First Dance Recital

Breeley had her first dance recital! Here she is after the performance.

She takes the class at daycare but it's affiliated with a local dance company. I saw her practice a few months ago and I knew she followed the teacher and knew the steps, but I was nervous because the recital fell right at naptime, and Breeley doesn't do well without a nap! I would not have been surprised if she'd clammed up, cried, refused to go on stage, etc., because she gets in those moods, mostly when she's tired but also from being a 3-year-old. 

I spent the few days before building her up and getting her excited about dancing for mommy and daddy, and being a big girl and getting to do something special that Zack couldn't do. (Having a 3-year-old is the best training in persuation/manipulation techniques. Excited, big girl, and special are key words used frequently to entice cooperation, sometimes successfully.)

I spent the morning implementing my plan to attempt good behavior for both kids at an ill-timed event. (I usually blame poor-timing on organizers who must not have kids, but I figured out they had a bunch of recitals back-to-back to accommodate many classses. It was bad luck to get that time, but it was at least better than a 6-hr recital!) Zack always takes a morning nap, but I was shocked when Breeley actually went down without a fuss at 11:00! Afterward, we had to rush to get her fed, dressed in costume and make-up(!), and fix her hair, but we were out the door and arrived on schedule.

She was a little apprehensive about going backstage without us, but she finally followed one of her friends and seemed okay. I had intentionally not signed up to be a backstage volunteer because she tends to get Hide-Behind-Mommy's-Leg Syndrome when I'm around, but is totally fine and cooperative without me.  That ended up being a good decision! (One of her friends has the same syndrome and cried throughout the entire dance and eventually walked off stage to her mom, who was volunteering backstage.)

[I've tried four times to post the video, but it keeps failing. Boo. I'm going to try to put it on facebook.]

She actually did the dance and did a great job! Another girl stole the show by jumping and running around the stage the entire time, but several people commented that "the red head" was actually doing the steps, which was especially impressive given all the distractions! One lady saw me with Breeley after the show and bee-lined over to compliment her.

I'm so proud of our dancer! She was proud too and kept saying "I danced for Mommy and Daddy and Amy." She's been wearing the medal her teacher gave her and says she got it because she "did a great job at dance." It's sweet to see her feeling accomplished about doing something she seems to enjoy.

We were glad Amy could come too! It's nice that she lives close enough to experience the kids' special events like this.

I had to include a picture of Zack too (although this is at home afterwards) because he looked so cute and was wonderful during the recital! I was worried he'd be restless--especially when I saw that Breeley's dance was third to last!--and that I'd end up spending the whole time in the lobby with him. But he did great and was happy to go back-and-forth between our laps, and to eat a few snacks as we got closer to her dance time.

(I don't think he's playing with the outlet in this picture. I think he just put his hand there as he turned around to grin at me. That's the story I'm going with anyway!)

Post-it Chronicles Part 2

More tidbits from a post started on 5/21/11 when Breeley was 3 yrs 1 month and Zack was 15 months. All these things happened around that date. (Today is 12/19/11 but I'm post-dating this so it will appear in order.)

Zack slept through the night from 7:30 PM -8:00 AM for the first time ever!
Zack's awful sleep habits have been a rude awakening (haha) for us because Breeley has always been a great sleeper. He's always gone to bed fairly easily, but he wakes up numerous (3-8) times at night. We're not really "cry it out" kind of parents (although we maybe would be if his room wasn't right across from ours), so when he's up, we're up. Thankfully, if we go to him, he usually goes back to sleep pretty quickly once he gets his paci and a hug. To sleep for 12.5 hours without waking was a big milestone!

Brian power-washed the whole house and then we painted the porch this weekend. We power-wash almost every year and paint the porch at least every other year. Thankfully it's just one coat of white-on-white, so we were able to get it almost all painted during the kids' naptime! (Breeley took an unusually long nap; Zack got up and wandered around the porch and yard and ended up with paint on his swim shirt.)


Breeley calls every bug a "bee." It would make more sense for her to call them flies because that is what we see and talk about most often since her daddy entered the War of the Flies 2011 a few weeks ago! (Where do those things come from!?! Ugh!)

Zack had his last bottle of breastmilk. You may remember my breastfeeding post where I talked about my massive supply of breastmilk. At 12 months, Zack switched to whole milk at mealtimes and in his sippy cup, but he still likes one bottle at daycare and I nurse him at night. Finally, after nearly 15 months, our outside freezer looked like this (at one time, this entire freezer was completely full of breastmilk, along with two diaper boxes in our deep freezer!):

Update on 12/19/11: I continued to breastfeed at night until Zack was 17 months, and after that, he had a bottle (of whole milk) before bed until 19 months. I never would have thought we'd go that long with either of those things, but I think our laid-back (for the most part) parenting allows our kids to do things on their own timeline. We didn't force either issue and let him stop when he was ready. I guess it's a "pick your battles" thing and I don't want to hear my kid scream over something like that. I don't regret it at all.

On a semi-related note (?), Breeley pulled up her shirt and said, "Mommy, where are my boobies? I can't find them." :)

Fishing Dates

My weekend Facebook status (from Sunday) sums up this post: Yesterday Brian and I went on a "date day" to the weigh-in for the BASSmaster Elite Series tournament at Lake Murray. (It was really cool since those guys are fishing celebrities!) Today, Brian took Breeley on a daddy/daughter date: her first fishing trip! Take note, ladies: if you want to date my husband, it must involve fishing! (haha)
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The Bassmaster Elite consists of the best of all the pro fishermen who fish in the BASS Series (the other big series is the FLW). There are eight Elite tournaments, not including the Classic (the "Superbowl," which actually kicks off the season in February and is the top 50 anglers from the previous year). The tournaments are four days total and start with 100 anglers, go down to the top 50 after day 2, then only 12 go on to fish day 4 to compete for $100K.

The tournaments move around every year and haven't been to Lake Murray since 2008. We went to the day 3 weigh-in, so we saw the top 50 (who are guaranteed $10K) get narrowed down to the top 12. We watched the Day 2 and 4 weigh-ins live on bassmaster.com, but it was very cool to see all these fishing celebrities in person!

The stage - it's only a little bigger than the stage at the Weekend Series weigh-ins, which are the tournaments Brian is doing. The ESPN booth is to the left.

Casey Ashley - from SC (and only 27-yrs-old!) was the eventual winner on Day 4. He also just released a country CD. Talk about living the dream!

Mike Iaconelli - ended up tied wtih Davy Hite (also from SC) for 2nd in weight, but got 3rd due to whatever they look at as the tie breaker. Mike Iaconelli was the first fisherman I recognized for fishing due to his show "City Limits Fishing," which was the first fishing show I could tolerate. For several years, the only fisherman I recognized or cared about was Byron Velvick, who was the bachelor on ABC's "The Bachelor." (I didn't care about his fishing though, I just knew who he was.) Ike is really funny on his show and I enjoy his over-the-top reactions to catching good fish. I was not, however, very impressed with his reaction to being tied for what was 1st at the time. However, he probably knows the rules for ties and knew he'd end up 2nd at best, which is the difference between $100K and $25K, so he was probably a tad upset.

The Kevin VanDam!! KVD. The legend. Wow. This man is one of the best fishermen who ever lived. He's earned over $5 million in winnings, well above anyone else. He placed 29th in this tournament, but he's pretty much awesome anyway. I surprised myself with how excited I was to see him. He came across as very humble and a stand-up guy. Pretty cool.

The top 12 from Day 3 (L-R) - Chris Lane, Edwin Evers, Davy Hite, Tommy Biffle, Jeff Connella, Casey Ashley, Mike Iaconelli, Kevin Wirth, Jami Fralick, Brian Snowden, Rick Clunn, Fred BoomBoom Roumbanis

When we got there it was pouring rain (yes, I love my husband) and I of course had brought an umbrella. Skeet Reese--another big name, but isn't doing well this year--walked within 5 feet of us and said, "You're smart. You brought an umbrella." So, Skeet Reese told me I'm smart! I didn't mention that I forgot my sunglasses, which I needed before and after the rain, or that I hadn't charged my camera battery and it was beeping red the whole time.

Thanks, Andrew and Amy, for watching the kids so we could enjoy a "date day" at a pro fishing tournament!

On Sunday Brian took Breeley on a daddy/daughter date: her first fishing trip!! He's been wanting to take her for a while and the weather and timing were perfect, especially because he could try to catch a glimpse of the Top 12 out on the water. ;)

Brian tells me his fishing is "practice" so I guess taking Breeley is considered "training" for her future career on the professional circuit! Is it irony or destiny that her first fishing trip occurred on the very day the top pros were fishing on the same lake?!

Breeley was so excited! It may have been in part because she saw me pack fruit snacks and Trix cereal (among other things) for snacks on the boat, but I'm sure it was mostly because she LOVES her daddy! It was very special for them to get to go together.

Her first fish! Definitely a pro-in-training!

Apparently she loved riding on the boat, eating her yummy snacks (which she asked for as soon as they pulled out of the driveway), and reeling in the fish. She was fine wearing her life jacket and didn't come home sunburnt, both of which I was worried about. She didn't have a problem touching the fish, but she said, "Ew, nasty" when Brian opened the worms. (She has some of her mommy in her afterall!) She had fun--and wants to go again!--but after a couple hours and about 10 fish, she asked to go home, which was expected considering the attention span of a 3-yr-old. I'm sure there will be a lot more fishing training trips in her future!

Dance Recital Preview

I think I've mentioned that Breeley is taking a dance class this year. It meets on Mondays during daycare but is affiliated with a local dance studio. Her recital is coming up in May, but we went for pictures at the studio in early April. We had to pre-pay so I got the smallest package, but I would have gotten more if I'd known how great they'd turn out. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite (professional) picture of Breeley ever!

 

Clearly they know what they're doing when they take the kids back without parents, because this is the best she'd give me...

...until I bribed her with jelly beans. This is what two jelly beans buys.

The group shot gave a preview of what to expect at the recital - I'm pretty sure it's gonna be the cutest thing ever!!

School Pictures

I've never bought the "school pictures" at daycare. I've never even attempted to get good pictures by dressing my kids in special outfits. In fact, I've never even filled out the form to say what background I wanted or if I wanted their picture together. Therefore, I've ended up with some pretty crappy pictures. Pictures of Breeley with puffy, watery allergy eyes, or one with Zack positioned in front of Breeley where his head looks four times as big as hers, are just not all that tempting to buy. I usually glance at them, laugh, and hand them back to the staff member.

But this time was different. I used to go for professional pictures every 3 months, but that's moved closer to 6 months after adding another kid. It's not my favorite thing to do, considering it includes planning outfits, guessing on the optimal time around naps and meals, making sure neither kid is dripping snot or otherwise sick, then primping, posing, trying to get good smiles, and dealing with them climbing all over me and/or running all around the studio while I pick out the best poses and try to get the most bang for my buck. Still, I like having more "control" than the school pictures, having more variety in backgrounds and poses, and ultimately getting more pictures for my money. However, by early April, I was already a month late getting Zack's 1-year pictures (mostly because he was sick around his birthday and in no mood or condition that would have made good pictures, but also for the reasons listed above), so I decided to at least try to get decent school pictures, and then weigh price and convenience after I saw them.

Breeley: almost 3 years

Zack: 13 months

This time I did not LOL when I saw them, but I did smile because my kids are so cute. :) I ended up getting a partial package with them together, and then one sheet of Zack's big grin. I bought Breeley's dance pictures taken a few days earlier, so I didn't get any of her individual shots. Despite the hassle, I think I still prefer going to a studio due to price and selection, but these should hold off the grandparents for a few months!

And in case you're wondering, the bruise on Zack's head happened during playtime with Daddy a few days earlier, which just proves that it's impossible to ever have optimal conditions for pictures! I guess that's real life though, or in this case, Life Touch.