tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-822120705737010172024-03-13T09:52:39.806-05:00About the BabyThoughts and musings about being a Mommy that I just gotta write about. Comments welcome.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.comBlogger339125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-62559805338745463362011-11-26T18:27:00.001-06:002011-11-26T18:33:35.320-06:00Ok, I'm just going to jump right in here. I know, where are the Halloween pics? Wah. I'll get to that later. I wanted to post now because I'm thinking and noticing a lot about Lily right now. <br />
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Here we are in the middle of Thanksgiving weekend. She's been off school all week, we've been staying home a lot and playing, Dad is off work...she's being more responsible about picking things up and putting them away on her own. She is saying please and thank you without being prompted. She's happy and not whiny. She's playing on her own sometimes and with us other times and there's no rush to get to the next activity.<br />
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This is how homeschooling is going to be. That is my happy thought. She likes being home with Mom and Dad and being at home in general, taking her time playing...I like this.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-50423941095756205492011-08-20T12:01:00.003-05:002011-08-20T13:54:26.154-05:00Fawn Doe Rosa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvgs0FqZ-aQTOxbYzF5AAqliF-NuQPFqG-uvRNr0MubXyFf1NFbecBXZvgxDo2eKxmvS765XP7RkCpZXmQ4HbJhfNl3ILmWpY9lZU2so5XzJ0Q9ZjSE0atIhtIj3wacwMycgbNeFof2k/s1600/DSC03230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEvgs0FqZ-aQTOxbYzF5AAqliF-NuQPFqG-uvRNr0MubXyFf1NFbecBXZvgxDo2eKxmvS765XP7RkCpZXmQ4HbJhfNl3ILmWpY9lZU2so5XzJ0Q9ZjSE0atIhtIj3wacwMycgbNeFof2k/s320/DSC03230.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHjkFU7Gp-UZfoLzgOFlq4BzG9WYCHVL7FKbWYypi1U9xMF4EWWvtJ_it7HZPFr3BP3jCH1lpqGOCY5XXkQ9dw3seaRIQqWG8-IqtMzbmkD706d0qq8GCK1CnpweRIsQwLB8iKIeSezc/s1600/DSC03231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaHjkFU7Gp-UZfoLzgOFlq4BzG9WYCHVL7FKbWYypi1U9xMF4EWWvtJ_it7HZPFr3BP3jCH1lpqGOCY5XXkQ9dw3seaRIQqWG8-IqtMzbmkD706d0qq8GCK1CnpweRIsQwLB8iKIeSezc/s320/DSC03231.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gt29b1l4_IWxHMZ4TVVypCUCH9Wp9sGrodwu7wyiB6igwoE3xkiUawnUTu_CKVI9eStY0vpxhWMOsVXxo93v0OdPwnVC9RhK9emk-UwRAXxZcN1sxcrzU6wooztbzWz_WIIZ6LGtlOQ/s1600/DSC03232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gt29b1l4_IWxHMZ4TVVypCUCH9Wp9sGrodwu7wyiB6igwoE3xkiUawnUTu_CKVI9eStY0vpxhWMOsVXxo93v0OdPwnVC9RhK9emk-UwRAXxZcN1sxcrzU6wooztbzWz_WIIZ6LGtlOQ/s320/DSC03232.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is what I did a few days after I got back from Mom's--went to pet animals at this cool wildlife education park called <a href="http://www.fawndoerosa.com/">Fawn Doe Rosa</a> in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, about an hour and a half outside the Twin Cities. I was supposed to have a therapy appointment that day, but this seemed like better therapy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily picked up the animals with no hesitation, as you can see here with this baby bunny. She was very gentle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfqv4zEhW6Doxy7Af0z9xu06YwkamSMDSyW_n3BAFGRklRiwL9MP_bxL5J7OWqjtUzx_-fyFTsJd15-qCHaBpQTFVLYmxzBLHbDYqmg9ORHRJSthGpkXDwdAdrejt4XrO0x6S6L8VCeY/s1600/DSC03235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfqv4zEhW6Doxy7Af0z9xu06YwkamSMDSyW_n3BAFGRklRiwL9MP_bxL5J7OWqjtUzx_-fyFTsJd15-qCHaBpQTFVLYmxzBLHbDYqmg9ORHRJSthGpkXDwdAdrejt4XrO0x6S6L8VCeY/s320/DSC03235.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Some of the animals were in cages, but even they looked pretty happy. Look how cute this is--a fox snuggling with his stuffed toy, which I think is a lamb. He was playing with it right before I took this picture.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFMJOL3ORm131ebbg3PBfBiwoT2oDOiIu-mRK7Vi5W0CSt5_-emVL7vvNrNNmrLlioABnfWFBzuafeN6D7fVrBSILJal2W9OAhEJ0Hrb1Y4m_MvvH_nQ2DfoC_T36P1wNIlfUSUjmWGs/s1600/DSC03236.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFMJOL3ORm131ebbg3PBfBiwoT2oDOiIu-mRK7Vi5W0CSt5_-emVL7vvNrNNmrLlioABnfWFBzuafeN6D7fVrBSILJal2W9OAhEJ0Hrb1Y4m_MvvH_nQ2DfoC_T36P1wNIlfUSUjmWGs/s320/DSC03236.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GE4fmpGw30C9z9lC-bZA9Ybsxa7q8rEiXXH5NUoWxgfvR687vP6deD8CBWzeBVwPswWxV1Ovf1-M-1cLw68P9H0Riv8-wVhFh8KzyjDcJDTZCdwkqcyQqTv01acswDWE-zMfTes60Bw/s1600/DSC03237.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1GE4fmpGw30C9z9lC-bZA9Ybsxa7q8rEiXXH5NUoWxgfvR687vP6deD8CBWzeBVwPswWxV1Ovf1-M-1cLw68P9H0Riv8-wVhFh8KzyjDcJDTZCdwkqcyQqTv01acswDWE-zMfTes60Bw/s320/DSC03237.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily petting and feeding the goats, who were pretty speedy. We bought bags of food there to feed the animals, which consisted of carrots, corn, dog chow, and milk bones.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Okay, here comes the best part:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdNitBdf8_p4b-bbdcP4XHs1YGqDTXrqg45s05avJVLPhWBXB06ctcocGTCFw2KshJ_8snD76M_4cwVk_uzW6gFBvyd3Kzqxbk0Y_elGyptvCNhzyGPiQbHfXdLzqe11pDD_Fd26cr84/s1600/DSC03240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHdNitBdf8_p4b-bbdcP4XHs1YGqDTXrqg45s05avJVLPhWBXB06ctcocGTCFw2KshJ_8snD76M_4cwVk_uzW6gFBvyd3Kzqxbk0Y_elGyptvCNhzyGPiQbHfXdLzqe11pDD_Fd26cr84/s320/DSC03240.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU4Jr3zaIHEENgK-IXtzIilJIts3tXENbQb9Bluk1YsHteZU_L4h_UkSiEUuWHSO6bJukWTelYR5DOypq6QvQhW6L0lhL8Yg__vbwcu0yS4yu1H9d2VJIhxUpF51cXWqaesWWr5iTNAo/s1600/DSC03241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGU4Jr3zaIHEENgK-IXtzIilJIts3tXENbQb9Bluk1YsHteZU_L4h_UkSiEUuWHSO6bJukWTelYR5DOypq6QvQhW6L0lhL8Yg__vbwcu0yS4yu1H9d2VJIhxUpF51cXWqaesWWr5iTNAo/s320/DSC03241.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCB-tM5rmVukXV2aJZCuGUcyUj8idTmcYzFJvZVsZz_ra5bvLTg1kw65czeb1ijWPfZwug0ujyjHYUm3kPIfSvlaF7Qg4Bzp6qZYBjf9Icgf4FI0LCuRlMJnnDCtvozGQs2puWXyX3vQ/s1600/DSC03242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCB-tM5rmVukXV2aJZCuGUcyUj8idTmcYzFJvZVsZz_ra5bvLTg1kw65czeb1ijWPfZwug0ujyjHYUm3kPIfSvlaF7Qg4Bzp6qZYBjf9Icgf4FI0LCuRlMJnnDCtvozGQs2puWXyX3vQ/s320/DSC03242.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There were tame deer walking around all over the park. They were so beautiful, with their big eyes. We fed this one first, and petted it, and the girls were hugging it. It was so cute!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfYVcIhDgYCkEmMk-qTkhyNEoUbzZJtSXVM4VeOYJIgktsI-3NdK3bcHVAsi6F8xPd8baqBQ2BuN4ulO9yxGROz_q8-QTLvOyeFh3e5dCpBJYH6ipjZ8lcBoN67wnYcNRpo4frfwoTBQ/s1600/DSC03243.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghfYVcIhDgYCkEmMk-qTkhyNEoUbzZJtSXVM4VeOYJIgktsI-3NdK3bcHVAsi6F8xPd8baqBQ2BuN4ulO9yxGROz_q8-QTLvOyeFh3e5dCpBJYH6ipjZ8lcBoN67wnYcNRpo4frfwoTBQ/s320/DSC03243.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There were also a lot of lambs to feed and pet. Now, you'd think that they could have the lambs outside the fence, because they're, you know, gentle lambs, right? Wrongo! These lambs were so dang pushy, we all called them budgie lambs, because they kept budging other lambs out of the way to get the food!! And it was the big ones that were the worst. They'd shove the baby lambs out of the way with their heads, it was so comical. And yet naughty. The girls kept running to other portions of the fence, trying to get the little lambs to run over to them first.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOa0J7i9TgRf5jexCwTaVeP-qwc2x9EgjAmSB9XVGrlp-xhk0ORyj59bVOHZQOGMeXbXipE_uU0HyoNM3PlhGgUUz5Dt2V7uWBPTbryFpTe-A5yfyzESwLBLfPAl0MLiWJEQTro4xvfk/s1600/DSC03247.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyOa0J7i9TgRf5jexCwTaVeP-qwc2x9EgjAmSB9XVGrlp-xhk0ORyj59bVOHZQOGMeXbXipE_uU0HyoNM3PlhGgUUz5Dt2V7uWBPTbryFpTe-A5yfyzESwLBLfPAl0MLiWJEQTro4xvfk/s320/DSC03247.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSYb8oeFjCY5BRGGvuiKeaNFsZXSnFmuSWLFhoMC6Hup3in84TcZviaIWC7k918gt0-kv4nPYOlCL4KMo-nSZ9Ec6HVVDtX1hEI4Jk_JhDeXEhACA8VucXb4rs4AHlPZXD8F_yW4PsLY/s1600/DSC03248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSYb8oeFjCY5BRGGvuiKeaNFsZXSnFmuSWLFhoMC6Hup3in84TcZviaIWC7k918gt0-kv4nPYOlCL4KMo-nSZ9Ec6HVVDtX1hEI4Jk_JhDeXEhACA8VucXb4rs4AHlPZXD8F_yW4PsLY/s320/DSC03248.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And lastly, a pony ride. On a really fat pony! Lily loved it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a great day of fun with my girls (Lily, Tegan, and Jeri Kay). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-86784171948420395242011-08-20T11:51:00.000-05:002011-08-20T11:51:53.299-05:00My Superpowers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZOtHZP3zzTQCKHzUK7Agr6ZYxHM_aV2gpO3pZjPCCPys5S9b1703cDBDpvcn17Uc3qR0FryMdVdlptg_IeCuFoPNkqakSi5FQAJZ9F259KAuhZy2BPirLTcTrGm9_O5ENwl3JsGJSrQ/s1600/DSC03327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCZOtHZP3zzTQCKHzUK7Agr6ZYxHM_aV2gpO3pZjPCCPys5S9b1703cDBDpvcn17Uc3qR0FryMdVdlptg_IeCuFoPNkqakSi5FQAJZ9F259KAuhZy2BPirLTcTrGm9_O5ENwl3JsGJSrQ/s320/DSC03327.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is my arm, as of yesterday. I fell down the stairs while I was carrying Lily, because a certain dog was on the landing and I didn't see her. Because of my Mom superpowers, I did not fall all the way down, and Lily was unhurt, and I didn't break anything. But I have these horrible bruises on my arm, from where I hit the wall and the wrought iron railing. Squish! It looks really awful, and yeah, it hurts. But then I have to think that it could have been a lot worse. Thank God for those superpowers that make your body do everything possible in order not to drop or hurt your child.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-87535579733678295782011-06-05T20:03:00.001-05:002011-06-05T20:05:11.633-05:00The TentscapeHere's what it looked like from inside the tent this morning:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDI_edkLv4827nqDZujvQBZRc-f7VQh_GvTfgfN77W3ob_ahR-l8yMxwk7cIigAK5ZkcutiGV9SjdwSoZ7Ydjv3sywYVTJRaF0s6okyYmNzCC-xatjOQQdz-SKhL7OV0d0GDrkE6bYJSw/s1600/DSC02983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDI_edkLv4827nqDZujvQBZRc-f7VQh_GvTfgfN77W3ob_ahR-l8yMxwk7cIigAK5ZkcutiGV9SjdwSoZ7Ydjv3sywYVTJRaF0s6okyYmNzCC-xatjOQQdz-SKhL7OV0d0GDrkE6bYJSw/s320/DSC02983.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The previous night, we heard coyotes and an owl before we fell asleep. I think the coyotes were really close.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincKSwLkb37N5uuHt8XCEhQvZIuQjZC_O1HX7BwM7-3RMe2FaMCBJ5htzNQTkPskCCgrOF48RQL3-qs1ARsumXD25oDdRxqqFrHA4cYN3ZbYk9EDmPhr9wGwIFc911h75Azy6baZeXEjw/s1600/DSC02984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEincKSwLkb37N5uuHt8XCEhQvZIuQjZC_O1HX7BwM7-3RMe2FaMCBJ5htzNQTkPskCCgrOF48RQL3-qs1ARsumXD25oDdRxqqFrHA4cYN3ZbYk9EDmPhr9wGwIFc911h75Azy6baZeXEjw/s320/DSC02984.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here's all our pillows and sleeping bags squished together. I brought my Kindle, which worked great with my headlamp. I love my Kindle. I was reading an essay about Japan after the recent earthquake and tsunami, called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YXB5RG/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title">Into The Forbidden Zone</a> by William T. Vollman. It's one of those Kindle Singles, which I think is a great idea because they're often on very timely topics and this one is about 60 pages, too long for a newspaper or magazine article.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii95nedY_Vd8my3VsaDuAkJut5vRxze4agzJ1ni9BZdhVZYy2R3aT7v8I-JfX6ySnFJcS4sXMolJck5ji-zeJNMPvxoGlXyBH-Ps5w78btcsP0_2wXk1J6kVmE3W0O1IktByolP29dGBM/s1600/DSC02986.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii95nedY_Vd8my3VsaDuAkJut5vRxze4agzJ1ni9BZdhVZYy2R3aT7v8I-JfX6ySnFJcS4sXMolJck5ji-zeJNMPvxoGlXyBH-Ps5w78btcsP0_2wXk1J6kVmE3W0O1IktByolP29dGBM/s320/DSC02986.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's Lily this morning at the Dodge Preschool playground. This is a little tower for the kids to climb into. A bunch of girls went up there and Lily did, too, but she mostly observed their play. They were playing Rapunzel, as one of the girls had a wig and dress (yes, I know, yak) from the Tangled movie. She was perfect for the part, a real drama queen (spoiled brat at times). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily would drift in and out of play with them, and not participate in the drama. She's very much an observer. She takes it all in, but often it's intense enough from a distance and she doesn't want to jump in. Which is how I was as a child. So I think it's fine! Not just because I was like that, but really, I'm grateful she's not into the drama. She does play-acting sometimes, so it's not that she doesn't have an imagination. But she stays herself. She doesn't like to do face-painting. She doesn't really dress up in costume. But she has a very strong personality.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo1iqgWAVUNnACFgaZ7QEt-tboGygvGqloGK6gKaS-Tk1tNiWG55EWh6Bc1-54pJNy08zHW-0i3YSxWVAXG0zTCvvH5TaflpBq2FDvuiuFSiiduuRrO08n8I72pmWKADuxk8zsXASBi8/s1600/DSC02988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHo1iqgWAVUNnACFgaZ7QEt-tboGygvGqloGK6gKaS-Tk1tNiWG55EWh6Bc1-54pJNy08zHW-0i3YSxWVAXG0zTCvvH5TaflpBq2FDvuiuFSiiduuRrO08n8I72pmWKADuxk8zsXASBi8/s320/DSC02988.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's Lily running after the other girls. She's always up for a game of chase. Shortly after this was teken, Rapunzel tripped or something and I think she tore her dress. Or maybe she just fell in the grass. But she was wailing like she had a mortal wound, and all the other girls were gathering around her. Lily stood back and observed.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This grassy area is actually part of their playground, which is so fabulous. All the playground pieces (swings, tower, sandbox, etc) are spread out in this grassy area, so it's wonderful to run around in bare feet, which Lily did for a while. I think it also gives the kids some breathing room. It feels very organic, esp. with things like a garden, a slide built into a natural hill, things like that.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA113WuzNGUmg4dNifAh7VnSLlzl96DC4Ehn2T3u1NqxBOLW2QIyx0LORuM7sjENbscVamD4vPrHzCaGS-2IgoNVj6zCxaf3GaAz7bGB3Iis1gXY1HmFDvZUei7tLyNVj3zSLgLcnl0yo/s1600/DSC02990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA113WuzNGUmg4dNifAh7VnSLlzl96DC4Ehn2T3u1NqxBOLW2QIyx0LORuM7sjENbscVamD4vPrHzCaGS-2IgoNVj6zCxaf3GaAz7bGB3Iis1gXY1HmFDvZUei7tLyNVj3zSLgLcnl0yo/s320/DSC02990.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here's Lily after we got home from camping. She napped (which she doesn't do much anymore) from 11-2, she was so worn out from all the activity this weekend. What a great time we had!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-59967318590731971512011-06-05T19:38:00.000-05:002011-06-05T19:38:58.541-05:00Camping!So that was the first half of Saturday, swim class, ballet show, pony ride, oh, and bouncy house, but I didn't take pics of that. We also ate mini-donuts. It's that time of year, where every festival outdoors has a mini-donut vendor. You don't have to wait for the State Fair anymore, they're everywhere! I love it. So did Lily.<br />
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Then we had to go home and get ready for camping! Tegan's Mum invited us to this family party at <a href="http://www.dodgenaturecenter.org/">Dodge Nature Center</a>, where Tegan goes to preschool. It is so cool there! They have woods and ponds and a squishy swamp (okay, wetland, but I called it The Squish), and some animals who were hurt in the wild and brought there to recover and teach kids about wildlife. And even a bear head someone found while camping up north. Actually he found a whole bear (dead) but only brought back the head. So they put it in a cage outdoors and are leaving it to decompose, and the kids can watch it. I know, it sounds disgusting, but it was actually really cool. There is still fur on the top of the head, but the mouth is clean of skin and fur, and you can see the big jaw and huge teeth this black bear had. I think it's actually a pretty neat way to teach kids. <br />
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So we went to this party called Rock the Barn, at their barn area, and they had music, a craft fair, concessions (they ran out of veggie hot dogs before I could get any, which pissed me off. I swear, that happens at every event we go to where they have veg dogs, I think because a bunch of meat-eaters decide to try it. Hey! Back off of my dogs, you carnivores!), face painting, and some animals the kids could touch. Lily held three baby chicks, one after the other, until I had to drag her away to do something else. Before that she sat in a chair and had a snake in her lap. I controlled my squeam factor reaction. She actually really likes snakes.<br />
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There was also a hayloft in the barn where they kids could jump in the hay, and then use a hoist to lift a hay bale. She liked that. I let Dad take her in there, because I'm allergic to hay.<br />
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I didn't take any pics of Rock the Barn because I forgot the camera in the tent and didn't feel up to being the photographer. I had a migraine from the sun and had to do my injections in the tent. It worked okay. But I was a bit crankers. Esp. when they ran out of veg dogs.<br />
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But it was a beautiful place and we slept in the tent in the forest, with Tegan and her mom right next to us in their tent, and the girls had a fabulous time. This was Lily's first time camping and I think it was a wonderful introduction to it. Here she is in the tent:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8EoB3OZ87z7hcy-fIJ_JNke-WYvZjWKCOYjP5VcnjWN7565wAhaONmgiv9lBc_Q7UbMWH6Bn0_R92vGtoLi5OKnT4uHV8pDVEYNnwzEPUPJ5W0IrelxCBCHGc6HrLpjCl-xdHsYlfW0/s1600/DSC02966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8EoB3OZ87z7hcy-fIJ_JNke-WYvZjWKCOYjP5VcnjWN7565wAhaONmgiv9lBc_Q7UbMWH6Bn0_R92vGtoLi5OKnT4uHV8pDVEYNnwzEPUPJ5W0IrelxCBCHGc6HrLpjCl-xdHsYlfW0/s320/DSC02966.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmQ2KRn1sIvCtyvL1GlS1m-ERaUc4AQ-QuoocmvkQFjbyI6r7H6gRC97d8KGEOkTxTcvAI-2HZU-dFQ6B9-BE8lbRy4do5eWts6Wd73fqE6xPnvODyVGW-NPLZjLLg3zW7e20u1_UbLo/s1600/DSC02967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmQ2KRn1sIvCtyvL1GlS1m-ERaUc4AQ-QuoocmvkQFjbyI6r7H6gRC97d8KGEOkTxTcvAI-2HZU-dFQ6B9-BE8lbRy4do5eWts6Wd73fqE6xPnvODyVGW-NPLZjLLg3zW7e20u1_UbLo/s320/DSC02967.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After the Rock the Barn party, there was a campfire for the people who were camping. It was really fun, with all families with kids. They played together well. Lily roasted a few marshmallows but didn't really eat them. Her and Tegan liked eating them raw better.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcd5K6uzMPw-Q5GmitOnGRAim3Fa9KHf8N5JVpuwYGJU-4erJ70L-CcXqQbibDySZJfvAwn1sXVPnKNzN3kXtCOoi6dxRXMVoG3d6tPZ7YEsR0xi7NqCncYiE9hzjuENDHx7SWg9PJnkw/s1600/DSC02969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcd5K6uzMPw-Q5GmitOnGRAim3Fa9KHf8N5JVpuwYGJU-4erJ70L-CcXqQbibDySZJfvAwn1sXVPnKNzN3kXtCOoi6dxRXMVoG3d6tPZ7YEsR0xi7NqCncYiE9hzjuENDHx7SWg9PJnkw/s320/DSC02969.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEyjQtze0URa7xK7NIj6Cfs3MIsz26DZUpNLprz5GOUMhLmopXzoUcAzU9jf4rly3bex66_LyoQcFV97YqkOnWTplX0d0lfCILSoSYO-XHHULedA45qfL8zCxs4pvkQGi3HkAx4csHqw/s1600/DSC02970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEyjQtze0URa7xK7NIj6Cfs3MIsz26DZUpNLprz5GOUMhLmopXzoUcAzU9jf4rly3bex66_LyoQcFV97YqkOnWTplX0d0lfCILSoSYO-XHHULedA45qfL8zCxs4pvkQGi3HkAx4csHqw/s320/DSC02970.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1wzkrVswMR-gJ8hQBvwhY3qlIGW_-DnNf00W71nCmrqu8WupjVZDfGwoctNa0YQqLCw23RFZj1BS3hvV3rnJoS1ICbZEAb7eiKOHw11Ojdno74u80yU2g_GdcDOtDgtJby-gUmViTCM/s1600/DSC02975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-1wzkrVswMR-gJ8hQBvwhY3qlIGW_-DnNf00W71nCmrqu8WupjVZDfGwoctNa0YQqLCw23RFZj1BS3hvV3rnJoS1ICbZEAb7eiKOHw11Ojdno74u80yU2g_GdcDOtDgtJby-gUmViTCM/s320/DSC02975.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's Lily after dark. T.'s mom got them both these cute kiddie camp chairs to sit in. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhvEb6STM2SuEWfCIy8E59LWYehRxZgDvogOlgfWqFVzvcvPJVF37zezUaGBTwefSobhgGgwuuUUhFjHUAV9qNvtgByNjtG60XXPHCaBhOvmQlPTHDBzKeH8BgqmTh4-j38oUwHQ9Fhs/s1600/DSC02977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlhvEb6STM2SuEWfCIy8E59LWYehRxZgDvogOlgfWqFVzvcvPJVF37zezUaGBTwefSobhgGgwuuUUhFjHUAV9qNvtgByNjtG60XXPHCaBhOvmQlPTHDBzKeH8BgqmTh4-j38oUwHQ9Fhs/s320/DSC02977.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here's the fire in the dark. I love taking pics of campfires.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_65u2070rcrhr6oYrQuBq1Yfm_8KjOImc4U1gg8duSrI8BFEegQVZ6GaiSCHcsvj-9pL2iOgTnzRL7vJ7_lx5ayKlAuKeDjV5eTalPE_bpbxeerIDvVBbLi_tnQ-KkXHO4N9GDNMLXUA/s1600/DSC02979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_65u2070rcrhr6oYrQuBq1Yfm_8KjOImc4U1gg8duSrI8BFEegQVZ6GaiSCHcsvj-9pL2iOgTnzRL7vJ7_lx5ayKlAuKeDjV5eTalPE_bpbxeerIDvVBbLi_tnQ-KkXHO4N9GDNMLXUA/s320/DSC02979.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LQIJuQHRihOy49kjdqJtU2L7r0pgQ_Hzu65oAf6UuGXJ5e8k5f4y1MGDDwE_SdZ-kx1Hh89W0DNKrqR9BeeQj0dLyDmsp5liLtKZYLHp8JtPLSWzn5T-bo6Tel3iAP03bVrj9jmz-DM/s1600/DSC02980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_LQIJuQHRihOy49kjdqJtU2L7r0pgQ_Hzu65oAf6UuGXJ5e8k5f4y1MGDDwE_SdZ-kx1Hh89W0DNKrqR9BeeQj0dLyDmsp5liLtKZYLHp8JtPLSWzn5T-bo6Tel3iAP03bVrj9jmz-DM/s320/DSC02980.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here's our little glowing child. I think there might have been a flashlight pointed at her. That or she's glowing from within. Notice her flaming marshmallow. She never had any intention of eating it. Just wanted to see it burning, I guess. Which is pretty fun.</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-38977071573586281622011-06-05T18:43:00.000-05:002011-06-05T18:43:25.668-05:00And Then, A Pony Ride!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnzWufn4QnxUhONnzN7HUQmPbh-ZbbGqdUF7y3Jgqpz2_sE5pb2zilgXl_b1m5k5YTOb_5HMAbaMDtZc5dXTSDt2LHfMadRAFGXOf_cU190i5RYcCSAy_5b4qX-_QGl-SdTrL4sIsDLo/s1600/DSC02956.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJnzWufn4QnxUhONnzN7HUQmPbh-ZbbGqdUF7y3Jgqpz2_sE5pb2zilgXl_b1m5k5YTOb_5HMAbaMDtZc5dXTSDt2LHfMadRAFGXOf_cU190i5RYcCSAy_5b4qX-_QGl-SdTrL4sIsDLo/s320/DSC02956.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">No, really! Actually I think it was a regular horse, just short. But it was so fun! At the same festival, just across the ball field from the stage where they did their ballet performance. Cool! It was very well organized, too. And sweet. There were two horses, so two lines, and when we got up to the front of the line, before the kid got on the horse of their choice, they got to put a carrot in a bucket and hold it up for the horse to eat! Lily wasn't afraid at all, which I thought was so wonderful.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2_XOKZnorETUzYyPNCUDO1ZA8sbRNbqMDGYQQmYKB3vEb9JMceVJY9Nd8hMpfDJV5trNYnoH6jEOFRZr8D1NCyzF6x5f7_bjJcUpLBrFoRjt73stfTlJlm9pLw8ip9fpf96NfTg2m9I/s1600/DSC02957.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB2_XOKZnorETUzYyPNCUDO1ZA8sbRNbqMDGYQQmYKB3vEb9JMceVJY9Nd8hMpfDJV5trNYnoH6jEOFRZr8D1NCyzF6x5f7_bjJcUpLBrFoRjt73stfTlJlm9pLw8ip9fpf96NfTg2m9I/s320/DSC02957.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Man, I look fat in these pictures. In my mind I weigh as much as the horse handler.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyPRg1SBqk1B8Ijb3aYR_9M09LSQybYdQ1UVXLAgHkUm9Cv3wpyb3JN53ij038PbIYW0HwgITXpwga_BKmd31fnaZYpoTug1bpfvZVO30MPwAW9ebT11DO9xxhMkWVmrl0GEYF1uxwHg/s1600/DSC02958.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqyPRg1SBqk1B8Ijb3aYR_9M09LSQybYdQ1UVXLAgHkUm9Cv3wpyb3JN53ij038PbIYW0HwgITXpwga_BKmd31fnaZYpoTug1bpfvZVO30MPwAW9ebT11DO9xxhMkWVmrl0GEYF1uxwHg/s320/DSC02958.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1PwR3UQMV6DcI-aFL6POB7BMUb40Na7RFpBhBHnMWfninYnri_BquKWxo6H-8D12ADv-CyGdaXzR2H2cJZ9nrelrKQeUPa06ePNfgFhuVSIrWUYC5IeZLy2olpQti3IWufIcO80OeU0/s1600/DSC02959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT1PwR3UQMV6DcI-aFL6POB7BMUb40Na7RFpBhBHnMWfninYnri_BquKWxo6H-8D12ADv-CyGdaXzR2H2cJZ9nrelrKQeUPa06ePNfgFhuVSIrWUYC5IeZLy2olpQti3IWufIcO80OeU0/s320/DSC02959.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily held onto the horn at first like they told her to, but then she just relaxed her hands and went with it. I think she was very comfortable.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PPzU4eBhxgl67b-WE3z0BEUtloaUVwLqO3QTPwKxUyfxE-J18UURsMxWrD77xDTDiKexjRQLMmswAU6ObE0sNjW5ThJhtkIYVzjmPfViXTH0hiROCGuFTdtzlH2OcOIIPvgVl09Usq8/s1600/DSC02960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9PPzU4eBhxgl67b-WE3z0BEUtloaUVwLqO3QTPwKxUyfxE-J18UURsMxWrD77xDTDiKexjRQLMmswAU6ObE0sNjW5ThJhtkIYVzjmPfViXTH0hiROCGuFTdtzlH2OcOIIPvgVl09Usq8/s320/DSC02960.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGne0jfGKzk8EXR2YD_ny5DPCHWjAeANftckgdJmjv0C0UOytTEmUVAACxtwIpJEaNhwDF2jpFX1F8SIz1DKkSZFtwKb1vTkWvQDuaqatoNkIpskm8teYkYJDb11uQKI3d_BhFA_xKa4/s1600/DSC02961.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaGne0jfGKzk8EXR2YD_ny5DPCHWjAeANftckgdJmjv0C0UOytTEmUVAACxtwIpJEaNhwDF2jpFX1F8SIz1DKkSZFtwKb1vTkWvQDuaqatoNkIpskm8teYkYJDb11uQKI3d_BhFA_xKa4/s320/DSC02961.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I asked her later if she liked riding in the saddle, she said no, that she wanted to ride on the horse's fur. Aw. Maybe one day.</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-36027512325098482502011-06-05T18:29:00.000-05:002011-06-05T18:29:56.772-05:00Circle Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jR-Ksy8opW14Hrh66sko2j9re0iuwg60SdSGQE32_9vlvHZNOLO4iT9xwz7J14F3ykHL8cSh12OIhaKz_kGiWMJ2RGUXrZw3UbHkAQMOto-ceGUQWxvvyUR86_8bw8VlN2PN4kq5pNA/s1600/DSC02942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4jR-Ksy8opW14Hrh66sko2j9re0iuwg60SdSGQE32_9vlvHZNOLO4iT9xwz7J14F3ykHL8cSh12OIhaKz_kGiWMJ2RGUXrZw3UbHkAQMOto-ceGUQWxvvyUR86_8bw8VlN2PN4kq5pNA/s320/DSC02942.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have no idea what Lily is thinking, but what a funny face!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfcN6FIvlEwn1MMQ1VrldeukKvXUJe8Pflq1YpcUWKQsqkgWAYZ1wQpAX-v8GTM-vH_8EN2F-bBEBYVr4oukigtyhlrd2LDfFJf4djO9lUnCyO8gh2q4rv3HtPx0NAYITkNDee0_PQ_s/s1600/DSC02944.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRfcN6FIvlEwn1MMQ1VrldeukKvXUJe8Pflq1YpcUWKQsqkgWAYZ1wQpAX-v8GTM-vH_8EN2F-bBEBYVr4oukigtyhlrd2LDfFJf4djO9lUnCyO8gh2q4rv3HtPx0NAYITkNDee0_PQ_s/s320/DSC02944.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Everyone get in a circle</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JE2yzQRGkXYwXOT09O3E_JZWTubyyMYtP-ysvaZ97Oo3ozOWMMizK4thgCHZMt5LJCjg5ZPm95yBU3bRwM4XjgB-_1YW3UuXyGVUsWVAabDgjvMHkvhzf9Uj_mJ3n05JASMmKEl9PN4/s1600/DSC02945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_JE2yzQRGkXYwXOT09O3E_JZWTubyyMYtP-ysvaZ97Oo3ozOWMMizK4thgCHZMt5LJCjg5ZPm95yBU3bRwM4XjgB-_1YW3UuXyGVUsWVAabDgjvMHkvhzf9Uj_mJ3n05JASMmKEl9PN4/s320/DSC02945.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Doesn't the teacher look like she's having fun? This must be why the kids love her.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmi5EOtS-kG2Sw7rPQmt4CAZZgIVAEhXweCfvTI6iXSoPtxEHhW5iuZV159LNbR-Qt9dmTDkqeMfyMOpB3nmOcDnU9B87WtYu4YXROIYBUwh6sTUgnDelpLELYMQ0R7xlxjpvRofiluc/s1600/DSC02946.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkmi5EOtS-kG2Sw7rPQmt4CAZZgIVAEhXweCfvTI6iXSoPtxEHhW5iuZV159LNbR-Qt9dmTDkqeMfyMOpB3nmOcDnU9B87WtYu4YXROIYBUwh6sTUgnDelpLELYMQ0R7xlxjpvRofiluc/s320/DSC02946.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1-UNeSkRR9HTps0e8r9vhtx8MYGQkQ95EQUnpuswNvEdJgD1GaGCz3JiUrz9aWyR9VV8Na0mOgOi5lKzlBKJ_cjAgQ2NGEmtLk1z2FBF4v9na6ZGt2ft56EuQdmBqEH3usPOqLucVFE/s1600/DSC02948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1-UNeSkRR9HTps0e8r9vhtx8MYGQkQ95EQUnpuswNvEdJgD1GaGCz3JiUrz9aWyR9VV8Na0mOgOi5lKzlBKJ_cjAgQ2NGEmtLk1z2FBF4v9na6ZGt2ft56EuQdmBqEH3usPOqLucVFE/s320/DSC02948.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcb3NeVI9_ZebcqNkCIKQyRtk8_Afi5cXEsqYUkM6I4mgJVE44DTx56MZYHrWnrDb-JbPWpVk-xm2Z1HkiH76DU5kXX7CS9Ht6kYqDEbGjGo2t6iFWKRPiX23w62S_tURXuIdYgTaqY4/s1600/DSC02949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcb3NeVI9_ZebcqNkCIKQyRtk8_Afi5cXEsqYUkM6I4mgJVE44DTx56MZYHrWnrDb-JbPWpVk-xm2Z1HkiH76DU5kXX7CS9Ht6kYqDEbGjGo2t6iFWKRPiX23w62S_tURXuIdYgTaqY4/s320/DSC02949.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hey, Lily's smiling!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBZ9w7GBg7efJHZD_X7eeZFiYAqR1bw1STHC8vJ-hqKLwaV0zJ3fRYmSTh2lxVPPFyuusfRcqmUwbans93bs3KzKUaTShAocbxWjlg4gOyl-knZyd1jp8CFE56GpBKVwOVb5cJlFLOho/s1600/DSC02950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBZ9w7GBg7efJHZD_X7eeZFiYAqR1bw1STHC8vJ-hqKLwaV0zJ3fRYmSTh2lxVPPFyuusfRcqmUwbans93bs3KzKUaTShAocbxWjlg4gOyl-knZyd1jp8CFE56GpBKVwOVb5cJlFLOho/s320/DSC02950.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHI43LnPLefR9d4zXvueDiba_Sw1u-CyaP3HYZvaK8IfQSTdnw5KBTZuW2lulJOFfDRE_BNNqkuBU5p-W8yGw0WFyYXkjkjW4nwW9u77lKWQXAVWziIazecpoOSib3uQjLBmVqYo5H2w/s1600/DSC02951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQHI43LnPLefR9d4zXvueDiba_Sw1u-CyaP3HYZvaK8IfQSTdnw5KBTZuW2lulJOFfDRE_BNNqkuBU5p-W8yGw0WFyYXkjkjW4nwW9u77lKWQXAVWziIazecpoOSib3uQjLBmVqYo5H2w/s320/DSC02951.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And another smile! I think she's having a good time.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tJctnqGNSlIVxnt86BXIgg-nTd5isg2I03R4btY53AY4jgcj0Mr9HeseEL7QuKlYImVRKsOtYdbLYxmolFFy3F_QmXe2jvqvtKO1KFdhCZkd1jh8b4gnVSK7dzJJHTZiJyICHzwy7f0/s1600/DSC02953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tJctnqGNSlIVxnt86BXIgg-nTd5isg2I03R4btY53AY4jgcj0Mr9HeseEL7QuKlYImVRKsOtYdbLYxmolFFy3F_QmXe2jvqvtKO1KFdhCZkd1jh8b4gnVSK7dzJJHTZiJyICHzwy7f0/s320/DSC02953.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And check this out, I love this teacher. When they're all done, she parades them around the stage so all the parents can cheer and take pics of their kid.</div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDnKCX4UXUqLuuYqNznwjg4Ho9aV8E62r5jSSgt4zyvNQ4XLLeHuWTO6GWIvby-oWgHbXte7frNkvXncNClkRIozHp4axsv9Xzi8CqFXSed17VCM5JvhJqpYMKy84T19pocmENcYQPJ8/s1600/DSC02954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlDnKCX4UXUqLuuYqNznwjg4Ho9aV8E62r5jSSgt4zyvNQ4XLLeHuWTO6GWIvby-oWgHbXte7frNkvXncNClkRIozHp4axsv9Xzi8CqFXSed17VCM5JvhJqpYMKy84T19pocmENcYQPJ8/s320/DSC02954.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxJAnGOOptuLO07uk8L0T5y0o6XvO9f_F_A769cqtjfw-9gl-CldFHVDeasyJuem1AwJopRIGnAyawgY3zF2md6gcmuWLBDMrRVaqHf3Til5WctQ9sUKct46X0Bk_qRTmEhTL5e2Vtgs/s1600/DSC02955.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZxJAnGOOptuLO07uk8L0T5y0o6XvO9f_F_A769cqtjfw-9gl-CldFHVDeasyJuem1AwJopRIGnAyawgY3zF2md6gcmuWLBDMrRVaqHf3Til5WctQ9sUKct46X0Bk_qRTmEhTL5e2Vtgs/s320/DSC02955.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hooray!!!</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-70990227248727071172011-06-05T18:15:00.000-05:002011-06-05T18:15:11.923-05:00The Twirl!Wait for it, here's the exciting part, and so kewt!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vKPt8snaCoix6LJTeCBfZfORebjcPww7e0tGLDLiVn9FKy7V9fB4WDVCRm_jDyBy5ftzOVxGC5bJ0LA3AvVMwAOlwknjdiqIg_DO9NoHEzXEyqKw6Al5-JO02WSOHScMuC42IKNfjcw/s1600/DSC02936.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6vKPt8snaCoix6LJTeCBfZfORebjcPww7e0tGLDLiVn9FKy7V9fB4WDVCRm_jDyBy5ftzOVxGC5bJ0LA3AvVMwAOlwknjdiqIg_DO9NoHEzXEyqKw6Al5-JO02WSOHScMuC42IKNfjcw/s320/DSC02936.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I love Lily's expression here, she's very inwardly focused.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidYjagvqiRIIrUmS_48ailfAPKo3Xa_uhcPGHd3YZHm5ArxJGr50ZO4G04Cp7gOertxq4lqRoLdJZsfRY20usAGgZhzhwJ2Ac58gGEpO4pGP2uJQpPo5oCOxDOmi8QTDXob9NJBrG8L0/s1600/DSC02937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiidYjagvqiRIIrUmS_48ailfAPKo3Xa_uhcPGHd3YZHm5ArxJGr50ZO4G04Cp7gOertxq4lqRoLdJZsfRY20usAGgZhzhwJ2Ac58gGEpO4pGP2uJQpPo5oCOxDOmi8QTDXob9NJBrG8L0/s320/DSC02937.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I was trying to watch live and take the pic at the same time, so I'm a bit off center here...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSMliPe3Lk-v6QQ-4Ju8HIuQQEv0yjzSkLAWmD73k2ty4H9XLPA7QCVMrN5HJHLr1N2vZZdBQQTmx6SzbV3EtiX-aizfvQIVSInX6PZ6NNE7FRFb-2xn0ahOrsTP6h7VdnP7VcDGJMt0/s1600/DSC02938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcSMliPe3Lk-v6QQ-4Ju8HIuQQEv0yjzSkLAWmD73k2ty4H9XLPA7QCVMrN5HJHLr1N2vZZdBQQTmx6SzbV3EtiX-aizfvQIVSInX6PZ6NNE7FRFb-2xn0ahOrsTP6h7VdnP7VcDGJMt0/s320/DSC02938.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29nFFDx7nYr23O0l588eiEIekYKWvWYrKsd5FKO0Bz80Wvb53fRUveo9P1BBHYOeLfi3lSAPECVfFRcDsTNOY5v54aqXxX5KAWrUpGkdEoB2Y3UMU9y17MOj3x8x2FjFEFGZnjrHFewc/s1600/DSC02939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj29nFFDx7nYr23O0l588eiEIekYKWvWYrKsd5FKO0Bz80Wvb53fRUveo9P1BBHYOeLfi3lSAPECVfFRcDsTNOY5v54aqXxX5KAWrUpGkdEoB2Y3UMU9y17MOj3x8x2FjFEFGZnjrHFewc/s320/DSC02939.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh, I love this one.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoncddL2ZR_AeFX_lSZxL_T2UbomOSkof4X_km7fD9h1OeqFdAuMjdQwhAF_iHo-FSwSzZwdSZ8gnB2yZZ5R9MBzaTQuiEdwGLkTAQCnfVe-vCrqpQFGoZLl_HnIl2UU2_DNTB1jMksk/s1600/DSC02940.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXoncddL2ZR_AeFX_lSZxL_T2UbomOSkof4X_km7fD9h1OeqFdAuMjdQwhAF_iHo-FSwSzZwdSZ8gnB2yZZ5R9MBzaTQuiEdwGLkTAQCnfVe-vCrqpQFGoZLl_HnIl2UU2_DNTB1jMksk/s320/DSC02940.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And this. I think the two ballerinas in the back got lost because they were getting their feet tangled up in the cords for the sound equipment. Ah, show biz. It's rough.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZ-QKipoRcwPrLqTuOnvCVHXmKZBlNY0dqffFv4x_H5Iq2vNbXR9GKgkpC7UBFnWDkKanv4Oiuod-QjsXsf8xo1bPcHZcGTewFSaBcOHx39zrBz8YOJlf_ZxtdPix_CxaMwet83u_X8Y/s1600/DSC02941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZ-QKipoRcwPrLqTuOnvCVHXmKZBlNY0dqffFv4x_H5Iq2vNbXR9GKgkpC7UBFnWDkKanv4Oiuod-QjsXsf8xo1bPcHZcGTewFSaBcOHx39zrBz8YOJlf_ZxtdPix_CxaMwet83u_X8Y/s320/DSC02941.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tegan sure looks like she's gettin' into it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-36256465169125541802011-06-05T18:07:00.000-05:002011-06-05T18:07:28.010-05:00Dancing, SometimesAnd now for a series of not very exciting shots, but it's my kid so hey. This might have been more interesting as a video, but we can't find our charger cord for the video camera. So just try to imagine they're moving (which they were, sometimes, when they weren't too distracted). I think Lily had fun but was a little grumpy when she had the sun in her eyes. She seems to be very sensitive to bright lights and noise, which worries me a bit, as that's what bothers me when I have a migraine...but back to the dancing!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpFdIDK1XEmdhnq4Og7usA7F7OvLEHLRAN_Rq9Uzdy3bq0K2FKzV_8iJLwGKbSN4a6nWK4l1ptcq2UbMGooTq0mRBy_DNkjO6e2EBkVY_RQGyyXb3ai-VHQkdIcaH7fcjMFP3GpkNZ0I/s1600/DSC02926.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpFdIDK1XEmdhnq4Og7usA7F7OvLEHLRAN_Rq9Uzdy3bq0K2FKzV_8iJLwGKbSN4a6nWK4l1ptcq2UbMGooTq0mRBy_DNkjO6e2EBkVY_RQGyyXb3ai-VHQkdIcaH7fcjMFP3GpkNZ0I/s320/DSC02926.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Standing in the right spot.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTbiWZjoHqhFkTltx8HXhQf6c5T9HqCnV8vPkr-DE1436TPc3EqMe74XY_rLApo_3UaOZXEMBeVxxZMqlnYwgavccsia4nJUCOQNqzpZwf5RDpY8JDK44YboeqCrtF2a1Pca_-JKwHSk/s1600/DSC02927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXTbiWZjoHqhFkTltx8HXhQf6c5T9HqCnV8vPkr-DE1436TPc3EqMe74XY_rLApo_3UaOZXEMBeVxxZMqlnYwgavccsia4nJUCOQNqzpZwf5RDpY8JDK44YboeqCrtF2a1Pca_-JKwHSk/s320/DSC02927.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Watching Miss K</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTO2uFyisZnS9tOr1EP-S2UugnTnRfcLiJIqpxtAElvphr_V8Mc7djbc2HInu-pSdTN2z8jx4OZg4lkumOmkgp4XxIivpOE9B0RC9kRK87nLvREiQyBDKRzx3cJNZVodpIHN4FdmQPFqE/s1600/DSC02928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTO2uFyisZnS9tOr1EP-S2UugnTnRfcLiJIqpxtAElvphr_V8Mc7djbc2HInu-pSdTN2z8jx4OZg4lkumOmkgp4XxIivpOE9B0RC9kRK87nLvREiQyBDKRzx3cJNZVodpIHN4FdmQPFqE/s320/DSC02928.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First position</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG2VTNi_hKBrERGeYKBZkwBJDJ7yEiaaxtVbSjUFrBceG4gJwgLQSD53lPXQ5SiqSDwWEO-aOocQa7tsgcLkX9KZL5-OlLd5N0n-0jvzOTl5itl1_Nr1ua8UAnfIzUU9cExOlz8Uhmew/s1600/DSC02929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDG2VTNi_hKBrERGeYKBZkwBJDJ7yEiaaxtVbSjUFrBceG4gJwgLQSD53lPXQ5SiqSDwWEO-aOocQa7tsgcLkX9KZL5-OlLd5N0n-0jvzOTl5itl1_Nr1ua8UAnfIzUU9cExOlz8Uhmew/s320/DSC02929.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Um, yeah, stick one of your feet out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINwpdYiKotGjnNHNWsjMjzjjW3ClCHFM0Y_1dQwSgMbLVzdVvgtQ3Xkghbw7TGyBVzyOH23v0bcjl5737003-3nv_u-SdIT66RfII9rsX1slcz4WBtEasutk1QW3uoaLTQUdni1lt5ws/s1600/DSC02930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINwpdYiKotGjnNHNWsjMjzjjW3ClCHFM0Y_1dQwSgMbLVzdVvgtQ3Xkghbw7TGyBVzyOH23v0bcjl5737003-3nv_u-SdIT66RfII9rsX1slcz4WBtEasutk1QW3uoaLTQUdni1lt5ws/s320/DSC02930.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Stick that belly out!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFht6s3CwaNiVFGKp4EPDWIowLk30ALoPtldd-am-M49ZpubFymdwMEVacxq_gi98pPSsHi1sFXvZl2tLbUq8QWy4cYpDwHBXX4S2Ra7mlViboFJKEKOcHO8n-LN3zQ7ZjDYknbNsnzl4/s1600/DSC02931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFht6s3CwaNiVFGKp4EPDWIowLk30ALoPtldd-am-M49ZpubFymdwMEVacxq_gi98pPSsHi1sFXvZl2tLbUq8QWy4cYpDwHBXX4S2Ra7mlViboFJKEKOcHO8n-LN3zQ7ZjDYknbNsnzl4/s320/DSC02931.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtZjsdP28r56YFP00AYoY_Mm8hJjGiN8RvkBSeeBHiNvwIIBpIyiT4tYwPZO7S5jzDV5IQKK8oDE42A_q_8PL3wktf3m0UjLUy_ng_6fDgVG3fvAo9R7O95s_EAIBvmvN6mfWuoQYySk/s1600/DSC02932.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtZjsdP28r56YFP00AYoY_Mm8hJjGiN8RvkBSeeBHiNvwIIBpIyiT4tYwPZO7S5jzDV5IQKK8oDE42A_q_8PL3wktf3m0UjLUy_ng_6fDgVG3fvAo9R7O95s_EAIBvmvN6mfWuoQYySk/s320/DSC02932.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hopping foot to foot</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGfnFsx0VYIqdF4Mk31YR4KLMnO-_ZXhXOyw0lebvldy-0cL4_QWaakVAy2Qr5DEdfqSHbF8MZFsRCLQzSuDU5sXe2RUI9i5jAX2Xc8IernkfiM42f0RAnOh8ScZOlWGRI3SdOtrodhU/s1600/DSC02933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixGfnFsx0VYIqdF4Mk31YR4KLMnO-_ZXhXOyw0lebvldy-0cL4_QWaakVAy2Qr5DEdfqSHbF8MZFsRCLQzSuDU5sXe2RUI9i5jAX2Xc8IernkfiM42f0RAnOh8ScZOlWGRI3SdOtrodhU/s320/DSC02933.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tegan is rockin' out</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-77618292816827744532011-06-05T13:48:00.000-05:002011-06-05T13:48:03.965-05:00Little BallerinaWe've had a busy weekend. Saturday we had swim class and then a ballet show, or recital, I guess you'd call it, by Lily's ballet class. It was pretty informal, outside on a stage as a part of the park's annual festival (the park being McRae Park, where Lily takes her ballet class through Mnpls Parks and Rec). It was so much fun to watch all these little girls, who love their ballet teacher, Miss K., trying to pay attention and follow along with Miss K's movements. Here they are parading out of the gym to the outdoor stage:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPA3cOKJuSssnGG7r343jV_jEninYoRYRyNEu5RhOqpTx8aVYRCZreLECdhVnG9yofG3FNx8IJRfK4jx34lzqwTxxP8RxUmqPGwyW-HO53LnNhm2rUYHCkBzUl3rwwHLNE1ZdDdED7HU/s1600/DSC02917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcPA3cOKJuSssnGG7r343jV_jEninYoRYRyNEu5RhOqpTx8aVYRCZreLECdhVnG9yofG3FNx8IJRfK4jx34lzqwTxxP8RxUmqPGwyW-HO53LnNhm2rUYHCkBzUl3rwwHLNE1ZdDdED7HU/s320/DSC02917.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">That's Miss K in the front with the light blue top on.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJcGB8nkA3Bd39tqX2nr4N5Ztu4a7saJG384jznX4nj4dxEGNs0gwHzZX4WCcNvvASP5D3mimaLuIIec8L3aeWwUAKrsjNqkBVOECsbnlQjpyQ8pUAhR-hbuUZbF4O9A4jRfB8331HBg/s1600/DSC02919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJcGB8nkA3Bd39tqX2nr4N5Ztu4a7saJG384jznX4nj4dxEGNs0gwHzZX4WCcNvvASP5D3mimaLuIIec8L3aeWwUAKrsjNqkBVOECsbnlQjpyQ8pUAhR-hbuUZbF4O9A4jRfB8331HBg/s320/DSC02919.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily chose to wear a blue t-shirt under her tutu. That's Tegan right behind her. They are in the same class together.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUF0tYhYLxyiL_B2m5uzF5d5RG55HzVGwZGEWM1I_LW-hRjHGK0lvv-CpYPrjgSkY38dRI0d5GWr1mxSIvCpkAMzsJKRlVbxD4dg-dO6gk4L9gMiayZa_eYfTEq3ZT9YZoHX3-MX4rgM/s1600/DSC02920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGUF0tYhYLxyiL_B2m5uzF5d5RG55HzVGwZGEWM1I_LW-hRjHGK0lvv-CpYPrjgSkY38dRI0d5GWr1mxSIvCpkAMzsJKRlVbxD4dg-dO6gk4L9gMiayZa_eYfTEq3ZT9YZoHX3-MX4rgM/s320/DSC02920.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tegan works on her royal wave.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then they had to sit quietly in the front row while the other classes went (there were four):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0oi8xUkb-0RODnPRicTXNgw5E6pdfK8_hbWVkNBCaGz9jj2tM82mSfTFfZOhZNlSSOgP-15I__UbYd-hfczQsZFXz2vpS3wDzqg9AkNK5_Rs6PFY7lggOVLiOzS627zpo5l08mf3ztk/s1600/DSC02922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo0oi8xUkb-0RODnPRicTXNgw5E6pdfK8_hbWVkNBCaGz9jj2tM82mSfTFfZOhZNlSSOgP-15I__UbYd-hfczQsZFXz2vpS3wDzqg9AkNK5_Rs6PFY7lggOVLiOzS627zpo5l08mf3ztk/s320/DSC02922.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See John standing in the back, and Lily and Tegan in the bottom middle of the shot.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBM1YB7ykxXh5m667GpABnV_74_acXD5Ta0zyhpeoHVB-mrh02VkwBcb1Gn41BSW6xcDtC9zyoaFs1_gosA0mXnE1XBiRIuXTZo53BFT_dMChZ2mxemXJ8RQIXi8NchykJI-89Z0pEEU/s1600/DSC02923.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBM1YB7ykxXh5m667GpABnV_74_acXD5Ta0zyhpeoHVB-mrh02VkwBcb1Gn41BSW6xcDtC9zyoaFs1_gosA0mXnE1XBiRIuXTZo53BFT_dMChZ2mxemXJ8RQIXi8NchykJI-89Z0pEEU/s320/DSC02923.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Nose-picker! Not my kid.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Then they paraded up onto the stage with Miss K in front:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOvUHPAcBVcS01jrSZBZIwGpltU_jMKby23WuwN4qexHgNbr9AP-YL26UlEb-VtobdZwUreYlXVWyUOjqO5Zxr22Cd1jAEqpwRa2jLdHgJDnI6zeqmOGm7EHhrlZ-jBai53MGjNWpaA0/s1600/DSC02924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNOvUHPAcBVcS01jrSZBZIwGpltU_jMKby23WuwN4qexHgNbr9AP-YL26UlEb-VtobdZwUreYlXVWyUOjqO5Zxr22Cd1jAEqpwRa2jLdHgJDnI6zeqmOGm7EHhrlZ-jBai53MGjNWpaA0/s320/DSC02924.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02T-0X49sBt36xxAU3ainCAqDobbEn5JPZ2gBD8o7FTHvy22Mfl3rfnLxw9ezD-mGvEsaIxbKjxzVV4U1Xm3G7-YCXZA0QGc5Y46dDNHkwr3m6nQSYsuxXmTn5E6duXyCHHElkeLHo3g/s1600/DSC02925.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh02T-0X49sBt36xxAU3ainCAqDobbEn5JPZ2gBD8o7FTHvy22Mfl3rfnLxw9ezD-mGvEsaIxbKjxzVV4U1Xm3G7-YCXZA0QGc5Y46dDNHkwr3m6nQSYsuxXmTn5E6duXyCHHElkeLHo3g/s320/DSC02925.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-42976193995389907252011-05-29T08:49:00.001-05:002011-05-29T08:56:20.340-05:00More Art ParkThis sculpture's title was "Queen":<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEjlCQWAwy2PbJg7AdGrKaA5353ea7mFPV6UpUWfrOpOo13HKbE8IYZGX2iMtitNybldBriG78vNbtPBbGCeUjOGr6WeZYukglNRzvrMjIdIumKxEMNY1lksmmzdpnl0V_cRdAuVwA9I/s1600/DSC02885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEjlCQWAwy2PbJg7AdGrKaA5353ea7mFPV6UpUWfrOpOo13HKbE8IYZGX2iMtitNybldBriG78vNbtPBbGCeUjOGr6WeZYukglNRzvrMjIdIumKxEMNY1lksmmzdpnl0V_cRdAuVwA9I/s320/DSC02885.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So here's the queen of our hearts:</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsM_ch2jxZHM5ibWS8AqmKY4wYH3QA374TVB0h1e1AOMAT64KURXENemhfgmzetclQ8FJdzRFGCkdNFagjPosQ75YHAk1SMsC5iZiXYKO_elcr9GZk_vVorwyB7uBbt_oaz6bgt5Ls1o/s1600/DSC02887.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsM_ch2jxZHM5ibWS8AqmKY4wYH3QA374TVB0h1e1AOMAT64KURXENemhfgmzetclQ8FJdzRFGCkdNFagjPosQ75YHAk1SMsC5iZiXYKO_elcr9GZk_vVorwyB7uBbt_oaz6bgt5Ls1o/s320/DSC02887.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And if that wasn't fun enough, there was a rope swing! Playground swings just don't compare to that utter freedom of the long arc of a rope swing attached to a majestic tree. Lily said she felt like she was flying:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTH-0rrJO4hv86qgnb6xchiJodAxymOXWobYPcNcInZZlcMi3JyOgDQOBAny45wVRrKVb4Ji2yrL4-kD1FQatC1kNGx603BZqcjF6xG4VVDu4tvDCyXdcL6gGQGyt09Jdg9r22_Ja1M0/s1600/DSC02890.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRTH-0rrJO4hv86qgnb6xchiJodAxymOXWobYPcNcInZZlcMi3JyOgDQOBAny45wVRrKVb4Ji2yrL4-kD1FQatC1kNGx603BZqcjF6xG4VVDu4tvDCyXdcL6gGQGyt09Jdg9r22_Ja1M0/s320/DSC02890.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQVmJcZUC41YUxqJHG__i0jCtMU-dkIBdPzrvyvFOhmpz7FnDy7wnl_nCfjJJ-6B1JYYEHHd_iAO84OgTEUzOrmIUWJgzQw_h_yHOkir8dzVTLjKYkf2RrUABfhCrUYUyD4S5mPEq-0Q/s1600/DSC02891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKQVmJcZUC41YUxqJHG__i0jCtMU-dkIBdPzrvyvFOhmpz7FnDy7wnl_nCfjJJ-6B1JYYEHHd_iAO84OgTEUzOrmIUWJgzQw_h_yHOkir8dzVTLjKYkf2RrUABfhCrUYUyD4S5mPEq-0Q/s320/DSC02891.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLN1aM2W4gRcMC5STHlwBUU7lcAN9IkK04l_Si55cBJ-3UpEcrb4RNpQ3SYwMgnFltYD3fdb0W-z3xdgPt4bj1mJfoRTrzkNsf1mn79YDMAt4HES9byU4maNPknEnzUz0bHcvTLxrJWBo/s1600/DSC02897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLN1aM2W4gRcMC5STHlwBUU7lcAN9IkK04l_Si55cBJ-3UpEcrb4RNpQ3SYwMgnFltYD3fdb0W-z3xdgPt4bj1mJfoRTrzkNsf1mn79YDMAt4HES9byU4maNPknEnzUz0bHcvTLxrJWBo/s320/DSC02897.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUsnUMkEgv-MNp6VqzK7vddfgqcFyzfRxZqQLfBk4xi6b66CGSs0IKWKBGDyhGzEcV5V4bQSTMuQNGafuI8CT_q-fDFqO0CimUtSB5rOLT_oLgL9EenFXXvSQqX2bBl9_OvK1DnWO2-8/s1600/DSC02898.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUsnUMkEgv-MNp6VqzK7vddfgqcFyzfRxZqQLfBk4xi6b66CGSs0IKWKBGDyhGzEcV5V4bQSTMuQNGafuI8CT_q-fDFqO0CimUtSB5rOLT_oLgL9EenFXXvSQqX2bBl9_OvK1DnWO2-8/s320/DSC02898.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And lastly, here's a sweet sculpture that captures how I felt about this peaceful family outing:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lN_xWgnTDHEe1sFzF1abR1PeW0OlwsGebl-ibCdVgeq7smaGQVZ9IIQV6INIvI-XXSEQnl2LrK6JjFpmgVVM1U02aj8xSaC_JE9jaWPS7wqMYhTRIP_85xM1vQBKo5KBqvpO5AJCu08/s1600/DSC02889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lN_xWgnTDHEe1sFzF1abR1PeW0OlwsGebl-ibCdVgeq7smaGQVZ9IIQV6INIvI-XXSEQnl2LrK6JjFpmgVVM1U02aj8xSaC_JE9jaWPS7wqMYhTRIP_85xM1vQBKo5KBqvpO5AJCu08/s320/DSC02889.JPG" t8="true" width="240" /></a></div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-71910661382719617732011-05-29T08:31:00.001-05:002011-05-29T08:52:39.315-05:00Art Park HikeYesterday, after having a proper holiday weekend breakfast--donuts from Mel-O-Glaze--we all piled in the car (Cocoa included) and went to<a href="http://www.caponiartpark.org/index.html"> Caponi Art Park</a> in Eagan, MN, about 20 minutes from our home. We got there early in the morning and no one else was there. It was beautiful weather, cool and a little cloudy and breezy. So we went for a little hike and looked at the Sculpture Garden. Following the path, Lily would say, "Follow me! I know the way!" and she'd run ahead and discover another sculpture and then tell us to come see.<br />
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Here's one that's called "Nugget," that looks kind of like a hand with fingers clasping one half. We had to lift Lily up to see the fingers on the top:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvP6XTZ4HBgBIo0_klbjWfFPK2vgPaWuX0MalnD_EaYvaaK3JhfIhEF9PIb1PQxhI18kKrwFqt-UPyI_yAjrrRB6vwFzlnJ0TJAucbR0lV6OoitK_40wWkvqU78BjtYBikltjD-dqy9o/s1600/DSC02870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvP6XTZ4HBgBIo0_klbjWfFPK2vgPaWuX0MalnD_EaYvaaK3JhfIhEF9PIb1PQxhI18kKrwFqt-UPyI_yAjrrRB6vwFzlnJ0TJAucbR0lV6OoitK_40wWkvqU78BjtYBikltjD-dqy9o/s320/DSC02870.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nmizqdc3oL_DkWeYD2lYs-4iiT5gPvwWdcOCPyLOnJfbCSz4RWsoGxGOPd0oUDH3ZRukZ7mmTA8gqp6L2IoCMPiB7ZCdD9KeRL8pSa_JE5soHKfU_2Gy_oI-VjTDDj_ZwguZa93IJfE/s1600/DSC02871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nmizqdc3oL_DkWeYD2lYs-4iiT5gPvwWdcOCPyLOnJfbCSz4RWsoGxGOPd0oUDH3ZRukZ7mmTA8gqp6L2IoCMPiB7ZCdD9KeRL8pSa_JE5soHKfU_2Gy_oI-VjTDDj_ZwguZa93IJfE/s320/DSC02871.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNK-wkgiPSQTDtIziDkIjF3TgyPtYDZ8lcTnu_cerFd7yXx6o3QqbRmdnNfvANP08fQq8_aoH6eaNDSWAN_2dAm1S3U34WmQFALCm_kLlAguUfHEsqqV-CNQekxUYrmm_hm4BWcOa8Ijc/s1600/DSC02872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNK-wkgiPSQTDtIziDkIjF3TgyPtYDZ8lcTnu_cerFd7yXx6o3QqbRmdnNfvANP08fQq8_aoH6eaNDSWAN_2dAm1S3U34WmQFALCm_kLlAguUfHEsqqV-CNQekxUYrmm_hm4BWcOa8Ijc/s320/DSC02872.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I like how rainwater collects between the fingers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's one called "Lovers":</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXtI1J57L5ZxZGlo4OYCPkRvcMpGxClQTMfhw4H11J_OqaW0gHji-nJ-7b_DxxNP6a91hqKFo4HWLfJkYQduT4ZqGNflEIOhWeBJvBMcA7yw6iSRPIzVNAwT3-bP4uGSaQsVTB0CIRnU/s1600/DSC02875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXtI1J57L5ZxZGlo4OYCPkRvcMpGxClQTMfhw4H11J_OqaW0gHji-nJ-7b_DxxNP6a91hqKFo4HWLfJkYQduT4ZqGNflEIOhWeBJvBMcA7yw6iSRPIzVNAwT3-bP4uGSaQsVTB0CIRnU/s320/DSC02875.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I asked Lily what she thought this one looked like:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFROtEh2nGRGPe9GOdvCfpIaETHOPHiIR20QoGDGji-v6ooyWgyPvCYBujI-PV_2ZEoMrHWbw25ubiag0NFzOk-3oEE6UOr6K6grWmF4hkoM6cXtxsTK4Godc1S6sEnQ12SlxGKKkOpSQ/s1600/DSC02880.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFROtEh2nGRGPe9GOdvCfpIaETHOPHiIR20QoGDGji-v6ooyWgyPvCYBujI-PV_2ZEoMrHWbw25ubiag0NFzOk-3oEE6UOr6K6grWmF4hkoM6cXtxsTK4Godc1S6sEnQ12SlxGKKkOpSQ/s320/DSC02880.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
She said they looked like birds from her show "Dinosaur Train." I quite agree. Pteranodons. Made of iron.<br />
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The trail was a bit muddy from all the rain we've had lately, so it was fun for Lily to pick up sticks and draw in the mud:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrHdy9wgPyQCa32JkxYE7ot5pe3kHutXBzs_q4G3NfleBckY_yUVAkzRXVs9kiXNQCC-Zm1k-eMxw8Usf-T259dF7h5cu-NcmAvFUQHSk4HKy0q_aBEdtE7q4gZSv7If_mT7J-FVZHT0/s1600/DSC02881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrHdy9wgPyQCa32JkxYE7ot5pe3kHutXBzs_q4G3NfleBckY_yUVAkzRXVs9kiXNQCC-Zm1k-eMxw8Usf-T259dF7h5cu-NcmAvFUQHSk4HKy0q_aBEdtE7q4gZSv7If_mT7J-FVZHT0/s320/DSC02881.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH640tUqa5aqj8-_cF9BYp8kdj8pNoArQw_27Vl87plcyY85O54lbi2-6f7WV61wmwYQcqi-XF86GO8KOXvcNezZ_yVD4WbBl8964w4EkYPaBOt37n-Z_vrqde74-H5mVSD1rjnKmJ4aE/s1600/DSC02883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH640tUqa5aqj8-_cF9BYp8kdj8pNoArQw_27Vl87plcyY85O54lbi2-6f7WV61wmwYQcqi-XF86GO8KOXvcNezZ_yVD4WbBl8964w4EkYPaBOt37n-Z_vrqde74-H5mVSD1rjnKmJ4aE/s320/DSC02883.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPDFGJ3UcWhfL3wZHBHqg5Rs3KSGmQe0dXuZCydPPd0laPaiE_yDOeQS0dF-KxxCzmNCuQzizC3uRQBpt7TS6BjXYW2PjfFyNtWgHQzIQmjqqKwVYYsif3xP9LqJArVW-pCeDBHG7XAM/s1600/DSC02884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKPDFGJ3UcWhfL3wZHBHqg5Rs3KSGmQe0dXuZCydPPd0laPaiE_yDOeQS0dF-KxxCzmNCuQzizC3uRQBpt7TS6BjXYW2PjfFyNtWgHQzIQmjqqKwVYYsif3xP9LqJArVW-pCeDBHG7XAM/s320/DSC02884.JPG" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Look at that golden hair in the morning sun...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-64032027819658537792011-05-21T14:34:00.000-05:002011-05-21T14:34:01.781-05:00When You Die..."Dad, when you die, Mommy and I will give you some food so you can grow up and not be dead."<br />
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Um, ok. Starting to try to process death and what it means. Hmmm. I think they say something in school about it; they don't shy away from such topics. It's just fascinating how she tries to process it.<br />
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One day we squished an ant because it was inside the house, and we put it in the trash can, where Lily said it would be happy. "Um, no, it's dead," I said. But she was undaunted. It can still be happy dead, why not?Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-50753221260321777392011-05-21T13:15:00.000-05:002011-05-21T13:15:01.567-05:00Lunchtime and a Little More Playtime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-4tUGyBFEs7L_4dzFIJr2MfCE43r3tQGOffHxIpsnVXqbSq5RquyGhpcmqRBp-nJ4r1456b2bMaz_LuVxC0WrIMQ7uMAIDNwzPbYyYDHQlYgkaq6MJ4nr1eka91GDLEzgHVyvC24rtM/s1600/DSC02798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-4tUGyBFEs7L_4dzFIJr2MfCE43r3tQGOffHxIpsnVXqbSq5RquyGhpcmqRBp-nJ4r1456b2bMaz_LuVxC0WrIMQ7uMAIDNwzPbYyYDHQlYgkaq6MJ4nr1eka91GDLEzgHVyvC24rtM/s320/DSC02798.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Lunchtime Gang</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n8kaqjkWN35LnmY9QdxLGQ9gFx3CJd70TqG8lukyB4LyTJvmD3vefnOyKDLoCapwJ1DBViQ4k3artESxh3XXVFTzDfXR6RiId7VIUZbyjE1D-PD898lBmWn_i7O-742ls8Hm9V-_zpI/s1600/DSC02806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0n8kaqjkWN35LnmY9QdxLGQ9gFx3CJd70TqG8lukyB4LyTJvmD3vefnOyKDLoCapwJ1DBViQ4k3artESxh3XXVFTzDfXR6RiId7VIUZbyjE1D-PD898lBmWn_i7O-742ls8Hm9V-_zpI/s320/DSC02806.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily and I dress up in quilts at playtime. Oh so fun!</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-30451009837512020332011-05-21T13:08:00.000-05:002011-05-21T13:08:47.963-05:00And Playtime, Too!The other really fun thing about Lily's celebration was that we got to stay and play as long as we wanted with Lily and the other kids. So we got to really see what they do in school. I mean, you know, we knew from descriptions, but that's the first time we actually got to be there and participate. I think Lily loved it.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FoRXCEYn_428raDxyeD9rALwV9F35u9Xe1qeYX6LwHoSjZMWsEctg82hYaMtf_OHhmA3OL52xZCEKOW9_YkERT7pfAhM1k9p_iCw9keDM7Ek0OK3Vn1UlTcZ1k3djVAmxWUJtTvhM28/s1600/DSC02788.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1FoRXCEYn_428raDxyeD9rALwV9F35u9Xe1qeYX6LwHoSjZMWsEctg82hYaMtf_OHhmA3OL52xZCEKOW9_YkERT7pfAhM1k9p_iCw9keDM7Ek0OK3Vn1UlTcZ1k3djVAmxWUJtTvhM28/s320/DSC02788.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily in the playroom, making a bed out of a bench.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSolFa7nLvu7Xd7dieo0eNGQLV2yH_rKCxdQ_SMkKSu3sYy58IDhEloTkXUje45ExRUSguIqyVP6vKPXdZFNxQGoI7sP-93bdCG1ZpvoQZgLF2gEwG0cQi7l9-TZiW8SehbgYYEL2H2k/s1600/DSC02789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtSolFa7nLvu7Xd7dieo0eNGQLV2yH_rKCxdQ_SMkKSu3sYy58IDhEloTkXUje45ExRUSguIqyVP6vKPXdZFNxQGoI7sP-93bdCG1ZpvoQZgLF2gEwG0cQi7l9-TZiW8SehbgYYEL2H2k/s320/DSC02789.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Playing with toddler-sized wooden bowls (all of their toys are all-natural materials, like wood, or wool) in the play kitchen.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu_C50lumOYM3OWJR75RA8Cw3gMyPY-shXDgcVtGRyNhwrYWGM35B4Bc5Wp86SxO7aD3kK-TAGA8kRpLkYM7y-vprjDzqlBb41TP3NpuSP4rWax6NCwq1YW1OV0XOoAAMTQEOh4Uxsrg/s1600/DSC02790.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu_C50lumOYM3OWJR75RA8Cw3gMyPY-shXDgcVtGRyNhwrYWGM35B4Bc5Wp86SxO7aD3kK-TAGA8kRpLkYM7y-vprjDzqlBb41TP3NpuSP4rWax6NCwq1YW1OV0XOoAAMTQEOh4Uxsrg/s320/DSC02790.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily playing with some knit and crocheted kitties.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1XsNcPWR_Alg9RAfp2SYpPdk3d8JMu9SIoUEvxyIhMqY700igPtLZCpKwWilIedKKoJDnYdbrIIlTY0ydpbOrshpx2-JtlqkqRPC8JXvxgiISMx3TNhq5hsAOxT4uW7tBlc19xF5a2U/s1600/DSC02792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk1XsNcPWR_Alg9RAfp2SYpPdk3d8JMu9SIoUEvxyIhMqY700igPtLZCpKwWilIedKKoJDnYdbrIIlTY0ydpbOrshpx2-JtlqkqRPC8JXvxgiISMx3TNhq5hsAOxT4uW7tBlc19xF5a2U/s320/DSC02792.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It was a beautiful day outside, and they always play a couple times outdoors. Here's one of the popular toys: a bouncy board. I even got to try it.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9REuuZq6TgLrylI59TEfo12FIOImxwaLvsMUg8X9jAK1at8Yw3Ev2RLtuO3iq6sFXzTr36KZhulxxtY71sh9hwT1-5laygYzc93GT_9DPw0lwyQvOSa2vev6soQl1KKHnc3U9xFjhIY/s1600/DSC02795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ9REuuZq6TgLrylI59TEfo12FIOImxwaLvsMUg8X9jAK1at8Yw3Ev2RLtuO3iq6sFXzTr36KZhulxxtY71sh9hwT1-5laygYzc93GT_9DPw0lwyQvOSa2vev6soQl1KKHnc3U9xFjhIY/s320/DSC02795.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily in the actual Willow House that the kids built last year in the backyard.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVNWZvg1jSK2goV1KCSXqBczAyPjl95Ji3Gso2kGrBspOEJCrXe73-44twPcl8Wq8e37CgVgbNoZ-DupA3aJS-BsjtxALVdahn3jRsR1UTyqBjNi5P__BR5orw2b7v-lepXjrqT5hi-U/s1600/DSC02796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVNWZvg1jSK2goV1KCSXqBczAyPjl95Ji3Gso2kGrBspOEJCrXe73-44twPcl8Wq8e37CgVgbNoZ-DupA3aJS-BsjtxALVdahn3jRsR1UTyqBjNi5P__BR5orw2b7v-lepXjrqT5hi-U/s320/DSC02796.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqwVDvn0c4GkHZDZ-DOX16KjHFPrr5uAcnos_mI3cq3zmKmo9P5ey6ZbwIKJ-aQxp7hkcSJx_Z0B9lPJ0Qe2wLtRlb8oxu-qFgIO9c5IRXD8-VvIXQpA8SjRSyem2A_IhfRecZuaCRJY/s1600/DSC02797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguqwVDvn0c4GkHZDZ-DOX16KjHFPrr5uAcnos_mI3cq3zmKmo9P5ey6ZbwIKJ-aQxp7hkcSJx_Z0B9lPJ0Qe2wLtRlb8oxu-qFgIO9c5IRXD8-VvIXQpA8SjRSyem2A_IhfRecZuaCRJY/s320/DSC02797.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily playing on a wooden structure that is alternately imagined as a house, a boat, a rocket ship, and I forget what else. I know Lily told me it was one more thing...</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-40308059281598862642011-05-21T12:48:00.000-05:002011-05-21T12:48:31.356-05:00Birthday at PreschoolLily's preschool likes to have all the kids be able to celebrate their birthdays during the school year, so last week we got to celebrate with Lily at school. It was so much fun! First of all, they do this really sweet ceremony where she wears a crown and a cape and sits on a chair with beautiful silks on it. And one of the teachers tells a story about when Lily was up in heaven and her guardian angel was with her. It was so calm and sweet and loving.<br />
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Lily was a bit shy about the attention, I think, and was mostly looking at us and holding on to John's arm. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRTBaXZ6x4NQyNR4G0XtMKjjc0qfvObDMchXAiie4SLnw1hxvd8zCOnDYrlr6z4yv5ErVY4gmxs5_WlaOl-kqlo-aJNs5y5gLsU7H4dqpHzKMV-AL6_51id_3ALnd3ZDoAdE2hhZ6R9Y/s1600/DSC02780.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghRTBaXZ6x4NQyNR4G0XtMKjjc0qfvObDMchXAiie4SLnw1hxvd8zCOnDYrlr6z4yv5ErVY4gmxs5_WlaOl-kqlo-aJNs5y5gLsU7H4dqpHzKMV-AL6_51id_3ALnd3ZDoAdE2hhZ6R9Y/s320/DSC02780.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiKxZj4x4Ae3dxou91bSWi5kz3UVsxx_u972WkBQla0N26gk9oBJ1xNvqGT76p54PcQvvH0tWEO0-03cLfr_rdCjkNo9Vwvzn4w_N6AjDwQo8vRv2mgewCitPXMlbyM50n-bbDlvrBrU/s1600/DSC02781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPiKxZj4x4Ae3dxou91bSWi5kz3UVsxx_u972WkBQla0N26gk9oBJ1xNvqGT76p54PcQvvH0tWEO0-03cLfr_rdCjkNo9Vwvzn4w_N6AjDwQo8vRv2mgewCitPXMlbyM50n-bbDlvrBrU/s320/DSC02781.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uN36Kjhnahfx1lWingwNhXNhb0v_6Dh8is9OD8aBfMlZmusxkOO0YQWvLGC_oC-uacg2rwSKyOZEbl40aWuBMKqxxlBB9UIIjNjqiEi-w8VKoGdi1kXkzw3BlSS_BuXQvrXtjNScjKs/s1600/DSC02783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3uN36Kjhnahfx1lWingwNhXNhb0v_6Dh8is9OD8aBfMlZmusxkOO0YQWvLGC_oC-uacg2rwSKyOZEbl40aWuBMKqxxlBB9UIIjNjqiEi-w8VKoGdi1kXkzw3BlSS_BuXQvrXtjNScjKs/s320/DSC02783.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Her teacher is helping Lily light candles for each year she's been alive. We sang a verse about the world turning for each year.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqECcCVOTVkmhFZqfhZEv2UDicvVqDxfKHX1E3TpwgunQb-qkVE43yMZqdM7QBqbrj7aapqZdYETqr-yWgzuEIlBDIL3bAZQGHEtVCD6IWbq3a8skddUv2G8Vs8tZIEZa-48pIDKwYbvQ/s1600/DSC02782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqECcCVOTVkmhFZqfhZEv2UDicvVqDxfKHX1E3TpwgunQb-qkVE43yMZqdM7QBqbrj7aapqZdYETqr-yWgzuEIlBDIL3bAZQGHEtVCD6IWbq3a8skddUv2G8Vs8tZIEZa-48pIDKwYbvQ/s320/DSC02782.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here's the other kids in her class, sitting quietly around the table, listening to the story and watching Lily. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W4vT4A9KLQf0OlOoHPDiN62tSEkLHA5I2hmiTr_HaZbRG9Y5yi9x1dA8OhOZNDW-YdurGAqqGHq5MToIa8oEI5n0tk9E0_wHRwDgf9j38MXxLWrwExtFoGq6ggdCVmDahKD0Pyqemcw/s1600/DSC02784.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W4vT4A9KLQf0OlOoHPDiN62tSEkLHA5I2hmiTr_HaZbRG9Y5yi9x1dA8OhOZNDW-YdurGAqqGHq5MToIa8oEI5n0tk9E0_wHRwDgf9j38MXxLWrwExtFoGq6ggdCVmDahKD0Pyqemcw/s320/DSC02784.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily and I bring a special birthday snack to share with everyone.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGr7dOdNGQE9tSaRnKR2PVqNNKFWg5EGnL-CnGZ3GZlUCcZtIP0u5zSjh6AS4FWOOI3tLOjqkyW6xhR8dM0xOMEBzoykdcO6U3JKEuVMvQL1zjL6nSTqxcZMOSg-3prX2rAwWPgI-RFI/s1600/DSC02786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGr7dOdNGQE9tSaRnKR2PVqNNKFWg5EGnL-CnGZ3GZlUCcZtIP0u5zSjh6AS4FWOOI3tLOjqkyW6xhR8dM0xOMEBzoykdcO6U3JKEuVMvQL1zjL6nSTqxcZMOSg-3prX2rAwWPgI-RFI/s320/DSC02786.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We made mini-cupcakes, strawberry flavor (pink) and pink frosting. They were a hit. Pretty soon you could hear, "More snack, please," from everyone.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgXYhutFVXmV6sPvr2jowzDQhCqI7dUF0sYkKSkWkEC9JmWLBguqi76K6GzkxYPgFYz6goP6uQrURZ1wToum8ZN3I757f9yjSvE4Sb7i9DgRqmFGEsO31-sfk8ExyKAnerCawKYe72S8/s1600/DSC02787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgXYhutFVXmV6sPvr2jowzDQhCqI7dUF0sYkKSkWkEC9JmWLBguqi76K6GzkxYPgFYz6goP6uQrURZ1wToum8ZN3I757f9yjSvE4Sb7i9DgRqmFGEsO31-sfk8ExyKAnerCawKYe72S8/s320/DSC02787.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Lily was pretty happy, although she was very quiet about it.</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-40387841432589138122011-05-13T19:45:00.000-05:002011-05-13T19:45:02.789-05:00She's So Beautiful"Mom, you're so beautiful I'm going to keep you forever and ever." Well, dang, that just made my day for about a week.<br />
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I've been really sick and haven't been able to play with Lily so I've been really enjoying my time with her again this week since I've gotten somewhat better. I had terrible flu last week and now I have a cold. Every time I cough, Lily says, "Mom, I'm sorry you don't feel good." Aw. <br />
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Today we played "Babies," in which we take care of several of her small stuffed animals (also known as "soft friends"). Usually we rescue the babies first, like today they were in a stroller and a big dinosaur came by and knocked it over with his big foot. So we rescued them and gave them food and water. One baby swallowed some seawater (when did we go to sea? I know, I try to keep up) so we had to give him some medicine. <br />
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Then Lily read them a story I gave her the book and she made a up a story pretty well approximating the one in the book.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-40009671901117823802011-04-27T10:38:00.001-05:002011-04-27T12:42:26.994-05:00Full of itOh boy am I crabby. I think because I'm mad that Lily is suffering right now. Monday evening around dinnertime she started saying that her butt hurt, that it had "splinters." This continued for a couple hours off and on. We looked for splinters but there weren't any. I think that's just the latest way of expressing how something hurts for her, because that afternoon I had pulled a splinter out of her foot after she was running around barefoot in the backyard.<br />
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Well, I got worried it was a yeast infection, and I have a lot of emotional baggage about those. I hate all doctors about it, because none of them has ever believed me when I've tried to express the amount of pain yeast infections give me. Except that one doctor in the overnight urgent care who gave me Vicodin after I was screaming in pain... Anyway, my point is that I didn't want Lily to be having pain like that. So we decided to take her in to the ER just to be safe and get her checked out. Well, oh joy, it was busy that evening, and we waited 2 1/2 hours to get in, along with many screaming children, and a bad mother paying more attention to her iPhone than her sick kid (I was not feeling sympathetic at all).<br />
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Lily was happy the whole time, finding things to entertain herself, and playing with us. She said it didn't hurt anymore, but I didn't want to go home. Well, good thing we stayed. A nurse practitioner saw us (often more helpful than the doctor) and said Lily's genitals looked normal, but that she wanted to do an x-ray to check for poop. She said it was possible what was hurting Lily was constipation.<br />
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So we went to the x-ray room and Lily lied down on the big table and John and I got to stand next to her in lead aprons. She wasn't scared at all, as usual, just curious. Then we went back to the room and waited some more (we didn't get home until 1am). The results were that Lily was FULL of poop, like 5 or 6 bowel movements in there, all over her GI tract (track? I don't know). So they had to do an enema. An enema for a 4-yr old?? Yes. Did Lily cry? No. The nurses who did it were very nice, and I was holding on to her the whole time. Then we had to wait while it worked, and after the nurses left Lily said that it didn't feel good when they put the medicine in her bottom. Oh, I could have cried! So then she had to go make a big poop, and they sent us home with some laxative and instructions on changing her diet.<br />
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Evidently constipation is common for little kids, and we found out we're giving her way too much milk, which is a big factor. So we're changing that. But she also has to take 10 days of this laxative.<br />
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So, the first laxative poop at home was green diarrhea. They could have told me what to expect!! Because I was rather alarmed and called Lily's clinic and talked to a nurse there to find out if this was normal, which it turns out it is. So, Lily is making lots of little runny poops now. And she's very self-conscious about it. She doesn't want me to see them.<br />
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I had to tell her teachers today at preschool what was going on, so they knew what to expect, and I felt bad, telling them all her business, you know? The teachers are both really sweet, kind women, so it wasn't that. It's just hard, I want to give her some privacy, but sometimes I can't.<br />
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My poor baby. And then someone said that the constipation might also be caused by emotional stuff, as in she's affected by ME being sick and in pain with my headaches. Yes, I suppose that might be true. Which makes me feel like a shit. A runny one.<br />
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So, yeah, I'm having a good day. It's hard when your kid is suffering and there's only so much you can do. Which is like, always.Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-58466080726858648402011-04-23T15:33:00.000-05:002011-04-23T15:33:37.697-05:00Getting Ready For Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4hpTIoq2dtGxp3Zjgtd2VquXO_V2mb0F0NR6veDODbYPzTPoYxyd-PpEAnpfsKZhdBVDNqOaXnbCwSg-BORewrkpLBlqD9AQA6pU4hhXdnsMUCFpCR7j3Xp94Q2Z-D8PHNtPKGF9F-E/s1600/DSC02688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi4hpTIoq2dtGxp3Zjgtd2VquXO_V2mb0F0NR6veDODbYPzTPoYxyd-PpEAnpfsKZhdBVDNqOaXnbCwSg-BORewrkpLBlqD9AQA6pU4hhXdnsMUCFpCR7j3Xp94Q2Z-D8PHNtPKGF9F-E/s320/DSC02688.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">"Mom, take a picture of me jumping!"</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqntBZbBPPRvLtxpELWwjUEKm-H0mLx77WZdxTRy1Xm0OFxSI-MYMIt1PZsCPDFW6RZkBhj1khpueKAbDkI74Jk1TiHHjPaZxXO4hOVJng4XD7eC5Iszla534xjHwt4RSa2dXKjtoFEQ/s1600/DSC02689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqntBZbBPPRvLtxpELWwjUEKm-H0mLx77WZdxTRy1Xm0OFxSI-MYMIt1PZsCPDFW6RZkBhj1khpueKAbDkI74Jk1TiHHjPaZxXO4hOVJng4XD7eC5Iszla534xjHwt4RSa2dXKjtoFEQ/s320/DSC02689.JPG" width="240" /></a><br />
Fancy Purple Dress with Pink Binky</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNV0Txq5N8v9gL8QVTFXdYoMCE4aigLDcUvc8-5MBZHNtTCuvxhhpHWi3uP3ktKYFdVHqPssig5v1W1fQtDg0v8cdRNiSeuOh2XrVdyNQYdAYW58ECy3WhfAauVzBrAZjdwrkuGoaMjjY/s1600/DSC02690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNV0Txq5N8v9gL8QVTFXdYoMCE4aigLDcUvc8-5MBZHNtTCuvxhhpHWi3uP3ktKYFdVHqPssig5v1W1fQtDg0v8cdRNiSeuOh2XrVdyNQYdAYW58ECy3WhfAauVzBrAZjdwrkuGoaMjjY/s320/DSC02690.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Um, yeah, that's nice. I would have preferred a smile instead of the tongue out, but, you know.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiol1iN2-iz3uJX_r_vVDrRdUaRD1b6Ku3iO_S77ws-SVegqEZRkZ_wQ5ZMpfCNFHm3aOPHDoI0qADfWaFrsbhLQvfjVSSce3Xc3ImwMsQ45Ym8CRfZIhxtl3wDYqncyfCmIcIgxV5Ys1I/s1600/DSC02700.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiol1iN2-iz3uJX_r_vVDrRdUaRD1b6Ku3iO_S77ws-SVegqEZRkZ_wQ5ZMpfCNFHm3aOPHDoI0qADfWaFrsbhLQvfjVSSce3Xc3ImwMsQ45Ym8CRfZIhxtl3wDYqncyfCmIcIgxV5Ys1I/s320/DSC02700.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oop, now we're out of order cuz Lily helped me select the pictures for this post. Oh well. This is later in the day when we were coloring eggs. Getting ready with the dyes. She and I painted her table a couple years ago.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHicloapvKfarrrDS6GGSW3tfCn7LeCLOPVzLXDMRCag_sP4l9lHWz4pO_f5eN1fgNT5xnVdT2_j-EibT8XoQWzfGCoUlVUbqWJGEMjDHWjFmRpuQcuq1rL7LRmWVouWs7QcZSJw5DOs/s1600/DSC02692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwHicloapvKfarrrDS6GGSW3tfCn7LeCLOPVzLXDMRCag_sP4l9lHWz4pO_f5eN1fgNT5xnVdT2_j-EibT8XoQWzfGCoUlVUbqWJGEMjDHWjFmRpuQcuq1rL7LRmWVouWs7QcZSJw5DOs/s320/DSC02692.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh, what a cutie! Danciing around in her fancy dress and pink tights.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2I-jQxaoptus5D5nla1ee72MWO26pjhTOjtBNb63yziQYzp5ODKrNeBWduLDUnknxz3KWiFn6PJaoX5kNiWWZ2QS-mJz7kUUXoXpXDyMpdGXDTwKYZVGTXkD9Jb5NAZZA96Fa7VQ_tw/s1600/DSC02693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP2I-jQxaoptus5D5nla1ee72MWO26pjhTOjtBNb63yziQYzp5ODKrNeBWduLDUnknxz3KWiFn6PJaoX5kNiWWZ2QS-mJz7kUUXoXpXDyMpdGXDTwKYZVGTXkD9Jb5NAZZA96Fa7VQ_tw/s320/DSC02693.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Close-up!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xhVPjdG5P3RgkKI5XdYlBuM6csuAklUhSJVh-ArJ6cwip-EFu2EkmEgXUrpy7z0QepAYHhG3SjYuwzgIOWJCnrS2qxIzyumUQWcu6Rqa14cRLwK7SpcvBs_7pGWQiwlUjeZXh-A79AQ/s1600/DSC02698.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2xhVPjdG5P3RgkKI5XdYlBuM6csuAklUhSJVh-ArJ6cwip-EFu2EkmEgXUrpy7z0QepAYHhG3SjYuwzgIOWJCnrS2qxIzyumUQWcu6Rqa14cRLwK7SpcvBs_7pGWQiwlUjeZXh-A79AQ/s320/DSC02698.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just took a bath this morning, so her hair is extra shiny ("It's golden, Mom," she says) and curly.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oXlkPpGJ2A-yzycQEsZUy0pQOShXlqbBmcjx9tk5lXa8W1DzceKTpSjbd6y0bhx5Nkv0qVsVXrawJvkwsGTIAwxSSKi4DbA04ZeA4Z4ZzywLDVsl07yG0jH6DKLGFcP9zWgWtiX6ehY/s1600/DSC02697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7oXlkPpGJ2A-yzycQEsZUy0pQOShXlqbBmcjx9tk5lXa8W1DzceKTpSjbd6y0bhx5Nkv0qVsVXrawJvkwsGTIAwxSSKi4DbA04ZeA4Z4ZzywLDVsl07yG0jH6DKLGFcP9zWgWtiX6ehY/s320/DSC02697.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Helping Dad get the dyes ready. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNywJtGBXBilZhWRxHuFFaQ0BfdnWDhaPHziMRT52fYRyCp0fVJwmOZut0aqc1mCHn8_blGZvLBhyphenhyphenFRR4NMnS89QICJ-2d8d5zwIFAwg_cRPGCbSqc0W5Yw1GQnU1DWs5lzBEYQBxTaM/s1600/DSC02706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNywJtGBXBilZhWRxHuFFaQ0BfdnWDhaPHziMRT52fYRyCp0fVJwmOZut0aqc1mCHn8_blGZvLBhyphenhyphenFRR4NMnS89QICJ-2d8d5zwIFAwg_cRPGCbSqc0W5Yw1GQnU1DWs5lzBEYQBxTaM/s320/DSC02706.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me with my arty egg. Um, what color is it? I kept changing dyes because I couldn't make up my mind. Now it's kinda purple.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5KeAK5QxINIqRfpCYDUeszKcPEN3SphdqbTemPL9ajtTauHVQKYT8ZNNSuD8TG_z15pESTw_LuByVNJ_NCRybsdJsCWZGRqojfe19FHWsor3Uz6eagjiu5Y1oeetYFkSZoDFyf6rkEs/s1600/DSC02703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij5KeAK5QxINIqRfpCYDUeszKcPEN3SphdqbTemPL9ajtTauHVQKYT8ZNNSuD8TG_z15pESTw_LuByVNJ_NCRybsdJsCWZGRqojfe19FHWsor3Uz6eagjiu5Y1oeetYFkSZoDFyf6rkEs/s320/DSC02703.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Putting dyed egg in the dryer.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDBT8rTse96DTnE0MkXDyx5AzWti-wTcjPScFlOOLmuteMUTg0wdrDMkaq08BOhIP3-pqspEcwQXt30nFgwqu81jr5FYmmJALbms8D-g5gQfomp3JzF1HiQGFZJAaCtEYKHvXS5O5YQI/s1600/DSC02701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDBT8rTse96DTnE0MkXDyx5AzWti-wTcjPScFlOOLmuteMUTg0wdrDMkaq08BOhIP3-pqspEcwQXt30nFgwqu81jr5FYmmJALbms8D-g5gQfomp3JzF1HiQGFZJAaCtEYKHvXS5O5YQI/s320/DSC02701.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pose with the eggs, dear.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqh1DVsF2lB7ecyuHIXTXlfEkO_Eavb0QWrWF7nG5eSq-hkqOO2WDpxTj6usPxppUupiVdS8uoKouSOuIQGWORiHwEts12syULzYCpNQqmexKd8PWTQQN2pVzXigy8PpPWCeor_Qd3U5g/s1600/DSC02708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqh1DVsF2lB7ecyuHIXTXlfEkO_Eavb0QWrWF7nG5eSq-hkqOO2WDpxTj6usPxppUupiVdS8uoKouSOuIQGWORiHwEts12syULzYCpNQqmexKd8PWTQQN2pVzXigy8PpPWCeor_Qd3U5g/s320/DSC02708.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Silly smile.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">After we were done with the eggs, I couldn't just toss the dyes in the sink, so we painted some paper and some paper towels. I'll get picks of those later.</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-85647766818991060082011-04-03T16:34:00.000-05:002011-04-03T16:34:18.698-05:00Mom, I love your big butt!Well, if someone is going to tell you that you have a big butt, isn't this the best way? She also said to Dad, "Dad, I love your big silly butt." She said it in church, twice, this morning. You gotta love it!Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-27637197291264898992011-04-03T16:32:00.000-05:002011-04-03T16:32:53.416-05:00I Want to Be a VampireYes, Lily said this. Why does she want to be a vampire? "Because I like to jump and fly." Okay, good. No bloodsucking involved. <br />
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Now, before you go calling child protective services, I do not take my 3-yr old to vampire movies. No, actually, the only way she knows about vampires is this book I got from the library, <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dick-Jane-Vampires-Laura-Marchesani/dp/0448455684/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301865613&sr=1-1">Dick and Jane and Vampires</a></em>. I know, it sounds silly. Well, it's weird. It's the traditional Dick and Jane book, but add a vampire under the dust ruffle of the bed when Dick and Jane are playing hide and seek. And a bottle of red liquid for the vampire when the milkman comes to deliver the milk. Hmmm. I couldn't believe they had shelved it in the children's section! I think it really should be in the humor section. But it didn't scare Lily. Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-82345886245104619722011-03-11T14:48:00.003-06:002011-03-11T14:51:30.212-06:00Technology for Lily<span style="font-family: Arial;">I found this neat newsletter online called <a href="http://childrenstech.com/">Children's Technology Review</a>, and they have a huge database going back more than 10 years that you have access to once you subscribe, and I've found it really useful and interesting, too. We're a very tech-savvy family, and I wanted to start Lily out right with software she can learn from and have fun with, just like her parents. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">After looking through the database for preschool software for the PC (you can choose these variables on the database, as well as how far back to look, and how high of a rating you want), I got Lily some new computer games. She likes Clifford the Big Red Dog, and I found there are several titles for preschoolers. I chose <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clifford-Big-Red-Learning-Activities/dp/B00005NN16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1299876380&sr=1-1">Clifford's Learning Activities</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clifford-Big-Red-Thinking-Adventures/dp/B00004TTU8/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=software&qid=1299876380&sr=1-7">Thinking Adventures</a>. You get to do things like jigsaw puzzles, matching, listening and finding things on a map ("I live in the blue house next to three apples trees"), moving a figure (dog) through a maze to collect objects, and number recognition. They've really gotten so much better at making software for kids (since I was a Big Sister and bought computer games for my Little Sister fifteen years ago). For instance, kids are not singularly focused on completing the main goal of the game: they'll go clicking on things that aren't part of the task given, just out of curiosity, and I remember my Little Sister getting really bored with games when there was no exploring built into them. Also, kids will naturally click on the same object over and over again, and I see in these Clifford games that some objects may respond the same way each time, but other objects respond differently each time you click on them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It's hard to talk about this in the abstract, so I'll just give an example. In one of the Clifford games, there's a street scene with a pet store. In the windows of the store there are a parrot and a cat. If you click on the parrot, he answers the phone and says one of several different things, like "where are my crackers? I ordered them three weeks ago!" If you click on the cat, the same thing always happens, which is that the parrot bites his tail and he meows in protest. In another scene, there's a beach, and although your main task is to find Clifford's collar, if you click on the beach umbrella, it shoots into the air like a rocket. Now that's just fun! There's not any specific skill this teaches you, but it does reward you for curiosity, and Lily loves it that it does the same thing each time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I also bought this really cool game called<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QHKJGU"> ItzaZoo</a>, where you draw things with the mouse and the program makes them interactive. Like you draw a house for the lion, and then he goes inside it! You get challenges like drawing a door and windows for the house. I love this game because I think it encourages her to draw and be happy with what she created, instead of wanting us to draw it "the right way." Her house can be all squiggly and it's still good: the lion is happy with it! She really likes that. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So Miss Lily is pretty much a whiz with the mouse now. She can not only click, but drag and drop. Yesterday we played my<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Plants-vs-Zombies-Pc/dp/B003G6ISRC/ref=sr_1_2?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1299876288&sr=1-2"> Plants vs. Zombies</a> game together, and she picked it up so fast! Then when John got home, she wanted to play it with him so she could be the teacher and show him how everything worked, like "You have to protect your sunflowers with the pea-shooters." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">She just amazes me. I just don't ever get over the feeling of gratitude I have for being her Mom. I mean, like both for being a Mom, which I wanted so bad for so long, and for being HER mom, because she's so amazing and smart and funny and sweet.</span>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-25764014624372007982011-03-11T14:02:00.002-06:002011-03-11T14:52:21.106-06:00And then she said<span style="font-family: Arial;">"My butt didn't get enough sleep last night."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">To Daddy while he was shampooing his hair: "You look like a lady."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">"My foot is giving you a kiss."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">"Mom, you're all mine." (accompanied by snuggle)</span>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-71798556734858161842011-02-14T12:37:00.001-06:002011-02-14T13:01:32.709-06:00The Fabulous Sleepover of January 2011Lily's first sleepover went so fabulous I don't know if we'll ever be able to top it. But what a great first experience of sleepovers, and a wonderful memory to have. <br />
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Tegan and her Mom came over Saturday afternoon, after the morning swim class that both girls are in. The girls played for several hours together, had lunch, then we all went to the Maul together (Mall of America) on the train, which is really fun, especially with two curious kids. We went to a movie theatre there and while John and I had a mini-date watching <em>True Grit</em> (fun but not all that), the girls and Jeri Kay saw <em>Tangled</em> across the hall from us. They did wonderful, having a potty run right before the movie started and then both sitting in her lap a few minutes after the movie started. Jeri Kay loved snuggling the kiddos and we had a fun break watching something a little more adult than <em>Curious George</em>. I was going to say a little more sophisticated, but then Curious George can be pretty sophisticated in its concepts sometimes, teaching math and science.<br />
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After the movie John and I went to the newly expanded Lego store and I bought a grab bag of Legos, which I haven't played with yet. I will have to take pictures of whatever I do create when I play with them. Then I'll post them here. Or on my art blog, depending on how arty they turn out. :)<br />
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We then met the gang at Barnes and Ignoble, and spent probably close to two hours there. They have a fun kids' section with a stage and little tables to sit at. Lily was totally focused on the books, and sat looking through book after book on her own. Tegan was more into running around and having John chase her. It was great fun. We found a few books, including one called <em>Oliver</em>, about an elephant, written by the same author (Syd Hoff) as did <em>Sammy the Seal</em> and <em>Danny and the Dinosaur</em>, which I still have from when I was a kid (big kudos to Mom and Dad for saving all our books!). I was so excited to find a book by this favorite author that we hadn't read yet. You can never have too many books.<br />
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Then we went home on the train and sang to keep warm on our walk back to the house (it's about four blocks). Tegan rode on Jeri Kay's shoulders and Lily rode on John's, while I held the bags of our new books.<br />
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When we got home, I suggested the girls might want to take a bath to warm up. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFEbqjbmfgh15IXzAMz1Xr9YQIXsBMKNnC7eXX8o4n9Md0kXeDeMwu5xjBT6l89cNy_xGs_GOtPcm8mX1yCilCfEMMSsAtx6gILtZHeGOA43AsC6jH4DoujlBYKBX7MQwmeXAb6rpuLE/s1600/DSC02320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfFEbqjbmfgh15IXzAMz1Xr9YQIXsBMKNnC7eXX8o4n9Md0kXeDeMwu5xjBT6l89cNy_xGs_GOtPcm8mX1yCilCfEMMSsAtx6gILtZHeGOA43AsC6jH4DoujlBYKBX7MQwmeXAb6rpuLE/s320/DSC02320.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>They thought was a fun idea. And I think it softened them up a little for bedtime, which was easy peasy. Although we had gotten Lily a sleeping bag for the sleepover, she slept with us and Tegan slept with her Mom, so I think it will probably be a while yet before we have the all-night giggle fest type of sleepover.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMY82ZUioNo_slVTV-mfpABTMXlyih1KoOq-3n9d3NtNQOvvJUpBFC-PBLUw8owFEtmehOh8wo5R_-LTNGf3zbTT-CQawuI8HcZPdJiIcVzkEMgQFBEBpQ4JXGHzWELpCiEmm1zAEOWfA/s1600/DSC02324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMY82ZUioNo_slVTV-mfpABTMXlyih1KoOq-3n9d3NtNQOvvJUpBFC-PBLUw8owFEtmehOh8wo5R_-LTNGf3zbTT-CQawuI8HcZPdJiIcVzkEMgQFBEBpQ4JXGHzWELpCiEmm1zAEOWfA/s320/DSC02324.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The next morning, John made us a breakfast of pancakes and fakon (meatless bacon), and the girls dressed for church in Lily's tights and dresses. I love that they can wear each other's clothes. And aren't the tights fun?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At church, they were very good during Mass. In fact, they were adorable.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuT3e1sJIcLe7AMBWMsMKXNxlVrnqNcS_807FqNFGYNpIPzQ8uEy1Fyl9x3dIKLi6vmzsKggKteC056GalcdeQ_vpMRVsJAiHZirWBaYCIr2n9AEu0wj9jkUUpjXeGugaYaIyU_XPov-s/s1600/DSC02327.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuT3e1sJIcLe7AMBWMsMKXNxlVrnqNcS_807FqNFGYNpIPzQ8uEy1Fyl9x3dIKLi6vmzsKggKteC056GalcdeQ_vpMRVsJAiHZirWBaYCIr2n9AEu0wj9jkUUpjXeGugaYaIyU_XPov-s/s320/DSC02327.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I snuck this shot with my flash off so I wouldn't disturb anyone. <br />
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After Mass, Jeri Kay took us to lunch at Pizza Luce, which was delicious. They have a gluten-free menu!! The potato pizza is really yummers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfOZFPKmpUBs6uwPgVzezJMMV3b69bOjCcucEgg8ov-FeIJ_QpJi_R0RNbJXszy6HAE6gn0Wzr18UD5trJ1B3McwDwKlv8IIWf-7n41QSrlvV_CFuaMN788BRVe2nbaTGJcufMdRxbcc/s1600/DSC02329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEfOZFPKmpUBs6uwPgVzezJMMV3b69bOjCcucEgg8ov-FeIJ_QpJi_R0RNbJXszy6HAE6gn0Wzr18UD5trJ1B3McwDwKlv8IIWf-7n41QSrlvV_CFuaMN788BRVe2nbaTGJcufMdRxbcc/s320/DSC02329.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzajwSmcGj0vAhG27UOd7SowUVXF5nBSsk9aAyNYlfNWgGSnXFVYowQePyy6yUbHn22jmWgrJd9fArWlM9sZ9zRxKTcj4gAronzO48NW-TWb8dEXp_FW8fWDFfbb3l58NkcryPN3ESlY/s1600/DSC02330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzajwSmcGj0vAhG27UOd7SowUVXF5nBSsk9aAyNYlfNWgGSnXFVYowQePyy6yUbHn22jmWgrJd9fArWlM9sZ9zRxKTcj4gAronzO48NW-TWb8dEXp_FW8fWDFfbb3l58NkcryPN3ESlY/s320/DSC02330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>They had temporary tattoos, so Lily and Tegan and I all put one on. <br />
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And that was about it. We parted ways after lunch and went home for a nap. More than 24 hours together, and it was all fun and games (contrary to that saying, you know, "it's not all fun and games."). Not one fight, no meltdowns. Good sharing. Happy playing. Sweetness. I am going to remember this sleepover for a long, long time. Forever. And I'll tell Lily the story of her first sleepover again and again.<br />
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</div>Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82212070573701017.post-8569860398305068802011-02-14T12:03:00.000-06:002011-02-14T12:03:43.257-06:00Painting Pals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfQwt5ZLOPd13RV2hREIWHNgGXlIuIlNIyrd3j1noUCLvu112RzkvYen9IbPAE2E99E8pNFNiRz9EMqbpSJn4U51Klj2HBXRrpj5ftvxD-1ZTYyFN5d9vkf6_JPzgTu9aUOJnhuOVvwU/s1600/DSC02344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTfQwt5ZLOPd13RV2hREIWHNgGXlIuIlNIyrd3j1noUCLvu112RzkvYen9IbPAE2E99E8pNFNiRz9EMqbpSJn4U51Klj2HBXRrpj5ftvxD-1ZTYyFN5d9vkf6_JPzgTu9aUOJnhuOVvwU/s320/DSC02344.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>A couple weeks ago, Tegan came over and the girls decided to paint together. Sometimes they painted on the same page, even. Lily is wearing a paint shirt (one of Dad's old t-shirts) and yet she still managed to get paint on her feet, the floor, and the couch. Funny monkey. It's okay. Carriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15624368012428263734noreply@blogger.com0