School Pictures - Spring 2012

We've been talking about getting family pictures taken but haven't gone yet, so when Picture Day rolled around again this year, I realized last year's school pictures were our last professional pictures of the kids! Once again, I was very happy with the results!

How cute is this?!?

Breeley: almost 4 yrs

Zack: 2 yrs

My kids would never do these poses for me! (Thanks, Life Touch!) I get some cute snapshots, but I'm glad to have professional pictures occasionally. I'm hoping to get good family pictures in the fall once the new baby is here!

Dance Picture Preview

Breeley is taking tap and ballet at daycare through a local dance studio, and she had pictures at the studio on Saturday. Last year, her dance picture was my favorite picture ever, but I still can't bring myself to pay a whole lot before I see the product. I was especially worried this year because she got all clingy on me and eventually had to be pulled away crying. It was partly my fault because I had to get everything ready for a crazy day and we were running later than I would have liked, so we were rushed getting her ready when we got there. She occasionally (never know when) takes a while to ease into situations, and apparently she was not in the mood for dance pictures. She refused to let me put her hair up like the other girls, but one little girl had just curled her hair and left it down, so thankfully Breeley's hair looked just as "fixed" as hers!

It is very exhausting and annoying when kids get clingy but you need them to do something. (Of course, Zack was crying for me to pick him up too, so I had two kids being uncooperative and clingy.) All the other parents are staring at you because their kids have already gone back, and you don't want your kid to be the one crying in the group picture. Nothing seemed to be working, so eventually the dance teacher just took her and I walked away. She didn't cry too much but she was definitely not happy! About 10 minutes later, she burst out of the room with a huge smile on her face!

Then she posed for these pictures:

She normally really likes pictures and is happy to pose for them, so I was surprised by her earlier behavior. She had been excited for dance pictures and had absolutely no problems last year. It just shows that kids like to keep us on our toes!

This is her little friend, Kate. Their dance class has about 10 little girls ages 3-5, so the recital is sure to be very cute!

After dance pictures, Breeley went to Kate's for a playdate because I had to go to a memorial service and Brian had a previously-scheduled fishing tournament. Zack tagged along with my friend Anna and her boys. It was the first playdates for the kids without me there, and everyone seemed to have a good time with no crying or clinging when I left!

Breeley's Special Day

Breeley's birthday fell on my day off, so I promised a special day of fun things for her. One of the things I planned was to get our nails done together, but we ended up doing that the weekend before. She picked red for her toes and fingers, and they painted little white flowers on a few of them. She loved it!

On her birthday, we dropped Zack off at daycare and headed to an art studio to paint pottery! Breeley loves to paint and I thought it'd be nice to have a fun keepsake. She picked a bowl and all the colors and I gave her free reign on the first coat. Then I painted the second coat, going over the exact same pattern and colors. She used a round sponge to make black dots, and I painted the edges black to try to tie everything together. She had fun and was proud of her creation!

I would not recommend this activity for younger kids. Zack would have been a "bull in a china shop," and even Breeley seemed to get restless after an hour. Also, I normally like to give kids free reign with art projects, but that's a little more difficult when it is something you want to use/keep/display and don't want it to end up as a big brown blob. I think we had a good balance and ended up with her design and work. We will definitely go back because I got some other project ideas and they have good specials on weekdays. After it was glazed and fired in the kiln, I think it came out pretty cute!

Different angles

We then headed home to make cupcakes for her class. Since she knew her birthday was coming up, Breeley had been asking to make cupcakes for two weeks. She did almost all of it herself--pouring, mixing, and even putting the batter in the cups. We were cutting it close to get to school in time for their afternoon snack, so I ended up doing the icing and sprinkles while she napped. I left a few for her in case she was upset, but she was surprising uninterested in the decorating. 

Her friends were excited to see cupcakes and sing to the Birthday Girl, but, in a repeat from her birthday party, she got all bashful and hid behind me then went to a corner table and buried her face in her hands.  After things calmed down and people weren't staring at her, she happily joined the group and was very proud of her birthday hat.

I got Zack from his class so he could have a cupcake too!

Next, after some errands, we headed to the strawberry patch! The strawberries had been such a hit that I decided to get more while they are in season. The farm had a sign saying they'd be closed the next two days to let more berries ripen, which meant they'd been picked through and it took twice as long to pick half as many. The kids were not as helpful this time because it took them longer to find good ones so they ate every one they found! (I will point out that they asked me before eating almost every one. Such good kids!)

I didn't get my traditional picture of the birthday girl waking up (she had a little accident getting to the bathroom, which happens very rarely), so here she is going to bed as a 4-year-old!

I usually only plan one activity or outing per day because it's hard to schedule around the normal meals/naps and errands, so this was a special and full day! But a special day was appropriate for a special 4-year-old!

Birthday Party Time!

We have not had an "official" birthday party for either of our kids since Breeley's first birthday. Since then, we've enjoyed many birthday parties for friends and classmates. Breeley has been talking about her birthday party for months and doesn't seem to distinguish between the party and her actual birthday. Whenever I would round up and say she was 4, she'd correct me and say not until her birthday party.

We knew we wanted to do a party this year, but I tend to stress out about these things, so we decided to let someone else do it for us! We've been to several parties at places like My Gym, Monkey Joe's, and The Little Gym, which offer all-inclusive packages where all you do is bring the cake. My favorite place, My Gym, is temporarily closed for relocation, so we settled on The Little Gym.

Staff members lead activities and sing songs, but mostly just let the kids run around and play on the equipment. It seemed a little unstructured and chaotic, but it wasn't messing up my house and the kids seemed to have fun!

Breeley on the balance beam, which was very popular

They make a big deal about the Birthday Girl, which made Breeley uncomfortable and bashful. She spent most of those moments buried in Brian's shoulder or running from the group. It was shocking behavior because she's not shy and is very friendly, but we're learning that she does not like having a group's attention or having a fuss made about her. Several parents commented that their children do better at other kids' parties than at their own, so I guess this behavior is not uncommon.

Buried in Brian's shoulder while everyone said their names and happy birthday to her

Ma and Pappy came from VA!

I love this picture of Breeley with her little friend, Katelyn

 

Zack joined in some activities but was mostly content doing his own thing. Not surprisingly, he spent as much time as possible with a ball in his hands!

Breeley was fine sitting in the middle of the parachute...

...but made a quick exit when they started singing Happy Birthday to her!

The kids were told to sit on this mat, but then many of them got a little freaked out when it started filling with air. Zack is sitting next to his friend Helen, who he knows from daycare and we are friends with her parents. (Helen is going to be a big sister any day now!)  

 

Once it was blown up, the kids had fun jumping on the bounce mat. I think it was the one activity that interested all the kids! 

Then they sat on it again while it deflated, which didn't turn out so well.

My sister Amy volunteered to make cupcakes! She's learned a few things from Cupcake Wars and they turned out so pretty!!

 

Since Amy did the cupcakes, we only provided ice cream and party favors. So easy! I even had a photographer, Amy's husband, Andrew. We took this picture while the staff cleaned up. :)

Breeley had so much fun! It was great seeing her and Zack play with their little friends. I'm not sure what our birthday traditions will be--definitely not a big party every year--but Breeley loved having her friends and family celebrate with her!

Bedtime Stories by Breeley

I think I've mentioned that our children will likely be disadvantaged in the creativity/imagination department. Despite the fact that their father is an engineer who regularly invents fixtures to make machines run better, our minds tend to lean more toward the logical than the artistic. Even in my futile attempts to be creative and artistic, I'm often hindered by my desire for "symmetry" and "exact matches" (things that make sense) rather than recognizing when something just "looks good." I've never liked books or movies that rely on fantasy or science fiction; I can only grasp stories that at least could have happened, which means vampires and broom-flying wizard kids are out.

If you ask Breeley the name of any of her dolls, she looks at you like you are crazy and answers, "Doll." (She occasionally says, "Baby," but only if you ask the name of her baby doll.) On the other hand, she knows real people have names and she thinks I know all of them, including random strangers on the street. Today we had a breakthrough, however, when she saw a man cleaning the McDonald's parking lot. Immediately after saying, "Mommy, there's a man" she started waving out her open window and loudly yelling, "Hi, Man! Man! Hi!" It was only after I started laughing that she asked, "Mommy, what's that man's name?"

This is also the girl that, at around 2-years-old, always responded with something like "pisa" when we asked what she wanted us to draw. For months, we drew this picture in marker and crayon and had similar "pisas" plastered all over our driveway:

We never quite understood her pizza obsession, until one day Breeley pointed to something that was clearly NOT a pizza and said, "pisa," and I finally figured out that she was saying PICTURE and not pizza! I guess the joke was on us at that point because she was probably confused by our lack of picture-drawing creativity and our strange obsession with pizza!

This is not to say we have no imagination in our house. Perhaps it is not in excess, but lately we've been graced with some real gems.

The other night, instead of our normal books, I surprised Breeley by telling a bedtime story about a nice princess lion helping a little lamb find its way to her mommy and daddy. Brian followed up the next night with a story about a farmer whose chickens wouldn't lay eggs because he forgot to feed them. I guess this got Breeley into the spirit of things and she came up with some stories of her own.

I had to write them down right away!

Story 1, by Breeley: Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ella and she was walking in the woods and she saw a big mean lion but he was nice. And a little mean lion but he was nice too. And a big mean elephant and it was nice. And they went through the woods and they all walked together and lived happily ever after. The End.

Story 2, by Breeley: Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ella again and she went walking in the woods again. But this time there was no big mean lion, no little mean lion, and no big mean elephant, just a dog. Only a dog. And they were walking through the woods and came to a bridge and there was water down there. And they jumped and landed waaaaay down in the water and there was an airplane down there. And they went 4-3-2-1 Blastoff! And they went to the airport and Brian and Tina were there and they flew to their house and lived happily ever after. The End.

Thank you, Breeley, for proving me wrong and, once again, making me laugh until I cry! I'm looking forward to many more bedtime stories and everything else your creative mind has to offer!

We Heart Teeth

We started our Valentine's Day at Breeley's first dentist appointment! She did GREAT!! They explained everything and made jokes and used the word "special" a lot (special Tiger glasses, special mask, special brush, etc.). They counted her teeth using the special teeth mirror, let her pick her toothpaste flavor (she chose bubble gum), then showed her how the brush tickled her hand and made a funny noise. When the hygienist put the brush in her mouth, Breeley said, "That doesn't tickle!" As you can tell from this picture, she was cool, calm, and collected, and I was so proud of her!

Coincidentally, our appointment was scheduled during Dental Health Month. What luck! A dental hygienist visited Breeley's daycare class a few days ago and talked about teeth and going to the dentist. Over the weekend we went to our local children's museum and they had special displays and presentations dealing with dental health. We watched them make homemade toothpaste and did a science experiment where we saw what acid can do to your teeth (using an egg soaked in mouthwash for 5 minutes, then dunked into a cup of Coke, compared to a regular egg dunked in Coke). They also have an exhibit that includes a dentist office, so I used the simulated equipment to show what they do. It was great timing and the appointment went better than I'd expected.

I didn't expect screaming or kicking, but she is often apprehensive in new situations, so I thought she may clam up and refuse to let them put anything in her mouth. On the contrary, she climbed right up in the seat and opened her mouth right away before the hygienist was even ready.



After flossing, getting a fluoride treatment, and a quick check from the dentist, we were on our way with a bag of goodies that included a princess toothbrush. It was a great first dentist appointment!

The clean teeth were short lived because next we headed to daycare to indulge in sugar-filled Valentine's Day parties. I dropped the kids off and headed to my own dentist appointment.

Both kids came home with a pile of Valentines, candy, and other goodies. Here they are inspecting it with Daddy.


The Valentine reviewing and sorting process makes me laugh because it reminds me of a story from Brian's childhood that involves his older sister shoving all his Valentines on the floor, him retaliating by knocking everything off her dresser, then him announcing that he was going to lie about doing it, just as his mother walked up behind him! Whoops! He was very proud of all his Valentines, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't feeling the love after that!

I took it easy and provided store-bought Valentines and treats for the kids' parties. However, Breeley went nuts when she saw Valentine's Day funfetti cake mix and icing and begged to make cupcakes, so we took cupcakes to both kids' classes the week before.

Breeley loves to help in the kitchen. "I can do it myself" usually equals bigger messes, but it gives her something fun to do and she's becoming such a big girl. Plus, I'm hoping she ends up with my cupcake-making skills, which, along with pizza crust, are the ONLY things I can make better than Brian! Zack knew what we were making immediately, but he was only interested in eating them! Apparently he gets his kitchen interests from his mommy!

Breeley's Christmas List

Does anyone have a place for us to keep a lion or elephant until Christmas?

Whew, good thing she asked for "a toy" or Santa may be in trouble!

Pink Phone and Memory

What do these two pictures have in common?

November 2011

April 2011

These pictures were taken the last two times we have eaten lunch outside at our little picnic table. The first picture is from today and the second picture is from April. The kids and I have eaten outside between these dates, but I was always paranoid about Zack falling backwards off the picnic table and busting his head on the concrete, so we always ate on the front porch. Today Breeley asked to sit at the picnic table and I decided it'd be fine. Then she immediately started asking me to get her pink phone. I went through every phone in her toys until I finally remembered that the last time we ate at the picnic table seven months ago, she played with this phone and told me she was talking to her cousin Emma. It is actually a real phone (given as a hand-me-down from Emma) and since we don't have a land line, I donated this phone to Goodwill months ago so that another princess could enjoy it. We have not mentioned or talked about it since, so I was shocked that she made this connection and remembered that she played with it the last time we ate at the picnic table, which was 1/6 of her lifetime ago!   

Breeley has shown other incidences of having a good memory. When she first started in the Three's class at school, when she was one of the youngest, they told me about a memory game they'd played. They put pictures of 12 different color paint cans on a table. The kids looked at the pictures and then the teachers flipped them over so the colors were hidden. Then the teachers would hand them a paintbrush and they were supposed to find the corresponding paint can. Breeley got all 12 on the first try with no hesitation! I wasn't totally surprised because I've often welled up with tears of pride while playing memory/concentration with her. Beginning when she was 2, she usually remembers at least one match that I don't, and I'm pretty good at that game!

Brian and I both have pretty good memories. I'm good a remembering faces and names (this is actually not always a good thing because it can creep people out if you say hello while they're standing in line at Target and they have no idea who you are) and I can remember dates, directions, and pictures. However, don't ask me to recall what I was doing last week, much less seven months ago! I'm really bad at remembering things we did or places I've been, which is partly why I started this blog. Brian has a great short-term memory with numbers and facts. He got extra credit in high-school algebra because he memorized the entire poster of pi (as in 3.1415...) that went around the classroom. (Yes, it is a bigger issue that he was so bored in math that he was memorizing pi, when he should have been in a higher-level math class!)

Brian and I both recognize the pitfalls of memorizing vs. learning, so I'm anxious to figure out ways to develop Breeley's memory in a positive way. For now, she's keeping us on our toes as she repeats back things we uneventfully told her weeks ago and makes connections among things that happened months apart.