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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Chubby Cheeks

Walter had his wisdom teeth extracted yesterday (ouch!), and is swollen today. It's been a chore to get the kids to leave him alone. They want to get up near his face, but I'm afraid they'll bump him and make the pain worse.
We've been busy cleaning up the house and making it pretty. Karen Poe, from the Cocker Spaniel Rescue Center, is coming today at four. She has to make a home visit before they decide if we get to be Jesse's family. Avery is super excited. While in the waiting room yesterday, she told everyone that passed through that she is getting a Cocker Spaniel named Jesse.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Prehistoric History Lesson

Avery gave me a history lesson today:
There once were dinosaurs. T-Rex was the dinosaur king. But, he was a very mean king. The other dinosaurs decided they wanted Triceratops to be kings. So, now Triceratops is a very good king because he just eats plants. Then, there were some 'Bolcanoes' in Africa. The dinosaurs ran to Houston to get away from the hot lava. When the dinosaurs got to Houston, they were scared because there were so many cars. The dinosaurs were so scared they ran back to Africa. A few were left behind so we put their 'skeleskins' in the museum. The 'bolcanoes' were still hot in Africa, so the dinosaurs dug big holes and covered themselves up. The dirt got burned all up and the dinosaurs were stuck underground. That's why we have to dig them up to get their 'skeleskins'. It is so sad that the dinosaurs 'isappeared', because I would like to have a pet Triceratops. If you go to Africa, can you find me a Triceratops and bring it home? I want a green one!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Beehive Last Day

I can hardly believe that it is already the last day of Preschool. I almost cried when I picked Avery up today. It is the end of her being a preschooler...she's now a "big kid".
What has Avery accomplished this year? I could make a list of all the things she knows like how to write her name or that objects at the back of the drawing are smaller, but that isn't what is important. What is important is the sense of confidence Avery has gained. She loves to perform, to sing and dance for people. It's important that she has learned how to share, how to verbalize her feelings, and that everyone is different AND the same. She has learned to wait her turn, how to be a friend, and how to play on the playground without being afraid.
I'm so proud of her! She is such a great kid!
What have I learned this year at preschool? *I could not teach 24 four- and five-year olds everyday! *the day you wear white pants will be the ONLY day you get paint on yourself! *band-aids are to owies/boo boos as Duct tape is to broken objects! *little kids LOVE to help *trees poop! *when you have the Gallerias it is really bad, you spend all day sitting on the potty! *goats poop too, they poop beans! *four- and five- year olds are REALLY bad at telling JOKES, but they think they're hysterically funny! *all parents are known by their children's names, "oh that's Cate's Mom"! *we should all jump in the rain puddles!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Surfside

Yesterday we went to Surfside Beach just to hang out and have fun. On the trip down, Avery was looking at a book about Dinosaurs. She was telling us all about the Pterodactyl. Then she and Walter got into a discussion about Ostriches...that they are really big birds, but that they can't fly. Avery told Walter that Penguins are big birds that don't fly. Walter said that they 'fly' underwater and do great acrobatic swimming. Avery said, "Yeah, and the Flingos are big birds." It took Walter a minute, "Flingos, huh?" "Yeah, Dad. They are big pink birds." It finally clicked with Walter, "OH, flamingos can fly!"

Walter and I were the only parents who made our kiddos wear a life preserver, but the kids are too young too protest!! The temperature outside was only mid-70's and the water was pretty cold. We would let Josiah play in the water about 20 minutes at a time, then we would take turns wrapping him in a towel and holding him. Avery never acted like she noticed the cold. She helped find seashells, she played in the sand, she has a little floaty/boat that she would let us take her into the wake, and she 'swam' in the shallow water. I thought seashell hunting was a great way to work on her visual discrimination. I told her she could only bring whole shells that had gray on them. She did a great job too!

As we piled back into the car, we put a Pull-up and a tank top on Avery. We asked her to put on her shorts while we drove to the bathrooms, about 4 miles away. I assumed she minded and didn't think about it anymore. As we neared the store, I asked if she had on her shoes. She said, "No, and I don't have on any shorts either." Walter told her to put her shorts on. She said, "NO." I said in my best Mommy voice, "Avery Nicole!" She quickly replied, "I didn't say no I'm not putting on my shorts. I said 'Oh, no. I've got to put my shorts on!'"
Yeah, right!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Busy Week

Tuesday afternoon we took the kids to the Museum of Natural History. It is free after 2 pm to see the general exhibits. We got to see some beautiful gems and jewelry. Some very interesting minerals...it is amazing how beautiful rocks can be!!! There is a Chemistry exhibit. It reinforced the concept of gas, liquid, and solid that Avery learned at preschool this week. The energy exhibit was neat. It took you through the processes of producing energy. It had some examples of crude oil from around the world that surprised me with an array of colors!


What interested Avery the most were the DINOSAURS. We saw them first. Then each time Walter and I tried to see the other exhibits, Avery constantly asked when we were going back to see the dinosaurs! She was more than a little leery of the life size replica of Ankylosaurus, complete with skin, armor, teeth...I stuck my hand in it's mouth and she finally relaxed when it didn't move! Her favorite was the Triceratops even though it was just the head...or maybe because it was just the head!!! She found the Pterodactyl to be very fascinating, but didn't like to be upstairs looking out over an open floor!!!


On Wednesday they had Water day at Beehive. All of the kiddos wore their swimsuits. There were four kiddie pools set up to play in. They had attached a sprinkler upside down on the monkey bars with a pool underneath that the kids could 'shower' under. There was a pool at the bottom of the slide that was great fun! There was a water table, a baby doll bathing center, and doll clothes washing center, and a water bucket/paint brush center that the kids used to 'paint' the playhouse. All of the kids had a blast!!


Wednesday night was Avery's Spring Choir concert. The Quarter Notes were adorable in their animal costumes. Claire Knuckles was the most adorable Rooster!! The Half Notes sang really well. They were supposed to stand with their hands behind their backs...too hard for Avery. She tried, but fell down twice and finally gave up. I guess that is something with can talk to Miss Sue, the OT, about focusing on next. They sang Seek Ye First which Avery calls the Louie song. You know, "Hall-le-lu, Hall-le-Louie-ya."


Tuesday was Walter's last day of class for Spring semester, YEAH!!!!! All of his grades have been posted and he is doing a great job! He has a short summer session and will take Board I in July. After that, Dental school will be a lot easier. He will start having more clinic, more patients, more fun and less class, less studying, and less stress. He gets to try his hand at being the patient in June. He is going to have his wisdom teeth removed by one of the Fourth year residents. One of the upperclassmen is redoing a porcelain crown that has been bothering Walter, and that he says was not made correctly to begin with! Then, I get to be Walter's patient because I have two cavaties that he feels were caused by night-time reflux.


Only one more week of Beehive, then Avery is free for the summer. I'm not sure she really understands that she's not going back, and that her friends will all be going to Kindergarten in various school throughout the area. Several Moms have talked about setting up playdates during the summer, so I'm hoping that occassionally seeing her friends will help make the transition easier. I'm sure a few more trips to see the Dinosaurs will help ease the pain!!!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

A Bible Story

I love taking Avery to preschool. When we are driving she tells me the funniest things!!

Yesterday: "Mom. Can I tell you a Bible story?"
Me-"Sure."
Avery-"There once was a Grandpa named Paul. He was mean. He told the children they couldn't run to Jesus. Jesus said, 'let the children come to me'. Grandpa Paul said, "No, they'll knock you over and trip you." But Jesus told him he could outrun the children. So Paul, Jesus and the children had a race. The End."

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day!


What better day to create a blog about my kids than Mother's day!?! At the Beehive, they made a silhouette of Avery for me. Today at church, they had professional photographers on hand to take complementary pictures of Mom's and thier families. Then Avery made a plaster hand print in Sunday School. What wonderful gifts!!!

Tomorrow is my last time to work at Beehive! There are only two weeks left until summer, and I don't know how the year has passed so quickly. I spoke to Avery's teachers on Friday and they both feel like theatre classes would be great for Avery. Mrs. Sanchez told me that last week she had some time to fill and asked the kids if anyone had a favorite song they would like to sing. She said Avery raised her hand and said, "I do!!" Avery stood up and began singing Jesus Loves Me. Afraid of what other parents might say, Mrs. Sanchez stopped the song and asked for other suggestions...but thought it was funny that Avery was confident enough to stand and sing solo.

I found a great blog featuring vintage/antique clip art. Check it out at http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com/