Happy Mother's Day!

[Sadie told me to write this before I left.]

"Happy Mother's Day, Mommy! I love you very much and I love all of the fun we have together. I love how you take such good care of me and daddy. You are the best mommy ever! I know daddy misses you a lot and wishes he was here. Daddy said you should get take out sometime this week, his treat. I vote for pizza!"

Growing Things

Many of Sadie's schoolmates brought in plants for teacher appreciation week and to go along with the May theme of "Gardens". The children planted their plants around the school. The older children used the garden bed on the preschool side of the building, Sadie and the other toddlers used this planter in front of the school.

Sadie's plant is the bright pink/red dahlia in the middle of the planter. She chose it herself at the Co-op. After I picked her up yesterday, she showed me where they are keeping the planting tools and watering cans.

In her classroom are huge flowers the children made out of paper and paint. Sadie's is "puh-pull" (purple!). She is really loving this gardening unit.
(Daddy comes home in 16 days!)

You are my sunshine...

...my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey...



I totally lucked out getting this shot of Sadie this morning. She wanted to go play outside and we had a little time before we needed to leave for the day, so I grabbed the camera and took some snaps while she ran around. Sometimes, it all comes together perfectly. I love this picture.

Teacher Appreciation

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and also Early Childhood Educator Appreciation Week. We definitely appreciate Sadie's teachers. They make Mimo a wonderful place to learn and to have fun with friends.

I especially appreciate daycare while solo parenting. It makes things much easier for me to know that Sadie is having a fun day while I am at work and we are getting a break from each other. It makes both of us very happy to see each other at the end of the day and makes the evenings fun.
(Daddy comes home in 17 days!)

Clean Teeth

Sadie is busily brushing her teeth wearing the very, very special Ariel pajamas. Normally, I don't buy Sadie clothes with characters on them, but she really wanted these and well, why not? She was so happy to wear them.


It was over 80 degrees here today! I guess we mostly skipped spring and have moved into summer.
(Daddy comes home in 18 days!)

Having Fun

Sadie made a kite at the Montshire Museum on Friday. She loved running with it and seeing it fly out behind her.

This morning, we read Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans because it's set in Paris. Sadie asked, "Daddy see Madeline?" I said no, but that he might see some of the places shown in the book.

(Daddy comes home in 19 days!)

Au Revoir, Papa!

Daddy is off to France! Bon voyage!

We'll miss you and we love you so much! But we are going to have lots of good times to tell you about!

Sadie and Daddy share a cuddle with Memphis, the penguin daddy, which Dan got Sadie to hug while he's away.

(Daddy comes home in 21 days.)

Fun Times

A sunny day, a good friend and the entire bag of Veggie Booty...

What a happy time!

Identical Quadruplets?

This is an optical illusion from some mirrors at the Montshire and, thank goodness, we just have one Sadie!





And here is a video:

Peek-a-boo!

New friends!

Sadie met some new friends this weekend when Liz and Tom and their cute twins Rosie and Luca came to visit.

(left to right: Rosie, Sadie, Luca)
Sadie had a great time with the babies. She read some stories to them. She loved borrowing Rosie's baby spoon and using it to eat oatmeal. She and Rosie really hit it off...Rosie couldn't take her eyes off of Sadie. Luka was pretty busy rolling all over the floor. They are both super cute.
We're looking forward to Liz and Tom's move to the Upper Valley this summer. It's always nice to have more friends in the area.

Long Trail Brewery

On Saturday, we went to visit the Long Trail Brewery with the Upper Valley beer club. Sadie had a great time because her pal Isaac was there too.

Sadie and Daddy peek in from the deck...


Sadie and Isaac touch the barley.



Sadie, Isaac and Dan peek into the wishing well.


Mommy gets a smooch...


Family fun!


(We also had some fun house-guests this weekend...we'll feature them later this week...)

Hooked on Phonics?

Recently, Sadie has been very interested in the letters of the alphabet. She knows S is for Sadie and D is for Daddy and dog and Dan, M for Mommy and quite a few others.

Last night at dinner, she was looking at her cereal box and remarked, "I see the one for queenandquail! Two of them!" Can you see them? (We're pretty sure Sadie thinks "queenandquail" is one word because when Dan asked her what a quail was, he was rewarded with a blank look.) She also noted that she saw the W.

From the Archives

This is an entry I wrote in early March and then forgot to post.

Yesterday evening, Sadie and I were at the supermarket buying some last minute things for our trip to Disney World. One thing I got was a dark chocolate/espresso chocolate bar for Dan and I to have for the drive to Boston. Sadie didn't notice it when I put it in the cart but she did notice it when I put it up on the belt to buy it.

"It's chocalee, Mommy?"
"Yes, it's a chocolate bar for grown-ups."

That seemed to satisfy her but as soon as we got home, she began rummaging through the bags to find the "chocalee bar!". She was desparate to eat it and no excuse I gave was good enough. Soon, she had dissolved into tears. Even the offer of an M&M, which is usually met with glee, didn't help.

Finally, I had an idea, "It's spicy chocolate, Sadie, you wouldn't like it."
She looked at me and thought for a minute, "Is not picy candy! Is just a little bit flavah-ful. I want it."

Now, this is exactly, word for word, what I say to Sadie if I want her to try something that she has deemed spicy. I do say, "It's not spicy, it's just a little bit flavorful!" I can't argue with my own words!

The whole matter finally ended with Sadie helping me make some toast and scrambled eggs for her dinner.

Sadie on Anatomy

"This is your biggest, biggest bone!" (she says this apropos of nothing and then grabs her thigh)
"It's my food pipe!" (points to her neck)

Finally!

It's finally nice out and just in time for Friday playgroup. Sadie was thrilled to see that the outdoor playground was open again! Not only was it beautiful out, lots of her friends were there to play and enjoy the spring sunshine.

Sadie was especially glad to see her friend "Natayee". Sadie and Natalie have been friends since they met at Fourth Trimester when they were teeny tiny babies. Natalie is exactly 2 weeks older than Sadie and when we first met, I was amazed at how much more advanced four-week-old Natalie was...I could hardly believe my two-week-old baby would do the things she could do. At 28 months old, the difference is gone! The girls actually look and act remarkably alike...even down to their identical LL Bean jackets and similar hair color and style. They are good pals and get along very well with each other, probably because they are so similar developmentally.

Yum, these goldfish are good.

Where did our mommies go?

Deep in conversation...

A good place to read

Sadie was so engrossed in her reading that she wouldn't look at the camera.

We're finally having some good weather here. This morning, we noticed that our crocuses were coming up. Sadie remarked, "It's sping-time now! Time to take out my bike. Time to take out my car. Time to take out the slide. Pyease do it, Mommy!"

What's so funny?

During bathtime, something struck Sadie as very funny.

The Penguin Mommy

Sadie dressed up and pretended to be "The Penguin Mommy". This imaginative play came from her watching the movie Happy Feet and was started by her re-discovery of a small penguin puppet that she got in January when she went to the New England Aquarium with Grandpa and Grandma.

The costume included her dance skirt, a shawl tied to make a backpack for the baby penguin and a snow hat (because of the snow in the artic). Snow boots were also included because Sadie wanted to take her baby penguin outside, where Dan was brewing beer.

Sunday Morning Activity

Sunday was another bad weather day. One of our activities in the morning was making this "gingerbread girl" costume out of a paper bag.



Sadie's expression in this picture makes me laugh. "What are you doing with that camera, Mommy? I'm busy with my own stuff."

Sadie dances

Here's a video of Sadie dancing to my awesome harmonica playing. Enjoy. (Dance costume thanks to Auntie Kara!)

Window Shopping

Sadie peeks into the window of Folk while doing errands in Hanover yesterday.

Looking Like a Very Big Girl

Sadie looks very grown up to me in this picture we took on Easter. She looks so much older than she did last Easter...the hair really makes a difference.

First Haircut

Sadie got her first haircut while in NYC. We went to Cozy's Cuts for Kids.

Before:


Stylist Janet starts cutting:

(Sadie is watching Lady and The Tramp on a DVD player)

Janet adds a tiny braid and some beads as a finishing touch:


All done! Looking good:

Rice Krispie Treats

On Friday, we made rice krispie treats.











This is a great cooking activity for a toddler...just a few steps, very simple procedures, fun textures, tasty ingredients, and a yummy final product that doesn't need to be baked, so it's ready quickly. Not very healthy, necessarily, but worth it for the fun.

From one holiday to another

Last weekend, Sadie and Grandma made haroset for the Seder in NYC. This weekend, we went to Concord for Easter. Busy, busy times.

A Kids' Grocery Store?

Yes! This is a real "only in Manhattan" kind of place. Last Sunday, we walked to Kidfresh, a market of groceries and prepared foods for kids.

Sadie loved walking through the small door, taking a kid sized cart and choosing some groceries. She picked mini carrot muffins for a snack and then a lunch box with organic cheese and turkey slices, crackers, yogurt and water.



She ate the muffins in the little dining room at the back of the store, which was complete with small tables, plastic chairs shaped like animals and a little sink right at her level so she could wash her hands before she ate. The muffins were yummy.

The lunch was eaten at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment. Verdict: Thumbs up! The cheese was delicious, but there were only 3 small slices. There were 6 pieces of turkey, it was yummy too, but Sadie preferred the cheese. She also liked the crackers a lot. We had seen these in the store before but had not tried them. The mini bottle of water was also a big hit. Sadie did not like the yogurt though. It was a much thinner consistency than the yogurt she is used to and I think she was having trouble keeping it on the spoon.

Thanks for taking us to such a fun store, Grandma and Grandpa!

Could it be...

Nana's birthday? Yes, it is!

Happy birthday, Nana! I love you so much!
Love,
Sadie

(Sadie and Nana, about two years ago...)

Wacky Day

Sadie's daycare celebrates "Wacky Day" instead of April Fool's Day. The children are encouraged to wear "wacky" clothes and there are "wacky" activities all day long. Not sure what the activities are, but Sadie will tell us at the end of the day.

Here she is this morning before school. Her wacky outfit consisted of a green and grey striped dress worn over multi-colored striped pants, accessorized with orange and pink striped socks, rain boots, ponytails (there are two in the back in addition to the one on top), and an assortment of barrettes clipped in the back as well. She's doing a "wacky dance" for the picture.

When I dropped her off, one of the teachers was wearing a swimsuit over her clothes and another was wearing a funny hat, a boa and lots of costume jewelry. A little boy was dressed in Batman pajamas, a cape and swim goggles. Wacky Day looks like a lot of fun.

(We had a great weekend in NYC...will post pictures from that tonight or tomorrow!)