Summer

Busy season is upon us. Jason is working later now and has been working at night on weekends to lighten his load on weekdays. I feel bad that he usually works after I go to sleep until around midnight on weekends, but I'm so grateful during the week when he comes home at a decent hour.

The girls and I have been enjoying playing with friends and swimming! Jason likes to go swimming with us on Saturday's. Callie did not have very much swimming experience prior to this summer, but she's made some great progress, especially with Daddy's help. She started out with arm guards and a floaty ring in someone's arms or on the steps. Now, she just wears arm guards and can kick herself around the pool. We're working on blowing bubbles, but we still have work to do.

 

Madison, on the other hand, prefers to walk around the pool. She gets impatient in the pool and wants to do her own thing. I need to get her some arm guards or a life jacket so she can have more freedom in the pool.

Lately we've also had lots of birthday's, party, and fun trips. Stay tuned for posts on those!

Bow Holds and Headbands

 A while back, I posted this picture of Callie playing her "viola". If you'll notice, she's holding her "bow" in the wrong hand, her hand is halfway up her "bow" and she's just holding it in her fist.

Busy season is upon us. Jason is working later now and has been working at night on weekends to lighten his load on weekdays. I feel bad that he usually works after I go to sleep until around midnight on weekends, but I'm so grateful during the week when he comes home at a decent hour.Today, she grabbed her "viola" once again and said, "look at my bow hold, Mommy!" She is now holding it with her hand at the end of the "bow", and is holding it between her thumb and fingers. I was so impressed! This happened without any direct teaching on my part. I guess she actually learns something playing around in the same room while I teach my violin lesson every week. 

A couple of weeks ago, while working on rhythm with my student, Callie decided to clap and count along with us. She wasn't quite clapping on the beat, but she got the idea. It's amazing what a 3 year old can pick up just being exposed to music, and in this case teaching music to someone else.

Madison loves to wear this headband. Anytime she sees it laying around, she puts it on herself and wears it for a significant period of time. She won't wear any other headband I put on her for very long, but she likes this one.

C and M

Callie walks up to Madison and asks, "Do you know who touch my car?" with furrowed eyebrows, cheeks raised, and head tilted to the side (a signature Callie facial expression that amuses me).

When Madison stares blankly back at her Callie continues, "you touch my car and that makes me sad," with the same expression as before. "But I fix it, so don't touch it," she orders with raised eyebrows. All the while Madison just stands there in silence, not sure how to respond.

I love my soon-to-be 3 year-old. She knows exactly what she wants, down to the very small details. I love that she interacts with her sister as if she understands everything Callie does.

I also love my 14 month-old. She's a wild card. Sometimes Madison goes with the flow and lets Callie do and say whatever she wants, but other times she stands her ground and fights back with everything her tiny body can muster.

I love that such tiny people have such strong opinions and such defined personalities.