John's Camp BBQ

John had his annual camp barbecue tonight. His group got to stay after camp ended for the day. They had an extra swim and did some other activities. Then they ate dinner. We got to join John after dinner. Gillian was so excited to go to John's BBQ. She was jealous that he got an extra swim but still excited to see him. We arrived and couldn't find John right away. But Gillian found her counselor. She ran over to him and said "Hi Anthony!" She is definitely fitting in at camp. 

We found John and explored the camp. The kids showed us all their favorite places to play. We made sand art and John got to go on the big zip line!

Gillian showed off her climbing skills. 

We had dessert and headed home. Another awesome camp barbecue!

Kindergarten Concert

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. 

The fourth song was "Five Little Monkeys."

The next song was "I can't Spell Hippopotamus."

The final song was "See You Later Alligator." 

The kids did awesome!  We are so proud of Gillian. 

Bounce U Party

We had Gillian's birthday party at Bounce U this year. She was so excited to celebrate her big day with all of her friends from school.

The first room had a big basketball court where you could bounce and shoot baskets.  There was also mini obstacle course.  And a big obstacle course where you end up climbing a wall and going down a slide.  The kids entered the room and immediately scattered.  Gillian ended up on the big obstacle course and spent most of her time going down the slide. 

John and Gillian went down the big slide together.

Aunt Betty and I even challenged Justin to a couple races of the obstacle course. He won of course, but we had a lot of fun. 

Little Kenzie spent most of her time in the basketball court. She could play with the basketballs or just crawl around. All the kids were very careful around her and I think she had fun too! 

Finally it was time to move to the second room. The second room had another really big double slide, a bouncer and a climber called the spider. The spider thing was super cool, but very hard. The kids were just a little too short, but it didn't stop them from trying. My nephew, Justin, had no problems and loved it.

This is Gillian climbing the spider. 

Gillian and I went down the big slide in the second room together.

Aunt Missy, Kenzie and Gillian went down the big side together.

All the kids!

And a silly face picture!

Next it was time for pizza!

Time for cake and cookies!

All the kids sang Happy Birthday!

 

 

 

Gillian's Preschool Graduation

Gillian's Preschool Graduation was on Tuesday last week.  She was very excited to graduate and was up bright and early that morning.

Daddy and I dropped Gillian off at school and we were able to get front row seats for graduation.  TLC combined the Kindergarten and Preschool Graduations, so there was a lot of kids.  Graduation started with the kid marching in and lining up.  Once everyone was lined up, the kids introduced themselves.  Gillian proudly said her name loud for everyone to hear.

After the graduates introduced themselves, they sang Phil Collins' "On My Way."

Next we said the Pledge of Allegiance, and the kids sang "My Country Tis of Thee."  The graduates then sang "Over the Rainbow."

The Kindergarten kids also read "Pete the Cat" while the Preschool class said the refrain.  I didn't get video of that, but the kids did an awesome job!  After the story, it was time to present the diplomas. 

Gillian accepted her diploma proudly.  She also went back in line and clapped for each and every one of her classmates.  Then the kids recited a poem and then they sang "The World is a Rainbow."

They finished off the graduation by singing "It's a Small World."  And we also got to watch a slideshow of pictures from this past year. It's amazing to see how much they have grown.

I'm so proud of our little girl.  She is going to do awesome in Kindergarten next year!

Pump It Up

Gillian had a birthday party today at Pump It Up for twins from her class. She was super excited about this party. She asked me first thing this morning "Is today Ryan and Sofia's party? Can we go now?" 

On our way to the party, she asked "Do you know how to get to Pump It Up?" When I assured her that I did know, she still questioned "Are you sure?"

We arrived and Gillian didn't do any of her typical shy maneuvers. She ran right up to her friends and started to play. She had a blast playing on the inflatable slides and obstacle courses. 

It was hard to get a good picture of her because she was moving so quickly. When we moved to the second room, Gillian and her friends kept going on the slide. They would climb up, slide down again and again. They all seemed so happy and content. 

Next it was time for pizza and ice cream cake. Gillian is still talking about the party and about how her party will be there. 

The Pottery House

Today Gillian's class had a field trip to the Pottery House and I got to chaperone! Gillian and I arrived at school at snack time. Gillian sat on the carpet with her friends while I talked to the other mommies. We were each assigned a group of a couple of kids along with our child. I had Sofia, Serafina and Gillian. It was Sofia's birthday today too! She asked "Can we sit in the back of the bus?" I can't say no to the birthday girl, so we sat in the way back. 

We arrived at the Pottery House and all the kids got to pick something to paint. They had lots of choices hippos, lions, aliens, bears, lady bugs and more. From my group, Serafina went up first and picked a ladybug, the last ladybug. Sofia also wanted a ladybug. So I asked one of the employees to find another one. Thankfully they found one. And thankfully Gillian didn't want one too. She opted for a bear. Everyone set to work on their painting. 

The kids were great. They all focused on their own project and they were well behaved. And Gillian painted a beautiful bear!

Girls are mean - part 2

A little while ago, I wrote about Gillian having a hard time making new friends at John's basketball game (check out my post titled "Girls are mean"). Yesterday was John's last basketball game. Gillian was prepared. She brought her Anna and Elsa dolls and Minnie Mouse for baby Mackenzie. When we arrived I made sure we were not close to the "mean girls." Gillian sat and played for a little while by herself. Then a little girl started inching closer and closer to us. Gillian noticed the little girl and held on tight to her dolls. The little girl was wearing an Elsa dress and was very interested in Gillian's dolls. Gillian was very hesitant to let go of her dolls. Finally (after a little encouragement from Mommy and Daddy), she handed the little girl the Elsa doll. And that was it. The two of them played and played. I am so glad that Gillian made a friend and that there was no drama. 

Pictionary

On Friday, I picked up the kids from school. Just as I arrived, Gillian and her friends were getting ready to play Pictionary. Gillian begged me to let her stay and play with her friends. Luckily, they let her go first. I was able to get a video of Gillian drawing. 

Later in the car, I asked her if the circles she was drawing were jewels. She said "Yes. Them sparkles. The other was a design. I didn't have time to draw a bow." 

Thanksgiving pageant

Today was the annual Thanksgiving Pageant at Gillian's school. All the classes sing songs and then they have a turkey lunch.

Since Gillian's class was going to sing songs about turkeys, all the kids in her class had headbands with turkey legs on them. 

Here are some videos of the songs.

Once again, TLC put on a great show.  I'm so glad I got to see it!

Family Night

John's school had a family night program tonight. John really really wanted to go. When I picked him up from school, he told me "I didn't do my homework in Time+." I told him that he needed to do all his homework if he wanted to go to back to school. This was perfect motivation.  He finished his homework in record time and we all went to school after dinner. 

The program/show was good. The kids really enjoyed it. The performer did magic tricks and told silly stories and had puppets. John saw his show earlier in the day with his classmates, but still laughed at all the silly jokes. Gillian really enjoyed it. Both kids tried to be volunteers and were disappointed when they weren't picked. They also tried to volunteer Daddy and I. 

In the car on our way home, they told us about their favorite part. Gillian said "I liked it when the birdie (a puppet) licked the candy cane. And the candy cane was from the potty (it turned out to be a plunger)!" She laughed when she told us about it. John said "I liked that part too! Cause he shouldn't have licked! But it would have been worse if he licked the bottom part. You know the part that goes IN the potty!" 

The show was fun, but it was more fun watching the kids' reactions. I also loved seeing John wave and talked to friends from his class or Time+.  

Pick up

I don't always get to pick up Gillian from school, so I really look forward to my Tuesday pick up. Tonight, the kids were outside playing when I arrived. I watched Gillian run across the playground with Dorlisa and Nicholas. She didn't see me. They ran over to the climbing wall and Nicholas said "Gill, your mom's here!" She turned around, saw me, and then ran to the other side of the playground, staring at me the whole time. She noticed I was holding her pumpkin and she ran to me. "That's my pumpkin!" she told me. I said "Yes, you picked a nice one. And I see you made me a hat too." She laughed and said "No! It's mine!" Gillian and her class went on a field trip today to Huber Woods and they got to pick pumpkins, go on a hayride and make a fall crown. Gillian had a great day and I had an amazing pick up. 

Dance Party

Gillian went to a birthday party for her friend Elena today.  Elena had a dance party at a ballet studio.  Gillian was super excited about going to this party.  I was also excited about this party, but was a little worried that Gillian would be clingy and not want to leave my side (like the super hero party last week).  We arrived at the party and Gillian sat patiently while I put on her ballet shoes. She then ran into the dance studio.  She was ready to dance.  She even helped drag some of her friends into the studio.  They all gathered in a circle and started with some stretching.

Most of the music they danced to was from Frozen. So a lot of the moves were princess inspired. For example they galloped across the room because Anna rode a horse. They also "made" snowballs and "threw" them across the room. 

They did a "princess walk" across the room. Notice how Gillian completely does her own thing.

They also got to jump on a trampoline. 

At the very end the kids all got to do some tumbling. 

 

Gillian had a great time at the party. I did too. I'm so glad that I got to see some of her dance moves in person. 

Camp Show - take two

Today was the second day of camp shows at Briar Hill.  Since I am so close to camp, I had decided to go to go both days.  Today I asked Grandma and Grandpa to join me.  Aunt Betty also came, because we didn't actually get to see John perform yesterday.  We arrived at camp today and saw the end of the previous show.  Betty and I both said to Grandma and Grandpa, "When those parents move, we need to move to the front and get the first row."  Grandma looked at us like we were crazy.  But it didn't stop Betty and I.  We practically ran to the front.  We ended up getting seats right in front.  And the perfect view of my boy and the rest of the Hortons. 

When they were done, the announcer asked them "Do you want to do it again?" The kids all yelled a mixture of NO and YES!  We laughed.  Then the announcer asked the parents "Do you want to see it again?"  The parents of course said yes.  And the kids had to dance again for us.  They did a great job.  Afterward, we got a few pictures of the Hortons.  

Chuck E Cheese

Gillian went to a friend's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese today. She was a little shy when we arrived, but once she got her tokens she ran around like a crazy girl. We tried every game. Her favorite game was a Spongebob bowling game. We must have played it a dozen times. 

Chuck E came out and danced for everyone. I asked Gillian if she wanted to dance. She refused. But then later he came out to sing happy birthday to Turner. Gillian watched him closely. He went to his "dressing room." And she asked "What's he doing?" I said "Maybe taking a nap." Well I was wrong. He came out a few minutes later and she said "I guess he wasn't sleepy. He had to go potty!" I love her imagination. 

Elsa

For those who don't know, Elsa is one of the princesses from the movie Frozen. Frozen merchandise is very hard to find. I was lucky and found a plush Elsa for Gillian's birthday. Gillian loves her Elsa doll. Today Daddy picked up Gillian from school, he went inside and got all of her stuff and then went back outside to get Gillian from the playground. She came running to him. He handed her the Elsa doll. She then called all of her friends over. All the girls were excited to see the doll. Gillian said "I hold it up so everyone could see." And she held the doll up over her head. The girls all had something to say about the doll. Dorlisa said "I like her slippers!" I wasn't there, but I envision it much like this:

Olaf in summer party

Gillian, like every other little girl, is obsessed with Frozen. She loves Elsa and Anna and I just knew she would want a Frozen themed birthday party. I found a cookie cutter for Olaf and planned her entire party around Olaf. I made it an Olaf in summer party. For those who don't know, Olaf is a snowman and he dreams of being able to play in summer. 

Gillian's party was today. Just minutes before everyone was due to arrive it started to rain. So we quickly had to change our plans. We were going to do games outside, but we had to move them inside. Luckily, Daddy had set up a tent on the deck, so we started with decorating some princess crowns and wands. Every little girl needs a crown and we needed wands to make sure that Olaf wouldn't melt! The girls were very determined and made some beautiful crowns. 

Our first game was pin the sunglasses on Olaf. This was fun. The girls really couldn't see with the blindfold on and had a hard time placing the glasses correctly. You will see that there are two that are pretty close.  Well we had one cheater and one little girl refused to put the blindfold on. Personally my favorite is the one in Olaf's hand. 

We then piled up some cups and the kids threw beach balls to knock them down. This was a huge hit. The girls loved it. They all went two times!

After the game, we had three of the girls go an decorate crowns (they were late and didn't get to decorate with the other girls). Meanwhile, Gillian took her other friends downstairs to play. If it wasn't raining, we would have done another game. But we had to make do. The girls got to play for a little bit. And then I told them it was time for pizza. They ran upstairs. All the girls ate very well. 

After pizza, it was time for cupcakes!

The cupcakes were a huge hit, along with some fancy 4 cookies!

Once everyone was done with dessert, it was time to bust open the piñata. The rain had stopped by this time. And we were able to go outside. The girls were patient and waited for their turn to pull a string. They didn't fight over the candy and each took a small amount. Since the rain was gone, the kids were able to play on the playground. They played nicely for awhile. Slowly the girls started to leave until there was three girls left plus Gillian. They played so nicely together, we didn't realize that it had gotten so late. The last girl left around 3! I see that as a sign of a good party. 

After everyone left, Gillian opened her gifts. She is a lucky girl and received a lot of nice things. Daddy asked her "What was your favorite part of the party?" She answered honestly "The presents!"