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Random Stuff

On Saturday we were at Gracie's dance class.  We walked into the changing room and there was a lady with two young girls she was getting ready.  I started to  put on Gracie's tap shoes and the lady said "oh, It looks like all the Nana's are bringing their granddaughters to dance class."  I turn around expecting to see that someone else has walked into the room and then realize she thinks I'm a Nana.  I said in a slightly too loud voice, Gracie, give mommy your other shoe so I can put it on.  Lady says "oooooohhhhhhhhhhhh........." I guess the silver lining is that at least I had my hair colored a couple of weeks ago.  Otherwise, she might have thought I was her great grandmother. 

Gracie has this outfit that has khaki pants and a pink and white striped cardigan.  Every time she wears it she tells me it's her mommy outfit because she looks like me when she wears it.  Not sure why she thinks that but it cracks me up every time she says it.

Grace is terrified at the the thought of Santa coming in our house.  She is very excited about presents but doesn't like the idea of the jolly guy coming inside so I told her that Santa leaves the toys outside and then sends me an e-mail so I can bring them inside.  She said ok, tell him thank you but don't let him in.

Jennifer Lopez has a song that has a line in it called Dance the night away.  Gracie thinks she's saying Dance the Lemonade and she sings it at the top her lungs.

We went to a fundraiser the other night and I bid on and won this fabulous painting.

The picture I took doesn't really do it justice.  Gracie said "mom did you get this picture because it's so beautiful of me riding my swing?"  I said well, it does remind me of you. She said "cause it's so beautiful?" As you can see the self-esteem at our house is A-OK.  I feel really lucky to have gotten this painting.  It turns out that the artist is a friend of my co-workers which I didn't know until after I bought it.  I got it home and recognized the name.  It really is a small world.  I'm sure I could have never afforded it under normal circumstances so it was a win for me and for the humanitarian projects in Ethiopia that were the beneficiary of the auction.  Plus, we had a great night meeting friends old and new.

Gracie and I are going to take a short trip after Christmas and we're going to take a train to get there.  The other day Grace was eating lunch and said "Mom, I so happy I get to go on a long train ride with you and swim in a pool." I guess it really is the simple things in life.

We took a family picture this summer when we were on vacation and I love that Grace talks to it.  Yesterday she had quite an animated conversation with Uncle Kevin. He got to stay silent which is really Uncle Kevins favorite kind of conversation.

My daughter is a poser.  She poses for pictures.  If someone takes out a camera (other than me) she puts her hands on her hips and puts one foot in front of the other.  Then breaks out the toothy grin.  We were at a Halloween themed birthday party last week and whenever someone whipped out a camera she walked right over to pose, whether they wanted her in the picture or not.  She clearly doesn't get this from me.

 She does make a really cute Minne Mouse though.

Road Trip

Gracie and I went on a four day road trip to Delaware to visit one of my college roommates and her family.  It was our first car trip together and she did great.  On the way we stopped three times but only twice on the way home.  It took about 6 1/2 hours each way but she handled it beautifully.  We had a fantastic time visiting Auntie Brenda, Uncle Bill, Thomas and Emma.  Thomas is two months younger than Grace and they get along famously.  They had such a great time together.  Emma just turned one and Gracie is in love with her.  They are terrific kids and we had such a fun time.  On Saturday we went to the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia.  What an amazing place.  It's one of the best children museum's I've ever been to and Grace loved it.

Settling In

We're three weeks into preschool and Gracie absolutely loves it.  Every morning she wakes up and has two questions for me. 1. Do I have School today? 2. Do I have dancing today?  When she comes home from school she and auntie call me at work and she tells me a little about the day.  The most exciting parts so far have been snack time, playing duck, duck, goose at gym time and bringing in her baby doll, Baby Lito for show and tell.  Every night I come home to some amazing creation and we run through the day again.  By the end of the day she is wiped out but so happy.  She has one complaint about school and she announces it to me daily.  She is terribly frustrated that she doesn't have home work.  Every night when I get home she says I need to do my homework.  When I tell her she doesn't have any, she rolls here eyes and says "Ugh, Why I doesn't have homework? My cousins have homework." I should record her and play it for her when she is seven and complaining about too much homework.  I offer to do work sheets with her at night but she told me she wants real homework, not mommy's homework.  The other morning she told me she was going to talk to he teachers and tell them she needs homework.

Dancing class continues to be the highlight of her week.  From the moment she wakes up on Saturday's she is begging to go to class.  It's a loooooooong Saturday morning for me. If she were in her leotard at 7:00 it would not be clean by class at 10:00.  She can not wait to get there and the rest of the day is spent showing me her moves and talking about what she did in class. As much as I may not be a fan of the dance, it's already worth every penny for the happiness it brings to her.

I feel like we're on a good track and things are really going well.  I've made adjustments to our weekend schedule so that there is more time for play and less errands happening and that's worked out great.  We've been lucky to have great weather the last couple of weekends so much of our time has been s0pent outside.

Dancing

Today Gracie woke up and the first thing she said was "Mom, today I go to my dancing class?"  She has been asking me that question for weeks and today I finally gave her the answer she was longing to hear.  Today was the day.  She was up at seven and we had breakfast and then every 5 minutes she asked me if it was time to go.  Class wasn't until 10:00. She kept asking me when I was doing her hair, which she NEVER wants me to do.  I gave in at 8:00.  "Mom, I really need my hair in a dancing bun please." How could I refuse? So a dancing bun it was.  We were done in record time. I didn't want to dress her in her leotard yet because I wanted it to still be clean by the time we got there.  By 8:45 she was losing her mind, pleading, crying, begging me to just "take me to my dancing place.  They be open and I can go in".  I told her if we leave now we'll have to sit in the parking lot for a long time.  She contemplated but eventually decided that she wasn't crazy about that option.  She pulled it together and by 9:10 we started to get ready.  She oooohhhh'd over her brand new pink tights she never got to wear before.  She counted the little rhinestones on her leotard.  She begrudgingly allowed me to put a skirt over it and her sandals on.  When it was time to leave she proudly picked up her dance bag and we raced out to the car.  She told me how she was going to listen to her teacher and how she was going to do everything she was told.

We pulled into the parking lot at the dance studio and she squealed with delight.  She walked right in the door with her back straight, her head held high and her purple dance bag on her shoulder.  We were welcomed and told to change her into her white tap shoes.  The second the shoes were on she started twirling in the lobby.  Everyone was smiling at her.  Happiness just oozed out of her.  When it was time the teacher of her section called each girls name and asked them to bring their dance bag and stand in line.  She looked back at me, flashed a huge smile, waved at me and marched right into the dance studio.  Parents aren't allowed in the actual room but are encouraged to stay in the waiting room, at least for the first couple of sessions just in case the child gets scared.  I really didn't know what to do with myself.  I mean, 45 minutes of just sitting there is rare for me.  I had a book with me but I was a little antsy.  About half way through I heard another parent say that while the blinds were down on the studio window and door, you could peak through the door a bit and see what they were doing.  I got up and looked and there was Gracie with her eyes dead set on the teacher, her hands on her hips and her right toe extended and tapping away, just like the teacher was doing.  She looked determined and serious but you could tell she loved every second of it.  When the class ended all the girls spilled out into the small waiting room filled with the girls waiting for the next class.  Before I could even see her I heard her little voice say, "Mom, that was sooooooo fun!!!!!!!" Everyone in the waiting room laughed.  We changed her out of her ballet shoes and back into her sandals.  As she practically floated out of the door she asked for a chocolate milk because "I really worked hard mom. I was a great listener."  We went for a celebratory chocolate milk and she told me all about the class.  How the teacher had them sit criss cross apple sauce.  How she put on dancing music and how they all got a sticker. When she spilled a little milk on her leotard she looked up at me horrified and said "Oh no, Mom, Can we wash my leotard?  I need it clean for next time."  I assured her we would and it would be perfectly fine.  She has continued to talk about it all day and when I put her to bed tonight she said "Mom, I really happy I get to have dancing lessons.  It makes me soooo happy."

All dressed and ready to go

practicing her moves

her special ballerina move

finally ready to go !!!!!

warming up at the dance studio

First Day of Pre-School

I can't believe that the time has come for her to start preschool.  How is it possible that my baby is ready for school? Boy, time really has flown by.  We started the day with sausage and chocolate chip pancakes with the cousins.  Then we got her dressed in her first day of school outfit.  She was a little nervous but incredibly excited and thrilled to finally be using the new Minnie mouse back pack.  I was nervous about drop-off.  This summer she did a little preschool camp for a week and she was fine every day my sister dropped her off but freaked out the day I took her. Her feeling is that if I am not going to work, then she wants to be with me.  I solved that issue today by telling a little fib.  I told her mommy was going to work as soon as I dropped her off and that Auntie would pick her up (which is how it will usually work).  I even dressed for work but I really took the day off and Auntie and I will go pick her up in a little bit and take her to lunch.  I think my plan worked because she did great! She was a little nervous when it was time but she gave me a hug and a kiss and she went right in with the teachers and there was no crying (from either of us).  So proud of her and so excited to hear how her day went.  Here are a couple of pictures.  

My Little Artist

I left the room for two seconds to grab the camera and I came back to her painting the table with water

The Master pieces

Gracie took this picture of her painting. I think she has a future in contemporary art