I Feel Pretty... oh so pretty...

Spring Program 2009! Woo hoo! It was awesome; as always. I love this program. I know it's a lot of work for the teachers and the children, but it really gives the children a chance to develop self confidence and realize their potential. It's their chance to shine. I have to seperate it into 2 different posts because each child was so amazing.

The theme of this year was Berry on Broadway. Leah performed a number from Westside Story. Personally, I've not seen this show, but I really enjoyed this song. The girls in the class sang and danced to "I Feel Pretty". Leah actually had a solo! I was a little nervous as to how this would go. She's pretty outgoing, but has never intentially gotten up in front of people and performed. I shouldn't have worried. She was amazing. We talked about it and she just stepped forward and sang. She knew her words and her dance moves and there was just no stopping her! Amazing! Are these really my children? Here are some pictures from her number...

The picture below is in the beginning when Leah stepped forward and sang her solo. She had no fear. I'm amazed by her. I sang solos when I was her age, but I had to be standing by the piano with my dad and even then, I was really nauseous. She delighted in this experience.



Here she is dancing with the other girls...



The end of the song...



The entire class...



We also had fun getting ready. I've come to realize that I'm a pretty high maintenance mother. I mean well, but I'm pretty Type A. I'm glad Mrs. Niedrach tolerates me... but in my defense, this is my baby and my final year to be in Mrs. Niedrach's class so I think I'm entitled to a little obsessive compulsive behavior.

Leah actually let me really curl her hair for this performance. She always gets impatient (and let's face it, she has a lot of hair). I had such fun playing with it and curling it!



Spraying glitter on her skirt...



Mrs. Niedrach putting the headband in...



Leah's favorite dance move is the twirling. When everyone twirled once, she twirled about 3 times. She loves to practice...



Here is her bouquet of flowers. It was actually taped to her hand! She thought that was hilarious!



We are so proud of her this year. Her personality continues to grow and she is just such a bright light in our world. I'm so glad she is in a place that nurtures her spirit and encourages her to try new things!

DeAnn

Next up: Christian's performance!

It's a Dog's Life

I'm in such a rut lately. Everything is getting on my nerves. Everything. Even the dog. I'm home more than the rest of the family and the dog is very attached to me. Everytime I turn around, or sit down, or even just stand there... there she is. I was in the kitchen and I turned around, and this is what I saw...




Remember that dog Eddie on Frasier? The one who stares at him all the time? I think my dog is turning into Eddie....



And when she's not staring at me, she's following me...



Everywhere...I'm sorry, Piper, am I boring you?



And when I sit down, she's there. I mean, she's right there. Right up against me. All the time!




Sometimes, I use her as a footrest. She doesn't care...




She also has this habit of licking herself. It makes me wonder.. is she anxious? Does she need prozac? Is she an unhappy dog?



And then, because she feels like I'm analyzing her... she gets up and moves across the room to the recliner. Notice how she has it reclined. Because a girl needs to be comfortable. But, never fear... she may be across the room, but she's still staring at me!

Biking!

You may remember that Leah got a new bicycle for her birthday.



Recently (about 3 weeks ago), Leah became determined to ride her bike without training wheels. Now, the children keep their bikes at my parents house because our road has a lot of traffic and it just makes me nervous. So, Leah really only had one chance a week to practice. But she was determined! I've never seen her so determined. She insisted that we take the training wheels off. We said no, she wasn't ready. She insisted again. We let her ride Christian's old bike to practice. That child would not be swayed. She wanted those wheels off! About 2 weeks after (really only about two more days of practicing), she was off and riding!






So, this weekend we decided to go on a family biking outing!





Leah still struggles with going uphill, but she was a trooper most of the time. We were so proud. We were even proud after she fell and skinned her knee. She got up and kept on going (after a bandaid of course- b/c everything feels better after a bandaid!).

We had so much fun and were so incredibly tired after it was over. Or maybe that was just Scot and me that was tired. The children seemed to have more energy.

Although I lament about the children getting older and not being babies anymore; there is a part of me that really enjoys them being older and being able to get out and do more things!

Brothers

Brothers...

It starts off really innocent..




You think they're just playing...



Then you start to wonder; are they playing?



But boys play differently than girls...



That's the thing about brothers...it's always okay in the end..

So Close...

It's April 20th! We are so close to the end of this school year. In fact, it feels like the end of the school year because we have yet another week off from school. While the children are excited about that, I am less enthused. How do working parents deal with that? It's a mystery to me... but I digress...

I was thinking earlier that we have made it through an entire school year with Christian with no drama! This year has been so different than last year. Last year, I didn't blog about the hideousness of the year because it was, well, too hideous. Just living it was bad enough, I didn't want to immortalize it in print. But, suffice it to say, it was bad. So bad, that we almost pulled him out of school. Twice. Last year, I would go to the school and he would crawl up in my lap and beg me to take him home. Below is a picture of him last year...



So you can imagine that this year, I was a little nervous. I spent most of last year looking forward to days off and field trips because I would be with him then and not have to worry about him. I couldn't wait for Spring Break and holidays. This year, I'm annoyed at the extra week off. How far we've come! Mostly I'm annoyed because of what it means for next year, but I'm still annoyed! Yay! Last year, I would have been thrilled.

I have to credit his teacher this year for a lot of the turnaround. She really "gets" Christian. And that's not easy to do. He's a difficult, negative child on a good day and she really chooses her battles. She knows that he's going to be rambunctious and she accepts that as part of who he is. She doesn't expect him to conform or be like the other children. But, she knows when to step in and set the limits. It's like walking a tightrope all the time. It's hard. Believe me, I know. Plus, Christian has matured some. His temper is still there... but it doesn't burn as quickly or as long as it did last year.

I wonder about next year. I won't be around the school much at all next year. I've told Scot that it's his turn to handle these situations. My comfort is that Christian will have an awesome teacher next year. One who really knows how to handle challenging children. Not only is she experienced, she's had the chance to watch Christian for the last 3 years. I'm sure she will rise to the challenge. I also wonder about Leah. She will be in 1st grade. We, as a family, have NEVER had a good first grade experience. It's always been awful. I can only hope that she will be the exception. I know I can't go through another year like last year. At least now, if I had to pull someone out, I would have somewhere to put them. That makes me feel a lot better! I'm sure it won't come to that though. For now, I will try to put all the worry and anxiety aside and concentrate on all the positive things from this year and look forward to another happy year!

So, here's to a good year!

It's Easter!

Happy Easter!

What a great day it has been! We started the day off early (of course... our children do not know the meaning of the concept 'sleeping in'). That silly Easter bunny hid the children's baskets and made them search the house for clues/eggs. There was lots of running and yelling! Each child figured out all of their clues and found the baskets.




Afterwards, we dressed and went to a new church. This was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it. We will definitely go back and see what it's like on a "normal" day. Following church, we went to my parents. We had lots of ham and turkey and then spent hours hunting Easter eggs!




It was lots of fun and my parents have SO many places to hide those eggs outside.

Overall, it was a great day spent with family and truly focusing on the reason for Easter!

DeAnn

More about the Wedding

Yes, I'm still blogging about the Wedding. And why not? It was fun and I took SO many pictures. This is our last baby to be in a Kindergarten Wedding and I felt the need to be obsessive and go overboard. It's also one of my last chances to be out at the school for fun things like this and I wanted to really enjoy it. I worked with one of the other mothers in the class to help set everything up. It was a lot of work but we had so much fun. Afterwards, we both commented on how sad we are that this is our last child (her baby is also in the class). At least I'm not alone in my nostalgia!

Leah was a bridesmaid in the Wedding. She was a bit disappointed, but rallied well and thoroughly enjoyed herself. The only downside is that it rained some. But, during the important times, the rain held off (note- this was NOT while I was cleaning up and loading the car... I got wet!).



Scot took off work and came out as well as Nana and Phyllis. My dad (Papa)was sick! He's hardly ever sick so we were really sad about that. I would have loved some good granddaughter/grandfather photos! There was a big reception complete with lots of dancing. Leah has a friend that came up and asked her to dance. She was really happy and spent most of the reception dancing with him.




As I watched her, it occured to me that she is at such a good age. I wish I could hold on to her innocense and positive attitude forever. She approaches life with a zest and really sees everything as an adventure.



I love the above picture. It shows her excitement and eagerness to do something new. It really captures who she is becoming.

Maybe I'm feeling sentimental. There are lots of changes coming and the kids are growing up quickly. I feel that if I even blink, I will miss something really important. As Leah walks out of babyhood and into childhood, I'm so excited to see what she will become. I'm so glad that I got to experience this with her and capture the experience. I feel that it is something she will remember forever. As will I.