It's Football Season

It's the time of year for Anastasia's favorite sport. She loves watching football on television, but she's even more excited to see it live and in person. Our first football game was two weeks ago. Unfortunately, Orlando had to work, so Annie and I were on our own.

She was very excited to show her ticket at the gate. She held on to that ticket like it was gold.



Then last week, since Orlando was free from work, we all went as a family. Our friends Shawn and Laura brought their two daughters, Brooke, 9, and Kara, 5, who played with Annie throughout the tailgate, even taking over the car for a little story time.



Rain was predicted for the whole afternoon, so we were prepared with tents for the tailgate, and ponchos for the game. Annie refused to wear one.



Orlando even bought Anastasia an umbrella of her very own. She was so proud of it.



The game was not very good, and the rain was pretty relentless, so we left at halftime. Anastasia took advantage of the fact that we were all already wet, and bee-lined for every puddle she could find on the walk back to the car. No riding on Daddy's shoulders this time.



This Saturday, I have to work, so Orlando and Annie are planning to go to the game together.

Hungry, Hungry Hippos

For her birthday, Anastasia's favorite babysitters gave her the classic game, Hungry, Hungry Hippos. Anastasia picked up the rules very quickly and she loves to play, even by herself. So, the other night, when all four of us were home, we all played together.



It's noisy, but she loved it.

Anastasia's Classroom

Yesterday was back to school night for Anastasia. After a program of announcements from the Principal, Assistant Principal, and After School Program Director, the other parents and I walked down to the classroom to take a look at some of the things the kids have done since school started 2 1/2 weeks ago.

On September 1, the teachers sent home a calendar with activities for read a story together, us to do every day of the month. Some of the items are things Annie's very good at (find circles, draw a picture of your new teachers) and others are a bit more of a challenge for her (learn to recite your full name and address.)



The first thing I spied in the room was the children's illustrations of the story of The Little Red Hen.



Then I saw what Annie was talking about when she told me that her favorite part of a previous day was to glue the apples.



My favorite of Anastasia's school work on display was the self portrait she colored to show how she felt: "I feel grumpy because I'm sad".

Riding a Big Girl Bike

Anastasia got a lot of presents for her birthday, but the bike has been by far the most talked about. She has climbed up on it several times, much to my chagrin. Unfortunately we managed to forget to buy a helmet when we bought the bike, so we had to put a hold on getting to ride the bike for a week. She did a good job waiting, and on Sunday morning, we finally got out to get the helmet.



After crossing the street to a block that's a little more level than ours, I helped Annie get onto her bike, and off she went.



On our second trip around the block, after learning and practicing how to brake, she got so excited at how well she was doing, she turned around to see if I was watching, and managed to fall over into the grass. She cried and was mad, but after about 15 seconds, she was climbing back onto the bike and ready to get going again.



Happy girl.

First day of school!

Since Anastasia's daycare closed at the end of June, we've been talking to her about her new school, J.O. Wilson, which is just 2 blocks from our house. When the playground opened, we helped her to make the association between the totally awesome playground and where she'll be in school. She's been very excited about going to her "new school".



Monday was her first day of school. Orlando and I walked her to school together and on the way, we ran into her best friend, Lily.



Anastasia was a little nervous when we got to school, but she was still pretty excited to be at her new school. She alternated between wanting to meet her new classmates and clinging to Mommy or Daddy's legs.

Once her name was called, and we started to walk to her class, she seemed to settle into a groove. She was pretty comfortable with taking a seat, and when Daddy said goodbye, she gave him a kiss without a second thought. When it was my turn to say goodbye, she wasn't quite so keen, but once I told her that Myney would be by to pick her up later, she looked up and said "okay, bye bye."



Tuesday, was her actual birthday, so we took some cupcakes in to share with her class. Once I'd put the cupcakes in her classroom, I came back to say goodbye, and she just looked up for a kiss, and I was off. Clearly, the transition to elementary school has been harder for me than for her.