First Day of School

Today was LP's first day of school. She is officially in pre-k, but it is full days 3 days a week. This is the school she is going to attend through 6th grade, so this was her first official first day. I miss her already, I felt like something was missing when I got back out of the car at home and didn't have to unstrap her from the carseat.

She has asked every morning for the past 2 weeks if it was time to go to school. This morning she greeted us at 5 am with a first day of school song. I managed to get her to snuggle in with us for a little while, but her excitement couldn't be contained long. After a quick breakfast, she dressed in the new dress she chose, reluctantly posed for a couple of quick pictures then she rushed us all into the car.

When we got to school she jumped right out and was ready to go. I had to ask for my goodbye kiss, she was already done with us. The directors of the school came over to greet us, and after correcting Mrs. C, "This isn't a shirt, it's a pretty dress," when she got her name sticker, she skipped off without a backwards glance for mommy or daddy.

So excited for her first day

Showing off her new backpack.

It's a long drive to school, a chance to recharge after an early morning.

Off she goes, a full day without me.

A Beach Photoshoot - Take 1

Taken during our first week at the beach. Take 2 attempted this past weekend with Alessandro, photos to follow in a week.





(definitely her mommy's girl, look at the tongue)

Waiting

Waiting
Originally uploaded by erika8602

Awake from her nap, watching and waiting for Alessandro to come visit at the beach house.

Fourth of July with Friends

LP and I had a great Fourth of July this year. We started off with a nice lunch with LP Dad and Uncle Dave, then when LP Dad headed to work, we headed off to another town for a celebration. We met up with Buby and Bleu and their parents for some playground time, blue ice, and a little handholding. It was the first time we had spent more than 5 minutes with Buby in quite a while, and LP was so happy to spend the afternoon with her friend.

A Little Snack

Lilypad Princess, Lilypad Dad and I took a ride to another town the other day looking for the great little consignment store I found last year. Unfortunately the store didn't have any of LP's favorite dresses in right now, but LP enjoyed her bagel with cream cheese at the little cafe next door.

On Vacation

beach with grace.jpg
Originally uploaded by erika8602

We have been on vacation for the past week abd we are having a wonderful time. LP and I started off the vacation with a trip to Grandpa and Nannies to celebrate a belated Father's Day then met up with Lilipad Dad down here.

We have had a very busy week with family, Nana and PopPop have been here all week and we had visits from Eka, Auntie Diane, Lee, Auntie La and Karen. We were also lucky enough to get a visit from Grace and her parents for a day. The kids had a wonderful time together and now we are looking forward to a visit from Alessandro and his mom. I can only post from my cell phone right now, so photos and posts are limited but I have tons to catch up on in a couple of weeks when we get home.

Life Lessons

Today LP was sitting on the couch enjoying a popsicle while I got our picnic ready. She called me over to ask me what heartbroken meant (I'm not sure where she overheard that). I explained that it was when someone was so sad it felt like their heart was breaking into little pieces.

She responded, "like yesterday when I stopped the ice cream truck but she didn't have my swirly popsicle left. I was heartbroken then." Yes, she was heartbroken when the ice cream truck didn't have her favorite popsicle. She went back in the house without anything but tears, too sad to even pick a different kind. But the girl driving the ice cream truck made it all better today. Apparently she fought for the last box of Hyper Stripe popsicles this morning, knowing LP would be waiting for one.

I can only hope that any heartbreak that LP will suffer will be so easily fixed.

Composer at Work

Silly face
Originally uploaded by erika8602

Playing the piano at the beach house. This is the face I got when I asked her to smile. Apparently I was disturbing the artistic process.

Just Like Grandpa

LP and her daddy went out for ice cream a couple of weeks ago. Our local ice cream shop has a mini golf course, a driving range, and batting cages. LP came home so excited to tell me about the hockey she played.

We went back earlier this week and she and LP Dad split another bucket of balls. She needs to remember to keep her eye on the ball, but she's already got a great little swing. Grandpa, she's ready to drive the cart when she goes with you too!

Touch a Truck

Yesterday was the United Way Touch-a-Tuck event in a neighboring town. Lilypad Princess, LP Dad, Uncle Dave, and I all headed over in the morning to check it out. It was a huge event, vehicles of every kind filling two large, government parking lots. LP had a change to climb in and check out police cars, excavators, giant tractors, trucks, fire trucks, motorcycles, school buses, race cars, and a ton more.






The highlight of the event for LP was getting to go up in a cherry picker basket with her daddy. She hung onto his leg for dear life, but had a big smile on her face the entire ride.
going up






They also had bounce houses for the kids and a few games where they could win prizes. LP played a hockey game and won a ballerina Barbie that she is very proud of now. And Uncle Dave surprised her with cotton candy, blue of course, her favorite color.


There's that tongue again, definitely her mommy's daughter.




We had a wonderful day and will definitely do this again next year.

Deep Concentration

just like her mommy

For quite a while now, LP's favorite activity has been drawing and writing. She spends hours drawing and coloring with markers, pens, crayons, anything she can get her hands on. She has gotten very good at writing her name and now adds it to almost every picture she draws and signs her own name to cards. She also likes to pretend to write, she makes up stories in her head and "writes" them down. Her favorite thing is notebooks. Big notebooks, tiny notebooks, spiral notebooks, journals, blank pages, lined pages; she loves them all. I hope the love of art and writing and her imagination and creativity stay with her all her life.

Sleepover

Lilypad Princess and Alessandro finally got to have a real sleepover. We attempted it a couple months ago, but had to cut the night short after the movie due to sickness. LP and I went over in the afternoon so the kids could play for a while then we enjoyed a couple of pizzas for dinner. Once dinner was done the kids headed out onto the back deck to play in the rain for a while, then it was time to get into pajamas and set up the sleeping bags. They wanted to finish watching The Little Mermaid since that was part of the last attempt and decided to watch it from inside the garage tent. They were so sweet side by side in the tent, LP actually slept the entire night there. Alessandro ended up heading upstairs to sleep and the very first words out of LP's mouth the next morning were, "Where's my Alessandro?"

Chicken Spots

While I was in cleaning the kitchen floor after LP finished cleaning the produce, she got to work with the markers. She called me into the living room explaining that she was sick and needed to lay on the couch with a blanket and tv. She said she had chicken spots.

Helping Out

I heard LP dragging her chair around in the kitchen, then the kitchen sink turn out. I thought she was getting herself a drink, even though she usually uses the fridge, so when she didn't turn the water off I headed into the kitchen to see what was going on.



She was helping me by washing the vegetables we picked up at the farm that day. She was scrubbing the kohlrabi with water and my dish scrubber. The cucumber was already scrubbed clean. That was the cleanest produce I've ever seen when she was done with it. And it was delicious!

Fresh From the Farm

Today was our first Farm CSA pick-up. Uncle Dave and I went over alone today because I wasn't sure what to expect and it has been raining all morning. We got a bucket filled with gorgeous greens and strawberries. Uncle Dave and I took a few minutes to pick another 4 quarts of strawberries that is included in the CSA. We may go again on Saturday morning to pick another 4 quarts, or I will just take LP with me for the next pick-up. I know she will love to go pick her own strawberries.

We purchased one full share and we are splitting it with Dave and Michael. Our half of the first pick-up is:

1. a large bunch of spinach
2. a large head of red leaf lettuce
3. a small head of green leaf lettuce
4. dill
5. 2 kohlrabi
6. a cucumber
7. 3 quarts of strawberries (2 self-picked).

Now I'm off to hide the strawberries before LP eats them all and figure out what to do with the kohlrabi. Has anyone every tried it? Let me know if you have any good recipes!

It's Official

Summer is here! We took our first trip to the beach house this weekend to open it up and kick off our summer. It was a short trip, a day and a half and 2 nights, but it was worth the drive. LP has been begging to go to the beach house for the last 3 months (I think she started the day the snow finished melting) and LP Dad and I were ready for the relaxation we feel there to hit us. Despite the short trip we got a lot in, I'll update with more pictures tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Eka!

She has a black cat named Lucifer (although Auntie La might argue that) and a magic garden that leaves presents. She lives at a pond (actually a lake) and has a cane that makes a great Mulan sword. She shares her popcorn and is always quick to offer a hug or help when it is needed.

Happy birthday Eka, you are an amazing grandmother and great-grandmother and deserve to have a wonderful day. We love you!

Reading a Story

I shouldn't have interrupted, they were reading so nicely together before I went downstairs. She always turns the book over when we get to the possums who hand upside down.

Meet the Teacher

We got to go to LP's school last week to meet her teacher and check out the classroom. We went with Alessandro and his parents and the kids had a great time playing on the playground while Miss Erika introduced herself and the classroom to the parents. The kids came in to check it out and LP got right down to business trying out some of the work. On the way back to the cars, LP and Alessandro had to stop to say hello to the chickens and they took a moment to pose for me.