is just adorable!)
Also. Carolyn has a pair of “gobbles”. You know, the things that keep water out of your eyes in the pool?
And then this afternoon at the library:
Little Girl: “Hi! What’s your name?”
Anna: “Anna.”
Little Girl’s Dad: “Alma? That’s a nice name.”
Anna: “No, Anna. ‘A’, ‘n’, ‘n’, ‘n’, ‘a’!”Um. Well, I suppose Annna would sound just about the same as Anna. Looks a bit odd. But, it’s still a palindrome!
It’s been hot here. Really hot. No-air-outside-to-breathe hot.
So we invited a few friends over to swim this afternoon, and had tons of fun. I don’t know why I don’t do this more often…
And Anna, who had earned the nickname “barnacle baby” since she clings to you with a death grip in the pool, suddenly realized that her life vest will, in fact, keep her afloat. And she started “peddling” (her word) around the pool like a little fish. All over the pool, including in the deep end. With me following.
I am exhausted.
Anna had a birthday party to celebrate turning 3 today. She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake party, which was a pretty easy theme to work with!
For food, we made a variety of pinwheel wrap sandwiches, a veggie tray with dip, a layered fruit salad (in my new Pampered Chef trifle bowl – it was pretty as well as tasty!) and chips with homemade french onion dip. I also made some blueberry muffins, my mom picked up some incredibly delicious lemon bars, and I made these strawberry shortcake cupcakes in lieu of a fancy decorated cake. (We skipped the raspberry torte and the apple dumplings. There were plenty of desserts already!)
I’ve never made cupcakes from scratch, so I was really happy with how they turned out. The baking was the easy bit – filling them was a bit fiddly and time consuming. And then the icing started sliding off the cupcakes while they were in the stand and it was a messy disaster, so they were on there approximately long enough to take the above picture and then went back in the cupcake carriers. But even though they turned out a bit messy, they were delicious!
I made a bean bag toss game a couple of weeks ago, which we put out but didn’t really organize. The kids were mainly more interested in just playing with each other. So much so that I don’t think any of them ate lunch! And then it was time for cupcakes. Anna was very excited to blow out her birthday candle!
It was a “berry” fun birthday party, and it was followed by some time in the pool for those who could stay and play. Thanks to all who came and made Anna’s birthday party fantastic!
Dear Anna,
Today you turned 3 years old! I’ve been calling you my three-year-old for a few weeks now, because, well, you’ve been acting 3. That is to say, you’re going through a completely age-appropriate stage where you are testing limits, making a bid for independence, and generally trying to make me crazy. When you’re not trying to drive me up a wall, you are literally climbing walls and looking for ways to hurt yourself while adding to my (thankfully still small) collection of stray gray hairs.
Luckily, you’re cute.
We spent the day doing pretty ordinary things: swimming lessons, library, piano lessons. You got to watch a couple episodes of your current favorite TV show, Phineas and Ferb. And when Daddy got home, we went out to dinner at El Jimador, where you were serenaded while wearing a very (very) large sombrero – and got to eat yummy fried ice cream for dessert.
And then came the presents…a name sign for your door, to match your sister’s. A superhero cape of your very own. A couple of books. You were so happy with these things, and while Daddy was getting your last surprise ready, you said, “Thank you Mommy for all the presents!”
But we did have one last surprise. I found a gently used little bike, complete with Dora stickers and a purple backpack bike “basket”, that’s just your size. One of those things you’ve been trying to do when finding new ways to scare me half to death is climb on your sister’s way-too-big bike – using the training wheels as a step up, naturally. This will be (at least slightly) safer. You haven’t quite figured out how to pedal it, but you’ve got the whole rest of the summer to learn!
I still can’t quite believe you turned three today. I know I’m guilty of thinking of you as my “baby”, when clearly you are growing up and turning into a big little person in your own right. The fact is, you will always be my baby, but I am enjoying so much watching you grow and learn, and I’m looking forward to seeing the great big girl you will become someday.
Love, Mommy
Well, sort of.
Carolyn took full advantage of her lesson time, while Anna sat on the side of the pool and dabbled her toes in the water. Considering it was her very first non-parent-participation class, at least she got through it without tears or trauma. Maybe tomorrow she’ll get her feet wet?
1 swimming lesson day down, 19 more to go…
Susie had a childcare conflict tonight, so we were watching Nikki for the evening. Anna didn’t nap, and she usually goes to bed around 7:00 on days she doesn’t get a nap in, but we figured she’d be OK for the one late night. Well, around 9:00 she came into the kitchen where I was trying to get a little work done and, with fingers firmly stuck in her mouth and the other hand tugging at her ear asked me to read her a goodnight story. I agreed to put her to bed…in a few minutes. Well, a few minutes later I walked into the living room and she was sound asleep on the couch with Carolyn and Nikki playing quite noisily around her.
I feel simultaneously really proud of her for sleeping when she needed to and very, very guilty that I didn’t read her that goodnight story…