BFF

For almost the past year, Malia’s best friend has been Raylee. They have been in preschool together and although they weren’t in the same primary class last year, they were this year. When Malia discovered that fact, there was a fist pump and a “Yes!” involved. These two girls have gotten along amazingly well. Their personalities are very similar, they like the same things and they just love being together. I’ve only had to intervene in a moment of disagreement once in the past year and that one was just to suggest maybe they could take turns. Other than that, they have worked everything out on their own and have had surprisingly few moments of conflict. As far as a couple of 4-5 year olds go, that is pretty much a mini miracle. Raylee has even taught Malia some of the finer points of being a princess. Malia can be pretty rough and tumble (having three older brothers will do that) and Raylee has helped balance that out. I couldn’t have asked for a better first girlfriend for Malia.

Raylee and her family have been living down the street, with one of her sets of grandparents. Her dad was finishing up his last year of medical school and they didn’t know where he would be assigned for his residency so they didn’t want to buy a home or anything like that only to be there less than a year. Because of that, we’ve known all along that they would be moving, we just didn’t know where. When they were given their assignment a few months ago, I started prepping Malia for the fact that Raylee would be moving. I figured if she knew what was coming and had an idea of what it really meant, it might be easier on her. By the time Raylee left last week, Malia had a pretty good idea what moving meant.

Raylee moved last Saturday. They were able to spend a good chunk of the last couple of days together and due to our in-advance discussions, Malia has handled it really well. She’s only asked when Raylee would be living down the street from us again once. I was just about Malia’s age when my parents moved to their current home and I met a group of girls, some of whom became besties and one of whom I still keep in touch with. (This is a shout out to Lisa-my life long bestie!) Luckily for us, Raylee has only moved to Provo and her grandparents still live just down the street so while I’m old enough to know things definitely won’t be the same, at least Malia will be able to see her from time to time.

Raylee drew a picture for Malia by way of a parting gift. Raylee is on the right dressed as Rapunzel who is currently her favorite princess. Malia is on the left as Snow White which is what Malia wants to be for Halloween this year. I thought it was a sweet way of letting Malia know that the friendship goes both ways.

In moments of loneliness or boredom, Malia will sigh and say, “I wish Raylee was here.” You know what? I wish Raylee was here too.

Breakfast with a Jolly Old Elf

Our preschool teacher must have an in with Santa because every year he takes time out of his busy schedule to have breakfast with the preschoolers on their last day of school before Christmas. Last year Malia wouldn’t sit in his lap. This year she was likewise inclined to decline the opportunity to sit on his lap, but Santa has learned a thing or two and opted to just grab her up so they could have a chat. Matthew was with us since he is off track and Santa made him an honorary elf for the day, letting Matthew hand out the gifts he had for each preschooler.

 Malia and her friend Raylie

Santa read the kids a story about how he got his job and they ate orange rolls and milk. This is one of the traditions I'm going to miss when Malia goes to kindergarten next year.

On the way home, Matthew decided his elf name is Fizbee and Malia decided her elf name is Malia Elf. Now if only I could get them to be as industrious as Santa's elves are...

Bibbity Bobbity Boo

Malia’s Halloween costume has been finished for a week or so. She knew she was not allowed to wear it until Halloween and today was her party at preschool. She was so stoked! Seriously, that is one happy Cinderella.



She played some games, read her Clifford News all about pumpkins and made Monster Stew. Malia was asked to bring dragon brains (aka Skittles).



She waited very patiently for her turn to stir…

…then got a little crazy because the bowl was so full.



She had a wonderful time!

And as a side note, I love this Cinderella hairdo we found on Pinterest. If she’ll let me, I think this style will be making multiple appearances in her future.

Every Girl Needs a BFF

Malia is accustomed to living in a world full of boys. Not only does he have three brothers, there are simply a lot of boys around here. In our ward it is normal for each primary class to have six or eight boys and only one or two girls. Classes at the elementary school are usually 2/3 to ¾ boys with a few girls sprinkled in for variety (and sanity). But with a few new move ins, Malia’s age group is actually tipped a bit in favor of the girls. Last year her preschool class had only 3 girls which really isn’t a terrible percentage since there were only eight kids in her class. But this year there are six girls and Malia is loving it!

Today was her first field trip of the year and we happened to park right by one of her little girlfriends. I have a soft spot in my heart for this particular little girl. Her family moved into our ward five or six months ago and she sings for me in primary. It has been a challenge to get anyone, child or adult, in this ward to sing. The hymns in Sacrament Meeting are sung by about ten people, five of whom have the same last name as me. And since I am the choir director and the junior primary chorister, the lack of musical participation makes my callings a million times harder. So to have a child come to primary, sit on the front row and sing out with abandon makes me feel like maybe it’s not completely a lost cause.

Anyway, we walked with this particular friend of Malia’s and she had a fabulous time. The two of them are the hugging, chatting, declaring they are best friends kind of friends. It’s actually pretty cute. Since Malia is usually surrounded by boys, she was a bit unsure the first time Raylie dashed up and hugged her (her cousin Kate is really the only other girlfriend who is like that with Malia) but she warmed up super fast. I tried to take a cute picture of the two girls, but the sun and a pesky leaf foiled my plans. Nevertheless, the field trip was a success and we are all anxiously awaiting the next one.

It’s Finally Time!

After a very long summer which included watching all three of her brothers go back to school, Malia’s first day of school finally arrived. She has been very excited. I woke up at 6:45 this morning and she was already awake and totally wired. She was completely dressed, fed, combed, brushed and wearing her backpack by 8:00 which gave us plenty of time to get to school considering start time is 9:00 and we can leave our house at 8:57 and still arrive with time to spare.

Now I just have to get Matthew back on-track and three times a week I’ll have 2 ½ hours all to myself. :-)

Summer's a Bummer for Girls Who Like School

Malia is officially done with her first year of preschool. We ended the school year with a short program where the kids got to show off the skills they have learned this year by singing a few songs and reciting a couple of poems. Then there was a picnic at the park so she got to play with her preschool friends one more time before summer. Luckily for us, one of her friends lives right next door so she will have someone to play with all summer. And almost all of the same kids will back in her class in the fall so that is also a bonus.

Malia has absolutely loved school and is already asking when she will have school again. She's not the only one who will miss preschool. Having two hours alone twice a week has been nice. At least Daniel is almost done with school as well. That way I can still get out and run a few errands solo now and again.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Have I mentioned that we love our preschool? I’m sure I have. Let me tell you about yet another reason our preschool is so awesome. Every year the kids get to have breakfast with Santa. He comes to preschool, reads the kids a story (This year he told us about all the different jobs he has had. It was very enlightening.), lets them sit on his lap (if they so desire), gives them a candy cane and then hangs out with them while they eat orange rolls and drink milk. Malia was her normal chatty self, asking questions like whether or not Santa wears his suit all the time and does he have reindeer. However, in spite of her chattiness, she absolutely refused to sit on his lap. She wouldn’t even stand by him. But Santa is great with kids and snuck up on her while she was eating breakfast.

Of course, once she realized he was there she informed him that he was in her way.

Santa was great though and gave her a candy cane anyway. And once that was done she was willing to stand next to him and chat…until he took a step toward her and then she ran away. But by then I think it was just a game.

Malia never did tell Santa what she wants for Christmas. When I asked her after the fact, she told me she wants a present. When asked what kind of a present, she said, “Just a present!” Apparently she is easy to please.

Where the Wild Things Are

The correct answer to that would be…preschool…on Halloween. Seriously, they were aaaaaalllllll jazzied up. Malia was totally excited that she finally got to wear her costume. (It’s been in hiding since I finished it last month. Otherwise she would have been in it every day.) The other kids were equally excited to wear their costumes. The whole thing was kind of like trying to herd a bunch a cats. Here is our attempt at getting a group photo:

See what I mean about the herding cats thing?

But they did have fun making monster stew and playing a keep the pumpkin off the ground game.

As far as Malia is concerned, her first ever school Halloween party was a great success!

This is How Awesome Our Preschool Is...

They celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yes, I know it was actually last month, but still, eight three-year-olds saying, "Arrrrrgh!" is pretty entertaining. :-)

It Would Seem That Preschool is a Hit

Malia is really enjoying preschool. Last Thursday was show and tell and she was thrilled to be able to take Rapunzel to school with her. This morning after the boys left for school and she was getting dressed, she informed me that she had to get ready for school. I told her she doesn’t have school today and she did not like that answer. Stubbornly she insisted that she does have school today. So I told her that she has school on Tuesdays and Thursdays and today is Monday. She quickly responded with an impassioned, “But it’s Thursday out there! It’s Thursday in the house to!”

Home Alone

Today was Malia’s first day of preschool. She has been super excited ever since her teacher came to visit her a couple of weeks ago. This morning she was so excited that she only ate about two bites of her breakfast.

See what I mean? That’s one excited kiddo.

She was thrilled to walk to school and even held my hand crossing the street (something Matthew would never do). In addition to that, she stood on the green (previously pink and then orange) rectangle like a normal child, also unlike Matthew.

I had two whole hours to myself which went by far too fast, of course. And when I picked Malia up I was glad to see that she was still a happy camper. Day one of school=a huge success.

Malia has already asked if she can go to preschool again and I was pleased to inform her that she will get to go again on Thursday. When my sister-in-law Danna came to give me a massage this afternoon, Malia informed her that she had just gone back on-track. Yup. She’s got the year-round-school lingo down. As for me, it’s been a few years since I consistently had a few hours of alone time while the kiddies were at school. I had about six months when Nathan was in preschool before Matthew came along. And then I had one year when Matthew was in preschool before Malia arrived. So I’ve had these few solitary hours before, but I always knew they wouldn’t last long. And now I’m at a point where they are not only going to last, but the number of hours is going to increase as the years go by. So this is the last first day of preschool for me. And I’m not sure how I feel about that yet.

Potty Party

First of all, pardon me for my last potty related rant. Potty wise, we were having a bad day…week…couple of weeks. Having said that, here’s the latest edition of Wee-Wee-Weekly.

There is something to be said for buddies when working towards a goal. People have fitness buddies all the time-exercise buddies, diet buddies, etc. My sister, Rachael, has two daughters: Kate, who is just a couple of months older than Malia and Sabrina, who is starting first grade this year. These two have been Malia’s potty buddies. And having a potty buddy has been super fabulous for Malia. She does have three older brothers, but she doesn’t care a lick that they wear big boy underwear. She is, however, enormously impressed by the fact that Kate and Brina wear big girl panties.

Last week we invited Rachael and Kate to come have a mini birthday celebration with us for Malia’s birthday. Malia was really jazzed and asked if Sabrina would be coming. This is the conversation that followed:

Me: “No, Sabrina will be at school.”

Malia: “In her panties?”

Me: [trying enormously hard not to just bust out laughing] “Yes.”

Malia: "And Kate will go to school in her panties."

Me: [still trying to contain my glee] "Yes."

Malia: "And I will go to school in my panties!"

Me: "Yes!"

I was laughing in my head the entire time. I mean, going to school commando is not exactly a fabulous idea. Although it isn’t actually written in the school dress code, I’m pretty sure that underwear is required as part of appropriate school attire.

Speaking of school and the appropriateness of wearing underwear when going to the hallowed halls of learning, I think Malia is going to be in fine shape when school starts in two weeks. After my last potty related rant, we had a few hard weeks. There was much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth when the potty was mentioned. Then one day last week as I was helping Malia get dressed in the morning, she flat out asked for a diaper (not that she had been in one during the day for over a month) and I told her no. Then she asked for a pull-up (not that she had been in one at home for at least a couple of weeks) and I told her no. After some more complaining, she finally consented to the panties in spite of the fact that she really didn’t want to be bothered with the whole potty thing. Once she was firmly convinced that I was not going let this particular fight go, she must have just decided that she might as well give in because later that morning, she suddenly stopped, looked at me and said, “I have to go potty!” And so we ran to the bathroom and she was still dry and after she did the deed there was much cheering and clapping and many wahoos and she got to call Kev on the phone to tell him all about it. It was a big deal for both of us.

That seems to have been the turning point. She has been staying dry more consistently with each day and has figured out that she really can go by herself and doesn’t have to wait for us to tell her it is time to go or even wait for someone to go with her. She has always told me that she’s a little girl and not a big girl, but a few days ago she said, “I’m a big girl!! I growed and growed and growed!!” I think that gaining this particular skill has given her a sense of accomplishment.

And honestly, her being okay with even the idea of using the potty started the day we spent the whole day with Kate and Brina and one or both of them went with her every time she headed to the potty, which was about every 45 minutes at that point. And I’m really glad that Malia has some girl cousins. I think the potty training buddy system should be shouted from the rooftops. Because a potty party is way more fun than just going to the bathroom by yourself. In fact, even as adults women have a tendency to visit the ladies room in groups. (Y’all can’t honestly tell me that you and your besties never headed to the ladies on prom night to discuss how everything was going with all the gentlemen.) Honestly, I think I need to buy those girls a cookie…or some new princess panties. ;-)

Fluid Thinker

So Malia will be starting preschool in a couple of weeks. She will be three by then…just barely. All summer we’ve been priming her for potty training by telling her that she has to use the potty and wear big girl panties so she can get a backpack and go to school. With the potty training part actually making some progress (she’s in princess panties most of the time now although we still have to remind her to go to the bathroom so she doesn’t have problems) we decided she was ready for the backpack. She chose princesses, of course.

She was also determined to get a lunch box even though she doesn’t need one. Matthew was at this exact same stage when he decided he needed a lunch box, so I let Malia pick one. She chose a totally girly lunch tote...

that doubles as a hat…

What can I say? She thinks outside the box…or bag. :-)

Mama Drama

I just called out beloved neighborhood preschool teacher to register Malia for preschool in the fall. It kind of freaks me out because she isn’t even two and a half yet. But by the fall she will be three (just barely) and a couple of years of preschool will help us know if she is ready to start kindergarten when she is four (which happens for really young kids in year round school) or if she needs another year. I suspect she’ll be ready for kindergarten but I can’t say for sure.

I feel like she isn’t old enough for me to even be thinking about school yet, but I guess this is how it works for kids who have birthdays at the end of August. If she had waited to be born at the right time, I would have a whole ‘nother year until I had to face thoughts of school…of course, it’s way too late to do anything about that now. In fact, it was way too late about half a second after she decided she didn’t want a September birthday.

“Celebration!”

Believe it or not, Matthew has reached the end of preschool. His last day of school is Friday and in two months he will be off to kindergarten. Tonight was Matthew’s special preschool program. They sang a few songs and recited some nursery rhymes. The amazing thing is that Matthew actually stood with the other kids and sang. As much as he likes to sing, he doesn’t care for an audience. So he usually just stands to the side looking grumpy or tries to hide behind the other kids and doesn’t sing at all. But tonight he did a great job! After the program Matthew shared his preschool book with us. They have spent the entire month of May creating their books and the fun part is that it includes pictures of all Matthew’s school friends. He is equal parts excited and anxious for kindergarten so I expect there will be some emotional ups and downs as we get closer to August. But ready or not, here it comes!

 Matthew sandwiched between Jack and Nathan, two of his school friends.

Have I Mentioned Lately That I Love Our Preschool?

Today was Breakfast with Santa at preschool.  Santa takes time out of his busy schedule to spend a morning with the kids in Matthew’s preschool.  He reads them a story, brings them a small gift (a book), lets them sit on his knee, and hangs around for some classic 4-year-old conversation while they eat cinnamon rolls and drink milk.  Although he always gets shy when Santa comes, Matthew has been excited about this all month.  When I woke him up this morning, he got right out of bed and got ready for school.  As we left our house, we noticed that there were hoof prints in the snow on our driveway (for real).  When we mentioned it to Santa, he told us that Donner had gotten out.  Matthew may have declined to talk to Santa (“He already knows what I want!”), but when he told Kev all about the hoof prints and the reindeer he got super excited: raised eyebrows, wide twinkling eyes and the whole bit.  Although Matthew will always pose for a photo with Malia, he is still like a Hollywood mogul doing the jail walk for the paparazzi when he is alone.  So while the other moms get a picture of their little darlings sitting on Santa’s knee and grinning, I get this:

Once again, life would be boring if he didn’t have such a huge personality.

I Really, Really Don’t Get It

Today was Matthew's first day back at preschool.  He has been asking for weeks when he would go back on-track and was more than ready to start school again.  He loves the idea of going three times a week instead of two, but I think it is going to take him a minute to adjust to the fact that show and tell is no longer on Thursdays.  (He is in school Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.)  

Remember the pink rectangle?  The one he refused to stand in all of last year?  A years' worth of weathering make it necessary to repaint the rectangle and his teacher, knowing his neurosis about the pink, painted it orange instead.  He was very excited when he rode his bike down to see it last week and he told his teacher he would stand in the rectangle because it wasn't pink.  But guess what?  He won't stand in the orange rectangle either.  When I asked him why he wouldn't stand in it, he told me he was scared.  Scared of what, may I ask?  Is he afraid to be one of the crowd?  Is he afraid of bright colors?  Is he afraid that by standing on the rectangle he will single handedly bring us one step closer to an Orwellian future?  I really do not know.  And he’s not telling.

Mini Milestone

This morning was Matthew's last day of his first year of preschool.  He has really enjoyed it and has learned a lot, not the least of which is that he has learned to participate in class activities even when he doesn't want to.  For example, last week he painted his hands and his feet to create a work of art and although he didn't want to take his shoes off and stick his feet in paint, he did it anyway.  In September he never would have done that.  So both his teacher and I consider learning to cooperate and participate one of his most valuable skills for the year.

There was a very short program with a couple of songs, nursery rhymes, and counting but Matthew got scared and just stood there looking nervous.  I guess it's a good thing I've heard the entire program over the last few weeks, especially the last song which Matthew 1) has been know to bellow in his bed at night after the lights are out and before he condescends to obey my instructions to close his eyes and go to sleep and 2) was kind enough to sing for the camera as soon as we got home.

Over the past month he has made a book featuring all his friends at preschool and lots of wonderful artwork.  Matthew dedicated his book to "My dad because I like to eat lunch with him."  (We met Kev at work a few weeks ago and ate lunch with him.  Apparently Matthew really enjoyed himself.)  And I also got to see the infamous artwork created with hand, feet, and arm prints.  I told Matthew to show me which one was his . . .

. . . and then told him to smile for Daddy. 

What a cheeseball.  And a totally fun flower!  So preschool is over until September and I'm sure Matthew is not the only one who is going to miss it (no more lone mid-week grocery shopping trips for me).

Monster Stew

 
Today was Matthew’s Halloween party at preschool.  One of his teacher’s traditions is to make Monster Stew.  Each child was assigned to bring an item to add to the stew and since Matthew has so many food issues, I pared down the recipe to feed one and provided all the ingredients for his stew.  Several days ago we measured everything out and put each ingredient in its own ziplock bag so he could make his stew at school.  Then we put all the little bags into one big bag and I sent him to stick it in his backpack.  When I arrived at preschool today to help him make his stew, I found crow eyes floating around in the big bag.  I thought I must not have zipped up the bag tightly until I discovered there were only two raw fish left, about half the dragon hearts, and just more than half of the squishy worms.  When I asked Matthew if it was him or someone else, he readily admitted that he helped himself to his ingredients before school rolled around.  (Sigh)  At least he knows when eating things on the sly to only eat foods that have been "Mama certified" as "Matthew friendly."  If he isn't sure it is safe, he never eats it without asking.

His other "turkey" moments for the morning included shucking off his costume as soon as he was in the door at preschool (they always take off coats and boots so I can see his logic in this one since he was wearing a fire fighter coat and boots) and refusing to stand with the other kids for a class photo of everyone in their costumes.  He tried to sneak off into the background while the others happily stood together in the pink rectangle.

At least I never have to be concerned that he won't know what he wants out of life.  He always knows exactly what he wants, often much to my chagrin.

Indulge Me For A Moment . . .

. . . I feel a proud mommy moment coming on.

Both Daniel and Nathan loved preschool, but I don't think either one of them was as ready as Matthew is for the academic portion.  After only ten days of preschool, he can do this:

He gets frustrated with his w's, but I think he's doing pretty darn well.