When Maddie decides she likes something, she REALLY likes it…and lately that is any card game she can get her hands on. Uno and Crazy 8’s are the current top faves, and lest you think this is a friendly thing she also LOVES to keep score. We need to play our best - she’ll hand over those “pick two’s” in a second if she has them! She’s also using the card games as a way to practice new expressions like:
- “Are you ready for this?” and “Oh, I’m so sorry.” (when she’s ready to hand you a particularly unfavorable card)
- “Bam!” (once she’s placed the card down)
- “You rat!” (the rare occasion when we give *her* the bad card)
I see smoky late night poker in her future. Wouldn’t she look cute in a green visor?
Thank you, A-ma, for playing 50+ games with her this weekend! We miss you already!
I did it! I convinced the girls to give swim team a try after all. This week they are going to “rookie camp”, which is where they figure out what level new kids are swimming at, and decide whether they can stay with the team all summer. It’s also a good opportunity for the girls to decide whether they like it or not themselves, without too much of a commitment.
Maddie (in the water below) has really been giving it her best the last couple of days. The water’s still pretty cold and she’s still on the fence about whether she wants to continue with it or not. We’re taking it one day at a time!
Both girls have clearly decided that the playground *next* to the pool is more fun than swim practice. Maddie showed off that she could go across the monkey bars all by herself - and then proceeded to do it another three times in a row! Maybe we’ll have her take up something more monkey-ish, like rock climbing, instead of swimming. By the way, somebody tell me when she got so tall! She’s looking particularly lanky these days.
Sophie knew even before swim team started that she wasn’t thrilled about the idea, and after two practices she’s now REALLY sure she doesn’t want to do it this year. I don’t blame her; she was one of the youngest in the group, and her having a cold right now doesn’t help her perspective on the experience.
More time to play on the swings then!
Daddy’s birthday was over the weekend and the girls decided that they would wrap Andy’s presents themselves. Here they are with great focus (and lots of tape) while making sure everything is covered up!
If you look closely behind Soph - yes, that’s Christmas wrap (a little penguin in a scarf). One of his gifts was too big for the normal paper and that was the only oversize roll we had. Oh well! Everyone can always use a little Christmas in April, right?
Delivering guaranteed smiles for the day - some happy campers as drawn by the ladies. I’m fascinated with how many extra fingers some of them have (of course, some have none, what does that mean?). Still, you can’t help but feel like any of these little guys would jump right off the page and give you a nice warm fuzzy hug.
Easter came and went, though Sophie got grounded from candy and dessert for a week just two days shy of the big day. She’s a tough one! But, it doesn’t seem to have affected her too much - at least she’s not showing it below!
We also made a wonderful discovery at the library the other day - a new edition of “Pippi Longstocking”, freshly translated and also illustrated by Lauren Child, creator of “Charlie and Lola”, which the kids love. I’d never read the books as a kid but we’re really having fun going through this one together - I think we read eight chapters yesterday and the girls were begging for more.
Probably one of the funniest things is they have started acting out everything they are listening to as I read it - so I may have to get two fiery-red braided wigs for them some time soon. Honestly though, it’s a great book to be reading to the girls. We just got to the chapter where Pippi goes to the circus, and she is challenging the Strongest Man in the World, “Schtrong Adolf”. When her friends tell her that there’s no way she can win because after all, he’s the strongest man in the world, she retorts, “Man, yes. But I’m the world’s strongest girl – keep that in mind!” Mad and Soph thought that was great - and I do too.
(Maddie may well be on her way to rough and tumble Pippi - note the shiner in the middle of her forehead. She walked right into a crossbar at the playground! Still cute as a button, though.)
Today was the annual trip to Old McDonald’s Farm at the girls’ preschool. Think about a few acres with petting enclosures peppered about, a train, pony rides, and numerous incongruous peacocks strutting around. Look carefully in the tree behind Sophie’s head; there’s even one perched in the branches up there. Guess it’s all fun for the kids, though personally once a year is enough for me. But, the weather was terrific, and we managed to be almost the last family there at the end of the school day! This time, Mad and Soph tried their hand at “fishing” in a little pond setup (it was filled with crayfish). Not many bites, although Soph managed to get something clawing at her line a couple of times.
“Hey! Peacock! Don’t go in that teepee!” Now…do either peacocks or teepees really go with farms?
No matter, the girls had a great time with their friends today anyway. And of course, with each other!