....and they called her Cinderella

We are talking about helping out around the house and school with Faith recently. Tonight she was such a good helper. She decided to clean the table off from supper with a wet washcloth. Then she proceeded to clean all the chairs, the cupboard, the fishtank, her toys in her room, the bathroom sink, the bathroom door, the hallway floor,her boat and her CD's while in her underwear and shirt. She returned to the bathroom often to rewet her washcloth and continue where she left off. Faith was so busy that the entire time the missionaries were here she did not make one peep. When I asked her if she could come say "hi" she told me that she could not. She was busy cleaning like Cinderella. I think the time has come that she may enjoy watching bits and pieces of this movie.

The hitter

Faith was one of those children that a mom thinks, where did she learn that from? On Wednesday one of her friends was holding a belonging that didn't belong to her. Faith told her to give it back to her friend however the little girl did not listen. Faith took it upon herself to hit the little girl in the face with a leggo. Then she was faced with the fact that she had to walk her to the nurse, give her a hug, and say she was sorry. As if that wasn't enough she also pushed a little boy out of a chair she wanted after he refused to move. Today, however was much better. Her teacher said it must have been a fluke. I hope so and I hope that I never get a report like I did yesterday. Today she said, "I had a better day mommy. A good day." A good day is a great day for me.

A field trip morning

This morning Faith went with her class on a field trip. They have all been talking about dental hygiene the last few weeks and community helpers so what better place to visit to finish the month than a trip to the fire station and pediatric dentist. Each time we go to the fire station, Faith will not get into the fire truck. However her teacher went up with her and she enjoyed sitting in the driver's seat. She was learey about the fire man in his fire gear. She wouldn't give him a high five. She was just stand offish. He does look kinda scarey. But she says, "the fireman is our friend." The fire station gave each of the children a firechief sticker badge and their own helmet to take home. The visit to the pediatric dentist did not interest her too much. She said she did not have fun. When I asked her what the dentist does, she informed me that the dentist drills your teeth out. Ok, Faith, but I think he might do some other things also. I can tell that she has listened to the reoccurence of words spoken in our house when we speak of candy or sweets.

What she's been up to

Well, Faith has been a busy bee keeping Bud and I on our toes. She is working on controlling her emotions and anger which makes the house chaos sometimes. This morning she is playing playdough before school making french fries for me. Who could ask for a better breakfast right? She has learned all her letters of the alphabet and 99% of the sounds they make. We bought her some word making cards for Valentines day along with a number cards game up till 20. She is counting to thirty by herself and then past 50 with me helping her with the forty and fifty. Her writing is improving. For Valentines day she wrote her name for Bud. I told her how the letters go and she wrote it on her own. She's excited about the snow this morning and the possibility that one of our fish is going to have babies. The sight of my belly getting bigger makes her realize that there really is a baby in there and she is going to be a big sister. This week is going better since I am not working so late. We can be together more in the evening.

Little girls and tea

What cuter thing can I imagine than Faith and two friends dressed in their prettiest tea attire sitting down to a birthday tea party. Yes, it was adorable. No, my camera did not stop clicking the entire time. It was like the girls were wondering why all their moms thought this was so cute. Faith came dressed in her blue Narnija dress, princess crown, bracelets, and high heels. She was set. There was music playing at the minature table, chocolate covered strawberries, fresh fruit, cream cheese/jelly sandwiches, hot apple cider (tea), cupcakes, cookies, and grape juice. Faith was given a princess headwrap complete with long ribbons that trailed down her back to the floor. She sipped her tea with her friends...only after I put water in it. The girls colored a giant coloring picture of a unicorn and princess, played in the birthday girl's room, and just had a wonderful time. Little girls are sweet. I wonder what the coming months will bring as she slowly emerges from a two year old into a three year old?

Happy Valentine's Day

To all of our family, we love you. Happy Valentine's Day. Today was a wonderful day. Faith woke up to the sight of a huge Dora balloon in her front room. "Mommy, did I sleep in long enough?" Yes, you can get up now. She was so excited. She ran over to me, gave me a huge hug, followed by a kiss and a Happy Valentine's wish. I wish that she would do that every morning. She took her balloon to Bud and brought him his card she made. Then she gave him him balloon, bear, picture frame for work, and her card that she wrote her own name on. We enjoyed our morning just lounging around the house and after nap we decided to go swimming. Yes, me and my big belly put on the swimming suit and ventured into public. Surprisingly it made me feel somewhat pretty. Faith really had fun jumping into the water and going under. She didn't even get scared. Quite the brave little one. Before I knew it she was climbing on the wall and jumping in all by herself without waiting for my hand. We played Finding Nemo in the pool. She was Nemo and I was the shark chasing after her. After that we enjoyed a nice dinner at Chili's and then it was off to the house for strawberries and chocolate. Bud, gave me a chocolate covered strawberry. We tried to be romantic about it but it just didnt' happen. He ended up having ice cream with whipped topping and chocolate. How unhealthy can that be. Faith enjoyed plain strawberries and I enjoyed some green jell-o. We had a wonderful day. Happy Valentine's Day to each of you. May you all know how much you are loved even when you are far away.

Faith's first playdate

Faith had her best friend from school over on Saturday. We will call her E. E was so excited that she didn't sleep the night before. She kept asking if it was time to go to Faith's house. Finally at 6am her mother got her to sleep for an hour. She arrived after nap with a smile on her face. Faith had just woke up. She was excited also. She had been talking about it all week. The girls started off with a tour of Faith's room followed by getting out all the dress up clothes. E was the Narnija princess and Faith was Cinderella. The clomped down the hall in their heels and then headed back down to her room. Snack came next. Those two can eat. They decided to play hide and seek next. They ran back and forth down the hall just screaming and laughing. After trashing her room we decided to head outside after they mentioned they wanted to play tag. We all headed outside to the 65 degree weather. They played in the mud, looked for bugs, picked up sticks, petted the horses, slid down the cellar door, played t-ball, painted a picture, ate some jell-o and just had a good time. When is was time for E to leave, Faith came in side crying. She hugged me around the neck, nudged her head into my neck and sobbed. It was sad. She loves E. They are really the best of friends. As they sat at her picnic table and ate snack, E said, "Are you my best friend?" Faith said, "forever."

The song to go along

You are my sunshine

You are my sunshine. My only sunshine. You make me happy when clouds are grey. You never know dear how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. I don't know where she learned it from. I didn't teach it to her. But she sang it to me last night before bed. I wanted to cry. Sometimes she has such a hard time controlling her emotions and just breaks down. I hug her and make her feel better. She is my sunshine also. And makes me happy. She'll never know how much she makes me happy. Please, don't take my little sunshine away.

The Hibachi

For a change in food, we all decided to try out a Japanese Steak and Seafood Grill today. Bud had eaten at one in Miami and enjoyed it. I've never experienced a Hibachi grill before and it was awesome. We sat around this table with a grill in the middle. I didn't realize the grill itself was hot until the master chef lit it on fire. I thought Faith was going to jump out of her seat with terror. So needless to say, after that fire we all said "no fire" again and again. Faith watched him spin an egg and then toss it into the air. He caught it on his spatula two or three times only to slip it into his pocket. She watched in amazement as he quickly sliced her veggies and stirred and flipped her fried rice. It tasted good she said as he plated it up for her. They had wonderful sauces to dip our chicken and steak in. Bud ate all his food and I also cleared my plate. Faith didn't eat all hers so guess what I get for lunch tomorrow. It was a really neat experience however we decided that it would be a better activity for a birthday celebration or anniversary. Price doesn't allow for just a Sunday dinner.