So, the Easter Bunny - or EB as we call it at our house, came hopping around today. It was so fun to watch Pacey get excited about her gifts! (She got a couple!!!) Daddy snapped a few pics as the day unfolded! Of course at the end I had to get a picture of Pacey's EB prizes - Linda style as Jason would say. My mom loved displaying gifts after they were unwrapped and I guess I do too! Don't ever worry - once P saw her goodies all lined up nice she let out a big squeal and went mental pulling everything down and rifling it around the room! Her favourite toy = Count Von Count from Sesame Street. Whenever her dad or I say ONE or TWO she says "Ha ha ha." She's quite the little ham
Mommy got up early and drove to Fargo last Sunday. She spent the entire week before she went making a list of things she just knew I would want. Mostly, mommy was on a mission - a Peppa Pig sort of mission. You see, in Canada, you cannot buy any Peppa Pig products so mommy has been ordering them from the UK or a couple of times my super nice Aunties (Lyn and Kelly) have picked me up some sweet Peppa Pig stuff from the States. Mommy couldn't drive to Fargo fast enough, once she was there, she was 10 minutes early and had to wait outside with the other crazy mother's looking to make some little hopes and dreams come true. When she got inside the Toys R Us - she went up and down the aisles with an eagle eye looking for those Peppa things. Along the way she got a little side tracked with Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Doc McStuffins and the LIttle People princess sets, but she finally arrived at the Peppa Pig section and it took her all of 4.8 seconds to fill her cart with every Peppa thing she could find. I told you - she was on a Peppa Mission. I would say I am a lucky girl, but Mommy has hidden all my Peppa prizes in a safe place for my next birthday - which is nearly a year a way - which seems perfectly unreasonable to me - which makes me feel as though I should probably have those Peppa friends now, but Mommy is a stickler. She did give me some clothes, some treats, and a little stuffed Jake and the Neverland Pirate.
I really did not want to cut Pacey's hair. I really, really did not want to. But sometimes Grampa is right, folks. Though it pains me to admit it, and I do prefer being on the side of rightness in life, my dad was right, it was time. Pacey's hair was so long that when it fell out of the pony tail or the clip it was in her eyes and she was poking at her eyes when it tickled. Dad made a good point that she could scratch her eyes and that would be terrible. Of course I did not admit to him that he was right at the time, but when I got home and distracted Pacey with some yummy yogurt melts. I trimmed up her bangs. So now, she looks like a boy, but her eyes are safe. I guess it's worth it?????
The week before Spring Break was a LONG week at school. The students were all so very excited about their Spring Break plans - trips, play dates, daycare outings, family visits, and just not having to go to school - No, I don't take it personally!!!! I was counting down too! I was really trying to find some activities that were not too heavy, but also not a waste of our learning time - a hard thing to do with a rowdy bunch! We had decided earlier that the topic of our assembly would be Happiness and how it means different things to different people and why it is important and how we find happiness in our personal lives. To springboard this, I used a program on our school computers called Comic Life - that my friend Eva (the world's best kindergarten teacher!) showed me during our Learning Buddies. The topic was Happiness is and students had to show things that made them feel happy and use the program to find pictures and write about it. To plant some seeds, I made my own Happiness is poster - with the big section being ... you guessed it ... my little mouse! Take a look - the student work was far more amazing and deep, but such a fun project and really, anytime I can share a picture or bring P-rae back into my day, I will grab that opportunity and run!!!
We all know P-rae has a wild top on her!!! Her hair is constantly crazy and out of control and I absolutely love it!!! So many people will say to me "Oh look how staticky her hair is!" But, folks, that's not static that is just WILD CRAZY hair!!! It is poker straight and stands up on all ends. Our favourite time of day is bath time. When daddy baths her, they read bath books and play with the Dirty Dog tub toys and they splash and laugh and have fun. When mommy baths Pacey, we do crazy hair photos. See below for the latest ones!!!
Daddy was dying to try out Taco Del Mar on Kenaston (don't tell Dr. Coyle!!!), so while mommy wrote her report cards on balmy Sunday afternoon, he loaded me up under the guise of "just going to Costco and maybe Golftown," and we had a taco party! Daddy got himself a big whopping burrito and it was kids eat for free day so he got me a cheese quesadilla. Although I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, I did manage to try some and Daddy ate the rest!
Well week one - sort of - is over and done. Not half bad for a half week. The first day at Marni's was a little rough for Pacey, but she made significant improvements the next day. She loves Marni and the two little guys. She loves to watch the older boys play and follows them around stealing their Cheerios and sips from their water bottles. She loves Marni's dog Zoe. Here is the funny thing - I spent a significan amount of time warning Marni about what a challenging eater P is. Guess what? She ate like a trooper - no stuffy face, no turning of the head or slapping of the spoon. She opened her mouth and said mmm mmmm. I can't believe it! What gives????
Pacey-rae is also very lucky. She gets to spend Mondays and Tuesdays with her Grampa and Grumpa. She has so much fun! Grampa is pretty much P's favourite person on the planet - she just lights up when she sees him and they enjoy a lot of nonsense and laughs together. I have to say, he lights up just as much when she walks in. He is always so proud to tell me the new things she did with him. He taught her to say "uh-oh." He taught her how to do the big laugh, but the best was when he taught her to say Grampa - which she says "bampa!" She often will bring the phone to me and say "Bampa?" So we give him a call, and the two of them have their conversation of nonsense.
* So I forgot to post the above info - it was saved in drafts, but see below for an update
Now back at work for 2 months and things are pretty much great! Pacey is doing much better at Marni's and enjoys her time there. They take outings to the park, Toys R Us, and to the Children's Museum. She has learned to share and clean up. I can't thank Marni enough for the positive role she plays in our girl's life. She is kind and sweet and genuinely cares for Pacey as though she was a member of her family. We couldn't have found a better person to take care of her while we are at work. I consider us a very fortunate family! Marni sent a few pics of Pacey's time at her house with her kids and dog. You can see in the pics how much fun P has at Marni's house!
Fun and Games at Marni's...
A Trip to the Children's Museum with Marni and Fam ...