Happy Birthday to Me

This past week-end Zach and I enjoyed a slightly belated 40th birthday celebration with a week-end get-away to Chicago to see Hamilton.

Three words.  A-MAZ-ING!!  I loved it.  I love going to the theater.  I especially love musicals.  And I apparently especially, especially love historical rap musicals about one of America's founding fathers.  If all of my history lessons in school were this engaging and entertaining, I would have remembered a lot more about them.

Although Hamilton was the highlight, the whole week-end was altogether lovely.  We slept in.  We went for a run along the lake front.  We ate long, leisurely meals at places that didn't have kids menus or high chairs and where the food looked like this...

...and tasted even better.

We wandered around the city.  We enjoyed street performers and people watched and talked and relaxed.  We met up with my brother, Ethan, for dinner.  And we even enjoyed a (very chilly) night-time skyline cruise where we got to watch the fireworks off Navy Pier from our boat out on Lake Michigan.

Thanks to my hubby for a fantastic birthday week-end!

And thanks to Chicago for providing the perfect place for it to happen.

What a great 40th!!

Last Day of School

Tuesday marked the last day of school for both my girls. 

First day of Kindergarten

Last day of Kindergarten

What a fast and wonderful first year of school Staley had.  She loved school, loved her teacher, loved her friends, loved learning.  From navigating the hot lunch line to mastering all the monkey bars on the playground to becoming an excellent reader, Staley figured it all out.  And although she is excited for summer break and already anticipating first grade, I know that she will miss Mrs. Doty and her Kindergarten class. 

Mrs. Doty was the perfect fit for Staley.  She was very organized and structured, yet incorporated so much fun and exploration into learning.  She was sweet and kind, yet firm with high expectations for her classroom.  Staley loved Mrs. Doty!

First day of pre-school

Last day of pre-school

Adelie also had a great experience with her first year of pre-school.  She loved going to school and had so many little friends in her class.  She definitely learned lots, coming home from school singing songs, spelling color words, and identifying her letters and numbers.  Although confused about why she didn't start 4 year old preschool the day she turned 4, she is already excited about heading back to school one year older and wiser.  It was definitely good for Adelie to have her own experiences and successes and friendships forming while Staley was away at Kindergarten.

Adelie also had a teacher who was the perfect fit for her.  Mrs. Ferguson had boundless energy and enthusiasm.  She was always happy, always singing, and always positive.  Adelie loved her!

It's hard to believe that this school year is already over.  As quickly as it flew by, I have no doubt that I'll blink and we'll be heading back for another year.  Time to start getting on with our summer fun!!

Really??

Really?  You wanted to make a bug catcher so you emptied most of the Elmer's glue bottle into the sink and then began shoving leaves into it?  It didn't occur to you that there might be a better alternative for a bug catcher?  You didn't think that that might not be the best idea?  You didn't think to ask your mother first?  Really??

Sweet and exasperating, all rolled into one cute little bundle.

Really??

Really?  Getting you out of bed every morning for school at 7:15 was like pulling teeth, but now on your first day of summer break, you're waking me up at 6:45?  Really???

Potty Training?

I was not looking forward to potty training Briggs.  I'd heard that boys are harder.  They potty train later.  It takes longer.  And I really don't enjoy potty training...at all.  I hadn't intended to start thinking about it until after we got back from our family vacation in June.  And then Briggs just decided that he might as well go ahead and get the party started.

On Monday this past week, Briggs told me he needed to use the bathroom 2-3 times with enough time to make it there.  So I just started taking him on a regular basis.  Every time I took him, he went. He stayed mostly clean and dry the whole day.  On Tuesday I got him some big boy underpants.  On Wednesday we busted them out.  Briggs thought his Thomas undies were great.  Since then, he's been using the bathroom regularly when we take him and has had very few accidents.  He's not initiating much on his own and doesn't seem at all bothered when he does have an accident, but it's definitely been a successful (and pain free) start to the process.

And he sure does look cute in his undies.

Adelie Quotes of the Day

Adelie:  "Why are people called people?"
Zach:  "What else would you have them be called?"
Adelie:  "Walkie talkies because people can walk and they can talk."


Tonight after our family walk, Adelie was all tired out.  She sat down and exclaimed, "I'm exhausting!"
Sometimes, my love.  Sometimes.

Marriage

I recently blogged about Adelie's questions about getting married.  In that conversation, I had told her that she would have to be a grown up to get married and that she can't marry someone who is related to her.  The other night at dinner, Adelie was obviously still thinking about our conversation.  Out of the blue, she said, "Well, I guess I could marry Mr. Dick." 

Now Mr. Dick is a close friend and neighbor of ours who happens to be in his 70s.  I'm assuming that he was the first person she could think of that met the marriage criteria.  1.  He's a man.  2.  He's a grown up.  3.  He's not related to us.  Although a very cute and sweet thought, I informed her that Mr. Dick is already married and added another marriage rule:  You can't marry someone who is already married.  To reassure her, I said, "You probably haven't even met the person you're going to marry.  I didn't know Daddy when I was 4.  I didn't meet him until I was lots older."  Adelie seemed surprised by this and responded, "You didn't know Daddy when you married him??"

She's trying, but apparently she still hasn't quite grasped this marriage thing.  Lucky for all of us, she has plenty of time to figure it out.