Maddie's Fifth Birthday, The Party

I am a bit too tired to create a video with music like last year, but I did want to post some pictures from Maddie's party this evening.   I also want to wish a speacial husband "Happy Birthday" and to say THANK YOU for working so hard on your own birthday-day. 

Maddie wanted a bug theme this year.  The kids went on a bug hunt for little plastic bugs that I had hid around the yard, they painted a bug mural, and we got a ladybug pinata.

 Maddie knocked the pinata off its string with her first smack, but after we re-hung it, it took quite a beating:  plastic bat, wooden bat, golf club,  . . . repeat, repeat, repeat.

Ice-Cream Social

Today we all attended Madeline's kindergarten orientation (sniffle, sniffle)  and ice-cream social.  She can tell you the name of her school, her teacher's name, and what class she's in (Room #1, how fitting!).  We know where to drop her off, at what time, and how to package her snack separately from her lunch.  

I have been thinking about Madeline's first official day school since she was about three months old.  That's because,  as I was preparing to return to work full-time from maternity leave, I was constantly thinking about all of the things I'd be missing as a working mom. As a teacher myself, with my own "first day," I have always known that the first day of school would be something I would miss out on.  Now, five years later, it's going to happen, ready or not.  

Luckily, Kent has agreed to document the event for me. And luckily, I was able to see her teacher, her classroom, and her friends today.  And luckily, Maddie and I both know several kids that will be in her class.  And, even though I am going to miss that first day, I am excited that it will be a moment that Kent and Maddie will share and create together.  Besides, even though I'll miss that first day, I do have every summer, holiday, and afternoon to spend with my "baby," and I can't complain about that.  

Weekend Happenings . . .

We started off the weekend by having a mini-celebration for Madeline's 5th birthday. Since we're having her party next weekend, we opted for a pancake-cake on the 23rd.

After breakfast, we all went out and got Sophie her second pair of glasses, then spent the remainder of the weekend trying to keep them on her face.

Sunday, I began painting the exterior of our home, and Kent and Maddie climbed onto the roof to oil our air conditioner. I know, all of this sounds very exciting.

Finally, we we spent more time trying to coax Sophie into wearing her glasses, sometimes with luck and sometimes without . . .

Little Four Eyes

                                      Look what they've done to me now!!!

Our 22 month old daughter has her first pair of glasses. We picked them up this evening, and I am just not sure what to think about them. I am thinking that, perhaps, I should have done a bit more research before filling her prescription rather than letting the "professional" guide my decisions.

The glasses seem a bit large on Sophie's face, and I think a more rounded pair would have been a better choice. Anyway, I am sure this is the first of many pairs,  as they will no doubt become scratched, broken, lost, etc. . . .   

The jury is still out for me on whether they help her see better or not. She knows a few letters and can identify them at close range, with and without the glasses . . .  

The jury is also still out on whether Sophie is going to be agreeable to wearing the glasses or not. In the store, she seemed to accept them. She pointed to them, smiled, and said "Mine?" followed by "Mine." several times.  During  the car ride home, she took the glasses off and didn't want to put them back on. Once we were home, Sophie showed her glasses off to Daddy and Maddie (Maddie said, " It's not fair. Mommy, Daddy, and Sophie have glasses, and I don't."), but then, she refused to wear them. So I took out my lenses, put on my own glasses, gave Maddie a pair of shades, and tried to convince Sophie that wearing glasses was super cool, which is seeming to work, at least for the moment . . .

Cool chicks wear glasses.  Everybody's doing it.

San Diego and Pacific Beach

We decided to take a mini-vacation down to San Diego before our summer officially wrapped up. Since we missed our big trip this year, I really wanted to get away, even if only for a couple of days. We had a fantastic time! We went to the beach and SeaWorld, and Kent got to see his good friend Andy. Coincidentally, Sophie had a medical emergency that kept us from Andy's wedding a year an a half ago. Kids, they can really complicate your plans!  Anyway, like I said, we had a great time.




Our first stop was Pacific Beach, a really happening part of San Diego. Since it was evening, we thought we'd just walk along the beach, then get a beer at a beach front restaurant. Since we didn't bring bathing suits or towels, we asked Maddie not to get too wet, and so, of course, she drenched herself. To top off the event, she practically made a snow angel in the sand afterwards. Let's just say, she was quite uncomfortable the rest of the evening, but we persevered, and rewarded her with ice-cream. See the next post . . .

On the Boardwalk . . .

After running around the beach, Kent wanted to treat the girls to some ice-cream.  

Ahhhh . . . Sophie and her crazy eyes.  I hope her glasses are ready this week!

SeaWorld!!!!

I have been wanting to take the kids to SeaWorld for so long! When I would visit my Dad and Mel while they were living San Diego, visiting Seaworld was one of my favorite things to do. Since my last visit about ten years ago, SeaWorld had added lots of new things. They have rides and playground-type stuff built around a Sesame Street Theme. Sophie got to see her hero, Elmo, as well as Zoe, Burt, Ernie, and Coo-coo Mo-Mo (Cookie Monster).





The park is still expensive. The cost of feeding these sea animals? $6.00. Not cheap, but an activity we couldn't skip.

Sea World, Cont.

Maddie and Kent fed the sting rays a few little fish that cost another $6.00. That's 12.oo in addition to our entry tickets.  Again, not a cheap place to visit.

To make up for the $12.00 we spent on dead fish, we made sure we each got our 2 free beer samples from the Hospitality Center. One thing nice about Seaworld is you can buy alcohol and walk around with it! That means fun for the whole family!

We watched two shows during our visit. One show had Sea Lions and Otters and the other was the Cirque de la Mer.  We thought the Cirque de la Mer was somewhat vegas-ish, and not as cool as the one we were expecting with water skiers and such.

  

The last event.  Sophie was a bit grouchy by this point since we had to wake her up from her nap,  and then change a diaper that had seeped onto her shorts.  Enough details about that, though.  We had a great little get away and lots of great memories were made!

 

Unconventional Bathing

Baths have become such a chore around our house.  Over the past year, our nightly bath routine has dwindled down from every night, to every other night, to twice a week.  The girls cry when I rinse their hair, fight over the faucet side of the tub, make big splashes and a mess for me to clean up.  So last night, as I was procrastinating/complaining about the upcoming event, Kent suggested I just wash them in the pool.  The kids thought this was a great idea, and it went over well.  No fighting over the faucet, no too-big splashes, no mess for me to clean up.  There were still a few tears over the hair rinsings, but hey, I was happy.  Thanks Daddy, what a good idea!

Our Weekly Wrap-Up

Most of the week, Kent and I have moped around depressed that we were missing out on our long anticipated family vacation on the east coast. However, in lieu of our trip, there were a few highlights to our week. One, Madeline was able to attend her Princess Ball at school. Two, Kent got a ton of stuff done around the house. Three, we were able to keep Sophie's appointment with the pediatric opthamologist.


Sophie and Daddy waiting for the much anticipated appointment:

The scoop on Sophie is she is far-sighted. She has a prescription for +475 glasses that we'll get in a week or so.  She wore her little sunglasses like a trooper on the way home.

Mission Completed

The painting is done, and surprise, it's green. It was a lengthy decision. First I posted the poll, then I decided on lavender, but in the end, I decided that a more neutral color would be better for resale. In addition to painting, Kent and I have been scraping exterior paint and our interior popcorn ceiling.

The half-way mark:


The finished product:

Colors

One of my goals this summer was to help Sophie learn her colors. She has done very well and can identify, by naming, most basic colors. She can also identify by naming the following body parts: nose, mouth, eye, ear, neck, back, elbow, knee, a mole, and her tushie (poo-poo). When I ask her to do something, she responds with "O.k." or "all-right." She also likes to say "Bad Mannie" (translation: bad Maddie) when Madeline gets in trouble. This makes her big sister REALLY mad, and Sophie knows it. Fun times!

Andrew Turns 5 (Wow!)

Lucky Maddie has been to 3 birthday parties, all in the last week. Lucky girl! Today we attended Andrew's 5th party. 

As I was looking after Sophie, I realized how it seems your kids go from needing pretty much constant attention and supervision to hardly needing you around at all. It seems it has happened over night; I am just not exactly sure "which night" it happened. Madeline was so busy playing with the other kids, I don't think she called for me once. Sure I tried to encourage her to slow down enough to eat, use the bathroom, and apply sunscreen, but mostly I just cramped her independent style. She is definitely a confident and outgoing girl, and I think that will take her really far in life. I know, she's only five, but I am always thinking about what the future holds for my children . . .

One year old baby-buns, couldn't resist:


The pinata is always such a highlight. Again though, it makes me reflect on the early years . . . When our kids awkwardly held the bat, swung it weakly, hitting their target, if lucky. Well, those days are behind us. Look out Kindergarten, here we come!