Seat Belt

It's official Alyce is all grown up. This past weekend she started buckling her seat belt by herself. She was able to do it as long as Mom or I gave her some slack. Tonight getting into the car she didn't even need that. She did 100% all by herself. She can open and close her door and now this. At this rate she'll be driving next month.

Way to go little one. Mom and I are proud of you. Now stop growing up so fast.

Dance Recital Rehearsal

Saturday Alyce had her dance recital.  Before her class performed we had to sit through performances by other classes. They were all good and provided an example what Alyce would be doing in the coming years. Alyce being a youngster sat in our lap until intermission. She seemed to enjoy all of the dances as well.  She clapped enthusiastically after each performance. During intermission Mom brought Alyce back to the dressing area with the other older girls. Next year Alyce will be old enough to sit back there the whole time. By Mom's description it was pretty cool in back. They had coloring books and a video playing.

When Alyce's class came up it was dark and we could only see silhouettes moving across the stage. First we saw one little girl (not Alyce) and then nothing. Just as Mom and I were going to say "where's the rest" out pop the other three girls with Alyce leading the way or hindering progress depending on how you see it. They get into position, the lights came up, and Alyce was temporarily blinded.  A few seconds later the music started and they were dancing. There was a lot of looking at the other girls for cues on what to do next and at times all of them were a bit lost. Their teacher was in front of the stage and was able to get them back if it was necessary. Mom and I were pleased that she was up there and did the routine without being distracted, shy, standing there, or losing a shoe. A reserved girl like Alyce in front of an auditorium full of people couldn't have been easy.

At the end of the show all of the girls came back on stage for the big finale.  It was supposed to be a big kick line and in the rehearsal they did a great job.  For the actual performance it was a bit disorganized and that was o.k.

Following the performance Grams and Papa gave Alyce a bouquet of flowers and Mom gave her one of her bears (Pinkie) with a new ballet outfit.  Afterwards all of us including Onermark Grams and my Aunt Marilyn all met up for some ice cream at Culver's.

We don't have any video of the performance.  The official video is coming out in 6-8 weeks.  Below is a recording Mom made of the rehearsal.  Mom and Alyce stuck around for the entire rehearsal even though they could have left early.  Once all of the dances were finished the teachers went through the songs again to test the volume.  When it time for Alyce's song (twinkle little star) Alyce was asked if she would like to dance again ALL BY HERSELF!  Mom shot a video of Alyce up there doing her dance all alone.  Quite possibly the cutest thing ever.


We want to thank Grams and Papa for allowing the kids to come over each and every Tuesday for quiet time before dance class.  If it wasn't for that Mom would have to wake up Luke early from his nap.  We especially want to thank Onermark grams for paying for all of Alyce's dance classes.  It was a wonderful gesture and we appreciate the generosity.

We asked Alyce if she wanted to do dance again next year and she said that she did.  Dance class must have been fun enough for her to want to do it all over again.

Pool

One of the big reasons we bought our house was the neighborhood pool. Since the pool opened 9 days ago Alyce and I have been to pool 4 times.  The pool is pretty great for both kids and adults. It has slides, fountains, and walk in access so the kids can go as deep as they are comfortable with.  I like the pool because we are only 9 houses away and it only takes a few minutes to get there on foot.

Alyce isn't a fan of the slide structure. It shoots water all over the place and if you get to close to it will splash you. Alyce dislikes getting her face wet so much that she will stop what she's doing, get out of the pool, and dry her face off. When we were at the pool this weekend we had a breakthrough that will get Alyce closer to the spray. I gave Alyce the baseball cap I was wearing and told her that it would keep the rain off her head and out of her face. That must have been enough because as long as she was wearing my hat she'd go up on the slide.  Not down it mind you, that would get her face wet.

Tonight after mowing the lawn Alyce and I took a trip to the pool to cool off. A few minutes after we jumped in Alyce's friend Madison showed up. Madison is a girl Alyce met while we were out for a walk one night a few weeks ago. While I was conversing with a neighbor Alyce walked over, said hi to Madison, and they started playing together. I kept my eye on them from across the pool but my involvement was not needed. They two of them played as if they had been friends forever. After 10 minutes Alyce noticed that I wasn't around and started to look for me. Even when she found me and made eye contact she didn't come over. I think she just wanted to check in.

While they were off playing I talked with Madison's mom Kim. We went on about our kids. Kim described Madison as a girl who never met a stranger. I went on to describe that Alyce is reserved and that she could learn a lot from a girl like Madison. I'm hoping that the two of them will become close friends over the summer and during school. Madison is also 4 and her birthday is just 20 days before Alyce's.

Later on near closing time I joined in the play. I was the kid's safety net so they could jump off the the edge of the pool into the "deep water" as Alyce likes to call the 3'6" deep end of the pool. Both kids had inner tubes or "floaties" around their waist so I was there to make sure they didn't jump on each other and not much else. Alyce didn't seem to have much of a problem with water splashing on her face as long as Madison was around; go figure.

When closing time finally came Alyce ran and grabbed her towel to bring it over to Madison so she could dry off with her friend. When the two parted company they shared a hug and yelled bye to each other as we turned down our respective streets.

The entire trip to the pool tonight was an absolute joy. I pleased me to no end seeing my little girl crack open her shell and have some unbridled fun. I could have sat there all night watching the two go round and round.  I have a feeling i'll be seeing a lot of the pool this summer. I'm ok with that.

Bubbles!

Today, after the heat of the day had passed we ventured outside for a bit of fun. We got out all of our bubble supplies and let the kids go wild. Luke was out of it for a while and just kind of hung out in his chair. Alyce on the other hand was going crazy chasing the bubbles. There was leaping, skipping, bounding, and running all of the moves one needs to smash those bubbles into oblivion.


We pulled out Luke's new toy, the bubble machine that automatically blows hundreds if not thousands of bubbles a minute.  The kids were interested in the machine but weren't fascinated with the bubbles. It was as if they were more interested in how the bubbles were being made than the bubbles themselves. Mom and I thought the machine was pretty cool and enjoyed the constant stream of bubbles. Alyce and Luke both liked the big bubbles that Mom and I were blowing for them with the wands Alyce won at Gideon's birthday party.

Later on I'm guessing Luke's dinner finally kicked in and he noticed the bubbles and squealed "bubbles, bubbles!" while running in place. Even though he was late to the party Luke still managed to have a good time with Alyce running from the driveway to the front porch and back again.

What Will You Be When You Grow Up

Last week I asked Alyce what she was going to be when she grew up. Her answer was "A builder and a mommy". I was expecting her to say builder. The addition of mommy was a surprise. For a while she said she wanted to be a builder like Bob from the Bob the Builder tv show. I'm not sure when she decided to be a mommy too.

Just today Alyce asked Mom a question out of the blue. She asked, "Who's going to be the mommy while I'm being the builder?". A very astute observation. Mom answered by saying that she would need to hire a baby sitter. Alyce then said the she'd be the mommy when she got home.

I approve of Alyce wanting to be a builder. It's a good field. I'd like her to be the head of construction for a neighborhood development. It would be an interesting job that would require a college education. I'm guessing Alyce just wants to drive the construction equipment like Bob. In a few months she'll change her mind and want to be something else. That's ok she's got a few years before she heads off to Missouri State University.

Watching the Sun Set

Alyce was hanging out with her cousin Andy at my Mom's house this weekend. The kids were running around outside having a good time. They took a break from the action to sit on the grass and watch the sun set.

Neither of them were wearing shoes because Mom and I forgot to pack comfy shoes for Alyce after our family event. Andy seeing Alyce barefoot wanted to join in on the fun. I thought it added an innocence of summer to the photo.

Singing Goodnight

Last weekend while Mom was out of town Alyce asked me if she could do something.  She asked if she could sing a bedtime song for Luke.  Of course I agreed to that request and in the dark she sang a lullaby to Luke.  The song Alyce sang is the same one that Mom sings to her.  Alyce did an excellent job too.  She knew all of the words and had the melody perfect.  In case you were wondering Alyce was singing the Honey Bunch Sugar Plum or Cubby Cake song.  This song has been a standby in our house since Alyce was born.

Since then Alyce has done it a few more times and it is just as sweet as the first time.

Weekend Alone

Last weekend Mom took a little vacation and I was playing the role of single parent for the next 48 hours.  I went into the weekend pretty confident that I would come out the other side with my sanity intact.  I'm happy to report that I did in fact make it through loosing only a few cards out of my deck.

With Alyce being 4 years old and potty trained she was pretty easy.  Luke at 2 wasn't even all that hard.  The majority of my time was spent trying to get them to eat something (anything).  The downside to them getting older was that rather than being caregiver you get the role of referee.  We have a house full of toys and it is way too much to ask that they don't play with same one at the same time. The hilarious part of the toy fighting is that after Alyce has been playing with a toy for 5 minutes, Luke will come over, rip it out of her hands, and Alyce will say "Luke is not sharing!".  Maybe she hasn't quite figured the finer points of sharing.

Saturday, the first day I was running solo I had to run out to my Mom's house to do a few maintenance items.  I was going to be all alone so I had to keep one eye on the kids and one on the task at hand.  Luckily they were very cooperative.  It helped that I wasn't in any big hurry so I didn't have to rush and was able to take things as they came.  For lunch I took them out to McDonald's and their playground. Some chicken nuggets, milk, and 20 minutes on a slide was enough to keep them happy and drain away any stress I had.

That evening after naps I packed up the kids and went to my friend Ted's house.  His daughter Izzy turned one and they were throwing a small party for her.  We were late getting there due to Luke taking an extended nap and most of the food was gone.  Ted offered to fire up the grill to make some more.  But I told him it wasn't worth the effort as they probably wouldn't eat and I was right.  I was able to get a single bite of chicken and garlic bread in the both of them before they tore off for the slide and swings.

During the party I only lost Luke once.  I was busy pushing Alyce on a swing and after a few minutes I noticed that I hadn't seen Luke in a bit.  I disengaged myself from Alyce and started to go look for Luke.  There were a ton of parents around so I was confident he hadn't walked off I just wanted to check in.  As I walked around back and around the screened in porch I hear a "hi daddy".  The kicker is that I heard it coming from above me.  Looking up Luke had managed to go up the stairs and through the door to the screened in porch.  He was playing on a slide inside and having a great time.  You could say that Luke found me.


Towards the end of the party after the piñata and cupcakes Luke made a friend, another kid in attendance, and just two days younger than Luke.  The two of them just started running around a tree and having a great time of it.  I think that each of them thought the other was chasing them.  It was pretty cute and I managed to grab a bit of video.  Of course Luke fell a few times and when finished was covered in mud.  I wasn't planning on giving the kids a bath that night but Luke left me with little choice.  Once home I tossed the kids in the tub, cleaned them up, put them to bed, and collapsed.

Sunday was a pretty easy day.  We hung out all day at the house with no where to go. While Luke was playing with some trains Alyce and I played a few rounds of Pretty Princess. Once Mom was back in town we met her at Gram's and Papa's house.  The strangest thing happened when we pulled up.  Luke didn't immediately go see Mom. Instead he went and said hi to everyone else.  Perhaps he was angry she left and withheld his affection as a way of showing his displeasure?  His withholding lasted only a few minutes and then he and she were back to normal.  I'm glad he doesn't hold a grudge.

Mom really needed that weekend off.  I'm glad she was able to disengage from family life for a little while and decompress.  Luke's screaming and Alyce's whining day after day can really up your stress level.  If you don't get an extended break every once in a while you'll go mad.

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's day the entire family including Onermark Grams and Grams and Papa went to the Museum of Transportation.  The Museum of Transportation is a cool little museum that show cases all types of transportation with a specific focus on trains.

Mom picked up a Groupon some time ago for a steal so we all got in for only a few dollars.  I would say that the museum is just the right size for two kids.  They have a trolley, tram, and train that you can ride on for free or small charge and lots of trains that kids can climb up into.  The museum isn't a slouch when it comes to history.  Onermark Grams and I routinely fell behind the rest of the group because were busy reading the history of each and every train.  We left only after a few hours but I could have stayed all day.


The forecast for that day was hot and it did not disappoint.  Even with lots of shade I managed a minor sunburn.  The kids fared better than I because they have full heads of hair.  The heat did take a toll on the kids and after a while they became red in the face and their energy and mood plummeted.

Following the museum we all met for lunch at Grams and Papa's house for some sandwiches.  GiGi was picked up GiGi on the way home and she joined us for lunch.

S'nores

Today when I got home from work I asked Alyce how her day at school was.  After a brief conversation Mom asked Alyce if she would tell me what their snack was.  Alyce, when she doesn't know the answer to something says "you know" and our usual response is "no we don't.  How about you tell us?".  Mom ended up whispering the answer "s'mores" to Alyce.  A few seconds later Alyce pipes up and says "s'nores!".  That was too cute to correct her so Mom and I let it go.  I then asked her to describe what a s'nore was.  She said it was some chocolate and a marsh mellow between two crackers.  When asked if it was yummy Alyce said yes.

At Alyce's school this week they are learning about camping.  Naturally s'mores come up in the conversation.  Today the boys hung out in one tent and the girls hung out in another.  As per Alyce the girl tent was a castle and it was for girls and not for boys.  Later in the week we are to bring in a sleeping bag and a flashlight if we have them.  We didn't have one for her but one trip to Walmart and $10 later we are the proud owner of a pink polka dot sleeping bag.

Next week are the end of the year festivities.  There is messy art day, water fun day, and family picnic day.  FYI grand parents reading this blog.  You are invited to family picnic day too!  May 23rd if you're interested.

After we got the sleeping bag we asked Alyce if she wanted to go camping outside.  She said no and that she wanted to go camping in her room instead.