Bike-a-Thon

Keeley's school has an annual bike-a-thon to raise funds. The kids collect pledges and then ride their bikes for the day. It is a hugely fun event. All the kids look forward to it, there are special shirts made for it, and tons of parents come out to cheer on their kiddo and help with the event. I was amazed at the parental turn-out!

Kelly volunteered to help out all morning. Keeley was so excited her dad was going to be there! Kayden and I picked up the snacks for the riders (bananas and water) and then I was going to help out as long as I could. Kayden wanted none of that and Keeley wanted me to hold her when she saw me. That meant I didn't stay long, but I did get to cheer for her for a minute at least! Because Kelly was volunteering on the course and I had to leave, we didn't get too many pictures. Here are a few:

Ms. Alva leading Keeley and some of the other toddlers out to their special toddler course.
Keeley checking out her feet.

Keeley checking out Owen.

There was some drama, of course. That is to be expected with a bunch of toddlers. When Keeley got off her bike to come see me, Owen got on her bike and that temporarily upset her. Apparently though, she then decided Chloe's bike was the one to ride and rode it the rest of the time!

Because the toddlers were in their own special area, they got to ride as long as they wanted. That ended up being 1.5 hours! Keeley came home so tired and slept until just past 4 - that's a 3.5 hour nap!!!

It was a big success and I look forward to having two little riders next year!

Parent /Teacher Conference

Keeley had her first parent/teacher conference today and all went well. Ms. Sutton told me that Keeley is an absolute joy to have in class and is exceptionally nurturing. Ms. Alva told me that Keeley really enjoys the transition room (where they learn works that they will do in primary) and has an amazing amount of concentration and focus. They both commented that she completes the circle well. I asked what that meant and they explained it refers to the circle of choosing a work, completing it appropriately, and then putting it back for the next child to use. Apparently, she even straightens other works she sees out of place (I need to figure out how to get that to work at home too!!). Ms. Alva was amazed at her skills with cutting and pasting - I didn't even know she had those skills!

I'm thrilled to see that Keeley is growing and learning so much at school. Hopefully all her parent/teacher conferences will go this smoothly!!

Trick or Treating

Well, tonight is Halloween. Kelly and I decided that one of us should stay home and one of us should take the girls. Kayden refused to wear a costume so she was going to stay with Kelly and hand out candy. Keeley wanted to go with me but only made it to the end of our driveway before she changed her mind.

So, all costumes off and all four of us settled in to hand out candy. People approaching freaked Keeley out for a while. We let the girls practice their trick or treating skills with us while we were handing out candy to other kiddos. After watching the other kids and consuming some candy, Keeley decided she was ready to head out. I suggested that she maybe go to Peter's house (5 houses up the street). Kayden refused to wear a costume but also refused to stay home so she went too. This time however, Keeley wanted Daddy to take her.

No worries I thought. They'll probably only make it half way there before they turn around.

Fast forward 45 minutes. I am out of candy and missing my girls' first trick or treating :-( I tried to call Kelly to see where they were but apparently he didn't take his phone since they weren't really planning on going far.

They came home full of candy and big smiles. Apparently no one cared that Kayden wasn't in costume or that Keeley didn't have on a full costume!

First trick or treating, success!

Bonk

Keeley accidentally hit my head really hard today and I said ouch. She said she wanted to see it and then gave it a kiss. Since Kayden has to do the same thing as big sister, she ran over to us full speed. And, I guess it wasn't good enough for her to kiss where my head already hurt. She head-butted me, said bonk, and then kissed it.

No sharing

When Keeley doesn't finish her food, which is frequently, I ask her if I can give it to Kayden. This is both a) to conserve food and b) to try to trick her into eating it. Sometimes she says yes, sometimes she says no, sometimes she eats it. Tonight this is how our conversation went:

Keeley: "I'm all finished"
Me: "Okay, baby."
Keeley: turns to me with serious face "Don't give it to Kayden. Uh-uh. Just put it in the trash"
Me: "If you aren't going to eat it, I think it would be okay to share it with Kayden."
Keeley: "uh-uh. Just put it in the trash" tiny head nod

Kids really just crack me up.

Mom just can't win

Much to my disliking, the girls really like to match their clothes. Sometimes it is okay if the shirts are the same but different colors, but most of the time, the outfits need to be the same. Because the weather has turned cold again and long sleeve pjs are back, Keeley is back to her old self and wearing them as much as she can get away with. Her favorites are still the footie pjs. I've had some problems finding matching footie pjs because they don't make a whole lot of them in Keeley's size (3T).

I thought Monday was my lucky day! We found some that matched and they had them in both girls sizes AND they had owls on them (Kayden really likes owls right now). Of course the girls wore them that night.

The next morning, Kayden decided that she had had enough of her feet being trapped and started to fuss...no more footie pjs for her. That's okay, she's allowed to have preferences. However, before we got the pjs off, Keeley noticed that Kayden's had a little strap of material and button at the top but hers did not. I really, really thought she was going to cry. I tried to explain to her that they only put those on the smaller pjs but she was having none of that.

Fortunately, it was time to get her school clothes on so all was good. When she got home, she was changing into her jammies (she does this for naps now....she loves her pjs) and saw Kayden's pjs. Somehow, she managed to get herself in them and slept in them.

Since then, she has insisted on wearing them whenever they are clean. She looks a tad bit ridiculous in 18month one piece pjs but she insists "they fit! I'm littler now"

I suppose if she's okay, I should be okay too right?

And score two for the little people

Yesterday was Kayden's dress up day at school. Of course, she refused. Fortunately for me, I do know my children well and she did want to wear her back-up "costume" - the cupcake shirt. Unfortunately, she likes to chew on the cherry. I didn't think that it made the sparkles come off because they hadn't disappeared after the Halloween party. But, after I washed it, most of the cherry was missing :-( Oh well. I think everyone's favorite part is the word "cupcake" on the back anyway!

We have a party tomorrow and then Halloween Saturday. Maybe I'll at least get to snap a picture!!

(In other news though, she had her best day yet at MDO! Hooray!!)