Our little graduate!

We attended our first graduation event for one of our children last weekend. Gabby graduated from pre-school and will start kindergarten in the fall.

The graduation ceremony was so nice. The kids were all wearing green caps and gowns, and they had a nice little processional in (& out) and all the kids had very big smiles. The kids sang and danced to three songs... Yellow Submarine, Tortillas (in Spanish) and The Adios Song. There was a really cute slide show that had a few funny photos of Gabby in it. Next, each child received their diploma and was asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. It was funny to see "trends" develop as the kids were asked this question. One kid would say something different... and if it got a good response from the audience, then the next two or three kids would latch onto that career choice. Gabby latched on to an interesting one... telling everyone that she wanted to be a horseback rider. This is the first time I've ever heard her say this, so it was pretty funny & cute.

So far, included on Gabby's list of what she wants to be when she is older are: horseback rider, stylist, teacher, doctor, scientist doctor, cowgirl, nurse.

Gabby is able to read all by herself now, and we're going to continue to work on this skill as kindergarten approaches. She does so well when she concentrates on it and believes in herself! She also wants to write everything... from her name to full letters to people. She is constantly writing words that she sounds out on her own and it's so fun to watch this interest and desire to communicate with writing develop in her.

She is SO EXCITED for kindergarten to start. She keeps reminding me that she wants to ride the school bus. To which I fret, of course... because how do you just put your kid on a bus and expect they'll be ok?! Freaky concept to me right now! What if she falls asleep, what if she gets off at the wrong stop, what if someone is mean to her... ugh! But, then, Gabby always quickly reminds me "Mom, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE for this!!"

Don't mess with Giuliana & the baby stroller!

We were at a fun birthday party today to celebrate the 2nd birthday of our friend's twins. It was a great time and the kids had no problem jumping in and finding kids and toys that they liked playing with.

Mid-way through the party, Giuliana found a baby stroller and a baby... and suddenly, she was hooked. She wouldn't go anywhere without the stroller and the baby. She pushed the stroller through the house, down the sidewalk, on the grass... everywhere. And, she would frequently take her baby out, hold baby tight, then sit baby down in the grass... maybe in a chair, then put baby back in the stroller to push her around again.

There were a lot of little babies at this party and Giuliana was fascinated with these real-life little babies. Every time she came near one, she would stop and stare at the baby... say "baby" and watch intently what the mom or dad was doing. She saw babies getting diapers changed, burped, nursing, cuddled, and crying. It was obvious that she was completely entertained and interested in all of these little people. Then, she would go back to pushing the stroller around.

Several times, other little kids tried to play with the stroller. Giuliana did not like this. A 4 year old girl came up to her and sort of took the stroller from her... and Giuliana wasn't happy. But, she didn't cry - she actually looked more shocked. But, she was not about to go away. The mom came over and told the little girl she couldn't take the toy away from Giuliana.

Then, we witnessed other little ones 18mnths-2yrs of age go up and try to push the stroller. Giuliana would quickly motor along pushing the stroller not allowing the other little ones to touch it. A little guy, nicknamed Lucky, came up at one point and started pushing it and Giuliana could quickly be heard yelling and screaming "HEEEEEEEEEEEY!! HEEEEEEEEY!". We had to go over to her and try to explain that he could push it too, she had to share. But, she didn't care to hear that. A few minutes later a little girl started pushing the stroller. Giuliana went up and grabbed the little girls arm and yelled "Heeeeeey!" and quickly swiped the stroller from the little girl, and strolled off quickly. I hustled over and tried to tell Giuilana that she couldn't take the stroller from someone else, she had to share. But she didn't want to hear it and continued crying and screaming after I picked her up to let the other little girl use the stroller.

We decided it was time to leave. As we were gathering all our stuff, Giuliana got her hands on the stroller again. Ugh. I knew this was a bad thing. How were we going to leave without her screaming her head off when we took her away from the stroller?

Let's just say it didn't go so well. She screamed so hard and was so upset... my heart was torn! She screamed all the way to the car. Dan put her in the car seat, and she continued sobbing, screaming and pointing out the window. She wanted that stroller! She wouldn't even look at Dan or I, and wouldn't let me touch her leg to console her. She was SO MAD that we took her from that stroller. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.

So, being the sucker that I am... we stopped at Target on the way home and bought her an $11 baby stroller. The second she saw it - she smiled sooooo big.

Giuliana LOVES the baby stroller!!

Sugar & Spice... and PINK TUTUS!!!

Gabby had her very first dance show this past weekend and we couldn't have been more proud of her. In January, she started doing a combined ballet and tap dance class. She is constantly doing her dance moves at home and can frequently be overheard telling me how much she loves her dance class. She is also often asking anyone and everyone to watch her dance, and then she'll tip toe across the floor in very graceful form with a dreamy look in her eyes. It is so fun to watch her do things like this and know that she is truly enjoying and learning things at her dance class. This, of course, coming from the girl who at age 3 (just 2 short years ago) would not allow me to leave her alone in a dance class!

Anyway, we all went to Gabby show on Saturday night. He costumes were the pinkest of pinks, and her ballet tutu was the biggest, fluffiest tutu I have ever seen. Seriously. For her tap performance, they just had to swap out to tan nylons, tap shoes and a frilly 50's like skirt. I took a ton of photos and we also recorded each of her performances (3 total). It's fun to hear Gabby tell us that she was "SO nervous when the first curtain went up" and how "I heard you yelling my name and clapping for me". And, as much as she did a great job and impressed all of us with how much she remembered of her routine, we still managed to get a wave from her during each of her performances. And, we also had a good giggle during each of the performances when something silly would happen. So cute... I swear, the younger girls really steal the show at these dance show productions.

Rocco fell asleep shortly before Gabby's second dance and Giuliana did really well and seemed to enjoy the show until intermission and then Dan took Giuls and the rice-krispy-bar-treat-revived-Rocco out to the lobby to run around.

Gabby's performances were all complete prior to intermission, so she came into the audience with us but insisted on sitting in the very front row with her little dance classmates to watch the rest of the show.

After the show we gave Gabby flowers and took her out for dinner. It was a really fun night and she is already looking forward to dance class again next year!!
and has really LOVED it. This, of cou

Gym Jam!!

We are so proud of Gabby and her little team Mighty M.unchkin friends. They did such a great job at the Gym Jam last month. It was so much fun to watch the girls show off all their hard work, strength and the skills they've been working so hard at over the past year (actually, 6 months for Gabby since she started at this gym last November). All the girls received special medals and certificates at the end of the show. Gabby LOVES her medal and was so proud and happy about it.

I have been so impressed with this gymnastics program. They really work on a lot of conditioning, coordination and strength building skills with the girls. The instructors do a great job with keeping the girls focused and also making sure they have fun. Gabby loves that they consistently get to work on all of the different apparatus.

This might sound crazy, but over the past few months we've even noticed Gabby to have built a lot more muscle on her long & lean body. She's very coordinated and Dan & I both thought she did best on the balance beam (the teacher barely put hands on her to help her keep her balance).

If you asked Gabby what her favorite apparatus is she would tell you the bars. (She also LIVES on the monkey bars in our back yard... so no surprises there!) Gabby seems to really enjoy gymnastics, so we'll let her keep doing it as long as she's still loving it. She was in the twice weekly invite/developmental program, and has now officially advanced to Level I classes. So, we'll continue going twice a week to Level I classes throughout the summer and then see how it fits into our life when she starts full-day kindergarten in the fall.