Thomson School Arts and Academic Night

On Wednesday evening we had the extreme pleasure of visiting Lexi's school for their Arts and Academic Night.  The evening began with a performance put on by the two Kindergarten classes.  Their phenomenal music teacher, Mrs. Dragosits, worked hard with the children all year to teach them how to sing beautifully as a group.  She gave us a demonstration of how she taught them about pitch, and then asked them to do the same demonstration with the parents.  You can see the two videos of this here and here. Next she had the children sing a beautiful song to us in French, and then they topped off their performance with a beautiful rendition of "Wonderful World".  I believe that an amazing music teacher at young age is a gift to any child, so I am very grateful for the hard work that Mrs. Dragosits does with the children.  She could easily sing nursery rhymes with them each day and move on, but instead she chooses challenges, and really teaches the children something about music.  I was so thrilled to see the final product of all of that hard work.

After the musical performance, we were invited back into the classroom to see all of the work Lexi's done throughout the year.  It was extremely crowded, so we didn't have as much time to see everything as we would have liked, but it was great getting to ready her weekend news journal, and check out her science notebook.  They are really working on some nice projects in her class. 

After spending some additional time roaming the hallways looking for her posted artwork...

...we let the kids run around on the playground for awhile.  I am very impressed by the confidence Lexi has gained on the playground over the school year.  I had an opportunity to watch her interact with some of her friends, and show off her climbing skills.  She has been working hard to master the monkey bars, and was very excited to make it to the third bar while we were playing that evening.  I can't get enough of watching her face a challenge and simply refuse to give up until she gets it right.  That attitude is going to take her very far in life.

It was a wonderful evening all around.  I told Lexi later that I wished we could have Arts and Academic Night every night.  She said that it would be a lot of work to learn that many songs.  :)

Laughing

It drives me crazy when the kids bicker.  I simply can't stand it when I can hear them arguing and then they come running in to tell me what the other has done.  The other night I could hear yelling and then one saying, "I'm going to tell Mom!" and the other exclaiming, "I'm going to tell before you do!" followed by their thunderous footsteps through the house to where I was in the computer room.  As they came running in I turned to greet them with a huge, excited smile on my face.  Not sure what to make of it, Zach began by telling me that Lexi hit him and scratched him.  I nodded excitedly, and then turned to Lexi with my huge smile and said, "And what did he do to you??"  Looking slightly confused, but not willing to miss her turn to tell on Zach, she explained that he had ripped the book right out of her hands while she was reading it.  I laughed loudly and said "Oh my gosh, you two!  What a great story!!  Thank you so much for sharing it, it was hilarious."  Leaving them with totally confused looks on their faces (but no longer bickering because they were now united in concern over mom's mental state), I went upstairs to change for my run. 

A minute later Zachary came up to see me.  "Mom...I was downstairs throwing the ball around in the kitchen, and it knocked over one of your pictures."  I turned to look at him with a stern expression and was about to tell him that this is why we don't allow him to play with balls in the kitchen when he interrupted me and said, "Remember that laughing thing you were just doing?  How about we do that again!"

Everybody Dance!

Last weekend was the 33rd Annual Dance Recital at Nancy Chippendale's Dance Studio, and the star of the show (at least in my eyes) was Lexi!!  She danced in three performances this year. 
Jazz - "Bring it All Back"

Ballet - "Allouette"

Tap - "Broadway Bound"

The dances were much more complex this year, than last, with formation changes and very fancy footwork.  Lexi took it all in stride, and even had to direct a couple of the kids when they forgot their moves on stage.  She has such confidence in her dancing now, and like her mom, loves the hubbub of recital week with all the running around and costume changes.  And, of course, nothing is more exciting than meeting your adoring fans after the show!

After the amazing recital, we all met at our favorite restaurant, Jamie's, to have a nice relaxing lunch with Grammy and Grampy, Gigi and Poppy, Miss Annie, as well as the "DiButzo" clan, Marcie, Paul, Marcie's parents, Gino, and superstar tapper Vann. 

It was a phenomenal day.  More pictures from my mom are here.

Gymnastics Graduation

After a rough start to our school year, trying to find a gymnastics school  that was a good fit for us, Zachary and I finally found Interstate Gymnastics where we have had a blast every week in a constantly changing class with very easy going, and involved instructors.  I can't say enough for this class, and especially Miss Donna and Miss Terri, who have been amazing with Zach.  Today was his last day, and in true Interstate Style, they put on a great graduation performance, and sent all of the kids home with medals and diplomas.  It was a great morning.  I was able to get a few pictures and videos for your viewing pleasure.

Zach loves flipping over the bar!

Tadaa!!

The kids earned a sticker for each area of the performance.

Rolls!  Check out the paparazzi in the mirror.  :)

Everyone took a bow.

Zachary's completed report card.

All the kids received a medal and diploma.

Zachary's class.

Zach with the two best gymnastics teachers!  Miss Terri and Miss Donna.

Video of Zach on the beam

Video of Zach on vault

Video of Zach on floor.

BYC Commissioning 2012

Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to attend Grammy and Grampy's Yacht Club (Bristol Yacht Club) Commissioning.  It's a nice ceremony marking the beginning of the sailing season, and because Grampy is the Commodore of the club this year, it was a very big deal. 

The ceremony was nice - short and sweet.  But it began with a flag raising ceremony which was started with the firing of the cannon.  As a special treat, Zachary was the one who got the fire the cannon!!  It was very cool, and he has not stopped talking about it since.  Daddy went with him, and told me later that the reverberation from the cannon was intense, and he was very surprised that Zach didn't cry!  As you'll see in the video, he was a bit shocked, but very excited when Daddy removed the head phones so that he could hear the adoring crowd cheering for him.  He was a little star.

Getting ready for his big job!

 

We're ready!

The BYC Board.  Grampy is on the far left.

Zach getting his final instructions.

Flag raising

Very happy little boy!

Zachary wasn't the only one who got to perform that evening.  Grammy sang "God Bless America" as part of the ceremony, and brought Lexi up with her for moral support.  They did a great job!

Grampy also made a very nice speech, that I did not catch on video, unfortunately.  He really did a wonderful job.

Zach and Grampy enjoy their dinner.

"I'm kind of a big deal..."

We are all very proud of Grampy, and enjoyed a wonderful evening and dinner at his club.

Mother's Day 2012

Dear Lexi and Zachary,

This morning, when I woke up and came downstairs, I was greeted with a huge smile, hug so strong it almost choked me, and a "Happy Mover's Day!!" (Zach), and also a quiet arm around my waist and head placed on my shoulder so that I could kiss it right on the very top (Lexi), and I felt loved.  You two are different in so many ways. 

Lexi, the eternal rule follower who never even mentioned that you were working on a Mother's Day project for me until you placed your surprise into my hands, and Zachary, the eternal story teller, who greeted me at daycare one afternoon by telling me that you were not going to tell me about the necklace that you had made me for Mother's Day.  (Temporary Note - I have not yet received the necklace from Zachary, as Fadia had an accident at the daycare and had to close for a couple of days.  I'll post that picture on Tuesday)

But you both make me feel so loved in so many little ways.  The little tiny things that you both do every day, probably without even noticing that you're doing them are the things that make my heart swell with joy and pride.  You are you.  There is no one else on the whole planet like you.  You are brother and sister, my son and my daughter, created from my DNA, and you are different.  And even though you're different, I love you both equally with an intensity that I had no idea existed before I knew you.  Today is a day to celebrate Mothers, but you are the ones who gave me that title.  You made me Mommy, Mama, Mum, and today I just want you to know that I am so honored to own that title.  I am blessed and honored to be your Mother.  You both make my heart sing and my world complete and I can't imagine what my life would be without you.  So thank you, Lexi and Zachary, for being just what I need every day, and for making me feel loved in your own special ways.  I hope I make you feel just as loved in my own special ways, because you are the two most important people in my world.  Today I celebrate you.

Happy Mother's Day.  I love you with all my heart.

Love,
Mama

Say It With Certainty, Please.

When Zachary wakes up in the morning he starts talking, and does not stop speaking again until he is snoring at night.  He must be a part of every conversation, and always has something to tell you, "Mama, guess what?..."  Because I am home with him four days a week, we have a LOT of conversations and he asks me a LOT of questions.  In general, I love this.  I love answering questions for three year olds because sometimes they ask really insightful questions that are full of innocence, and they are such an amazing way to discuss really important topics, and instill the important values of our family.  But sometimes I just don't know the answer to his questions, and unfortunately for me, that is completely unacceptable to Zachary.  Here is an example of what happens when I don't know the answer to a question.  The question always changes, but what comes next is the same every time...

Zachary - "Mama, is that man's name Harold?"
Me - "I don't know Zachy."
Zach - "Is it?"
Me - "I don't know."
Zach - "But is it?"
Me - "I don't know buddy, I don't know his name."
Zach - "But is it?"
Me - "I don't know."
Zach - "Is it?  Say 'yes.'"
Me - "Yes."

We easily have this conversation ten times every single day.  I have tried to explain to him that sometimes I just don't know if the answer is yes or no, so I have to say that I don't know, but that gets me no where.  I have, on occasion, continued to say "I don't know" to see how long he'll let it go on.  In all cases I get bored of the game before he does, and finally, defeated, give in with my "yes".

He won't even accept an "MmmHmm" as a response.  It must be a firm and sure "yes" or "no" in all cases.

Zachary - "Mom, did you see that bird?"
Me - "MmmHmm."
Zachary - "Say yes."
Me - "Yes."

This one kills me because my least favorite teacher in elementary school would not allow you to answer in the affirmative unless you said "Yes".  "Yup", "Yea", etc. were all unacceptable.  If I answered "yup" to her question, she would keep asking me, "What??" until I answered properly.  It drove me crazy.

So, now rather than instilling positive family values, I'm basically lying to my kid about ten times each day.  "Is Grammy eating lunch right now?"  "Yes."  "Is it going to rain three weeks from Tuesday?"  "Yes."  "Are there aliens living on Mars?"  "Yes."  "Is this phase going to end soon?"  "Yes."  And then I'll probably miss it...