Mama Likes to Jitterbug

Video: Boston Tea Party 2009

Well, we made it through another year.  This one proved to be somewhat stressful - not knowing how the economy would effect our turnout, and Gracie having another cheer competition thrown in the middle of things - but the weekend ended up being a success.  Our numbers were almost exactly where they were last year, and Gracie's cheer team received their first-ever 1st place win (out of six teams). 

The kids spent most of the weekend with Nana, although Gracie insisted on coming back to the hotel with me on Saturday after her competition.  I was a little apprehensive at first, but she loved the dancing, the music, the people, the attention, and was so well-behaved because of it.  Sean joined us on Sunday afternoon and also did a good job of letting Steve and I work while not requiring a lot of attention.  We put him in charge of rolling the contest die and Gracie was my scoresheet reviewer (sort of).  I didn't take any pictures - I barely had enough time to brush my hair this weekend - but here are a few favorites that I stole from friends on Facebook.

 

 

 

 

And here's a link to the event trailer.  I love that one of the 10,000 cartwheels Gracie did for the audience was featured on it.  (That's me with the clip board and flip flops.)  Click the image to view the video.

Star Chart

For all of the drama she's prone too, Gracie also has a really sweet side.  She's a very affectionate and compassionate child.  I think I've said it before, but add in her love of all things doctor-office related and I can definitely see her pursuing a profession in the medical field.  She also loves babies and taking care of them.  As a reward for good behavior, we recently refinanced the house and bought her a Baby Alive doll.  This was something she reallllllly wanted.  It talks, it poops, it pees, and it drives a neat-freak mother crazy.  I told her that if this doll poops on my carpet one more time, I'm taking it back to the store.  She cried, and so we're now working very hard on potty-training Baby. 

 

The purchase of this doll also has me re-thinking the way we reward Gracie.  I'm all for bribing rewarding kids for good behavior/goals reached, but Gracie's wishlist keeps growing in grandeur, and I'm starting to think that she's getting old enough to work a little harder for her rewards.  So taking an idea from her gym, I decided to create a "Star Chart".   She now needs to earn at least 10 stars to receive a reward.  We've been using the chart for two days and it's worked wonders so far.  Very little drama over the items on her list:

• Clean My Room
• Use My Manners
• Use My Potty at Night
• Share My Toys
• Go To Bed Without Crying
• Practice Cheerleading/Gymnastics

Workin' for a Singing Toilet

Gracie had her 3rd competition of the season this past weekend, and she did AWESOME!!!  Her team finished 2nd out of six.  A big improvement over last week.  I'm still waiting until the end of the season to post a video, but here are some action shots from Saturday's performance that I love.

 

And the singing toilet that Gracie got for a drama-free day and a job well done.

Video: Math Fingers

I was scrolling through my blog with the kids the other day when Sean looked up and me and asked in his adorable little voice, "Mama, where are I?"  It made me realize that with cheerleading and all of the Grace-drama going on around here, Sean hasn't gotten much blog time.  I still feel bad that Nana showed up at our house a couple of weekends ago and didn't know that Sean no longer wears a pull-up at night.  That's huge, and I completely forgot to mention it here.  So, um yeah, Sean is 100% potty trained.  No more pull-ups at night.  He just woke up one day, decided that he was a big boy, and didn't need to wear them anymore.  And with the exception of one or two accidents over the past month, he always wakes up dry.  Way to go Sean!

Sean is also really into numbers and math right now.  He asks EVERYONE what their number is.  Of course they always think he means their phone number, when what he really wants to know is their age.  He also asks me every morning what his wake-up number is.  So he's starting to show an interest in telling time.  I love watching him try to figure it all out.  But one of our favorite things to do together is play "Math Fingers".  We've done it so many times that he now knows most of the answers without using his fingers.  But he still relies on them sometimes, and since I figured it won't be long before he's doing them all in his head, I wanted to capture it on video.  Soooo cute! 

Click on the image to view the video.

 

Allergies

Getting old stinks!  I've never had allergies of any kind, but the past few years I've noticed a slow-developing, slight allergy to cats.  Nothing major, other than I couldn't pet certain long-haired cats.  My own cat Trevor was always fine.  This year, however, I think I've officially become allergic to cats.  Trevor especially.  As the weather gets warmer and he starts to shed, I can't keep my fists out of my eyes.  They're watery, itchy, swollen, miserable.  Steve suggested I pick up some Claritin from the drug store.  That definitely seems to be helping, but it's been a lousy couple of days.

Monster Golf

Our kids love this place.  Glow in the dark golf (and balance beams), arcade games, people dressed in costumes, and plenty of loud, but very cool, music.

 

In case you were wondering.  Yes, she is ALWAYS doing this.

 

Totally gross, but Grace thought these teeth were hilarious and insisted on wearing them to school today.  This child loves all things Halloween.  Sean, on the other hand, was completely freaked out and wanted nothing to do with her while she was wearing them.  I can only imagine what her teachers thought.

Better Luck Next Time

This post could also be titled "It Could Have Been a Lot Worse".  Gracie had her second cheer competition this past weekend.  One girl was out sick and they had to re-choreograph the routine 30 minutes before their performance. Four and five year olds don't really re-choreograph, so there were lots of kids in places they weren't suppose to be.  But even though the team didn't do so well overall, I was really proud of Gracie for remembering the routine and doing everything she was supposed to do.  There were tears when her stunt group didn't go up, and she told me that she thought her jumps could have been higher (LOL!), but it was nice to see her more confident and less dramatic.

I wish the same could be said for all other things Gracie-related.  We're at high-drama over here and I'm almost at the end of my rope when it comes to dealing with the talking back, the temper, and the tears.  I'm crossing my fingers that this is just a phase - like the many others we've battled since becoming parents - and Gracie is just testing the boundaries.  But I'm really hoping we're not getting a glimpse of what Steve and I are in for in another 10-12 years.  Or God forbid, the next 30-40 years.

Cheer Weekend - Part V (The Cheerleader)

Love her!!!!  And so proud of how far she's come this year. 

 

 

Cheer Weekend - Part IV (The Friends)

With the exception of her long-time friends Teagan and Maria, Gracie wanted NOTHING to do with her teammates this past weekend.  So "The Friends" would include this ONE picture of random people we'd never met before.  Gracie met these girls while waiting for the awards ceremony.  She loved their uniforms and decided to catch their attention by showing off her cartwheel and backhandspring.  It worked, one thing led to another, and the next thing I knew they were borrowing my camera, lifting Gracie in the air, and asking if she wanted to come to their gym (which happens to be in Connecticut).  We must have spent an hour hanging out with this team.  They were soooooo sweet!!!!  And I loved that when Gracie walked up on the stage to get her trophy and the girls screamed her name, Gracie's coaches were completely baffled by how she knew them.  Leave it to Gracie to recruit her own cheering section. 

 

Cheer Weekend - Part III (The Hotel)

Checking in with waaaaaaay too much luggage.  We were clearly rookies.

 

Our decorated hotel room door. 

 

Gracie getting ready for bed.  When did she learn how to lotion her legs?

Sleeping in the princess tent we bribed her with all weekend.

 

Another sleeping picture.  This one was taken in the exhibit hall with music blaring and girls screaming.  She's wearing the event t-shirt and sweats that Steve bought for her for a job well done.