My gift

The best Mother's Day gift in the world

I'm with the (Dream Jam) Band

This afternoon we attended the last of our Children's Theater Series performances. As featured on PBS Sprout, The Dream Jam Band delivered a vibrant and diverse musical performance of original songs for the whole family. They say their influences range from The Beatles to Mozart and from Duke Ellington to Woody Guthrie. But to me, they seemed like a "folksy", "rockabilly" cross between the B52's and The Talking Heads. (I just dated myself, didn't I?) The Dream Jam Band won four 2008 Children’s Music Web awards and their debut album was named to the National Public Radio Top 10 list of the Year’s Best Family and Children’s Albums.
It was no surprise that Grace enjoyed the musical performance. We don't usually watch PBS Sprout, so last night I Googled The Dream Jam Band so she could become familiar with them through the music and videos they have online. Grace had been playing on the other side of the room but when she heard the music, she came right over to investigate. On the ride up to Cleveland today she kept saying, "We going to see Dream Bam Bam" (cute!). She told me about the guitars when the band started to play and then I explained what a harp is before Erin in Red played it.
The best part about the show was the "kiddie mosh pit" up in front of the first row of seats. After about the third song, the band invited everyone to come to the front to dance. We went, but I thought it was only for that one song. But, many kids and their parents stayed in the front dancing for the entire show. So, we went back two more times! And, the best part of the day was hanging out with our friends Kellie and Dawson. We didn't get any photos of the girls together this time, but Grace and Dawson played together and shared their hamburger, fruit, and toys at lunch.

Little Miss Muffet

Grace's class has been learning about spiders this week at school. They looked at photos of all different kinds of spiders in books and talked about how spiders are really helpful because they eat the other bugs. They have also been singing spider songs and reciting spider nursery rhymes. Today they tossed a ball of yarn to each other and all got tangled up in a spider's "web" they created!

Then, when they were out on the playground, they had a little visitor.And, Grace was brave enough to hold it!(One of her teachers took these photos and
the school director e-mailed them to me. )

This is a big step from saying, "Ewww!" every time she sees a spider, which is often at our house. Since we live on a lake, there are tons of spiders and spider webs because they have an abundant food source right here.

Of course I want her to be cautious about handling any insects, but I am glad she is not "frightened" like Little Miss Muffet!

Getting ready for "Panda"monium

Months ago, I decided to book The Little Gym for Grace's 3rd birthday party. She loves going to gymnastics each week and of the three different gymnastics schools we have attended they do the best job - by far! My original thoughts were to do an Olympic theme for the party until Grace saw these cupcakes in a cookbook........and told me "I want them for my birthday, Mom!" So, I had to figure out a way to tie pandas into the gymnastics party theme. After a lot of searching on the internet, I found these adorable 2-sided invitations with a subtle panda theme.The table decorations and balloons will all be in red, white, and black and all the kids will take home red Chinese takeout containers with panda-themed presents inside as party favors. My favorite is "panda poo" - yogurt covered raisins with a clever poem about a panda eating bamboo and leaving this "present" behind. Although "potty humor" is BIG in our house right now, that joke is more for the adults than the kids, I guess!

Playing outside

The last day of April was AMAZING! The temperature on my car thermometer read 84 degrees as we drove to Kyle's house to cook dinner on the grill. Grace had fun riding her bicycle, which she has finally mastered. For a long time she didn't want to try riding it, but now she understands how to move her legs in a circle to get the pedals around. And, she re-discovered the helmet we bought the first summer she was home. Now, she asks to wear it. (I pushed it back on her head so I could see her face for the photos.) She is getting to be such a big girl, but in these photos she looks like a baby to me. (Especially in the last one. She looks like she has chubby baby legs!) In a way, I am glad there is still some "baby" in her. She is growing up way too fast. I feel like I am not getting enough time to enjoy each moment. Ahhhh, but back to the bike. I think by the summer she might be ready for a "big girl" bike. We tried out some 12-inch ones with training wheels at Toys R Us and they were the perfect fit!

Grace has different shorts on here...this was after a potty accident.
I guess it was too much fun playing outside to stop to use the bathroom!

After dinner we left all the dishes on the table and went out in the yard to play ball. Well, Kyle and Grace played, I took photos, and Daisy just sat in the grass enjoying the sunshine.This is the smile I got when I told Grace I was not taking pictures of her. Gotta love that reverse psychology!I love the wooden fence and the rocks in these photos! I am going to have to remember that for a "planned" photo shoot someday.
What's that on her face? Sun-dried tomato tilapia! Yes, my girl loves her fish!She also has a crusty, runny nose. I think Grace has allergies. She has been telling me her eyes are itchy. Poor baby!

Goldilocks

We took Grace to the furniture store yesterday to try out some "big girl" beds. With her 3rd birthday a month away I figured it is time to start considering moving her from the crib to a twin bed. She is not climbing out of the crib and she seems pretty happy in there, but at 37 inches tall and about 31 pounds she is getting difficult for me to lift in the early mornings when I have to get her out of bed before she is even awake. Sometimes, she even holds onto the crib bars, covers herself with her blanket, and moves to the farthest corner just to make it harder for me to get her!

I did a lot of searching on the internet and found the bed I wanted. Then, I found a local furniture store that would order it for me. We went there today so I could choose a mattress and so Grace could have the experience of shopping for her bed. We let her try a lot of them like Goldilocks tried out the bears' beds. She seemed to like the loft and bunk beds the most, but it would give me a heart attack or lots of sleepless nights if she were sleeping up that high.

So here is the bed that is coming to our house in 4-6 weeks....

iKnow iAm iNtrouble

I'm not at "techy" person. And, up until recently, I didn't own any Apple products. But now I have an iPod and a few weeks ago after I saw Kellie's iPad, I knew it was something that I would use. So the day after they came on the market, Kyle drove about 40 minutes with me so I could go to the Apple store as soon as they opened. I ended up being the 2nd person in line and within 15 minutes, I walked out with the newest tech gizmo to hit the shelves. And, I have to say I love it! But....there is someone in this house who loves it even more! The iPad is so easy to navigate, that Grace can choose a game, movie, TV program, or story book on her own and navigate through the screens to do what she wants. I have been selective in choosing "apps" for her, trying to concentrate on learning letters, numbers, and simple Spanish words. We have a few favorite programs stored like Curious George, Backyardigans, and Sesame Street for when she wants to watch something and it isn't on TV....or in the car...or in a restaurant. I think her favorite thing, though, is an animated version of Toy Story. It is basically like someone is reading the book aloud. You even see the pages turn. Very cool....

So far, she understands that it is Mommy's 'puter and she can use it "sometimes". But, in reality, I think she uses it as much as I do!

Earth Day 2010

Today in honor of Earth Day, Grace did many fun activities at her daycare. In fact, all month they have been learning about the earth starting with looking at pictures of the earth, holding globes, pointing to Ohio on the map, talking about how all the blue is water. (Aunt Susan gave Grace a huge ball that is a globe and she brought it to school the first week of April to share with her friends.) As the weeks progressed they learned about soil, plants, and recycling. The other night she saw some gum on the ground in a parking lot and told me that we shouldn't drop trash on the ground. We are supposed to put it in the garbage can. Have I mentioned that I love this school?

Each day I get a note home that looks like this one. Today, in addition to knowing what she ate for lunch (critical in planning dinner) I also found out that after reading a book called I Love Our Earth, when her teachers asked what she loved about our earth, Grace responded "I love beaches." That's my girl!When we got home we did our own Earth Day project...we planted cherry tomato seeds from a little kit I bought. It was perfect for little hands and she was able to plant the seeds all by herself.Grace was excited to use her Dora watering can... ...and even made sure to water our neighbors plants. I think when Mr. and Mrs. M. return from their winter home in Arizona they might have a little helper they didn't plan on!After taking care of the seedlings and the perennials we went around the front of the house to blow bubbles and check out Mommy's favorite flowers - daffodils! These spring flowers are for you, Aunt Phil! The sun was in her eyes, but she was a good sport and looked up at the camera when I asked.

Big shoes

Grace tried my shoes tonight before we went to gymnastics. The funny thing is she did a pretty good job walking around in them!

How did I get so lucky?

I get to parent this child?

I have said it before, but Grace is truly amazing....She astounds me every day with the things she does, her vocabulary, and what she remembers. That last one is truly incredible. She remembered a local pizza place this weekend when we had only been there once before, and an ice cream stand, and this sub place where she likes the pickles....Hey, wait. Maybe she isn't that amazing...she is just focused on food!

No, Grace is wonderful. Lately, she is especially proud when she can accomplish something alone, stating, "I did all my-self." Emphasis on the "my". And, at almost three she can do many things for herself like pull her pants up and down for using the potty, drink from a big kid cup, hang her coat on a hook, feed Daisy, and put her shoes on. Today she dragged the big trash can into the garage from the curb. Really? How old is she? That trash can is twice her size. Grace loves to help when I am cooking or cleaning and it makes me laugh when I see her pretending to talk on the phone with a toy cell phone perched between her ear and shoulder. I can only hear her half of the "conversation" which includes a lot of "uh-huhs" and "okays". Hmmmm...I wonder where she gets that!

I also love that Grace has a mind of her own. She knows what she wants and no degree of persuasion will influence her. Believe me, I try. She is open to bribery, though, which explains when she has a HUGE collection of toy cars from the Disney Cars movie. Bribery and just that she is so darn cute, how can we possibly resist when she asks for one?

Grace loves to "pack" things - her cars in a suitcase, her lizards in a purse, necklaces, coins, blocks, etc. The other night she put her Curious George in a suitcase and brought it to the kids' playroom at the gym. I know it is weird. But it worked. She was happy and I got to exercise. Sometimes she packs her Dora backpack and her Minnie Mouse rolling suitcase (which, by the way, has never been out of the house) and walks away for a few minutes. Then she returns to wherever I am and says, "I'm back. I missed you" and we go through this whole kissing and hugging routine. Love it!

Grace has also become quite the little mother to her American Girl doll, Miki. Yes, the doll she ignored at Christmas. Now, Miki takes center stage. Last night, Miki was riding in the grocery shopping cart which was full of play food and they walked from store to store (aka: room to room). Each room was a "store" and Grace kept telling me, "They closed. We try another store."

Are you laughing yet? This kid is a character.

She knows it is almost her birthday and she walks around reminding me, "It my birthday soon!" Oh yeah? I'm pretty sure I remember. But then she tells me, "I blow out my candles all my-self!" Funny kid.

Life is an adventure with this incredible child and even though I am dead tired, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Run, Mommy!

I know it looks like fall, but these were from about a month ago - just early spring in NE Ohio!It looks very different now. It is amazing how a little sunshine, warm temperatures, and rain can turn everything fresh and green again!

Friendship and laughter

I hope Grace's life will always be full of both!

Curious about George

I bet you know who this is....But did you know that the Curious George history dates back to 1940 when the authors Hans Augusto and Margaret Rey fled Germany with the manuscript in their luggage? They published the first book in the series in 1941 and it has blossomed from there to include dozens of books published in many languages around the world, movies, a PBS television series, and even a ride a Universal Studios.I was never a big Curious George fan as a kid, but I have become one since Grace has gotten interested in him. When we went to see a live performance of the Curious George musical yesterday, we were lucky enough to get to meet George up close and personal. Grace was shy at first, but warmed up enough to give George a high-five and to take a few photos.

(Thanks, Kellie, for the great photography!)

The show itself was a lot of fun singing and dancing with a good message about doing everything with love! How can you go wrong with that?