Friday, November 30, 2007
Boogie Woogie Santa
I know it's been a couple of days since I've managed to post anything interesting; I think you'll agree it was worth the wait. I think (I hope!) I've figured out how to post video right in my blog, which could have far-reaching implications for future blogs (Jemma bopping, conversations with Annie, incriminating holiday parties . . .).
For this time, however, I've tried to capture for posterity Annie's first dress rehearsal for her upcoming Christmas dance recital. The actual recital is on December 8th, and I'm already so curious about how it will go. It's in a real, live auditorium and all of the Twinkle Toes sections have one song to perform, so there will be approximately 7-8 dance classes there, plus all accompanying parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. I predict that, when faced with the enormity of the audience, at least 50% of the 3-year-olds are going to either cry or stand frozen to the spot for their entire song. Plus, who knows where we'll be sitting on the actual day, because I don't have that "psycho-mom" gene that encourages me to arrive 5 hours early to lay my coat over the best seats.
So when Miss Amy invited parents in to help the girls get used to an audience this week, I was prepared with my videocamera. To the right is Annie's friend Grace and to the left is our neighbor Ava. It was their first time wearing the spangly red belts and the slightly-too-large Santa hats, but adorable nontheless. Enjoy the dancing; if nothing else, it might bring a bit more of the Christmas spirit to you!
For this time, however, I've tried to capture for posterity Annie's first dress rehearsal for her upcoming Christmas dance recital. The actual recital is on December 8th, and I'm already so curious about how it will go. It's in a real, live auditorium and all of the Twinkle Toes sections have one song to perform, so there will be approximately 7-8 dance classes there, plus all accompanying parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. I predict that, when faced with the enormity of the audience, at least 50% of the 3-year-olds are going to either cry or stand frozen to the spot for their entire song. Plus, who knows where we'll be sitting on the actual day, because I don't have that "psycho-mom" gene that encourages me to arrive 5 hours early to lay my coat over the best seats.
So when Miss Amy invited parents in to help the girls get used to an audience this week, I was prepared with my videocamera. To the right is Annie's friend Grace and to the left is our neighbor Ava. It was their first time wearing the spangly red belts and the slightly-too-large Santa hats, but adorable nontheless. Enjoy the dancing; if nothing else, it might bring a bit more of the Christmas spirit to you!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
New Year's Resolutions . . . in November
I have just returned from the gym. Tonight is the first time I have been to the gym since sometime in April (I am not counting the many summertime trips to the outdoor pool with the girls because no exercise was involved) and I had been on the verge of cancelling my membership and deciding to just run/walk outside for the winter and maybe invest in a decent yoga class on the side.
But, I loved it! It was so fantastic to be there, hiking it up on the super-vertical treadmill (I climbed 1000 vertical feet at a 30% incline!) and messing around with a few upper-body weights. I was so inspired and energized that I took a class schedule and might start experimenting with some new things for the winter. I could even see myself going there at the crack of dawn on those mornings like this morning, when I spontaneously awoke at 4:45 and never really got back to sleep. Might as well do something productive with my time, right?
So, a jump-start on my New Year's Resolutions:
-Spend more time at the gym (how cliche is this for a NYR?)
-Do more cultural things in and around GR, especially since my nights are about to open up as the nursing-countdown continues . . . Jemma is 11 months today, so my presence will be required at bedtime for approximately one more month only!
-Drink more. I am borrowing this one from Sarah Van Deven, and by drink, I mean alcohol. My tolerance is a pitiful "if I have two glasses of wine in one night, I'll have a headache in the morning," and something must be done about it. So, more drinking it is!
Add to this the fact that my parents have already committed to babysitting for New Year's Eve, and I have that holiday all taken care of. Now, if I could just get into the Christmas spirit a little bit more . . .
But, I loved it! It was so fantastic to be there, hiking it up on the super-vertical treadmill (I climbed 1000 vertical feet at a 30% incline!) and messing around with a few upper-body weights. I was so inspired and energized that I took a class schedule and might start experimenting with some new things for the winter. I could even see myself going there at the crack of dawn on those mornings like this morning, when I spontaneously awoke at 4:45 and never really got back to sleep. Might as well do something productive with my time, right?
So, a jump-start on my New Year's Resolutions:
-Spend more time at the gym (how cliche is this for a NYR?)
-Do more cultural things in and around GR, especially since my nights are about to open up as the nursing-countdown continues . . . Jemma is 11 months today, so my presence will be required at bedtime for approximately one more month only!
-Drink more. I am borrowing this one from Sarah Van Deven, and by drink, I mean alcohol. My tolerance is a pitiful "if I have two glasses of wine in one night, I'll have a headache in the morning," and something must be done about it. So, more drinking it is!
Add to this the fact that my parents have already committed to babysitting for New Year's Eve, and I have that holiday all taken care of. Now, if I could just get into the Christmas spirit a little bit more . . .
Monday, November 26, 2007
Circle Time
We got a sneak peek tonight at the daily goings-on at Annie's preschool when we attended the fall Open House. Annie proudly showed us around her classroom, where she smelled and rolled the Play-Doh (peppermint), smelled and sculpted with the styrofoam peanuts (no smell), and smelled and made a Fruit Loop bracelet with me (fruity, obviously). Her teacher, Miss Collette, informed me that Annie is one of three "smellers" in the class this year, and she said that she always makes sure to point out a new smell to them or warn them if something, like glue, isn't going to be good to smell. (There is no question that she gets this trait from Jason. I won't list the many disgusting things that he must compulsively smell.) During the rest of the open house, Annie basically had her bracelet next to her nose and would only have been happier if she could have permanently lodged one of the Fruit Loops inside her nostril.
Then, Circle Time. We parents watched, trying to hide our laughter behind our hands, while the teachers led the kids in some singing and motions while they sat in a circle. Ben, especially, sat for about 1/100 of the time, and spent most of his circle energy doing round-offs into the middle of the circle. Often, inspired, Annie followed. There was one especially precious moment when they turned off the lights and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while holding flashlights, but otherwise, it was just an affirmation that three-year-olds are the wiggliest, most impulsive things in the world. And a reminder that the teachers should have their pay doubled immediately.
At the end, we had snack. Per usual, Annie was the very last one done, so we watched her savor every last morsel of her self-frosted cookie while Miss Collette further informed us that Annie is the last person at the snack table every single day. She loves her food . . . especially when it is cookies and juice. And Connie and I had a moment or two where we looked at each other across the room and thought, "Seriously? Am I really at my kid's preschool open house, wearing a nametag, being the MOM?" Guess we're not in college anymore.
I was so proud of my little, big girl. I can hardly believe that she goes somewhere two days a week, does things, learns things, and has actual conversations and interactions without me. It is her first step of many away from me, and even though I am proud, I am a little sad, too.
After the open house, we took advantage of the fact that Miss Kelly was already at our house, managing Jemma, so we dropped Annie off and went out for some grown-up dinner. Annie was initially thrilled to play with Miss Kelly, but then apparently fell apart some time during bathtime because she "wanted her Mommy." I hate to think that Annie was sad and wanting me when I wasn't there for her, but I'm a tiny bit glad that she still needs me that way. I love her soooo much.
This afternoon, the roofers were putting some metal sheeting on the part of our roof that leaked last winter, so Annie couldn't fall asleep in her own bed. I brought her in my bed, where she napped (and I got to watch) for an hour or so. And then Jemma woke up, rosy and chubby and gleeful, and reached her little hands high above her head for me to lift her out of her crib, and I was so glad to be home with my girls on a cold November day.
Then, Circle Time. We parents watched, trying to hide our laughter behind our hands, while the teachers led the kids in some singing and motions while they sat in a circle. Ben, especially, sat for about 1/100 of the time, and spent most of his circle energy doing round-offs into the middle of the circle. Often, inspired, Annie followed. There was one especially precious moment when they turned off the lights and sang "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" while holding flashlights, but otherwise, it was just an affirmation that three-year-olds are the wiggliest, most impulsive things in the world. And a reminder that the teachers should have their pay doubled immediately.
At the end, we had snack. Per usual, Annie was the very last one done, so we watched her savor every last morsel of her self-frosted cookie while Miss Collette further informed us that Annie is the last person at the snack table every single day. She loves her food . . . especially when it is cookies and juice. And Connie and I had a moment or two where we looked at each other across the room and thought, "Seriously? Am I really at my kid's preschool open house, wearing a nametag, being the MOM?" Guess we're not in college anymore.
I was so proud of my little, big girl. I can hardly believe that she goes somewhere two days a week, does things, learns things, and has actual conversations and interactions without me. It is her first step of many away from me, and even though I am proud, I am a little sad, too.
After the open house, we took advantage of the fact that Miss Kelly was already at our house, managing Jemma, so we dropped Annie off and went out for some grown-up dinner. Annie was initially thrilled to play with Miss Kelly, but then apparently fell apart some time during bathtime because she "wanted her Mommy." I hate to think that Annie was sad and wanting me when I wasn't there for her, but I'm a tiny bit glad that she still needs me that way. I love her soooo much.
This afternoon, the roofers were putting some metal sheeting on the part of our roof that leaked last winter, so Annie couldn't fall asleep in her own bed. I brought her in my bed, where she napped (and I got to watch) for an hour or so. And then Jemma woke up, rosy and chubby and gleeful, and reached her little hands high above her head for me to lift her out of her crib, and I was so glad to be home with my girls on a cold November day.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
O Christmas Tree
We have returned from our Thanksgiving journey up north, and we are thankful to be home. While it was cozy and snowy in Petoskey and we loved spending some fun time with our niece, it is great to be back. We spent the remainder of our Thanksgiving weekend unpacking, eating my mother-in-law's leftover cinnamon rolls (yum!), doing laundry, cleaning the house, getting groceries, Christmas shopping, doing yard work, and getting our Christmas tree from a cute tree farm in Rockford.
Oh, what a Christmas tree it is: we call it our Balsam Baby, and it is making our whole house smell wonderful. Last night, after decorating it and having some wintry butternut squash soup (which exploded all over me when I put it in the blender . . . I should not be allowed to use our blender, ever), we made a fire and some hot cocoa and enjoyed our tree while listening to Christmas music. Annie's favorite song, by far, is Jingle Bells (mine are O Holy Night and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas; Jason is partial to the Perry Como Christmas album; and Jemma continues to do a full-body "bop" to any and all music). I love this time of year so much, and even more now that we have kids to share it with. Annie is obsessed with the ceramic nativity scene that we unpacked yesterday and spends a good part of her day trying to sneakily play with it even though we told her it's just to look at . . . I am a good mom (or a sucker for marketing) and have ordered her the Fisher Price nativity scene as an early-Christmas present to be opened next weekend at my Dad's side Christmas party. I can hardly wait to see the hilarity that ensues when she has full access to all the characters. Already, she insists that the wise man is "Jesus' grandpa."
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Annie's Friends
Because I know I'll want to remember this someday, a partial list of Annie's various "friends," some real and some imaginary:
Real, actual people who she sees on a daily/weekly basis and talks about frequently: Ben, Lucy and Tommy, Ava Rose, Caden, Kate and Ian, and other assorted neighbors
Friends at school: Ben (again), Gwen, Aidan, Alex, William, McKenna, Ella
Friends at dance class: Ava (who she gets in the most trouble with), Lily, Grace, Betsy (whose glasses she is captivated by), Audrey (who is spunky and won't let Annie cut in line)
Dolls: Gracie, Dinah, Trini, Brother (a pink, stuffed cloth doll), Amy, Cinderella
Stuffed animals she's named: cats named Steven and Sophie, a lion named Simba, a hippo named Sprinkles, a horse named Nugget, bears named Nene and Curtsy, a dog named Pup and another named Prairie Dog . . . good grief.
Also, the asian boy on the Life Cereal box is known to the Doublestein family as Peter, and we must never, ever purchase other boxes of Life Cereal with the caucasian boy on them.
What's fun, here, is that when I'm packing (say, for example, to go up north for a few days), I'm never really sure which of the two dozen dolls/animals Annie is going to want most desperately. Tonight, I tried to get her to pick two or three special ones to put in her backpack for tomorrow's trip, and she did so willingly, but there's no telling who she's going to NEEEEEEED upon arrival in Petoskey. Here's hoping that Dinah, Simba, and Cinderella are the right choices for this Thanksgiving extravaganza.
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
Real, actual people who she sees on a daily/weekly basis and talks about frequently: Ben, Lucy and Tommy, Ava Rose, Caden, Kate and Ian, and other assorted neighbors
Friends at school: Ben (again), Gwen, Aidan, Alex, William, McKenna, Ella
Friends at dance class: Ava (who she gets in the most trouble with), Lily, Grace, Betsy (whose glasses she is captivated by), Audrey (who is spunky and won't let Annie cut in line)
Dolls: Gracie, Dinah, Trini, Brother (a pink, stuffed cloth doll), Amy, Cinderella
Stuffed animals she's named: cats named Steven and Sophie, a lion named Simba, a hippo named Sprinkles, a horse named Nugget, bears named Nene and Curtsy, a dog named Pup and another named Prairie Dog . . . good grief.
Also, the asian boy on the Life Cereal box is known to the Doublestein family as Peter, and we must never, ever purchase other boxes of Life Cereal with the caucasian boy on them.
What's fun, here, is that when I'm packing (say, for example, to go up north for a few days), I'm never really sure which of the two dozen dolls/animals Annie is going to want most desperately. Tonight, I tried to get her to pick two or three special ones to put in her backpack for tomorrow's trip, and she did so willingly, but there's no telling who she's going to NEEEEEEED upon arrival in Petoskey. Here's hoping that Dinah, Simba, and Cinderella are the right choices for this Thanksgiving extravaganza.
Happy Turkey Day, everyone!
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