What will we do when she learns how to add?

I've got a short minute to retell a story that happened at dinner just tonight. ;-)

We had told the girls that after dinner (if they ate well) they could have some ice cream with M&M's on top. C ate amazingly well, but A was him-hauling around. We told her she had to eat 5 more bites then she could be done. Of course, she didn't want to go for that. So, a compromise was born. I asked her if she could eat 2 bites for me, 2 bites for Daddy and 1 bite for C. She was agreeable to that and promptly ate the bites she was asked to eat. When she was all done, we told her that she had, in fact, eaten the 5 bites after all. It's a good thing she can't add yet! :-)

Potty!

YAY!!!!

We've been working (I use the term "working" loosely here) on using the potty with C. Over the weekend, we stepped it up a bit with wearing panties here at the house and giving her the option of a diaper or a pull-up (she calls them "princess panties") when we go out. She's been doing really well with the panties and we're definitely seeing progress. Today was a school day though. I was wondering how it would go. C decided to wear princess panties to school today. I reminded her to let her teachers know when she needed to potty. I told her teachers about our weekend and they said they'd let her try to use the big girl potty at school.

At pick up time, C had a gold star sticker stuck to her forehead. Her teacher told me that the star was because she'd used the potty! :) I think we still have a bit to go with having the potty thing perfected with C, but we had a huge step forward today.

Pictures!

We had some professional pictures taken a few weeks ago. Even though we were dodging raindrops here and there, the results were fabulous! Here's a sample of what we got. I'll try to add some to a slide show later...

The Close of the Pool

Yesterday was the final day of our neighborhood pool season. Of course we had to spend a little of our time there. A has made tremendous strides this summer with her confidence in the pool. We are so proud of her! Yesterday, she was wearing her goggles and actually swimming under water. Like, really swimming--arm strokes, kicking, the whole nine yards! It's amazing how much she's learned this summer alone. Already, we can't wait for next summer's pool season!

C loves the water just as much as her sister. Her bathing suit (we actually have 2 of them!) has "floaties" that can be inflated to or deflated to get the buoyancy just right. It keeps her upright in the water but allows her to doggie paddle through the water. She can get herself all around the pool rather quickly. It will be interesting to see how she does next year when her floatie bathing suits don't fit her anymore. I'm sure she'll do just fine, though!

The little dancer

Well, I'm an official member of the "Dance Moms of America" now. (I'm not sure that really exists, but it should, right?) A had her first dance class yesterday. She talked about going to dance all day and even told me that we couldn't be late. She was ready!

We practiced putting her ballet and tap shoes on and taking them off so she could do it on her own in class. I wasn't sure if her teacher had an assistant (she does, as it turns out) so I wanted to make sure A could do it by herself if she needed to. The ballet shoes are still a bit hard for her but the tap shoes she can do in a flash. Ballet class is first, so I can help her with those shoes.

I snapped a few pictures of my dancer girl. This one is a full length view. You can see her dance bag (with ballet and tap shoes safely inside, we don't wear those outside), her leotard and tights. She wears her crocs to and from class. ;-)

First Day of Preschool!

What a morning! :-)

A started 4 year-old preschool today and C started 2 year-old preschool. There were definitely some nerves going in (for everyone I believe!) but they both had a wonderful time. C's teachers said she made them laugh all morning and A's teachers said she talked and volunteered information during circle time! Last year, it took quite a while before A would talk to her teachers. I'm glad she's gone into this year feeling comfortable enough to talk. Here's my girls ready to go.