The 3 R's

Chloe has mastered the alphabet and she really enjoys writing words and typing emails. The interesting thing her studio teacher told me was that Chloe copied a bunch of words out of a book. The words were in lower case, but when Chloe wrote them, they were all in capital letters. . pretty fun!

Today on the way to school, Chloe asked me to spell a bunch of words while she wrote them down.

Penguins and Puppies

Chloe's class has a stuffed penguin that the kids named "Ice Cream David Beckham". And all the kids just love the week that they get to bring him home.

This year we took ICDB to meet Max, our friend's dog . .



To the dog show, where we checked out Rhodesian Ridgebacks (and some other small breed I don't care to mention) . .




and into the bathtub (he probably could have used a good scrubbing!)

Annual Parent Teacher Conference

Today I met with Chloe's teacher Chelsea for the annual parent teacher conference. Each year they put together a little reflection about Chloe's year. Here is what they had to say about Chloe's 3rd year at Helen Gordon.

Chloe is a friendly and compassionate child who has become a leader in
the classroom community. She enjoys drawing and painting, creating
things with clay, tape, and various building materials, dramatic play
(playing babies is a favorite), and always loves to hear stories. She is very
aware of the rules of the classroom, and likes to remind her friends to
make good choices!

Chloe can be shy around unfamiliar people, but for the most part she is
outgoing and chatty in the classroom. When Chloe is playing with other
children, she tends to be the leader and decide what’s happening in the
play. It occasionally turns bossy, but she is able to talk with the other
children about it and come to a resolution.

Chloe’s language skills are very developed, and she is able to tell lengthy
stories and have long conversations with other children and teachers. She
is also able to express her emotions clearly with her words, and notices
whenever another child is sad or upset—often finding a teacher to tell!
She is usually happy at school, but when she is feeling sad or missing
mommy, she’s able to talk about it and seek comfort from a teacher.

Chloe’s fine motor skills are developing well—she can hold a pen or
paintbrush and draw precisely, can correctly hold a spoon (when she
chooses to eat the food!), and use small tools like scissors or tweezers.
Her gross motor skills are also what we expect to see—she can run, ride a
trike and pedal, climb the play structures, and jump with both feet on the
trampoline. Sometimes she needs a little encouragement to run around
and play, but we see this much less than we did earlier in the year.

Goal: Chloe loves to keep order in the classroom, and it is easy to imagine
her in elementary school as the “teacher’s pet.” She often reminds her
friends of the rules when they are doing something they are not supposed
to, but sometimes she will make up rules or “tattle tale” excessively. We
are working with her to let the other children solve their own problems,
and reminding her that it’s her job to play and have fun at school and the
teacher’s job to enforce the rules.

My favorite part was this picture that Chloe drew in which she also wrote her name. I didn't even know she could write her name. The C is in the middle bottom and then the rest of her name wraps around up to the right. How cool is that!


Chloe with her classmate Annecy


Chloe with some of her other school friends

Semi Annual Photo Day

at the children's gym.

Chloe still enjoys gym class. She was going twice a week, but got a little burned out on it so we are back to Saturday mornings only. She is especially happy when she has teacher Chelsea. Though she recently told me she also likes teacher Claire.

Who is Claire I asked?
Chloe replied: She has polished fingernails and toenails but otherwise looks pretty much like Chelsea. Hmmmm.

Happy Easter

Peter Cottontail left Chloe a very princess themed Easter Basket. He also hid a bunch of eggs all over the house. That bunny did not disappoint!

Two years in a row I have managed to salvage the same Easter Basket. . though this year Chloe did ask what happened to the basket a few days after Easter. I explained that the Easter bunny comes and picks it along with the empty eggs so he can fill it up again for next year.

Chloe also scored a new yellow outfit from Hanna Andersson courtesy of her Dad!

Coloring Easter eggs. We didn't actually do this until Easter day . . which actually turned out to be a fun time to do it!




Checking out the Easter loot . . .


Some good stuff in here!


Ariel


Princess books


Thanks Easter Bunny. .


Thanks very much. . .


Come again next year, will ya?


And some gratuitous girl and her dog pictures . .


Aren't they cute together?

Guess what I did?

Took my first solo trip since Chloe was born! My friend Kristi, whose twin boys Matt & Sam are in Chloe's class at school planned a short cruise from San Diego to Cabo over spring break and I invited myself along. It was my first time away from Chloe overnight and I was a bit nervous about leaving her.

Luckily, Ghislaine came for a visit while I was gone and having her there, along with a bunch of fun presents that I left Chloe, kept everyone happy!

Reading "Alice in Wonderland" with Nana


Present from Nana. . Princess Jewel Fishing Game!


Present from Mom .. Curious George Stickers!


At the zoo with Daddy and Nana . . on the Monkey Swings


and at the petting zoo . . .


Best gift from Mom . . a Princess Umbrella!


And Nana reads to Chloe whenever she asks. . this book was actually kept by Craig's sister from when her kids were young. . we got a bunch of books from her which was awesome!


And when all else fails, nothing cheers up a girl missing her mom more than asking her if she wants to bake!


Yippee!


Hurray!


Yahoo!


Chocolate Chip Cookies!

It took a trip to the mall

to remind me that I have not updated this blog in too long. So after updating today, I'll be going to back to fill in the blanks to the start of the year!

We had a great weekend filled with Chloe's bestest buddies Bea & Franny! Friday night we had the Broadfeet over for dinner. We've been trading off hosting each other's families on Friday nights and ordering take out. This weekend Maya's parent, Rich and Heidi were in town, so it was even more fun. We had done pizza a few weeks in a row so we decided to mix it up a bit and get some takeout from Chaba Thai. Yum. And then Craig, Rich, Chloe and Bea walked down to the little corner store to get some ice cream for dessert. Plus, it was a beautiful sunny day. Perfect end to a week.

On Saturday night, we went out with the Broadfeet and Springgates sans kids (for the first time ever) to Laurelhurst Market. Chloe hung out with Franny and August while Ashley babysat and had a great time.

Sunday morning we were invited back to the Springgates for brunch. We were a bit late as the little bean slept in until 9:30. A record for her and we were not complaining.

Sunday afternoon, the girls (me, Liza and Maya) took the other girls (Chloe, Franny & Bea) to the mall to take advantage of the gap 30% off sale. Chloe and Bea both got new outfits at the gap, which they both changed into while in the middle of the store. Then we ran into Chloe's buddy Ella, watched the ice skaters for a bit and then went to the little ride area.

Bea, Franny, Ella & Chloe


With Ella, Chloe's favorite big girl!


Franny, Chloe and Bea, rocking the mall in their new outfits.


We told the kids that we didn't have any quarters, but Franny discovered that one of the rides was working without any money. . so these 3 girls hung out in the ice cream truck for a good 15 minutes!