Mommy Addy Day

For the first time in a really long time, we had a Mommy Addy Day on Monday.  I let Addy pick what she wanted to do, so we went to the Museum of Natural Science.  It has been a long time since we've been there and the dinosaur exhibit is now huge.  And good news is that Addy is no longer afraid of the dinosaur exhibit, so we spent a lot of time in there. 

She really liked this alligator-like dinosaur.  We also visited the butterflies.  We then topped off the outing with a hamburger from Wataburger!

Summertime!!!

 Let the swimming begin!

This time last year Ella would not put her toes in the pool.  Now she is jumping in the shallow end by herself!

Last Day of 1st Grade

1st day of 1st grade August 2013

Look how much she grew!!!!

Last day of 1st grade May 2014

Memorial Day Weekend

The weekend was cut short a bit because Monday, Memorial Day, was a makeup "snow" day, but we still had a great time.

 The girls made the most of the gross seaweed that had taken over.  Michael slaved away to clear out some room for us to play, which I greatly appreciated.  I get the creeps just putting my toes in it, the girls love playing in it.  It is gross. 

We had a super fabulous time when Aunt Jean, Uncle Tom, Betsy and Crystal came down to play.  Certainly the highlight of the trip, the girls loved it and pretty sure our next visit to the beach will include a lot of questions about when Jean, Tom, Betsy and Crystal are going to come back down to the beach to play!

Animal Project Expo

Part of the spring semester at Kolter was spent on a research project.  The theme was animals and each kid picked an animal to research and learn about.  They wrote a report and then had to do a presentation at the Expo.  Addison chose the seahorse and learned all kind of interesting facts about them.  Her report is super informative and then she did an underwater scene out of modeling clay.  She has her seahorses and then the green plant life and the coral.  Apparently seahorses change color to blend with their environment, so the pink seahorse is meant to blend in with the pink coral behind it.  She did a great job!

Dancing Ella

Ella took dance and gymnastics this spring and had a great time in both classes.  Her gymnastics was on Mondays so I got to see that class regularly, but dance was Wednesdays so I didn't get to see it until parents day at the last class.  Ella was a bit under the weather, so she wasn't much into photos (not that she is even when she is 100%) but she did great and listened to the teacher and everything she was supposed to do.  Seeing a bunch of little 4 year olds "dance" around the room is super cute!

1st Grade Awards

The week before school was out, Addison had her 1st grade awards ceremony.  Here she is with Dr. Shetzer her principal after she got her awards.  Addy got honor roll and perfect attendance.  The perfect attendance is the greatest achievement I'd say, especially with the trouble she has with her allergies...she managed to not get sick this year which was a huge accomplishment! 

 Addison and her super good friend Caroline.

 Ms. Patel, the greatest 1st grade teacher!

Addison and her other super good friend Josie.

Mother's Day

We had a lovely relaxing Mother's Day weekend at the beach.  Got some super cute kiddie made gifts from the girls, which are my favorite.  This was the icing on the cake though.  Addison's Chinese teacher had them fill these out and for anyone who really knows me, you will totally agree with some of the responses and be quite surprised by others...

30? years old = I like this one, her teacher told them to put a ? if they weren't sure how old their moms were.  I technically tell Addison I am still 29, but I'll take 30 too.  
Sleep = she nailed this one
Rice Crispy chocolate squares = not a lot of cooking here, but they are super good!
Favorite food = fish, I do like fish and of course the ironic part is that I never really ate fish until I was in my early 20's.  Addison has consumed more fish in her 7 years than I did in my first 20!
We like to go on walks and exercise = I do like to do that now, irony of this one is that I didn't like going on walks and exercising until my 30's

Can't wait to see what treasures I get next Mother's Day!

Magnet Performance

End of school means end of year performances.  At Kolter the performance is tied in with the foreign language magnet classes, so there is very little English spoken in the show!  This year the kindergarteners and 1st graders performed together.  All of the language classes did a piece and it was to the theme of The Very Hungry International Caterpillar.  Addison's Chinese class did a song and dance about fruits to coordinate with the part of the story where the caterpillar ate all the fruit.  We had no clue what she was singing, but it was super cute. Addison was front and center in a super cute outfit her Chinese teacher had for some of the girls.  Here is Addison in her debut Chinese performance.