Avery Ballerina

Monday was the last parent viewing night (parents and family actually get to sit in the studio instead of in the waiting area) at dance.  Typically, the class is viewed via television, and it's small and hard to see what's really going on.  It was fun to sit in and actually be able to see what the kids are doing.

Now, Avery has a love/hate relationship with dance class.  Actually, more like a lukewarm/ambivalent relationship.  She was ready to give it up several months back, then decided she liked it.  Most days she's very meh about going to class, although she seems to have had a good time when it's over.   All that being said, I think she is done after the recital in June, so this is very likely the begging and end of her foray into dance (although she could very likely decide she wants to give it a shot when she's 6 or 7 or 12).

Now, I'm not just saying this because I'm her mother and perhaps slightly biased, but she is a good little dancer.  She is very focused.  Her eyes do not leave the teacher.  The progress report we received backs this up.  The teacher noted that it was really incredible how focused Avery is.  Granted, Avery is probably one of the older ones in this 3-4 year old class and thus has a better attention span.  Some of the other kiddos are pretty squirmy.

I also got to see something I've noticed on the television for weeks.  When the class gets to run around and act like crazy, flapping, squealing birds Avery stands still on her tape mark, looking down.

When I first noticed it I asked Avery about it after class.  What was the class doing and why was she standing there?  She said she didn't want to run around and act silly.  I told her to try it, that she might have fun. But week and week she just stood there.  Honestly, it bugged me a bit.  I'm not exactly sure why.  I think it was a combination of several things:  she looked uncomfortable, she wasn't having fun, why wasn't she having fun?, it's ok to be silly, why is she the only one not doing it? etc.  For the other kids, this clearly looked and sounded like the highlight of class!


But Avery isn't like the other kids in that respect.  And I appreciate that about her.  I appreciate the fact that she doesn't do something just because everyone else is doing it.  That she doesn't feel pressure to participate if she doesn't feel comfortable.  I hope she always has that resolve. And maybe one day she'll realize she can let go and be silly, too.


Sweet little dancer.

Easter Sunday

The bunny dropped off some goodies for the kids, of course.

The bunny also left some eggs around the front yard.  Avery quickly figured out some eggs had change in them, and being the good big sister that she is, she announced she would leave the eggs with nothing in them for Ben.

Then she had a little remorse and decided to put some of her eggs in Ben's basket.

We got cleaned up after the egg hunt and headed to Gigi and Pepaw's for lunch.

Then to Mimi's for dessert.

We had a wonderful day!

Easter Festivities

The kids had an egg hunt at school on Thursday.

On Saturday we headed to the local egg drop.  It was a beautiful day.  Finally, we're getting some decent spring weather! Ben loved the helicopter ("hoctors") that dropped the eggs.  He also thought riding on a 'cool bus was pretty neat.

He did not like the bracelet he had to wear to participate in the egg hunt.

Avery was a pro at gathering eggs.  We had to rush off after her age group's hunt so she could make it to her friend's birthday party.

Later in the day we dyed eggs and enjoyed the sunshine.

Ben wasn't much of a fan of dying eggs.  Avery and Stephen did a great job, but Ben didn't want to participate.

He did enjoy some treats brought by Stephen, though.

Yard Day

We had a yard day last weekend, which by the end of the day included three trips to Home Depot (one in which one of the children was inadvertently lost-oops), a few new spring flowers, and a garden.

Where's Waldo?

I'd really been wanting to try a garden, so I put Rob up to assembling a small raised bed.  He looked at the raised bed kit and determined he could do it himself for cheaper.

Ta-da!

I had a couple of gnomes helping me with some flowers in the front bed.

Avery and I planted the plants and seeds in the garden.  She is really excited.

We'll see what comes up.  Avery is eagerly checking the garden for progress daily.  After running in from the backyard on Wednesday she breathlessly announced the plants were dead.  Sure enough, they did look quite dead.  Also, Arthur had dug up a portion of the garden.  I don't have high hopes for this garden, but I sure hope it produces something.

The Zoo

Sunday morning was perfect for the the zoo.  It was a bit chilly but we practically had the place to ourselves.

This was our first trip to the zoo this year, and the first time Ben really noticed and recognized the animals.

He was so interested in the animals.  And the free reign.  

The train was also a big hit.  He was squirming and trying to escape as we were waiting for it to actually move, but once it started he was still as could be!

Avery's favorite is always the carousel.

This monkey just keeps getting bigger and bigger.