Princess Tea Party

 For Pickle's Princess Tea Party I got out our china cups and saucers which I discovered I had not used in the 13 years we've been married. The kids learn "tea time" at school so they are very well-versed in how to serve tea and offer cream, sugar, and treats and I knew they would be gentle with the "good stuff." They had a grand time trying on different outfits and posing for pictures. Cake and Tiaras courtesy of Cee-Cee!

Is 5 the Magic Number?

Dear Darling Daughter #1,
Yesterday was your birthday and if that one day is a predictor of things to come then I would say that we are putting Frustrating Four behind us and moving into Fabulous Five! You are a girl who knows what she wants and you are not pleased when things do not go your way. Dad and I are working hard to practice patience with you and allowing you to be your own person but it is a tenuous process as you can turn on us quickly as frustration makes you angry. You are strong-willed and do not like to ask for help but I know this independent streak will make you a strong woman one day; I just hope you don't forget that we are here to love you and help you no matter how old you are.

This past year has been a very big one for you. You learned to ski and started playing soccer; you spent time in Florida and loved playing in the big waves; and you took tennis lessons and performed in your first dance recital. In school you have learned to read, write, and can do dynamic addition. I even got to watch you have a multiplication lesson and this is just kindergarten! You are a very smart young lady and your academic world is moving quickly. You love school and schoolwork and beg for homework, and you still love crafts of any kind but singing and dancing are your favorite things to do.

You have a very interesting sense of style which causes lots of friction between me and you. I am trying to let go of wanting to pick out your clothes and have you match perfectly, but you have your own ideas of what looks good and what is pretty. (Funny thing about looking pretty . . . you never want to have your hair brushed!) You are not a fan of pants and want to wear dresses or skirts every day and you love tights and fun socks. Your current favorite pair of shoes are the cowboy boots I bought you to wear for the International Festival and you wear them with everything - even your Tinkerbell costume on Halloween!

All of these things make you a very unique and special little girl and when you want to turn on the charm you are very engaging. You are beginning to enjoy playing with your sister more now that she is older and your brother is inviting you to play with him more and more as you are maturing. I am very excited about what this next year holds for you and cannot wait to see what new things you learn and start to love.

Much love,
Mom

914 days

 914 days doesn't really sound like too much but in the case of New Kid that encompasses her entire post womb existence. Two and a half years really isn't too big a deal - she doesn't have a well visit or get any new shots. The half birthday is a random, and often forgotten, day on the calendar. But New Kid's half birthday this year saw her get to do something to which she has looked forward for as long as she can remember. This morning when we went to the little Montessori school down the street to drop Pickle off, New Kid got out! She stayed too . . . not as a try out or just for fun but as a student. Today was New Kid's first day of preschool.

After we dropped her off Christi was a bit emotional but the mid morning phone call from the teacher let us know that everything was fine and New Kid had assimilated into the routine like she had been there forever. She sang the songs on the line in the morning and although she was half a beat behind everyone else she belted out most of the words without any hesitation. We went to pick her up at noon because it will be awhile until she is an all day kid as they are known around our house and she looked to be having a great time. We got a further update as to how the rest of her morning went and it sounded great. I'm a bit disappointed that she can neither read nor count past 4 yet but I will try to be a bit more patient with this last little one.

Halloween 2012

Another year another round of chaos!

Our little Halloween gathering is becoming something of a tradition and certainly an annual event. This is the 3rd year we have hosted our friends and their children for dinner and trick-or-treating and the group just keeps growing. This year we invited one of Pickle's friends from school so she would have someone to play with since the usual group of boys tend to be exclusive and a tad violent. I figured putting the boys in super hero costumes and some with "guns" that the violence would be etched up a notch . . . and it was!

Our three - Tinkerbell, Jingo Fett, and Pumpkin:

I am particularly fond of Tinkerbell's choice of footwear!

Friday's School Commute

Last Friday saw a family bike ride over to Pickle's school. She and New Kid got to ride in the trailer and The Boy had to travel under his own power. Everyone enjoyed it immensely! We even dragged The Boy out for another 4 miles afterwards which on his little bike can't be too easy.

Soccer

Pickle is playing soccer. She started an eight-week Kinder Kicks program and after 6 weeks she is finally starting to warm up and really play. At the first "practice" she adopted this very odd (for her) shy demeanor and kept running off the field in tears. She still starts each session with hands-in-her-mouth nervousness but now quickly gets into it and tends to shine by the time the scrimmage starts. I actually think she is pretty good and she gets really excited when she scores a goal . . . big grins and thumbs up every time! I am hoping she wants to stick with it because she has a great natural athletic ability that - if she listens to coaches - she could really hone into something.

$576

The Boy's school partnered with an organization called Apex Fun Run for their fall fundraiser. It is a multifaceted project and included not only the run and the fundraising aspect but the Apex "Athletes" were at the school all week providing lessons on SUPER: Selfless, Uplifting, Patience, Extra Mile, and Reliable. The event kicked off last week with a Pep Rally and the children were tasked with obtaining pledges for each mile they planned to run (between 26 and 36 laps). There were prize milestones as they reached dollar levels per lap and the Athletes would stop by the classrooms each day to hand out prizes and energize the kids. Our runner set a goal of $15 - to get the UFO Hovercraft - and he exceeded that by raising $16 per lap! He made all of the calls himself and was very, very pleased with results.

The run was held this past Thursday and two small "tracks" were set up in the school field with blow up tunnels for the kids to run through. The team played music and there was plenty of cheering and excitement and water stops to keep them going. The result? The Boy ran 36 laps for a grand fundraising total of $576. Many thanks to our family and friends for contributing to the fundraiser!