Love you Daddy!

Kiddy#1 and I usually have quite a battle in the morning to get her ready for school.  She is a very headstrong child who knows what she wants and doesn't like being told otherwise.  Very seldom does a morning go by without us having to argue about her not brushing her teeth in time or not putting her shoes on when I ask her to and the list goes on.

Daddy's been working late in the evenings this week so she hasn't seen much of him.  She saw him lying in bed this morning and she sneaked up to him and whispered "Daddy, Daddy, wake up!".  He moved slightly and was greeted with a big kiss and hug from her followed with the words "love you Daddy!".  It was just so beautiful to see.  

Getting her to brush her teeth and not just sit with the toothbrush in her hand for 10 minutes was still a mission, but it was less stressful than usual.  She eventually did it without wasting too much time and without making us both late for school and work.  We usually brush our teeth together and she would sit on the side of the bath while busy.  This morning she patted next to her showing me that she wanted me to sit next to her.  I sat down and she leaned with her head against my arm and said "Mommy, you're my friend".  Such beautiful words to hear from your child.  It really warms my heart and I cannot imagine being able to love her more than I do!   She is such an amazing little girl.

Kiddy#2 seems to be over the worst with the teething at the moment.  She had no fever last night or the night before and during the day she seems more like her old self.  She eats better too which is great.  She had her Chicken Pox and MMR vaccines on Monday and she was very unhappy about it.  She wasn't feeling well to begin with and then got the two vaccines on top of it.  She's been walking for a couple of months now, but yesterday was the first day that she walked out of school with me holding one hand and her big sister the other.  So cute!  She was supposed to go to the toddler class from beginning of this month, but she refuses to go.  Whenever they try to take her from the baby class over to the toddler class she cries so much that they teacher from the baby class has to go and get her again.  So for now the plan is not to upset her too much and just keep her there a little longer until she feels more confident to go over to the other class.  We don't feel rushed into moving her over anyway.  They grow up so fast, it won't do any harm to keep her with her current teacher for now if she is happy there.

Pre-Schools and Extramural Activities

I took a day's leave on Friday and hubby took the morning off so we could go school-hunting for next year.  We are planning on moving to a different area so it only makes sense to either find a Pre-Primary school in that area for Kiddy#1 or alternatively find a school near where I work in town.

One thing I have noticed that the Pre-Primary / Nursery schools in town don't necessarily offer extramural activities which can be attended at school like we have at the schools in the suburb we are living in.  Probably due to a lack of space.  Kiddy#1 LOVES her ballet class so once we find a school we both like, we will most probably start hunting for a dance class in the area as well.

Another thing I've noticed is that none of the schools near our office mentions an annual school concert like the schools do in the suburbs.  The kids love this so I will definitely be asking about it.  It is good to know whether they do have it.

There is a highly-recommended school in the area we want to move to (we were shocked by the costs of Pre-Primary schools in the area!), but they are full for the next year and have many kids on the waiting list already.  I was amazed that when we were at this school that has over a hundred kids, you didn't hear a sound coming from them while they were busy with their classes!  Discipline is a big factor for us at the moment seeing that Kiddy#1 is at a age where she really pushes the boundaries and if she gets away with it too often at pre-school, she will think it is ok to do so and will then experience difficulty when she starts Primary School.  I visited another school near the office where I work and it seems lovely with a large play area with big oak trees, a child's dream!  It is small with maximum 50 kids in the school.  Now to get hubby to take time off from work to come an have a look!

Kiddy#2 got a bump on her forehead on Saturday night falling over her dad's foot while we were out for supper.  She hit her head against a metal door frame and now have a huge egg on her forehead and a bruise to show for it.  The brave little munchkin was smiling again within 5 minutes!  It felt like my heart stopped when I saw the bump.

She's been unwell for two days now, but I've noticed one of her Canine teeth cut through and another is on it's way which might be to blame.

When picking her up from school yesterday I had Kiddy#1 with me.  Kiddy#1 being very active and outgoing was taking over the classroom as usual when we arrived.  I cannot remember exactly what caused it, but she had the slightest hissy fit which was hilarious for her baby sister to see (ok she is not a baby anymore, she is considered a toddler now, I know).  Anyway, Kiddy#2 had a little hysterical outburst of laughter after seeing her big sister's little temper tantrum.  Her teacher and I both found the interaction between them very amusing!

It is amazing how Kiddy#1 can completely ignore what we say or ask and then when you are so angry because she doesn't listen, she will in the sweetest little voice say "Mommy, you're my friend.  You mustn't fight!".  I mean really.... they know just what to say and when to say it to get themselves out of trouble!

School Concert

On Monday while getting myself ready for work and getting Kiddy#1 ready for school I told her to put on her shoes.  She simply replied with a 'firm' voice "not now!".  I, being very surprised as it was the first time she ever said that to me, asked hubby "did you hear that?".  So I asked her again to put her shoes on so we can go.  The little madam put her hands on her hips and said with a voice a teacher would use to tell a naughty child off "I said, not now!".  At the time I found it very funny and actually burst out laughing, but it might have been more out of shock than anything else.  In all honesty, the first time she said it was funny, but believe you me, it won't stay funny for very long!

Her school concert was at the beginning of this month and the dance group she is in was on stage first doing a little dance.  The girls came running out on stage.  It must have all happened a bit too fast for Kiddy#1's liking as she decided to stay stationary at the back of the stage, hiding behind a decorative board peaking around it to look at the crowd and the other girls dancing.  We were so disappointed that none of the staff members were at the back of the stage to see that all the kids actually go onto the stage.

They had a fashion parade instead of an actual concert.  So when Kiddy#1's class went on and it was her turn she walked onto the walkway, grabbed her teacher's leg and hid behind her...  She normally LOVES being in the limelight and walking on the stage, so I assume that the start to the evening and her not even doing her dance with the dance group made her feel insecure.  Anyway, she still looked beautiful in her little pink, Spring outfit with a picture of Spongebob-Squarepants on it!

Kiddy#2 who is not as outgoing as Kiddy#1 decided she was going to explore so kept walking off while we were trying to stay seated.  She suddenly decided it is not so bad to interact with strangers and would walk to them as if she wanted them to interact with her, but then suddenly gets shy and hides behind the back of her hand and often while rolling her eyes at them (while hiding behind her hands of course! LOL!).  I never new that a one-year old knows how to roll their eyes at someone but I'm getting that quite frequently lately...  Once again, it is funny now, but I'm 100 % convinced it will not be funny if she tries that a few years from now!

Spring is in the air, well not today exactly, but I'm being positive here, and I absolutely love dressing my girls in dresses!  It is so cute after them having to wear tracksuits and long-sleeved tops for months.  Kiddy#1 is so excited to be able to wear pretty dresses and she makes sure that we tell her she looks pretty, like a princess!  Of course at the end of the day she refuses to take off her dress because she won't look like a princess anymore.  Luckily she is easily convinced to take it off if we promise to replace it with another 'princess dress'.  I'm so looking forward to being able to do outdoor activities with them,  like taking them to the beach or a park and since Kiddy#1 loves being on the back of a horse, I will be looking around to see if I can find somewhere where toddlers can actually go horse-back riding.  Of course with someone leading the horse!  There is an enormous indoor/outdoor playpark a couple of kilometers from where we live where they can ride on horseback.  I will definitely be looking into that.