Friday, September 21, 2012
Random thoughts by Avery
Yesterday we were playing airplane and Avery said to Kai, "Kai, we are about to land. Where do you want our home to be? Florida or Idaho?" Um, Idaho? Kai wisely chose Florida, but I am still cracking up about Idaho as a choice.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Garteners
On Friday, Audrey's school had an assembly and all of the classes did a short performance. As Audrey was telling me about it, she said, "First, the 5th-garteners went, then the 4th-garteners, then the 3rd-garteners, then the 2nd-garteners, then the 1st-garteners, then the kindergarteners!"
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Kindergarten Update
Audrey has finished 3 days of kindergarten and, by most of her accounts, is having a good time. She still says each night that she's not going back the next day, but all stories between the time we pick her up and bedtime are full of, "...and Mommy, do you know what else, ...."
She starts her day in English, then moves to Spanish, and then has her specials in the afternoon. Music, Library and PE are in English and Art and Science are in Spanish. On Tuesday, she followed directions well in art class and got to be the line leader to leave class, so she was happy about that.
I have asked her many questions about lunch. Today, she told me the cutest thing:
Audrey: Well, you know, I sit in the same seat at lunch every day and it's the perfect seat for me. It's on the corner of the table and no one else ever takes that seat so I sit there. The wall is painted black behind that seat.
Me: What makes it the perfect seat for you?
Audrey: Well, you know, it's on the corner. That means there's only one seat next to me. That way, in case a boy sits there, there's only room for one boy to sit next to me. If I sat somewhere else, maybe a boy would sit on both sides of me and, you know, boys might be crazy at the table, so this way only one boy can sit next to me.
Me: Did a boy sit next to you today?
Audrey: No, it was a girl. The same girl sat next to me every day. I guess that's the perfect seat for her.
Me: What do you talk about with her?
Audrey: We don't talk. We have to eat our lunch. We have a lot to eat and not much time. But we did go to the bathroom together in music today.
Me: Super. What's her name?
Audrey: I don't know.
While Audrey was getting the full interrogation after her first day on Tuesday from Iain and I, here is a little excerpt of what was going on with Kai and Avery.
She starts her day in English, then moves to Spanish, and then has her specials in the afternoon. Music, Library and PE are in English and Art and Science are in Spanish. On Tuesday, she followed directions well in art class and got to be the line leader to leave class, so she was happy about that.
I have asked her many questions about lunch. Today, she told me the cutest thing:
Audrey: Well, you know, I sit in the same seat at lunch every day and it's the perfect seat for me. It's on the corner of the table and no one else ever takes that seat so I sit there. The wall is painted black behind that seat.
Me: What makes it the perfect seat for you?
Audrey: Well, you know, it's on the corner. That means there's only one seat next to me. That way, in case a boy sits there, there's only room for one boy to sit next to me. If I sat somewhere else, maybe a boy would sit on both sides of me and, you know, boys might be crazy at the table, so this way only one boy can sit next to me.
Me: Did a boy sit next to you today?
Audrey: No, it was a girl. The same girl sat next to me every day. I guess that's the perfect seat for her.
Me: What do you talk about with her?
Audrey: We don't talk. We have to eat our lunch. We have a lot to eat and not much time. But we did go to the bathroom together in music today.
Me: Super. What's her name?
Audrey: I don't know.
While Audrey was getting the full interrogation after her first day on Tuesday from Iain and I, here is a little excerpt of what was going on with Kai and Avery.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Audrey's 1st Day of Kindergarten
Um, is anyone else as shocked as I am that Audrey is starting kindergarten today? Does it seem to anyone else that she was only recently born and learning to walk and talk? These 5 1/2 years have flown by, and we are so proud of her!
I was a blubbering mess last night as Iain and I were going to sleep, just wondering if we had prepared her well for this day, what should we have done differently, will she make friends, will she like school, will she remember to choose chocolate milk since she doesn't like regular milk, how am I going to manage every minute of her life if she's not with me every minute? You know, rational kinds of things like that. =)
Iain was fine until after we walked out of her classroom, where she happily put her backpack in her cubby, found her name at a table, and started coloring on the contruction paper shirt at her spot. She barely looked up to tell us good-bye. As a matter of fact, I don't think she ever said good-bye. She was completely happy and content (I know this because I've been managing every minute of her life for 5 1/2 years and I know her very well .... see above). Seeing her happy was such a relief and joy to us. Iain expressd his with tears all the way home. =)
Here are some pix of the big girl this morning. We took many more pix so if you'd like more let me know.
I was a blubbering mess last night as Iain and I were going to sleep, just wondering if we had prepared her well for this day, what should we have done differently, will she make friends, will she like school, will she remember to choose chocolate milk since she doesn't like regular milk, how am I going to manage every minute of her life if she's not with me every minute? You know, rational kinds of things like that. =)
Iain was fine until after we walked out of her classroom, where she happily put her backpack in her cubby, found her name at a table, and started coloring on the contruction paper shirt at her spot. She barely looked up to tell us good-bye. As a matter of fact, I don't think she ever said good-bye. She was completely happy and content (I know this because I've been managing every minute of her life for 5 1/2 years and I know her very well .... see above). Seeing her happy was such a relief and joy to us. Iain expressd his with tears all the way home. =)
Here are some pix of the big girl this morning. We took many more pix so if you'd like more let me know.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Guess who knows how to ride a bicycle!
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Santa Claus Has Skills and Other Things
Yesterday, we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and as the Grinch was going back up the chimney, Audrey asked me how Santa got back up the chimney. I told her that going down was the easy part, but getting back up must be more difficult. She said very matter-of-factly, "Santa has skills." =)
Separately, Audrey now knows how to tie her shoes. I am so proud of her! I intentionally bought her new school shoes with laces instead of velcro so that she would learn to tie. She hasn't actually worn the shoes yet (saving them for the first day of school), but she put them on last week to practice tying. We went through it about three times with me still pretty heavily involved in the process. Today, she put them on again and I tried to show her. She said, "No, no, Mommy, I can do it." And she did. Amazing!
On Monday, we went to Sesame Street in Pennsylvania. We stopped to see Iain's Aunt Siz on the way (the Grinch movie is courtesy of her; thanks, Aunt Siz! =) ). We had a great time, as always, and Kai would walk toward her and throw himself on her. He does this with us regularly but I've never seen him do it with anyone else. Very cute!
We had a great time at Sesame Place, but the rides were closed a couple of time due to crazy thunderstorms that would roll through and then disappear as quickly as they arrived. Here are a few pix.
Kai pushing the girls; he's very strong
Kai was happy until the horse started moving
We meet the Count!
The girls' favorite ride of the day
Kai's fave part of the day: the kids' pool
Leaving the park; it was a bit wet
From tonight, just before getting ready for bed
Separately, Audrey now knows how to tie her shoes. I am so proud of her! I intentionally bought her new school shoes with laces instead of velcro so that she would learn to tie. She hasn't actually worn the shoes yet (saving them for the first day of school), but she put them on last week to practice tying. We went through it about three times with me still pretty heavily involved in the process. Today, she put them on again and I tried to show her. She said, "No, no, Mommy, I can do it." And she did. Amazing!
On Monday, we went to Sesame Street in Pennsylvania. We stopped to see Iain's Aunt Siz on the way (the Grinch movie is courtesy of her; thanks, Aunt Siz! =) ). We had a great time, as always, and Kai would walk toward her and throw himself on her. He does this with us regularly but I've never seen him do it with anyone else. Very cute!
We had a great time at Sesame Place, but the rides were closed a couple of time due to crazy thunderstorms that would roll through and then disappear as quickly as they arrived. Here are a few pix.
Kai pushing the girls; he's very strong
Kai was happy until the horse started moving
We meet the Count!
The girls' favorite ride of the day
Kai's fave part of the day: the kids' pool
Leaving the park; it was a bit wet
From tonight, just before getting ready for bedSunday, August 19, 2012
Yesterday
Days honestly don't get much better than yesterday.
We started the morning at Audrey's soccer class, where she kicked her first ever goal during the mini-scrimmage at the end. She didn't like when everyone clapped for her, but I think now she's feeling pretty proud of herself.
We got home and Aunt Alicia and Uncle John had a little Skype-birthday-party for Avery, which she loved.
We ate lunch in a very haphazard way while Kai was sleeping (Iain and Audrey on the floor, working on Audrey's Dora-my-first-sewing-project, Avery running around pretending she was the tooth fairy and delivering notes and pennies to everyone).
When Kai woke up from his nap around 1, we left the house and did not re-enter a building until 7:30 last night (and only then because we really had to give the kids baths and get them in bed). It was in the high 70s yesterday with a warm breeze and the kind of day where you don't ever want to think about going inside.
We started by taking Avery's new fishing pole down to the stream next to our house with some bread and a bucket. We fished and waded in the water and chased Kai and clambored down banks to get our hook unstuck and washed off muddy news from climbing back up the muddy bank for about an hour. We didn't catch anything, had tons of fun, and decided to try another stream between home and the birthday party we were headed to later in the afternoon.
We drove past a little road, turned down, and found this beautiful stream down in the bottom of a deep ravine. It felt like we were long-gone from civilization, although we were only 1/4 mile or less from DC's urban sprawl. A little more fishing (no catching of fish), some scrambling across rocks, waiting for bugs to fall down the little waterfall (Avery was especially interested in not leaving until she saw the bugs go overboard, which unfortunately never happened), and more chasing of Kai. He can't stand to be held and doesn't really care that the only thing he has to crawl on are slippery rocks or mud. =)
We were there for another hour then headed to the birthday party, which was at a park. Very low-key, plenty of food, super playground (as an aside, I am an expert on all things playground these days, so when I say "super" playground, you should take my word for it ... big enough for Audrey and Avery to have fun, small enough that Kai also can have fun and will not immediately seriously injure himself, I can see all 3 of them at the same time, shady, close to clean bathrooms,...). Anyway, we had dinner, saw some friends, and just played. Outside. In the beautiful outside. Kai also thinks he's now big enough to go down a slide by himself. He was helped into thinking this the first time when he sat down at the top of the slide (which he's done before, but in the past has then turned around). Yesterday, when he sat down, Avery was behind him and just pushed him down and yelled "Yay, Kai! Mommy, did you see Kai slide by his self?!" She was so proud (I was terrified) and although I was watching the whole thing go down from about 4 feet away, there was nothing I could do about it (maybe I should reconsider my designation of this as a "super" playground). =) Anyway, he laughed the whole way down, ended unharmed, and the next time he got himself to the top of the playground (this time to the very top where the tall twisty slide was), he sat down and just scooted himself more and more until he slid down. Iain was there, watching closely and then grabbed his arm as he started sliding. Kai thinks this is great fun, but I'm a little worried about Monday when Iain is not with us to be his personal chaperone and I don't have long enough arms to rescue Kai from the slide, Avery from the climbing net, and Audrey from the monkey bars at the same time. =)
We finally got home around 7, but as noted above, no one wanted to go inside. So we got out the bikes and took a walk. Kai was going for a walk anyway ... he's turning into a little runaway ... so we needed to catch him. =)
Headed to the stream
Finding a leaf
Leaving town
Audrey fishing
Avery getting ready
Avery's first catch -- a heart-shaped leaf!
We started the morning at Audrey's soccer class, where she kicked her first ever goal during the mini-scrimmage at the end. She didn't like when everyone clapped for her, but I think now she's feeling pretty proud of herself.
We got home and Aunt Alicia and Uncle John had a little Skype-birthday-party for Avery, which she loved.
We ate lunch in a very haphazard way while Kai was sleeping (Iain and Audrey on the floor, working on Audrey's Dora-my-first-sewing-project, Avery running around pretending she was the tooth fairy and delivering notes and pennies to everyone).
When Kai woke up from his nap around 1, we left the house and did not re-enter a building until 7:30 last night (and only then because we really had to give the kids baths and get them in bed). It was in the high 70s yesterday with a warm breeze and the kind of day where you don't ever want to think about going inside.
We started by taking Avery's new fishing pole down to the stream next to our house with some bread and a bucket. We fished and waded in the water and chased Kai and clambored down banks to get our hook unstuck and washed off muddy news from climbing back up the muddy bank for about an hour. We didn't catch anything, had tons of fun, and decided to try another stream between home and the birthday party we were headed to later in the afternoon.
We drove past a little road, turned down, and found this beautiful stream down in the bottom of a deep ravine. It felt like we were long-gone from civilization, although we were only 1/4 mile or less from DC's urban sprawl. A little more fishing (no catching of fish), some scrambling across rocks, waiting for bugs to fall down the little waterfall (Avery was especially interested in not leaving until she saw the bugs go overboard, which unfortunately never happened), and more chasing of Kai. He can't stand to be held and doesn't really care that the only thing he has to crawl on are slippery rocks or mud. =)
We were there for another hour then headed to the birthday party, which was at a park. Very low-key, plenty of food, super playground (as an aside, I am an expert on all things playground these days, so when I say "super" playground, you should take my word for it ... big enough for Audrey and Avery to have fun, small enough that Kai also can have fun and will not immediately seriously injure himself, I can see all 3 of them at the same time, shady, close to clean bathrooms,...). Anyway, we had dinner, saw some friends, and just played. Outside. In the beautiful outside. Kai also thinks he's now big enough to go down a slide by himself. He was helped into thinking this the first time when he sat down at the top of the slide (which he's done before, but in the past has then turned around). Yesterday, when he sat down, Avery was behind him and just pushed him down and yelled "Yay, Kai! Mommy, did you see Kai slide by his self?!" She was so proud (I was terrified) and although I was watching the whole thing go down from about 4 feet away, there was nothing I could do about it (maybe I should reconsider my designation of this as a "super" playground). =) Anyway, he laughed the whole way down, ended unharmed, and the next time he got himself to the top of the playground (this time to the very top where the tall twisty slide was), he sat down and just scooted himself more and more until he slid down. Iain was there, watching closely and then grabbed his arm as he started sliding. Kai thinks this is great fun, but I'm a little worried about Monday when Iain is not with us to be his personal chaperone and I don't have long enough arms to rescue Kai from the slide, Avery from the climbing net, and Audrey from the monkey bars at the same time. =)
We finally got home around 7, but as noted above, no one wanted to go inside. So we got out the bikes and took a walk. Kai was going for a walk anyway ... he's turning into a little runaway ... so we needed to catch him. =)
Headed to the stream
Finding a leaf
Leaving town
Audrey fishing
Avery getting ready
Avery's first catch -- a heart-shaped leaf!
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