Recent Fun Around the House

A few miscellaneous things going on around the Hooks household:

Lily colored this butterfly picture, and she was so proud of it.

 Lily made these portraits of Ryan and me.  Can't you see the resemblance?

 "Our house" made out of stickers.  So you know, that's a fan at the top of the house, not a spider like I originally said and was reprimanded for.

 At school, Lily's class drew their favorite foods and cut out their plates.  Lily was very excited to draw a fish and a shrimp.

 Daddy and Mia playing on their respective computers.

 Last weekend, the girls and I had a picnic movie night.  I brought out these little tv trays which the girls thought was awesome; why didn't I think of that earlier?  We watched the movie Up which was super cute.

 Mia's recent preference for tv-watching.  Too cute.

 Grandpops and Grandma Jan sent the girls a box of Halloween goodies to get them ready for the season.  Not surprisingly, the fun bright socks were a huge hit.  They were also thrilled with the Fancy Nancy sticker books.  We love the Fancy Nancy books.  There were all sorts of other fun things like a cute movie, sticky notes, blinking pins, bat and spider rings and glow wands.  This was such a fun surprise for the girls.  Thank you for thinking of them Grandpops and Grandma Jan!

Reading at School

I had so much fun reading at Lily's school today!  A few weeks ago, I signed up to be on the Library Committee.  So, once every other week, I get to go to the school at 9:30 to read to a First Grade class.  They were precious!  Today, because a couple of other parent volunteers were unable to come, I stayed and helped the next two classes which was the kindergarten class and Lily's Pre-K class.  It was so much fun!  Lily was so surprised because she didn't know I would be there.  She smiled so big when she saw me.  I read Interrupting Chicken and Kitten's First Full Moon to all three classes.  We had a little extra time with Lily's class, so I also read Make Way for Ducklings.  The kids were also able to check out a book from the library, and Lily picked Dinosaur 1,2,3 and A,B,C.  When she showed me which one she picked, she said "Look Mommy!  It can help Mia too because it shows numbers and letters!"  So sweet to think of her little sister.

The best part though was at the end of our time together, the kids stood up to line back up to return to class.  Without prompting, Lily ran over, gave me a big hug and a kiss and said "Thanks for coming!"   

Good Times Over the Weekend

What a wonderful and beautiful weekend we have enjoyed!  Ryan left for Minneapolis on Friday morning to attend a 3 day conference, and then today, Sunday, he headed up to Alaska for a mission trip.  We're all excited about his trip, but as always, we look forward to his return; we decided we would still have some fun though.  On Friday evening, I wanted to eat some place a little different than normal, so Liz and I decided on Big Chow Grill.  They have a buffet where you make your own rice and/or noodle bowl, and there are many options (proteins, nuts, sauces, fruits and veggies) for you to add on top.  Then they grill it up and bring it out to you.  Both girls loved it, and I think that's mostly because they got to eat it with chopsticks.  Lily said it was some of her favorite fish (we put tilapia on hers) while I think Mia liked the oranges that were on hers.  It was a nice little change of pace for all of us, and we enjoyed it.

On Saturday, we went to the Marietta Reads! festival on the Square (about 10 minutes from our home).  It was a gorgeous day outside, so it was perfect for walking around outside.  Scholastic Books sponsors the event, so they were having a great book fair; not too surprising, we came home with several new books!  Both girls also had their faces painted by local high school cheerleaders, got balloon hats from the cat in the hat stand, planted seeds for Alaskan wildflowers, decorated a cookie, listened to the elementary school choir and played on the train playground.  We also walked through the farmer's market that is there each Saturday, but we got there right as everyone was shutting down, so there wasn't too much to see.  After the festival, we headed to the Toyko restaurant for a yummy lunch, and brought home a lot of leftovers.  The girls took nice long naps, and then we played on the back deck for awhile.  They love having sponges and a little bucket of water out there.  They spent quite awhile cleaning all the furniture!  They also liked stepping on the sponges and then seeing how many steps they could take and see their footprints.  I love beautiful days where we can do things like that!  I decided to have a very special treat for the evening.  The girls spread out a blanket on the living room floor, I put tv trays over them, and they enjoyed pizza while watching the movie Up.  Such a cute movie by the way; I would highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.  The girls loved this treat!

This morning, we headed to church as usual.  When it was time to leave, we headed to The Georgian Club for brunch.  They only offer a buffet brunch once a month, but it is so good.  I really wanted to go!  I loved that when we were seated at our reserved table, they had already put out coloring books and crayons for the girls.  Lily's favorite item was the peach muffin while Mia preferred the cream of asparagus soup.  No, I'm not kidding - my 2 year old loved this soup and couldn't get enough of mine or Liz's.  We also enjoyed flank steak, mashed potatoes, asparagus spears, steamed squash and zucchini, salad, cod fillets, pancakes, eggs benedict, bacon, breakfast potatoes, cheese, crackers, blueberries, pineapple and strawberries.  Lots and lots of strawberries.  I think Mia ate about 8 or 9 of them, and they were huge.  Of course, they have dessert too.  Both girls wanted what they called "birthday cake" though it was red velvet cake.  Lily ate a few bites, but Mia cleaned her plate (I really don't know where she puts all this food).  Liz and I thoroughly enjoyed their chocolate mousse, cherry and peach pie and their key lime pie; they make the portions very small so you can try different ones without feeling overly guilty.  Overall, it was delicious! 

After lunch it was nap time (after reading our new "Pirates Go To School" book) which lasted a couple of hours.  Then we headed to the grocery store.  This is when I realized that Lily was being serious about her complaints of not feeling well; she turned down the free cookie that the Publix bakery gives kids; she said she thought the sugar would make her tummy feel worse.  She also turned down the turkey sample which is just really not like her.  She tried going to sleep while riding in the cart, but that didn't work out so well.  When we got home, her forehead was burning up.  She ate only a couple of bites of dinner (yea for leftovers from the Toyko restaurant), and then just wanted to rest on the couch.  The three of us curled up and watched Finding Nemo for a little while before it was time for bed.  Both girls started getting a little crazy at bed time, but thankfully Liz was there to help me corral them into bed.  We'll see what kind of night Lily has tonight, but I have already emailed the school letting them know she won't be there tomorrow.  I hope this will run its course, and she will feel better tomorrow.

Other than Lily not feeling well this afternoon, this has been a great weekend.  It was beautiful weather which meant lots of outdoors time, and the girls were lots of fun.  I'm so glad Fall is here!

Lily's Prayer

Lily found an acorn earlier today, and she thought it was pretty cool.  As she was getting ready for bed this evening, she was studying it and asked "Why does it have this pointy end?"  Of course, I have no idea, but I said "Maybe it's part of the stem, but I don't know.  Someday we'll ask God why He put the pointy end on an acorn."  Lily paused for just a moment and then said "Hold on a minute, I need to go pray."  She skipped off to the living room, and I heard "Dear God, thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Lily and Mia.  Can you tell me why you made pointy end at the acorn?  Amen."  Then she skipped back, and proudly announced "I asked God!"  I told her how proud I was of her for learning and remembering that she can always talk to God.  Such a precious girl.

The Little Gym

Both girls are loving their gymnastics class at The Little Gym.  Lily goes every Wednesday afternoon, and Mia goes every Thursday, mid-morning.  They are both doing so well, and it is lots of fun to watch their confidence and skill levels grow.  Here are a couple of pictures that their teachers sent me earlier today.

Lily is getting really good at cartwheels.  She also enjoys working on handstands and somersaults on the balance beam.

 Mia is LOVING being in the Funny Bugs class.  She is doing very well listening to the teacher and following her directions.  She has a great time on all the different pieces of equipment and doing somersaults.  Look at the smiles on this adorable face!

Lily School Update

Lily is doing so well in school.  It is wonderful to hear her excitement each day as she tells us about what she learned, whether it's about the Bible, letter sounds, playground time, friends, arts and crafts or any of the other fun things she is doing.  Last Wednesday, Mrs. Worrell gave her a special award that says "WOW!!" on it because she packed up her things so quickly.  Lily was so proud of herself, so she and Bama stopped by the office to show Ryan and me on their way to pick up Mia from school.  I loved seeing how excited this made her.  She loves to come home and do "homework."  Mrs. Worrell does not assign any kind of homework, but Lily has a great time practicing her letters and letter sounds.  She's doing great.

She also received her first report card last week.  She received an "E" (which means Excellent/Outstanding - exceeding expectations) for Bible, Phonics/Reading, Mathematics, Penmanship and Work/Study Habits.  She received an "S" (for Satisfactory - meeting expectations) in Character/Conduct.  Mrs. Worrell had three comments to write about Lily:
1. "Lily has done an excellent job reciting verses learned thus far."  We love that they learn a class Bible verse (Ephesians 4:32) and then a verse for each letter of the alphabet.  This week they are working on letter D which is "Do all things without grumbling or complaining," Philippians 2:14.  It's amazing to me how she so easily soaks up and remembers these verses. 
2. "Lily is kind to classmates and uses great manners.  I look forward to seeing her grow in wisdom and maturity this year."  There are 8 girls and 3 boys, and it's fun to see the friendships already growing.  Today, on the class notes Mrs. Worrell sent home, she wrote "Lily is so kind to her classmates.  Today in line I saw her offer to scoot over to let a friend in who had no place.  Also, she colored a picture for a friend and used her favorite colors."  It makes me so proud to hear that she is being kind and considerate of others!
3. "Lily consistently does excellent work.  Her focus and attention in class sets her up for success in every subject!"  I think a good work ethic is very important, and it sounds like Lily is on the right track.

I know this post is 100% me bragging about her, but I can't help it.  I am such a proud Mommy! 

Sweetheart Mia

Last night, we met some friends of ours for dinner at a new Mexican restaurant.  As we were leaving, the host gave the kids a balloon with teddy grahams tied to the bottom.  Both of my girls were thrilled.  As we were driving home, I noticed Mia's kept rubbing against the ceiling, so it was just a matter of time before it popped.  I asked her to let me hold it the rest of the way home which she readily agreed to.  I reminded Lily to hold hers down so it wouldn't rub the ceiling and pop.  As we pulled into our neighborhood, we hear a loud pop as Lily's balloon rubbed the ceiling one too many times.  By the time we got to our driveway 30 seconds later, she was bawling (I will say she was pretty tired too) about her balloon.  I couldn't get her calmed down to unbuckle and get out of the car.  As soon as Ryan let Mia out of the car, she made a beeline around it.  I said "Mia go on inside so I can get Lily."  Mia replied "I coming to give Lily my balloon.  Here you go Lily.  You can have mine."  As Lily took it, she stopped crying and said "Thank you Mia."  I scooped her up and told her how sweet she was, and that I really appreciated her giving Lily her balloon.  I wanted to start crying at how sweet that little Mia is!  What a sweetheart!

Lily Funnies

A few recent funny Lily stories:

This is the conversation between Lily and me when I came home from work yesterday:
L: Mommy, you said I get to take my favorite thing to school next week.
M: No, I said next time you are servant of the day, you are supposed to bring your favorite stuffed animal for show and tell.
L: Nooooooo!  I already took Phoebe (granted, this is what she picked for her show and tell a couple of weeks ago).  I want to take my favorite thing.  I want to take Mia.
M: That's really sweet that Mia is your favorite thing, but Mrs. Worrell asked that everyone bring their favorite stuffed animal.  Is Mia a stuffed animal?
L: (Laughing) No she's not!
M: Besides, Mia usually goes to her school.
L: I can bring her on a day that she doesn't have school.  I have a plan.
M: Oh really?
L: Yes, do you want to hear it?
At this point, Liz says "You have got to hear this.  She told me this at nap time today."
M: Okay, let me hear it.
L: Well, first we get a box.  Maybe a soft box.  And we take the part that opens, you know the doors, off of it.  Then we get the little wheels off of my bike and the little wheels off of Mia's tricycle and put them on the box.  We probably need a pole or something to hold them on.  Then Mia can get inside, and we put a blanket over the top.  Then, you and Daddy can bring it to school and leave it outside my class so when it's time for show and tell I can go get it.  Okay?  Can we do that?
M: That is a really interesting plan, but you have to be really careful about putting people in boxes.  They can't always breathe well in them, and you need always be able to breathe.
L: We'll put a hole in the blanket.  Will that work where she can breathe?
M: Well, yes, but we still can't take Mia to your school. 
L: Awwww, why not? (please say this to yourself in a whiny, offended kind of way)  I really want Mia to come to my school.
M: Because Mrs. Worrell really wants you and everyone to bring a stuffed animal (my apologies to Mrs. Worrell for making her the bad guy).  If she ever says that sisters or brothers can come, Mia can come to your school and visit.  I really like that Mia is your favorite thing and that you want to share school with her.
L: Okay (though clearly not satisfied with this answer).

I think I have said before that Lily is an advertiser's dream.  Here are a few examples why:
     Recently, she told me "Mommy, we have got to go to the Johnsons store soon."  "Lily, I don't know what the Johnsons store is."  "You know, from tv!  You have got to try it.  They make a shampoo that helps babies go to sleep at night.  You have got to get it for Mia.  You have to Mommy." "Oh, you mean Johnson and Johnson that makes baby shampoo.  Right.  Well, I have bought that before.  What if I used it on you?  Would it help you go to sleep at night?"  "No!  I'm not a baby!"
     "Mommy you have got to buy this lunch box.  It keeps our food from going bad."  "Lily, you only eat a snack at school, and the food I put in there doesn't have time to go bad.  Besides, I bought a lunch box that matches your book bag that you can use next year."  "But Mommy we need it!"  "No."  "Awwww!"
     "Mommy you have got to see this.  It makes lollipops out of cake...look!"  "Wow, that is really neat."  "Let me show you the one I want.  I want the one with pink sprinkles (Mia pipes in with "I like the yellow"). Please Mommy, can we get this?  I really want to make these."  "We'll put it on your wish list."  "Okay, thanks!" For the record, Lily does have an actual wish list on Amazon where I put books, toys, etc that I think she might like so I can remember them when it's her birthday or Christmas.  If she mentions something that I think would be appropriate, I will find it on Amazon and add it.  About a year ago, she picked up on this and it has virtually stopped the "I want it now."  Instead she asks if things can be put on her wish list.
     It's funny to me how many of the commercials she sees inspire "Mommy you have to see..." or "Mommy you have got to buy..."  Wow, I can see why marketing to impressionable kids works so well! 

One of my favorite restaurants is Bubba Gump's.  Seriously some of the best friend shrimp I have ever eaten.  We have eaten at this chain in Hawaii, Chicago and Daytona Beach, and they consistently make it delicious.  Lily goes with me each year in Florida, and she loves it too (though she prefers to take the breading off the shrimp).  As much as she loves the restaurant, she has never been able to pronounce it correctly, and I can't bring myself to correct her.  On Monday, she asked "Mommy, can we go to Bubblegums for dinner?"  Made me laugh!

On the way to school today, Lily said "Mommy I know who loves me best...God."  I agreed and said "Can you believe God loves you even more than Mommy and Daddy?" to which Lily replied "I want to marry Daddy so I can love him."  I answered "You can only marry one person, and I am already married to Daddy.  But you know what?  You can love him without even being married to him.  Pretty cool right?"  Lily enthusiastically agreed!

Mia's First Day of School

Mia couldn't wait to start school!  She knew Lily started going to school in mid-August, and she wants to be big like her.  Her new school, Vinings Creative Learning Center, is less than 2 minutes from our home, and it's where both girls went to camp over the summer for a few days and loved it.  A couple of weeks ago, we went to her new school's open house where we saw her classroom, met her teachers and met some of the other kids in the class.  Mia loved the big library of books in her room, and she was excited to return to them.  Finally, the first day of school was the Wednesday after Labor Day.

Here's our happy girl before her first day.

 Showing off her bag.

 Ready to head out!

The school sits right on a pretty busy road, so they have a very strict carpool policy; they don't want parents walking kids in.  So, unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pictures of Mia actually going in on her first day.  Oh well.  I can tell you she had fun though!  She has told me little pieces here and there of what they do...play on the playground, have a snack, work on Spanish (they do 15 minutes each day), read books, do puzzles, play games, play musical instruments, make arts and crafts, color...all the fun things 2 year olds should be doing!  Her notes that get send home each day have been very positive.  She is starting to go potty there which is very exciting, and she gets check marks for "listens well" and "plays well with others."  There was also a note last Friday saying it was okay to send in a couple of choices for her snack because she has been asking for more food after she eats her snack; what can I say, our sweetheart loves her food!  She goes to school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9 until 12:30.  I think this is going to be a great experience for her, and I can't wait to see how she grows over the school year!

Weekend with Mom

This past weekend was such a treat for me!  On Friday afternoon, Mom and I headed up north to Asheville, NC which is about 3.5 hours from home.  We stayed Friday night at The Cove which is also known as the Billy Graham Training Center.  We arrived just before dinner time that evening, so we quickly checked into our room and then headed to the dining room.  They served a delicious buffet dinner dinner that included a wonderful baked tilapia, chicken breast, veggies, salad, etc.  It was really tasty.  After dinner, they led a devotional and then we had the evening to relax.  We both enjoyed laying around in the room and reading (I'm in the middle of President Bush's Decision Points which is excellent).

On Saturday morning, we had a yummy breakfast and then went to the auditorium to hear Jennifer Rothschild; she is a fascinating speaker with an inspirational story.  After a short break where we had to check out of our room, Jennifer led another session.  We then broke for lunch (BBQ - yum!), and then Mom and I were able to spend a few minutes on the huge back porch of the Training Center.  With The Cove nestled in the middle of the mountains, it was beautiful everywhere we looked.  Everything was so peaceful and relaxing.  We then headed back in for the final session of the day.  When it was over, we were able to meet Jennifer in the bookstore and have her autograph a book for mom.

We stopped at the chapel on the way out, and then headed further into Asheville where we spent Saturday night.  We ate dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe which was incredible.  Mom had a delicious chicken saltimbocca while I enjoyed a vegetable plate of sesame seed asparagus, fried okra, parmesan corn on the cob and goat cheese grits (not the healthy selection but delicious!).  After dinner, we walked up the street to The Chocolate Fetish store.  We purchased and thoroughly enjoyed several different bite-size pieces of chocolate.  After returning to the hotel, we read a little more and then headed to bed.

On Sunday, we slept in a little, enjoyed some breakfast and then came on home.  It was a wonderful weekend getaway.  I always have a great time with Mom!

Miscellaneous Info

Just a few miscellaneous things going on around our home...

Mom, Meme, the girls and I took Mama Lottie to lunch at Steak and Shake for her 88th birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Mama Lottie babysat me from the time I was 6 weeks old until I started to school.  It was great to catch up with her and see that she is doing well.

 The girls and Meme after lunch; they love their Meme!

 I just love this cute little one.

For Ryan's birthday last week, we went to see Celtic Woman at The Fox.  They were filming their PBS show, so it was a little different.  It wasn't just one show with an intermission, but there would be a few minutes pause between each song as they reset the stage and got everything ready.  If you have never seen Celtic Woman before, check them out; they were amazing!  The three women sound like angels, and the lady who dances and plays the violin was awesome.  Such a great show!

Lily has 11 kids in her class at school.  They rotate being Servant of the Day, and it was Lily's turn last week.  She was so excited.  The servant gets to bring in something special for show and tell.  Lily chose Phoebe which is the cat that Bama gave her for her 4th birthday; she sleeps with Phoebe every night, and she is the one stuffed friend that Lily brings on all vacations with her.  She was excited to share Phoebe with her class.  Servant of the Day also has special privileges at school that any 4 year old loves: passing out art supplies, being the line leader, saying the prayer before snack time (or standing next to the teacher while she says the prayer), helping with story time, etc.  Lily was thrilled to have her turn, and she can't wait for her next go-round; with a class of 11, it won't be long!

Recent Artwork

It's been awhile since I have posted artwork.  As I was cleaning out a bunch of it today (the girls create multiple projects a day), I realized I needed to take some pictures and put them on here.  Enjoy!

This is the igloo that Lily made at the beginning of school.  It's made out of marshmallows, and she had a great time making it.  She used it as a wedding chapel for Cinderella.  All the other princesses (and the dog who belongs in the dog house she made) attended the wedding.

 I loved this picture Lily colored at school of Noah's Ark.  I love that she made the boat with rainbow colors too.

 Lily learned how to draw giraffes at school.  When she came home, she taught Bama, Granna, Mia and me how to make them.  She gave us very thorough instructions to follow.  This was her Mommy and Daughter giraffe duo.

 Lily loves to watch the channel Sprout.  One of her favorite shows on there is Angelina Ballerina which is a little British mouse that does ballet.  It's a pretty cute show.  Well we found a craft project on sproutonline.com to make an Angelina puppet.  Lily was so excited about it!  She and Mia both made one, and they played for several days with these.

 While Lily was at school one day, Mia and Bama made sailboats.  Liz said that Mia just wanted to make one right after another.  Here's one of the finished projects.

 I was out of town this past weekend, and while I was gone, Lily made this heart for me.  She cut it out, glued a smaller heart that she had colored to it and then drew a picture of Ryan and me inside.  How sweet is she?

 They have been talking about families at school, so this is the picture Lily drew of us.

 While talking about families, Lily filled out a little information sheet too.  She said her favorite thing to do with Mommy is "to cook with her."  Talk about making me happy!  She notes that she knows her family loves her because "they play with me a lot" which is very true.  How fun to see her 4 year old perspective!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Happy birthday to Ryan today!  Unfortunately, it was a very rainy day with multiple tornado alarms.  Most of the day was spent hanging out at home.  When we all got up this morning, we send Ryan on a scavenger hunt around the house to find lots of cute little presents and a couple of things off his Amazon wish list.  The girls had fun helping him decode his clues and find the presents.  Many thanks to Liz for helping with this project; your creativity is much appreciated!  We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out as a family.  At lunch, I took the girls out for a bit to give Ryan a little bit of peace and quiet.  We went through Jim and Nick's and then went to my parents' house to visit for a little while.  We had been there about an hour when Ryan, my brother and niece, Molly, showed up.  Ryan and Wayne were there to help Mom and Dad move some new big pieces of furniture, and Molly came along to visit.  The three girls had a blast playing together, as always.  Anyways, we all got home and the girls went down for naps, so Ryan and I were able to rest too.  In the evening, we stayed down in the basement for about an hour due to the bad weather.  Once that passed, we came back up for dinner, watched a little tv, read books and played together.  Overall, I know this wasn't the most exciting birthday for Ryan (though we are going to see Celtic Woman tomorrow evening which will be a lot of fun), but it was a nice and relaxing day.

Ryan is such an amazing man.  He is a great Christian example of what a husband and father should be.  I am so proud to be married to him, and I am so thankful he is a great daddy to our girls.  We all love him very much!

The Girls' Quick Trip

On Friday afternoon, Liz and the girls headed to Birmingham for a quick weekend visit.  Originally, Ryan and I had plans that were going to keep us out of the house all day Saturday, but when they got cancelled, Liz graciously agreed to still take the girls for a few days which we really appreciated.  The girls were so excited that they were going to Birmingham, especially because they would get to see Bama's cats.  They love those cats! 

On Saturday morning, they had an early wake-up call as the girls were up at 5AM; they don't understand going into Central Time Zone!  They killed a little time and then headed over to Tuscaloosa to tailgate at Alabama's opening game.  The girls had a blast!  They were thrilled that Kendall, John, Josh and Amy came to meet them there.  They loved the bright pink shirts Josh brought them from Alabama's fire college.  They had a lot of fun walking around and grazing on all the food.  About half-way through the 4th quarter, they were able to just walk into the stadium.  They ended up in front of the cheerleaders.  Mia noted "Bama, they keep saying your name and telling you to go."  How funny is that?!  They also got to meet Big Al which both girls told us about.  Also, they ended up on the Jumbo-Tron!  I know the girls had a great time at their first football game!

They finally got home, bathed the girls and got them in bed about 8:30.  About 1AM on Sunday morning, Lily came downstairs to Bama's room, and said "I'm going to throw up."  They ran into the bathroom, and sure enough, she did.  Bama cleaned her up and then put her in bed between her and Mia.  About 30 minutes later, she heard Lily cough, so she grabbed the trash can and Lily threw up once again; as a side note, she said Mia didn't budge.  Not surprisingly, Liz didn't sleep so well after that though both girls slept great.  When they got home this afternoon, Lily climbed up next to me and immediately said "Mommy, I ate too much yesterday and I threw up dozens of times during the night."  Not exactly the truth, but it's a 4 year old's interpretation.  Other than the middle of the night, I think everyone had a great time!

While the girls were gone, Ryan and I ended up getting to rest a lot which was greatly needed.  On Saturday, we watched football almost all day which was lots of fun.  I worked on scrapbooks, we ran a couple of quick errands and we just enjoyed the day.  This morning, we went to church, visited the new Whole Foods nearby and then came home where the girls arrived shortly after.  Even though we always love and appreciate a few days of peace and quiet, we are always glad when they come home too; we love our girls!  Thank you Liz for our break!

Teacher's Comment

Mrs. Worrell's comment today said "I am so impressed.  Lily is not attention-seeking for her good behavior, and she seems so humble."  Lily may be humble, but as her mommy, I am not.  We have such an awesome, sweet girl in Lily!  I am so proud of her!

Gymnastics and School

1. Lily started gymnastics last week.  Little Gym asked her to join their advanced 5 and 6 year old class.  Ryan was able to watch a lot of her class last week, and he said they were really doing gymnastics; in her class last Spring, it was very casual while they learned to do somersaults, walk on the beam, etc.  Now they are really focusing on the technical side of it while still keeping it fun.  They are also throwing a little bit of kid-friendly strength building and cardio workout in.  Last week after class, Lily told me "I'm not sure I like this gymnastics class."  When I asked why, she replied "Because I don't know how to do it all; it's hard."  I explained that this was a great chance for her to learn new skills and that with practice, she would get better; in a year, she will be able to look back and think "that's all easy stuff now."  She seemed content to hear that and was very excited to go back today.  The first thing she said to me afterwards today was "I learned to do a cartwheel!"  She is so very proud of herself right now, and I have to say, she's doing a good job.  I tried reinforcing that she was learning something new and with practice she will continue to get better.  Well, she is having a great time practicing all around our house (and trying to teach Mia too).  She has decided that now, she loves gymnastics!

2. Mia also started gymnastics last week.  She is in the 3 and 4 year old class.  It's true that she won't be 3 until November, but she has been watching Lily for over a year now, and the teachers agreed she could handle it.  Well, in their first class they were working on somersaults.  Mia can already do a really good somersault after practicing so much with Lily last year; some of the big kids in the class can't even do them yet.  Ryan also said that she was practically running across the balance beam (she doesn't walk anywhere) while bigger kids were timidly scooting across.  I am by no means trying to put the other kids down because they are just learning, but I am saying that I'm really glad Mia is in this class; she's loving it and doing a great job.

3. Lily is still thoroughly enjoying school.  Her conduct grade (commenting on behavior, conduct and obedience) each day so far has been either Satisfactory (which the teacher said means it was a good, normal day and is to be expected most days) or Excellent (meaning the child did something extra great that day).  Today, in addition to receiving a Satisfactory grade, there was a note saying she needs to work a little on her self-control of her hands during chapel and story time.  I talked to Lily about that before bed time tonight, and she said "But Mommy, I get so excited and can't help it."  I explained that moving her hands around a lot can be distracting, so we practiced sitting with her hands still in her lap while I read a book.  Hopefully we will see this improve.  Her work ethic grade (commenting on diligence, neatness and effort) has been Excellent every day.  I can't say I'm surprised by that.  If you ever watch Lily while she is doing any kind of art project, you will see this work ethic come through; she will concentrate so hard to make sure she is following the directions to make everything just right.  This is one of the many qualities I love about her.  I have asked Lily a few times what is her favorite part of school; each time she has replied "carpool line."  I'm not really sure what to think of that!  She has also commented that she has fun on the playground, and she is convinced it is her new shoes that make her fun fast.  On the way in this morning, she put her shoe up in front of me and asked "Mommy, what's on the bottom of these that make me run so fast?"  When I told her I thought maybe it was her feet that made her run so fast, she said "Maybe, but what if there's a little machine inside the shoe?  What if it's a little mouse that runs on the machine to make little wheels turn to make me run fast?"  She's thinking about a hamster's wheel because at Chuck E Cheese they have a huge hamster's wheel for kids to run in.  Whatever it is, she loves to run!  We are so pleased at how well these first few days of school have gone.

4. We went to Mia's new school for Sneak-A-Peak today.  She starts the Wednesday after Labor Day, and she'll go 3 half-days a week.  We met her two teachers, Mrs. Mara and Mrs. Parker; we also got to see her room and meet a few of the other kids in her class.  I believe Mrs. Mara said there will be 9 kids in the class, so that is a good number.  Her room is very cute.  They have a nice size library and reading corner in it which Mia loved.  We probably looked at two dozen books before leaving; that was about half of the ones on the shelf.  They also had lots of good chunky puzzles and building blocks.  I liked that their room is right next to the playground, and she commented that they will go outside to play for awhile every day.  The room was decorated to show all the fun things they will learn.  They will spend the first few weeks working on basics like learning everyone's names, the weather, days of the week, etc.  Then they start with a different letter of the alphabet each week and all the projects will focus on that letter.  They will also spend some time on Spanish each day; I think Mia will like that because she loves to count to ten in Spanish (thank you Lily for teaching her that!).  They also have a little music class each day which I know she will love.  I think this will be a great experience for Mia, and she cannot wait to go to school!

A Great First Week

Just a quick update to mark the end of Lily's first week of school before we get started again tomorrow.  She loved it!  She has told me about two new friends that she has made, Jill and Avery.  There are only 11 kids in the class, so I have a feeling I will hear about all of them at some point.  This week they worked on the short sound for the letter "i."  They made an igloo by turning a styrofoam cup upside down, cutting a little door on it and then gluing mini-marshmallows on to it.  It was really cute!  I have a picture, I just haven't uploaded it yet.  They also studied indians to get that "i" sound.  Next week they will work on the short sound of "u."  Mrs. Worrell sends a little note home each day letting us know how our child's behavior and work ethic work for the day; Lily did awesome each day.  Mrs. Worrell commented that she is "kind, patient and considerate."  She also noted that "she is a great listener which is why her igloo turned out so well."  On Wednesday, Lily told me about using sidewalk chalk to make giraffes; ever since then she has been teaching everyone how to draw giraffes.  She really enjoys playing teacher, and I have to say, she's pretty good at it!  We are absolutely thrilled with how well Lily's first week went, and we're looking forward to all the fun ahead!

Lily Starts to School!

I cannot believe that today was Lily's first day of Pre-K!  Where has the time gone? 

We are absolutely thrilled that she will attend Atlanta Classical Christian Academy five half-days a week.  We discovered this school a couple of years ago, and we have been nothing but impressed with them.  We love the classical method of teaching, and we are very pleased that this is also a Christian-based learning system.  Lily has been so excited for a couple of weeks, ever since we bought her school supplies.  Lily loves to learn, so she couldn't wait for school to start.  

Last Thursday, we attended the Pre-K Open House where we had the chance to meet Lily's teacher, Mrs. Worrell, see her classroom, meet other kids in her class (and their parents) and drop off her supplies.  There were two rows of small tables which have up to three children at each at them; there are 11 total kids in her class.  Everyone found their seat, and they looked around the room to find their name elsewhere: on their cubbies, coat hook and on the wall.  Lily was so excited when she looked around her room.  They have tons of great books, stuffed animals (Lily said the giraffes were her favorite part), craft supplies and a pretend kitchen.  She and Mia had fun making a railroad track out of connectable blocks.  There was a lot of space for everyone to move around in, and there's a little bathroom connected to their classroom. Of course, the room is decorated so cute too with lots of bright pictures showing the ABCs, months, days, left versus right; all the fun stuff you work on in Pre-K! 

Lily standing in front of the growth chart holding her table name tag.

 The hallway outside of her room is decorated so cute too!

 Lily with Mrs. Worrell.  The headmaster told Ryan that she is "the girl you want your girl to grow up to be."  We have heard great things about her from other parents too, so we are thrilled that Lily is in her class.

 Today was the big day, so I made Lily a special Happy Face breakfast which consisted of strawberry eyes, scrambled egg nose, granola cheeks and a bacon mouth.

Ready to go in her adorable uniform!  This is her "standard" uniform that is worn most days though she has a couple of color and style options on the shirt.  On Wednesdays, which is chapel day, all the girls wear a plaid jumper over a white blouse.  They are so precious!

 Showing off her new book bag. 

 Ryan and I walked her in this morning.  In a couple of days, we'll let her go through the carpool line, but I'm not ready for that yet!  Here she is about to walk into her class.  Though she gave us each a big hug and a kiss, she was very brave and didn't cling to us.  Yet another sign that my little girl is growing up!

 In her seat and ready to go!

She was so excited to get started this morning, and we couldn't wait to pick her up and see how her first day went.  When she climbed in, we asked how the day was and she said "Good."  We asked what she did, and she told us about playing a funny way of Duck, Duck, Goose where you say your name instead of Goose.  They also drew shapes (circles, squares and rectangles; she used red).  She also really enjoyed hearing Mrs. Worrell read a book called "Corduroy Goes to School."  Lily always loves a good book.  Of course, they had snack time too where I was informed that she liked her pretzels but she did not eat her grapes because she does not like grapes (forget the fact that she ate a dozen with dinner last night). 

We decided to head to Chick-fil-a for lunch and a special milkshake treat.  Ryan and I had fun sitting with Lily, and just listening to her talk about her day.  At one point, I asked if she wanted to wear her blue shirt with her uniform tomorrow.  She said she liked this shirt better because it was more pink than the blue.  She likes her uniforms though (and I can't help but say she is adorable in them). 

We are so proud of this little girl!  Overall, she had a fantastic first day, and she is excited about returning tomorrow!

Two Funnies

Two quick stories:

While driving down the road the other day, here is the conversation between Lily, Mia and myself:
L: Mommy, what are you going to be when you grow up? I'm going to be a chef.
A: A chef is a great choice.
L: What are you going to be?
A: Um, well...
M: I know what I am going to be! 
A: Oh really? What are you going to be when you grow up Mia?
M: A pirate!  Arrrr!

My mom took Lily on a Granna-Lily date while Mia was at camp on Wednesday.  They went to The Swan House for lunch.  Absolutely one of my favorite places, so I was quite jealous!  Lily loved it too.  She told me later she had four pieces of bread (granted the girl loves bread, but please know these are bite size muffins being served), some chicken fingers and french fries.  She was also thrilled to have "rainbow ice cream" (aka rainbow sherbet) for dessert.  After lunch, they visited the gift shop which is just wonderful, and they found a cute book for Mia and a neat princess mirror decorating kit for Lily which they came home and put together.  She had a blast!  I'm so glad she and Mom were able to have a fun date together!

Another Fun Date

Lily and I had another fun Mommy-Daughter date earlier this week.  I treated her to lunch at The Sundial which sits on top of the Westin Downtown.  The coolest thing about this restaurant is it turns a full 360 degrees in an hour.  When you are 72 floors up on top of a hotel, that gives you a pretty great view!  Lily is always happy to have a date with me, but she was very excited when I told her how the restaurant spins around.  She couldn't wait to see this for herself!

Here she is on the elevator ride up.  Both going up and coming down, she stood right against the glass to watch where she was going. 

 They sat us right by the window which I really appreciated.  We started right above the Georgia Aquarium, so Lily recognized where we were.  Her face would light up when we would come up on a place she knew such as Turner Field, 1-20 (the way to Birmingham) or Phillips Arena where we saw Disney on Ice.

 After a delicious (though slightly overpriced) lunch, we walked up one more floor to the observation decks.  Here's Lily looking up 75 trying to find our home.  She was certain she saw it!