Night Before Vacation

My Dad's not been well and he's in the hospital for the second time in a week.  Yesterday it looked like our trip may be cancelled, or at least postponed, but today things look brighter, so we're going for it and leaving in the morning.  Tonight we had a nice visit with my cousin Janet and her family from Florida. Haven't seen them in  2 1/2 years.  Cousin Rabu and all 6 kids came too so we had a fun night with cousins, the first of many to come in the next ten days!  Janet snapped this photo at Aunt Denise's house before we left.

Filling Up the Days #4: Farm Camp

Here she is checking out the kale:

See this blonde kid below?  All I know about him is that his name is Xavier and he may just do the best rooster impression on this planet.  He treated me to it this morning. Pigeon cry too. Think he'll make David Letterman's "bird calls" episode one day.

Amanda has been the reason Bea loved this week of camp so much.

Off to Maryland next!

because some day I'll forget:

-At five years old, she measured at the 2nd percentile at 3'3" and barely 32 lbs.
-She loves to call "family meetings" for very important topics, for example, last night it was announcing that her nails were sharp and she might scratch us by accident when she's playing kitty.
-Beatrice "feels nervous" about many things lately. She's in an anxious phase, needing a whole lot of reassurance, which I hope passes soon.
-"I puh-got!" is a common phrase around here.  It means "I forgot," "oops," or "I didn't know that" all in one!
-Fruits and veggies are becoming more of a challenge to get into her.
-She has a burning desire to read and asks us "what does that say" every time she sees print. We are currently on the fourth book in the "Little House" series and she just loves it, plopping the book and my reading glasses on the bed every night.
-Overall, her imaginary play has lessened, but not disappeared, and imaginary friends Mango & Madonna made more appearances the past few months.
-She's mentioned a couple times she has a burning desire for a sister and asked directly if we could adopt again.  Sadly I had to tell her that very likely would not happen.
-She loves to introduce herself to people, and to introduce me or her Dad to others.  She especially likes to point out her Daddy's public artwork or announce that he's opening a store.

Filling Up The Days # 3: Rowan's pool

Filling Up the Days #2: Children's Museum-Beantown

Filling Up the Days

Since Bea was done school a week ago and I'm not done until next Wednesday, it's been a challenge arranging for care for her each day.  Anthony has several projects going on, so I'm trying to free him up as much as possible by finding people here and there, and as a result Bea is having a blast with time with old sitter Mrs. Gohn, time here and there at my school, a playdate yesterday with Safiya and Ayah, and this playdate on Monday with Rowan:

Today she's coming to WES for our field day and hopefully will join a kindergarten class for the morning.  Her former preK buddy Ayla is in that group and they reunited last week when Bea was visiting and I took her out to K recess, so I hope that goes well so I can help cook 1500 hot dogs for lunch!  Tomorrow she and Daddy are supposed to head to Boston Children's Museum, and then she'll return to school with me, then Mrs. Gohn on Friday.  Next week she has Farm Camp each morning and will do different things each afternoon.  The only down side to all this busy-ness is she's not having time to nap and she is utterly exhausted by dinner and a bear at (early) bedtime.  Our neighbors have been treated to some classic screaming fits the last several nights at 6:45! At least swim class ends tonight and dance on Saturday, so we'll ever so slowly get into a more relaxed, simplified summer routine.

Father's Day Ballet with the Cat & Dog Weekend

It was another whirlwind weekend around here, with Friday bringing a surprise visit from the Virginia cousins the Zwicklbauers, aka "the cat and dog," who Beatrice (and her mama) simply adore.  Oh, how we wish they were closer!!!

                              

                             

                           

                                        

                         

Saturday and Sunday brought the annual dance show, which was an original contemporary ballet titled "Dream in Color."  Beatrice had  four stage appearances and a a costume change this year, going from a black tutu to a purple one. We are never allowed to take photos during the shows, but these were taken at dress rehearsal a couple days ago:

Here are some pre-show, pre-bun and pre-ballet slipper shots taken at home:

I requested a "serious face", but instead got "bad a*s ballerina:"

Yup, the smile is much more Bea!

(All the heavy rains lately have given my peonies a very short life!)

 I just found this one on Facebook, of her at dance class a couple weeks ago rehearsing a scene:

And here we are this morning before heading to brunch, Bea and her Daddy on a beautiful Father's Day morning:

Love this picture!

obligatory "silly faces:"

Gotta wonder how many more days he'll be holding her.  Then again, both of them love it....

We went to breakfast at a country club in RI, and Beatrice got to watch a little golf up close. Such a beautiful setting and morning.

One more full week of school for me, then 3 days next week.  Bea starts Farm Camp next week and we'll be heading to Maryland and the beach shortly after that.  The days are in fast forward right now and hopefully will slow down very soon.  

The Graduate

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands:

If you're happy and you know it shout "hurray!"

"HURRAY!"

Waiting to cross the stage:

Receiving her special book from Mrs. Kenyon:

Kindergarten, here we come!

One year of piano lessons nearly complete!

You rock Mrs. McGarry!!!!!!

Money Manager

One of Bea's birthday presents was a Moonjar bank, which has three different compartments: SPEND, SHARE, and SAVE.  She now has paydays during which she is required to put money in each section, thus learning about and having to make decisions with money.  Her school often has Dress Down Friday during which $1 is collected from students toward a specified charity.  I told her she must use funds from her SHARE money if she wants to not wear her uniform.  Most weeks she's happily done so, but last week she decided "I don't mind my uniform, I'll just keep the dollar."  I thought she'd change her mind in the morning, which she didn't.  Then I thought she'd have a big case of regret when I picked her up Friday and she was literally the only child in the school wearing a uniform, but she had no problem and took such joy in knowing she was $1 richer than she'd have been otherwise.  Cracked me up.  The other nice thing that came out of having her own money is that she decided, long ago actually, that she wanted to treat Pepere to dinner at 99 Restaurant, the local place where he treats us a couple Sundays each month.  Bea has asked back in April if she could use some of her upcoming anticipated birthday money to do that, and we agreed that she certainly could.  When she did indeed get money, she reminded me that some of it was going to "treat Pepere" and we thought maybe Father's Day would be a good choice. Well, this past weekend Pepere invited us out and Beatrice announced that she wanted to treat him.  I reminded her about Father's Day or some other occasion, but she said "I just want to give him a gift."  She cleaned out her SPEND section, all $14 of it, and brought it to the restaurant and told Pepere.  Honestly, I don't think my Dad has been moved by anything in a very long time.  It's all he can talk about to anyone he sees.  I'm so proud of her, and equally impressed that she isn't telling anyone about it.  Generous and humble...two good traits that I hope she continues!

On the way to NYC

Spread

"Spread" is the first word my daughter has read.  Actually read, as in sounded it out, made sound/symbol connections.  It was in a one-word-per-page book (Pizza, by Saturnino Romay, found in a discard pile at school and I snatched it up because the author shared my father-in-law's first name).  We've read it a few times and she's memorized it, but she'd forgotten the word and the picture wasn't jogging her memory, so she looked at that word, at its first letter, and started "ssssss..."  She'd never gotten beyond this point before, nor had I even suggested it.  Then I heard her say "pppppp,"  "ssssppppp,"  "spread!" The look on her face is one I'll ever forget.  The incredulous look that she actually made sense of those shapes on a page.  There's nothing like it, when they start to crack that code.  Oh, she's a ways off from really reading, but I've noticed the past month or so she is asking all the time what things say, what word that is, etc.  She wants it so badly, my little bookworm, who has often said she'd choose books over toys if she ever had to make that choice. I am so excited for her to begin this journey and pray that it comes easily to her.

Daily Ritual

     Once in a while I'm keenly aware that things I take for granted on a daily basis may some day soon disappear, leaving me to forget those little rituals that are for now a big part of my day.  This morning at school drop-off, I had such a revelation.  Beatrice has often "fussed" at drop-off over the past year and a half.  Last year she would cry, then this year there would be a desperation grip or a whiny statement like "I waaaaant youuuuuuu."  The teachers reassured me that she always is absolutely fine once I leave, so I've tried to make the separation as quick as possible and head out the door, for both our sakes.  The past couple of months, she came up with a ritual that seems to satisfy her, and gives me a chuckle:  She holds her hands out for me to put a kiss in each of her palms (a la "The Kissing Hand"), she transfers each hand to each cheek, then she puts kisses in my hand, she asks for "Huggie!", then I turn around with my back to her at the doorway and she pushes me out the door like she can't stand another second with me.  I don't how she developed this, but it was on her own and it's been like this for several weeks.

    As I drove away I thought of the quote "I told you I loved you, now get out!"  My mom would often say this to me when I would hug her.  It was unlike her to be sarcastic, but I loved it.  It occurred to me that Beatrice's re-enactment is an expression of this quote.  So often she reminds me of my mother, it's amazing. The worst part is that I think this quote is from a movie or there's some story connected to it, but a google searched came up empty-handed and I can't call Mom today to learn the origin. Once again, I rely on this blog for Beatrice to have a written/photographic record of some of the mundane and important things of her life that she may someday long to know.