Overscheduled?

Yes, it was another day where we were invited to two parties. The first was a magical, musical party with an instrument exchange at a kid-friendly coffee shop we've been meaning to check out. CJ really got into the singing and dancing (and mini cupcakes).


The second included a book exchange and lots of outdoor fun with a cardboard fort, a pinata, a trampoline and cupcake decorating.



To top it off, we had neighbors over for dinner. Let's hope she sleeps well tonite.

Close Times

It's fairly unusual for Big B to get this close to CJ, and for him to stay so close to enable us to get the camera and take a few shots. CJ was up and playing with Daddy and Big B came over - no food even to entice him.

You Never Know

Some days she'll let me comb her hair long enough to put two ponytails in. And this week was a great one at school - she seemed to love each day. And she asked for turkey jerky at the store and actually ate it! She even ate lima beans after asking for those.

Camp Out

This afternoon Mama was invited to a camp out in CJ's room. Apparently Mama wasn't the only one invited.

Old Stomping Grounds

Today's trip to the zoo yielded an even better look at the new baby elephant and Mama had her camera. We were a little worried when there was no line for viewing, but the elephants were out in the back yard and the crowds were small, so we could watch the show as long as we liked.

CJ also enjoyed meeting up with some of her friends and practicing jumping. Check out the action photo.

Stone Soup

Today CJ's school had a stone soup/fall harvest dinner. We enjoyed some yummy soup made with vegetables that the children contributed and lots of other great food. We supplied juice boxes, which were as popular as ever.

Another Day, Another Party

One of CJ's schoolmates celebrated her fourth birthday today with a puppet show party. The show was Rainy Day Tea Party, but luckily the rain held off and we enjoyed a nice show. Mama stayed very close and we avoided any cake meltdowns. Forgot the camera for the party, but here's a photo of CJ showing off one of her goodie bag finds.

Two Week Tears

Mama should have known that the first day of school went too well. Each day has become a bit more clingy, although there were no real issues until today. CJ woke up saying she didn't want to go to school. Breakfast and the thought of bringing in her cupcake boots seemed to change her mind and we had a great drive, but tears started to fall when Mama left. No teacher called, so Mama expected things had improved, but when she returned to pick CJ up there were more tears. CJ even went so far to say that no one liked her and she didn't want to go to school any more. I hope she's just overwhelmed.

Ready to Dance

CJ models the goodies we picked up on our way home from the fountain. Butterfly wings, a new tutu and even a hair tutu (Mama had no idea that this is what they were called, but they sure are cute!). Daddy was treated to many dance performances this evening and now we are definitely in the market for another dance class.

90 Degrees - What Do You Do?

We packed up and walked down to the fountain. It was surprisingly quiet, given the weather. A bite of ice cream and a quick stop at the mall completed the day.

She's A Natural

We picked up this T-Ball set today and CJ took right to it. She was great at hitting the ball and is already talking about hitting it over the fence.

Guess What We Are Having For Dinner?

On the Fast Track

Today we were driving in the car and CJ said "Thumbs Up".

Mama looked back and saw that she was doing the thumbs up sign.

I asked "Where did you learn that - school?"

"Yup. I learned that in COLLEGE!"

Later CJ was washing her hands and put them together like scoops, using them to get a drink.

Mama asked "Where did you learn that?"

CJ replied "HIGH SCHOOL!"

Guess we are getting our money's worth out of preschool.

So Happy, She Cried?

Today we had two more parties. CJ is quite the social butterfly. The only problem was that she had meltdowns each time the cake (and video cameras) came out.

The first party had a puppet show, a bouncy house, a swingset and lots of cute, home-crafted decorations - like this party hat:

The second party was a pirate adventure with pirate hat making, a treasure hunt and treasure chest pinata to fill loot goodie bags and a pirate ship cake.

I Like School

When CJ woke up this morning, one of the first things she said was "I like school!". Something about having breakfast was the first thing, but school was right up there.

PRESCHOOL!

Ready and waiting...

Here we are.

Check out my new necklace (and lack of socks)!

She never looked back! When we got to school, Mama hung CJ's lunch basket on her hook and started to put some of her extra clothes in her cubbie. Meanwhile, CJ peeled her shoes off and headed inside. When Mama entered she thought she'd find CJ playing with the wooden dolls she'd loved on Friday, but CJ was already part of circle time, playing a game rolling a ball to her school friends and learning their names.

The day seemed to be a good one. CJ was excited about her beaded necklace (she mentioned that she didn't use any red beads) and it sounds like there is more art in her cubbie so we'll pick that up in the morning. At dinner she was singing songs we've never heard and clapping. She was definitely tired by bedtime. The only thing that didn't go so well is that we already lost a pair of her socks, but hopefully those are in the cubbie, too.

Summer Ends?

We hope not, but school starts tomorrow so we decided to take an overdue trip to the zoo. Judging from the packed parking lot and the crowds, we weren't the only one with this idea. Maybe it was due to $2 Tuesday, the great weather or maybe it was the new baby elephant. We almost didn't make it inside, but luckily found a parking spot and we were able to renew our membership and then headed pretty much straight towards the elephants. Mama should have read more first, as she didn't realize we'd need to wait in line to see the baby, but luckily it was lunchtime so lots of people were headed home for naps and the line wasn't too bad. Unfortunately we didn't have our camera, but we got a great view of the baby as he peeked out from under his mama and even walked around on his own for a bit. CJ thought he was very cute. She was also really into the otter this time and how he was swimming around and around.

Old Business

It's not that there hasn't been any business around here, but just that the business hasn't made it from reality to the blogosphere. Mama will be doing her best to update. Don't be surprised if there are a few backdated posts that appear...

Preschool Orientation

CJ was super excited for preschool orientation. When we asked her what shoes she wanted to wear, we expected her to say her Crocs (sorry Uncle G). but she asked for the sparkly ones. She remembered that she and Mama had found these on sale and had saved them for school. She even wanted to put them on herself, which she did - awesome! Orientation went well. We met a few other families and CJ played and played and didn't want to leave. She even gave the bathroom a trial run. We'll see how the first day goes on Wednesday.

The Comforts of Home

Of course we couldn't make the trip to California without our favorite pink blanket and our brown dogs - the real two puppies included.

Summer Sales

Check out the pool we found for $5 in California - complete with a princess castle, fountain and slide. What a deal!

More Playing at the Park

Sure, the park by Grandma and Grandpa's has a very large play structure. It also had some sprinklers that were left on, which led to wet sand and puddles. Who would want to play on a boring old slide or swings, when you can move water around with a tiny cup?