10.31.2007

Kylie As A Kindergartener


It's been a while since I have talked about my sweet first born. I spend so much time with Riles that I feel a little left out of my new Kindergartener's life. Especially when I hear her talking with her best friend Katelyn about friends at school or even singing a new song that they learned at school. I have to say that holding Kylie back one year was one of the best decisions that we ever made. Not only did Sunshine School and Tracey teach her how to read, write, tell time and so much more, she is thriving in her class at school......maybe a little too much.


For the first month of school, I couldn't get Kylie nor Katelyn to talk. The car was way too quiet and they just wanted to sit in the living room silently or bug me to tell them what to do. Kylie would just go to her room and play with her Barbies while Katelyn would sit in a chair and stare at me. It was really a miserable time and I wondered if they would ever mesh with each other and it scared me to know that they might do this same thing with other girls in the class.


Here we are at the end of October and they both had to be put in time out last week....several times. Kylie for sassing back at me and Katelyn for tackling Kylie in the hall. I am NOT kidding. They are constantly giggling and talking loud, running around the house, or play fighting. I smile when I feel that they are getting on my nerves because I remember that first month! They went from one spectrum to the opposite spectrum. Kinda cool if you are the parent of a shy child!


There are positives and negatives to this new Kylie. One thing she has discovered is boys. Alan and I were wondering why she gave up bows and Disney Princesses. She wants to dress as plain as possible and wants her hair down at all times. She fights me about wearing skirts and tights...I will always win this battle! We just discovered why she has such strong opinions on these things when last night it became apparent.


Me: Kylie, why didn't you want to wear that shirt with the buttons on it. You loved it when Nana bought it for you.


Kylie: I just don't. The boys don't like things like that.


Me: (Dumbfounded) What??? What are you talking about? What boys???


Kylie: Just a boy in my class.


Me: What's his name?


Kylie: (silence)


Me: Kylie, tell me his name or I will come up to the school, watch you when you are with your class, find out who it is and talk to him!!


Kylie: Ryan. Mommy, don't say anything to Daddy. He will tease me.


So when I told Alan about it, and he swore not to say anything to her, we were astounded. What is up with girls crushing on boys (I borrowed that from Kaylee) at this age? I am not ready for my child to fall into puppy love. Is it too late to home school?


Later when I was tucking Kylie into bed we had another talk.


Me: Kylie, why is it that you don't like Disney Princesses anymore? Did the boys say something about them?


Kylie: Yeah. The boys think they are silly. And, they don't like make-up OR pierced ears!


This is when I started the do your own thing speech and how boys are to ONLY be our friends. Alan went to her class today and said that she was the only girl sitting at a table full of boys and having a ball. When I asked her about it, she said that the other girl that sits at that table was absent today and that she has assigned seats!! I may be old-fashioned but I think that if it were up to her, she would rather sit at a table with all her girl friends. After all, I know all her girl friends' names and a little about each of them. And that's the way it should be in Kindergarten!

10.25.2007

And The WINNER is................


KYLIE'S PIG!!!!


Kylie's class went on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch last week and she had so much fun. When she brought her pumpkin home, she was supposed to make it into a farm animal and send it back to school for a contest. We decided on a pig and Keith and Nancy brought us an authentic Razorback nose from Arkansas. Next, she painted the pumpkin a beautiful shade of pink. We hot glued eyes on, a pipe cleaner tail, and Aunt Becky helped us make felt ears and feet using clay. Kylie was so proud of her pig pumpkin and couldn't wait to take it to school on Monday. Alan had to walk it in for her in the pouring rain and I found out yesterday that the class voted for their favorite pumpkin farm animal. Kylie came home today with a blue ribbon and an award. Tomorrow they will announce the winners at Coyote Call Out. She is so excited!!

10.10.2007

State Fair of Texas


Yes, we did. We went to the State Fair on Monday and on Tuesday learned that there was a record crowd there. 22 school districts were there as well as the Jonas Brothers and their crazy fans. At least we all had free tickets! It was so crowded and if that wasn't bad enough, the heat and humid were enough to make you really miserable. But, the fact that the kids had a blast made the trip worthwhile.


The kids were both out of school on Monday so we asked my parents to meet us at Early CLASS since the fair was just down the street. Mom and Dad got to see Riley in action and tour the school. Kylie just loved being up there with Riley. We all left at 11:30 and opted not to ride the DART train which Kylie gave us grief over. So we drove a couple of blocks to the Fair and didn't park (in the dirt and on the last row) and start walking for at least an hour later! We caught the much needed tram and were on our way to fun.


Some of the highlights and lowlights of the State Fair of Texas:


*Standing in line in the heat for 30 minutes for a yummy corny dog.

*Going into the Auto Show just for the air conditioning. (Kylie loved pretend driving and Riles slept in the stroller)

*Kylie and Riley playing in the Museum of Nature and Science- They have a childrens' play area that we got all to ourselves. The kids LOVED it!

*Dad and Alan got to see the Baseball Hall of Fame

*Standing in line quite a bit for coupons...they use coupons, not money!

*Kylie LOVING the Midway. There wasn't a ride she wouldn't ride. It was really scary to see her ride the Kamikaze with her Daddy

*Going through the Dallas Aquarium....save your money and go to The Dallas World Aquarium, it's way nicer!

*Avoiding the 20,000 there for the Jonus Brothers Concert

*Seeing Tracey and Greg and kids, how random is that?

*Leaving.....it only took us 45 minutes to get out of that parking lot


So, if you are planning on going to the State Fair of Texas, find out if 22 school districts are going to be there or not. I hear that the weekends aren't that bad.

tomorrow

Tomorrow we start back to school. UGH! I don't wanna go back just yet but I know that my body and mind will feel better once I get back....