Sleepover

Daddy was out of town for work for a couple nights so I decided it would be the perfect time for a sleepover with my girl!  Claire and I had popcorn, watched Sofia the First, and she slept in the bed with me.  I got kicked all night (make a note to trim that girls toenails!) and she stole the covers, but it was sweet!

 

Lewis Ginter

We had 2 free passes for Lewis Ginter so I took the kids yesterday for an all-morning-you-better-take-a-darn-good-nap-later adventure!  I think we managed to pick the hottest day of the summer so far.  By the end, we were all a sweaty, sandy, stinky, wet mess.....but we had fun!

They both loved the tree house and looking through the windows to find turtles and fish.

Clarie LOVES the sprinklers there, but Fielder wasn't too sure.  He had fun running around, but wouldn't get too close to the water.

The butterfly exhibit was really fun.  It was sweltering inside and I had to carry Fielder so we didn't stay long.  Claire's favorite part was the "nursery" - a box with monarch caterpillars and some cocoons.

Claire says her favorite part of the day was climbing this tree.



We had a picnic in the shade before hitting the water area one more time (Claire went home in a sopping wet dress.)  Her "challenge" was to keep Fielder awake for the car ride home!!

Bayou Barnes

This is our little friend we found in the driveway yesterday morning.  So random!!  At first from far away, I thought it was a baby bird that had fallen out of the nest, but as I got closer it looked more and more like a lobster.  What in the world is a crayfish doing in our driveway, I have no idea!  Claire didn't want to get too close to the little guy.  I had to go back in because we had abandoned Fielder in his high chair and by the time we went back out he had disappeared.  I feel bad to not rescue him, but no clue where to even put him!  Apparently my neighor also found one the day before so they must be from a creek in the woods or somehow washed up from all the rain.

Train Park

Claire and I used to have occasional "home days" where we just hung out at home, watched tv, read books, and stayed low-key.  There is nothing low-key about Fielder.  These days we have to stay busy, busy, busy!  I can't handle the pool with both kids but so many days a week so when we had a nice cool morning last week I googled "best playgrounds in Richmond" and this one came up.  I call it the train park because it has a train to climb on, but also because it's right above a train track where the kids can watch them go by.  Unfortunately we never saw a real train, but this playground was a winner.  They loved it and we will definitely try again to see a train!  And when I'm *really* lucky and sufficiently wear out Fielder, I get a nice long naptime!  The other day, I snuck in to check on him after 2 1/2 hours (because anything over 2 hours I figure there must be something wrong) and this is what I found.  I can't imagine it's comfortable, but I certainly didn't try to move his feet and risk waking him up.

 

Father's Day

I almost forgot to post about Fathers Day - sorry Rob!
The picture above is the kids making their cards for Daddy.  (He never got Fielders b/c Fielder thought it was more fun to eat crayons and rip up paper.)

Claire got to choose what treat to have for Father's day and she chose going out for ice cream. 



The rest of the day the kids and I disappeared so that Rob could enjoy a quiet house and time to do whatever he wanted (I'm sure that included a nap.)  I took the kids to visit Mimi and Papa and swim at their pool.  Claire had a great time showing them her new swimming skills!

Happy Father's Day!

 

Some Really Random Stuff

Since I am a complete failure at keeping a scrapbook, this is the best I can do to keep track of funny moments, memories, and pictures.  Here are a few random things that happened recently that I just wanted to write down.

Swimming
Last night was Claire's last swim lesson for the "fast-track" class.  We are so proud of her - she went from being scared to put any part of her face in the water to being able to actually swim!  She loves to go under the water, jump in, dive for rings, and can do a roll-over onto her back to "catch a breath."  I can't say enough good things about Aqua Tots!  She loved it so much and has learned SO much that I have signed her up to go once a week now. 


Toys
I snuck into Claire's room for these 2 pictures of her toys.  (I told you this would be random.)  I love to see her creativity and all the little things she has "set up" in her room.  She gets really mad if she has stuff set up for a game and we try to clean it up!  One of the things she does is to read a book and then act out the book with her pet shop animals or other toys.  If you can see, she has 3 animals sitting around just like the 3 in the book.  There's also a little animal on the table and a little one asleep upstairs in a chair like the book. 

This one, I have no idea what exactly she was doing, but it looks to me like the pet shops were having a camp out.

 

 

Conversations

I love the conversations that have been going on around here lately. 

 

I went into the kitchen and overheard this one:

C:  "Fielder, we're going to have pizza tonight!!"

F:  "pee pee"

C:  "I knew you were going to say that.  I love you!"

 

Then yesterday, I was going to turn on a Thomas show for them to watch. 

Me:  "Claire, which Thomas show do you want?"

C:  "The one about friends because Fielder is my best friend!"



Climber
So what has our 19 month old been up to these days?  Mostly just climbing, getting into stuff, and wreaking havoc in our house.  We no longer have chairs at our table - they are stashed away because he either climbs up or has a great time throwing the chairs backwards onto the floor.  I love his little personality, but man, he can tire me out!! 

The End of an Era

Today I am thankful.  Thankful for being able to send Claire to preschool for the last 3 years.  Thankful for being a stay-at-home mom so that I can take her through the carpool line and see her each day waiting in line to be picked up.  Thankful for the teachers (and a director!) that have loved her and cared for her.  And thankful for one final "hoorah" at summer camp for the past week.  I took my final drive through the carpool line - until it's Fielder's turn - and of course was a little emotional. 

As I was being "that weird mom" that takes pictures of the actual carpool line and my number in the window, I happened to look over when Claire's teacher opened her arms wide for a hug.  I was doing pretty good until I saw that and then the tears started to flow. 

I know she's bummed that summer camp is over.  I think it's sinking in that she's not going back to preschool again.  And she asked me in the car if tomorrow is Kindergarten.  I think we'll make a count-down-to-Kindergarten calendar!

We are so thankful!! 

Stolen from my friend's blog, (which apparently I also stole her blog title and didn't even realize it - sorry Sarah!) here is a wonderful quote from Dr. Seuss:
"Don't cry because it's over...smile because it happened."

 

Soon-to-be Swimmer

Check out my proud aqua tot!  The first picture was right before her first lesson and also the first time she'd even let me put goggles on her head!  She was SO excited.  The next picture was taken after her lesson....notice the wet hair!!  Yep, she went all the way under!  Not that she really had much of a choice.  So far Aqua Tots has been amazing, but it is definitely more aggressive than the Y lessons she took last year.  She would look nervous and stiff, but she'd do what they asked her to do and then look so PROUD of herself.  It's the best to see her come up from the water (with her huge-goggle-eyes) and then wave over at me or give me a thumbs up.
I had promised a prize from the treat bag at home (some yard-sale-junky toys) but she was just as happy to get a lollipop.  The rest of the week went just as great - now we have a little break and start back up next week.  I know we'll have to continue lessons, but this has been a fantastic jump-start for the summer. 

Build-a-Bear

We had not gone to Build-a-Bear before and Claire was so excited to be invited to a birthday party there!  (She had seen the store and had been asking to go for a long time.)  It was adorable and they all had so much fun.  On her birth certificate, the bear's name is Goldie, but then Claire changed it to Peanut Butter Goldie Gordon.  However, she now goes by Teddy B.

Summer is here!

 

Our first visit to the pool this summer went GREAT!  Everybody knows I am so nervous about handling the pool with both kids, so I was excited to try it out on the weekend when Rob could come too.  Fielder was nervous for a minute, but then he completely warmed up to it and loved being in the water!  Rob took him into the deeper part of the pool and just walked around with him and let him splash - Rob said it was the best 20 minutes he'd spent with Fielder ever!  I hung out in the shallow end where Claire was super excited to figure out that she can touch the bottom now.  She was able to go all around and sort of doggy-paddle.  She was beyond proud of herself and wanted to show anyone and everyone that she can now "swim!"  (She starts lessons tonight which might be a rude awakening to her that she does not in fact know how to swim completely!)  It was a very successful 1st trip and we are looking forward to many more days at the pool.....I bet by the end of the summer Claire will be swimming and diving around like a mermaid (fingers crossed.)

Last Day of Pre-K

Oh, what a miracle, oh, what a miracle,
Every little part of me.
I'm something special, so very special,
There's nobody quite like me.

-One of my favorite songs the kids sang! 

 

 

On her last day of school, we were all invited to a ceremony where all the kids sang songs and then a reception afterwards.  Rob, Popa, Jake, and I came to the ceremony while Aunt Meredith entertained Fielder (THANK YOU MERE!!!)  It was an emotional day for me, but I was so proud of our little girl.  Claire is SO excited to be heading to Kindergarten soon!  Can't believe it was just a few short years ago that my Nervous Nelly cried every single morning about going to school (at least for the first month!)  She has gained so much confidence and has absolutely LOVED school.

Popa, Jake, and Abu gave Claire a sweet card and bumble bee necklace!  She loved it!



 

May there always be sunshine.

May there always be blue skies.

May there always be children.

May there always be you.

May there always be stories.

May there always be music.

May there always be teachers

To care for you.

May there always be sunshine.

May there always be blue skies.

May you always feel special,

Because you are you!

-another favorite, sung by the teachers to the children (this one brought tears to my eyes!)

 

Claire and Mrs. Orndorff

Claire and Mrs. Walker

 

It is time to say good-bye to all my friends.

It is time to say good-bye,

Give a smile and wink your eye.

It is time to say good-bye to all my friends.



End of Year Interview

End-of-Year Interview with Claire Barnes, Pre-K May 2013

Was this a good year at preschool? yes
Did you learn a lot?  yes
What was your favorite thing that you learned?  About cicadas

When you are at preschool, what is your favorite part of the day?  Playing outside, but everything is my favorite.
What other things do you like to do with your friends at school?  Play with them, read stories, play bug cards, eat snack and lunch with them

What is your favorite song at school?  Each of us is a Flower
What is your favorite book that your teachers read?  Bugs
Tell me a little about your teachers.  Do you know Mrs. Orndorff’s first name?  Mrs. Orndorff
How tall is Mrs. Orndorff?  Don’t’ know, your age Mommy?
Where does Mrs. Orndorff live?  Ummm…….
What do you think she likes to do when she’s not at school?  She sometimes goes on trips.  She also takes care of children, she has children too.  He used to love green beans and now he hates them.

How about Mrs. Walker, what is her first name?  Mrs. Walker
How tall is she? Don’t know, maybe Daddy’s age?
Where does Mrs. Walker live?  In a house, but not preschool
What does she like to do when she’s not at school?  Sometimes she goes on trips too.  Anything else?  No, that’s it.

Ok, finish the sentence for me:
I love Mrs. Orndorff because she stops friends from being mean.
I love Mrs. Walker because she keeps friends away from stuff that’s dangerous.

What is something that Mrs. Orndorff always says to you?  Good morning.  She talks to me, but I can’t think of everything.

What is something that Mrs. Walker always says to you?  Good morning.

What does Mrs. Orndorff do to make you smile or laugh?  Well, Alex does stuff that’s silly.
What about Mrs. Walker, what does she do?  She asks if Charlie comes to birthday parties!

If you could give your teachers any gift in the world, what would you give them?  Flowers.  Actually, plant food because flowers need food.