Notice Anything?

I was surprised at how much the loss of one tooth pulled at my heartstrings.  The loss of her first baby tooth felt much the same as the arrival of that tooth.  When it first pushed out five years ago, her sweet, gummy smile changed from marking her as a tiny baby to a growing infant.  When that same tooth popped all the way out it kind of feels like the little kid is changing to the big. Or at least means we're nearly in middle-childhood already.

Erin Plays Soccer!

 Not only was Wed. the first day of 1st grade for Erin, it was her first day of soccer practice!  Yes, I've officially become a Soccer Mom.  Her team is the Purple Penguins.  And thanks to Amazon prime, her cleats and shin guards came just in time.

Her team is half girls who have played since they were two and half donning cleats for the first time.  They all had a ton of fun. Dribbling....

... playing Easter Egg Hunt....

.... and taking water breaks.

So if you're wondering where we are every Saturday morning until November, you can find us at the games!  GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL!

WW: McMillers Go To Disneyland!

WW: Robin's Dinosaur Collage

Lil' Daisy

Erin had her first Daisy Girl Scout Troop meeting tonight. If I could have bottled all the adorable and cute happening in the room, I'd be a pinterest/ravelry/etsy maven.

She made a poster of the Daisy patches she'll be working on the next two years, she shared at circle why she wants to be a Daisy, she learned the Girl Scout sign, and took her first Girl Scout Pledge (mention of God as suits the child's belief.  Nice.) There's about 20 of the girls from her Kindy group participating.  It feels like a big crowd, but no doubt it'll taper over the years.

Erin was thrilled to participate tonight, and Mama was super excited about all the activities offered this year.

Erin's story: "kitten" edition

Translation: My (mi) kitten (citen) is outside (outsd). 

Pictures and words all by Erin. 

Kindergarten Day 1

Actually hour one, since the first day was basically a 1 hour orientation.

A few pictures:

Teaching how to Ride a Bike

Here's how it went.

We went to the playground. Erin put on her helmet.  Erin got on her bike for the first time.  Erin rode away.

I'm not kidding.

No pushing on the back of the bike, no helping her get started.  No falling down even.  Just hop on and ride.  I kinda feel like we missed something about being a parent.  Then again, I'm glad it was so easy.

Grainy video:

Lemons And Seeds

Erin was squeezing some lemons for me, to make juice for a recipe.

E: Mom, there's a seed in the lemon!

A: Yes, but we can just fish them out later.  Don't worry if they get in the juice.

E: Mom, but there's a lemon in the seed.

A: What?

E: There's a seed in the lemon, a lemon in the seed, then another seed in the lemon. . . .

Diving Board

Erin and Robin got to go off the diving board today for the very first time.  Erin impressed us with jumping in excitedly, rising to the surface, bobbing and paddling back to the edge of the pool without assistance*.

   

Robin astounded us with her total fearlessness*.  

*These videos were of their very first jumps.  They went on to jump as often as they could until we had to leave.  Big thank you to Dad, Brian, for helping them on each dive. 

Robin Rides, Erin Instructs

There's so much going on in this movie, I won't spend time talking about it. Just will tag it with a bunch of things and let you enjoy!

Fashionista Erin and Robin's First Day

Today was busy!  Erin discovered a new way to accessorize: ribbons twisted and tied on her arm.  I think it makes her look very Renaissance, or maybe it's also the fancy dress she loves to wear:

And.... today is Robin's first day at preschool summer camp.  This marks her entry into real pre-school. She took one look around, clung to my leg for about 5 seconds, then ran off to play.  No kiss goodbye, no hug, no tears.  She had a long, 4-hour day and came home exhaustedly happy.

Preschool Graduation

Friday was a big day.  Erin graduated from her preschool, and officially became part of the class of 2025 (boy, did that statement start the waterworks from all the parents/grandparents!)

Some pictures:

Waiting for the start of the ceremony:

Erin and some of her BFFs:

Robin enjoying the ice cream afterwards:

And movies: 

Again, I can't hear the audio so not sure what's up with vimeo and my computer.  Hopefully you'll hear some of the cuteness.

Graduation

Today is Erin's graduation from her preschool, and from pre-K.  There is a ceremony today.  Brian and I are bringing fistfuls of tissue.

Video to come.

Because throwing stuff is fun.

Let's talk gender stereotypes here. I've watched boys grown men throw things for fun. I mean, stand in a line and throw rocks into a pond, rocks at cans, whatever.  But is it a boy thing?

I learned tonight that everyone thinks throwing things is fun.  This game lasted well over 15 minutes, an eternity in the world of Erin.  It might have lasted longer, but it was time for bath and bed.

Fashion Friday: Sunglasses

Dress: Gymboree (size 5T - she's already raiding Erin's closet.)

Pants: Tea

Sunglasses: Target

Underwear: Gerber.


That's right folks.  Robin is on day 4 of undies!!!!

All By Self - excavated

The post below was written 2years 3 months ago. For some reason, I never published it.  I found it while combing through the saved drafts and was struck by how it still resonates today, only now it's Robin and not Erin.

The post:
****************

Erin has made great strides in the independence department lately. Yesterday she insisted on:

* Putting on her socks and shoes
* "Reading" a comic book
* Pulling her training pants up/down and sitting on the potty
* Feeding the cats (she didn't spill any of the kibble!)
* Washing herself in the tub with her washcloth
* Pouring her own milk
* Going to sleep (OK, she still wanted me sitting next to her, but she didn't require any rocking/singing/patting etc.)

In agreement with the previous post, she is turning into a girl.

Sigh.

Good thing we're having a baby in 2 months!

***************

And things Robin is currently doing "all by myself"

* Brushing teeth
* putting on shoes
* going poop in the potty
* reading (well, looking through books, but most of the time she wants to narrate the story)
* pouring milk/juice
* washing her hair
* pushing the little cart at the grocery store
* climbing and buckling into her car seat
* just about everything.

What is it about age 2 years 2 months that fosters such a strong sense of independence?

What does it mean?

Erin has entered a new phase of conversation, asking the definition of words she doesn't know.  She never when through a "why" phase, and I guess I just assumed she would pick up the definition of words through context.  Now when we're reading she'll stop me frequently to ask, "What does 'insignificant' mean?  What does 'gangster' mean? What does 'spectacles' mean?"  I asked her if the boys in her class play "cops and robbers" and was answered with a quizzical look, "Mom, what does 'cops' mean?"  Supposedly she's picking up an average of 6 words a day now.  Some days it feels like she's trying to learn the whole dictionary.

Monkey Erin

A former monkey-bar junky, I'm so happy Erin can do this.  She's been able to go across for about 3 months now. She's starting to flip upside down and hang by her knees, which makes me happily nervous.

Robin loves drawing

Robin is constantly drawing. Most of the time she's drawing the letter "R" and singing the tune in The Letter Factory"  ("The A says Ah! The B says B-B-B-B!  The C says cuh!  And the D says duh!") I showed her how to write an "R" for Robin a while back - one big line, one circle, one little line - and it stuck.  This is a drawing of some letters and some people.  Only she knows which is which. But it's the family at the playground.