Better and Better

This afternoon we had Mikayla's third dance class. I was wonderfully surprised to see her go running in her room while I stayed out in the waiting room!! She went straight to her cubby to put her ballet shoes up. Then before another parent (who had gone in with her daughter) could come out, Mikayla ran to to door ready to come back out to me. Before I saw Mikayla (I could hear her running toward the door, calling mommy), they closed the door. She got a little upset, but I patiently waited to see how she would be (remembering that this was the only time she cried last week)! Soon after the door was closed, one of the other parents cracked the door so she could get pictures. She told me that Mikayla was fine and that she was trying everything the other little girls were doing! I was afraid to peek myself for fear of upsetting her again. At different times throughout the class the other parent would crack the door to get pictures, and each time, Mikayla was doing exactly as the other little girls! When the class was over, Mikayla came running out of the room with the other little girls, all smiles! I sent her back in to get her tap shoes from her cubby (they change half-way through the class), and I went in to talk to Mrs. Andrea! She let me know right away what a wonderful job Mikayla is doing. She said she couldn't believe how well Mikayla was doing to be so young. She said most of the time at that age, girls just stand and watch, but she would do the steps right along with the other girls - and she did them correctly! I told her I was able to peek in last week at the end of the class and saw her doing some of that. She said she did even better this week, and that she was so proud of her!! I am so glad Mikayla's doing so well, and she truly does LOVE it! I picked up her dance bag on Saturday to hang it back up and she jumped up and said "bye daddy", as she thought it was time for her to go to dance! I am very tickled that she enjoys it so much and that she is participating! I am curious to see how she will do in the recital...being on a stage, with all those lights, and all those strange people watching! Mrs. Andrea said it's always hard to tell how they will do with that. We shall see...
Drew had his second baseball practice this evening after Mikayla's dance class. I was extremely proud of how well he did. Craig had to work late and didn't make it to practice. I explained this to Drew and Mikayla before practice so they knew they would have to listen very carefully to mommy!! When we first got there, Drew wanted me to roll some balls to him so he could stop them! He does a great job of this now that he's had a whole year to practice on an organized team. I have noticed such improvement since last year!! Last year, he had a hard time understanding that baseball is a team sport. He would get so upset when he would try to get the ball, but someone else on his team would get it instead. He would get mad and cry! We have talked extensively about that, and even shown him examples of other people playing baseball (namely the pros on TV)! Our goal for this year is that he is for sure over that! So far, so good. He chases after all the balls still, but he doesn't even get upset if he doesn't get them. He just runs back out to his spot on the field! I coudn't be prouder of him for that! I have also noticed an improvement in his hitting this year! The coach pitched four balls to him today, and he hit every pitch (okay - so one was a foul tip, but he still hit it)! Then they put the ball on the tee for him and he hit it very hard as well! Our team this year is wonderful. All the kids seem to be so close already! They are such good listeners even though most of them are only 3! Drew is only one of 4 four year olds on the team! It is going to be such a great year!!

A Day at the Park

Yesterday the weather was beautiful! We spent the morning playing around the house, and Drew and Mikayla got their fill of cartoons. Then when Aunt Jennie got off work she called to see if we wanted to go to the park. This was really great because all morning Drew had been wanting to call her to see if she wanted to go play baseball. After we got something for lunch, we headed to the park to meet Jennie. We have always taken Drew and Mikayla to the park at Lake Bowen because that was the only park with a playground. Now we have a new park with a playground that is only about 5 minutes from our house. Mikayla peeks through the bars as she climbs up on the "big" playground! Mikayla thinks she can do anything big brother Drew does. Here she comes down the "big" slide all by herself. This slide is about 9-10 feet in the air! She has always been very independent!Drew, being the big boy he is, comes down the "big" slide on his head!Drew came down the "big" slide rolling and ended up like this. He was being silly! I just happened to be waiting right here with the camera to catch this shot. I think this one scared him a little (get a good look at that face)! It sure scared mommy!! This park also has large areas of grass around it where eventually there will be fields or other things added. This is where Drew's baseball team has their practices this year. This works out really nicely because our day at the park usually includes playing on the playground and playing a little ball! Yesterday was no different. We spent about an hour on the playground and then Drew wanted to get his ball stuff out. We went and played baseball (giving Drew and Mikayla a chance to hit and field) for about 30 minutes and then went back to the playground. By the time we left around sunset, Drew and Mikayla were wiped out. That didn't keep them from wanting to go to Aunt Jennie's house to see Mimi and Poppi. We went so they could play with Mimi and Poppi while we decided what we would do for supper. When we left Mimi and Poppis's house, Craig, Drew, Mikayla, Jennie, Josh, and I all headed to the fish camp. Drew and Mikayla got a quick nap on the way. Mommy was very happy about this, because they were much more well behaved than they would have been had they not gotten a nap! We all had a wonderful time getting our bellies full in the company of family and friends.

Baseball practice

Drew had his first baseball practice of this season tonight. Mikayla had dance from 4-5, then we picked up Drew and headed to his baseball practice (it was scheduled for 6-7). I now know what it means to be mom-on-the-go! This practice went very well for the first one. There are several children who have never played on an organized baseball team before, so they were just learning the basics. It certainly did not hurt for Drew to review these as well. It also enabled us to see how much he really learned last year.

The first thing coach Tim did was show the kids how to hold their gloves so they could stop a ball when playing defense. Every child got several chances to practice this with the coach rolling balls to them. (Drew is the second child from the left.)

Then, coach Tim showed the kids how to run bases. Then he gave each child a chance to bat. First he pitched several balls to them, then he gave them a chance to hit off the tee. (Drew missed this one as you can see, but he hit the next pitch!)After each child batted, they went out to "play the field" while their teammates batted. This is the funniest part because at this age, they all run for the ball! They don't really worry about defense positions at this age, although we are going to try to teach Drew to prepare him for next year!Once everyone had a chance to bat, they huddled up for a "team meeting"! I think a great time was had by all (children and parents), and that a lot was learned!!

Mikayla's second dance class!

This afternoon Mikayla had her second dance class. If you will remember from an earlier post, the first class didn't go as well as I had hoped in that Mikayla cried much of the time. Today, I was pleasantly surprised. She still didn't go running in the room by herself like the other girls, but she wasn't clinging to my legs either! In fact, she went straight to Mrs. Andrea and I was able to head out in the waiting room. That was the only time she cried through the entire one hour class. I was peeking in on her at first to see what she was doing. I knew she was okay because I didn't hear any crying. She was standing with her thumb in her mouth (something new she just picked up from another little girl at daycare about two weeks ago...mommy is not real happy) watching all the other little girls dance. At first I was a little dissapointed that she wasn't participating. Then I thought, this is only her second class and the fact that she is not crying is such an improvement from last week!! About halfway through the class, I got up to peek again. This time, to my surprise, she was doing everything that Mrs. Andrea and the other little girls were doing. I was so captivated, I ended up watching the whole second half of the class! I was so proud of her...I just wanted to run in there, scoop her up, and tell her so!! I refrained, but when that class was over she sure knew that Mrs. Andrea and I were proud of her! This leaves me excitedly looking forward to next week's class!!

Mikayla crawls through the tunnel at the park while we wait for Drew's baseball practice to begin. Since we went straight from dance class to get Drew and then to his practice, she still has on her dance clothes! I hope to have some pictures of her dancing soon!!

Drew's first day of gymnastics

After a lot of pleading from Drew, we finally gave in and let him take gymnastics. They offer it at the daycare he and Mikayla attend. The kids can attend one class a week for 25 dollars a month. It wasn't that it was too expensive, because we honestly felt that the price was very reasonable. Craig just didn't want his little boy taking gymnastics. He thinks of that as a girl sport - I know such a stereotype. Anyway, like I said after much pleading Drew is now taking lessons. It helped his case a little that he was the only one out of his class not taking. I just didn't have the heart to say no after I found that out. When they first started lessons, there were about four children including Drew not taking. That wasn't that bad because I knew they would have something to do (together) while gymnastics was going on. His teacher let them write/draw and use stickers while the class was going on since the gymnastics class takes place in their classroom. Drew asked Monday "mom will you write a check so I can take gymnastics". I said why Drew, he said "everybody else goes". So I went on to ask him what he did while they were in gymnastics - his response - "I sit and watch". Well, as you can probably imagine, that was all it took. As soon as I got to daycare that morning, I asked his teacher if he was the only one not taking gymnastics now and she said yes. So Craig really didn't have a choice, his little boy is now taking gymnastics! :) My daddy says "aw Alison, all they are really doing at this age is tumbling and flips and things". I think that makes it a little easier for Craig to swallow. This is the same man - who - when Drew was little didn't even like him to wear baby blue because it looked too girly! He liked him in little jeans and shirts. Hopefully I will have pictures of him in gymnastics soon to post! So, here are all of our extra-curricular activities as it stands now: Drew - baseball and gymnastics; Mikayla - dance and computer classes! They sure keep us busy!!

Mikayla's first dance class

Yesterday was Mikayla's first dance class (scroll down a few post to see her in her dance attire). All the way to the studio we talked about how she was going to go into the class with the other little girls and mommy was going to wait right on the other side of the doors to her room (there the studio has a little waiting area because the children do better if mommies are not in there with them). She kept saying "okay mommy" and I was beginning to think this sure is easy - yeah right! In my mind I'm thinking she understands and she is going to walk right in with those other girls and I'm going to be waiting on her when she comes out. At first, that's exactly what she did. She walked right in with the other girls, but before the door was shut she came running out crying "mommy". So, I walked with her back into the studio hoping this would help. Ms. Andrea, her dance teacher, even started with a story to see if that would help. By the time the other girls started dancing, Mikayla still would not leave my side. Finally, she took a few steps away and was watching the other girls in amazement. So I stepped back into the waiting room and closed the door. At first, no crying and again I thought this is great. Then, I began to hear crying and she's saying "I want my mommy." So, I peek through the closed blinds to see what she was doing and Ms. Andrea was holding her and she had stopped crying. That's how the majority of the first class went. She would cry some, then she would stop, she would cry some more, then she would stop. It never got to be so bad that I had to go in and get her, or that Ms. Andrea had to bring her to me. After the class was over, I asked Ms. Andrea if she thought Mikayla was too young (she is the youngest in the class of 7). She said that she didn't think so and that it would probably just take her a little while to get used to it. She also told me that the times I heard Mikayla cry were the times that she moved away from her (I already knew this because every time I heard her cry I was up peeking through the blinds). That gave me lots of encouragement for next week's class. Craig gets the chance to take her next week as I will be at school until 5 with kindergarten registration. I can't wait to see how daddy handles his first visit to her dance studio!

Blowing bubbles

Gettin' ready...

a nice bubble...

POP!!
Drew and Mikayla both love gum (it doesn't matter to them whether it is chewing gum or bubble gum). Drew has been working to learn how to blow bubbles with his gum the last few months. He has been able to get them started for awhile now, but it was just a couple of months ago that he realized he has to blow air to make the bubble. Today while we were waiting on daddy to get home to take us to the fish camp, Drew and Mikayla got some gum. Drew blew the biggest bubble yet. It popped all over the side of his face (you would know I didn't have my camera ready to catch a picture of that one)! Thankfully he was ready to blow more bubbles on the ride to supper. I was able to catch a few pictures of those!! He has become our bubble blowin' monster!

Our sweet ballerina!

Mikayla with her ballet shoes on.
Mikayla in tap shoes.
Our goal has always been to provide several extra-curricular opportunities for Drew and Mikayla, and then let them decide which ones they like the best (which ones to continue). Since Drew started wrestling this year and will be playing ragball again, I have been researching to find something that Mikayla could participate in. Since she is only two, she will have to wait a little while to participate in some activities due to age limits (most activities begin at 3). However, I did find a dance company that offers a tap/ballet class for two year olds. Beginning Thursday, Mikayla will take tap and ballet (combined class) once a week. She will participate in her first recital this year! Mikayla is very excited about this, and so are we! We went this afternoon to get her tap and ballet shoes, leotards, and tights. She also got her very first dance bag! Of course, when we got home she had to try her "ballerina" clothes on. She keeps saying "I ballerina, I ballerina"! I can't wait until Thursday to see how she will do at her first class!

Go Cubs!!!

We received a phone call this afternoon from Drew's team mom for ragball. I was so surprised to hear that it was Peyton's mom, Patti. Peyton and Drew were on the same team last year, so I am very excited about this year. Peyton's dad, Tim, will be Drew's head coach as he plays his second year of ball as a Cub. You may remember from an earlier post that last year his team was the Diamond Backs. Peyton's little sister Tinsley will also play this year as a Cub!! From what Patti told me there are eight children on the team, 4 three year olds and 4 four year olds. Craig decided not to be a head coach since he's not sure these days what time he gets off of work. Instead, he is going to help Tim as much as he can. I know Craig will do whatever he can to be at every practice, and for sure at every game. When I told Drew that he is on the Cubs this year and that Peyton is on his team, he grinned from ear to ear. He is so excited he's ready to start now. His first game will be the jamboree at the end of March. We will be starting practice soon (Patti said she would have to call back to let us know when; they have to wait until the ragball commisioner gives the okay), and will practice once a week until the jamboree. I will post pictures as soon as I get them!!

Lunch with Daddy (or sort of...)

Drew enjoys a french fry...one of his favorites!
Mikayla enjoys a chicken nugget...one of her favorites!
Drew and Mikayla...our silly monkeys!
Since Craig has been working so much lately, he's not been able to spend as much time with Drew and Mikayla. I know this worries Craig, and since Drew and Mikayla love going to his work, we decided to go have lunch with him today! I took my camera thinking that I would get a picture of Craig working since my daddy always teases Craig about "not working". I did get some pictures, but not of Craig. Instead, I got pictures of Drew and Mikayla enjoying their fast food lunch in daddy's office. I'll have to make sure my daddy knows that Craig was working, so hard in fact, he worked straight through lunch. Drew and Mikayla didn't mind too much though, they got to play in his office.

Snow!!!

This morning as we were leaving for church Drew, Mikayla, and I were surprised to see it snowing!! Craig had already left for work and we were leaving for church just in time, so I didn't think to grab the camera and get a picture. It sure was beautiful; the flakes were big and there were a lot of them. It snowed on us all the way to church. Of course when we got out of church it had stopped and the sun was shinning. I'm not sure how long it snowed, but it wasn't long enough because it didn't stick to the ground. We were all hoping it would!! Even if there is no snow on the ground to play in, it sure was a pretty sight to see this morning as it fell from the sky. At least we can say we saw snow this year!!

Frankie's Fun Park

Drew got to go to Frankie's Fun Park on Friday with other boys and girls from our school who had sold 250 dollars or more of our school's fall fundraiser. Since the closest Frankie's is in Greenville, I asked my sister to go as a chaperone. No way was I letting my little four year old ride a school bus to Greenville by himself. (Okay, okay, I know that there were plenty of PTA members chaperoning and also a lot of other parents, and I trust them and the bus driver, but still...) Since they were leaving at 1:30 and my students do not get out until 2:10, I asked Jennie to go. My administration is wonderful and if Jennie couldn't have gone, I know they would have let me go but I was glad she was able to go. I had already scheduled an appointment to pick up pictures at a time I would have been on the trip when I found out the date. Of course if it came down to it, those of you who know me know I would have been right there with Drew. So, Jennie went and she and Drew seemed to have a ball. Drew ate a hot dog, played games with tokens, and played miniature golf (Jennie has pictures but they are on her phone right now)! He loved this because he was able to tell his Poppie that he played "golf". While they were gone, Mikayla and I went to pick up Valentine gifts for all of their teachers. Between the two of them, we bought for 10 teachers. That's between daycare, "big school", and our school's aftercare program that Drew attends for a little while after school (it helps me get some needed work done). Then, we picked up our pictures and was back to get Drew from Mimi and Poppi's house. Jennie had taken him there when they left the school, which was nice because he wanted to tell Poppi and Mimi all about his "trip".

Change of Plans...

I went tonight to change Drew from playing baseball with 5 and 6 year olds, to playing ragball another year (3 and 4 year olds). The more I thought about him playing with those older boys, the more I wasn't so sure it was the right thing for him to do. He is such an independent little boy, he probably would do fine with the older boys. I just felt that he needed another year learning about the game before we moved him up to the mites (they count outs and keep score)! So now, Craig is thinking about becoming a head coach! He was an assistant on Drew's team last year, and he thought about becoming a head coach then. It will all depend on his work schedule since he has been working lots of hours these last few weeks. The draft for ragball will not be this weekend, but we will know more once Craig makes his decision. Again, I will keep you posted!!

Yahhhh.....baseball!!

We went last night to sign Drew up for baseball! He played last year and loved it! All we've heard about since last year is "when will I play baseball again?" When I told him we were going to sign him up, he got so excited, he wanted to play last night!! I tried to explain to him that he wasn't going to be playing yet, that this was just sign-ups. Last year he played ragball and he was on the Diamondbacks. Before we went to sign-up, he said he wanted "to play on the diamondbacks again this year". This year they are letting the four year olds choose whether they want to play ragball or play with the 5 and 6 year olds. Drew said he wanted to play with 5 and6 year olds because he hopes to be on his friend Bryson's team, so we signed him up to play with the five and six year olds. Now, I'm wondering if we made the wrong choice and should let him play ragball one more year. The draft is set for this weekend, and we should hear from his coach soon after that! I'll keep you posted!!

Please snow...

On the way home this afternoon it started to rain. Since the temperature is close to freezing, there were also a few snowflakes and sleet mixed in. By the time we were headed home, Drew and Mikayla (and I must admit Mommy too!) were so excited about this. They kept watching out the windows and were chanting snow, snow, snow. Once we got home, they were still on the look out. I'm not sure that we are going to get snow tonight (at least none that sticks), but they sure have had fun watching for it!!

Our new resident doctor...

Mikayla with her "doctor" glasses on, awaits her next patient. Notice she hasn't even taken off her coat yet, but she's ready to be the doctor!
Mikayla loves pretending. The latest thing she and Drew pretend to be are doctors. They both got a doctor set for Christmas. Mikayla got a baby doll nurse station from Nana and Papa Fred and Drew received his doctor set from Santa. They pretend to take blood pressures, check heart beats, give shots, and give medicine. Who knows maybe they are practicing for later years!! Hey a mom can hope, can't she?

Our sweet Mikayla!

Mr. Manners

Drew was selected by his teachers as Mr. Manners for January. Teachers select one boy and one girl from their classes each month as Mr. and Ms. Manners. These children must display their manners consistently. Drew has been saying thank you and please since he was 1. He learned to use ma'am and sir at 3, however he hasn't used them consistently until a few months ago. Drew has been working hard these last few months to use his manners not only when speaking to others, but also while others are speaking to him (listening attentively, following directions the first time, not interupting, etc.). I was so pleasantly surprised to hear Drew's name when they announced Mr. and Ms. Manners for January!! We are so proud of our Mr. Manners!

Ride 'em cowboy (and cowgirl)!

On Saturday night, we went to Mimi and Poppi's house. Drew and Mikayla love seeing all of their grandparents because they all play and have a good time with them. Well, Saturday was no exception.

Drew and Mikayla love for my dad to ride them around on his back. They call it riding the "horsie". This might have been the last "double" ride because they are both getting so big!

The Greatest Show on Earth (Part II)

Since it was so late when we got home from the circus, I only posted a couple of pictures last night. Today I wanted to post a few more of them! To read about all the fun we had, scroll down to The Greatest Show on Earth.

Drew dances like an elephant at the pre-show. He wasn't about to go in the middle of all those people without mommy or daddy. I can't say that I blame him - in fact I was a little relieved. Mikayla takes a turn on a circus "horse".
Mikayla enjoyed her icee - look at that face!
"Mmmm - this sure is good!"

The Greatest Show on Earth

Tonight was the big night...the one we have been looking forward to all week! Drew and I got Mikayla as soon as we got out of school, filled the van with gas, and went to get daddy (he left his truck at work, and then we stopped by for him to get it on the way home). Then it was off to the circus. We stopped and got some dinner on our way (mommy wanted Olive Garden since we don't have one in Spartanburg and she rarely gets to go, but we were afraid the wait would be too long). We arrived at the Bilo Center about 6:15 and the doors opened at 6:30 for the pre-show. If you've ever been to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, you know that this is one of the best parts. You get to walk around visit with the clowns and other performers, and see elephants and other animals up close. It's really neat. Mikayla was not fond of this, especially at first. She didn't like the noise that was coming from the trapeze artists, and she did not want anything to do with the clowns. Drew, on the other hand, couldn't get enought. He and Craig stayed right up front the whole time! Mikayla and I walked around to see what else was going on. She got to dress up in a costume, rode a wooden horse, and we got several performers' autographs (even some of the clowns which she slowly, but surely warmed up to)! After we saw an elephant paint a picture and Drew rode the wooden horse, it was time to head up to our seats for the show to start. I must say I was a little dissapointed that this is no longer a 3-ringed circus! I remember it being hard to see everything the last time we went, but it was so exciting! Since Drew and Mikayla didn't know any different, this didn't bother them at all. Drew's favorite part were the elephants, horses, and motorcylces! Mikayla really seemed to like it all! Sometimes she danced, sometimes she clapped her hands, and other times she stared in amazement! It must have really worn them out because both were fast asleep not long after we had left!
tickets to the circus: free (mommy won them from WSSL fm by being caller 12) 1 circus program: $15 2 icees in elephant cups $16 1 motorcycle twirly light $14 1 ballerina/dancer music light $14 seeing the faces of Drew and Mikayla at the circus: priceless