Exciting Times

Wednesday morning as I was getting ready for work, I heard screaming coming from Celia's room.

At first I was wondering what on earth was happening and then I remembered.

I remembered her gray disgusting wiggly/dangling tooth and I knew..

A side note, see the sleep mask?  She will wear it until she changes into regular clothes.  Even if it is 4 hours after waking up.

Yup, another tooth recorded on the pillow.

The tooth fair was generous and left her $2.

This is her 4th tooth to come out however this is the first tooth she has lost on her own.

The first three were removed by the oral surgeon because she had adult teeth growing in behind them.

So really, I count this as her first tooth lost!  At just about age 8 she has a late start and that is perfectly fine considering her Mom only lost 1 to 2 teeth on her own.  

There is another wiggly tooth right beside it and Celia has said that she is going to let it fall out the same way she did the other one.  So I guess we will have another gray, wiggly, dangly disgusting tooth to watch her twist and turn it.

Celia Happenings

 This kiddo has been complaining lately that she just does not like her curls.

So one morning I offered to straighten them.

I held my breath and prayed that this would not be a frequent event.

This is how she felt.

She thinks she looks MUCH better with curls.

I would agree.

She enjoyed making ice cream in a bag.

Unfortunately the salt on the ice got into the ice cream bag.

So it was salty ice cream which she did not mind all that much.

She likes salt- Pickles and olives are preferred foods.

She made this with some friends.  But she said that she did the most and I believe it.

Inside the top shoe box are thoughts.  Very creative.

I took a bunch of toys out of the play room temporarily and added a huge box of toilet paper tubes and a giant cardboard box.  I wanted to see what they would do!

Swimming, swimming, swimming.  That is what the summer is all about.

Our swim team has over 200 kids, huge.  Celia is learning about cheering for her team and being a good sport.  She is also enjoying her glued to her hip buddy Vanessa.  To be honest our family has an equal admiration of her too.  But Celia has turned on the free style power in a few relays and in her individual races.  She just showed me today that she also knows how to do breast stroke and her butterfly is getting better.   Celia has also had to learn to swim in rain and down pours.  She has learned that in our swim league, we only stop a meet for thunder, lightening, and rain pouring down so heavily that you can not see.  If you think I am kidding, I am 100% not!!  But it adds to memories.

Another year

It is another year come and gone.  Today is the anniversary of my father's death and we once again visited Greenwoods swim club (the place of his death) this year for swim season.

The swim league was a big part of my Dad's life and I am hoping my kids continue to enjoy it.  Audrey started off the season a bit rocky.  She was not very sure about the group part of the swimming.  But she ended up really loving swimming.  I almost pulled her from it and then decided that if there were any days that she did not want to go to swim practice or did not seem to enjoy it that we would simply not attend on those days.  I was prepared but it ended up being the opposite, she started to really like it. During the lesson champs she was so proud of her accomplishment.  I thought of you Dad during this because I thought that although it was important in our family that no one quits what they start, at age 4 you would think the fun part was the most important factor.

Celia has had a great swim season.  We have stressed the sportsmanship factor and she has maintained all along that she really loves swimming.  In fact the day after championships she said that she was said about swimming being over.  When championships arrived, I did not expect a great deal from Celia.  She did spectacular in freestyle and in fact placed first overall in her age group for free!!  Her relay placed 3rd and Celia swam with a very powerful freestyle and almost caught up to the 2nd place relay.  They were not even close when she started her lap.  It was exciting.

All 4 grandkids were together for a bit this summer.  Here they are Dad.

Audrey and Emmett play so nicely together except Emmett would still like Audrey to be a boy.

Celia and Katie are best buds when she visits.

All is well Dad.

Audrey

This little peanut I think is having a good summer

Swimming has been a big learning experience for her.

More so, learning to interact with a large group of people.

By the way this was at a little obstacle course they did at swim practice.

They jumped in and got a ride!

She would come back to get me after each lap for the first 3 weeks.

We are almost a solid 2 weeks without this happening!

She is also swimming a whole lap modified freestyle and regular back on her own.

Yup at age 4

And shh… Don't tell Pete

But I decided recently that as a kid I licked a ton of cookie dough beaters.

I survived.

Is it really childhood unless you lick a few cookie dough beaters???

And yes, she is learning how to dive.

I did not get the adorable photos of her trying to imitate big sis's race start.

She goes down the slide too.

Points and Schedules

So since I am a teacher, it is important to me that my girls do not lose what they have been taught over the school year.  In fact, I try to teach some new things over the summer.  Celia often embraces learning something new when she is in the right mood.  This summer the girls are earning points for the school work that they complete.  When they reached 100 pts they were able to spend a gift card that they received at Christmas from my Aunt Arsie.  Celia earned hers first and bought some Shopkins and then Audrey bought an Equestria girl.

They have to earn 5 pts to have their small amount of iPad or tv time daily.  We have had a few days in which no points are earned and no tv or iPad is watched and I am very okay with that too.

One thing that has surprised me lately is that all of the school work is done in the little office/craft room that I put together.  We spent a lot of time in that room.  I put the table in the middle of the room and it caused a lot of questions from Pete.  He did not understand it.  But it has been the perfect spot.  We have made crafts, done Science experiments, the girls have painted, we have sewed, etc.  A lot goes on it that craft room.

 Do you notice fluffy?  

He can typically be found somewhere in the house hanging on the back of a chair.

I have been told that his head always hangs towards the front.

 Auds is loving drawing people now and cutting.

She also is getting really great at writing. 

I made this little one a schedule for bedtime as the time has come that her parents are tired.

When we close the door to her room at night, we are done.

I expected NOTHING as bedtime has been an issue from day one.

But guess what, she has stepped fully up to the plate and is doing awesome.

Celia is hiding behind her sleep mask.  She sometimes leaves her sleep mask on for hours after she is awake.  I will never understand it.  She can do the same thing with her goggles after she has finished swimming!  On this day she was learning about fractions.  She is a pro on regrouping now after about 2 lessons.  I think maybe that her teachers had started talking about it towards the end of the school year.

Fourth of July

We had a low key fourth this year.  It was not a very nice day, not super warm and rainy off and on.  The 4th of July party at our pool was postponed to the next day.

 The girls loved watching Pete's fireworks show

They also liked my little explosion

We have been doing a few science experiments this summer and one of the experiments

warned that you should not do it in a closed container.  So naturally, I wanted to do it in a closed

container.   So we tried it on 4th of July and it basically made a loud pop and blew

the container open.  The kids liked it.

 Audrey announced that this was the best day ever.  

So Pete evidently did a great job with the fireworks.

Celia's pose in her 4th of July t-shirt.

Audrey trying to do the same pose…

She had an adorable red, white, and blue dress.

Then I met Mom Mom at Kohls and she bought the girls each a dress.

Audrey had to put her dress on immediately.

But it was a nice, laid back and relaxing 4th!