Bus Rider

Before school started, Anna Catherine asked to ride the school bus. We debated for several weeks and decided to compromise with her. Rick will still take her to school in the mornings (1--the bus runs at 6:28 am and we sometimes aren't fully awake and 2---that is their special daddy/daughter time). I was having to wake up Jackson and Chloe from their naps to pick up Anna Catherine. This made them grumpy which made me grumpy and "when Mama's not happy nobody's happy". So, she now rides the bus home in the afternoons. She LOVES it!! She already knows a few people on the bus. This is just another way for her to feel more independent. Ace is just growing up way too fast!!!

Easely Amused

September 5, 2009---Anna Catherine's goal for the summer was to read at least one book a day (on ability level). If she did, she received a sticker on her "goal chart". Once the chart was filled she was rewarded with the day out of her choice. She opted for Easely Amused which is an art studio offering step-by-step art lessons to both adults and children. I pulled up their website http://www.easelyamused.com/ and let her choose the class she wanted..."Rudolph"

Waiting patiently for instructions

Working oh so carefully to do what Mrs. Bridgette says...

Anna Catherine proudly showing off her masterpiece!

Anna Catherine absolutely LOVED her morning spent at Easely Amused. She has asked to go back and create more beautiful works of art. She is currently working hard to fill her behavior chart with stickers in order to earn another Saturday morning at Easely Amused.

Easely Amused offers adult classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights and all ages classes on Saturday mornings. They currently have a studio in Ridgeland and another in Flowood but are opening branches in Hattiesburg and Tupelo soon. They offer a large variety of classes. Below are some pictures taken of paintings done in previous classes.







I can definitely see a much needed girls night out happening at Easely Amused!! Go to their website, http://www.easelyamused.com/ , to see pictures taken during previous classes. It looks like sooooo much fun!!!

The Mosaic Shop

August 29, 2009---Anna Catherine was invited to her best friend's birthday party at The Mosaic Shop. They both really like to do crafts and had attended a birthday party here in May. This is becoming a favorite place for these two girls.

They worked really hard on their jewelry boxes.

The Mosaic Shop is open five days a week to anyone who wants try their hand at the art of mosaic tiles. They offer many wooden cutouts and terra cota planters to work with or you can bring in your own pieces.

If you don't have time to finish the project, you are allowed to leave it and come back and finish another day. There are two walls filled of partially completed artwork.

There are beautiful pieces hanging around the shop on display and some that are for sale. Here are a few of my favorites...

Student of the Week

August 31-September 9, 2009---Anna Catherine was "Student of the Week" for her class. Her week was actually a week and a half because of the Labor Day holiday. She made an "All About Me" poster which she had to present and speak about to her classmates.






All students had to bring a baby picture to school and they were placed on a bulletin board. The students then had to try to match the student with their picture. Here is AC standing next to the picture she submitted (the color photo---Ole Miss dress with Col. Reb and pom poms).





Rick had lunch with her on Thursday (no pictures) and Chloe and I visited her class on Friday. I read two of Anna Catherine's favorite books to her class, "Baby Honu's Incredible Journey" and "Dinosaurs Wear Underpants" (Thanks Aunt Pauline for that book! It is a favorite of all three children!). Then we had lunch with her. Well, Chloe ate and I just sat.



A perk of being "Student of the Week" is that the class turtle, Molly, gets to spend the week with you. The student has to write a paragraph about the things Molly did while at their house. Here are a few pictures of AC and Molly...



riding in the van



painting at Easely Amused




listening to dad read Junie B. Jones books




listening to dad read Captain Underpants books

First Day of 1st Grade

August 12, 2009---Today was Anna Catherine's first day of first grade. She says she wasn't ready to go back to school but she woke up on her own and was quite chipper at 5:50 am. Let's see how long that lasts--hahaha! Since she was up so early we actually had time to paint her toenails before school, her choice of color and style of course.

She was prepared---new backpack, new lunchbox, and new outfit. All of which she picked out. We arrived in time to take a few pictures before the halls were too crazy:

with her teacher, Mrs. Kling:

Two of her friends/classmates from kindergarten are in her room this year so I think seeing familiar faces this morning helped keep her emotions in check. Here's hoping for a wonderful first day in the first grade!

Anna Catherine's new glasses

July 21, 2009---The kids' had their yearly eye exam and it was found that AC is farsighted and has astigmatism. She only has to wear her glasses when she is focusing (books, schoolwork, computer, television, art work, etc.), essentially all the time except when she is playing outside. She likes them and doesn't make a big deal about wearing them. Isn't she adorable?!?!? And she looks even more like her daddy with them on...like that's possible!






with her bff, Marie:

Swim Lessons

Anna Catherine and Jackson took swim lessons from Maley Swim School the first two weeks of May. We wanted the kids to have some lessons before we go on vacation. Not that I expect them to be advanced swimmers in two weeks but I do want them to be comfortable in the water and to be able to get to the side if there were some sort of accident. In hindsight, I wish I had enrolled them for the weekly spring session. I know that many people who give lessons have to wait until summer because they use their own outdoor pools. But, if you think about it, why wait until summer to give swimming lessons? What good does it do to give lessons during the swim season? That would be like sports teams not having practice until the season has already started. How can the person improve their skills if there is no practice during the off-season? Ideally, I think children should learn to swim during the fall/winter so they are ready to swim in the summer. Enough of my ramble...


Jackson is afraid of water...at times. He screams bloody murder when you get his head wet in the bath tub. He also loves to play in the rain and will stand under the downspout for long periods of time. This makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever!!! How can you hate water one minute and love it the next?!? Only Jackson could be capable of this. We enrolled him in the beginner class. He was freaked out and held onto Miss Jessica for the first week. He was terribly afraid to put his face in the water and he would barely kick his legs. Eventually, the teachers would let go of him and let him sink to the bottom of the pool. They would swoop him back up to the surface and let him regain his composure. Poor fella. He was the worst student in his class. I am hoping he will get more comfortable in the water this summer. We have a pool in our subdivision that we plan to use a few times a week.

Even though Anna Catherine has taken private lessons in previous years and absolutely LOVES the water, we enrolled her in the same beginner's class with Jackson to refresh her memory. By the end of the two weeks she was able to swim the width of the pool without taking a breath and she swam the length of the pool while only needing to take a few breaths. She was also able to roll from her stomach to her back while swimming. Not to brag, but she was the BEST in the class. The other mothers said the same thing.

Anna Catherine is eager to learn the different strokes and would like to be on a competitive swim team. We will enroll her in the next level for the fall session. We will also be enrolling Jackson and Chloe for the fall session. Jackson will remain in the beginner class and Chloe will be in the waterbabies class.

From cast to brace

I am several weeks late posting this update on AC's arm. Sorry! Things have been hectic (as usual). On May 4 the doctor removed the waterproof cast. We were excited because swim lessons started that day and we have vacation coming at the end of the month.

Her arm was a little discolored and had some bruising and blisters.

We were surprised when the doctor came in and told us Anna Catherine would have to wear this brace for a month.

It will take her arm another month to completely heal. He had never mentioned this while discussing his plan of action for her arm. If he had, I would have insisted on keeping the waterproof cast on until we return from vacation. The brace can not get wet. Luckily it is removable so she takes it off when washing her hands, before bath time, and when we go swimming. The doctor said to be careful not to bang it, slip at the pool, limit athletic activities, etc. WHY!?! WHY didn't he leave the waterproof cast on her arm? He knew about the swim lessons and our vacation. It would have been so much easier to have kept the waterproof cast. I am so afraid she is going to hit her arm on the side of a waterslide/waterpark ride, slip at the pool, fall while running/playing, etc. It would have eased my mind to have kept the waterproof cast on for another month. It was hard and indestructible and made me feel safe. Oh well, there's nothing I can do now except hope and pray that she does not have an accident and re-injure herself.