Meeting Her Teachers

Today, we had our "home visit." The teachers from Lexi's school try to meet all of their students in their own home before school starts. I know it helps the kids get comfortable with the teachers, but I also think the teachers get a good look into the kids' lives. Our visit went well. Lexi met Ms. Lydia (teacher) & Ms. Mary (assistant teacher). They were both very friendly and gave her stickers, so she liked them right away. I have not been worried about her liking school or them, because she isn't shy at all. We found out that she'll have 10 kids in her class (5 boys & 5 girls) and their theme is ladybugs. Next week, we have an orientation on Thursday and a find-your-classroom on Friday.

Lexi and I are both so excited that we want school to start already. One of my good friends has been crying all week about her daughter starting kindergarten. Fortunately, her daughter has been loving it. To be honest, I am not at all sad about Lexi going to Mother's Day Out. I just know that she'll love it. Plus, I think putting her in daycare at 6 months was so difficult that anything less is easy. In this program, she'll get to play with lots of kids, do art projects, and have fun. I'll have a chance to work without trying to entertain her and then we can have our fun in the afternoons and on the days she has off.

My whole purpose for sending her is for the playtime and the art projects. The one thing that I am not expecting is for her to learn very much. She already knows her colors, all the upper case letters, most of the lower case letters, numbers, and she can count to 20 in English and 10 in Spanish. These are the things that the other kids will probably just begin to learn this year. I am hoping she learns a little more Spanish from Ms. Lydia, but I am not expecting it. Really, this school year for her is all about socializing while I work.

Vandalism

Several times over the last few months, Miss Lexi has taken it upon herself to decorate our walls. A friend’s child who is slightly older than Lexi is doing the same thing. She called him a Picasso. To me, that implies not only great creativity but a priceless master piece that should never be removed. It also means that the child should be encouraged rather than punished. I’ve decided to call Lexi's wall artwork vandalism. Smiley faces just don’t fit our décor even in her room.

Since, reasoning and timeouts are not working, I’ve moved on to manual labor. She had to scrub the walls today. Perhaps, that will inspire her to stick to paper for a while.

Afternoon Bliss

See the picture above? ...I captured a rare moment - my non-napping toddler actually sleeping during the day! I simply went up stairs to put Jordan down for his nap & when I returned she was zonked out on the couch.

I wish I could follow the pattern that lead to this blissful moment, but I have to give credit to the two birthday parties we attended this weekend and a back-to-school birthday breakfast bash we had this morning. Besides the gymnastics party, we went to a backyard bbq party for a one year old's birthday yesterday. It was HOT and there was a pool. Lexi played & played & played. She didn't eat much and fell asleep on the way home. We actually had her in bed by 7pm (instead of 8pm). This morning, she was starving. Fortunately, we had been invited to meet up with a bunch of moms at Cracker Barrel to celebrate/cry about back-to-school. Lexi doesn't start for 2 more weeks, so we were just there to have fun & eat. I ordered 2 pancakes with apples & whipped cream for her. I had no idea that she would or even could eat 3/4 of it, but she did. She definitely got a full tummy.

Now, I've had a quiet afternoon ...I wish I could have used it for something other than work.

Gymnastics Birthday Party

Rope Swing

Rock Wall

Today, we were lucky enough to go to a birthday party for Joshua (my friend Amy's son). They had it at a gymnastic place. Lexi has been excited about it for weeks, especially with the Olympics on. She has been showing us her gymnastic moves every time she sees anything about the Olympics on tv. Lexi was the youngest participant there, but she loved it.

The teacher/leader asked us if she was in gymnastics already and then asked us her age. She said that Lexi is really brave for her age (yep - like we don't know). We found out that most 3 year olds are afraid to climb the rock wall or ride the rope swing, but being true to herself our little dare devil was anxious to do them both. Of course, the teacher said they LOVE kids like that. I have been thinking about enrolling her in something, so I'll check into it. As you can tell, the party was a blast.

Yummy Cake

Birthday Boy ~ Joshua

School Prep

These pictures were taken this morning before we headed off for a day filled with school prep. Actually, just the morning was. Since we had to drop off her doctor forms/shot records and it is a rainy day, I decided that it was a good day to head to the mall for a little school clothes shopping. We had fun and found some good deals.

We got back in time for lunch and I made a peanut butter & jelly sandwich for her. I've been trying to get her interested in them all summer. She'll be taking lunches to school and they seem like the easiest choice. Unfortunately, she has always turned her nose up at them. I ended up coaxing, bribing, and forcing her to eat it, which means that if I send them to school with her they will NOT get eaten. What can I pack for school lunches that don't need to be kept cold?

Princess Nightgown

Who knew when I bought this nightgown that it would be so loved (by her) and so hated (by me)? Perhaps, I should have seen this coming. One of my close friends has a daughter who is five that is very similar to Lexi. For the past year, her daughter has been driving her crazy over a beloved dress. She wants to wear it ALL the time. She even gets it out of the hamper. Finally, the dress vanished (hidden in the attic).

I wondered if I would have a similar battle with Lexi. She prefers dresses and nightgowns to other items of clothing, but hasn’t been too bad…until she got this one. The nightgown had been in the hamper for the past few days. She got it out a few times, but I explained to her that it was dirty. Last night, I put on her second favorite nightgown (ballerina one). This morning, when I got her out of bed guess which one she was wearing… the attic is looking like a good idea. At the very least, I'll be moving her hamper out of her bedroom.

Smiley Faces

Lexi is into drawing smiley faces EVERYWHERE. We even have a few on our walls in Jordan's room (her old room) and one in her current room. I try to get her to only draw on paper, but it just isn't as exciting. Sunday, when Steve was out working in the garage, it was the perfect time to get her out of the house and drawing on a different surface - the driveway. As you can see, she enjoyed it.

Turning Lexi Into A Texans Fan

While Steve is desperately holding onto his love of the Miami Dolphins, I am working towards getting the kids to be fans of the local teams. It is just more fun that way! We went to the Texans game last night. The kids loved all the commotion and all the attention that the people around us gave them.

Sunshine Sunday

Yesterday before church, Lexi got to model a dress & bloomers that Grandma Margie made a while ago. She has had a little growth spurt since we got it, so I decided to try it on again to see if it would fit. She had fun posing for the pictures.