Out for a Ride

Katie has loved riding her tricycle this year even though it's getting a little small. She has gotten so much more control over her pedaling and steering skills that it's pretty exciting for her.

There are so many fun things to do in the summer! 

I feel like a master on my tricycle this year! 

I only bump into the curbs once in awhile now.

Finding a Sprinkler

When my mom and I took Katie out on a walk on a hot summer day, she was excited to find a sprinkler that  was hitting the sidewalk!

Was that something cool that I just felt? 

Water feels so good on a hot day! Let's just stand here!

Visiting the Rooftop

When we went to the library one day, we took Katie up to the Rooftop Terrace to look around the city. She was more excited to find a bench she could crawl on than she was about the view, but at least she had fun!

It's always a happy moment when I find a bench!

Thank You

Katie got a second package from my friends, Joe and Noreen. She was very happy to open it and add to her collection of magnets!

I always love to get cards from Grammy Noreen! 

As soon as I pulled out this bag, I squealed that, "I got a new magnet!" 

Thank you for the gift! It's already on my refrigerator!

Princess Dance Camp

After Katie's summer dance classes ended, I decided to sign her up for a three-day Princess Dance Camp. I looked at it in two ways. 1. I knew Katie loved dancing, princesses, and her summer dance teacher who was teaching the class, so I knew it would be fun for her. 2. I looked at it as an experiment to see how she'd handle longer periods being away from me since Pre-School is coming very soon.

The camp consisted of dancing, story time/snack, arts and crafts, and more dancing each day. Everything was related to princesses. Over the three days, Katie got to focus on Elsa, Anna, Ariel, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana, and Merida. On the last day, the class had a small performance to show some of what they had learned.

Katie really enjoyed the classes, but she was so tired by the end of day three. Even with the tiredness, I'm glad she had the experience of going and she did well. She truly loves going to the dance studio. Her teachers make dancing so much fun. She has continued to ask me each night which princess she gets to focus on next.

I was packed up and ready to go on day one. My mom let me pack my things in my school backpack, so I'd get used to it for school. 

We were excited to put on a show. 

I like to stand in my ballet positions. 

My friend and I were the youngest ones at the dance camp. 

We got to practice walking with balloons to help us learn arm positions. 

For our last dance, we got to use the wands that we decorated.

This was when I got a turn to walk in my ballet position.

"Helping" Set Things Up

As fall was quickly approaching, I went back to my classroom to get it set up for my students. Katie came with me this year since she wanted to help. We spent some time talking with my principal who gave Katie a pair of new sunglasses, which have become treasured. Then we went to set up my classroom. Katie spent most of the time using the wooden blocks to build Winnie the Pooh's Hundred Acre Woods.

When we left, Katie said, "I love your house!" (That's what she calls my school.) I asked her why she liked it, and she thoughtfully said, "It's beautiful and wonderful-ly. Your queen (my principal) is beautiful and wonderful-ly too. She's not the evil queen!"

Look what the queen gave me!

Words of Wisdom

Back when Katie had her fairy portraits taken, I was looking for a quote to put on one of the pictures. I looked at quotes about fairies, fairy tales, and imagination. I wasn't shocked to find quite a few quotes. I was surprised to find so many quotes by Albert Einstein. He makes the hours that we dedicate to reading fairy tales, acting out fairy tales, playing dress-up, and playing with princesses seem very important. I was glad to find another supporter of imaginary play! Although I ended up choosing a different quote for the picture, I still think of his words quite often. Here are some of my favorite quotes I found.

Summer's Last Story Time

Katie has really enjoyed everything about her weekly library story time this summer. She particularly enjoyed the last visit.

After our first story that had a train in it, we got to create our own train. 

I was a little distracted at times with the Cinderella costume behind me. It was beautiful. 

It's so much fun to listen to stories. 

Of course I always love the bubbles too! 

We got to use dot paint for our art project. 

I think mine looked like a rainbow!

Playing Candyland

Katie loves to play Candyland with Aunt Jennifer. Since she started playing, she has begun to understand rules in the game. Luckily she's okay with winning or losing as long as she gets to the castle with "Barbie" on the board.

 I love to play games with Aunt Jennifer more than anyone else!

Blackberry Adventures

We are enjoying every last blackberry that we can while blackberry season lasts. The other night, Katie took my mom on one of her blackberry-hunting adventures.

While Grandma picked berries, I posed for a picture!

Summer Dance in Review

Katie's love of dance continues. She really enjoyed her classes this summer. Like always, she liked ballet better than tap, but she was excited about both. It was a good experience for her to adjust to a new teacher, but she was also very excited when her former teacher was a substitute one week. During the first two weeks, Katie's class was really full, so the class was broken into two smaller classes. After the split, Katie's new class alternated between two and four students, which meant she got lots of individual attention and help. It was great! (All of the videos except the last one were filmed outside of the studio, so you don't hear much other than the other moms talking.)

When the summer started, I had a lot of kids in my class! 

In a short while, my class was small. I liked it! 

We had fun practicing together. 

I was excited to see Ms. Moriah again!

This summer, I got pretty good at riding my air bicycle. 

We got to practice a lot in front of the mirror. 

We practiced different positions. 

I like to follow my teacher. 

It was a good summer of learning!

My jumps and balance kept getting better!

I learned a new way to bow.

This video summarizes my summer. My head is just the right height to hit everything in its way.

This was one of our ballet dances we learned.

We practiced leaping like ballerinas! My friend and I didn't look quite like our teachers, but we sure had fun!

This was the tap dance that we performed for our parents on the last day of our class.

Greetings from Vermont

My friends, Noreen and Joe, recently took their annual trip to Vermont. Katie was so happy to get a postcard from them and see the moose on the front.

 Thanks for thinking of me!

A Driveway Surprise

When I was outside with Katie, she asked me if she could go out and dance on her stage, or driveway as I like to call it. She went running out to dance when we saw something moving. I went to see what it was and found a baby snake. At first Katie was scared and didn't want to come near it, so I gave the snake a name. "It's okay. George is a nice snake!"

Like usual, as soon as something has a name, it was no longer scary to Katie. Just as Fred the Fly or Walter the Worm or Sarah the Snail, and they'll all admit to becoming Katie's friend with a simple name. After they became friends, we watched George until her escaped into our neighbor's garage.

 There's a snake over there!

After I was introduced to George, I liked to watch him move. 

Can you see where he escaped?

Enjoying George - Part I

Enjoying George - Part II

The Jigsaw Puzzle

One of the presents Katie got for Jennifer on her birthday was a Cinderella jigsaw puzzle because, "I love Cinderella so much!" I knew Jennifer liked doing jigsaw puzzles once in a while, and it was a pretty puzzle, so I let Katie get it.

I decided to help Jennifer here and there with the puzzle, and we both agreed that it was one of the hardest puzzles we ever did. So much for a fun puzzle! Just like always, Jennifer never gave up until the puzzle was complete. She finished it while Katie was asleep. When Katie woke up, she was thrilled to find a finished project.

Aunt Jennifer turned all of those pieces into a beautiful picture!

Relaxing After the Dentist

Katie has developed a strong liking of her dentists. They treat her so well. I can't say enough good things about them. However, her last visit was a little stressful - mostly due to the timing. On the day of her appointment, the office called to see if I could come in an hour earlier. I agreed without thinking that I would have to wake up Katie from her nap. She cried all the way to the dentist. "I don't want to go!"

After the short drive there, Katie was still crying and resisting, so I took her on a walk around the parking lot. It didn't do any good. I spent as much time as I could trying to calm her down, but eventually I had to just pick her up and carry her into the office. By the time we walked in, Katie wasn't crying but didn't want to be there.

Luckily, they were running a few minutes late. Katie was able to play with the train set and watch a bit of Frozen, which got her ready for her appointment. It was a longer appointment, and I was so proud of Katie - especially knowing how the whole adventure started.

When we got home, Katie saw her pool and just wanted to get in and relax. How could I say no after her day?

I love my dentists, but... 

…I was so glad to be back home, relaxing in my pool.

Shadow Fun

As the sun was hitting our dining room wall one evening, I noticed that Katie was having a lot of fun posing and watching her shadow. I missed some of her best princess poses, but I captured some of her action poses.

Pose #1

Pose #2 

Pose #3

Pose #4

 Pose #5

Pose #6