Pirate Party

Last weekend, our friends had a pirate-themed houswarming / birthday party. The kids enjoyed dressing up.

Arrrggggh!

 Sam & I did, too.

James Says / Amelie Says

James, to Nana Jana: Are you a mama?
Nana Jana: I'm Crystal's mama. 
James: Oh
Nana Jana: And Grandma Mary is Sam's mama. 
James: Oh
Nana Jana: And I'm Aunt Holly's mama.
James: [pause] Are you JC's mama? 
We thought that was pretty smart. 

At breakfast, James Amelie had scrambled eggs &  a roll with marmalade on their plates. 
JAMES: Salad dressing! I need salad dressing!
ME: What for? 
JAMES: Carrots! I need salad dressing and carrots right here!

James was saying "Yo ho ho," and I repeated "Yo ho ho" in a funny voice. James said, "You can't say that! Only pirates can say that!" 

James was lying on top of me & I put my arm around him.
James: Keep your hands to yourself.
Me: What?
James: That's what my teacher says. My teacher Ms. Annika. 
Me: But you're touching me.
James: No I'm not.

The kids were arguing in the car.
ME: What are you fighting over? Are you arguing about gum? 
KIDS: Yeah
ME: Is this imaginary gum? 
KIDS: Yeah
ME: Well then why don't you just imagine that you have more of it?
(Didn't work.) 

Amelie, talking about the "Happy Fayer! Day" card she wrote for Sam. "See that exclamation point? That's so he knows I really mean it."

Feral Children

These pictures are from about a month ago, when we were in the bootheel. Amelie and James showed an impressive propensity to getting just incredibly dirty.

I don't know what to do about the pants situation - a significant number of Amelie's leggings have holes in them. Jeans would hold up better, but it's too hot to wear them & she's so affected by mosquito bites that I'd rather he legs be covered (plus it protects her knees a little from being skinned & she can get leggings off and on by herself much easier than jeans). It's a conundrum.

Now Amelie is in the stroller.

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Amelie drew this cool robot.

Zoo

We went to the zoo right before I started my new job. I didn't manage to take very many photos, though (and none with me in them). We met our friends Sally and Hannah, but it was too hot & since Sally's expecting another baby it was too much for them to stay very long.

The sea lion exhibit is always nice (and cool).

And the kids love the bird house for whatever weird reason.

The giraffes were being very friendly.

This kid wasn't nearly as interested in posing, though.

Note from School

We got the nicest note from James's teacher. I thought I'd type it up here for posterity.

James has really grown this year. His verbal skills have always been amazing, and I love to hear his Pirate Jake stories. He tells me his first and last name, but he likes to tell me he is 5 years old. We are still working on showing me his age with his fingers. It is so hard to close those other fingers down. he can lace beads, open and close a container with a lid that screws on. James is able to use scissors to cut with one hand, but still uses 2 hands to open the scissors back up to cut again. And you saw the amazing person he drew. His gross motor skills have developed nicely as well - walking on tip toes, climbing up and down on step stools and climbers, and jumping. We will still work on pedaling and hopping. James loves to "read" books by himself, but it is great to see him interact and laugh with his friends too. He identifies shapes, counts and can give me 2 of something. He knows hard and soft, and can identify clouds, rain, sun, plants etc. in pictures. Since his birthday is in September, we will have him stay in my class this fall. There is another student with a fall birthday so he will still be with kids his own age. Depending on how things fall in Ms. Katie's class, we have been talking about moving these two kiddos up possibly in January of 2015. That way they will have 1 and 1/2 years in each class instead of 2 full years with me. It is all a juggling act so we will see. Let me know if you have any questions.

~Ms. Annika 

Doctor's Visit

Amelie's 5-year well-child check was Friday. Sam & I were both able to go (though it involved some convoluted drop-off and pick-up & driving all around town).

Stats!

Height: 3 feet, 4.75 inches, which is 40.75 inches, or 17th% according to the CDC chart
Weight: 39.6 pounds, which is 49th% according to the CDC chart

It's funny to me that she is nearly 40 pounds x 40 inches (and at her appointment last year, she was very close to 38 pounds x 38 inches). I was very surprised to see the 49th percentile for weight because she is so skinny - I was glad that the nurse gave her the two shots in her thighs instead of her tiny arms!

Speaking of shots, I hope now the school nurse will be satisfied. Various representatives from the school & summer school program have been harassing us since registration about them. I explained several times that her well-child check was scheduled for 2 weeks after her birthday & that she'd get the required Kindergarten boosters then.

Anyway, she was very brave (with the help of a safety sucker) and also very generous (she requested one to take home for James, too).

Professional Photos

With all the business, I nearly forgot about these! Lollipop Photography took some great pictures for us the day after Amelie's birthday.

Sam pointed out that the big leaves in the background look like wings. Don't let this kid's angelic appearance fool you -- he fell asleep in the car on the way over and woke up a cranky, cranky mess (in what is unfortunately becoming a theme the last few times we've had pictures done. Rhiannan worked miracles!)

There's the birthday girl!

Swing!

Nana Jana came up for the birthday party the next day & so was able to be in some of the pictures.

I was especially impressed with how many good pictures there were of the kids together -- that's what I always struggle to get!

Nana Jana plus Amelie.

Mama & Nana Jana :)

Drawing GIF

Drawing on the couch (with pens). Apparently we live dangerously around here.

Birthday Interview

 I very nearly forgot about the now-annual birthday interview! I sat down with Amelie and recorded these answers on Saturday.

1. How old are you? Four. Didn't you just have your birthday? Five. Why did you say you were 4? I don't know. Maybe because I used to be 4. 
2. What is your favorite color? Pink 
3. What is your favorite toy? Mickey. The great big Mickey? Yeah.   
4. What is your favorite game? Tag
5. What is your favorite song? Hmmm. Twinkle, Twinkle
6. What is your favorite animal? Lion
7. What is your favorite book? Hmmmm. What was it? It was Dangerously Ever After
8. What is your favorite movie? Sophia the First (I think this is technically a TV show & she's only seen it once.) 
9. What is your favorite thing to eat? Marshmallows 
10. Where is your favorite place to go? Bonkers 
11. Who is your best friend? Blake
12. What is something you learned last year when you were 4? Not to hit
13. What is something you'll learn now that you're 5? How to go to Kindergarten 
14. What is hard for you to do? Hop on one foot. I can't hop on one foot very long. 
15. What is your favorite thing to do? Play with my friends
16. What do you like about Mama? You like to let us watch TV when you're working 
17. What do you like about Dada? He sometimes lets us eat treats
18. What do you like about James? Sometimes he plays games with me
19. What do you like about yourself? (Laughs) That's a hard question. I'm very nice to other people. 
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Umm. An astronaut. What does an astronaut do? Work at NASA. What do they do at NASA? Build rocket ships and go out into outer space.