With A Burp and A Giglle

When we moved to VA, Landlords' Youngest was only a few weeks old.  It is hard to believe that we helped to celebrate her 3rd birthday a couple of weeks ago!  The event turned into an all girls affair and they sure did have a good time.  When I took this picture, it was right before that table full of sweet femininity mysteriously turned into a bunch of burping banshees!  You read that right.  All of the sudden we hear a fake burp and 4 small giggles.  Followed by another fake burp and even louder giggles.  By the time they finished their dinner it was all burps and giggles.  I just sat there amazed at how entertained they were by their fake gassiness:)  

June 2 (317/365)

 After dinner the girls all decided to claim a grown up chair because all the adults were talking and standing behind the chairs.  We quietly moved the adults out of the way to try and get a picture of the four of them smiling, looking at the camera, and sitting shall we say "lady like".  As Landlord is fond of saying, it was like herding cats!  But here is the best shot we got!

Show Day

Oh Little Gym, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:)  Doodle has been going to TLG since we moved to VA.  Over the last 3 years she has learned lots of useful skills and had lots and lots of fun.  We celebrated 2 birthdays at the gym and countless hours of fun.  The better share of her time at the gym has been spent in Parent/Child classes.  I loved going with her.  Loved the time to focus on her.  And loved watching her grow and discover new skills and things she could do.
Recently she started going to the big kid class by herself.  I will admit, it was a bit of a joy/sad moment.  I was thrilled to have an hour to hang out with my mom friends while the kids went to class.  I will also admit that I was a little sad to give up that time with her.
The end of the session came and along with it was Show Day.  In the past, Show Day hasn't been much different than a regular day at the gym.  I had been there with her and knew what she could do.  I have also been to school shows and seen her shy bug come out.  So, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting much of a show from her.  Boy was I wrong!  Straight out of the gate, I could tell she was pumped!

June 1 (316/365)

That kid remembered her "batinis" or routines to the rest of us.  She did skills that normally would have terrified her.  She showed confidence that I often see one on one with her but that she rarely puts on display.  At each station of the gym the grin of pride on her face got bigger and bigger.  She knew she was doing good and showing off.  It was a joy to watch her!

Doing an arabesque on the beam that terrified her a few months ago

Flipping on the bar and actually keeping her grip!

Jumping off the mountain (that she climbed up)

Hanging from the bar

At the very end of the class each child got a medal.  She was so proud of herself.  And I was so proud of her.  It was also one of the first times that I had very little to do with her accomplishment.  She did it on her own. She made the choices.  She was self motivated.  That made my heart sing even louder and sweeter!  Beth, Cecily, and Sarah can convince that kid to do just about anything!  We are going to miss you guys tons and Doodle has already asked if there is a Little Gym in Pixburb.  And although I know there is one, I don't think they could ever hold up to the standard she now has!

Getting her medal

And in case you haven't gotten enough of her, here is a little video clip of her giant climb!

Graduation

Sadly this will be my last post singing the praises of Doodle's preschool.  The school year has come to an end and graduation is all done.  In preparation for the end of the year, I wanted to do something special for the teachers and staff that have made MSP so special to us.  And by special, I mean I wanted something that Doodle helped me to make and create and give.  I decided on a craft project and a baking project.  For the craft project I made a conscious effort to use things I had around the house (part of the use don't pack plan).  I happened to have some small 4x4 wrapped canvases and acrylic paint.  I also had some fancy Martha Stuart brand painters tape in different width.  
I asked Doodle who she wanted to make a present for at school.  She chose her teacher, the director, the aide, and her teacher from the previous year.  I had her help me figure out the first letter of each of their names and then I made that letter using the painter's tape.

Then I devised a paint brush/stamper of sorts.  Please remember that Doodle doesn't like to be dirty or messy.  Soooo I have to find other ways for her to be crafty without fighting her about paint on her hands.  I came up with sponge squares and bulldog binder clips. ( I also used some round daubers that I had laying around the house, but didn't have enough of those to satisfy my colorful artist)

Once we had the tools worked out, I got the paint and put it on a plate.  My original plan was to have Doodle stamp 2 colors and try to cover the entire canvas.  To my surprise, she got into the painting thing and stamped, drug, pressed, and mixed the paint on the canvas.  They didn't turn out as I had imagined, but she did have lots of fun doing it:)

May 29 (313/365)

Once we had all 4 canvases painted, we had to wait and let them dry.  Thankfully this was nap time so the wait wasn't painful.  

Once Doodle woke up, we got busy peeling the tape off the canvases.  She was very patient and helped me do this part too!

Here's a picture of the finished product.  I ended up adding a little black puffy paint to outline the letters.  That was really the only part that Doodle didn't help me do.  They weren't beautiful on the outside, but the love and hard work made them beautiful to the recipients (I hope).

Part two of our gift plan was to make some yummy pound cakes for all 4 of the teachers.  Doodle loves to bake so she didn't need any encouragement to help me out in the kitchen:)

May 30 (314/365)

So, gifts were made and graduation day was upon us.  I will admit, I cried.  Not because she graduated from one class to the next.  I cried because I knew that it was the first of many goodbyes that we will have to say in the coming weeks.  In order to save face, I pretty much tucked my head and ran out the door!  Here are a few pictures of Doodle and her friends!

May 31 (315/365) 

Doodle shaking hands with Pastor Neil 

While she has grown up and grown out of many things while at MSP, she has yet to get over things being too loud!  The music to the slide show was a little loud on the stage, so of course Doodle closed her ears:)

The best picture I got of our little grad:)

After graduation we went to Applebees with some of Doodle's Bluebirds:)

As we head onto new schools, new teachers, and new friends, I will always hold a special place in my heart for MSP.  They gave this stay at home mom a chance to be alone a couple times a week.  They helped me to be a better mom because I got some time to myself.  They helped me to be a better wife because I wasn't at my whits end every single day when My Favoritest got home.  They helped me have the energy to do fun and creative things with Doodle. Around here there aren't many preschools that take 2 year old.  We were lucky enough to find them!

Bluebird Picnic

Sadly, the end of May also meant the end of school.  As I write this, we are 2 full weeks into summer break.  Right now I would pay Main Street Preschool triple their rate for summer school!  It's not just that the 9 hours a week made me a happier mommy, they made Doodle a happier kid!  She loves school.  She really loves her friends.  She was so excited about the end of the year picnic at her favorite park.  When ever we mentioned the picnic she would jump up and down and  scream "I so excited for my bluebirds to be at the park together!"

May 16 (300/365)

Picnic day came and it was all she expected it to be.  She spent the entire morning playing outside. She and her best school buddy D were inseparable!  They had so much fun playing with each other.  We are so lucky to have landed in the right school at the right time. MSP is definitely on the list of things that our whole family will miss! 

May 17 (301/365)

Our Little House

I notice that I am becoming sentimental as we near the big move.  Believe it or not, one of the things I am getting sentimental about is our house.  There is a country song called Little Houses.  It talks about how small houses allow love to grow big.  That is true for our current house.   While the space is seeming to grow smaller every day, I am going to miss many things about it.  I will miss our one big living space.  It has given me the opportunity to see Doodle play and grow without her realizing it.  I will desperately miss our courtyard and all of our friends.  I will miss Doodle's cozy little room that started as a nursery and turned into a big kid room.  I will miss that because there is no one else to be, My Favoritest and I spend lots of time together doing our own thing.  It is nice to be in each other's company.  Pretty much, I will miss the house in general.  
They say that smell has a strong link to memory.  I know this is true.  To this day, the smell of confederate jasmine makes my brain flash to the entrance of Children's Medical Center at MCG in Augusta, GA.  The smell of spearmint gum makes me think to long summer road trips.  And now, the smell of wild honey suckle will always remind me of the back yard of our little townhouse in VA.  It is only fragrant and blooming for a few weeks, but I love every minute of that sweet smell:)

May 11 (295/365)