Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Samantha's Graduation from Lynnie's
I am making myself feel better by knowing Ellie is at Lynnie's for 4 more years; Samantha will have more "Lynnie" days, but... let me also soak in that our sweet Samantha is moving on to her next chapter of childhood. As of next week, we have two children in elementary school.
At breakfast today we talked about what graduation means and the importance of thanking our teachers and guides for how they have formed us. Graduation milestones are an important time to remember our accomplishments but also a time as the graduate to be mindful of who made these experiences possible. So thank you Lynnie and Lynnie families for being such a huge part of our Annapolis community.
Lynnie, thank you for helping teach our kids how to spend their time (outside), how to get what you want (just ask and share, when needed), how to enjoy (laugh a lot, draw, tease, dance, don't take things too seriously), and how to love (cherish people, your relationships and your memories).
Samantha, Lynnie's poem, as always, says what needs to be said perfectly.
You have a beautiful glow.
Maddie and Rosie are your wonderful buddies
Lynnie is always watching over, not too little, not too much, just right
Saturday, August 15, 2015
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
The Many Faces of Sam
Saturday morning Samantha had dance photos with best buddy Rosie
And in the afternoon she enjoyed being a witch thanks to her sweet big sister.
Monday, June 1, 2015
Bedtime Routine Says a Lot
As I was just doing "triangle, heart, starship" with Samantha as her finale to bedtime routine, I was reminded of the things you don't think you need to write down to remember, but that morph gradually, and then you forget. So, I'm writing them down!
Bedtime routine says a lot. The individual personalities and needs shine through.
Ellie (18 months)
She's currently a 6:45pm girl although on weekends or soccer nights, she's a trooper and does pretty well until we put her to bed around 8, 9 or 10. She still LOVES her "baba". She becomes giddy at the word and is now asking for it. She's often so eager for the bottle, you can't make it up the stairs without her grabbing for it, so we're often getting her in her pj's as she's scarfing it down. She's such a little helper and scoots her body over for you to get into her pj's or sleep sac. She knows the routine. The moment the bottles done, she grabs for her binky, helps sing "up above the..." and usually is happily laid in her crib. Once laid down, she grabs her baby and sticks her feet one by one in the air for you to kiss them and pretend they are stinky. She thinks it's hilarious. There is no such thing as too close of a snuggle for Elle Elle Cool J.
Samantha (5 years old)
Bedtime would have 10 parts to it if you'd allow it. We've got it down to a mere 4 after story time, that is. We do "Glads, Sad's and Hopes." Her most common glad from this year was "I'm glad I have school tomorrow." Tonight I felt a sense of loss for her and me, realizing it was the first non-holiday Monday in months she didn't get dropped off with Ms Patty and then go to Ms. Moira and Ms. Anne and her special 10. The first words Samantha learned to write after her own name and family were the names of all of her classmates; this classroom family were the special people whose birthdates motivated the memorization and demarcation of the months, a reason to learn the numbers and the seasons.
After "Glads, Sads, and Hopes, Samantha assigns one of us to be the person to do "kiss, kiss, heart, heart" or some combo AFTER we have "slept" for a few moments. Then we do "twinkle, twinkle, don't let the bed bugs bite." I don't think there is anything that feels better than Samantha's sweet little hands forming a heart and placing it on my forehead and telling me something she loved about her day. It took me longer than it should have, but I finally realized about a year ago that if I would just give Sam these extra 10-15 minutes, she would fall asleep minutes after me leaving versus her getting out of bed and us telling her 4 times to go to bed. She reveals her little inner world during Glads, Sad's and Hopes. She's missing Rosie, is thinking about whose birthday is next, or is looking forward to family visiting. She is a thoughtful child who loves deeply.
Addison (7 years old)
Since February 2015, Addison has been devouring the Harry Potter Books. She sleeps with them, wants to catch the bus so she has extra time to read, and can read for hours. She came to me crying (not a typical thing out of the blue), "Dobbi died". I remember so vividly those first loses. I can't believe I wondered what Addie would read when she finished the 7th and final Harry Potter book. The answer was of course so obvious-- the 1st Harry Potter book all over again!
Addie loves to read her own book while you read a family book aloud. For a while, I would ask Addie to "pay attention" but then I realized how much Addie loves to be around you, the comfort of the family and also of her own story. Just like when she was little, Addie falls asleep quickly and needs her sleep. She sweetly knows this about herself and will ask you to come tell her when it's time to stop reading. She's a responsible soul. Addie's not usually interested in Glads, Sad's and Hopes but she loves a little snuggle and her faithful monkey and her new Hedwig Owl. Addie is independent and faithful.
I love our little girls.
Bedtime routine says a lot. The individual personalities and needs shine through.
Ellie (18 months)
She's currently a 6:45pm girl although on weekends or soccer nights, she's a trooper and does pretty well until we put her to bed around 8, 9 or 10. She still LOVES her "baba". She becomes giddy at the word and is now asking for it. She's often so eager for the bottle, you can't make it up the stairs without her grabbing for it, so we're often getting her in her pj's as she's scarfing it down. She's such a little helper and scoots her body over for you to get into her pj's or sleep sac. She knows the routine. The moment the bottles done, she grabs for her binky, helps sing "up above the..." and usually is happily laid in her crib. Once laid down, she grabs her baby and sticks her feet one by one in the air for you to kiss them and pretend they are stinky. She thinks it's hilarious. There is no such thing as too close of a snuggle for Elle Elle Cool J.
Samantha (5 years old)
Bedtime would have 10 parts to it if you'd allow it. We've got it down to a mere 4 after story time, that is. We do "Glads, Sad's and Hopes." Her most common glad from this year was "I'm glad I have school tomorrow." Tonight I felt a sense of loss for her and me, realizing it was the first non-holiday Monday in months she didn't get dropped off with Ms Patty and then go to Ms. Moira and Ms. Anne and her special 10. The first words Samantha learned to write after her own name and family were the names of all of her classmates; this classroom family were the special people whose birthdates motivated the memorization and demarcation of the months, a reason to learn the numbers and the seasons.
After "Glads, Sads, and Hopes, Samantha assigns one of us to be the person to do "kiss, kiss, heart, heart" or some combo AFTER we have "slept" for a few moments. Then we do "twinkle, twinkle, don't let the bed bugs bite." I don't think there is anything that feels better than Samantha's sweet little hands forming a heart and placing it on my forehead and telling me something she loved about her day. It took me longer than it should have, but I finally realized about a year ago that if I would just give Sam these extra 10-15 minutes, she would fall asleep minutes after me leaving versus her getting out of bed and us telling her 4 times to go to bed. She reveals her little inner world during Glads, Sad's and Hopes. She's missing Rosie, is thinking about whose birthday is next, or is looking forward to family visiting. She is a thoughtful child who loves deeply.
Addison (7 years old)
Since February 2015, Addison has been devouring the Harry Potter Books. She sleeps with them, wants to catch the bus so she has extra time to read, and can read for hours. She came to me crying (not a typical thing out of the blue), "Dobbi died". I remember so vividly those first loses. I can't believe I wondered what Addie would read when she finished the 7th and final Harry Potter book. The answer was of course so obvious-- the 1st Harry Potter book all over again!
Addie loves to read her own book while you read a family book aloud. For a while, I would ask Addie to "pay attention" but then I realized how much Addie loves to be around you, the comfort of the family and also of her own story. Just like when she was little, Addie falls asleep quickly and needs her sleep. She sweetly knows this about herself and will ask you to come tell her when it's time to stop reading. She's a responsible soul. Addie's not usually interested in Glads, Sad's and Hopes but she loves a little snuggle and her faithful monkey and her new Hedwig Owl. Addie is independent and faithful.
I love our little girls.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Monday, May 4, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Guest Readers and Shabbat Ceremony
Gammy and Gocky made a special visit to Samantha's preschool to read Hiccupotomus (Sam's selection) and attended their first Shabbat celebration. As you can see, Samantha was quite proud of them and herself.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
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