Back in April, Lila Grace went on a field trip to a pond. Her teacher scooped up a bunch of pond sludge and had the kids sort through the gooey mud in search of tadpoles. Guess who was the ONLY child to fully put her hands in and help her class out. Miss Lila, of course. When the principal was helping my girls out of the car the next morning, she mentioned that she had heard about my mud loving daughter. It was quite a shock for Lila's teacher because because Miss Lila is usually SO reserved in class.
Since digging through mud obviously tapped into Lila on a pretty deep level, we purchased nets and had a family pond night. YUCK! That mud is so stinky and gross. There was no way any of us were getting our hands dirty. It wasn't a problem because Lila Grace came to our rescue.
Here she is with her class. . .
(notice the pearls and mud)
Here she was with us the next day.
After a month of watching our biggest tadpole grow and develop into a froglet, Lila couldn't take it anymore. Over the past two days, she's been digging into the water and can't keep her hands off the poor frog. I think the frog was in her hands, or falling out of them onto the hard deck, more than he was in the water. His tail was shrinking - possibly, because I caught my daughter holding him up to the sky by it, and Mr. Frog was getting his hop on. He needed to be set free.
Today I let Lila bring the frog in the house for some observation time and she still couldn't keep her hands off of him. He was so tolerant. Could he possibly like her attention? The frog just took it, over and over. Here he is hopping around. Before motherhood, I would have never dreamed I would let a frog hop through my house!
We packed him up, along with another very small frog who was ready to be re-introduced to nature, and released them into the pond. Here are some farewell pics.
Bye bye Mr. Frog!
We still have five more tadpoles to go. . . Lord have mercy!
Lila Grace completed her Word Ring in April. Thank goodness that is done. Every night we went through her Word Ring. Some nights were better than others. There was a lot of push back. I wanted her to try hard to reach the goal of completion. It is an optional program but I knew she could do it. Lila didn't know she could do it though.
Lila Grace isn't a confident reader but when she puts her mind to it, she reads very well. Her 147 sight words from the Word Ring have definitely helped her along. One doesn't realize how many "wh" and "th" words there are in the English language. It's so frustrating for little five year olds. . . trust me!
I am so proud of my girl for sticking to her goal and finishing her Word Ring. Only half of her class did. She was very proud of herself. We had a little celebration to let her know how proud we are of her.
(Miss Lila was randomly wearing Adeline's astronaut suit the night of the celebration.)
I am sure Lila never wants to see her Word Ring again.
This year, I took the time to pause and give thanks for all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I sat on the deck and watched my girls play carefree, with complete joy and happiness. I don't know if it is because we spent some time learning about the Revolutionary and Civil Wars earlier this year or if it is just that piece of being a mother that changes one's perspective, but I value our country and its everyday freedom on a deeper level these days.
Thank you to those that gave their lives so my daughters may have days like these.
She did it. Savannah brought home the trophy. This girl has had her eye on this trophy for four weeks. Each Sunday she runs her heart out for a half mile which ends up being a fight for first each time. There is always a girl biting at her heals. In fact, that girl ran faster than Savannah ever had last week and finished first. Fortunately, the trophy is given to the girl with the most points. By finishing first three out four times, Savannah was that girl.
This is our first experience with true competition. Savannah proved that she does have a competitive bone in her body - I have proclaimed otherwise in the past. Even after a long day at school which leaves her tired, she strapped on her sneakers and sprinted a half mile once or twice with her daddy each week. She wanted to win!
This last week, we were all on pins and needles. Savannah had to finish first or second in order to take home the trophy. I tried to prep her for both scenarios - being a graceful winner and loser. After all, a trophy is just a bunch of cheap plastic. That cheap plastic had my girl a wreck last Sunday. Those nerves paid off and she ran the race of her life. Her best time yet. 3:18! She ran a smart race as she hung in the front pack but didn't push to be the leader. She knew the other girls would eventually drop back. Such maturity for an eight year old. She knew when to conserve and when to push.
What I didn't prepare for is the trophy ceremony. Both little girls were upset that they didn't get a trophy. They did, in fact, run just as hard as their big sister. In their eyes, they were in the running for the "beautiful, sparkly, trophy." After the last name was called, Adeline burst into tears. She came up to us and said, "They said Savannah but not Adeline. There is one more trophy in the box. I want them to call my name." My heart broke for her. She really thought they were going to call her name. I can see why. She has a huge crowd that cheers for her as she crosses the finish line. Adeline is a BIG deal at these races. It was hard to explain that only the fastest runners get the trophies because she knows, that will never be her.
The beginning of many hard lessons.
Here is Savannah right after crossing the finishing line. She was over joyed.
Here is the source of her joy and her sisters' disappointment.
Miss Lila after finishing her last run.
And because she is so amazing, here is Adeline crossing the finish line one last time. I absolutely adore Jeff Long. He waits for her every time on bended knee. After the trophy ceremony, he sought her out, got down on one knee, and said, "Adeline, do you know who my favorite person is at these runs? It is you. Do you know why? It is because you come each week and try your best and work so hard. You make me so happy. I am going to miss you. I look forward to seeing you each Sunday." Love him!!
Finally, here is Jeff with all my girls and a friend. Savannah was sweet and let Adeline hold her trophy. This made her very happy.
Before I forget, I have to describe a conversation I had with Adeline once we got home. She was still moaning and groaning about the trophy and asking when she could win one. I dug deep and came up with a response that more than satisfied her.
Me: Adeline, did you know that astronauts get a really big trophy when they come home from space?
(eyes double in size)
Adeline: They do! How big is it? Is it blue?
Me: Well, everyone is different because you get to choose your trophy.
Adeline: Oh Yeah! Can I get two? I need one for astronaut Jet too!
That's my girl. She honestly thinks she is taking a trip to space.
Lila Grace loves to dance. She has been in a Creative Dance class this year and they had their recital this weekend. She was so excited to finally get to perform on a stage. This girl dreams of a future when she is singing and dancing in front of large audiences. It's so not me but, it's pretty cute.
While I wasn't the biggest fan of the costume, I knew I had to sign her up for the recital component of the class. I am glad I did. Lila and her friends looked pretty cute in their fluorescent fishnet gloves on stage. Here is a clip from the rehearsal. She is the second from the right. Her class consists of four girls and had to join a much larger class for the performance. This run through is pretty rough because it was the first time the classes were put together. I am proud to say that my girl, who has a host of motor planning and clumsiness issues, nailed the dance!
The girls pulled it together at the recital and looked like a cohesive group (videos aren't allowed). It was fun to watch my music lover dance and skip her hear out.
Here is Lila at her in-class rehearsal, belting out their last "We Had Fun at Dance Today," song. They were four happy little girls.
I didn't get to give a shout out to all the mommies out there! Happy Mother's Day - a little late!!
I was lucky to have my mom here the three weeks leading up to Mother's Day. She left a day before. Here are all the girls Alex had to put up with as the solo male in the house.
Mother's Day is such a sweet day. All of my girls brought home their handmade crafts from school. The little girls couldn't wait for Sunday and were bursting with pride as they removed their gifts from their backpacks. It is all so sweet. I really am so darn lucky. I could go on and on but I figure I feel the same way that most mother's feel about their children. Although, I like to think that I have something special and unique :)
What was absolutely special and unique was a simple gift from my big girl. This gift wasn't prompted by a school project but cultivated in the depths of her loving, heart. Savannah is wise beyond her years and has a special way of understanding life from other people's perspectives. She just gets it. She gets me.
This is what she gave me wrapped up in a homemade duck tape key holder. . . does anyone else have a little girl that has bought into this duck taping fad??
This is what made me cry. This is what hit the nail on the head. This is what every mother needs to hear.
After reading my note, Savannah further clarified her thoughts.
"Mommy, the reason I gave you such a tiny and fragile sand dollar is because there isn't another one out there just like it in the whole world. Just like you. It is also really tiny compared to the rest of the world. If you feel tiny sometimes because the Earth is such a large place with so many things in it, remember YOU ARE SPECIAL AND MATTER TO ME! No matter what, you are special to your family. No matter what, we will always love you."
Mommies, don't we all want to hear something like this? Don't we all feel unnoticed and undervalued sometimes?
It is so easy for me to question the role I play in my life. I gave up my job and, therefore, don't contribute financially to my family. I spend more than half my day playing taxi driver. I make working out a priority which has an "I'm not spending time with my kids" guilty component. I can easily be overwhelmed by trying to get dinner to the table while managing homework or afternoon beastliness. I mean, really!? Doesn't my day seem so simple, so easy, so neutral and uncomplicated?
Where is that making an impact or difference role that we all need to believe we are playing in our children's lives? Most days, I know it is there. I know it because my kids cry when I leave them to go to the grocery store (I should note that Savannah has graduated from opening the floodgates when I leave. She lets me know that she isn't happy about it though). They want me around THAT much. They NEED me. They come yelling my name through the house when I open the door. . . even if I was only gone for a 30 minute run. But, there are the days when I feel small, lonely, and without a great deal of purpose. On those days, I can reach in my pocket and give my little sand dollar a rub. Because, in this big and crazy world, I matter. . . I am special. I am loved. I am needed.
I have proof! I have a note!
I also have the sweetest eight year old on the planet! My five year olds are pretty amazing too!
We blasted off into space for the last month or so. We can locate planets in the night sky, give fascinating details about each of our planets and recognize why Earth is the only one that has life. We had so much fun. Learning together as a family is priceless.
Mercury. . .
Venus. . .
Earth. . .
Mars. . .
Jupiter. . .
Saturn. . .
Uranus. . .
Neptune. . .
Couldn't quite get it all in the picture.
Astronaut ice cream. Yummy!
To finish our study of the solar system, we headed to the Air and Space Smithsonian outside of DC. It was so much better than we expected. We got to see the Discovery shuttle in person! To top it off, Tom Jones, a real astronaut who has taken multiple rides into space, gave a fascinating talk. The girls loved his various home videos of space flight and Savannah got to ask him a question during the Q&A session. We had an absolute blast.
Meteorite
Sadly, this is one of the only pictures I have of Lila.
Ahh, the real deal (the gloves and boots). Much heavier than the orange dress up suit.
A favorite!
Another favorite! They even had the astronaut underwear that has tubing for water which heats or cools astronauts.
Grammy came too!
She talks the talk but was a bit nervous when standing next to the giant
shuttle. Sensory issues still have an ugly grip on my girl.
Listening to Astronaut Tom.
Looking out the control tower where we got to see planes land at Dulles.
If you have a chance, go see it. You won't be disappointed!
Bye bye Mr. Frog!
