Updates

My Girls!
K girlfriends
Performance
K Graduation Party!
K Graduates from our neighborhood!

The past 6 months have been crazy, in a good way. But things are about to slow way down with summer a mere 2 days away, so I am hoping to get back into blogging. At least every now and then, because I love to look back and see what my kids were up to.

Carlie will graduate from Kindergarten on Thursday, and we are all too ready. This week is a flurry of end of the year excitement, parties and performances. So fun, but so exhausting!

We had a K Grad party over the weekend, with over 50 guests, which was great. And Carlie even made it until about 9pm without a tear. Anyone who knows Carlie, knows that this is a MAJOR accomplishment. Mylie sailed through without incident, and even Mommy and Daddy escaped with only a couple meltdowns ;)

We are so lucky to have 13 Kindergartners that live within walking distance of our house. All but one family will be going to a new school in our neighborhood next year, so we decided to invite those families to this party. The picture above contains the kids that Carlie will hopefully be in school with through High School.

Mylie is almost potty trained, though she refuses to wear big girl underwear. What kids does that??? She will actually go in public restrooms without screaming "NOOOOOO - I TOO SCARED!" now, so I feel confident that in the next couple months, we will be all done. Just so weird, Carlie potty trained herself when she was barely two, so I am surprised that my almost 3 year old is still working on it. But whatever, we haven't done any actual training, I am just letting her do her thing.

Carlie can totally read now, which is so amazing. She has started reading chapter books on her own, and spends most of her days creating books. I so remember that freedom from when I was her age, just such a big milestone.

On to summer, we have swim team, soccer and camp coming up. Plus my first summer as a stay at home mom! For the first time in their little lives, my kids don't have to go to school all summer. Big happenings.

She's a Big Girl Now!

Mylie took a big step last night, from baby in a crib to big girl in a bed.  I still can't believe how big she looks in that bed, not lost like I anticipated. 

This was a forced transition since her crib cracked during a recent nap, and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to the crib that held both my babies through toddlerhood.  

When I asked her if she was ready for such a feat, her only request was that it be a "Tinkerbell Bed."  So off to Target we went and grabbed the only Tinkerbell comforter they had, luckily, it matched her decor perfectly.

She took to it naturally and slept for what is a record of late, from 8-7 without a peep.  YAY for Mylie.  Even bigger YAY for mommy and daddy!

Santa Was HERE!

all I want for Christmas is....

My girls to get along this good, for the next 48 hours.  PLEASE!?

And no wishy-washyness here, they have both held tight to their Santa requests.  Carlie would like a motorized scooter, and Mylie would like a bike (and be sure it is PINK!).  

I would never have picked either of those as gifts for the girls this year, so they are very lucky there is a Santa Claus!

And while we are on that subject, Elfie, our magic 'elf on the shelf' who has been with us since Thanksgiving, flies back tonight.  We are so sad to see him go.   The girls are really going to miss running to see where Elfie is every morning.  

Merry Christmas!

Birthday Bear

Below is a letter Carlie wrote to her stuffed bear, Sophia, on her "birthday" (it has been 1 year since she was created at Carlie's 5th birthday party):

"I have owes (always) thot (thought) you wr (were) my (mine).  Now I haf to Let You Go.  Love, Mom"

Carlie said that she wrote that to let Sophia know that since she is now one, she can leave and go play without Carlie sometimes.  

She said that it almost made her cry writing it, because she just loves Sophia so much.   Which made me want to cry, because I can totally see us having this exact conversation when her future child goes through one of the many stages that require letting go.   

And as Carlie starts year 6 tomorrow, this note might also be expressing mixed feelings about her own growing up.   After all 6 is the big time, as in NO CARSEAT (except when your crazy mom makes you sit in one on the freeway).  WoooHoooo!

Just in case I thought I was more

coordinated, a better singer, or just about anything than Carlie.  They invented the Wii.  

Carlie just got the Wii for her 6th birthday which is on Sunday, but we celebrated with Bill's family over the weekend.  She got the High School Musical game and it rates how well you sing.  The lowest you can get is a "C," and let's just say I have never scored higher that a "C" - not ONCE.  Carlie scores an "A" every time and she can't even read the words to the songs.  

And then there was the bowling game in which she scored all spares and strikes and ended up scoring 72 points higher than me.  I haven't beat her once in any of the games.  

I remember when I used to have to let her win.  Oh the good old days when I didn't feel like such a loser ;)

New phrases

Mylie wanted to watch Hannah Montana this morning, so I turned on the TV version versus the Apple TV version, which means it actually has commercials on it.   Her response?  "NO!  I don't want this one, I want Hannah!  That is RUDE mommy.  You are RUDE."

Mylie, Mylie, Mylie, I was just trying to show you alternatives to the episode you have watched 833 times already.  Your loss.  Ok, my loss, because that means I have to watch the old episode AGAIN. 

A few firsts...

First snowball fight
FIrst Snowman!

Mylie's first tahoe trip "I see Ocean!"
first time seeing snow!

First Friendship Feast with K Friends
 First Movie - well half a movie!

We have been busy lately... and I finally got the pics up to prove it.

Pictures of the past....

me
me, cj, mike
me and Kathryn
my mom
my dad
my mom and Luke
I just converted a ton of slides from my childhood, can you tell?

Carlie's First Conference

We had our first ever conference regarding Carlie last week.  She is doing fine, except she is apparently quite talkative in school.   Which led to a "working towards standard" on pretty much all of the social skills.  Apparently if you talk too much, you can't follow directions, stay on task, listen well to adults, or pretty much any other Kindergarten requirement you can think of.   Who knew?

Afterwards,  I mentioned that the conference went well with the exception of the talking and asked her; "Do you think you could please try to be quiet and listen to Ms Frank?"

"Not really.  I have too many friends."

Well, o.k. then.

Contest...

What character on TV does this look like?  Think adult.

Potty training post #501

For the past few weeks, Mylie has shown very little interest in the potty.  And absolutely ZERO interest in big girl underwear.   Every few days she will ask to go potty, but when I check her diaper, it is already full and warm.  

Then on Saturday night, at a neighbor's house, she announced she needed to go.  I discouraged her, because I was enjoying myself and wasn't up for a pointless potty trip.  But she persisted, and I took her.  And of course, she went successfully.   And since then (with the exception of overnight), she hasn't had a single accident.  She still insists on wearing a diaper, which works for me.  Might as well have an insurance plan!

I am quite sure that tomorrow I will be posting that she has been having accidents all over the place, but for now, I am pretending like we are done.  Wow, that was easy :)

Things my kids taught me this morning (and it is only 7:52am)

Carlie's contribution - that you don't actually need an extensive wardrobe to be up on the fashion trends.  Carlie's fashion sense has long included accessorizing for every occasion and changing clothes 10 times during an hour long bike riding session with the neighborhood boys.   However, the trend has progressed from standard dress up to really dressing up.  At a recent school carnival, she showed up with a belt as a headband.  And I have to say, it looked pretty darn cool.  And today she came down stairs with a layered look as seen above that I would never have thought of on my own (it is hard to see in the above picture, but that is a dress, a shirt and a tank layered over leggings).   And she completely pulls it off.

Mylie's contribution - that anything grumpy said with a smile on your face makes it sound so much better.  Carlie tends to complain the way I do, with a scowl on her face and a whine in her voice.  But Mylie has a much better approach.  "No, don't kiss me!" and "Don't push me!" (said as I tried to move her 2 inches) are both said with a huge smile and a giggle.  And well, it just sounds so sweet, you can't get upset with her.

My mama votes Obama

So my cousin has precious pictures of her infant daughter posted on her blog where she is wearing "My mama votes Obama" onesies.  This cracked me up, and I thought how great it is that she can still use her daughter to advertise her political preferences. 

Especially since my oldest daughter has her own opinions about EVERYTHING.  But apparently not politicians.  She told me that her class talked yesterday about who they will be voting for.  

"Mom?" she asked.  "Are we voting for Obama?"  

"Why, honey?"

"Because Ms Frank asked us who we were voting for and we ALL said Obama."

"Why did YOU choose Obama?"

"Ummmm, because everyone else did."

Day 4 of Rain

But we are having fun anyway!

Obligatory Halloween Pics!

Our annual party was a blast... Carlie was a pirate by day and a bride by night.  Mylie was a princess after I wrangled her into her dress and held her in it against her will.   But you can see from the pictures above, she eventually got over it ;)

Little Miss Mylie

Mylie was on a roll today, so I have to share:

1.  As we opened the front door today, I noticed there was a shady sales guy walking door-to-door.  I promptly returned inside to set our alarm and as Mylie and I walked back out, she asked in the loudest voice imaginable "Mommy, where is daddy?"  

Thinking on my feet is where I generally get in trouble, so I stumbled out with "Ummm, upstairs sleeping.  Let's hurry and get back so we can play with him!"  

Mylie looked confused, but didn't call me on the fact that she knew good and well daddy was at work.

2.  Mylie has a new game in the car.  And I know I am biased, but it seems rather advanced to me.  She asks "Mommy?  Where did Carlie go?" (if you are noticing a theme with the where are people questions, you are spot on).  

"Carlie is right next to you honey" I responded the first time.  And then I glanced in the rear view mirror just in time to see a little smirk slide across her little face, as she said;  "Where did Carlie go?  I don't see her??"  

And this is how we pass the time now in the car.  Well, and she occasionally demands money,  but that is a whole different story.

3.  Brushing her teeth has suddenly become a nightmare.  Not sure what the hang up is, because she has always loved it.  So the last two nights, we threatened to cut off book reading if she didn't do it, and tonight we learned that this isn't a threat she cares about.  "Night-Night" she told Bill and after he tried yet again to sway her.  

So I took her into her room and put her jammies on, while offering one last time.  "Do you want to brush your teeth so we can read a book?"  And in perfect 2 year old speak: "Ummm, no thanks Mommy, I go night-night, please."  

I am thinking tomorrow night I will threaten to keep her up all night until she brushes her teeth, maybe that will work better!

I can't even imagine what she must think of me

Carlie has a very vivid imagination.  And the current trend is for her to share all things that pop into her head as fact.  Possibly, I am starting to believe, because she wants it to be real so bad that she makes it so.  

So naturally, I have been wondering recently what her Kindergarten teacher has heard about us thus far.   

Well here is one thing she has heard: that I drive so fast that the little boy who rides with us is scared to go in my car.  

That is what she told her teacher when asked why her carpool pal wasn't at school today. So the teacher, of course, repeated it back to his mom as a possible explanation for his sudden reluctance to go to school. 

Now most who read this, know that I may be the slowest driver there is.  As in, I rarely leave the slow lane and have never gotten a single ticket.   

So though this accusation is probably not detrimental, I would rather be accused of something I am at least guilty of.   You know, like when my little drama queen tells me to 'throw her in the trash,' and I actually (briefly, of course) consider it.  

Sibling Rivalry

I swear up until Sunday, our girls hardly ever fought.  They are nearly 4 years apart, so really, what is there to fight about?  Carlie understands that Mylie is barely two and is generally patient with her.   And though we have had our share of issues, fighting amongst the girls has not been a huge one.

And then Sunday happened.  And just like that, they fight.  Over EVERYTHING.  Whose foot is where in the bathtub, who hit who, who looked at the other funny, who ate the other girl's snack, and on and on.   

I saw a blurb on yahoo the other day that said "you (the parent) may be the reason your kids fight."  I remember thinking, I don't even need to read that...  WHEN AM I GOING TO LEARN ?!?

If only sports came so easy to me

Bill always loses bets, always.   And actually come to think of it, he never pays on his bets, so maybe I shouldn't be so worried about what transpired yesterday.    Bill raced yesterday in the Mount Diablo challenge, which at least to him, is the grand finale of the race season.

Last year he got 28th (out of over 900), but leading up to the race he was a little nervous. Always competitive, he had lofty goals about being in the top 20 this time.  

Since he has long contended that we aren't having more children, I offered up a little incentive for him to make his goal.  If he got top 20, I would drop the third kid talk.   I knew it was a risky challenge, because that was just the kind of incentive he needed.

Well, apparently he didn't want to leave any room for question,  because at final tally, I believe he got 15th.    

Of course, I immediately clarified that the bet only lasts for the year and that next year, he is going to have to make top 10.   

Now I am kicking myself,  why didn't I offer him this kind of incentive to ask for a raise?   At least I would benefit from it too.  Instead, I have a husband who is already planning his training for next year!

Cranberry is in the house!

Carlie insists Cranberry thought of this on his own!
He chose the motorcycle because he likes red
 Cranberry re-visiting classmates and neighbors Jonny and Mason

The class bear made a visit to our house today.  He ate Mac & cheese for lunch and got a special treat, juice box.  Carlie could not have been more excited, and you could feel the pressure as she worried about whether or not he would enjoy his stay at our house.  Thank goodness he is going back to school tomorrow to join the kids on the pumpkin patch field trip.  I am exhausted keeping up with him ;)

No more baby talk

Our days of using cutesy words appear to be over.  When Carlie and I pointed out a "fishy" the other day, Mylie immediately corrected us and said very seriously, "it is a FISH."   Carlie and I looked at each other and started laughing.   

And that was it.   Since then she has started correcting everything we say.  

If I tell her to go get "Car Car" for me, she calls for her "Cahyee!" 

If I tell her to show me which animal is a doggy, she will reply with "this is the dog."

And most notably, if I tell her it is time to go night-night, she will say "I no want to go to sleep mommy."

She seems to be keeping track of which are mommy/daddy/Carlie made up words and which ones are real.  Just seems crazy to me that she has enough experience with language to do that already!

Speaking of things you can't make up...

Yesterday was one of those days that I will remember forever.  Not because of my brother's fancy engagement party or because we had a fabulous morning with some friends.  More because it was the day I stopped believing in Karma.  Seriously (and this is going to be LONG).  

So I agreed to pet sit for 3 families this weekend.   Two of them a short drive away in San Ramon.  The first one went without a hitch and the girls and I headed over to the other house, for what was supposed to be a quick stop in to feed a couple cats.  Just as we were leaving, I noticed their sprinklers were flooding the neighborhood so I (feeling quite heroic) found the sprinkler box all on my own and turned them off.  Nothing happened.  I called around for help patiently, as my girls became less and less patient and started asking for lunch and to go home.   

Getting frustrated with the girls, the sprinklers, and my inability to contact the family, we started driving home.  Just as we were as FAR away as possible, they called telling me the sprinklers are "broken" and maybe I could do such and such "with some hoses in the back."  

Because I am crazy,  I turned my hungry, tired girls around and unloaded them once again.  As I searched helplessly for the "hoses," I got hit square in the head by a giant apple that fell from a a tree taller than their house.  I got hit so hard that my eyes started watering and I had bits of apple all over my hair and JUICE on my sunglasses.  This is where I started my disbelief in Karma, when I realized that here I am going way beyond what I was asked to do, and now I have grumpy overtired kids, a giant headache and crunchy hair for the aforementioned engagement party.

But that was just the beginning.  On the way to the engagement party, we thought we might exit early and get some stickers a little neighbor friend of ours wanted from Bill's work.  Another good deed, right?  But after exiting the freeway and stopping at the light for several minutes, we were rear-ended by another car that was also stopped at the light.  How does that happen anyway?  This rear-ending happened to be at a pretty busy intersection, so Bill and the hitter, both told me to pull over.  I did, and guess what he did?  He got back on the freeway and high-tailed it out of there.  

So now with an apple induced headache and a license plate indented bumper (did I mention that I am also dying of Mylie's cold?), we headed to the party.  All went well until Mylie tripped straight into the ONLY UNCOVERED part of a rock wall.   Her already scratched up nose and eyes, now had a matching goose egg right on her forehead that was about the size of a half golf ball.  Seeing as how I was having such a wonderful day already, I was (a) ready to go home and (b) completely paranoid that if she did start having concussion symptoms we were in the middle of NOWHERE.  

But for some reason, we stuck it out.  And I wish that was the end, since bad things happen in threes.  But no, we had one more stroke of "luck" headed our way.  So, when recapping my fabulous day: awful cold, apple head, hit and run, baby disfigurement; I can kind of see how the next thing came to be.  As Bill drove us home after my much needed glass of wine, I kept noticing my ears were popping from my cold.  And about 20 minutes into the drive home, I started feeling car sick.  Which hasn't happened in years, especially in the front seat.  I imagine it was some kind of combination of the glass of wine, cold medicine, not really feeling up to eating and my ear issues, but I started feeling sicker and sicker.  And just as we pulled into the garage, I made it to the poor dog's water dish before it all came back up. 

The good news is that we made it through the night.  Mylie's goose-egg looks much less menacing, I feel much better, and (knock on wood) nothing has happened  yet and we've been up for a whole hour already.   Even better, Bill now has a story (the apple one, of course) that makes him laugh harder than I have seen him laugh in a long time.  Thanks honey, I love you too.

 

What is worse than a toddler with a cold who can't breathe?

Answer:  A toddler with a cold who can't walk.  Due to an unfortunate playground accident last night, Mylie is unable to walk.  Well, if she does walk, she careens out of control towards the nearest table corner.  So I am carrying the whining bundle of joy everywhere.  Including to get various toys and to eat her every 10 minute snack.  She came down with the worst cold yesterday and between the hurt ankle and stuffy nose, she was up all night last night.  Even if she was sleeping, she was crying "owwwiiiiieeeee."  

And just when I thought, I could pull the hurt, stuffy, tired baby (did I mention she also scraped all the skin off her nose yesterday at school?) together enough to get us out the door and take Carlie to school, Mylie had another surprise for me.   One I thought we were long past.  She pooped in the bathtub.  In our bathtub, which was full of toys and water.  Yay for me.   Seeing as how it is only 8:50am, I have a feeling I have a long day in store.

You just can't make this stuff up ;)

Signs she is getting older

A couple cute things happened today that show that our little car-car is turning into a big kid.   As mentioned previously, Carlie has been having some issues lately with the older girls in the neighborhood, and it got really bad this past weekend.  So bad, that I called one of the moms and we ended up sitting our two girls down to talk about what had been happening.  Not sure what will happen when the three of them are together again, but it felt like progress.  

I haven't talked to the other girl's mom, because I don't know her well and she had been out of town.  So today when the girl showed up at a neighbor's house where we were all playing, I got a little nervous.  

Not to worry though, because Carlie can take care of herself.  With all the other kids and parents there, Carlie said as loudly as possible "xxxx, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU" and whisked her into the kitchen.  None of us could believe that the authoritative voice came from little Carlie.  So I think now, I will let her do her own thing.   My job, is to just catch her when she falls.

The other thing worth mentioning is that today when I was taking a work call, Carlie came running home from a friend's house calling to me.  I immediately shushed her and she followed me around impatiently waiting to tell me what she wanted to say so badly.  Right as I was about to hang up, she handed me a note that said perfectly written "Jack Sam (heart) Carlie" and bolted out the door.  It was so cute, her first note telling me what her plans were and she even signed it with love :)

 

Sorry Mylie, sometimes we are a little slow

Mylie had her two year appt last week, which was uneventful to the point that her pedi and I talked mostly about Carlie.  Afterwards she had 1 shot, which was also relatively uneventful and we went on our way.   

The appointment was not even worth mentioning if that night wasn't the first night of the last 5 nights of completely screwed up sleep.  Mylie has cried for hours each and every night, and had a grand total of 20 minutes worth of a nap this whole weekend.  

Bill and I have racked our brains for a reason.  Was it the shot?  Turning two?  Scared of the dark suddenly?  But nothing seemed to click.  Not even the fact that for the last two nights and again today when she screamed through her "nap," she repeatedly mentioned her diaper.  

And then tonight, she called downstairs to me "mommy, i go potty, ok?"  

I ran upstairs to put her on the potty, so she could pretend to go and then be "all done."  But instead, when I got there, she had the potty all ready to go and said "i go pee pee, ok?"   As soon as I lifted her on, I knew she was going to do it, because I could see her using all the right muscles.  

So about two hours after the "pee pee in the potty" dance ended, I started thinking about how the other night, which just happened to be the same night as the doctor's appt I believe, she announced she had to go potty.  I lagged in getting to her (because it is never the real deal) and when I got there she was naked and trying to get the light on in the bathroom.  Right as I flipped the switch for her, she peed all over the floor.   

I am a big fan of the theory that when they have sleep issues they are working on a new skill.  And well, I think I finally figured out which one we are working on now!

Just guessing she watches too much TV...

When questioned about why she continues to give her friend Jonny a hard time about playing with Grace (can we say jealous, much??):

I don't know, mom.  Some boys just find me abrasive.

No explanation as of yet where she heard that one.

And because I am on a roll...

We had an exciting day yesterday.  Eventful for us, because our lives are generally pretty predictable.  I woke up when I apparently dreamed that I heard Bill whispering "JJ" to me.  I looked around the room and realized he was out riding.  So after laying in bed for 20 minutes wondering if he was calling out to me from the dead (I know, I know), I finally called his cell phone.  But instead of Bill answering at 6:45am, it was some other man.  I stammered out something about dialing the wrong number and he just responded "yes" and hung up.  Well when I went back to look, I had definitely dialed the right number.  My already hyper-imaginative mind went into overdrive, and I couldn't think of a single way he could still be ok, so I started planning what the girls and I would do with our lives while I waited for the police to show up and give me the bad news.

When Bill finally pulled up on his bicycle around 8am (he was due back at 7:30am), I think I was just as shocked to see him as I would have been to see a police car.  That was how far the other way I had gone in my imagination.

So with all that excitement out of the way at 8am, we headed via ferry into the city and had the most perfect day.  Complete with lunch the next table over from Gavin Newsom (WHY would they put the only table with kids next to him?  Wouldn't you think they would put us as far away as possible from him?).  We checked out the huge Pier 1 Farmers Market and then walked to Pier 39 to check out the Sea Lions and ride the Carousel.

All day I couldn't help feeling like we won the lottery to still have Bill with us.  But I guess my lesson wasn't over yet, because as we waited in line to board the ferry home, there was one more reminder.   The woman behind us, who had a 2 year old in her arms, was chatting on a cell phone.  When she hung up she began sobbing uncontrollably.   Concerned, I asked her if everything was ok, and she began telling me that her husband had told her the night before that he was leaving her.  Completely out of the blue, she said she had absolutely no warning.  It was so sad listening to her story, as she held her perfect little blond baby who seemed so sad already.  And the unraveling of her little life is just beginning.  

Anyway, besides the drama going on in my head and with this woman, we had a drama free day.  Which doesn't happen too often with two little girls in tow.  I can't wait to do it again!

 

Carlie Can Read!

Carlie had been able to sound out the basics for probably a year now, and has been pretty good at 3-4 letter words for the past few months.  But since starting Kindergarten, she has made the final jump into being an official "reader."  She just picks up random stuff and reads it to me now, it is so cute.  And so amazing, how suddenly it just "clicks" for them!

A quick Carlie funny.  Just now she was singing "Live or Let Die" but she thinks the words are "Little Wet Dad" - close, really close! 

Happy LATE Birthday Mylie!

 I love it when people sing to me!
 Build A Bear Success

Actual Birthday
With Jessica

Mylie had a very uneventful birthday on Wednesday.  Or I should say, if it was eventful, we wouldn't know because we barely saw her.  

She had school that morning and then came straight home for a 3 hour nap.  Shortly after she woke up, we had dinner and had to rush off to Carlie's back to school night.  

We made it up to her by having the previously mentioned cupcake party, and a trip to build a bear with BFF Jessica.

So far two has been pretty good. As long as I succumb to her commands such as 'do it myself' and "I walk," everything goes fabulously.

One going on Four

Apparently Mylie thinks I am just joking when I talk about her turning "2."  

For the past 4-5 months, if you asked her how old she was, she would respond "ONE!" and then if you asked her what her name was, she would respond "ONE!."   In fact, when tested, it was revealed, that any question asked of her that she didn't understand would result in an answer of "one."

So in anticipation of the questions she is sure to get as her birthday approaches, I started coaching her last week on "two."  I can see why this would be confusing to her, since she has no concept of birthdays or years.  But when I would tell her to answer "two" to the age question, she inevitably would look at me and say "one?"  

And then today, when her teacher asked if she was about to turn two, she even surprised me with her response.  She shook her head, looked straight at her and said "No, I Four."

It Worked!

Not a tear in the house.  The party went very smoothly, unless you count the 4.0 Earthquake with an epicenter in the town next door.  Apparently though, a couple jolts was all that was needed to keep the party flowing.  Everyone had a great time and Mylie really loved the attention during the birthday song.  The last guest left at 11:30pm, not bad for a 2 year old birthday party ;)

Here is to wishful thinking

In the interest of blogging about something so it will go away, here is my big fear for the day.

Tonight is Mylie's 2nd birthday party.  Because I have 5 3/4 years of parenting experience behind me, I tried to avoid having a party all together.  All too often, the parties (particularly those at our house) end in tears.  So my plan was to take Mylie and Jessica to Build A Bear on her actual birthday and skip the drama.  

However, Carlie had different plans.  My social planner just could not imagine a birthday passing without an all out birthday bash.  So I reluctantly agreed to a 7 pm cupcake party.  As in, have a couple neighbors over, have a cupcake and we are all done.    I specified no gifts and really intended it to be a very informal gathering.

But this is where I start to realize that my daughter is a little mini-me, because once I committed to the cupcake party, I started inviting more and more people.  Then, I started getting stressed about drinks and oh, should we have appetizers?  And well, now, it has turned from a dessert open house to a 40 person party with a girls night for the moms after.

And here is where the concern comes in.  Now that this has grown to a real live party, I am right back where I started.  For some reason, my kids get overwhelmed when people are in our house.  In our backyard, they are fine.  In the front yard, ecstatic.  Put a bunch of people in our house, and things fall apart quickly.  

So please, please, please, Carlie & Mylie, SHARE YOUR TOYS and DO NOT CRY OR WHINE. Please!?!?

And so it begins

The reality of having girls is that though everything is cute and sweet up until school-age, girls are MEAN once they hit school.  And last night, Carlie and I both got a pretty good dose of what is to come.  

Two older girls (10 and 11) that she plays with all the time, that I let into my house nearly everyday, and that I have enjoyed having around very much, were over playing along with the 90 or so boys in the neighborhood.   

Now, I learned in my own Kindergarten days that 3 girls is never a good number, but it didn't stop me from being sad and even shocked when I walked into the house to hear Carlie begging the girls to stop being mean and share their secrets with her.  

I asked what was going on and they informed me that they were sharing secrets about "Science" that she wouldn't understand.  And then they giggled and walked away.   Irritated, I asked them to go outside until they could all get along.  The older girls walked out and Carlie fell apart, mad at me, of course. 

After about 20 minutes, we went back outside and she tried again.  I walked over to where the kids were all sharing Popsicles and watched as the two girls continued to whisper and laugh and tell stories, while looking in Carlie's direction.  She held strong and would look at me every now and then with an expression that broke my heart.  If I tried to come near the group, the older girls would giggle and run away from me.  So Carlie would be left behind and at that point, she would always ask me, can ONE of them please go home?

The parents were all there but, as I am sure I would be if it wasn't my daughter falling apart, unaware of what was going on.   

The good that came out of this is that Carlie showed that she is getting tougher in her old age. Once she regained composure, she kept it, and played with the other kids.  Unfortunately, I am not as forgiving when it comes to that kind of stuff.    I know it happens, it is the way girls are, blah, blah, blah, but gosh it doesn't make it any easier does it?

Adventures of a Kindergartener

Here it is Friday afternoon, and since Monday morning when we stepped out of our house at 7:45am, Carlie has had about 10 minutes that didn't involve at least one (and generally about 20) other kids.  It has been one non-stop playdate.  

It has been great, and she has loved every minute of it.  Downtime is actually not a requirement for Carlie at all, apparently something she inherited from her mother.  As we wind up a long day at an amusement park, she will inevitably invite the whole neighborhood over for ice cream.   She just never gets tired of being surrounded by people.

The downside of this first week madness is that I have barely gotten a chance to talk to her at all.   When at the pool, I stand guard over Mylie at the baby pool while she swims independently with her friends in the big pool.  When at the park, she and her friends seem to find the furthest away spot that is still within the "acceptable range."  

It is so strange to me that her adventures are starting to include me less and less.  That people in the neighborhood are starting to share stories about my daughter that I never knew occurred.  And that her dreams are now reaching well beyond the safety of our little home.

And the truth is, my independent first-born stopped looking back for me when she was 2 years old, but it still hurts just a little bit with each new step she takes towards independence. 

Yep, today was the day....

All 90 minutes of it went off without a hitch.  Carlie ran out of class and gave me an uncharacteristic gigantic hug.  I asked her how it went and her summary was as follows "we ate a snack and did recess for 1 minute."  

Sounds like a great day to me!

Kindergarten really pushes a girl to do new things (including wear jeans!)

For the past two weeks, Carlie has been begging us to take her training wheels off.  With our crazy busy schedules we didn't get around to it until this past weekend.  

As we headed to the park, Bill and I debated endlessly over the merits of teaching her in grass or on concrete, whether her seat was high enough, whether we had sabotaged her by giving her training wheels and who knows what else.   

We both knew that there would probably be lots of falls, and much like her father, Carlie tends to have issues with things she doesn't naturally excel at. 

Turns out, we could have spared those brain cells.  The progression of pictures above shows about a 5 minute span.  And the last picture shows her leaving daddy in the dust 30 minutes after we arrived. 

Apparently she takes after her daddy even more than we realized, the bike just came naturally.