Blogging break

I just wanted to give a heads up to those that check this page often that I won't be updating for a little while. I'm going to take a little blogging break. I'm so sorry to those that live in other towns; we will have to update by phone/e-mail! Thanks.

School days

Not the best shot to be sure, but it is hard to get a picture of a three-year-old during the morning hustle and bustle.

Yesterday we discovered that one of Lily's favorite friends from her old school now attends her new school. Unfortunately, they are not in the same class, but they combine rooms in the afternoon, so they typically get to see each other for part of the day. Because Lily was a little young for her class in her former school, her friend is a full year older than her. In this school, they group children in classes based on 6-month age increments (3 to 3.5, 3.5 to 4, etc...). Lily was placed in the 3.5 to 4's class so she is just below her friend's class.

Lily did great yesterday but was a little fussy today (I think that she wanted to be in her friend's room). We are both still evaluating the school to see if we are both happy there, but it is going well so far.

Lily, The Baker

This weekend, Lily and I made cookies together. Its amazing how far her skills have come; she was definitely a serious little baker.

Rolling out the dough with her kid-sized rolling pin.

I love Lily's expression in this picture. She clearly is not pleased with the way the dough is rolling out and brainstorming about how to fix it.

Lily diligently pats down the dough.

Lily is much happier with her results now.


After rolling out the dough, Lily used the cookie cutters to cut the shapes. Then she pulled the dough away from the shape, used a spatula to take it from the counter and placed it on the cookie sheet. She did everything from beginning to end on her own and really enjoyed the process. I'm so proud of our little chef!

Dance class video

Dance class pics

As promised, here are the dance class pictures from Saturday.

Frolicking fun

Little dancers in "train"-ing (Cheesy, I know, but someone has to do it.)

One of these things is not like the other..... Besides being the only purplicious one amidst a sea of pink, Lily also likes to stand out by doing the opposite of what everyone else is doing.

Oh so happy to be in dance class

More smiles

Listening games are so much more fun with bean bags!

Ta da! Always our little performer

Who likes a participating dad among all the moms? We do! We do!

Hi ho, hi ho...

This week we have been very busy. I am going back to work and Lily starts school Monday, so I guess this week was our last hurrah. On Monday, we did our weekly trip to the library, Tuesday was a 2-hour Gymboree class called "school skills" and a visit with Grammy & Papa, Wednesday was a Music Together class, Thursday was our errand day, and then today we went to the St. Louis Gym with WUMCHA. The gym was really something to see. It was a "real" gym that trains kids who are serious about gymnastics. They did a great job with plenty of age-appropriate activities. We started out in the big gym with some warm-up exercises, playing in an enormous foam pit, jumping on a huge trampoline, walking on low balance beams, and playing with balls & hula hoops. We then headed to the little tots gym area for some free-for-all fun.

Tomorrow we have dance class again which Lily is really enjoying. (Thanks Grandpa Deetz for the great birthday gift!) She tells everyone that she is in dance class and clearly looks forward to it all week. This week, the parents are invited into the class for a little demonstration so we should get some cute pics of her in class. Tomorrow I'm also getting together with some friends for our own version of "Let's Dish" or "Supper Thyme". Each person is bringing 3 frozen meals and then we are exchanging (great idea, Sara!). I used to go to "Let's Dish" with my friend, Jen, in Baltimore, and it was really nice to have ready-made meals during the week. This is perfect timing with me going back to work as well.

I have decided to take a job teaching at a nearby preschool. I was really impressed with the school when I visited there a while back and decided this is where I would like Lily to go. As you know by now, I don't take Early Childhood Education lightly and am pretty picky about the schools Lily attends. Frankly, many, many schools just don't make the cut in my book. So what do I like about this school? Basically, it is all the enrichment programs built into the children's day. They have a full gymnasium with a gym program run by a gym teacher. They also have a cooking room with a cooking teacher, a computer lab with a computer teacher, a music program run by a music teacher, and I think a foreign language program as well. What it boils down to is that the children change rooms frequently which I think is nice, and they value these enrichment programs enough to have a specialized teachers on staff. As with anything, there are some compromises. The nutrition program is not anywhere close to where her former school was, and this school is theme-based vs. the Reggio approach of her last school. All-in-all, I think that it will be a good school, and I always feel better being there and knowing what goes on "behind the scenes". The very best part is that I will be working 4 days per week and will still have Fridays off. I have really wanted to work part-time for a while now, so I am extremely happy with the four-day work week. Lily will also have Fridays off so that we can still have our mommy & me time. You never know how things are going to go, but I'm optimistic about this and hope it is the right decision for Lily, me, and our family.

Softball sweetie

Getting into serious game mode

A hit!



She rounds third and is coming into home.

This weekend we enjoyed some nice weather again which has come and gone. Luckily, we have some indoor activities planned for this chilly day. Lily and I were reading a book about Groundhog's Day last night, and I kept thinking to myself: 6 more weeks of winter? I feel like it hasn't really begun yet. Not that I'm complaining. I would be very happy with one good snow for some snow-playing fun and then move right along to Spring.

Dance class

Ready to go!

Practicing after class...