Friday Gillian's school had their first ever Kindergarten Music Concert. The kids have been practicing for months. Gillian has been home singing songs for weeks now (check out the lion sleeps tonight).
The theme was "Old MacDonald Had a What?"
The kids started out singing Old MacDonald and then replace a common farm animal with something crazy. Then they would sing a song based on that animal. The first song was "Rockin' Robin." Gillian is in the middle of the group wearing a fish hat. Please don't mind the bad video quality, I used my cell phone and the lady in front of me was not very cooperative!
The second song was "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." This is obviously one of Gillian's favorite songs.
The next song was "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a." The kids explain in the clip, but the humuhumunukunukuapua'a is the state fish of Hawaii. It is a fish that looks like a pig. Gillian has a very special part during this song.
We went out to dinner tonight. We sat next to the window and throughout the meal, John danced in his seat and watched his own reflection in the window. It took me a couple tries but I got it on video.
We watched The Mask for Daddy's birthday on Saturday. John loved it. But Daddy was even happier when the kids all danced along to his favorite part, Cuban Pete.
We ate dinner outside tonight. While I was cleaning up, Daddy was playing some music for he kids. He motioned to me that I should check out Gillian. "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift was playing. Gillian was dancing and singing into a straw microphone.
Last night we heard MKTO's "Classic" in the car. Gillian had a couple of questions, "Who's Michael? And why does he wanna kiss a prince?" I explained that Michael Jackson was a singer and Prince sings a song about kisses. Tonight at dinner I told Daddy "We need to include Michael Jackson and Prince in the kids music education." Daddy agreed and he said "Wanna hear some Prince?" John said "No. How about the Go-Go Girls?" Daddy looked very confused and said "Do you mean the Go-Go's?" John said "No. It was the Go-Go Girls." John has the second grade concert coming up next month. It dawned on me that he might be learning a Go-Go's song for the concert. I asked "Are you singing a Go-Go's song?" John smiled and said "Our Lips are Sealed." Daddy found it on YouTube and John sang along. After the Go-Go's, we listened to the Jackson Five and Prince. The kids danced around the kitchen. I love teaching the kids about music.
During bathtime tonight, I told Gillian that I would paint her nails. She was super excited. "I'm going to pick the color!" She quickly got into her pajamas and was ready with her nail polish picked out. She sat patiently while I painted the first coat. But then I put on music for John and she wanted to dance. "Are you done yet?" I explained that I needed to do one more coat. And as I painted every nail, she asked "Are you done?" I tried to move the process along and blow on the nails to dry them faster. She complained "Can you stop that? I'm cold." She sat still until her nails dried and then danced.
Gillian started taking pre-ballet class at her school. It is with Wee Can Dance. They come to Gillian's school once a week and teach basic ballet techniques. They do an introductory class and Gillian really enjoyed it. We figured we would sign her up and see if she likes it or not.
Gillian was super excited this morning when I dressed her in her leotard, tights and ballet shoes. When Daddy took her to school, one of her friends saw her and said "Yay! Gillian's in our dance class too!"
When I arrived home tonight, Gillian said "Do you want to see my ballet moves?" And she did a little twirl. She also told me "Boys bow and girls do this." And she did a little move. I tried to mimic her and she said "No. Like this." And showed me again.
After dinner, I asked her to show me some of the things she learned in class. She insisted on putting on her shoes and using the deck to dance.
Today was John's Kindergarten Graduation. I can't believe that my little boy has graduated Kindergarten. It seems like it was just yesterday when we were bringing him home from the hospital.
Our day started early. John woke up and found me in the bathroom. He told me "I need to get handsome." And he proceeded to comb his hair (he has a crew cut). Then he brushed his teeth. He informed me "I'm going to make them shine!" He knew today was a big day and made sure he was ready and looking good.
At breakfast, he informed Gillian "After graduation, you can stay at school or you can come home with me. I'm going with Daddy. I'm not staying." It was at that point when Daddy and I decided we should just let the kids come home after the ceremony. I dropped them off at school and told them I would be back in time for the ceremony.
Daddy and I got to school and we pulled Gillian from her class and brought her into the earth room. Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi and Poppy all arrived at the same time. We only waited for a few minutes before the procession started. John proudly lead his classmates into the earth room. Miss Mary Ellen said a few words and then it was time for the pledge of allegiance. John got to hold the flag. He had the biggest smile for the entire pledge.
Next it was time for songs. The first song was "It's a small world." Next was "I'd like to teach the world to sing." Below is a video of the kids singing.
Next the kids sang, "Somewhere over the rainbow." I didn't get video of it, but I'm sure you can imagine how wonderfully they all sang. Then they presented the diplomas. John was first to receive his diploma. After all the kids received their diplomas, they read "Thank You for Me" a sweet little book. John read the first set of pages. Below is a video of them reading. Notice when the third kid reads John taps Jillian on the hand to signal that she needs to flip over her paper. The kids did an excellent job reading.
After the reading, the kids did a few dances. The first dance was to"Down the Avenue." In this dance, the kids listened to the music and walked or skipped or jumped. Then they danced to "Brazilian Carnival." John told me last week that they were going to samba at graduation. But I really didn't believe him. I was wrong. Well, I take that back, I was right. John was the only one that actually did the samba. Check out the video below. Notice how John shakes his hips.
In closing, they sang "So Long, Farewell." What a beautiful ceremony. I'm so proud of my little boy.
Today was the baptism of Daddy's cousin's baby Riley. We went to the church to watch the baptism. The kids were well behaved, considering the fact that the priest was a little long winded. At some point, the priest said "Next we will anoint the babies with water." Gillian heard that and said "I like water! I get a drink?"
I got to hold little Riley for a little bit today. I was actually surprised Gillian didn't fuss or try to get my attention at all. I bent down so that John and Gillian could see her up close. Gillian tried to touch her, but John stopped her. He said "Gill, you gotta be careful. She's just a baby!" He touched Riley's head gently and again pushed Gillian's hand away. He was so sweet with the little baby.
After lunch, John got up from our table and started dancing with his cousin Lorenzo. John showed off his break dancing moves along with some new moves. Gillian joined them and did some twirling. Gillian would close her eyes and twirl and twirl and twirl until she couldn't stand straight.
A couple nights a week, we have a dance party for the kids. Basically, we just play some music for the kids and them them dance. John and Gillian love dance party nights. John has now started to name his dance moves. He does "the jet" which is him running around the room with his arms stretched out. He also does "the plane," a slower version of "the jet." He has probably a dozen different moves now. Gillian copies or tries to copy all of his moves. Tonight, Gillian copied John, but at some point started running around with her hand on her hip. I had a hard time hearing her with the music. Finally I heard her say "Tip me over and pour me out!" And that's when I saw not only did she have her hand on her hip, but she also had her other had stretched out over her head. My little girl was dancing and singing "I'm a little teapot."
Today we ran some errands, one stop was Best Buy. We walked around the store. I guess someone was looking to purchase new speakers or a new stereo and they tested the speakers. AC DC was pumped through the speakers. Gillian immediately started dancing in the middle of the store. She loved it for about 30 seconds and then they stopped the music. She was very disappointed that they stopped the music.
For dinner tonight, I made grilled cheese sandwiches and cheddar broccoli soup. Daddy and I assumed that the kids would only want the sandwiches. We had both kids taste the soup, because in our house you have to try everything once. Gillian tasted it and said "Delicious!" John tasted it and said "I don't like it!" Gillian insisted on her own bowl. She ate about half of it.
I went to check on Gillian this morning. She was awake but still laying in her bed. She quickly got up and gave me a big squeezie. She went potty and we went back into her room to get her changed. I was able to get panties on her and then she started dancing. She was running around the room dancing. She would dance then fall to the floor laughing. I was able to get her dressed slowly. I put on her pants and she danced, danced, danced. Then I put on her shirt and she danced, danced, danced. She had so much fun and we shared so many giggles this morning.
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