Brooklyn School Update

So how is Brooklyn liking school this semester???

You tell me!

(Valentine's Party)

(Patriotic Day)

(Petting Zoo on a rainy day)

(Western Day)



The teachers in her class are so nice to send out pictures EVERY day!  Each child is probably only in about 2 or 3 of the ones that they send out each day, but Brooklyn looks THIS happy in almost everyone they capture of her each day.  Unless of course she is working on a craft...

Her teachers say that she takes her crafts very seriously.

These mittens that she is working on the picture above and below were selected to be in the art show at their school!

Now notice what hand you see her using for her crafts...

yep, it's no coincidence

Our little B is a lefty!!

It also seems that she may be a bit of a tomboy...

She's such a climber

And would rather hang with the boys

And play with cars

than play with the kitchen and dolls with the girls.

My original plan was to try the napping thing again this semester,

but it has just been so good to get happy, positive and glowing reports each day,

that I've decided just to keep picking her up and letting her nap at home.

They say she is very obedient and cooperative at school and I would probably not believe it except they have pictures like these to prove it.

Standing patiently in line, wearing her hat and necklace, carrying her shaker and holding the rope???

She's even saying cheese and smiling for the camera!!!  Makes me so proud!

But then there are also pictures like this that tell a different story...

Which of these kids is not like the others?

 Right...that's Brooklyn (pink pigtails on the end) facing the wrong way during a puppet show.

And now it looks like she has been crying and is sitting in the teachers lap...hmmm.

They never mentioned this incident.  =)

(btw-this was pajama day at their school...she's wearing her cute "Pinkalicious" pjs...thanks Aunt Ash!)

Overall, though, I would say that this semester is going so much better now that the dark cloud of "the napping situation" is not hanging over our heads.  She still doesn't eat that well at school.  There has only been 1 day EVER at school that she has finished her lunch and it was at their Valentine's party...

where they brought in Chickfila =).

The teachers were so proud and happy to give me that report.  I was not even a little bit surprised.

Chickfila is our FAVORITE place EVER!!

But, if light eating is our worst problem these days and she is learning as much as she is,

I would say that school is a total success!!

I'll leave you with a couple of bonus pics from the petting zoo because it's kinda cute (in a make sure you immediately sanitize your hands afterwards kind of way) and I couldn't figure out how else to fit it into this post.  =)

AGHHHHH!!!

And your mouth!  Sanitize your  mouth!!

I was standing right there!  How did I not see that?!?

  I guess I was too intrigued by the horses green mane to notice???

Visit from the Vincenzo's

Our friends, the Vincenzo's, came all the way down from Northwest Arkansas (where we used to live) to visit us over the weekend and brought their 2 adorable sons, Anders and Hudson.  Both of their boys are almost exactly 2 months younger than our girls.  After the long car ride down, they were ready for an "adult only" night out so we took them to our favorite restaurant - BIN 303.

After a super-fun dinner and MUCH chatting and catching up, we were all refreshed and ready for our big Saturday at the Dallas zoo.

Love how our "macho men" have become total "dads"...pushing strollers (even double strollers)

at the zoo on a Saturday morning!

We headed straight to the food court first to cover the kids in sunscreen, feed the babies and grab a bite before seeing the animals and WOW, that part alone was an ADVENTURE!  The Moms took the kids to find a table while the Dads went to get our food.  Between poor Jennifer trying to nurse her baby outside with a cover on a windy day, two-year-olds with short attention spans (mostly referring to mine) and very slow service for food.  It was pretty wild!!  I had asked Eddie to get me something cool and refreshing like lemonade and he came back with this very thick, very red heavy syrupy drink...and have I mentioned that Chandler is very "grabby?"

This picture doesn't do it justice AT ALL.  Chandler and I were both SOAKED with this mysterious red syrup drink and the day had not even begun.  =)  Then finally we were on to see the animals!!

I felt like the kids were very entertained by the animals for like 45 minutes.

And then they were more interested in just walking around and were having a hard time staying with us, so Eddie had the great idea of riding the monorail!

It was a much needed break!

Oh yeah, due to the sticky red concoction and the fact that it was 86 degrees outside, Chandler spent much of the day pantless.  Classy, right?

After that we were all pretty worn out so we headed home and decided just to lay low and grill out for dinner.

The big kids got to run around and the babies just enjoyed being outside!

The next morning before the left, the babies finally got a chance to have a little playdate!

Loving them in their classic pink and blue...

Hey babies, smile for the camera!!

Chandler, open your eyes...Hudson, laugh at me...I'm making a fool of myself.

Seriously, guys???  All that work for the EXACT same picture?  btw - love the morning hair, Chandler =)

Anders was VERY sweet and had LOTS of fun playing with the babies, too!

And Brooklyn?  Right, nowhere near the babies.  =)

And after that last little bit of playtime, they had to hit the road to make the long trip back to NWA and we were sad to see them go.

We had so much fun and hope they come back to visit again soon!

Spring Break 2011

Potty Training Round 2 = FAILURE!

Shocking.  Even though we incorporated all of my fabulous solutions to the problems that we encountered during Potty Training Round 1, we still did not achieve success. (Success = doing ANYTHING on the potty)

They were very long days stuck in the house all day with just the 3 of us. 

We did manage to sneak in lots of fun, though, making brownies, finger painting, playing with play-dough, a new toy and reading new super-cool potty books.

(To any of you who may have EATEN these brownies, don't worry...she's only licking the spatula after we were done!)

After 2 1/2 days of hard-core training, we were all MUCH in need of a break and that is just what we got when the Buie's arrived!!

We all loaded up and went down the the Harbor (except for poor Eddie who had to work)!

Brooklyn was SOOOO EXCITED to see her cousins she could not contain herself.

I don't know that there was a moment she was not smiling, giggling or squealing with delight from the moment they got here until the moment they left.

Probably a most people would find the squealing and wildness very annoying, and I totally understand that, but I just can't help myself...I think they are the sounds of ULTIMATE happiness and I think it is really cute!

We took a walk down to the lighthouse and let the kids run around it FOREVER.  Again, probably super-annoying to the lady sitting on the bench trying to enjoy some calm peace and quiet.  Genuinely sorry, lady.  BUT I just feel like this is what being a kid is ALL ABOUT!  Pure innocent fun and happiness with no stress or worries at all about life!  Just watching how much fun they were having with each other COMPLETELY filled me with joy!

Then to finish off the night, they enjoyed some of B's homemade brownies with ice cream and milk!

And Natalie (at the far end of the island) finally got some good quality one-on-one time with Chandler!

The next morning Lawson helped me with Chandler while I got me and B dressed and ready and got breakfast made.  Man, I wish I could always have a 7-year-old around to help.  Thanks, La! 

Then after everyone was fed and dressed we squeezed in a little playtime outside before the Buie's had to leave.

Lawson and B looked so cute with their matching pigtails and dinem jackets!

Thanks for stopping by, Buies!  Let's do this again VERY soon!!

Nearly every waking moment of the rest of our Spring Break was spent outside:  in the backyard on the playset, across the street playing with the neighborhood kids, out for walks in the stroller or B riding her tricycle down the street with Chandler and I closely following.  But we did manage to squeeze in B's first EVER soccer practice.  I don't know if you can see how red her face is in the picture, but she had a total blast running around and getting her exercise!