It's a Kid's Life
A peek into the life of Rene, 12, Corrina, 10, & Hank, 8
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the site of my friend Jody, who set up this blog for me
Thursday, August 29, 2002
Wednesday was Rene's preschool orientation. Corrina and Hank got to come along. The kids were split up into groups of 5 for orientation - Rene got to see 3 of her old friends and one new student. Miss Anita said Rene's other friends from last year were asking about her at the earlier orientations. All the kids were happy to see each other again and Rene wanted to go to school "for real" today, but she doesn't start until tomorrow. Rene brought along her "pet ladybug" to share at orientation.
We have been spending a lot of time outside since the weather has cooled down - we've had highs around 80. Yesterday, Rene was working in the garden and when she came out there was a ladybug crawling on her. We put the ladybug in a container covered with cheesecloth and added some leaves and grass, and the ladybug has seemed quite content. Rene even took the ladybug to orientation!
Here's a pic of the ladybug after it crawled up her neck and onto her face.
And getting the kids up early for school has been wonderful so far - last night all three kids were asleep by 9:00! Tony and I used the extra time to watch an episode of the Sopranos. We have it on DVD and manage to watch about one episode a month! That's why we quit watching Survivor - we only have about an hour of spare time for tv-watching each month!
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
Sunday we went to the playground in the morning and Joe and Val left around noon.
Sunday night we were invited to a dinner where they were picking teams for Tony's bowling league. Tony is the president of the league this year (this is his second time to be president in 10 years!) Ruth (the hostess) and Chuck and Rose had brought presents for all the kids.The girls did great at the dinner; Hank was a BEAR. Tony and I had to eat separately, and since Hank was obsessed with the buttons on their television, we had to keep him out on the front porch!
Monday, Tony's car wouldn't start, so we all gave him a ride to work, then came home and called AAA. It was the highlight of the day for the kids to watch them tow our car away! We thought it was the battery, but it was the starter.
Today was Corrina's preshool orientation, 8:45 to 9:15. It was casual, so Rene and Hank came along too. Corrina was very excited, and seems happy to be starting school. Corrina picked a squirrel as *her* shape (they use shapes to identify their cubbies, etc in the classroom). Miss Anita (the teacher) and Mrs. Fay (the aide) were impressed with how much she's grown over the summer. We found out that Lexi, a girl we know from the playground, will be in Corrina's room, as well as Tommy, who is the brother of Rene's friend Olivia. In all there will be 12 kids, about half boys. Even though it was a short orientation, it wore Corrina out and she came home and took a nap. And now all the kids took the cushions off the couch and are jumping around in the floor, using their doctor kits on each other and their dolls, and being pretty rambunctious!
And here is a picture of Hank with his current obsession - whistling on a whistle straw.
And finally, there are photos from Joe and Val's visit up at Ofoto. I uploaded high-resolution images so you can order prints or I can directly mail you the high-res images to print yourself. Just let me know which ones you'd like.
Saturday, August 24, 2002
Joe and Valerie arrived from Baltimore last night around dinner time. The girls were SO excited to see them. Rene woke up Friday morning saying when they got here she was going to hide and jump out and surprise them. All day she kept asking "Can I go hide now?" Joe and Valerie read them some books, and then gave out presents: a super cool Spirograph and stencil kit for Rene, a doctor kit for Corrina, and a Fisher-Price garbage truck with sound effects for Hank (a great present since watching the garbage man every Friday morning is a highlight of our week).
Today we had a busy day. Joe and Valerie went with us to the zoo. Rene and Corrina spent more time on the zoo playgrounds than looking at animals, but they had a lot of fun with Uncle Joe, who is a kid at heart. Rene has been really hankering to ride the tram that goes through the zoo, so we decided to take the tram from the far end of the zoo back up to the entrance...as we were waiting there was a sudden downpour. We were right by an overhang so we were pretty dry, but when we were on the front seat of a tram car and the rain came right in on us - that was Rene's very favorite adventure ever! She especially liked seeing the tram car splash through rain puddles.
We came home and got hoagies for lunch, then out to the Blue Slide Playground. Rene was chasing Uncle Joe down a very long hill and fell at the very bottom - but she recovered quickly. Now that Hank is walking and a bit more independent he had a great time on the equipment especially for small toddlers - going up and down slides, ramps, tunnels and stairs. We came home and had pizza, and then everyone went out to the ice cream parlor (I stayed home with Hank who had already fallen asleep for the night). Uncle Joe and Aunt Valerie bought the girls Purple Dinosaur ice cream, and even let them ride on the car ride.
Friday, August 23, 2002
Today we played on the porch and then went to WalMart to use a gift certificate. We spent well over the amount of the certificate. The girls picked new spill-proof cups with a straw (instead of a valve), and they are excited about those. I bought some material to make valances for Hank's room (he has blinds). It's brightly colored construction equipment against a green blackground. I got plain black for the ruffle and will add white felt median stripes along the ruffle so it will look like a road.
WalMart is near the mall and since the kids were great at the store, we ran by the mall so the kids could ride the carousel. Rene rides a spinning cup and Corrina rides one of the up-and-down horses. Hank doesn't like carousels, but he has to be carried on since Corrina's too young to ride without an adult. We had free tickets they sent to us for Corrina's birthday.
And now we are waiting for Uncle Joe and Aunt Valerie to get here for a long weekend visit.
Thursday, August 22, 2002
Today the kids wanted to go to the playground even though it was hot and humid. For the first time ever, it was the KIDS who were saying, "I'm hot and sweaty and I want to go home now."
When Hank wakes up from his naps the girls run up the stairs, climb into his crib and they all have a bounce-fest.
Yesterday I had a long phone call with Nee Nee since I hadn't talked to her in a while. Here's how the kids entertained themselves while I was on the phone....every single toy piled in the middle of the living room.
Sunday, August 18, 2002
Saturday we just played with Grandaddy - lot of reading books. He brought some cool books that have a decision at the end of each page, and your decision affects how the story turns out. For example, "If you go into the haunted house, go to page 5. If you run back and tell your mother what you saw, go to page 8." The girls love those books.
Sunday, we took a riverboat cruise, walked over to Station Square and rode the train around the mall, watched the new orchestral fountain that moves to the music, and rode the incline to see the view.
After we came home Grandaddy helped us choose and get home a 20-foot extension ladder, and he used it to patch some shingles on the roof and put roof tar around the skylights on the back porch. He did several other odd jobs we've been trying to do ourselves for a long time.
And the biggest news is that Hank is suddenly a walker! He toddles around all over the place and suddenly is walking more than crawling. Hurray Hank! (And Hank warmed up to Grandaddy in no time at all. He's let Grandaddy hold him and take him on a few walks. Grandaddy held Hank while he slept at Station Square today, and Hank wasn't bothered a bit when he woke up in Grandaddy's arms.)
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Grandaddy Butler arrived from Memphis this afternoon. The girls are very excited to see him. Hank is curious, but doesn't want Grandaddy to touch him and definitely doesn't want Mommy to leave the room! Grandaddy's spent a lot of time reading books to the kids, and the girls have really been showing off all their toys, their acrobatic ability, and pretty much anything else they can think of to show off!
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
Corrina had her first dental visit today. Rene and Corrina went back together and got their cleaning and fluoride without Mom. They played with balloons while Mom had hers done. Everyone's teeth were fine.
Monday, August 12, 2002
Now that Corrina is three, she finally got to stay in the Eagle's Nest, which is the child care area at the grocery store. It's a big glassed-in playroom at the front of the store, with computers, videos, coloring tables, and lots of toys. They give the parents a beeper in case the kids need anything. Rene and Corrina played together the whole time they were there. Tony kept Hank at home, so I shopped without kids.
Today we just played at home. I took about TWENTY pictures of Hank (click here to see the amusing sequence at Ofoto), trying to get a good picture of him in the suit (white shirt, overalls, jacket, and cap) that Nee Nee made him; he kept yanking his cap off, and couldn't hold a pose. But I did get a few good ones.
I have been looking for several years for some large, cheap frames to display the kids' artwork. I finally found them at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. They are 16 x 20 inches, only $10 each. and they have pinch clips in the back to make it easy to switch the artwork as often as I want - perfect. The two on the left are Rene's artwork, and Corrina's is on the right.
The picture of the day is Hank - he loves to climb!
It was hot over the weekend so we spent some time at the neighborhood pool. Rene can dog-paddle and float/swim on her back - her favorite thing to do is jump off the side of the pool. Corrina doesn't like to get her face wet, so she generally just walks and hops around in the water, and jumps off the side as long as someone is there to catch her. Hank doesn't go to the pool as much as the girls, but when he goes, Tony usually carries him around in the deeper side.
Saturday, August 10, 2002
Corrina had her 3-year checkup today. She weighs 28 pounds and is 35 inches tall (both 10th percentile, meaning 90 percent of kids her age are taller and heavier than her). She's growing well, but is just petite. Dr. Somers detected a heart murmur that he had never heard before, but felt that it was nothing to be concerned about. Otherwise, he pronounced her in perfect health. She endeared herself to everyone in the office with her ready smile and giggles.
Friday, August 09, 2002
Today was an errand day. We dropped off hand-me-downs to a few friends, mailed some packages, dropped off magazines and newspapers at the recycling center, and stopped at Target to exchange a 2T birthday outfit given to Corrina by Hank's godparents, Cindy and Rich (Corrina's moving into 3Ts for winter). While we were at Target Corrina also used Gramma and Grampa Polley's birthday money to buy some Scooby Doo bed sheets and some Dora the Explorer pajamas. Rene has been wanting some belts like Daddy's. Have you ever seen someone so excited about a belt? :-)
Here's .a picture of Hank, who happily mastered the straw today, and Corrina hugging the Angelica (Rugrats) doll she won at Kennywood amusement park last week.
And finally, a picture of me in my new glasses.
Thursday, August 08, 2002
We spent the afternoon with Olivia (4.5) and Tommy (3). Rene and Olivia are friends from school. This year Tommy and Corrina will also be in school together. And they go to gymnastics together. Olivia and Tommy's mother is a part-time transcriptionist for blind/deaf college students and their father is a faculty virologist at Pitt.
Corrina wore her new dress from Nee Nee today!
A few days ago Rene was doing face-painting (and eating one of the yummy watermelon cookies we made). I told her I was going up to put Hank down for a nap and she said "Okay, if a stranger comes to the door I'll just show him my "scare-face" and make him go away." Yes, a scare-face indeed!
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
CORRINA'S BIRTHDAY
Corrina turned three today. We picked out a design for a panda bear cake, but she woke up this morning saying she hated panda bears, so we switched gears and made a silly monkey cake (click to see a pic of our cake). The cake went well with her favorite gift, a Curious George jack-in-the-box. We also bought her some velcro play food that she can slice through with a knife.
Other gifts:
a beautiful lavendar checked dress and jacket from Nee Nee
a construction playset from Uncle John
a beauty set in a travel case (with working hair dryer!) from Uncle Joe and Aunt Val
a card with money from Gramma and Grampa Polley (to be used for a new set of sheets and some PJs)
After playing with presents, we spent the rest of the evening at the playground, then came home for cake and ice cream.
INTRODUCTION
I have decided to start a web-diary so you can keep closer tabs on Rene, Corrina, and Hank. My momfriend Jody at Big Dump Truck set me up with some blogging software that makes updating a webpage as easy as sending an email. And if you are wondering what triggered this....after our film camera broke, Tony decided to buy us a digital camera! It should be hooked up in a few days, and then I will be able to include a "picture of the day" on the web-diary! So check in each day, and you can read about (and see!) what we're up to.
