Springtime

Some action shots at Hummingbird Park. She's always happy to show some emotion for the camera.

 After a long day of playing with Meghan at gymnastics and at the pool, the girls had a dinner date (with the families). Meghan wore her wedding dress.

 Angels vs. Boston, April 21. I  have quit telling her to pose, she comes up with these all by herself.

Happy Belated Birthday, Jeremy! (and other stuff)

The Sweet 16 at Honda Center. SDSU vs UConn and Duke vs. UA.

Drew said "Mom, take a picture of me with Grammy and Boppa." She's learning. 

 Jeremy's 32nd Birthday...he wanted a strawberry cake and Drew was doing her best not to eat all the batter, frosting and strawberries. On Jeremy's actual birthday we went to a taping of Conan. It was so much fun...I can't wait to go again sometime. The guests were Paul Giamatti, Olivia Munn and Little Big Town. We were in the front row and 10 yards from Coco himself!

After Drew completed her ensemble with the hat and Uggs, she turned to me and said "aren't I gorgeous?" Then we did some model poses.

Oh boy.

I just got Drew out of the bath and while she stood there naked, she pointed her finger at me at waist-height and said "I'm a boy."
Me: "what do you mean?"
Drew, pointing to her finger: "This is my tongue that comes from my bottom. I'm a boy."

Storytellers.

to be continued...

March Madness

 Last weekend we went up to watch The Boys' baseball games. Drew and Cole are watching Carson play and Drew is concentrating very hard on the game. After the games, Drew and Cade went home and put on a Justin Bieber concert with several encores.

Saturday, Drew and I met Wendy and Meghan at the OC Parenting Jamboree in Irvine. The girls had a blast riding the swings, getting their faces painted like bunnies, and dancing to an awesome local kids' band called Whiplash.

 

Someone fancies herself a fashionista.

Just your regular, hanging out at the house, ballgown with accessories.

She wears sunglasses at night. While eating carrots and corndogs.

Taking a casual trip to Target with her purse, Snow White shoes, navy leggings and denim jacket. The purse was a must. Why, you ask? Her nightlight was in it, "in case the store got dark."

"I'm Alice." (in Wonderland, the Tim Burton version)



Happenings

Drew and "Baby" Lauren at the SuperBowl watch party, not watching anything but the Black-Eyed Peas

Snuggle time with Daddy.

 Happy Valentine's Day Papa!

We've started a Chore Chart for Drew and she is fully embracing it. She unloads the silverware, feeds Nikki, helps put clothes away, sets the table, helps make her bed (rarely) and other miscellaneous helpful items.

Hidden talent? Probably not.

I've been noticing lately that when Drew dances, she glides backward along the wood floor and jumps like she's been doing double axels all her life. So we decided to test out that theory and go to the Ice Palace in Aliso Viejo. The bad news is that she has no one to emulate in our family. None of us can skate. The good news is that it seems 95% of the population at Ice Palace cannot skate either. However I would like a small amount of credit for "skating" backwards while handling the Flip.

Singing is probably a better matchup:

"Where are you Christmas" by Faith Hill

The Dan Band in Danaheim

For our Valentine's Day date we saw The Dan Band at The Grove in Anaheim. If you've ever seen The Hangover, Old School or Starsky and Hutch, you've seen The Dan Band. We had a great time, laughed through the whole concert and highly recommend it to anyone who liked their appearances in those movies. The highlights are below, from other performances via YouTube: Beyonce and Wilson Phillips.

Parent-Teacher Conference

We met with Miss Ursula Monday to talk about Drew's progress and we had a fun time swapping stories about our little lady.

Miss Ursula told us about one day when Drew's friend, Kate, was crying and crying and none of the teachers could find out what was wrong. Seeing her friend upset, from across the playground no less, Drew came over to see what the fuss was all about. Realizing there was a communication disconnect, Drew looked over to Kate and said, in a slightly louder voice, "KATE, MISS URSIE WANTS TO KNOW WHAT IS WRONG. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND MOVE YOUR LIPS AND THE WORDS WILL COME OUT."

Last week during circle time, Miss Ursula told the class the reason she was absent for a day was because her grandmother was sick (and had passed) and she was feeling a little sad. Drew raised her hand and said "Miss Ursie, be strong and never give up." Jeremy and I chuckled (with a tear in my eye) and joked how the message may have been a little mixed up but how her heart was in the right place. And Miss Ursula said it was exactly what she needed to hear that day.

She is known to her teachers as The Assistant. She will repeat any commands the teachers have given if she thinks other students are not listening. Miss Ursula put a nice spin on it but The Assistant also could be a short leap to Miss Bossy. She has been known to reinforce the rules physically on the playground, if necessary.

Miss Ursula said she has a very strong Christian character, stands up for her friends and herself when she thinks she is being wronged, and is always very concerned about her friends. We're so proud of our little girl.