Birthday portraits

We went to a photographer to have 2nd birthday portraits done. Grace had on a beautiful dress that was given to her as a present last year. She doesn't wear dresses very often and, even though she looked adorable, I could tell she wasn't comfortable. At the photographer's studio, Grace was cautious of the new people doing lots of silly things to make her smile. And, when she went to choose toys to play with they were the cars, the soccer ball, and the football. I told the photographer I might have to bring her back next week in jeans! So here are some of the 47 pictures from my tomboy's photo session today:

Cautious at first and a little afraid of the white screen
they pulled down behind her.

We switched to the black background which Grace
seemed to like more. She was saying "happy"
and started to relax and smile.

They changed to a garden background -
perfect for the floral dress she was wearing.
There was a stuffed frog that Grace seemed to
like and we were hoping to get her
kissing the "Frog Prince" but it didn't happen.
Gotta love this cheesy smile!

The last background was a deep red curtain.
Elmo was with us so we thought Grace
would take some pictures with him. But she was done!
She sat on this chair long enough for me to
step out of the way and then wiggled off it.

Hold on to it....

Sunshine and fresh air

What started out as a rainy, overcast, stormy day ended up being beautiful when it counted - after work and school! This is what Grace decided to do when we got home:

Musical Musings

Grace came to work with me last night. This is not an unusual thing. Much of what I do consists of meetings, games, and performances at night and on weekends. At some points during this last year I felt like Grace was becoming our school's mascot since she was coming to many things. There are some events that really are not appropriate for her, but working in a school, most people encourage (or at least don't mind) when kids are around. After all, kids are our "business".What made last night unique was that it was a district meeting for parents of gifted and talented kids. Now, I didn't attend because I think Grace is gifted. (Of course she IS, but that was not my motivation for going). I went there to learn about a part of the educational system that I don't have much experience with. I oversee the special education in my school, so I don't often get exposure to the other end of the spectrum. One thing I learned last night was that in order for a child to receive "gifted enrichment" they need to demonstrate a cognitive ability (IQ) of 130 and above. Wow! That seems high. But in our district the average IQ is over 110 so it stands to reason you would need to be pretty far beyond that to qualify as gifted.

So, where am I going with this?

It was interesting to listen to the parents of these exceptional children who were always looking for ways to nurture and challenge their kids. One parent mentioned how her son excelled in math and science and the presenter talked about 2nd graders who had book study groups where they discussed novels they were reading. Again, Wow! So it got me to thinking....once a child is in school the teachers will figure out if they excel in a certain area, but what about before then?

I have said before that Grace loves music and it worries me a little because that is an area where I have absolutely no talent and no experience. I have been buying her CDs (three came today: Bach for Babies, The Mozart Effect, and (my favorite so far) Beethoven Lives Upstairs - all of which I discovered from searching the internet about nurturing a love of music in toddlers. Kyle looked into piano lessons and I contacted a Suzuki music school in our area. She could start those when she is 3 but the teachers encouraged having her listen to all kinds of music, as often as possible. Not a problem. She asks for music all the time. I started wondering if there was an Mp3 player made for toddlers. It would make her independent when she wanted to listen to music instead of having to ask me for "me-miss" (her word for music) and we could take it with us wherever we go. I have never seen any of these Mp3 players in the stores but at Sweet Pea (a Canadian company) I found this:

It is an Mp3 player for toddlers with only 3 buttons . You can download age-appropriate stories and music from the internet. The reviews are pretty good and they say that kids even younger than Grace manage to learn to turn it on/off and sort through the songs. It doesn't have a ton of memory and it uses regular batteries, but those don't seem to be huge impediments for people who have purchased it. So, what do you think? Does Grace need one of these?

Okay, I know she doesn't need it but it could be a good birthday present....

The best gift

There is no way Grace could understand that today is Mother's Day and she really doesn't have to. But, I am grateful for the people in her life who helped her with these special cards for me:

One from schooland one that she "signed" herself - all over
(with Nana's help, of course!)

I kissed Grace this morning as I was getting her dressed and told her that she is the reason I am a "Mom". She really is the best gift I could ever imagine.

Wet and Wild

We had a wonderful, warm spring shower this evening. When it stopped Grace asked, "Owside?" and I figured she was already dirty from daycare and she was going to take a bath anyway, so what could it hurt?

Well, my daughter thinks she is a dog! Daisy was licking the rainwater off the deck, so guess who had to copy her?Notice her finger is blurry...She was saying "No, no, no" but laughing the entire time as she ran around trying to get as wet as possible.She did a pretty good job!I guess all that running around was hard work. Grace needed to take a break to stretch!When she finally came in for her bath Grace's shoes, socks, pants and shirt were soaked. But she had fun. Isn't that what being a kid is all about?Even though these aren't the greatest photos I love them because her personality really shines through.

Wordless Wednesday

We're off to see the Wizard

We’re never very far from The Wizard of Oz. Its phrases resonate in our everyday language: "the Wicked Witch of the West", "the yellow brick road", "cowardly lion", "over the rainbow", "ruby slippers", "we're not in Kansas any more", and "lions, tigers, and bears - oh my" are common phrases many of us have used.

When you see the Ballet Theatre of Ohio's production of The Wizard of Oz, you will see your favorite characters - Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, the Witch - who are more endearing when they speak in the language of dance, because, of course, there are no words in ballet.

Not a single treasured detail is missing: a tornado spins the house into the sky, Dorothy wears the ruby slippers, the Wicked Witch summons her flying monkeys to capture Dorothy and her pals, and (a real) Toto runs across the stage. And Munchkins? They’ve got ’em!

Even though I wasn't supposed to, I took one photo. The sets and costumes were beautiful, colorful, and exciting. And many of the dancers, some of whom had been dancing since the age of 4, were as accomplished as any big city professional ballet.Grace loved the performance, sitting on Nana and Big Daddy's laps so she could see the stage. We weren't sure Grace would make it past the first intermission, but she did great! She even ran back down the aisle to our seats when the 2nd act was about to begin!Notice that all the ladies - Nana, Grace, and Mommy wore red shoes in honor of the occasion!Did you know Nana brought a special visitor to Ohio? Connor's Flat Stanley. Here he is!

Dorothy

I guess this is the weekend of "Dorothy".

Nana and Big Daddy came to visit this weekend and we took Grace to get a pet fish. We filled the fishbowl up a couple of days ago to let the chlorine come out of the water. Today, when I got home from work we showed the bowl to Grace and explained how the fish will swim in the water. They have a fish tank at school, so I am pretty sure she understood. We say "Good morning" and "Goodbye" to them every day.

At the store we looked at all the different fish and decided on a betta mostly because the salesgirl told me it was easy to take care of and it would be okay if we forget to feed it for a couple of days. I don't think that will be a problem since we don't usually forget to feed Daisy! But, we might as well be safe!

We took the fish home and waited while her water adapted to the temperature in the house. Then - splash - she went right in and explored her new home!

The first thing Grace tried to do was grab the fish.Yes, she is really in there!

But then Grace settled in to watching her, feeding her, and pounding on the sides of the bowl!

We named her "Dorothy" after Elmo's pet goldfish.

Elmo's Dorothy

Grace's Dorothy

Tomorrow Grace is going to see her first ballet - The Wizard of Oz at the Civic Theater downtown - where she will get to meet another Dorothy!