Dance Recital Spring 2013

Julia's dance class ended last Friday. She has been attending this ballet class for almost 2 years now and really enjoys it. The class is a very relaxed format but the instructor, Miss Sandy, is wonderful! This class really helped Julia open up a little and she's always dancing around the house. The video is of the kids tap number (one of three routines that they did) and as you can see the girls were very excited.

Julia did wonderfully and I was so impressed with how far she has come since beginning ballet. She really does look like a little ballerina!

Clubhouse Progress Report

Grandpa Rick and Grandma Les had a busy morning on Saturday putting up walls! It's starting to look like a clubhouse!!

Summertime Bliss...

is a dripping ice cream cone by the water!

Heard Around the House

Here are a few of the tidbits we've from Julia over the past couple of weeks:

• When she picked up an iridescent shell at the beach - "a rainbow fell out of the sky and landed on this seashell"

• At 3:24am the other night, half-awake while she was sleeping in bed with me - "Mama, in that little space right there (pointing out the window) there's a shooting star."

• At the Audubon society class we took on finding different creatures during the low tide - "Mama, I'm having the best time right now!"

Benjamin has also been chatting up a storm and I've even heard him say his first couple of short phrases - "I want that" and "I get down." He will also repeat almost any word or sound you make except for 

"Julia" which he can't seem to get his mouth around yet. He also still calls Andrew "mama" (which for some reason Julia also did) unless he really really really wants something from him and then he yells "DADA!"

Julia Milestone: Chapter Books

So this is something that I have been looking forward to for a long time - sharing chapter books with the kids. I love to read and spent many, many hours as a kid immersed in books. I have lots that I loved but one of my all-time favorites was Little House on the Prairie. And a couple of weeks ago I started reading Little House in the Big Woods with Julia at bedtime. I wasn't sure how it go as our usual bedtime reading consisted of a Cars storybook that she absolutely loved and of course, could identify with the movie and then a second more relaxing story. But to my absolute delight she is loving the "Laura stories" as she calls them.

I started by adding Little House to our normal routine - so reading three stories instead of two. But by the second or third night she asked me to continue reading a second chapter in Little House instead of Cars! yayyy!! And each day since she has wondered about what is going to happen next and is excited for our bedtime reading. So am I!

A Day Out with Thomas

Julia and Benjamin had a great time visiting with their favorite trains!!

On board Thomas!

Hand-pedaled cars - build those muscles!

Meeting Sir Topham Hatt

Thomas and Emily!

Daredevil

Would someone please tell my son that he is only 16 months old?!? 

  

I tried taking him down with me but that was not satisfactory! He had to do it himself!!

Happiness

I can only hope that they always have this much fun together!

Strawberry Fields

Strawberry picking opened here last week and we were some of the first folks at the fields. Julia was a great helper and picked lots by herself and Benjamin spent most of the time making nests out of the hay lining the patch. They both enjoyed tasting!!

Sunday Exploration: Rome Point (Chafee Nature Preserve)

We made the most of our early wake-up and the beautiful weather last Sunday by taking an early morning trip out to Rome Point to hike, explore the beach, and collect shells. It was the perfect start to the morning - everyone was in a good mood, the beach was quiet, and it was low tide so there was plenty of things to examine. We found lots of beautiful shells, examined snails, barnacles, clams, and mussels, and climbed on rocks. As we were leaving Julia asked if we could start out more Sundays the same way - we can't imagine anything better!

 Starting out on the hike

checking out the stream that runs next to the trail

 examining snails

looking for rocks to make big splashes

lots of shells to find and rocks to climb!

Pool's Open

Our first summer heat wave hit this week (after the 50 degree weather of last weekend -- typical New England!) and we had our first pool day of the year. First, we tried out the little pool at home and after Andrew finished work we headed to the Greenwich Club to try out the big pools!

Chillin out in the baby pool. That toe is about all that Benj would get wet!

He decided he'd rather be at the beach instead!

Julia's first time down the slide into the big pool at the Greenwich Club ever!! It was the first thing she did when we got there. She had been talking about it for a few weeks. By the end of last summer she had really wanted to try it but hadn't quite worked up enough nerves - no problems this time! And here's the video to prove it:

Preschool Graduation 2013

Julia graduated from her preschool class last Friday. This is a big deal at her school, the Little Red Hen and it's celebrated with an official ceremony and a party - complete with a little red hen ice sculpture!

 the graduating class 

 with her diploma

the now older kids-room prechooler

proud Dad!

The Little Red Hen in ice!

One of the kids performances - The More We Get Together with sign language

Memorial Day Family Time

This year we had the pleasure of spending Memorial Day visiting with Andrew's family and celebrating cousin Annabel's first birthday! Grandma Su-Su came up to RI and spent a couple of days visiting with us and then we all headed up to Maine for the big party.

 Grandma reading to Benjamin the Bubbles book while waiting for Julia at dance class

 Hanging out after dance

 Such big kids!!

 The bubble at LL Bean in Freeport, ME

 Uncle Andrew playing with the birthday girl

 Benj playing catch with Helki's Dad, Grampy Dave

 Snuggle time with Grandma

 A & B checking to see if it's still raining!

 J & B helping Annabel figure out her birthday present

 Drums!!!

 Out for a stroll around the yard after the rain ended

 Just sittin in a tree

 figuring out how things work

 birthday girl!!

 ready for a trip to the hotel pool

Benj after about 20 minutes in the car on the ride home - obviously he was done with the rest of us!