Talent Show

I didn't think she'd want to participate so I didn't even ask Sydney about it when the school sent home a flyer for the end of year talent show. Then a few days later she asked if I thought she could play a song on the piano for the talent show. Of course! We got to work right away on learning a song. She chose Twinkle Twinkle since she taught herself the right hand already on the piano. She is proving to have a really good ear for just hearing a song and figuring out how to play it. She has learned, 'When You Wish Upon a Star,' just by teaching herself and listening to it as well. We had not quite gotten to both hands playing at the same time, but a few more lessons and she had that down too. She worked very hard that last few weeks to get her song all polished up and keep her rhythm. I was very proud of her motivation and willingness to work hard. Today at the school, when I saw how many people were there and all the students from the school, I was so nervous for her, I couldn't imagine how she felt. She showed me though and performed very well. She even had some of the kids in the audience singing along! I have learned that I shouldn't assume anything for my kids and that she is an even more brave girl that I thought. We are very proud of Sydney and her ability to take on a challenge, work at it, and then enjoy her success. Good job Sydney!

Abby's TWOOT

The morning of Abby's second birthday I went in her room and said, "ABBY!! You're two!" She said, "Ya, I'm cute!" Me: "No, you're two!" Abby: *pause* "Ya, I toot." Me: "No, say I'm two." (emphasis with no T) Abby: "I'm two!"

We got there eventually!

She had a fun birthday. She got to play at McDonald's for lunch. She got to have her favorite dinner Mac n Cheese and then cupcakes with oreos on top. They were made to look like Minnie Mouse. She loves blowing out candles and singing the Happy Birthday song. She calls it the "Happy to you" song. Well she got to do both several times since she had trick candles that kept lighting up and we had some technical difficulties with her candles so we sang twice!

Almost all of her gifts were Minnie themed because Abby LOVES Minnie Mouse. She has finally decided she likes to have ponytails, clips, and headbands in now that she's two and it makes her seem older as well. She loves to dance and play with her siblings. She likes to be going and asks me everyday "where are we going now?" She even plays pretty well with other little kids her age and has become a very social butterfly :)

We love our sweet little Abby-Doo!

Yard improvments

 

These two need a bit more boundaries than our yard currently has! Or that's the excuse I've used so that we could get help to dig up our second gravel driveway, fill it with dirt, put in a curb, and then plant grass. It has been quite the project and several individuals have been key in our being able to complete it. Without the backhoe, dump truck, cement mixer, and concrete expertise of our various friends and acquaintances, this project probably would not have been finished any time soon. I am so grateful for those who were willing to help us finish this project I wanted so badly! We go tomorrow to pick up our fence and then after we install it, these two can roam a little freer and I won't have to worry about them running away! Especially, Kelly.... if she doesn't want me to catch her... I CANT. Good thing she's such a sweet girl and most of the time does as she is told. The grass is coming in nicely and in a month or so, we should have a fabulous, bigger, fenced yard all the way around the house!

Terrain Race

 

 Last weekend I went over to Portland with some friends for a few nights. On Saturday we ran in the Sherwood Forest Terrain Race. I have never done an obstacle race before so I didn't quite know what to expect. It turned out really fun. I'm glad I had friends who stayed back with me some to help me through the really slippery muddy patches since I'm nursing a knee injury. I liked that it seemed like most the people in the race were just there to have fun and helped each other overcome obstacles and took their time. I felt like it was more an exercise in staying safe than going fast. We walked, we ran, we climbed, we slid, we jumped and a lot of other things.  We also got to have some fun girl time and I'm super glad I got to go. Thanks for Andy for doing fun stuff while I was gone with the kids and taking a half day off work so I could go!

 The Finish Line

Cinderella Ballet

The performance the La Grande School of Ballet will put on for the spring recital in a few weeks is Cinderella! Sydney is very excited to be a village girl and then one of the fairy godmother's fairies. These pictures are from picture day last week. It was the first time I've stayed this semester to watch her dances and they are very cute. I can see a lot of improvement in her ability to remember the dancing and stay in rhythm. I am very proud of her accomplishments in dance especially tap since this is her first year and the other girls in class have had one or two years experience already. Looking forward to seeing the spring recital in a few weeks! 

 

Fire Station Field Trip

I get to help in Sydney's class every Friday and last Friday was a field trip day. We walked to the Island City fire station a few blocks away from the school. I was really impressed with the activities they had set up for the kids. They were very hands on. One of them was an obstacle course for the kids to drag and move the fire hoses around and then they got to spray down a barricade with a real fie hose. IT was really fun to watch the kids and how excited they go on their turns. I have been impressed as my kids have grown up about how much effort emergency personnel put into education children about safety and helping them understand their jobs and all their gear, so if a real emergency came, the kids would be familiar with them and what they look like geared up instead of being afraid of those who are trying to help. It just never occurred to me before I had children that familiarity and educating kids about what these brave people do outside of what they see on TV is very important. Sydney felt really silly when one fireman helped her try on all this gear. She had such a fun day!