a real ballerina

"Mommy, today I am a real ballerina!"

"I can put my shoes on all by myself but can you help me tuck in the ties?"

"Today I am going to dance on the stage where the real ballerinas dance."

"There is no curtain there so they will just turn down the lights when it is time for us to walk on stage."

"I will smile and not sing during my performance."  

"My teacher said not to sing along to the song."

The song they danced to was the ever-popular Let It Go song from the movie Frozen.

"I wasn't nervous and I did my best.  I heard my Aunt cheer for me at the end!"

"I sat and colored with my friends backstage."

She was captivated by every detail of the afternoon.  

It was a magical performance day for my joyful ballerina and her family.

We are grateful for such a positive experience for this budding ballerina!

oh what fun

Oh what fun it is to collect bugs in the backyard in your PJs on an early summer morning!

Let the summer fun begin!

her morning ritual

It's her morning ritual.  She points and whines to his food dish sitting up on the counter.  It is out-of-reach to soak his hard food and make it soft enough for his aging mouth.  She hates to wait and often resorts to screaming and crying while we wait for the food to soften.  As soon as the food is ready she reaches up for his stainless dish.  It is full and heavy with inflated dog food pellets.  She carefully holds the dish and walks across the tile to the back door.  She successfully navigates the back step and walks out to feed him.

When he hears the back door open, he saunters over to meet her.  They meet by his water pail.  He gently stands face-to-face with her with straws of drool falling from his eager jaws.

As she bends to give him his food, he softly nudges closer to sniff his morning meal.  He doesn't begin to indulge until she stands up.  She watches him devour his meal in seconds and seems so pleased that she could give it to him.

The entire ritual reminds me of her younger sister's similar ritual with our other boy.  

It is neat to see similarities emerge in their personalities.   

so long daisy

Today she walked across the little bridge at the park wearing her Daisy vest for the last time.  Along with her troop, they became Brownies today.  The little blue vest with all it's hand-sewn patches will be packed away for her to share with her kids someday.  Next year we will embark upon lots of new adventures with all the girls and their mothers as Brownies.  As a former Girl Scout myself, I love everything it teaches young girls.  I love the good friendships and character it builds at such a formative time in their lives.

I will do my best to behonest and fair,
friendly and helpful,
considerate and caring,
courageous and strong, and
responsible for what I say and do,
and torespect myself and others,
respect authority,
use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

her last day

Today was the last day I will follow her zippy trail into preschool.  

Her time here was full but passed much quicker than I could imagine.  Perhaps it is because she is sandwiched between the older child's exciting firsts and the younger baby's lingering lasts.  Maybe it is because of this, I lament the end of this stage much more than I did for her sister.  How did it slip by so quick?   

I know I am emotional about the change because I will miss the shorter days and more time spent with her.  I dread the longer public school days when she is gone far too long for my liking. 

For her preschool finale, she sang a couple beautiful songs with her classmates that brought tears to our eyes. 

 Big tears filled with such great pride wet my cheeks as I sat watching her on stage today.  She sung and danced her heart out.  It was a wonderful culmination of the great journey she made here.  

She grew from a frustrated little toddler that could barely talk to a happy and confident preschooler.  

 My girl was nurtured in academics, faith, play and social relationships.

She grew confident in herself, her academics and her faith. I am so delighted this was her first school experience and it was incredible.  

Bye for now sweet preschool days.

waiting for rain with a muffin and a picnic

We made her favorite muffins together after her sister was asleep.  The skies were cloudy all morning and threatened rain with the passing sound of a distant thunder.  She decided a picnic on the back lawn with rain boots and our favorite strawberry blanket was in order.  We sat and ate our warm muffins under the cloudy gray skies.  The cool breeze was delightful and offered a reprieve from the warm temperatures.  I love these little moments away from everything with just one child.  They are so precious to me.

Happiness is...

Have you ever caught your kids experiencing tremendous joy?  Laughter erupts from their giddy bodies like a wild firecracker.  They become unaware of their surroundings and their focus is pure happiness.

I found just that the other day.  

My two big girls picked rose petals from their grandmother's garden and were having the best time throwing them up in the air and dancing beneath.  They laughed and giggled so hard as they skipped and bounced around the garden all afternoon.  

Needless to say, they are quite lucky that their grandmother treasures the sound of their laughter much more than a garden full of luscious rose blooms.  I don't think there was a rose left after they played.  All the petals were strewn around the yard.

It was pure happiness.