Smile

This is the smile that gets this boy off the hook on a daily basis. He's lucky he's so cute. ;)

Zach on Being Sick

Zachary had a really lousy cold this week with a terrible, constant cough.  He was exhausted, we were exhausted, it was not good.  One afternoon he said to me, "Mama, I wish they had made me so that I wouldn't get sick."  I said, "Who?"  He said, "The people who made me."  I said, "Buddy, Mama and Daddy made you, remember?" He replied, "Oh yea.  Why did you make me so that I could get sick?"  Hmmm...I guess we're not as awesome as we had previously thought.

Later...

Zach: "I hate getting sick."
Me: "I know buddy, but you know, getting a little bit sick from time to time is not a bad thing!  You see, we have this system in our bodies called 'the immune system' and it's like a muscle.  If it doesn't have to fight off illnesses from time to time then it gets weak, and can't protect us when...
Zach: "Ooh, mom!  Look at this!"
Me: "Zach, didn't you want to hear my story about the immune system?"
Zach: "I don't really know that story...  OOH!  I KNOW!!  Can we BUY it??"
Me: Sigh...

And on a completely unrelated, but odd, note.

Zach: "Mom, remember that fat painter that was at our house?"
Really??  Did my son seriously just refer to someone as the "fat painter"??  Where have I gone wrong...

Negotiations

Yesterday afternoon, as I was "processing the backpacks" as I like to call it, I found a $1 bill in Lexi's folder.  I took it out and left it on the table.  When she came home she said, "Oh, was this the dollar from my backpack?"  I told her it was, and asked her what it was from.  She said, "Oh, well Camilla always wants to borrow my crayons, like everyday, so finally today I told her she could borrow it but she would have to pay me a dollar a week."  Incredulous, I said, "She agreed to pay you a dollar a week for a crayon?  Does she get to keep it?"  "Well," Lexi replied, "She gets to have a new crayon each week."  I exclaimed that Lexi would end up not having any crayons of her own and she said, "No, she has to give me the first crayon back, and then for another dollar she can have another crayon for the week."  I didn't really know what to say.  She had apparently negotiated a crayon lease program that this other little girl seems to have agreed to.  She does have totally cool crayons, and as long as I don't have to buy her new ones, I guess I see no reason to not let this deal go through.  But I did have to ask one more question...  "Where did she get the dollar?"  "From her purse."  Oh, of course.  What first grader doesn't carry around a purse full of cash.  I hope she had her lunch money...

Evolution

Today was the day that Lexi has prepared for since September - her 2013 Dance Recital called Evolution!  Her class, and Lexi in particular, was phenomenal this year, and their dances were beautiful!  She started with a beautiful ballet dance to the song "Imagine".  Watching all those pretty 1st graders dancing so beautifully to this song was really a tear jerker!

Proud Mama before the show!

 Her next dance was to "You'll be In My Heart".  The formation changes, and wonderful moves in this dance were very impressive!

But the amazing tap dance done to "Symphony of the Seas" was such a treat!!  Her class performed the first 1st grade pinwheel in the history of Nancy Chippendale's!  They pulled it off marvelously, and the entire audience was very impressed!  I was very proud of all of the girls.  

 

Her adoring public!

Vann and Gino were amazing as always!

Our post recital lunch was also fun...though I'm not sure what the boys were doing here, exactly!

I adore watching Lexi dance.  She is a beautiful dancer and works very hard to perfect her moves.  I love getting to see the result of all of her hard work at the end of the year.  We were thrilled to find out that she has been invited into a special "invitation only" second grade dance class next year.  What an honor!  She is very excited to see what next year, Nancy Chippendale's 35th year, will have in store!