Thursday, May 31, 2012

Uptown Girls

Greta's tap and ballet class took pictures together in their recital costumes and they were pretty cute - little pink pumpkins!  They were all giggles, that is for sure.  The recital is this coming weekend and we can't wait.  They are tapping to Uptown Girl.  Isn't that a riot? 



Greta's class was such a sweet group.  They learned so much this year.


Greta is in heaven playing dress up with everyone...even her reflection.


Jack seems to be in heaven, too.

Miracle



This is Mira and she is a miracle colt that wasn't supposed to live.  She beat the odds and now she likes to ride in a mini van to visit all the grandpas at the Veteran's home.  She really liked our papa and he really liked her. I hadn't seen my dad get so excited in quite some time.  He bottle fed her and she wanted to sit in his lap.  We arrived at the home just in time to meet her and see... a sweet, small miracle.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A Memory


I am almost positive this morning will be forgotten by you two, Greta and Jack.  But, this morning was a really special one.  You were sitting by a blooming Magnolia tree finding four leaf clovers with Gee.  Papa and I were watching with Sarah from the porch.  Magnolia trees remind me of Grandma Ruth.  She and Dado had one in their yard and the scent made me feel like they were with us that morning.  Greta found a four leaf clover.  Grandma Ruth could find one almost instantly when near a clover patch.  We used to joke that she could even spot one driving by.  Gee made flower rings and crowns for you.  I think we all felt very lucky on this pretty morning.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

On This Day


Greta was a Werewolf with purple eyeshadow and fangs.



Jack gave a shout out to the Lollypop Guild.

Coloring in the Lines


Friday, May 18, 2012

Babies Got Bikes

A rainy Sunday morning, Greta told us she thought she might like to get a bike soon.  Sorry, Santa, we aren't waiting until Christmas.



We found a perfect purple bike with a purple bell and a basket.  Jack got a new helmet, a balance bike and a new sense of adventure.


He was balancing down the hill and into the garage by the next weekend.  I don't think he will be using training wheels once his legs get a little longer for a big bike.


Greta rides with slow confidence and big imagination.  They love their bikes, and Daddy was so excited to pick them out with the kids.  His face was beaming with love and pride.  He said, "Top that, Santa!"  Daddy gets this one.

Beyond Pre K, Beyond Proud


This May, Miss Greta completes Pre Kindergarten and last week we attended an open house and "graduation ceremony" at Rolling Hills Preschool.  Greta was the shining star on this day just like she was on her first day of preschool.  This means that she gets to bring a snack for the class and she gets to lead the lines that take them to new classrooms for Spanish and Music and Recess.  This means that she gets to hold the flag and lead the Pledge of Allegiance and she gets to talk about what season it is and what the weather is like.  Mrs. Spitler told me that she was so glad that Greta would be shining star on this day because she is so bright and would do a good job for all the parents.  Can you even imagine how proud this made me feel?  And, I felt even prouder the day she shone so bright and I got to watch.  








Greta and Gracie have known each other since they were 2.  We always met at the library for story time.  They are the sweetest girls together.  I hope they  remain friends after preschool.

Becca, Greta and Olivia giggle.  A lot.


Greta and her "Y".  She knows she has come so far and learned so much.  She feels proud, too.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Jack on Skates

When Greta was 2 and Jack was a tiny baby, I took her to tot skate at Skate City.  She would shuffle along by my side in slow rolling skates to retro music and Disney classics.  Jack was rolling along with us in the stroller, usually napping.  But, not this time....


  
 Just being in the rink makes me smile and feel nostalgic.  I lived to roller skate as a kiddo.



There is excitement in the air...and the smell of feet is also in the air.


Launch.


Rolling by the disco lights.








A little snack before the "Bear Hunt".  We love to skate to the "Bear Hunt" especially when the lights go out and the black lights glow.


It's better than Xanadu. 



Tuesday, May 1, 2012

May Day

On this day, the first of May, we made baskets for our friends.  We filled them with fresh cut flowers, saltwater taffy, jelly beans, licorice and chocolates.  Greta and Jack took one to our neighbors, Mike and Dotty.  Greta placed the basket just so and Jack rang their bell.  We all ran back and hid, peeking around the car.  Mike came to the door, picked up the basket and looked our way with puzzlement.  Did he know what day it was? Did he know of the fun you can have?  Greta and Jack jumped out and wished him Happy May Day!  He was delighted.  He loves chocolate.  He gave hugs to all of us and beamed.  He loves Greta and Jack and is so proud of them.  They make him laugh so much with their cute little kid ways.  He held my ear and told me about a fairy exhibit at Powell Gardens.  Greta ran back into our yard while we talked.  She came back and held up her had to Mike saying, "Look at these berries!"  Well, they were not berries at all, but, rabbit poops!  Greta is not pleased, but I think it is a story to tell.  It makes me smile.

He Sleeps



Sleep has been one of Jack's major challenges....since birth.  Still, he fights letting his days go by and drifting into dreams.  He plays along with bedtime routines but when the time comes for his bedroom door to close and him to welcome the quiet, he has already thought of a list of things he needs, or things you forgot to do for him so he can finally sleep.

We have to let Mimsy hunt spiders in the garage or they torment one another underneath his door.  Many nights we hear his footfalls take him to the door, and we hear the door rattle as he bumps into it with his clumsy boy body.  He is down looking underneath. We shine the flashlight and see his face. His eyes close and his nose wrinkles up and he says, "Where da cat?"  As if we are not the guests he had invited.

This night, he fell asleep waiting for her.  The house was quiet and Derek and I shut off lights and went up to bed after watching our shows together and having a drink or two.  Up the stairs we went to the strangest sounds coming from Jack's room.  It was like snoring but magnified and manly.  I thought he might be sick or something, but after shining the flash from my iphone under his door, Derek said, "Jack is asleep right there and his snoring is echoing down the hallway!" There he was right up against the crack of the door.

He put up a fight to hang on to the happenings outside his door, but poor baby needs a rest.

Color Splash

 Greta is dying Easter eggs the Friday night before Easter.  This happens to be as much fun for her as I hoped.  She is so creative and amazed by the colors.  We tried hard to get some bright eggs.
 And here they are.  We got some really pretty ones.  I told the kids they could eat one for breakfast, but they wanted to save them and admire them instead.
 Jack had so much fun and is really good at timing.  He drops them in with barely a splash and checks every 3 seconds.  I would say he was more about quantity than quality.
 Girl, these are my eggs.




Well, it is May first and I still want to talk about Easter.  I had a few pictures taken the night we dyed eggs.  We really had a great time together.  I find that Greta and Jack are so much fun to be around and these special times mean so much because I am reliving things I remember about dying eggs with my sis.  We both liked the hot pink eggs.  Sometimes we put those little PAAS decal/ tattoos on them.  I cherished my favorite egg and it was my only wish to find it Easter morning.  I remember running my fingers over the egg shells and arranging the eggs in my basket by color and even naming them.  So many Easter mornings my sis and I would wake early and sit at the top of the stairs next to each other.  We would spot eggs and claim them before the hunt even began.  I remember one year there was a My Little Pony in my Easter basket.  I remember the year I got Blueberry Muffin.  I remember my sweet dad always buying corsages with tiny pearls and butterflies to match our Easter dresses.  I remember him taking us to the sunrise service and watching the sun come in through the stained glass.  I remember the year my dad sat in the kitchen smiling with his cup of coffee telling Sarah and me that there was one more treat to find.  He played "warmer or cooler" with us as we searched the house.  The treat was a chocolate carefully placed on the chandelier above the kitchen table where he sat.  What a laugh he had!

Derek and I promised to maintain a budget. I get carried away and want their Easter baskets to be magnificent.  We did great....until Jack found his hidden gifts and said, "come here, what dat?"  So, we had to move to plan B the Friday before Easter and find something that would knock his socks off.  We decided on a scooter and helmet.  Greta got the mini Lalaloospy doll house and some furniture for it.  The Easter bunny even hid tiny chocolate eggs inside!  They had pretty chocolates and jelly beans, windmills and little Easter things.  They were so happy on Easter morning.  The eggs were hidden around the house.  The baskets were in the family room on the couch and caught Greta's attention right when she came down the stairs.  Jack didn't see them but kept on going down to our living room where the scooter and doll house were.  He screamed with joy about his scooter and yelled to Greta who was yelling to him, "Jack come see your Easter basket!""And, "Gigi! You got a dollhouse!!" He took the dollhouse in his arms to bring it up to show her, and eggs and furniture went flying! It was so funny. I tried so hard to make some magic and it went unnoticed.  So, I tried to place it all back in with some tiny little chocolate eggs before she got down the stairs to see.  And she was happy and amazed even so.  The kids searched for eggs and ate treats and shared with us.  We played and gave scooter lessons in the kitchen while making Easter breakfast.

It seems a tradition now that we have carrot cake from Whole Foods each Easter - we have since moving into this house.  We picked up an incredible potato salad, rare roast beef sandwiches with horseradish on baguettes and we enjoyed another Easter....At least for me, enough to talk about it until May.