Dance Class!

Katie has been excited about dance class ever since we brought home her gear - but nothing compares to how absolutely giddy she was last night and this morning before she got there. She was smiling from ear to ear and couldn't stop talking about where she was going. I was so proud of her when she got there - she walked right back to the classroom with no hesitation and when I watched her on the closed-circuit she was participating and laughing and having a fabulous time. It was pretty funny to watch her without her knowing that I could - the teacher pointed out a little "x" on the floor for her to stand on at first and the entire time she was hesitant to stray too far from it, even when every other little girl in the class was in a different area. I know I am biased :), but she was one of the best little dancers in there. She got to stretch, tumble, jump on a trampoline, ride a pony stick, and wiggle her hips and did it all well and just like the teacher told her. She didn't stop smiling the whole time - big thank you to So-So and Ray-Ray for her classes - I don't think I have ever seen her having such a good time even without us or Tyler in the room!

Lance is out of town and he is the one that is good about charging all of the phones and cameras and whatnot so of course our camera was dead - but I did get a picture on my phone, just not a very clear one!

We had a good day. I naively tried to get them to nap this afternoon because they were clearly tired after their morning playing with the grandparents (and dance class) and this is how I found them when I came up to check on them. Needless to say - there were no naps - but it is almost bedtime and they are still somewhat content even if Katie just told me, in response to me asking why she peed on herself, that she was freaking out and lost her mind because a bug (fly) got on her (drama queen).

New Strategy

Who knew these sweet faces could mask such manipulation and outrage :)! Katie tried a new strategy not to go to her new classroom today. When I went in to get them up she told me she was still sleeping. Then when I convinced them to go to my bed to watch tv while I showered (Lance had to work early this morning) she kept telling me to leave her, that she was staying home today. She said she was still sleeping and even tried a fake cough to tell me she was too sick to go to school. The little minx also worked on Tyler the whole way to school saying "Tyler you don't want to go to your new classroom either, do you?" The result was that she went back to crying "I don't want to go to my new classroom" and I don't want to go this way (the route she knows is to school) and had to be forcibly removed from my arms, and Tyler had a total meltdown upon entering his classroom complete with kicking his shoes off and screaming for me not to leave him :(. I know Katie is serious when her last ditch effort was to say that she was a baby and needed to take her big girl fingernail polish off, wear a diaper, and not get a birthday party - she is that intent on going back to her "baby" classroom. Needless to say, these two are not very good with change :)!

Still, when I look in on them throughout the day they are having a ball. Tyler told his whole class yesterday about his Uncle Matthew who lives in New York when they were studying the map, and Katie made a new friend who she had to introduce to me when we were leaving so I am not too worried, I just wish they would stop with the drama - especially on days that I am on my own trying to get them out the door!

Beach Trip!

We just got back from our beach trip and the verdict is that we had a fabulous time! Vacations are certainly a lot different with toddlers/preschoolers, but it was really fun and awesome to watch the kids learn to enjoy new and exciting things. We didn't get any pictures at the beach (two kids, two adults on the beach leaves very little time for picture taking), but we got some on the ONE night we were able to make it out to dinner. Yep, we only made it out to eat (in the area of amazing seafood) one evening with the exception of our first night there when my mom thankfully watched the kids and Lance and I went to eat with my sister and her husband (chargrilled oysters at Acme - yum). The other two nights the kids fell asleep in the car in the short drive to the restaurants we were attempting to go to. We attempted to wake Tyler the first time and ended up holding him while sleeping and opted to get a pizza to go from the Italian restaurant. The next night when Tyler fell asleep again (5:30/6:00) we got take-out from Red Bar - which was still delicious even without the atmosphere. We did make it to Bud & Alley's on Saturday since the kids did nap after a fun morning visit with my dad and his kids and my sister and hers. We didn't, however, stay at Bud and Alley's. It was a bit expensive to try to risk it with children who were clearly exhausted so we ended up at the Shrimp Shack (awesome Lobster Roll and right on the beach) and even made it to the ice cream shop that had been promised the whole trip but that they couldn't stay awake for!

Katie proved to still be a complete Water Bug. She spent the majority of the time in the "big wave pool" - aka the ocean. Tyler wasn't too keen on waves, but really enjoyed building sandcastles and chasing birds and was convinced to get in a few times. Pool time at my mom's was still a big hit, and they enjoyed the condo pool too - Tyler is really getting the hang of swimming - kicking his legs and doing his arms even better than Katie! Tyler's biggest hang-up was that he was afraid the waves were going to wash away all of his sand toys so he was constantly moving them up farther away from the edge (which made it impossible to make a drip castle). He even stood on the balcony yelling "watch out for the waves peoples," just because he thought everyone needed a warning that they were coming. Katie was just getting used to all the fish "kissing" her feet, and had stopped screaming everytime she saw a patch of algae (or hair as Tyler liked to call it) when my dad's daughter got stung by a jellyfish near the end of our morning playing in the waves. We made them get out of the water and told them about jellyfish and Katie was completely enthralled. She talked constantly about jellyfish, and how they hurt people, and how we didn't want to go in there if there were jellyfish. More and more started coming in, so we went to the pool but Saturday night after ice cream we went down to the beach to see if we could see some crabs and Katie was pretty skittish and warning us that jellyfish were in there, and she was still talking about them this morning (in between crying and complaining that she didn't want to get to school). The trip certainly didn't help the adjustment to the new classroom - Katie was worse than ever this morning and Tyler wasn't much better - but it was worth it! On the way home once Katie realized we were almost home she said "I wanna go to the beach home, not the Nashbill house" and we promised her that we will go on another vacation next summer (although I guess it is too early to already start counting down the days)!

They got along pretty well the entire trip, maybe because Tyler was the sand/land lover and Katie wanted to be in the water at all times.

Tyler finally awake for dinner! Katie was excited to finally get some "pink" ice cream. She didn't fall asleep the second night when Tyler did and was disappointed that we didn't get to get ice cream as promised when she got out of the pool!
Tyler was telling us what a jellyfish does. Who knew that both lions and jellyfish roar! Katie the Tabasco salesgirl! Ice cream is good, but it sure is cold AND messy!

Not What You Want to Hear!

Well, we usually listen to the kids in the monitor for a bit in the mornings while they wake up and begin to chit chat. It is better for everyone - Katie is like me and not a happy riser so she needs time to wake up and not be so grumpy and we enjoy the time to listen to the crazy and silly things they talk about and do first things in the morning! Well, this morning what we heard in the monitor had us bolting out of bed and in their room as fast as we could. Katie said "it is on my hands," right after Tyler said "Katie why you poo poo on the floor?" Yep, Katie is at the point in her potty training where she knows not to go in her pull-up (if she is awake and aware of what is going on), but apparently not at the point where she understands that the floor is not an alternative option!

The new classrooms are going ok for the kids. Drop-off for Katie is still miserable, but Tyler is being a big boy and seems to be enjoying it. Katie really seems to be loving it too, outside of being dropped off. She is constantly talking about not wanting to go to her new classroom and telling me she is a baby so she can go back to her "baby" classroom, BUT is always having so much fun when I peek in on her on the playground and is a complete chatterbox on the way home when she tells me about her day. He seems to be whining a lot more lately, maybe because a kid in his new class does it or maybe just the change - at least I hope it isn't a 3 year old thing! I do think it is good for them - Tyler has started being able to identify some letters which I think means that he is learning some new stuff with the new teachers and he is excited to tell me about seeing Katie on the "big" playground and the teachers tell me that he always watches out for her (which is different than when she was Miss Bossy in the old classroom). She is really talking a lot more, I think because she doesn't have Tyler around to do it for her, and she has learned some new dance moves from some of the new girls in her class and seems to really like them when she isn't obsessing over being in a new room. We are probably going to ruin all progress by taking them out of class three days next week, but we'll get back to it and I have faith that they will adjust. The biggest challenge for Tyler has been that being fully potty trained is expected in the new class. He had a few accidents the first days during naptime, but made it through even that the last two days last week so definite progress!

We went to the Tomato Art Festival today where they had bouncy houses and music shows, and out to the Vandy football practice, and to the waterpark after Katie wanted to get into the way to crowded water slide inflatable at the Festival, followed by an ice cream run - good day!

A Ballerina and a Train Conductor!

Katie got her birthday present from So-So and Ray-Ray early - dance classes!!! In a few weeks she will take her first ballet/tap/tumbling class and I am nearly as excited as she is. Our only issue is that in her mind ballerinas wear tutus and in class they don't. She wouldn't take her outfit off after we tried it on her to see if it fit (smallest everything we could find), but she insisted on a tutu addition when we got home! Tyler donned an engineer cap and bandana when it was found when I was cleaning out the toy bin!

Change is Hard!

Well, today is day two of the kids being in their new classrooms. They did very well Monday and Tuesday when they spent a half day in the new room and the other half back together in their old room. Yesterday was the first day that I dropped them off in separate rooms and there were many heartbreaking moments. It all started when Katie asked Tyler if he was going to miss her and he teared up and said that he didn't want to miss her - trying to say that he didn't want her to go :(. Then when we actually got into the room I decided to take Tyler first and then Katie because we were pushing 8:30 when they stop serving breakfast and I know that Tyler LOVES his second breakfast. Well, the two of them held hands walking into class (and today too) and then Tyler gave Katie a hug before he started crying and had to be handed off unhappy to his teacher. Katie did a little better, but was still pouty and crying. The good news is that I looked in on them in their classrooms and on the playground today and yesterday and they seemed to be having a great time - Tyler was playing with puzzles, Katie was on her new favorite activity (the computer), and then they got to play together on the playground.

Today was a little tougher at drop-off. The whole way to school Tyler kept telling me he didn't want to go to the new classroom, and Katie was talking like a baby and pretending like she was crying and when I asked her why she said because she needed to go to the "baby" classroom - her old classroom. They were both crying and clinging when I dropped them off, but were over it before I even got my office door unlocked! It will probably be tough for a little while because it is just stressful to completely change the routine, and teachers, and friends, and things you do each day in the classroom, but they have both gotten good reports on participating in group time and playing with others in the classroom so hopefully the initial drop-off fears will wane some once they get comfortable and make some new friends!

They both seem to be acting out a bit in reaction to the changes. Katie has started hitting and trying to bite (we are appalled) and we have have gotten very firm on time-outs and our conversations about why that isn't appropriate and she seems to be doing better - but she also was only really doing it with me and Lance and her teachers in her old classroom as if she was mad at us, or trying to control a situation that she isn't really sure of, or just acting out with people she is comfortable with when she can finally let down her guard from being on good behavior with new folks. Tyler had a monstrous melt-down when I picked him up yesterday. He threw himself on the floor, was screaming and wailing, couldn't be picked up or calmed down, and had an audience (so embarrassing). When I finally got him to calm down and tell me what was wrong he didn't really know. I think it was just the culmination of a long day where new teachers didn't really understand what he was saying all the time, plus him dealing with change (that he doesn't really like), and trying to be on good behavior and he just got frustrated and let it out! I am hoping that they settle in and start to enjoy the new setting - I know that Katie will like it if she gives it a chance because in addition to the computer time, the playground also has swings (her old one didn't) and they allow her a book at rest time instead of making her nap. Tyler's class will soon start working on identifying letters and they do a lot of projects and learning focused activities which I think he will enjoy, too!

Tonight I am going to a trunk show for Kelly's Kids clothes - it seems like this year is flying by. Not only is school starting, but I am already being sold on Christmas pajamas! We still have our beach trip and the kid's birthday, though, to remind us that summer isn't quite over yet!

Discovery Center

Well, I still can't get the video loaded which is odd since I can watch it on my computer so I would assume that it isn't too difficult to upload, but I do give up for now! Here are some pictures, though!

Tyler walking on the balance beam. Katie concentrating on her painting. Trying to skip rocks at the creek. Lance was the master. Tyler was fascinated by the water table, until he saw that he could control the conveyor belt!
Katie had to feel how cold the spring water was.
The kids had a good time, the exhibits were interactive and just their size!