Zoe is 6!

One upon a time... Zoe looked like this...

I don't know where the time has gone... but that sweet baby has turned into a rather smart and sassy six year old.  She LOVED kindergarten.  She can read.  She can add.  She is obsessed with coloring and drawing and writing stories.  She has 2 VERY wobbly bottom teeth... but the tooth fairy hasn't visited yet.  She's played soccer and t-ball and was in her 4th dance recital.  She sings her way through most of the day (I STILL swear she believes her life is a musical!)  She is extremely outgoing and makes friends everywhere we go. 

This year we had Zoe's birthday party with her friends at Cookie Party.  (If you live nearby... AWESOME place for a party.)

I thought I would leave the guest list up to Zoe this year... thinking she would come up with 10 or 12 friends.  Heh.

Zoe listed every single classmate... then added her 1st best friend (from toddler class)... then added a few t-ball teammates (that she also knew from preschool)... and... the list kept going.  I swear Zoe considers everyone her friend.

Zoe loved decorating her apron.  Flowers seem to be THE thing to be drawing lately.

Ana got to come to Zoe's party.  She actually thought it was her party too.  As far as she was concerned her birthday started with Zoe's on June 30th... and just continued straight on through her birthday on July 10th.  We gave up trying to explain... and just enjoyed her birthday excitement.

Zoe didn't love the idea of sharing her birthday too much though... so my serious 6 year old spent a lot of time calmly explaining to Ana how "this is MY party Ana... you're party is in 10 days..." 

All of the kids had some real moments of serious concentration at this party.  It was amazing how the kids would all follow the step by step instructions so well.  They were all really well behaved.   I guess all kids really do love baking.

While the cookies were baking... there was pizza to be eaten, Happy Birthday to be sang, and candles to be blown out.

And suddenly my baby is 6. 

She's her own little person... with her own thoughts, ideas, and experiences.  She's just such a happy kid.

(but she's still my sweet baby.)

Grace in Small Things - 123

1.  Photo albums.

2.  A cookie press.

3.  An old leftover message on the voice mail.

4.  A string of pearls.

5. Daughters who laugh, and cry, and bicker, and hug, and giggle, and want to go swimming.


My dear Aunt Prudy... my Great Aunt... my Grandfather's sister... my God Mother... who was 85... who was healthy all her life... who was truly very special to me and to all who knew her... passed away this past Friday.  July 22, 2011.  I miss her greatly.  I would post more... but I just can't right now.

It really is about the grace in small things right now.

Grace in Small Things - 122

1.  A long weekend at the shore.

2.  Bacon wrapped scallops with a maple glaze sauce.

3.  House upon house lined with fully blooming hydrangeas.

4.  A 2 room suite.  Two girls fast asleep in BIG beds while Nick and I geek out on the lap top and ipad.

5.  Having the windows and sliding door open... feeling the ocean breeze... listening to the surf.

Cousins Cousins and more Cousins

We had the rare opportunity to have (almost) all of Zoe and Ana's cousins in one place at one time.

Nick's brother has 3 kids (who live right here in Madison, NJ)... and my brother has 3 kids (who live in Florida).

Grace - 3 1/2
Avery - 8
Alex - 7
Larisa - 9
Zoe - 6
Nina - 4
Ana - 3

Phebe didn't make the drive up from Florida.  She stayed home with my sister-in-law.

Someone tell me they can photoshop Phebe (4 months) in there somehow and perfection will be achieved.

Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble

On the last day of school Ana came home with a bottle of bubbles.  Ever since then she's been wanting to "blow bubbles blow bubbles blow bubbles".  But, she has a rotten mother who doesn't like to blow bubbles and who thinks of a million things to do in order to redirect the activities away from the bottle of bubbles.

Uncle Jim was visiting.  I guess Uncle Jim likes blowing bubbles... or he's not as good at saying no to Ana.  (Actually... no one is really good at saying no to Ana.  She has this magical way of getting people to do what she wants.)

Anyway... he likes bubbles, he couldn't say no to Ana, he wanted to sit in the lush NJ grass... I don't know.  Whatever the case, there were bubbles being blown.  Well, almost being blown.

Ana, can you blow bubbles?

Ok, blow.

Ok, here.... blow again.

Not so hard.

Try again.

Look, look, look!!!! A bubble!!!!  (And um... Grace?  Why are you sitting in that bush?)

I did it!  I blew bubbles!  It took forever... but I got a bubble... and I'm the happiest kid on earth!!!

And then Grace came over and was like "here, gimme that thing."

"Done."

I suppose that just goes to show you what a 6 month difference can make.

Grace in the Grass

I think I have always felt (known) that the grass in New Jersey is much better (in every way) than the grass in Florida.  It's finer.  It's softer.  It's just "grassier".

I think it's safe to say that Gracie agrees with me.

This Florida girl enjoyed herself in the New Jersey grass.  She frolicked.  She rolled.  She just about made grass angels.

She also did a fabulous impression of Rapunzel in the scene from Tangled where she comes down from her tower and first tippy toe touches her toe into the lush grass for the very first time.  She then ran around in circles proclaiming "THIS IS THE BEST FRIEND EVER!!!!" which I assume is what she thinks Rapunzel is yelling as she runs around yelling "this is the best DAY ever!!!"

Kids are really just awesome.

Weight for Me Monday - week 14

I almost decided to just skip this week's post.

I still had family visiting.  I still ate like I had family visiting.  I still exercised like I had family visiting.  And, we had ice cream cake to celebrate Ana's birthday yesterday.

I gained 1/2 a pound.  177 lbs.

Today I'm jumping back on the treadmill if it kills me.

Our Little Buttercup

June 18, 2011

Zoe danced in her 4th dance recital this year.  She always impresses me with her love of performing.  Not a bit of stage fright.  She's so at ease going on stage.  She definitely didn't inherit that trait from me. I hope that stays with her... and I hope it carries over into things like giving oral reports and speaking in front of groups. 

Zoe's dance recital has been at the Y the last 3 times... but this year they moved it to Morristown High School.  MHS happens to be where I graduated from, so it was interesting for me to be in the school again and to sit in the auditorium.

My Aunt Prudy also went to the recital with us.  Aunt Prudy also graduated from Morristown High School (in the 1940s... I can't remember the exact year.) 

I took a ton of shots during the actual dance.  There's no flash allowed... and it's dark.  That said... I'm pretty happy that I was able to take photos.  (Zoe's front row, 2nd from the right.)

She might be just a slightly thrilled to have her 4th dancing trophy.  (Zoe's the 4th from right... huge smile.)

We also took a video with out little Flip.  Again, dark... oh well.  Maybe we'll need to think about updating our video taking options soon.  (Zoe is pretty much center video most of the time.  She's 2nd from the right in the front row.)

Weight for Me Monday - week 13

First of all..... HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!!  I hope fireworks are in your future (we're hoping to get out to see some tonight... but we'll see how well the girls do at staying up tonight after Zoe and cousin Avery were up until MIDNIGHT last night silly chatting.)

Anyhow...

I made a HUGE effort at adding water to my day.  A lot of people who have been commenting and e-mailing me tips have asked the water question.  "Are you drinking your water?"  "Make sure you drink water!"  I remember when I went to Weight Watchers (ages ago) whenever I gained the first question was "Did you get in your 6-8 cups of water each day?" 

I am horrible at drinking water.  I can drink gallons of coffee, iced coffee, iced tea, and wine.  Water?  I can go all day with just drinking the little cup of water after brushing my teeth morning and night.  I'm just not a water drinker.

So this week?  HUGE effort.  Each morning I filled up a 64 oz. leftover Juicy Juice jug.  Each day I had 1 cup of coffee and then told myself "nothing else to drink until that water is gone."  7 days later... after almost floating away... I succeeded in getting 8 cups of water in me every day.  Phew.

Exercise?  Not so good.  Two 30 minute walks on the treadmill.  Oh... and uncountable walks back and forth across the 2.5 foot section of the community pool following Ana around while she did "big arms" and said "LOOK MOMMY!  I SWIMMING!  FOLLOW ME FOLLOW ME!"

Food?  Um... Zoe had a Cookie Party on Thursday, and ice cream cake Thursday night for her 6th Birthday.  Then Saturday we had the family BBQ for Zoe's 6th /Ana's 3rd/4th of July.  BBQ.  Celebrating birth and independence.  Don't ask what I ate.

So.... awesome water drinking, meh exercising, let's forget diet.... I'm down to 176.5 lbs this Monday.  That's a 2 pounds loss this week.  AND  I broke that 177 lb. barrier. 

I'm hoping that if I can get water, exercise, and diet to come together perhaps we'll get some number changes.