More Tom Sawyer

The crush has been undoubtedly confirmed. Caroline received a gift in the mail Saturday--a CD with the songs of the Tom Sawyer musical and a DVD of the production that her Aunt Meesh directed at her school. Caroline was overjoyed. She wanted to listen to and watch them both immediately.

I let her listen to the CD in bed Saturday night (which was a mistake--she listened to it twice and still wasn't ready to go to sleep), and then she watched the DVD Sunday afternoon after church. I wish you could have seen her face as she watched. She grinned from ear to ear when Tom came on-stage. She grinned when he did funny things and ornery things. She grinned when people got on to him ("This is the part where Aunt Polly pulls his ear!"). She grinned when he sang and when he talked. We were eating lunch while watching it and she barely ate unless we reminded her to.

I tried to take a few pictures but the angle isn't great since I was trying to stay out of the way of the tv. :)







This morning I went to get her out of bed to get ready for swimming lessons and she was lying there, already awake, listening to the CD again. Often she climbs into our bed once it's light outside, but this morning she told me, "I thought to myself, 'Mama might still be asleep so I'll just listen to my music and wait for her in my bed. Was that a good idea?'" So basically the first thing on her mind was not climbing into bed with us but listening to Tom Sawyer again. All throughout the day today she would go into her room, listen to a few songs, and then pause it for later.

We had the neighbor girls over to play this evening and I overheard a great little bit of dialogue. The girls were huddled on the couch, shrieking at the imaginary lions all around them, and Caroline came up with a plan, "Hey, guys! [girls still shrieking] Hey, guys! [still shrieking] Guys! Listen! I have a brother named Tom Sawyer and he pulls ears, and he can pull those lions' ears and get them away from us!"

The girls had no idea what she was talking about, but it sounded good.

Shortly after Caroline came home from Chicago in May, I dug through the book boxes that are still packed up in the garage and found my old copy of Tom Sawyer. I remembered it having some pictures and I thought it was abridged, so I figured it might be something Caroline would like. Well, it turns out it is not abridged. It does have a few color pictures but the rest are just black-and-white sketches at each chapter heading. I wasn't sure how it would go, but Saturday night I told her we could read it. She listened through the whole first chapter. At one point she was fidgety, so I said, "We're almost done," and she said, "I wasn't hoping that," meaning--that's not what I meant by wiggling around like that.

Sunday we read all of Chapter 2 and she loved it. In that chapter Tom gets his friends to whitewash the fence for him. They actually pay him to let them do it. While we were reading, Caroline made a connection with the musical--"that's where they say, 'don't feel like work to me!'" She also noted "that's not what his hair really looks like." The boy in the book illustrations has blonde hair. The "real" Tom Sawyer (Michelle's student) has dark brown hair.

And, she tells us, Aunt Polly and Injun Joe and Huck Finn are all just pretending to be Aunt Polly and Injun Joe and Huck Finn. But Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher aren't pretending. Translated: the Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher you see on-stage (and that Caroline met) are the real deal. The rest of them are actors.

Tonight before bed we were all sitting on the couch and Jeff said something and I asked, "Who?" and he said [predictably], "Joe." I knew that if I said, "Joe who?" he would say "Joe Mama." Ha ha ha. So I just said, "Who?" again and he said "Joe" again and I said, "No, really, WHO??" And Caroline piped up, "JOE HARPER!!"

Can you guess where she got the name Joe Harper? That's right, he's a character in . . . Tom Sawyer. I am pretty sure we will never hear the end of this. I am pretty sure that in about a week she'll have the entire musical memorized. It's a cute little obsession.

This face . . .

is on my computer desktop now and I just can't get over it. I couldn't get the complete story behind the picture out of Jeff (it was taken in May when they were in Chicago), but basically she was putting on a pouty face for the camera. It is a bit unusual (not her typical pose), but I like it because all of her features stand out so strongly, especially the lips! She inherited one of my favorite of Jeff's features.


(photo taken by Caroline's "Gamma Jan")

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Caroline and Jeff took a trip to Chicago at the beginning of May, and while there Caroline found a new love--Tom Sawyer.

Jeff's sister Michelle was busy that week directing her high school students in the musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Caroline got to go to school with Auntie Meesh (as she calls her), and sit in on a speech class and go to play practice. She was, by all accounts, on top of the world.

At one point she even said she didn't miss me.

Well, ever since coming home from that trip, Caroline has talked NON-STOP about Tom Sawyer. Whereas she used to have 33 sisters (the number is always in flux, but has been in the thirties consistently lately), she now has 3 brothers as well. They are: Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, and Injun Joe ("he's not really a mean guy--he's just pretending").

When she came home she was singing the songs from the musical, talking about Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher as if they were her best friends (always using their full names), and laughing over and over about Tom's Aunt Polly pulling his ear. She just couldn't get over the pulling of the ear.

She would be in her playroom acting out some drama and then come running into the kitchen (laughing like she couldn't believe what had just happened) to tell me a HUGE story, and each story would have as the clincher some kind of ear pulling.

"And we were playing chase and then Tom Sawyer caught me and he pulled my EAR!"

or

"And then Aunt Polly pulled Tom Sawyer's ear and then Tom Sawyer pulled Becky Thatcher's ear AND my ear! He pulled both of our ears!"

I would usually say something like, "Oh my goodness, that is so silly." And she would agree, "Tom.Sawyer.is.so.silly!" and throw up her hands and shake her head, grinning.

I began to wonder if she might have a crush on Tom, either the character she saw in the musical or the actual student who played Tom on-stage. Either could be possible--she spent a lot of time hanging out with the high schoolers during practice, so much time, in fact, that she thought she was one of them. My sister-in-law told me that when a fellow four-year-old asked Caroline if she wanted to color, Caroline told her no! She would normally be super excited that someone was inviting her to do something. But she was completely taken with her bigger friends.

Below is a picture of Caroline and the big kids playing her Go Fish game. The one above is her as Becky Thatcher. :) Pictures compliments of Michelle (thanks!).

Big News!

Someone got her ears pierced today! She is very pleased with her new look.

She also got a haircut (she was long overdue for a trim), but it's basically the same cut she has had before, so that's not quite as big of a deal. :)

She was the one that wanted to get her ears pierced and the one that initiated the going and doing it (to surprise dad when he gets back from his trip). She has requested it before but has always decided, "maybe another time," after talking really big to begin with.

Well, today was the day. She was definitely nervous and wanted to hold my hand. She really gave no reaction at all when they first went in. But she sat there for a little bit and decided it did hurt, after all. She reached for me and cried a little bit on my shoulder. That was hard--I was just glad I hadn't pushed her at all to do it.

She soon asked when she could take them out. :) She has left them alone, though, and doesn't seem to mind them now. In fact, she's rather pleased with the pictures we just took.

In other news, I have several other posts I'd like to write. There has been plenty going on--I just haven't stopped to write it on the computer. I'll try to get a few more things up in the next few days. There are some things she has said and done and some new interests I really want to write about and not forget.

And I think I'll do a little Father's Day post as well. I am wondering--if I ask Caroline what she loves about her dad, will she mention the word "chubby" at all, like she did when Jeff asked her what she loved about me?

"My cheeks are still chubby . . ."

When I woke up a few mornings ago, Caroline's sweet face was staring right at me. She smiled a big grin and said "good morning!" and I said, "good morning, stinky (it's an affectionate term I use whether I think she's stinky or not)."

She was lying there with a little hand under one of her cheeks. She stayed like that for a moment smiling at me and then she stopped, as if something had occurred to her--

She said, "My cheeks are still chubby," and she squeezed the side of her face that had the hand under it and added, "I can feel them squishin."

At which point I grabbed her and sqeezed her until she almost couldn't breathe. I love it when she says things like that. :)

More Little Faces

Update: You can see pictures here.

******

Well, I'm having a hard time deciding which pictures will make the final cut and blogger is having a hard time uploading the ones I was going to share . . . so here is a picture of pictures--a fridge full of Caroline faces--my "proofs," if you will. :) If you click on the image, you should be able to get a pretty good view of most of the pictures.


I like the fridge proofing because having all of the pictures up there at once allows me to see pretty easily which ones are better than others.

We had a lot of fun taking these today--it was a beautiful day (but just a little bit windy). And the place we discovered--the Texas Sculpture Garden--is really pretty (and the art is cool, too). When trying to think of a place to take her picture here in Frisco, I started to miss Greenville and all of its natural beauty. A few years ago, I took my sister Stefani's senior pictures at Falls Park on the Reedy River in downtown Greenville and you couldn't ask for a more accessible or picturesque setting. Well, the sculpture garden here (located in a sprawling office complex, of all places) is so beautifully landscaped with weeping willows and big stones and little ponds and green grass--it made for a great backdrop. And it makes me glad to know there's a pretty place with a good walking path where Caroline and I can come and enjoy nature. The path flows really well, keeps you interested and wondering what's coming up next. Caroline loved spotting something in the distance (usually big rocks) and wondering how to get to it. Basically, I just followed her around as she ran and explored, and we stopped here and there for a few (well, a few at a time) shots.

I really enjoy taking my own pictures--it's fun to be outside on a pretty day and see what I can capture, I only have to pay for printing, and I can play around with the pictures on my computer and have more control over the outcome. Caroline likes it this way too. Except for a few complaints, she was all smiles and pretty much just thought we were playing the whole time. She got to pick flowers, climb on rocks, jump, run in the grass, and see two turtles.


Up until this point, she has only had her picture "formally" done once a year, but I think we'll start doing it four times a year--once every season, as a little tradition. We'll get more pictures and have a chance to wear more outfits this way. :)

Be looking for a little Caroline face to show up in your mailbox soon!

I love this little face . . .

Got out and took some pictures today at a really pretty garden. I'll post more later . . .

Just Ducky

Just some more shots of Caroline's favorite fashion victim.


Ducky and Pink both look a little worn out in this one--like they don't know what hit them. I'm afraid they could be very close to a Buzz Lightyear drinking-darjeeling-with-Mrs.-Nesbitt type of breakdown.


Hey, Nikki, do you recognize any of the outfits or accessories? They're from the dress-up bear you gave her. :)

Dress-Up Everyday

Caroline is totally into dress-up these days. Yesterday when we were getting ready to go to the Arboretum, I got her ready before I hopped into the shower, thinking that this way I wouldn't have to hurry her later. But when I came out of my room she was wearing different pants, her crown, and princess shoes. She wanted to be beautiful. If I hadn't been a bit frustrated, I would have taken her picture.

Here are a few of her most recent get-ups. As you'll see, it doesn't have to
involve princess dresses. It seems the more layers, the better.

And sometimes all you need is a crown to go with your pjs.

As usual, Ducky is not left out of the action. I'm going to just start following this duck around--it gets dressed up more than any other toy.

Plus, it photographs really well, don't you think?

New Friends

Ever since we moved, Caroline has been actively seeking friends. Every Sunday she wants to know who will be at church. Every other day she wants to know who we are seeing today. If I say I don't know, she'll supply me with suggestions.

She's really excited to be making so many friends. She loves listing all of their names and she said once, "I can't believe I have so many friends. I can't even count them all!"

Granted, making friends is extremely easy at three, especially when your approach involves simply staring at a kid until he or she looks at you and then, when he/she does, waving and (if that goes well) saying, "do you wanna play?"

On our second or third visit to the church we are now attending, I went to pick her up from her class and she was holding a little girl's hand. I said, "Did you find a friend?" And she said, "Uh-huh, her's my best friend!" I said, "What's her name?"

She turned to the girl and said, "What's your name?"

Today we saw this little girl (whose name is Addy, by the way) along with several other children. We visited the Dallas Arboretum--it was a great outing! I'd go every day if it were closer.

Here is Caroline with her best baby friend (in Frisco), Violet. When we first met Violet, Caroline called her Baby Eye-lip. She went from that to Vi-lip. And now that she knows better,
she calls her VioleT with a very strong T.

This is Addy, who is a month shy of three but taller than Caroline. :)

And here is the whole group, including Addy's baby sister Sadie and Isaac, Elijah, and Lucy. Caroline liked playing with the boys, except when she slipped and bruised her knee and said
she didn't want to play their game anymore.

It was so nice to be outside in the pretty fall weather. Caroline ran
and played (and danced) herself to exhaustion.

She Makes Her Daddy Proud

Last week while we were driving in the car, Caroline said, "What day is today?"

"Friday," I told her.

"And then Saturday and then Sunday?"

"Yep.

"I know what comes on Sunday," she said proudly.

And I said, "Oh yeah, what's that?" totally expecting her to say "church."

"Football!" she said, excitedly.

"Oooh . . . yeah, you're right."

And then for some reason (I sensed an educational moment??) I added, "You know what, pro football is on Sunday and college football is on Saturday."

I expected her to respond with her earlier enthusiasm, but she just said, "I knowed that already--Dad told me."

Yes, of course, that is so old news.

---

This past Tuesday, Jeff took Caroline to the Mavericks/Bulls game and so the night before we had to run to the mall to get her a jersey. Jeff was hoping to get her a Bulls jersey, but--since he couldn't find one--he got her the next best thing, another Chicago team's jersey, which she is extremely proud of.

When they got home Tuesday night, I asked her what she did at the game and she said, "Sawed a lot of girls!"

Um, okay? Jeff assured me that she saw all of these girls not with him but while sitting in the front with his boss and boss' brother, who have season tickets on the floor and didn't really mind the female attention Caroline attracted. :) Apparently, she got the royal treatment. She got a VIP pass to eat in the suite and get cotton candy . . .

she got a special visit from the mascot,

and spent a while on the jumbo tron.
Jeff says he just hopes she doesn't expect this at every game.

Photo Shoot

While in North Carolina a couple of weeks ago we visited a "pumpkin patch" on the lawn of a Methodist church in Waynesville. There were pumpkins everywhere. It seemed a great place to take a few pictures.

If only Caroline would cooperate.

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

Take 5

When she's in this mood, I have to let her get all her silliness out and then she might give me a good picture. We at least got one from this day.

Take 6

Take 7 was another goofy one. I gave up.

Because I am so bad about taking her to a studio to get her picture made regularly, and because she doesn't like it anyway, I think I will take her to a park somewhere and take some pictures of her myself. As funny as the silly faces are after-the-fact, I'm hoping she'll give me some sweet ones. Otherwise, friends and family will all be getting pictures like the ones above. You might want to go ahead and place your orders, just in case. :)

Thanks for the Emails!

They've been a big hit. You should see Caroline's fingers move over the keys--she likes to type like I do, she says. I'm sorry we haven't responded to everyone yet--we've been having internet difficulties. But hopefully we're all set now and Caroline and I can get busy with our reply "mechages."

When we check her email I let her click on as many things as I can, in proportion to the amount of patience I have at that moment. She loves to move the mouse around. I read her each message and show her any pictures or attachments, and then we type out our response together. I ask her what she wants to say and also make note of what she said or how she reacted as we were reading the message.

And then for a special treat, I let her loose on the keyboard. What ends up on the screen is totally unintellible, but she sure does it with flair. I'll have to videotape her typing sometime. You can tell she thinks she is really hot stuff.

So keep the emails coming and we'll get back to you in a more timely manner now. Starting today . . .

Flannel Board Fun

We had hours of fun with this today. It's our very own homemade flannel board. I think I enjoy it just as much as Caroline does. It's an instant gratification project--you think of something you want to see on the board, you cut it out of felt and slap it on--that easy.

At the library's story time the other day, they used a flannel board when they sang "Old MacDonald Had a Farm." As the kids were singing, I thought to myself, "That board is homemade. I bet I could make one . . ." After storytime was over, Caroline and I meandered over to the board to check it out. The librarian said they had books on flannel board crafts and she and another extremely helpful librarian went out of their way to help me find some materials. They even took Caroline and me back into their storage area behind the puppet stage to see their stash of flannel materials. How fun.

I came home with a couple of great craft books and some instructions from the internet, which one of the librarians had printed out for me. I don't know if I've ever been so . . . helped. It was the royal library treatment.

I already had an oversize bulletin board and I got felt and flannel from JoAnn's Crafts and Wal-Mart. Last night I stayed up after Caroline went to bed and put the flannel background on. I also made a tree and some clouds so she could wake up in the morning and find them on the board. She was so excited this morning--and that's all the invitation I needed to make lots more little felt things! I could see us adding a little to this everyday. Tonight before she went to bed, she said she wanted us to make stars tomorrow "for when it's nighttime." I have so many ideas for storyboards and scenery that I don't know what to do with myself. Ah, the excitement of being a child . . . and a child's mother. :)

"Once upon a time . . . "

According to Caroline, this is all you have to say to tell a story. If, when she asks for one, you reply that you can't think of one right now, she will say, "It's easy. You just say 'once upon a time' . . ." and she finishes the phrase with her eyes big and her voice up and expectant, as if you will now complete her sentence with the story that has just magically formed in your mind at the mention of those words.

It's that easy--to her. And really it isn't that hard, if you just take the time to do it.

Jeff told her a short story the other night in bed and I got some cute pictures. I was about to walk into the room and then stopped when I saw them lying there talking together and, of course, went to get the camera. She never even looked up when I snapped the pictures--that's how into it she was.





After Jeff's story was over she asked if I would tell one. My mind was blank at first but then I remembered one of my favorites:

"Once upon a time there was a little girl named Carrie (she grinned). And when Carrie was just a little tiny thing, her Grama Jan . . . et (added that in keeping with the whole altering the names thing) came to visit her and taught her a trick. She would say, 'How big is Carrie?' and Carrie would raise her little arms up above her head as Grama said 'soooo big.' Carrie was very good at this trick.

One day, when Carrie was at her Aunt Adeline's and Aunt . . . Elizabeth's (no "L" name was coming to me so I went with the real name, which doesn't get used as often) house, they all decided to play hide-and-seek with their friend Kelly. Adeline and Kelly ran to hide and took Carrie with them while Elizabeth counted.

'Ready or not, here I come!' Elizabeth called. She was walking around everywhere trying to find the girls but it was taking a long time. And so she thought of a trick. She yelled out, 'How big is Carrie?" really loudly--and right away Carrie stood up and answered 'sooo big!'

(We paused to laugh together.)

So Lib--Elizabeth knew right away where they were and ran to catch them all. The end."

She loved it. Of course she did--it was about her.

That story is a favorite of mine for many reasons. One, it recalls that time when Caroline would do those little things and seemed so much smaller. Two, I'm amused at Libby's cleverness in throwing out this particular bait to lure Caroline out of the hiding place and expose the older girls (who were really the ones playing the game anyway).

Addy told me later that she was trying so hard to get Caroline to sit really still and quiet . . . but it was no use when Libby gave the call. The girls came into my parents' house grinning with their sides of the story--Libby so proud of herself for thinking up the idea and Addy, as always, tickled with the inner workings of her toddler neice's mind when facing a dilemma--do I crouch quietly like Addy says or jump up and show Libby how big I am? What's a little one-and-a-half-year-old to do?

***

So whose story is next?? :)

Tots Tennis

For some reason we thought that signing Caroline up for some kind of summer activity (in addition to the dance class) would be a good thing--something more for her to do, maybe a way to meet some more people. We had to choose the activity based on when we would be in town and tennis was the lucky winner, Tots Tennis to be exact.

Caroline was very excited and was an enthusiastic learner. Unfortunately, the class was right when naptime should be starting, so one day we had an emotional breakdown. I'm not sure what was said to her by the coach or if she was just upset that she had missed a ball, but at one point she looked across the gym at me, reached out her arms and started to cry a little bit. I went over to her and tried to encourage her to finish the drill she was on, but she was pretty emotional. We went over to the side to talk. I asked what was wrong and she said she didn't like tennis.

"Why not?"
[Crying] "Because it's not my favorite game!"
"Why?"
"Because I don't like it here." [still crying]
"Why don't you like it here?"
"Because this place is too messy."
"It is?"
"Yeah, [very indignantly] there are balls all over the place!"

At that point I laughed because it seemed that what was getting to her was just the chaos of the whole thing--thirty kids in one gymnasium, tennis balls flying everywhere, little teammates to distract you from the drill you were doing, and lots of coaches herding you here and there. It all made sense to me. Earlier that same session, Caroline was trying to retrieve every ball that went by her. Pretty much every other kid seemed oblivious to them, but Caroline was determined to clean up whatever she could. And finally it was too much--she couldn't clean it all up and she couldn't handle the chaos. She did go back to the next drill, though, and was fine for the rest of the day.

The last day of camp all the little ones were given some tennis balls as a parting gift and Caroline was so excited. That night she really wanted a racket to go with them, so Jeff promised her that when she woke up she would have one. And--like the very good dad that he is--he went to the 24-hour Wal Mart late that night and got her one . . . and me one (so I could play with), along with a bag for her and some more balls. Needless to say, we played tennis a lot the next day. She's gotten pretty accurate by this point and wants to play all the time. So--another interest that I've never had personally that she seems to be really into. But maybe she would be really into whatever we threw at her. It seems to be her personality--such a go-getter!

Caroline Takes Pictures Too

Last weekend we spent Saturday afternoon putting Caroline's new bed together. I took my camera into her room to take a picture of her "helping" Jeff. Well, I left the camera in the room and when Jeff and I weren't in there, she decided to take some pictures of her own. Now, mind you, this was before I took any of the toy pictures (she hasn't seen me take any of them, anyway) so she came up with the subjects of the photographs on her own. Here are her results:

A blurry one of her new bed with tiger and her little puppy on it.

A head shot of the doll she calls Purple.

A couple more shots of Purple.

And, finally, my personal favorite because her fat little foot is in it.

This is the first time she has taken pictures with our camera without us being there to supervise. I think it's funny that she took a picture of the bottom bunk and then took the time to climb up to the top to take some of Purple. I caught her as she was on her way down the ladder carrying the camera. Who knows how many more pictures we would have if I hadn't walked in. I almost wish I hadn't, just to see what else she would have photographed. :) Maybe I'll "accientally" leave the camera out another time and see what she does.

Jeff and I have both caught her taking pictures with Jeff's phone. I walked through the living room one evening and saw her holding it up, so I asked, "Caroline, what are you doing?" and she replied very matter-of-fact without looking away from the phone, "taking pictures." I said, "You know how to take pictures with Dad's phone?" "Uh-huh."

I'll put some pictures of her new room up sometime soon after we've finished a few more things. She likes the new bed a lot. When I tell her it's time to play in her room, she plays on the top bunk. She said one time, "I am going to play on the top one and pretend it's a ship!"

We'll try to write more later and tell you all about the tots tennis camp she went to this week . . . :)

The Secret Lives of Caroline's Toys

The badge to the left of all of these posts is a link to a site called Flickr, a photo storage and sharing site. I am very new to Flickr, but I like it a lot and have created an account and played around with it some. I think I will start a collection of Caroline's toy pictures--they just crack me up, the dressed-up duck in an earlier post being one example.

Perhaps not everyone will find things like this as amusing as I do, but to me they are just so very . . . Caroline. She leaves little traces of herself wherever she goes. When she was first beginning to walk and we were up at my parents' house in NC, one of my sisters was giving her Cheerios (I think it was) to snack on and Caroline, true to form, was not sitting still for a minute as she ate. The family later found out---as my dad was vacuuming around the fireplace--that she had been hiding Cheerios away behind one of the decorations at the foot of the mantle. It was kind of an eat-one-and-save-one-for-later arrangement.

You don't always think that much is going on in a wee one's little pea brain until you discover a clue--like hidden Cheerios--and realize that they have a real purpose in their busyness. We thought Caroline was just pittering around while snacking. In reality, she must have been hoping to make that snack last longer, or possibly even to come back to the stash on her next visit.

That tidbit leads me, in a roundabout way, to the toy pictures I've decided to start taking. I guess, in a similar way, the traces she leaves behind after play are clues as well--into what's going on in her imaginary world. I wish I had been taking pictures from the very beginning, but oh well. Yesterday I snapped these.

This is her purple bear riding her little kitty like it's a horse.

Here, dog, horse and giraffe are watching the train go by.

To her it probably makes perfect sense for a zebra to drive a schoolbus.

This one is my favorite. The little bunny has a perch, the donkey is
looking out the window and the cow is . . . taking a nap?

These are her princess figures in my old Fisher Price Little People house.
It fascinates me that she often turns dolls and figurines away from her
and towards windows, Jasmine and Mulan being the exceptions here.
Did Mulan fall? Was she pushed? I may never know but I like wondering.).

That will be all for now, but I'm sure that if I went and looked there would be plenty more play clues lying about. I love peeking into her happy world. xoxoxo

"I will point my toe like this."

It wasn't too hard to wake Caroline up this morning. I just had to ask a couple of times, "Caroline, do you want to go dance?" :)

She had a great time in her class. She was the only first-timer and was very attentive--wanting to know exactly what to do and how to do it. She had some of her own expectations as to what they would do in the class, though. After they were finished with the tap segment and almost through with the ballet segment, Caroline said, "Excuse me, um, can we hold onto that bar and do ballet?" As if they hadn't already been doing ballet! The teacher smiled and told the other teacher, "She wants to do bar work."

At the end of the class, each girl got some glitter on her hand. This seemed to signal to the other girls that class was over and they started towards the door. Caroline, on the other hand, stayed near the teacher, blew on her hand to dry the glitter, and asked, "Now what we gonna do?" When her teacher told her it was time to get her things and find her mommy, the lip started to quiver. Poor kid, she was having too much fun.

We met Jeff for lunch and sent him on his way (business trip to Maine for two days) and now we're home getting ready for naptime. I took a couple of pictures when we got here and the poses are all hers. She started with the hands up in the air one (below) and for the next one said, "I will point my toe like this" (notice the back foot above). She's still in her "princess clothes" and will probably want to sleep in them. :) If any of you get on here today and read this, be sure to send us a comment or email. It will be a little lonely with Jeff gone. We miss you all!