Extracurricular Activities

Over the summer while Emily and Addison were doing their once a week morning fun class at Little Lights, I did my first mommy and me class with Elizabeth. We went to a Music Together class in Longmont for six weeks. It was SO fun to have the special one-on-one time with Elizabeth, and because music and dancing really do seem to be her thing (she wiggles to the beat almost any time she hears music) so the music class was just perfect. I didn't get to take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but I have lots of wonderful memories. She got to play instruments during each class, and really seemed to gravitate towards the bells and drums. (The bells were on little circles of webbing, and she liked to wear them as bracelets.) We also did an activity with scarves or ribbons in every class, and she really enjoyed waving these around. Here's a little video of a ball activity to music. Elizabeth really loves balls, and "bah!" was one of her first words.


I'm hoping that next summer we'll be able to get a similar schedule going so that Elizabeth and I can do another mommy and me type class.

The big girls have recently started a ballet class at the Thornton Community Center. They were very excited to pick out their tutus at a fun dance store in Fort Collins with Wendy and Rose, and were super excited to put their ballet outfits on for their first class last Monday. This class will last through December and ends with a recital. Oh what fun!

The class is 40 minutes long and is a drop off class, but parents get to observe for the last 5 minutes of each class. Elizabeth and I had a great time while the girls were dancing (there is a walking path and a couple playgrounds right outside the building) and then watching the girls dance for a few minutes at the end was so fun!

This video makes me giggle. I think both the girls were so focused on standing on their assigned number and they were distracted by me and my camera (notice Emily smiling at me). I showed them this video and showed them how the other girls were doing what the teacher was doing...hopefully they'll be doing that next time! :)

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Broadcast to Bring You...

The First Days of School!

I just couldn't wait to share the excitement! 

Addie had her first day at Tarver on August 22nd. She is attending two half days a week, and so far she is LOVING it! Her teachers are Miss Amy and Miss Peggy, and Miss Kirstin, Miss Tracy, and Miss Sharron rotate between the two preschool rooms. She comes home every day with lots of stories, and has already begun making friends. Charlotte likes to hold her hand, and Tye wears a diaper to school, but she likes to play with him on the playground. She has an Addie in her class and they're friends, too. On Friday she came home with a super star sticker, and she was so proud to tell us about how she'd earned it (by tapping a friend on the shoulder and telling them, "Hi I'm Addison, what's your name?")

Emily had her first day of preschool at Little Lights on September 3rd. She is also attending two half days a week, and she's being such a brave big girl during her first experience being all on her own without Addie by her side. She says she feels a little shy at school, but she's only had two days so far. Her teachers are Miss Michelle (her FAVORITE teacher from the summer fun program) and Miss Jenn. Miss Jenn didn't teach this summer, and Emily was a little nervous to meet her, but has discovered that she's super nice ("Just like Miss Shell!")

 

I'm so proud of both of these brave, smart, loving girls and I know they're going to have great school years! We love you Addison and Emily!

While You Were Away

This year we did our summer Michigan trip a little differently. Chris and the big girls flew out four days before Elizabeth and I. Chris got to have his full 10 days at home, and I got to have 4 days of alone time with Elizabeth. It worked out perfectly. Elizabeth and I had a lot of fun on our own. A few of the highlights...

Elizabeth had the dress up box all to herself, and she had a blast picking out different outfits and accessories.

We built a tall tall tower, and Elizabeth got to admire it and then knock it down!

True to her style of turning anything circular into a bracelet, Elizabeth created this signature look...

We walked around holding hands. 

Our raspberries were just beginning to turn red, and we spent a lot of time in the raspberry patch, picking and eating.

Late afternoon shadows in the sandbox...

My biggest accomplishment during the few days "off" was finishing the pillow shams I've had in mind for the big girls ever since the cozy corner was created. 

Then it was off to Michigan for us! We were ready to see family and swim in the lake!