Can I just brag on my girl for a minute? Jayna is four now, and all the sudden {it seems}, has turned into this adventurous little girl! I mean, she has always been smart, and vocal, and independent. But lately, I’ve just been so proud of her! Last week was the first week of ballet, in which she entered the class in the middle of the session, not knowing anyone or any of the dance steps. Did it phase her? Not a bit! She made friends immediately, and caught on to every plié and curtsy!
And this week, she started gymnastics. Anything that requires her wearing a “ballerinatard” will make her squeal with joy, so I had high hopes for gymnastics as well. Again, she bounded into the session with the enthusiasm of an Olympic gymnast…bouncing backwards on the trampoline, doing somersaults, and balancing on the HIGH beam. She even was brave enough to attempt a flip on the double bars!
And today, I finally got to attend Muffins with Mom at school {usually, we are in MD during May, so this is the first one I’ve gotten to go to!}. Call me emotional, but I was on the edge of tears for the entire thing! The whole class got up and sang several Mother’s Day songs. And contrary to popular belief, Jayna is quite the little performer and sang right to me…hand motions and all! Then, we were presented with our gifts, a candle holder and a couple of handprint poems. Lovely!
What a great kid!
Proud Mama Moments
It’s Fall, Y’all!
Its official! Fall has finally arrived in the Lowcountry! Running errands today was almost a pleasure as I admired the reds and oranges that popped up over the weekend around town. Funny how the air smells fresher and the sky seems blue-er against the bright-colored trees. Maybe it’s just me….I love this time of year!
Were you wondering if I would ever show you any of my Fall creations from my birthday shopping trip?
I’ve been working on a few…
I decided I liked the little flowers on the wreath so much, that I made a couple of clips for the girls….Jayna modeled one while working on a button project with me…
We look quite festive from the street, don’t we?
See the three sheets of paper next to our front door? We have been Boo’ed. Three times to be exact! Neighbors have been ringing our doorbell and running away, leaving buckets of Halloween and Fall goodies for us. The catch? Each time we are Boo’ed, we have to Boo two other neighbors. Too bad all of this happened before Halloween….I’d like to do it again now and get rid of some of this candy!!
Speaking of Halloween…the girls did great!
We went out early, as a family (leaving a bowl of candy on the porch)…even Loo Loo dressed up as a ballerina!
Jayna was a little nervous to go up to the houses at first, but once she figured out that she got candy at each house….she got brave really fast! Most of our neighbors were out on their porches, or driving around in their golf carts handing out candy.
After a couple of streets (and several trips back to the house to get a flashlight, replace ballet slippers with sneakers, put more candy out), Buggy was ready to drop. Literally. First it was her candy bucket. She just plopped it down in the middle of the sidewalk and kept walking to the next house! Then, one street over, she followed the candy bucket down to the ground, and announced that she was “exhausted.” Time to call it quits!
When we got home, Jayna was anxious to dump out her stash. And in keeping with tradition, proceeded to sort all of her candy!
Sugar high!
Whew! October flew by….and believe it or not, our Fall Festivities are only just beginning!
Ballerina Big Sister
Buggy is officially a ballerina. She started ballet at the YMCA in our neighborhood and loves it. She loves a lot of things lately! We walk to class every Monday, and join the other three ballerinas in butterfly stretches, sashays and tip toes.
They are learning a little dance for a performance of Bibbity Bobbity Boo on the last day of class. Jayna loves to dance, but is quite often much more interested in comparing tutus, playing with her friends’ hair, swapping her shoes (she finds it fascinating that there is no right or left ballet shoe! They can fit either foot!), and playing on the kickboxing equipment in the corner of the room. Oh. And don’t forget the mirrors. She loves the mirrors!
But she also loves Ms. Lisa, her teacher (and also a friend from church). And let me tell you-Ms. Lisa has the patience of a Saint with this crew of active girls! But she manages to herd them each week and they all love ballet!
Jayna has proved to be an excellent Big Sister. She loves “babysitting,” which consists of her playing with Amelia while I pee. =) Amongst other things. Really, it has been my saving grace, as I am able to do many 1-2 minute activities now that I have this new-found babysitter!
I am actually so fortunate to have had soooooo much help these past few weeks with moving and settling into the new house. We have even had our first weekend visitors! My aunts and uncle and cousins came to visit and meet Amelia a couple of weeks ago. You may remember Julia and Wouter from our trip to Lancaster this summer.
It was their first time to Charleston, so we had to show them the sights. And indulge in a little fountain playing!
And last week, Mom Mom flew down for a long weekend for her share of Baby Holding.
And she taught Buggy how to drive.
And managed to catch Elly and Tippy hanging out with Amelia!
So, that’s what we have been doing the past couple of weeks. We are significantly downsizing the box situation, and our rooms are actually starting to look lived in! It’s amazing how we can move into this big house, but have somehow manage to have less storage than in our old house. But I guess it’s really a good thing as we have been forced to declutter and prioritize our “stuff.” We pretty much have downstairs under control and are now concentrating on unpacking clothes and bedrooms.
Remember this masterpiece?
Dave allowed me to buy it for the loft (aka “My Craft Room”), to do my crafts and sewing on. It was beautiful. Was. It cost an arm and a leg to buy, store and deliver. Turns out, there was a reason why it was so expensive. Apparently it was actually a kitchen island, and was made of one piece of carved wood. And was extremely large. As in, larger than our doorway…let alone our staircase! So….we had to return it. Now I have a store credit to my fav furniture store, but no craft table. And subsequently, no craft room….as the loft has turned into the dumping ground for all things Wii and sorting place for the massive amount of laundry that has piled up wince we’ve moved in. So the saga continues….
A Moving Poem
‘Twas the night before Closing and all through the house,
Everyone was pooped…even my spouse!
Boxes were stacked in each room with such care,
Awaiting the movers who soon would be there.
The children were snuggled in a basket and mattress,
Lamps were all packed, and the rooms were in blackness.
And mama in her sweatpants, and dad in his shorts,
Had given up on organizing….everything was out of sorts!
Tomorrow we’ll wake and do one more inspection,
Before signing papers and doing key collection.
Jayna is excited, but isn’t quite sure
So we’re choosing what battles we fight with her!
(That’s right….she is eating a pop tart, in the car, after insisting that we go to the carwash!)
Sue-Sue will meet us and take J to dance
where on her first day, she’ll learn how to prance!
And then what to my tired eyes will appear?
Dave’s awesome brother, here to help (and drink beer)!
With some moving guys on Tuesday to carry the brunt,
Chris and Dave can move the smaller stuff with just a grunt.
Their goal for the week is to get everything moved,
And everything that’s left, at a yard sale removed!!
“On the truck: furniture! Clothes! Toys, and each box!
On, tv’s! On, powertools! And don’t forget Buggy’s Crocs!
To the top of the street! To the end of the road!
Now turn right! And then right again…all the way to our new home!
(as of 9-10)
And then, in a few weeks, as we unpack
A resemblance of order we soon will get back.
As I settle with new babe, and get used to our home,
I’ll finally get on schedule and get some things done!!
So please bear with me these next weeks…
Don’t give up on me!
I promise I’ll be back with more than one story!
But until the boxes aren’t anymore overwhelmingly knee-deep,
“I’ll see you all soon…..now I’ve GOTTA get some sleep!!!!”
*PS- Sorry for the crappy cell-phone pictures….like I said, all of our good cameras are packed and so are the lamps! Sorry!
Ballerinatards and Baby Gear
Buggy’s favorite outfit lately is a leotard, ballet slippers and a tutu. She calls her ensemble her “ballerinatard.” As in,
“Mommy, where is my ballerinatard?” “You mean your leotard?” “Yea, my ballerinatard.”And then she dances. Of course she stops every time I get out the camcorder or camera, so I have no evidence of such dances. But she DOES dance. In a style that could only be fashioned after one of her parents (you know what I mean, Loo!). Lately, its been a cross between the Running Man and the Shake Your Booty dance. =) Shhh don’t tell her, but I was able to capture a quick moment of The Dance before she saw me and collapsed on to the chair!
Buggy has also been helping me nest….as best as I can, anyway, with a partially packed house. This week we got the infant carrier and bathtub out of storage to clean up. I also was sooo fortunate to score a FREE bassinet from my local Mom’s Swap. Jayna (with the help of LooLooBaby and Steelers Bear, respectively) made sure each item was in working condition for Amelia.
I was informed that the pegs in the bathtub picture are bubbles!
In other baby news, I am officially 36 weeks along and headed to my first weekly doctor’s appointment. Wish me luck, it only gets more fun from here! =)
