Friday, April 15, 2011

spring-a-ling

Oh, wow. It's been ages since I've updated. (I seem to start too many posts with this sort of wording...) But better late than never, right! So what's new? Well...


Miss M is preparing for kindergarten next year. She's registered and everything, and at this point seems to be excited about the adventure. She just turned 5 and is really starting to act, talk, and look more mature. Almost gone is our preschooler...it's nearly time to call her a "big kid" grade-schooler!




Ali is developing quite the vocabulary! She's putting 2-3 words together and communicates very well. She also throws tantrums quite well. It's as entertaining as frustrating, I have to admit. Her first 2-word phrase was--no joke--"Ali toot." This evolved into "Mama toot," "Daddy toot," "Kappa (grandpa) toot" and so on. The kid definitely has a sense of humor




M is starting to read. She practices reading signs and the books we get from the library, and is doing very well. I haven't deliberately worked with her on this, but we read all the time and she loves to write her letters, so it's nice to see she has some inner drive and that it's paying off.


A still loves to dance and now likes to sing. Her favorites are "Toe, Leg, Toe" from a kids' cd, "How Much is That Doggy in the Window" (modfied version) and "The Wheels on the Bus." She can also identify piano and vibraphone when she hears them on a recording, and every time she hears vibes, says: "Daddy bibes!" Impressive!



We survived this years' long, cold winter and are thrilled to be heading into spring. Been spending lots of time in the backyard and at local parks. Kevin and I are looking forward to walking on the trail again. And I'm itching to get back in gardening mode (although we have already been able to harvest green onions, thanks to K's mini-greenhouse experiment last fall). We look forward to trips to Iowa City for the jazz festival this summer--Kevin's band is a featured group--and local trips to Starved Rock and Moraine View State Park, among other places.

Happy spring, y'all!


Birthday gift: a couple of molly fish.

Spring means redbuds in bloom and line-drying!






Clover girls.