No shirt

John was given the chore of sweeping the back deck. It's a hot day, so Daddy told him that he could work outside without a shirt. John set to work on sweeping the deck and Gillian wanted to help too. I gave her a broom and left them alone. It wasn't long before Gillian came running inside. She asked "Can I take my shirt off too? Johnny said I had to ask." I explained "Sorry, girls can't be outside without a shirt." She didn't argue and ran back outside. 

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. 

Girls are mean

Gillian learned the hard way yesterday that girls can be mean. John had a basketball game on Saturday morning. We all went to watch. Normally we bring Gillian's LeapPad with us so she can play games. But this time all we grabbed was her plush Belle doll. We sat in the bleachers behind another family. A few minutes into the game the little girl sitting in front of us opened her bag and took out little plush dolls, Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Sven from Frozen. Gillian's eyes lit up. She watched the little girl and her friend play with the dolls. Gillian just watched at first. But then other girls joined the first two in front of us. Now there were four little girls all playing with the Frozen characters. Gillian moved closer to the girls and played with her Belle doll. 

The four girls moved to the empty bleachers to play. Gillian followed them and sat close to them, and played with her doll. From our view it looked like Gillian was going to be included, but we were wrong. The girls moved every time Gillian got close to them. My heart ached for her. She just wanted to play. Luckily this only lasted a little while and the basketball game ended.

As we were putting on our coats and getting ready to leave, Gillian burst into tears. I picked her up and held her. She was so upset. I told her that everything was all right and that sometimes girls could be mean. She said "I just wanted to play." I told her that we would all play with her when we got home. She asked "Even Daddy?" Yes. Even Daddy. Daddy carried her to the car and I explained what happened to John. He agreed to play dolls when we got home. And we did. All of us sat and played dolls with Gillian. She was so happy. 

Painting nails

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. 

Dance class

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.

Working outside

When John and I got home tonight, Daddy was working outside cleaning up some leaves. It was a warm night so Daddy was working without a shirt. The kids were playing quietly in the living room while I was making dinner. John offered to help me, but I didn't have anything he could help with. So he said "I'm going outside to help Daddy!" I said "Okay, just make sure you put on shoes." He said "Ok. And I'm taking off my shirt too!" I kept working on dinner. And suddenly Gillian was next to me. "Are these the right feet?" she asked as she looked down at her shoes. I told her yes. And she said "I'm going to help Daddy too. But I not going to take off my shirt. Cause girls don't do that!"