Can't Argue With That

Ally was working on the vocabulary section of her spelling book the other day and coyly presented her work for my approval:

I think she understands the concept.

Reflections on First Grade

Congratulations to our sweet Ally-girl, who recently graduated from 1st grade
with a superb report card!

Consultation Requested with the Tooth Fairy

Would someone please inform the tooth fairy that Ally has lost another one?

My question is this, at what point do the adult teeth show up?

Because if this kid loses any more without replacements we'll have to liquefy her meals and serve them with a straw.

Deserving Daddy

We're a chart family.

Or maybe I should say I am a chart person.

Currently there are at least 7 charts on our fridge (including three entirely different, but equally necessary calendars). The other four charts are Ally's Chore Chart, Nat's Potty Chart, our weekly menu, and our Countdown to the Beach Chart (by the way...we're down to the twenties!). Along with this I have at least three lists (To Do this week, To Do today, and a grocery list, if you must know).

My penchant for charts may or may not have been passed along to Ally who made her Daddy this "chart" not too long ago.


After we both commented on the rewards of a deserving Daddy, Ally looked to David and said, "I'd say, for a dad, you're pretty cool."

Ally, in case you're reading this, it's nearly Mother's Day and I might be needing a "misosh" as well.

The Slumber Party that Wasn't Really a Slumber Party

Yes, it's true. I attempted a slumber party.

Not really. Ally wanted a "nighttime party" and would have jumped at the chance for slumbering with her friends. But her parents aren't ready for that. Not nearly.

So we had a jammies party. We ate dinner and cupcakes, painted pillowcases, played "pin the star on the moon" (Ally's own creation), and had a candy hunt.

Her sweet friends showered Ally with gifts that were absolutely perfect.

It was loud.

Dave's exact quote was, "It's just not natural to have that many 7-year-old girls together at once." Hehe.

A fun time was had by all. Here are some pictures from the night. (Sorry the first one is fuzzy...it's the only one I snapped of everyone at the table...)

Super Seven!

Our Allyson officially turned 7 about 8 hours ago. SEVEN. It's a big number, right?


She had a great day at school, handing out cookies to her classmates and several teachers. She breezed through her spelling test and enjoyed her favorite show after school.

Her choice for dinner was Noodles & Company. A girl after her mom's own heart.


After cake and ice cream, she giddily opened her gift from grandparents and us.



When David signed papers for his new job (more on that later), he received a water bottle full of cheap candy. Ally oohed and aahed and declared that was the best gift ever. So, of course, our version was one of her favorite gifts of the evening.


She loved everything...clothes, games, Polly Pockets, crafts...

But her favorite was quickly named "Sugar."


She has much to look forward to, as tomorrow she celebrates her special day with friends from school. Don't worry, I'll post pictures!

Just Another Aaauuuuuh Moment

First of all, forgive my absence. Things are busy. And I can be lazy. A lot.

But absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? So you're feeling pretty fond about now, right?

The two little ones are playing outside in about 53 degree sunny weather ---Maaahvelous! I snagged my computer to sit in the garage and type up this story before I forget it!

We just got back from going to school to pick up Ally. She walks the 1/2 block from the school to the van with a little friend or two. Today she walked over with her favorite friend, also named Natalie, and Natalie's mom, who volunteers in the classroom on Thursday afternoons. I have known the mom, also named Kris (short for Kristina) since I first started MOPS in 2006. (Let me digress a moment to share that Kris's other daughters are named Allison and Mackenzie. I kid you not. If you don't get the significance, let me share. Our Allyson's middle name is Mackenzie. Kinda freaky, right? The similarities end there, as the daddy's name is not David, nor do they have a wildly handsome little brother named Christopher.)

Back on track now.

The three walked grinning to the van and Kris asked if she could take Ally home with her for a bit. I said "Sure!", cause I'm a cool mom like that.

The little ones watched the exchange from the van and watched Ally walk away with another family.

Natalie's lower lip turned down further than I've ever seen it and she said, "She OW sistoe, not anybody else sistoe!" (Translation: She's OUR sister! Not anybody else's sister!)

I quickly assured her that Ally would return after playing. I assured her that we would pick her up or they would bring her home in time for dinner and all would be right with the world once more.

She was quiet for a moment, then nearly yelled, "I WANT MY SISTOE BACK RIGHT NOW!"

It's not too often that I can tell if Natalie even likes Ally, but this proved it.

The sistoe bond is strong.

Huh?

As a parent of young children, I am constantly plagued with "huh?" moments.

(When I'm a parent of older children, it's possible I'll have even more.)

Anyway, I was making dinner yesterday and all three kids were playing upstairs and listening to Go Fish. Natalie started screaming and crying and rushed downstairs to report her injuries.

She said, through her tears, "Mama, Ally bit me in the tummy with her hand!"

And my response was (feel free to say it with me), "Huh?"

She repeated, "Ally bit me in the tummy with her hand!"

It took me a second (or five) to process the event then respond, "You mean she pinched you?"

Natalie, enlightened, screamed, "YES!"

Then she ran back upstairs, happy for being understood.

(In case you were wondering, Ally firmly denies this incident, claiming she did no such thing.)

Who do you believe?

Wandering Eyes?

On the way to school in the mornings, I take a few quick moments to pray with Ally, asking God to help her to be kind, patient, diligent, and courageous. We pray for her teacher and classmates, and often I pray for Daddy at work and myself and the little ones at home.

We incorporate other things into our nighttime prayers with the kids. When we're sick, they're heavily focused on healing, strength, and rest. When we're tired or ornery, they're focused on rest and peace. When it's been a peaceful day, we remember to thank God for all that He has given us. We always pray for family (far and near) and we always pray for sleep (because it's in short supply around here).

We've heard funny things and poignantly honest things. We've heard (and said) things like, "Please help Chrissy to stop pulling my hair so that I can pray..." We think a good conversation with God is healthy and necessary.

But I have no idea what kind of day precipitated the prayer that Ally has recited more than once in recent days.

"Dear Jesus...Help Daddy to keep his eyes on his own sites."

Allyson's First Grade Christmas Play

We had promised this quick video last week, but forgot to get it going until now.

Just a little background: Ally's school musical was titled, "Littlest Christmas Tree". It was based on a tree lot, full of trees waiting for Santa to arrive to pick one of them to be his special tree. Of course, every tree in the lot desired to be the chosen one, including a sweet little tree, the only tree who knew the meaning of Christmas is love. In the end, he is chosen.

So, here ya go.

A Friend Suggestion

As a room mom, my primary responsibility in Ally's classroom is to hang out during class parties.

I know, challenging, right?

On Monday, Ally's class had a Polar Express Celebration for their holiday party. They sampled goodies from around the world and sipped hot cocoa. They wore their bathrobes and slippers and rang jingle bells, just like the book/movie.

Ally told me I should wear my robe to the party too.


After the treats, the kids returned to the classroom for about 20 minutes of quiet working. The other moms and I just wandered around, helping when necessary, and chatting with eachother.

One precious girl brought me a letter, written in bright pink pen. (I'm changing her name, as I didn't ask anyone if I could write about her here.) Although Ally has never spoken negatively of this girl, they don't typically play together.

This is what the letter said:

"I luv your robe and your shos you luk pride From Ella For Mi. Fox"

She loves my robe and my shoes and she thinks I'm pretty.

I think Ally needs to befriend this girl! Clearly Ella is wise beyond her years.

MOM!

One of these days, I am going to put a blank piece of paper on the counter and tally how many times I hear the word "Mom" in a given day.

If you're a mom, you can relate.

Natalie, specifically, is in a season where she must repeat my "name" 24 times for the same request. And there are approximately 49 such requests in any given hour.

That would be my last nerve she just obliterated.

Christopher just says "MAAAAH" and at this point, it's still cute, so his will only count for half.

But Allyson, she has developed a whole new method in her creative little brain.

The other day I was on the phone and she was in desperate need of my attention. (Let me just tell you right now, the need for pretzels is apparently desperate in some regions of my home. Now you know.)

While waving her arms in front of me, she said in a freakishly loud whisper, "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom!" This is typical mom's-on-the-phone behavior which always results in "the look" from me. I really try not to respond, because that would be feeding the behavior, right?

At this point, she upped the ante and wrapped her arms around me (as if she really wanted a hug...yeah, right, I'm on to you chica!). I gave her another look, covered the mouthpiece of the phone and said, "You are being RUDE! Knock it off!"

So, she did what any desperate child would, she got a sticky note and a pen and wrote me a note. Or so I thought.

Here ya go.





Oh yes she did.

I think it's possible that she inherited her Dad's sense of humor.

Something Right

I don't think I'm a nervous mom, exactly. I'm not a helicopter mom, either. But for some reason, it is still a little hard for me to send Ally off to school everyday. Maybe it's because she's so meek. Or because her heart breaks so easily. Regardless of the reason, I give her an extra hug every morning and send her off with a little note on her snack bag.


In first grade, they bring a healthy-ish snack every day to school. If it's in a baggie, I write a quick note on the bag to tell her that I love her. I have never brought attention to it, just wrote it and tucked it into her backpack.

Not too many days ago, she asked me why I write on her snack. I told her that I wanted her to know that I love her and am thinking about her, even when she's not with me.

A few days later, I walked into my own bedroom after putting the kids to bed and I found this on my jewelry box.

We only have about six and a half years of experience in this parenting thing. We're not experts (nor will we ever be). In fact, most days we wonder how God in His infinite wisdom thought WE could handle three such treasures. But somewhere along the line we must have done something right.

All I Want For Christmas...

Yes, it's early. But doesn't it seem like everyone shifted from Halloween to Christmas at the stroke of midnight, November 1st?

That happened at our house. Ally has thoroughly enjoyed looking through any catalog and/or magazine that I have, diligently circling anything that looks even slightly interesting.

Here's the overall roundup:

Zhu Zhu accessories
Squinkies
Zoobles
(seriously, these three are actual items found in toy sections...it's possible that toy manufacturers are running out of ideas for catchy toy names...I'm just sayin'.)
Toy Story 3 DVD
A Watch
Silly Bandz
Crafts (commonly known as "Craps" around here)
Books


But Most of All...



What She Really Wants...



More Than Any of That...



Is...



Her TWO Front Teeth!

(For the record, I read this post to Ally and she vehemently opposed my suggestion that she wants teeth for Christmas. So in case any of y'all were planning on it, that's probably not an actual gift suggestion.)

Apparently...

Allyson came home with this yesterday:


This is what we have ascertained.

1) Apparently the art teacher at school submitted this kindergarten project of Ally's to the R0ck County 4-H Fair, held in July.

2) Apparently Ally won a white ribbon.


3) Apparently a white ribbon is third place (according to Allyson, the all-wise first grader).

4) Apparently white ribbons earn a valuable cash prize. That would be one dollar and twenty five cents.

5) Apparently Rock County 4-H is in need of additional funding.

6) Apparently we walked right by the thing when we toured the art building at the fair this summer, not even realizing that OUR child's work was near.

7) Apparently Ally knew about the submission all along, but "forgot" to tell us.

8) Apparently there was a breach in communication somewhere.

9) Apparently we have a double award-winning artist living in our home.

The Art of Repitition

Ally didn't have school on Thursday or Friday this week due to the state teacher convention. We planned a day out yesterday and took the kids to the Aquatic Center (indoor pool with slide and fountains and small lazy river), then dinner and ice cream. Aside from the challenge of getting 5 people dried, dressed, and layered up for the increasingly fall-ish temperatures, and the simple fact that poor Christopher was shivering almost the whole time, a good time was had by all.

On the way to our last stop (ice cream), Natalie kept repeating the question for which she had already heard the answer: "We goin' get I - Sone?" (Have I mentioned that I-Sone is how she says ice cream? You ought to hear it; it's kinda cute. Unless you've heard her ask the same question 128 times, give or take a few. At that point it loses some of the cute factor.) She does this often, repeating questions so many times that we start hollering the answer. I do realize this is probably not the best method of ending the questions, but it tends to work.

Until she realizes that she has a different question.

We were patiently trying to answer the all-important ice cream question, again and again, but patience was waning.

Ally finally declared, "I wish she'd just have the confidence to stay quiet!"

Hmmm. I think that might have some philosophical meaning deep in there, but seeing as it came from a 6-year-old's mouth, I think it was a fancy way to say, "I wish she'd just shut it!"

The Same Thing?

My mom was in town this weekend, loving on us and enjoying some quality time. On Friday night we opted to eat out and ended up pulling into our local favorite Mexican restaurant.

Allyson enthusiastically declared, "Yes, I LOVE Chinese food!"

We all giggled and I said, "This is a Mexican restaurant, honey."

Her response: "Whatever, it means the same thing."

Then, while enjoying our dinner, Ally asked for the lemon in her daddy's water.

After tasting it, she said, "Yuck, it's too spicy!"

We said, "Spicy? I think you mean sour."

Her response: "Spicy. Sour. It means the same thing."

It's possible that I may need to supplement her public education with a bit of home school vocabulary instruction.

I think it might have been a compliment...

Last week was "Spirit Week" at Allyson's elementary school. Monday was Backwards Day, Tuesday was Mismatched Day, Wednesday was Hat Day, Thursday was Hero Day, and Friday was School Colors Day.

Ally isn't thrilled to participate in these kinds of things, especially when it hinders her style.

On Wednesday we were talking about Hero Day and the various people that might be considered heroes. She wasn't vested in the conversation really, she must have been doing something really important, like writing her next novel.

After I stopped talking, she replied, "I don't have any heroes except for you, Mom..."

Before you all jump in with a collective, "AAAAH, how precious!", keep reading, because she didn't stop there. (Picture a slight look of disdain on her face...)

"...and I'm NOT gonna dress like YOU!"

That would be called a backhanded compliment, for those who were wondering.

Children's Church, circa 1985

At our church, the youth pastor also oversees the children's department. We really like him, for many reasons, but one such reason is his recent desire to infuse the kids with the songs their parents remember from children's church. Yes, my friends, bring on "This Little Light of Mine" and "Father Abraham."

Our Natalie is an early riser. Sometimes painfully early. The last few days she has woken before 5:30. Yesterday, she eagerly accepted her before-the-sunrise snack and cup of juice, then she agreed to watch "Lady and the Tramp." I jumped back in bed (or maybe just crawled) and promptly fell asleep.

We woke up to the sweetest sounds we had ever heard. At about 6:30 AM, Natalie was singing this one line, over and over again, "I so happy, so berry happy, I have the love of Jesus in my heart. I so happy, so berry happy, I have the love of Jesus in my heart."

Oh. My. Stars.

Heart-melting is what it was.

(She recently discovered a new show on Netflix called Pingu. It is a clay-mation show revolving around a penguin who doesn't speak, but makes various noises, one sounding like "Scuse Me, Scuse Me." This is what Natalie is talking about at the end of the video. We told her she could watch the show if she'd sing her song for the camera!)

Inspired by this return to our own memories of children's church music, David's been singing, "Isn't the love of Jesus something wonderful, wonderful, wonderful." Do you know it?

He was belting it out this morning, while I was upstairs selecting clothes for the little ones to wear. Ally was also upstairs, fixing her hair. She said, "Is Daddy singing, 'With the love of Jesus I can laundry-fold!'?"

Close enough, right?

Allyson M. Fox, First Grader

She can't possibly be old enough for first grade. Seriously. First grade is for real. It's really school. She even has a locker.

Despite all of her butterflies (and mine), she started her day enthusiastically, getting dressed before anyone else in the house.

Here she is in line, waiting for the bell to enter the school.


Here's the locker...we took this shot on Open House night.


This is her classroom. The highlight for her is the desk that opens from the top!


And here's the valiant first grader exiting the school after her first day. (Her teacher, Mrs. Heindel, is the blonde in the white shirt with her back turned to us.)

This was her proclamation about her first day: "It was awesome and boring."

Interesting combo.