We have made no secret of our love for Sophia's school. Captain is a marvelous place that encourages kids to be kind to one another and themselves. Of course, they teach many things for the mind as well as the spirit. All that started, for us, with Mrs. Wilson, Sophia's Kindergarten teacher.
She is a lovely person who gets to know and care for each of the kids that comes through her doors. Sunday was a reception for her and three other members of the Captain community. Sophia got to do the speech for Mrs. Wilson. As with everything she does, she took it very seriously and went at it with gusto. The result is just right.
I went to Sophia's school to see her and her class do the Hat Dance for Cinco de Mayo. Along with watching, we parents also performed. Being good sports and good examples and all.
Sophia videoed said event.
Several things: I'm the one in the comfy blue sweatshirt and the butt that is always in the picture - or at least it certainly seems that way to me. But I'll put this on here anyway because I love Sophia's laughter so much that I'd pretty much do anything to make her giggle in that way. I'll put on Youtube the video of her class dancing as well...
Yesterday was another Sing Along at Sophia's school. They added the Camel Song this time, and it was awesome. Sophia got to play a part in one verse. You can see that she's a little nervous to start, wanting to get her riding just right...
We had a marvelous Christmas here at Sophia's house. She got lots of things that she loves. Santa brought her what she asked - a soccer net and soccer ball.
Her other favorite present was a Baby Alive doll. This is the song that she sang to get Emmy to sleep.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Each and every morning of Kindergarten starts the same way. These darling five- and six-year-olds line up and greet their teachers. Then they sing a song about the weather and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I didn't record that because I couldn't think of an appropriate way to record it while placing my hand on my heart...
I just love this routine. After the Pledge, the kids leave in their lines and wave goodbye to the moms and dads who could stay around. It's pretty darn sweet. The Kindergartners of Captain Elementary are treated a little bit like the tiny slices of heaven that they are. Sophia likes that a lot.
Last week, Sophia went each morning to Memorial Presbyterian Church, here in our neighborhood. A friend of ours had organized an arts camp/vacation Bible school there, and Sophia was part of that.
They spent the week making the sets and costumes for their show, and it all culminated with Friday night's performance. Sophia loves being on stage. She was so excited about the whole thing.
The show was about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and Nebuchadnezzar's furnace. It was a great show, and the kids were fun to watch. Sophia got into each part with gusto.
Here is a video of one of their more serious songs. Yes, Sophia has sunglasses on her head. They were needed for the song just before it, and she didn't put them away.
Erick took the day off of work yesterday to spend a little extra time with us on Sophia's spring break. It was a really, really great day.
We bowled. It was Sophia's first time, and she loved it. Every time she sent the ball down the lane, she turned around to do a little dance and would usually say something like, "That is what you have to learn!" I didn't capture the phrase on video, but I did get a version of the dance.
I loved bowling with bumpers. My score was still awful, but once I started to use the bumpers for bank shots, I did have some good frames. I love knowing that I can't get a gutter ball. Can't wait to do that again.
I am always amazed at what a can of paint and a free weekend can do to a place. We love our apartment, but it isn't ours. There are many things about it that we wish we could change, but 98 percent of these things are out of our control. However, our landlord gave us a huge boost when he agreed to let us paint a couple of rooms. We chose the sun room and Sophia's room. The sun room was the one we chose to practice on. These walls are mostly plaster. They're pretty imperfect, to put it nicely, so we wanted to see if paint actually hurt or really helped the look of a room.
So, Friday night, Erick and I finished a date by shopping at Lowes. We got a little start on the walls that night but finished them up Saturday evening with Sophia's help.
I absolutely love the change. The idea behind this green, Green Briar to be exact, was that I wanted this sun room to feel more like a three seasons room or a porch. Eventually, I'd like to see some older outdoor furniture in here to add to that feel, but the paint was a really great start.
For now, I'm actually thrilled with the way our current things fit in with the space and color.
The sun room has always been my favorite room of the house. You'll notice that many of my pictures are taken in here because we love to play in the sunlight. I'm back here right now at the desk taking in the lights from the buildings around me. I wonder who else is working on a blog at their window. Anyway, the paint has only served make me love it even more. So if you're wondering where I am at any given moment, let's hope I'm right here.
Because this is the kind of stuff that goes on back here. Sophia is sending an email to Erick. I know I've videoed this activity in the past. I included this one because she has an entertaining song to go along with it toward the middle. It made me laugh pretty hard. We'll see if it's universally entertaining or if you had to be here...
Since our trip to Nashville, Erick and I have both rekindled our fondness for country music. We've always enjoyed some George (Strait, NOT Jones) or Willy, but a few years ago, country music just got SOOO irritating with every song being about being from the country and being 'Murican that I couldn't handle it anymore. I'm not opposed to patriotism or being from the country, but I don't need every song to identify the fact that the singer was born and raised on a farm. And drives a truck. And loves dogs.
During the week since our return, it seems better. This morning I heard a song that I immediately didn't like but begrudgingly identified with. Enjoy.
Some days I simply sit and watch. Monday was one of those days. When Sophia got home from school, she put on her pj's and sat down to write.
Her mind is fascinating. I have not a clue how she gets from A to B in her mind. She was writing the stories of my life - sometimes asking questions, but mostly just winging it. She also wrote in "French." Not quite sure how she managed that, but she did. If you look at my YouTube channel, you can see a longer video of her writing in French.
She is so creative and intense while working on these types of projects. She never ever runs out of things to say.
School seems to bring out even more of this in her. I don't know why, but she definitely comes home with some more randomness in her system she must purge.
Even as I type, she is working on some notes, and she has just fired me. Why? "Because you have to take a boat, go on an airplane, take another ride on a boat, then drive. And because you did never cut pine trees. It's a firing process!" I could go on, as she's still talking, but I'll leave it to your imagination... I better get back to work if I hope to get my job back.
The talk of the night seems to be the impending winter storm headed our way, bringing with it some ice and more than a little snow. Not looking forward to that. However, I will enjoy the afterglow of this day for at least a few days into our being stuck.
The day began as many Sundays do - donuts and coffee. After our healthy start, we had a very productive family work day. Laundry, bills, floors and more were on our agenda. We had more than enough time for a dance break or two, although sometimes the dancing happened while we worked. It's frightening how much like me this kid is sometimes. With better rhythm.
Before noon, we had done everything I expected to get done in the day. So we decided to take advantage of the temps that were warmer than in weeks. One of the things we have talked about taking advantage of in our apartment is the proximity of the zoo. Today was our first attempt at walking to the zoo, and it was a huge success. It felt so good to get out in the fresh air and walk through Forest Park with the hundreds of joggers and bikers also out enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon.
Once we got to the zoo, we went to visit the baby leopard. She made her first appearance this week, and Sophia and I went to visit her on that day. Since the big cats are Erick's favorite type of animal at the zoo, I knew it wouldn't be long before we made another visit. They weren't quite as active today, so I got a better picture of the baby. The best part was watching the mama leopard and the daddy leopard in the neighboring cage pace near and talk to each other - except when the baby was around. Interesting.
The rest of the day has been spent with a quick trip to a crazed and packed Wal-Mart, then puttering and resting after our day's activity. What a lovely day. I am trying not to think about how disappointed I am that it's going to be far too long before we can have a repeat.
A year or so ago, our friends, the Chandlers, who now live in Seattle, had read a book called The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families. In reading this book, they discovered and shared with us the value of developing a family mission statement. At the time, I just thought that was a great practice that maybe would come in handy some day. That time has come for us, as we have found 2010 to be a year of significant decisions.
So I got the book from the library and was immediately taken with the idea of the family mission statement. There are lots of ideas in that book that would be great in application in a family. The development of a family mission statement just seems to be the one that makes the others come into clearer focus. By coming up with some solid priorities and qualities that shape your family, the rest of your family's life - activities and pursuits - seems to fall more clearly into line with the purpose already defined.
So to get started, Erick and I just brainstormed about things that we want to be sure maintain value in our family. Things like security, creativity, laughter, generosity. Then we talked to Sophia about it. Her first response was that we should be a family of princesses. Not exactly the insightful tidbit we were hoping for, but then she came back with, "We each get to be who we are." Seriously, those were her words. My eyes flew open, and I said, "Yes!" So we added that in and came up with something over a date night. It took me a while to figure out why, but I never really liked what we came up with. Then I realized that I didn't like it because it didn't sound like us. It read like the mission of a corporation, and we're anything but business-like. So, I restructured it a little, and now I'm unveiling our family statement.
In our family, we each get to be our own person, expressing our individuality while respecting one another and recognizing each person's contribution. Our family works hard to show compassion and responsibility for ourselves and to others. We want to live in a home filled with love, security and laughter. Most of all, our family loves one another and loves God out loud in action and word.
I think that's all pretty self-explanatory. It is to us, so that's all that really matters, I suppose. Sophia absolutely loves it. We have read it to her several times, and she talks about what the words mean. Of course she's most excited about the first sentence since that was her contribution.
The beauty of this is that it will change and evolve as our family changes. As Sophia grows older, she will likely add a few adjustments, as will we... But it feels good to have some clarity about who we are.
I highly recommend the book, largely because this process has been so meaningful for our family. I am pretty sure that it would bring similar benefits to most families. And even if it was a harder process because of differences in priorities or understanding of them, it seems like a good idea to be having those discussions while still in theory rather than in practice.... I'm just saying. If you do, let me know. I think it would be fascinating and revealing to know exactly what our friends' families are about. It would help us all understand one another just a little better. That's never a bad thing.
So, to continue my feel-good message, let me add a little Roots Love My Family for your listening and viewing pleasure.
Last week, Sophia and I were talking about when she was a baby. It occurred to me that she's never seen the videos of herself that I used to love to look at and share. So we came to the blog. I looked at the videos from the beginning of the blog to the present. If you're interested, you can click on the "Videos" label at the bottom of this post to make the same trek through time. I don't expect anyone else to be as drawn in as Sophia and I were, but just in case...
Anyway, back to the topic at hand, as I watched the videos of her learning to walk (around 15 months) or quoting a book (before two), I just realized how these short couple of years have changed my sweet toddler into this great big kid that I know now. She will never, ever be quite as "lump in the throat" cute as she was in those days. Saying "bow" as "bone" and singing all the wrong words and waddling to me for a wet kiss. Even as Sophia watched the videos, she couldn't help but laugh at her own silliness in those days. She said, "Look, Mommy, I didn't know how to take a bow!" I wouldn't trade this current phase for the world, but watching the videos reminded me that I have no choice in the matter. My Sophia will be at a different place in six months whether I'm on board or not.
And, while she'll never be cute in that same way again, I can really enjoy the cuteness and sweetness she carries around with her now. I love her creativity, although I could do without a tablespoon of the drama. (A post for another day) I've decided to be in another phase of taking lots of videos. Might as well have some great memories of almost-four-year-old Sophia, too. I may spare you many of them, however. Partly because as I looked back at those old videos, I thought to myself on a couple of them, "Really? Why did I feel the need to post this for the world?" Oh well. You've forgiven my lack of discretion, or you wouldn't still be reading....right?
So here's an example of what I consider to be video-worthy these days. A song and dance about various things, including the star Evangeline from The Princess and the Frog. Hopefully you enjoy it...
Last night, Sophia had rehearsal for her Saturday dance recital. Again, I haven't been sure about her participation, but I keep my doubts to myself and that seems to be working. Practice didn't exactly make perfect, but it made for some great footage. I think Sophia gets her directional challenge issues from me, but fortunately it balances out with her shear determination which is etched on her cute little face.
After the recital, she was on an adrenaline high for a bit, but she still needed Lulu...
She danced all the way to the van.
The recital is on Saturday night, so I'll report when I can as to how she fares. It's all just icing on the cake now!
Maybe I'm the last to see this video. I don't know. Regardless, there are too many things that I love about this interaction to mention. According to the info, they are a couple of 62 years, and he was 90 last year when this was shot. They spotted a piano in Mayo Clinic while they were there for something else and decided to use it. Enjoy.
This video was taken by Molly's parents. Molly is the little girl to Sophia's right, your left. So Sophia is in the shot the whole time, except for one point that things got a little confused... Then in the very last two seconds you will hear (not see) Sophia's famous, "I DID IT!"
Enjoy. I took my SD card to Columbia Photo today, so I may have my own copy shortly.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A few notes on the movie:
-Yes, she is pantless. Why? She said, "Mom, I don't feel like wearing pants." You know what, sometimes I don't feel like it either. So, while it's still socially acceptable, I'm going to free her up...
-Just before she guesses "Frosty" to the most famous reindeer of all question, you'll see it. That grin that she puts on when she's about to say something silly. Then she reviews the silliness just to be sure it was as funny as she thought it would be.
-When she's pointing during the Santa part, she's pointing at a Santa decoration in our house.
-Finally, she really makes me laugh. That's all. That was the final note. This kid makes me laugh. Hope you laugh too. If not, that's cool. I'll keep posting videos anyway.
Sophia has been to many concerts in the park by now with all of our visits to Shelter Gardens. The other day, I was lucky enough to get my own concert performance. She keeps her songs simple, but gives it gusto. Enjoy!
