Precioso

I think I'm due a positive post about the chillins. Besides...I am having a sentimental moment after watching Owen practice piano. He is starting to get that sway in his body when he really gets into a song. So precious.

Here he is on the first day of second grade. Isn't he pimpin'? He was SO excited to wear his new shoes. He got to pick his shoes this year, and I was shocked by how much he cared! He knew brand names and everything. I was picking out some typical adidas for his tennis shoes when he spotted SKETCHERS! He literally yelled with excitement "I've always wanted sketchers!" I was like "Uhhhh...really?" Weird. He had his heart set on these black and red ones that were pretty...um...hood. You know- hood. Ghetto. SO- luckily I was able to convince him to get a pretty basic brown pair by telling him they would go with more outfits and he would, therefore, be allowed to wear them more. Then he also picked a pair on Converse because he wanted to be like his daddy. Anyway- my point is that I can't believe he is old enough to start caring about these things. He is also very particular about how his hair looks.

When we pulled up to the school and became a part of the sheer and utter chaos that is the first day, he started to get a little nervous. He was checking out the playground to see if he recognized anyone right off the bat. I don't think he had any luck, but Hazel definitely recognized someone familiar right away and yelled "HEY! There's Owen! In the brown shirt!" Owen and I just looked at each other like "WHAT?!" and then laughed hysterically.

He stopped for an extremely long drink from the fountain right outside his classroom. I don't know if he was actually hot and thirsty or if he was just trying to prolong the inevitable.

Of course, his teacher was the one and only teacher on campus who had complete control of the situation and already had every kid sitting at their desks working on an assignment! That didn't help our nerves at all to walk into a silent, full classroom and feel like an incredible disturbance. By the time I left, he looked like he was about to burst into tears. It was SO hard to leave. I took one last shot of him sitting at his desk in mid-gesture. He was sighing and putting his hand up to his head in exasperation because he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. It makes me sad all over again to think about it.

He, of course, did fine and is enjoying his class and said he likes his teacher "a ton!"

Hazel got a VERY exciting package from G-Mommy and Avery. Sweet cousin Avery decided to pick a couple of her dress-ups to give to Hazel, and G-Mommy also bought her a new one. Poor Hazel with her one princess dress. It was always hard for her to play with a friend and have to share that dress. Well..no longer, my friends! She now has FOUR princess dresses from which to choose. She was especially thrilled with the authentic Cinderella dress and has worn it every day since it's arrival.

She asked me to take a picture of her in this pose. She is trying to hold one leg up...hence the hand on the refrigerator to steady herself and the tongue sticking out.

And then, when our friend Gracie came to play, we were finally able to have two princesses in the house! It was a time to celebrate.


And here are a few cute things she has done this past week. When I was cleaning house, she stacked the couch pillows up to stand on so she could help me wash windows.

When our grocery ads came, she went through them and circled the things she thought we needed and then tried to copy the words onto the grocery list. If it was an especially daunting word...like cantoloupe...she would draw what it looked like (a circle). There are now some odd symbols and shapes on my grocery list.

I put her in time out the other day. This is always a major struggle. She HATES being told to stay in one chair. Sometimes time out ends up being 30 minutes of us just trying to get her to "STAY IN THAT CHAIR!" When I came back to check on her, she had gotten a pillow and blanket from her bed and was sound asleep. But at least she was in the chair! Victory!