First day of school

Today was Ellen and Anais's first day back to school. This year they will both be in Miss Marguerite's class. It's a montessori program for 3-5 year olds. Although Ellen is old enough to start Kindergarten, because of her mid-August birthday we decided it was best to give her another year in preschool and be one of the older kids once she started in elementary school. With the montessori program, she will be able to learn as much as she'd like - reading, early math, etc. - so we don't feel that we are "holding her back". It will be a chance for her to build some confidence and be a leader as the older kids are encouraged to help the younger ones in the classroom. Anais enjoyed her first day and seems to love being in class with her sister. I'm hoping it'll be a good experience for the 2 of them. They are close but we think Anais is independent enough to not be overshadowed by Ellen in class. Should be a fun year!!!

A day at the Beach

Shawn and I took the 4 kids to the beach in Lewes on Sunday. All things considered, it went well. Traffic was light, we were able to park close, we didn't have to wait for the shower and there were no "blow-outs". Just small amounts of sand were injested by the boys while the girls had fun making sand castles with Shawn and collecting rocks and seashells. A day at the beach isn't without hassle and lots of schlepping back and forth but it was nice to spend the day as a family!

Photos at Sears

We went to Sears so that Jenny could get photos with the kids before she heads home in mid-September. They turned out pretty good, I think.

Walking shoes

We went to the Stride Rite store over the weekend and bought the boys their first walking shoes. And they are a full size different. Nicolas a 5w and Dylan a 6w. They are still getting used to moving in them. Dylan seems to walk better with them but Nicolas just gets frustrated.

Every Little Step

5 going on 13!

Ellen has decided that she LOVES Hannah Montana. Of course she knows nothing about the girl, has never seen her TV show or heard her music before yesterday. She is, however, very familiar with Miss Cyrus's image thanks to the wonderful marketing world of disney. While we were at the mall yesterday I stopped at the Hallmark store to get some cards for the many August and Sept b-days coming up. Ellen loves the new music cards and immediately found a Hannah Montana card that she had to have. I told her she was too young but as she threw a fit and proclaimed that it was HER birthday and SHE gets to decide everything, I relented and let her have the card but made the mistake of telling her how I really felt about this poor overly exposed (literally) child pop star. Course this made Ellen "love her" even more. Nothing is better then something that is off limits. Anyway, last night Ellen spent most of the evening listening to her card over and over singing along with the "tune". I was able to get this on tape and thought I'd share. A teenager in training! Although I guess if she was actually 13 she would have rolled her eyes and shut the door in my face when I asked her if I could tape her performance!

Birthday girl

Today was Ellen's birthday so I took the day off work and the 2 of us had a special girls day out. Before we could go anywhere, however, Ellen got a call from her favorite Disney princess, Ariel - wishing her a happy birthday. We then went to a local salon to get our nails done - orange with yellow hearts for Ellen. Then we went to Toys 'R Us so Ellen could pick out her present - a Little Mermaid doll in her wedding gown. The kind folks at Toys 'R Us gave Ellen a balloon and birthday crown. We then went to lunch at her favorite restaurant, Applebees - the only one that she knows by name - besides McDonalds which I told her wasn't an option. She brought in the balloon and crown and got many "Happy Birthdays!" and the waitstaff did their b-day schtick complete with song and ice cream. After lunch we went to the mall to buy some school clothes. At the mall, Ellen wore her birthday crown but was very confused that everyone knew it was her birthday. We decided Sebastion told everyone since it was on his calendar so Ariel would know to call :-) After some shopping time, both Ellen and I were pretty beat and ready to head home. Of course as we were getting into the van, her prized Toys 'R Us balloon went out the window. Ellen immediately melting down so off we drove, chasing down the balloon throughout the parking lot. Luckily there was a weight tied to the end of the string and it got caught on a car about 1/2 way around the mall. Ellen was very pleased to have her balloon back! After we got home, I ordered pizza - on her request. After dinner Ellen opened up her gifts from the kids and Jenny and then we all got in the car and headed to the creamery for her b-day treat - choc chip cookie dough ice cream with extra rainbow sprinkles! Happy Birthday, Ellen! It was quite a day!