Handley's first dance recital

Get ready for a serious picture over-load, but I am one proud mom!  


Yesterday was Handley's first ever dance recital!  She takes at the community center and they perform outdoors at the city's spring festival as their recital.  Handley was so very excited for this day and I had so much fun helping her prepare for the big event.  We practiced and practiced her dances and she was as ready as she could be.

Handley and her friend, Avery, before they performed. 

Handley with her teacher, Miss Christine. 

 Saturday morning she also had a soccer game.  We have pretty much determined that soccer isn't going to be her sport.  Poor thing just is afraid to get in the mix of the crowd with the ball.  She backs away if someone comes near her, although she does try to run and and keep up with the ball.  I told Robby that she might not be a soccer star, but that she was going to shine up on the stage dancing and SHINE she did!!!

We were SO very proud of her and she was the most beautiful little ballerina.  She danced her heart out and I was pretty impressed with how well she remembered the dances and remembered to smile.  Her first dance was the ballet routine and then they switched shoes and did tap.  

After her second dance she got a trophy, which was a total surprise to her and a REALLY big deal.  It's her very first trophy and she hasn't let it out of her sight.  She's been holding on to it tight and has taken it with us everywhere this weekend.  (She even wanted to bring it to church this morning). We also gave her flowers so she felt so proud and happy carrying them around.

There were a lot of people at the festival so lots of people passing by stopped to watch the show.  We also had several of our friends/family members there watching.  Every time I saw someone I would run over to tell her and she got a huge smile on her face knowing that she had supporters there.  

It was really hot yesterday so after she was done we made our way to the new RaceTrac for frozen yogurt to help us cool off.  You better believe that trophy came in with us. :-)

That night Robby and I attended a UGA Alumni Gala so Gigi and Papa stayed on for the evening to babysit.  It was fun getting all dressed up.

Today, Hudson got to try out the bike trailer for the first time and the report was that both he, and Harper, were so comfy in it that they took naps on their ride.

Here are the links to her dance videos if you want to watch. :-) In both videos she starts off on the far right, but in tap she ends up a few over.

ballet
tap

Joyful

After dinner tonight Handley was being extremely silly and making Hudson laugh.  He was really cracking up and Handley told him, "Hudson, you sure are joyful tonight."  I don't know why, but that comment of hers got me so tickled.

Ignore Handley's sweaty hair.  We'd just come inside from playing out in the heat and her bike helmet must have made her really hot.  I'm not sure exactly what she was doing here, but he loved it. 

There is something about the after-dinner/pre-bath time that gets my crew all wound up.  At that point they all got pretty joyful.

Another comment that made me smile today came from Harper.  We were riding the car to meet some friends for lunch and she was playing with Hudson in the back seat.  All of the sudden she said, "Hudson, God is in your heartbeat."  I think she meant that God was in his heart, but I just thought it was so sweet she said heartbeat.

A little update on Hudson and his movement. He is now getting up on all fours.  He isn't doing the traditional pre-crawling rocking back and forth yet, but I feel that will probably come next.  What he is doing is getting extremely frustrated because he really wants to move.  We've also been trying to help him (force him) to pull up to stand.  He's working his little legs like crazy and doing a good job.  I decided it was time to get out the activity table so he could practice standing while playing with a fun toy.  He's still wobbly and I don't trust him to stand alone without falling right over, which is why you see Handley in these pictures.  Her "job" was to keep him from toppling over. :-)

Handley's note and summer goals

I consider myself a pretty laid back mom.  While I expect a lot of the girls, I also can overlook a lot, too.  However, there are sometimes that it just builds up and I loose it.  Like tonight.  Hudson was crying all evening, Harper was whiney and I was repeating myself over and over and over.  As we were making our way to the bathroom for baths, I was practically tripping over toys and stuff that was strewn all over the house and I lost it.  I yelled at the girls for not cleaning up their things and told them I was going to start throwing toys in the trash instead of picking them up myself.  That got their attention.

After their bath I told them to clean-up while I was putting Hudson to bed and then they could play for a little bit after they were done.  Well, when I came out of Hudson's room I found a very tidy house and a special note Handley had written for me.

Translation: she drew 3 hearts first, then the letters WR SRe FR No clen up = We're sorry for not cleaning up.

 I couldn't quite make out what she had written, until I had her read it for me.  Then I totally saw it and my heart melted.  I also felt really guilty for getting mad at them.  She is so sweet.

She really loves writing and I want to do more to help her reading and writing skills.  To hold myself accountable, I wanted to post my academic goals for the girls this summer.  I started working with her on sight words and she LOVES practicing them.  She knows 4-5 right now and my goal is for her to know 20 by the time she starts Kindergarten.

Harper has much less interest in doing anything academic related (besides cutting her shapes), but seeing Handley doing her work has made Harper a little more interested too.  My goal for her this summer is to have her writing her name by the time school starts and for her to know at least 50% of the alphabet.  Besides the letter H, she tells me everything is an A and if I say no, she moves to her next guess, B. :-)  Last week Handley said she would help Harper with her ABC flashcards while I was putting Hudson to bed.  She came running in to tell me that Harper knew ALL of them.  I had to see what she was talking about.  Turns out she knew what all the pictures were on the flashcards.  Ha! I had to explain to her that we wanted Harper to learn the letters, in addition to the pictures.

The first time Harper let me help her write her whole name. 

RaceTrac Family Day

Today was the annual RaceTrac Family Day.  This year it was at the zoo and not only did we get to see all of the animals, but there was also face painting, carnival games, a bounce house, raffles and a great lunch.

When we first arrived we started making our way around the zoo to check out all the animals.  Handley had her job as tour guide with the map and kept directing us where to go next.  Every time she saw a spot for a photo-op, she wanted us to stop and take her picture.

Then we rode the train and the kids loved it.  The train went through a giant tunnel with colored lights that they thought was lots of fun.  Next up it was time for lunch and all of the fun activities RaceTrac had planned.  Handley showed off her skills with the hoola-hoops as she waited for face painting and loved playing the ring-toss games.

On our way out of the zoo we made on last stop by the carousel and then it was time to head home.  Everyone was exhausted by the time we got in the car and 2 out of 3 kids napped on the way home.  I'd say that was a successful day!

Check-ups

This morning was Harper's 3 year and Hudson's 9 month check-ups.  Harper didn't have to get any shots, so her appointment was pretty easy.  The only thing the dr. had to say about her was to keep an eye on her enunciation of certain words.  She does have a tendency to leave off the beginning consonant sounds of certain words.  However, if I ask her to say it correctly she can.  I just need to make more of an effort to correct her and have her practice saying words clearly instead of thinking its sort of cute the way she talks.

Harper's stats:
weight - 33 lbs. (75th percentile)
height - 37 3/4 inches (55th percentile)

Hudson thought getting to sit on the table and play with the paper was the best part of our visit.  He got one vaccine, but he only cried for a few seconds.  He also got his toe pricked to test his iron levels and he didn't even flinch for that.

Hudson's stats:
weight - 19 lbs. 8 oz. (30th percentile)
height - 29 inches (75th percentile)
head circumference - 18 inches (55th percentile)

I must say I was really shocked that his weight is now in the 30th percentile (down from the 60th percentile at his 6 month check-up).  He looks and feels so solid to me, has the squishiest little legs and even has rolls on his knees.  I know that a lot of it has to do with the fact that he is becoming more mobile and moving around a lot more.  However, the doctors like for kids to continue on the same trend and don't like to see a big drop like that in percentiles.  She suggested I just keep offering him lots of table foods (which he is already eating) and to do little things like give him his waffles with butter and syrup instead of just plain.  I know he'll love that!

The other thing is the fact that he isn't crawling yet or trying to pull-up.  I'm not at all worried because he is starting to roll everywhere, scoot backwards, and spin around on his belly.  This afternoon he was close to getting on his hands and knees from a sitting position.  I really think he has just had such a laid back personality that he's not been too motivated and is just going to hit these developmental milestones a little later.  However, she did encourage me to help him scoot along, get to the sitting position on his own, and try to help him figure out pulling up.  I also talked to the girls about not always giving him a toy right away and letting him try to get to it on his own.  

Art Show - 2012

Tonight was the annual Art Show at the pre-school.  I look forward to this event every year.  Each class has several pieces of artwork displayed in really adorable ways.  The girls were super excited about showing us all of the things they had made.  They were also really excited to see their teachers and their friends.

Handley's fossil 

Handley beside her "sock" snowman

Harper's snowman with it's upside down hat and fly-away scarf. :-)