My sunshine on a rainy day

Rain, rain go away

Come back another day
But leave your puddles -
We want to play!

Nana and Big Daddy bought Grace this adorable raincoat and Kyle bought her the boots to match. I never thought I would go out in the rain looking for puddles, but that is just what we did today.

And what I call "The Peek-a-Boo Series"....

Getting ready for school

I wake Grace up at 6:10 AM and within 20 minutes she gets dressed, feeds Daisy two treats (it always has to be two - one each of two different kinds), eats something for breakfast, and we are out the door by 6:30. Some days she is still asleep as I start getting her dressed (poor baby), some days she is really "clingy" and doesn't want me to put her down, and some days -like today - she is ready to get moving. This morning, she got her coat and tried to put it on by herself. I had to laugh and snap these pictures. As you can see, she had the wrong arm in the sleeve so her coat is upside-down! She was a little frustrated but she didn't cry. It doesn't look like it in these photos but I think she was on the verge of laughing at herself.Notice she is wearing her first pair of Nikes! Perfect for running around on the playground.

Yesterday Grace said her first sentence, "I see you!" and today she has been saying, "Bye you". She puts her plastic Easter eggs in her basket, puts the basket on her shoulder, and says "Bye you!". I wonder where she is going?

Egg-cellent Egg-stravaganza

It's snowing outside but that didn't stop us from coloring our Easter eggs today! I got up early this morning and hard-boiled the eggs so we could get right to the fun part after Grace came home from daycare.

I took this just to prove (and remember!) that we had snow a few days before Easter!

I covered the table with newspaper, covered Grace in her painting smock from Italy (Thanks, Nana!), and we got to it!

Here is the result!

Grace seemed very pleased with her eggs. I thought the colors were much brighter than I remember from when I was a kid. We counted them and named all the colors. She knows "yellow" which sounds like "ye-yo" in Grace language!I wasn't sure what I was going to do with all these hard-boiled eggs. I don't mind them, but I certainly don't want to be eating them every day for the next week or so! I thought maybe I could make egg salad. But, then Grace started eating one (I showed her how to peel it)....she actually liked it. Problem solved!

One thing is for sure...we are not hiding them. With the black hole that still exists in this house, we are bound to lose one and "find" it later, if you know what I mean!

No help needed

This afternoon we stopped at a little playground when we were at the outlet mall. Grace was the youngest kid there but she never hesitated to jump right in and play. I watched her look around, decide that she wanted to go down the slide, figure out how to get to the top, climb the steps alone, and determine when it was her turn to go. She did great!

PS - Your eyes are not tricking you. That is a winter coat Grace is wearing. It was a cool weekend here and they are forecasting snow for tomorrow. Ahhh, April in Northeast Ohio! My poor daffodils!

Now showing at a gallery near you

toddler art!

This is just some of the artwork Grace has done since she started at Kindercare in January. They make something almost every day. I can't possibly keep it all! These are some of my favorites so far.

Grace decorated her gingerbread man with "candy " pieces!

The class read a story called "The Littlest Snowman" and
they copied the art in the book using white circles and puffy paint.

This heart and shamrock were tissue paper collages stuck onto clear Contact paper. They hung in the windows of the classroom during February and March like stained glass .

When they studied the sky, Grace made a rainbow,

a bird with feathers,

and the night sky with stars for"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star".

On the other side of the table

As a school administrator, meeting with parents about their child's progress is something I do all the time. It is rarely a source of stress, although sometimes there is a need to discusss "difficult" situations. As a teacher, I participated in formal parent/teacher conferences at least twice a year. Parents would schedule a time on evenings set aside for that purpose and we would meet them back-to-back, one after another. Most were routine - strengths, areas for improvement, reasons for grades, behavior, etc. Since I became a principal almost 8 years ago those "difficult" conversations have happened much more often. Generally, if I am in a meeting it is because the teacher needs some back-up and support as he or she shares something that might be hard for a parent to hear. This is the perspective (and concern - was I going to hear something bad?) I had today going to my first parent/teacher conference on the other side of the table.

I met with Miss Diana, Grace's preschool teacher today during lunchtime. I prepared a handful of questions before the meeting just in case I needed them, but my intention was to try to listen a lot to make the most of our 30 minutes together. My hope was to learn some things about Grace, to find out if her teacher thinks she is developmentally on track, and to get some ideas of things we should be working on together at home.

Let me say once, again....Grace is perfect. She is an awesome, amazing kid and I am so lucky to have her in my life. Miss Diana told me that she is doing great. In some areas she has seen a lot of progress since Grace started there in January. She used to prefer not to get her hands dirty with paint, glue, etc. but now she jumps right in to participate in those sensory activities. She had been really quiet, but lately Grace has been babbling a lot. Miss Diana said that this morning she was "talking" so much. I wonder if she was telling her teacher about her vacation! Grace also loves to pretend play now, especially with the kitchen (Thanks Aunt Nancy and Uncle Chris!) and with the baby dolls. Miss Diana said she is persistent and will finish a project to the end. She really likes to do the collage art projects and will try to make hers like the teacher's sample.

In some areas Grace is developmentally right on target for her age. Her gross motor skills (once a concern for us when she first came home last March) are great. She can walk on a line and throw a ball. She can name a bunch of body parts, can take her shoes off, is learning to do her zipper, and holds her crayon and spoon as would be expected for a toddler. Grace is starting to interact with her peers, playing alongside them, hugging certain friends when they arrive at school, and waving to everyone when she leaves for the day. Grace is really good at remembering the daily routine and she knows the movements that go along with certain songs they sing together.

Melissa and Doug Stack and Sort

As I expected, there are some things we need to work on like: counting, sorting objects, recognizing colors, learning to say her name, identifying big and little, and puzzles. Grace is not great at sharing which really doesn't surprise me since at home she doesn't have to share with anyone! (Don't get any ideas....that does not mean I am going to start considering a little brother or sister!) But I am already looking at some new toys that can help us in these areas! Her birthday is coming, you know!

Manhattan Toy Co. Counting and Sorting Farm

This is the way we roll

Continental Airlines broke our "old" stroller on the way to Florida. I gate-checked it just like I did both ways to Guatemala and to Florida two other times - a total of 8 flights. But this time, it was sitting there at the door of the plane with one wheel in the seat where Grace is supposed to sit. I was pretty upset when we landed and told the baggage guy exactly how I felt. It is unbelievable that they don't care, don't apologize, tell you that they are not liable for stroller damage unless it is packed in it's original box(!), and make you feel like they are doing you a favor when they lend you a $10 umbrella stroller to replace your nice, comfortable, safe, expensive stroller.

Okay, so I got over the fact that Continental's customer service stinks and we made due with the $10 replacement. At first I thought that I really don't need a new stroller since we have this amazing Bumbleride jogging stroller that is like riding on air. I figured Grace is getting bigger and we really don't use a stroller that much so we could just use that one. But, then I realized what makes it great for running on the trails is what will make it inconvenient in the mall, at the zoo, traveling, etc. It is sturdy but also big, bulky, and heavy (it weighs 20 lbs!).So after doing some research today online and in the stores, I decided to purchase what I hope is our LAST stroller. It is a Maclaren Volo lightweight, foldable stroller. And I mean lightweight - it only weighs 8.5 lbs! My mother's laptop weighs 7 lbs. When I picked it up at the store I couldn't believe it. It folds with one hand and has a carrying strap so you can put it right on your shoulder. I love the raspberry color in the picture. I hope it is as vibrant in person.Well, Nana, we are ready to jump into cabs and buses in New York, Paris, Rome, and anywhere else you want to go. Let's start using the BTST!

Searching for seashells

I really did take a break when we were on vacation. Sometimes I find that I am behind the camera and I miss what is going on. So, for this trip, I barely took the camera out. These were the only pictures I took. It was late afternoon when we took a walk on the beach looking for seashells and other "treasures".It was a little windy and there were a few people out kite-surfing. Grace pointed to them and said, "oohhh". She does the same thing when she sees a plane in the sky!Since it was almost 5:00 most people had left the beach for the day and we had it all to ourselves. Grace wandered off a little, explored, and enjoyed some "freedom".At one point we said it was time to go and she ran back across the bridge over the dunes. But when we got to the parking area Grace didn't want to leave, so we turned around and went back. It was vacation, after all - no rules!Grace also learned a new word on this trip - HAPPY. She looks pretty happy, doesn't she?