A climber

Faith has shown the need to climb both at school and at home. So we decided to remove the tire swing from the back yard, cut the rope in half and make a rope swing in the front yard. Now she can run and grab a hold of the rope to swing. When she gets really strong she can shimmy up the rope. The other half of the rope made a new tire swing in the back yard. She definitely loves to climb. I not only hear about her climbing on the shelves and tables at school, she now seems to call herself Spidergirl as she climbs up the doorway. Yes, that is right. The door way. She gets half way up the doorway and then jumps down. Sometimes I think that if I were as crazy when I was her age that is probably why I was placed in gymnastics too.

Fire girl

What do you get when fire girl goes to Antartica? A beautiful little girl dressed like this.

Happy birthday daddy

Tuesday was Bud's birthday. When Faith called him up on the phone on the way to school she said, "so what should we do for your birthday?" "Do you want to go out and eat or something?" She picked her favorite restaurant, one with a huge fish tank filled with huge fish. So that was the plan until 3:30pm when I realized that she is tired when she leaves school and Champ falls asleep or cries because he has had a long day also. So I called Bud and asked if we could do it on Saturday instead. Then we don't have to deal with that particular city's traffic and everyone is in super moods. Bud's birthday went well. Couldn't find a candle and sure couldn't get the kids in a good mood but the cupcakes were wonderful.

Silly Milly

Faith is learning to read and this was her next accomplishment. After reading it in class and then looking at it herself she decided to read it to me the other night. I told her "you can read that all by yourself?" She said she could because she was practicing. This in addition to her sight word books and BOB books have set her in the right direction for becoming an early reader. Now she is tired when she comes home from school so getting her to read is getting harder and harder. We have tried to incorporate it into our morning drive to school. Some days are easier than others. She did read a story from her BOB collection on her own with zero help. I was so proud of her.

Sing your heart out

Have you ever noticed how your children can be just like you? Are they like you because they are around you so much and take what you like or are they instinctivily born with it. I ask myself that about Faith. So much of her reminds me of myself. I don't know what Bud was like growing up but I know what I was like and she is a spitting image. She quietly hushes me when I sing too loud but then I catch her singing a song under her breath that I had just taught her on the way to school that morning. She brings home 5 drawings a day from school because she loves art and I catch myself making a fairy book for my class and drawing in it. She loves fairy books and wants me to read to her every night and then I catch myself reading her fairy books when I want something to read for a little bit. I drove my parents crazy flipping and doing gymnastics through the house when I was small and she drives me crazy climbing everywhere she can image, including the van door, couch, table, sink, crib or shelves. Look at what I can do mommy. "Oh no, is what goes through my head at first thought." Is she like me or am I like her? Which is it? Or do we just make each other full.

Spring warm up

Today, 86 degrees, was a perfect day to turn on the sprinkler in the front yard. Faith put on her swimming suit and her and her brother played and splashed for about 15 minutes. She would splash Champ and he just squealed with delight. I think that she really enjoyed making him laugh. They have a great relationship right now. Faith ran and jumped back and forth over the sprinkler and once again her brother enjoyed every minute of it. It was all fun and games until she bumped her toe on the sprinkler and then she was all done. I tried to convince her to shake it off but she was tired and hungry also. So we dried off. I turned around and she had stripped naked in the front yard and wrapped herself in the towel. Then she headed in. Nothing like being comfortable naked; anywhere and everywhere.