Growing up!

Last night we had dinner with my sister and her family at a Mexican restaurant. It was outdoor seating and a large group of high school students wer?e seated by us. It was obvious that they were going to the prom as they were all dressed up. We left at the same time they did and we watched them board a charter bus. Natalie was pointing out the dresses she liked. Here's the conversation we had after they left.
Natalie: Mommy, will I get to go to a prom some day?
Me: Yes, someday when you're older and you have a nice boy to take you.
Natalie: Not a mean boy, right?
Me: Definitely not. I won't let you go with a mean boy.
Natalie: Why do I have to go with a boy?
Me: Well someday you might want to.
Natalie: (with utter disbelief) Really?

My sweet little punkin!

Kidisms

Today while we driving to Natalie's dance class I was reminding the kids of the room cleaning that had to happen before sleepover night. I told them that they could clean after school on Thursday and on Friday afternoon. Matthew said, "Mommy, I can't clean tomorrow. I have too many things to do." I asked him what he had to do, thinking he'd say that he had school. Instead he replied, "I have to draw and make some pictures and then color."

A little bit later we were talking about school and why it's important. Matthew asked, "Why do we have to go to school anyway." So, I fielded that question to Natalie. I said, "Natalie, tell your brother why do we have to go to school." She replied, "Well, at school the teacher tells you things and then you have to memorize them."

I Do Believe in ...

Natalie and I were reading tonight a Magic Tree House book tonight. It mentioned monsters so she told me about one of the Junie B. Jones books she read the other day. It was Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under Her Bed. In the story Junie B. gives advice on how to avoid monsters under your bed. Natalie told me that jumps in the middle of the bed so the monster can't get her. I told her that I didn't believe in monsters. Then, wanting her to feel safe, I added, "Monsters aren't real." She looked at me and said, "Mom, I'll believe you when I'm older."

I Do Believe in Fairies

On Saturday we went to a Faery Hunt which was an interactive show at Griffith Park. It was great. The kids loved it and it was definitely worth the price and distance traveled. Later we went to the observatory too. As we were leaving the observatory I was recapping our day in the car. Natalie said, "I know they weren't really fairies. They were just humans." "Really?" I asked her, "How can you tell?" She replied, "They were too big to be real fairies. Fairies are small."

Natalie's Day to Shine

A friend took these photos of Natalie on stage during her recital. She did so well. What a natural dancer she is! This was a ballet number (if that's what you call it). And, honestly, she was the best one out of her group. She knew the routine and did it perfectly and with grace. She barely looked over at the side where her teacher was "dancing" along with them. And she probably only did that because they were there. What an awesome little girl she is!

Matthew said tonight as I was putting him to bed, "Ask me who I think the best dancer was." So I did and he replied, "Natalie!." Even he was proud of his sister today. The next number would start and it wouldn't be hers and he would look at me and say, "Awwww."

I often think she's growing so fast that I want time to slow down. But when I see her in moments like this or just stop to watch her, I am so proud of the person she is becoming. What an amazing little girl she is: always happy, always a smile on her face, always positive. She's a bright ray of sunshine (a far cry from the colicky infant she was!) There's not a day that goes by in which I don't count by blessings, my two beautiful children because of course, Mr. Matthew certainly lights up my life as well! His post will be next as he starts swimming in two weeks!

Proud moments, proud mommy.

New Furniture

We had put off getting Natalie's big girl bed for a while. She still fit in the toddler bed, so we figured we were good. Once she started kindergarten we thought she needed another rite of passage - hence the "big girl bed." Before school started we placed the order at a local furniture and a little over a month later, it arrived. She was so excited and already had her bedding ready (bought weeks before).

Daddy emptied out her room (a big chore) and set up her bed. That left Matthew with his own mini version of the "big boy bed," which was Nat's hand-me-down toddler bed. Of course with all the set up required by Nat's furniture, we didn't have time to get Matthew's room set up. Poor guy! He felt left out. So we moved the little toddler bed into Natalie's room so he could share in some of the newness. The following day we set up Matthew's room complete with his new Cars bedding. That made it all better.

Here's a photo of Natalie reading her guided reading book from school to Matthew in her "new room."

Old News

I guess I forgot to make note of Natalie's dance recital this year. She was an adorable tap dancing clown. Here's another photo taken later that same day of Auntie Julie with Natalie.

Preschool Graduation

Nat's preschool graduation was last Friday, June 13th and it was quite a production. I am impressed that the preschool director and teachers were able to pull off such a nice program with all the children behaving so nicely. They did a great job. It was such a big day for her and she was so proud and just oozing with excitement. As for me, it was all I could do to control myself and not burst into tears. There was a slide show that started to set me off, but wiggly little Matthew helped me keep it together. After the graduation we had planned to attend the fiesta at her school, but it was too crowded and the kids were starving so we headed to Nat's favorite restaurant Chili's. After that we had presents and a cake. It was such a special day for my big girl. I am so proud of you, Princess!

Natalie

I like this photo of Natalie that was taken last weekend. We were at a local park after a mini Easter egg hunt with friends.

No More Shots!

Natalie had her four year old, I am going to kindergarten physical last Tuesday and boy was that rough. What a terrible thing to do to a little girl and I am now honestly considering signing the waiver on the back of the shot record when Matthew starts school. I am not even sure which vaccinations Natalie got because the whole afternoon was a blur.


She had a vision screening, hearing screening, three shots, a TB test, urine sample (couldn't do it), and blood work (three vials). It was the pits. I had prepped her for it for awhile, telling her that the shots would be quick - just like claps. "Four quick claps like this," I told her as I clapped my hands. "And when we are done, you can pick out any toy at Target for your bravery." Although she was resigned to getting the shots, she liked the idea of getting a new toy. She already had one on her mind, the little mermaids from Barbie's Mermaidia movie. Well, after the actual experience, I would have bought her the whole darn store because that was the worst shot experience I have ever witnessed. The shots were over quickly but the TB test was not as quick as a clap. She was still okay after that and contentedly sucked on her pink lollipop as we headed to the lab.

Poor thing. She had no idea what she was in for since she didn't remember the last blood draw at age one. (They now do that one at 18 months. Matthew didn't enjoy it.) First, we had to get the urine sample. She just couldn't do it. The restroom was dirty and nothing wanted to come out. We were given a small plastic cup, bag, and cleaning wipes to take with us for a home sample. Then came the blood work. First of all, the tech who performed the stabbing was big and about as friendly as pail. (Sorry, I am very tired and analogies are not flowing easily.) Second, he couldn't find her teeny, tiny vein! So, there I am holding my baby while she is sobbing and watching him twist and turn the needle to find the vein. Poor, sweet Natalie was crying hysterically, "Mommy, Mommy! It hurts." All I could do was cry with her. My poor baby. The assistant tried to distract her with a rainbow of lollipops with which Natalie gladly accepted all six.

But it was quite painful and I don't blame Natalie one bit for "milking it" over the next few days. Afterwards we did go to Target and Natalie got to pick out two mermaid sets. She had a Spring Performance at school that she was sure she wouldn't be able to wiggle to (but she did) and after that she got ice cream. She then got to sleep in Mommy's bed because her arms hurt too much. And tonight, two days later, her arms still hurts and when her arms hurt she "has to sleep in Mommy's bed." And I don't blame her one bit because I just want to hold my little punkin and make everything better.

When it comes time for Matthew's turn at the mother lode of all shots and things that poke, I seriously might just sign the waiver.

Sleeping In

I get another parent award today. Natalie was over thirty minutes late for school. We overslept today, and by we I mean me, Matthew, and Natalie because Daddy always oversleeps. Natalie climbed into our bed last night at around one o'clock. I am usually much too tired to take her back, so she just snuggles in and gets all warm and cozy. When she's in our bed she usually sleeps a little longer because it's warm and dark. There's also the fact that we've been busier than usual this month and have slowly been sleeping later and later each day. I don't set the alarm because the three of us (Nat, Matthew, and myself) are usually up by 7:30ish.



Anyway, Matthew woke up first with a cheerful, "Mommy, I pooped." He had to call that out several times to rouse me out of bed and by that time it was 8:30 which is the start time for Nat's preschool. It was raining outside, Natalie looked so cozy, and I knew she was tired from Thursday's errands and ballet class. I let her sleep. I know, I know- school is important, good habits and all that stuff. I am a teacher. I know! But it's only preschool and I thought she'd be okay with it because she was tired.



At about five to nine, Natalie came downstairs with a bright and cheery, "Good morning, Mommy." I said, "Guess what? We overslept. It's almost nine o'clock." She looked at me with a look of panic. I told her that it would be okay if she stayed home to rest and that I would make her pancakes because this Friday was pancake and pajama day again. Apparently, last week when they had pancake and pajama day they didn't have pancakes so this was a round two. Natalie looked at me and burst into tears, "I want to have pancakes at school." I looked at her and said, "Okay, let's go." I found out that snack was after circle time and circle time was first thing in the morning. My guess was that snack was at around nine thirty, so I hustled and got Natalie ready in record time. We woke up Daddy. because he doesn't need to do much to get ready, and had him take Natalie to school.



Fortunately, she made it with plenty of time and ended up having three pancakes. Since I sent her without breakfast (another bad), I think that three pancakes was about right. When I picked her up from school I mentioned our tardiness to her teacher and how we've been sleeping later and later each day. Natalie said, "Mommy, you need to buy me my own clock to get me out of bed." And all too soon, I will.

Curly Temple

If you know us well, you'll know that Natalie does not like us fixing her hair. When she does agree, it is usually just a clip. She always pulls them out shortly anyway. So, it's not surprising to find her in a whirlwind of scattered curls. She loves her curls too and we do everything we can to make it more curly, whether it be scrunching or using her curl spray. So many people have told her that she looks like Shirley Temple with her curls so I am sure that that encourages her to love her little mop even more even though she has no idea who Shirley Temple is. But she still doesn't like us to touch the hair and there was a period when she went out with her hair done at her own Ariel salon by herself. We just kind of had to bite our tongue on that one.

Just the other day we were watching some old video snippets from when Matthew was first born. It showed a little two year old Matthew in pig tails kissing the baby and kissing the baby's "piggies." I made the effort to point out her cute hair and told her how when she was a toddler (she loves to call Matthew a toddler) like Matthew, she let me put her hair in pig tails. I had to explain to her what pig tails were and she kind of just left it at that. The following day, which was a Friday and a school day, she said, "Mommy, I think I want pig tails today." So, Natalie, who sometimes fights us tooth and nail for a clip in her hair, let me put her hair into two adorable pig tails. She admired herself in the mirror and said, "Mommy, now I do look like Curly Temple."

And guess what? She asked for pig tails again today! I have to admit, she's cute a button in them.

Natalie's First Big Purchase

Natalie started saving her "own" money last Easter when she got her first wallet, a pink princess one, from the Easter Bunny. She kept a dollar in it for the longest time and occasionally added some change. Then on her birthday she got a pretty, green Ariel wallet from her friend Nathan and that became her favorite wallet. She diligently kept four dollars in it for the longest time - until Mommy and Daddy borrowed one because we needed cash - and then she had three. After that she started saving all sorts of coins in her Minnie Mouse piggy bank she won at my work's spaghetti dinner. Occasionally, she'd dump out change and make some piles. But she really didn't have much of an interest other than that.
All it took to turn that around was a trip to Target a couple of weeks ago. We always stop at the toy aisle to play with and test out a few things. Well, she spied a Disney Pretty, Pretty Princess game and immediately fell in love with it. With it being after Christmas and all, we told her that she would need to save her own money if she wanted the twelve dollar game. What a great idea and she was earning a quarter a day from her responsibility chart! It was a go and we thought it would take her a good while to earn it because how quickly can an out of work preschooler earn a buck or two anyway?
Actually it took her a week! She had been making piles of coins again with her piggy bank change one afternoon which made me think it would be a good opportunity to teach her a little about money. We counted coins and changed them for dollars and before we knew it she had ten dollars. "You almost have enough for your game," I told her. She was very proud and put her bills into her wallet. Later in the day I had a Target trip planned for the usual necessities. Natalie always enjoys Target and was eager to go. As she gathered up her things she turned to Nana and said, "Nana, can I have two dollars?" What a swindler! She knew perfectly well that she needed two dollars and she also knew that Nana would give it to her! My mom said, "I am her Nana and I can spoil her. It's what Nana's do." I certainly couldn't begrudge her that.

Once we got to Target, we couldn't get to the toy aisle fast enough. She proudly picked out her game and put it into the cart. When it came time to check out I was looking for the perfect checkstand. I wanted Natalie's first purchase to be perfect. Most of the lines were full. The one that was available had a young guy, maybe late high school or college. I was concerned that it wasn't going to be a good experience and that he would just shuffle Natalie through the line. You can imagine how pleasantly surprised and pleased when right from the beginning he made a big deal over her. He said, "Are you buying your own gift yourself?" Natalie beamed. He waited patiently for her to count out the twelve dollar bills one at a time because she insisted on paying herself. He was so sweet to her and she beamed all the way out, so proud of her purchase. Thanks to Target and the young cashier for making my daughter's first purchase special.

Back to School

Tonight I went to Back to School Night at Natalie's preschool. It was quite different being on the other side. Oh, I am no stranger to Back to School Night which is affectionately called Parent Information Night (PIN) at my school. I've been doing it for the past eleven years and with two sessions for the past six years. So, I know my parent info.

But this time it was different. I was not the presenter. I wasn't the one with all the policies and procedures. I didn't present what I was going to teach and what my expectations were. No, I was listening and (yes) taking notes. I was on the other side. I was gathering the information on my daughter's curriculum and listening to her teacher go over her program and ask the parents to "help the children learn The Pledge of Allegiance." Wow, you mean I have some things to work on with my child?! I looked through Natalie's work and saw her art on the wall. And . . . while it was all a bit surreal and . . . weird, it was nice. Although, sniff . . . she's growing up. And it's happening faster than I thought.

And thank you Ms. Arlene for saying such nice things about my daughter. You know how to win a parent over.