What Cally has learned in preschool!

Surprised!

Scared!

Mad!

Disgusted!

As cute as it is to see Cally make these faces, it is even cuter to see her whole class do it together! She has a great class and fantastic teachers! :)

A short Fluffy story

I am having problems loading pictures to the blog right this moment but I do have a short picture-less story to share. Addy's class has a daily public speaking exercise and on Tuesdays it is show day. They are even allowed to bring in small pets. Luckily, kittens qualify! Fluffy was the fourth kitten to make an appearance (one girl brought in 2 kittens at the same time). I think Fluffy was happy to see Addy and get lots and lots of extra pets. Addy's teacher asked if Fluffy would like to be held by all of the other students or just petted. Addy very quickly said, "just pets!" There was no way Addy would let all the other kids get to hold Fluffy too! Addy even made sure no one got any extra pets! Her seat mate was all set to get an extra pet when Addy looped by on the other side of the aisle (Addy's seat was obviously empty) but Addy cut him off at the pass. She told him he already got a turn! ;) Fluffy was happy to run out of her kennel when we got home. In fact, she must be hiding because I haven't seen her since!

Conference Time!

We had parent-teacher conferences this week for both girls. We heard great things about both Addy and Cally. They are great at getting along with everyone in class as well as following school and classroom rules. David and I left their school very happy and proud for our two little girls.

Overall, Cally is doing great in her first year of preschool. She is doing fantastic with her letters, she recognizes the majority of them by sight as well as by sound. A big focus in her classroom is being  a problem-solver and Cally just earned her first note for solving a classroom problem on her own initiative. Cally has also made great progress on her drawing skills. On the first day of school, her self-portrait was a circular, colorful scribble. Her self-portrait has since morphed into an identifiable little person. A little person who only colors in purple and pink! :)

Addy is also doing fabulous in first grade. Her lowest grade was an A- in handwriting, which she comes by pretty honestly and in her defense, her school uses a 7 point grading scale.  I bet she could have had a solid A on a 10 point scale. ;) The rest of her grades were great and her test results showed she is still doing great with regards to learning the standardized skill set. Her teacher says she is a very sweet little girl who always tries her hardest and doesn't let anyone push her around. I think that sums Addy up pretty well! :)

P is for Pumpkin!

 

 



Our favorite pumpkin patch has never let us down! We went on a beautiful fall evening, it was not hot (I hate being at the pumpkin patch and being HOT!) and we had a blast. We met friends and enjoyed making smores over the campfire as well as our favorite patch activities. We are scheduled to go back on Sunday so we will get to anything we missed then. :)

My Dream Come True!!

Sister Bed!! To my complete joy, the girls asked to have a sleep over. I played it cool though and made them beg for the chance to sleep in the same bed. Sister Bed does not occur often enough for me to sleep uninterrupted through the night, but it is slowly taking root. One night when Cally woke up screaming and I was on my way to her room, Cally was already heading to Addy's room!! (Insert evil laughing!)

A Day with Grandma!

The girls had a very fun-filled Saturday with Grandma! David was at work and I was at a craft fair with my sister all day. We are very lucky to have a Grandma to hop in and keep the girls so  happy!!! They decorated the pumpkins they are posing with as well as chose gifts for David and me. They even got to eat at their favorite restaurants (Valentino's Italian Buffet, McDonalds and  Dairy Queen for dessert)!

October is Fire Safety Month

Here is my littlest fire fighter. Cally was initially nervous to get close to the firefighters and to climb aboard the truck and ambulance but once she saw how excited her classmates were she jumped right on.

Swimming Sisters!

Cally jumped in the water, immediately dunked her face in the water three times and then started splashing like crazy. :)

Here is Addy swimming!!!

Yes, Addy swam on her own without a life vest! She was so excited!!

Addy and Cally are taking swim lessons together. They have a fabulous instructor and the girls are always happy to jump in the water with her and reluctant to leave the pool. Even better, they are making fantastic progress. Oh and my apologies for the awkwardly cropped photos, I was trying to leave everyone else out of my blog. ;)

Daily Joys

When of my favorite perks of my stay at home mom status is that I get to visit my kids in school. Addy's school day is long and it feels like we hardly get to see her. Being able to see her weekly in her school routine and interacting in an environment that is distinct from our home life is a gift. I visit Cally's class too but since she only spends 3 hours/4 days a week at school I still get to enjoy the bulk of her day.

Today I spent my morning in Cally's class. She is in a class of 12 and the kids have all bonded together and are super sweet. Cally shares really well and is helpful to all of her classmates. Oh and she LOVES to participate in class. She raises her hand and shakes and waves it to get noticed. :) Her class spends time discussing feelings and being a good friend by acting out and discussing scenarios. One scenario was what a student could do if a friend was sad. Many suggestions were thrown out, but one stole the show. One of the boy twins in her class suggested showing their dimples because that makes everyone smile! Uh-oh, those girls are in trouble with those boys!! ;)

Addy is doing well in school. She is not one to jump in and raise her hand, but she participates in the daily speaking drill. Each day they get the opportunity to go in front of the class and tell, show, recite a poem or display a picture. I make Addy do it every time. She is truly afraid of me emailing her teacher about anything so she does whatever I tell her to so that I do not email her teacher. I don't know why she is so terrified of my emails but so far it works for me so I will take it! ;) I shared a cheer with Addy from my 'youth'. "Jump, shake your booty! Jump, jump shake your booty!" Addy asked me if that cheer was popular and when I told her that yes it was quite popular, she wondered why. After all, she said, it is lame, why would everyone like it??? I was a little insulted so I asked her to show me a cheer that was not lame so she showed me her favorite, Pepsi Cola. For those, who aren't familiar with Pepsi Cola, I will just say there is sliding, dipping and busting that butterfly. Obviously, Jump shake your booty never stood a chance....

Spooky Sights!

We are in full Halloween mode here! Cally rescued our spooky spider from being a spooky tumbleweed.

Two girls and one Praying Mantis

 

 

Time is swinging by!

Cally and I made more than a few trips to the park last week when the weather was still warm! Cally has gotten really good at swinging by herself. She still loves to take her shoes off and try to master the monkey bars. Unfortunately, her height plus my height and arm length does not equal the height of the monkey bars at this park!

My Cat Wrangler

I know it looks like Cally is holding Fluffy down but really they are great buddies!

Bandit would want it to be known that she jumped down right after this picture was taken and that no direct cuddling ever occurred!

 

Cally is a great friend to the cats. Cally doesn't nap in the afternoons, but she definitely needs and loves her down time. Lately she has taken to spending it cuddling with the cats. Fluffy is pretty much forlorn when the girls are both at school so she is ready to cuddle with Cally. Bandit is well Bandit and will even tolerate Cally sitting with her for a few minutes. 

We've Got Spirit!

The picture above is of Addy and her buddy cheering during the last home game of the regular season. (Can you tell it was taken with a real camera and NOT my iphone?) Addy liked cheer and wants to keep doing it next year but she wants to take 3rd grade off and go back for 4th but take 5th off and go back for 6th. Poor Addy is not willing to commit to a long-term cheering obligation. I love it, she really makes me laugh.

Cally on the other hand is ready to commit. She cheers along with the uniformed cheerleaders from the bleachers. She shouts encouragement to the team frequently and is always ready to do a cheer-kick. I am ready for her to be down front too! She makes me get up about three times a quarter! ;)