running into summer!!

i can't believe we are within a month of finishing up school. and before we know it we are going to be swimming and doing summer camp. unfortunately with Phoebe having a late birthday she once again misses out on the activities. we will have to think of something special for her to do.

V is making great strides in school. she has lots of basic stuff down. she likes reading. she writes stories. adds and subtracts. and is a very good artist. as soon as i can figure out how i want to make one or two of her pieces into cards. who knows maybe she will take over the Christmas card this year.

B draws the best people in the world. she is full of expression but definitely trademark Beatrice. she can read a few words and write her name. i am amazed at what 4 year old B can do! her teachers think that she is very emotionally mature although i would disagree when she throws a tantrum or gets frustrated. she counts with V and is getting the concept of adding down. one more year of preschool. it will be interesting what that will bring.

PO is hot to keep up with the sisters. she is a chatterbox and rides her tricycle like nobody's business. her drawings are a bit like straight lines but very controlled so i know that she's getting it. she counts and may even understand what she is doing. and her pretend play is the best.

every year there is a marathon in Burlington called the Vermont City Marathon. the organization that sponsors it also does an event for the kids the day before. it is called the y.a.m. scram. the kids can run a half mile, mile or two mile course. the girls were invited by the neighbors to join them for the scram. they finished the half mile and it was tons of fun. once again Phoebe was disappointed that she was not able to participate but she made up for it by being an excellent cheerleader.

the video shows the kids warming up. they take this very seriously and will be great contenders if they take up running in the future.

Smother's day 2010

today the girls had plans for breakfast in bed. i was to be pampered and not have to get up to eat. Viv brought home a brown bag which she decorated with a drawn picture of me in bed and filled (with help from Mrs. Bliss) with an apple, granola bar, juice box, and instant cocoa. it was very sweet and Will helped make the cocoa. while i snacked on my brown bag breakfast, V and B "helped" papa make egg sandwiches with fruit and coffee. it was all yummy even though i sustained minor rib and belly injuries as the girls fought and screamed over who would be next to and on top of mama. apparently "loving" mother on mother's day involves lots of cuddling in a very aggressive way. i couldn't feel more loved.

then mother's day was instantly over. no clean room like they said they would do for me. (at least not until Will went in and practically did the straightening for them) no extra special listening girls. and to just make their point that mother's day, indeed, does not last past noon, they went down to the basement and tore apart toys, flash cards, random baby items set aside for give away, and a mattress topper which is now scattered like snow over the whole lot. apparently i am the proud mother to a den of wild animals.

oh, and it snowed this mother's day, for real, outside. and happy mother nature day too.

Beatrice turns 4 take 2!

last sunday Beatrice turned 4. she is very 4 now. we had her party at a local gym that is set up well for young kids. somewhat intimate and great activities planned for the kids to do. they did a disappearing island game. (musical chairs where no one looses you just have to cram more & more kids in hula hoop/ islands as they become less and less in number until finally you have all the kids trying to stand inside one hoop) they had an obstacle course and a balance beam course.

B had a great time. she got to hang and swing and there was even a harness to hook into and jump doing backflips on the trampoline. B went home and immediately figured out how to hang from her trapeze bar on the swing set. "look mom. no hands" she also decided this week that she would write her name. she has to look at it written out but she does an acceptable copy job.

At her parent/teacher conference i found out that she is practically ready for kindergarden. she is reportedly very advanced emotionally.

below is B with the infamous coca cola cake. before it was demolished. this did not stay around a week!

here she is flying like tinkerbell!

while i'm posting video...

Phoebe is our singer of songs.

wonder when we can start the voice lessons...

today you girls stayed with John and Alida while we went to a parent/teacher conference.

They reported to me that Phoebe loves to sing and dance. she had John dancing to show tunes and reported that she had to have an apple to "keep her energy up" Beatrice is quite a puzzler. they have great old wooden puzzles that Beatrice just seems to know how to put them together. not a picture to go by or any guide at all. (B is also writing her whole name now and can copy what others write.)

Viv just started writing and drawing. and without asking for spelling wrote out their names. quite impressive.

speaking of impressive. Ms. Bliss says V is so good with her math skills and with language stuff. often in the afternoon when they are doing projects of their own choosing, V likes to sit at the story table and write. we have also noticed a big interest in that area at home. it is so much fun to watch them figure things out.

our little dancer

Beatrice is quite the entertainer. she is very martha graham i've decided.

a special message

V wrote a lovely message on the magnadoodle.

translation:

l love my sisters mom dad.

(she writes this or some form of it quite a bit)

birthday take one

We celebrated Beatrice with her preschool class yesterday. they had cupcakes which B helped to make and V helped frost/decorate. (mostly ate frosting but did a wicked good job putting the flowers on top.)

we showed up with the cupcakes as the kids were getting up from their nap. the cupcakes helped motivate a bit but there were still grumpy ones. then they had to wait, yes wait, for the treat while they ate their healthy snack- which as one of the preschoolers pointed out, wasn't exactly healthy. (cheetos and the like) then after V and B passed out the plates and cupcakes, the song was sung and no prisoners were left behind. (except for one for Will, my waistline is saved for another day)