OUR BEAUTIFUL BALLERINA

The beautiful ballerina The happy family

I laughed, I cried, I wanted to see more...any guesses?

Kate's first ballet recital!

I have to admit, I was a little nervous, but mostly so excited. You know, a little like Christmas morning when you're a kid (ok, it is still like that for me). I had a hard time sleeping the night before because I was so excited to see her first "official" performance. Those who know Kate well know that every day is a performance for her, but this was special.

At the end of her last class, Miss Annette (Kate's wonderful ballet teacher) allowed the mommies to come in to see a preview of their dances. At first Kate followed Miss Annette and all went smoothly, but after seeing how much attention she had, she decided to "free-style" and improvise the dance a little. Needless to say, it was a lot of running around while constantly checking to see who was watching. She did FINALLY come back to her spot and finish the dance properly, but the whole experience had me worried. What in the world would she do when there was a room full of spectators? She lives for that kind of attention -- would she follow along as hoped or would it evolve into the Katie Bird show? My bets were on the latter, but I was hoping for the best.

The day came and we were all tired. She didn't sleep well, maybe for the same reason I didn't -- nerves. But, we got ready without incident (a major accomplishment!) and headed to Studio B. Kate had a wonderful cheering section for this special event, and after a quick change into her costume, she assumed her place on the floor and waited for her fellow dancing classmates.

This is where I could do a play-by-play of the dances, but suffice it to say, she performed beautifully. I was very pleasantly surprised to see how well she did, especially with so many people watching. Several times she did get a little distracted by a baby sitting on the front row -- we all know how much she loves babies -- but she bounced back and finished her dance with a flourish. We were all so proud of her. What a performer she is!

And here's where I have to get a little sappy. After such a beautiful performance, I was sad. And I'm still sad. Time goes by so fast. This was her last first dance recital. Where did my little baby go? The one that needed me to help her do everything. This little girl is definitely not her. She danced for that group of people all on her own and was perfect. I don't do well with change (I try really hard, though) and it makes me so sad, but very happy, to realize that she is changing each and every day. Some day, in the not so distant future, she will go to kindergarten -- ALL DAY! But, I'll not think of that now because I'm not sure I can handle it.


Special thanks to: Grandma, Pawpaw, Memommy, Meg, Peyton, and, of course, Daddy, for making time in your day to come see Kate's recital. You made her a very happy girl.

CALL ME RANGERETTE

This past Saturday, after a busy morning of ballet pictures, Kate and I took a road trip to Kilgore to see Rangerette Revels. We were meeting my Kilgore roommate, Colleen, and her six year old daughter, Madalyn, and one of my Kilgore suite-mates, Melissa, and her five year old daughter, Karson, for the 1:30 matinee show. We finished ballet pictures at around 10:30ish, and after a very quick wardrobe change, we hit the open road -- Kilgore or BUST! Well, the weather was a downer...it rained pretty hard the entire way there...but we finally made it, with a few minutes to spare. It was still raining when we got there so I crawled in the back seat to change Kate into her special "Revels" dress (three ballerinas on the front) and then we treked under our umbrella and through the mud puddles to the auditorium (of all days to wear white pants!!!). Kate was so excited for the show to start and kept asking "Where are the Rangerettes?" Finally, the show began, and from start to finish, she was mesmorized. There were two small intermissions (not sure why?), but even through those, she sat still. I don't think she moved at all during Production Number, which is the last number and the high kick portion of the show. And, she especially liked the fight song. She's asked me to sing it several times since we've been back.

After the show we were all planning to meet Jana, our fourth suite-mate, in Longview for dinner. Jana just had her third little boy, Lane, three weeks ago, so while she couldn't make the show, we couldn't miss the opportunity to see her and her new little bundle of joy (and he was adorable!). When we got to our car, I realized that my key fob wouldn't open the door -- strange -- but when I got inside, I learned the my battery was dead. Aaahhh!!! Luckily I had jumper cables, Colleen had a running car, and Melissa knew how to use the jumper cables! We successfully jumped my car and I learned how to use jumper cables.

We finally made it to dinner and enjoyed some wonderful together time. The girls all got along great and it was sooo nice to spend some time with my precious friends. I love them and miss them so much!

Sadly, it came time to go home. Kate was exhausted from skipping a nap so she was asleep within minutes of being on the road. But, before she fell asleep, I asked her what her favorite part of the show was -- was it the high kicks? Her response: "Yes, I liked the kicking, but Mommy, it's not nice to kick." How funny! I assured her that it was ok to kick while dancing, but not to kick someone. She seemed satisfied with this answer. It was a peaceful, and dry, drive back.

And, can you believe that we did not take ONE picture the whole day?

A FEW MORE EASTER PICTURES

Kate with Daddy, before church

The Easter Bunny knew Kate "needed" some princess dress-up clothes

Cousin time @ Tim & Melissa's

As you might imagine, I have LOTS more pictures from Easter week. If you'd like to see them all, let me know and I'll forward them to you. :)

EASTER, A WEEK LATE

Kate loved the petting zoo!

Play time at the park, after egg hunt #2

A budding Picasso

Waiting for Rockin' with Mother Goose at Casa Manana

I had every intention of posting about our Easter weekend on Easter night, but time ran away from me. So, here I am on Friday night, almost a week later, finally posting about Easter.

We had a WONDERFUL and full Easter weekend. Well, really Easter week. Here's a brief run down:
> Wednesday: LECPTA (Lakewood Early Childhood PTA) egg hunt - there was a petting zoo that Kate LOVED, in fact, she could have cared less about the egg hunt after seeing the cute baby chicks and bunnies

> Friday: MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) egg hunt - who knew it would be so chilly that morning! I'm really bad about seeing the "high" temp and assuming it will be that from start to finish that day. Good thing we had a jacket in the care b/c it was 58!

> Saturday: Children's Art Day @ the FW Community Arts Center - which CiCi put together for the LLS, Rockin' with Mother Goose at Casa Manana (Kate's first theater experience -she loved it!), and a cookout and egg hunt at CiCi & Rossy's house with Memommy & Granddaddy E.
> Sunday: Church, where we had a wonderful egg hunt inside, home to see what the Easter Bunny brought Kate, followed by a much-needed NAP for the whole family!, and then to Uncle Timmy & Aunt Melissa's for dinner and egg hunt

Yes, you read that right, Kate participated in FIVE egg hunts over the course of five days. Whew. We were all "over it" by Sunday.

It was so wonderful to celebrate Christ's Resurrection with family & friends this year. We are so blessed!

NO COMMENTS, REALLY?

Dress up is the FAVORITE activity these days...

Ok, I admit that my writing is not really all that entertaining, but I might get better if I had a little encouragement. C'mon people, leave me some comments (but only nice ones!)! I mean, really, how can you not comment on how cute Katie Bug is these days? Just kidding -- you don't have to comment if you don't want -- I just thought it would be nice to see some writing other than mine. :)

On another note, I was wrong about Kate's recital date. It is actually on Thursday, May 21st instead of the 28th. I realize that since it is still on a Thursday, the change makes no difference to many of you, but if you can come, please do. She is soooo excited. Also, let me know if you are coming because we'll plan a fun celebration afterwards.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

You might be asking that question -- it has been a long time since my last post. Let me assure you that my posting lapse is not due to lack of material, in fact, quite the opposite. Kate has been keeping us laughing with her funny, yet remarkably insightful, chatter.

A couple of chart-toppers from the last few weeks:

* While driving to a playdate, I pointed out an elementary school to Kate. I told her that kids go to kindergarten there and asked if she was in kindergarten. To this question, she replies: "No, I'm working on my vegetable garden right now."

* Last Wednesday Kate and I went to Hurst to visit Shelley and baby Ryland. We've been talking a lot about prayer and "talking" to God, but on this particular day nothing had been said. Out of nowhere Kate says, "Dear God, thank you for police officers, soccer, and Diet Coke." I burst out laughing -- I'm talking tears streaming down my face -- and complimented her on her spontaneous prayer and told her it was very funny. Always the comedianne, she says, "Good because it was a joke!" Oh my goodness...she is funny!

The pics I've included are from very special outings with Memommy to the FW Zoo and with Grandma to the Dallas Arboretum. Kate is a very lucky little girl to have such loving grandmothers!!!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

What a cute little ballerina!

We learned today that Kate's ballet recital will be on Thursday, May 28th at 9:15 am. I know that day & time makes it hard, if not impossible, for most of you to be there, but for this age group they try to keep it during their normal class time. The studio thinks, and I agree, that the girls are too young for a full-fledged recital in front of tons of people, so they opt to have their "recital" in a much smaller, more familiar setting -- the studio. The performance (if you want to call it that) will be short and the girls will display some of their new-found ballet skills. But, even more important, especially to the girls, they will dazzle us with their beauty in their "Sleeping Beauty" princess costumes. Who can resist this cute little ballerina?

P.S.

P.S. -- I've had several questions on how to comment...just click on the link "Comments" or the pencil icon at the bottom of the post and that will allow you to comment. I look forward to reading your thoughts!

WE NEED TO TALK

Kate and I had a wonderful day today. I admit, I was a little worried because Justin is out of town tonight (we miss you Daddy!) and generally, after so much together time, we have a rough evening. But, from start to finish, Birdie was a trooper and so much fun to be around today. I am so lucky to be the mother of such a bright and sweet little girl!

A couple of funny quips from today...

-- After nap she wanted to go to Tietze Park, which is her favorite park right now. While swinging on the "big girl swings" (I do it MYSELF!) Kate looks over to me and says, "Mommy, we need to talk." After an inital giggle, I responded, "Oh yeah, about what?" To which she replied, "Mary and her little lamb. Where did they go?" Oh, Sue Berry, you crack me up!

-- After an early dinner at Jason's Deli tonight, we came home to play before shower and bedtime. She wanted to play doctor with her two monkeys, Carlos and Fredrick, who both had earaches. We sat in our "car" (Kate's green chair) and drove to the doctor, reassuring both babies along the way. When we got to the doctor, I asked Kate to tell me the doctor's name, and she said "Dr Seuss!" We both had a good laugh over that one!

FINALLY!

Ok, ok....I've finally done it....I've started a blog. Justin claims I'm a "cyber junkie" (which couldn't be farther from the truth, by the way) but, since he put it out there, I figured I might as well go with it. I really just want to create a space where I can document life with our very entertaining daughter, Kate, aka Bird Susan.

Let it be said right here, right now that I am not a comedianne (but Kate seems to be!), nor am I a stickler for grammar (but Justin is; so I'm sure he will be horrified by my posts). So, please don't come to this blog with any expectations other than to hear more about Kate. And remember, I am her mother so I have a completely biased opinion of how cute, funny, and utterly brilliant she is!

I will try to update as soon as possible, but please don't hold me to a strict schedule. But, who knows...maybe this will be as addicting as Facebook!

So, since this blog is and will be almost entirely focused on Kate, I should at least tell one funny story to get us started on the right foot.

A little background...One of Justin's jokes with Kate is that her feet smell like cheese. Ask her at any time what her feet smell like and she will happily report, "CHEESE!" Wierd, I know, but she thinks it is hilarious. So, the other day we are driving to dinner and Justin and I are talking about who knows what, but much to Kate's dismay, she is not actively involved in the conversation. She made several attempts to interrupt, but when we didn't stop talking, she finally announced --in a very matter of fact tone -- "Grandma smells like cheese!" As you can imagine, that came at us from left field, and we came close to having to pull the car over because we were laughing so hard. And no, Grandma DOES NOT smell like cheese.