Clara With an Exclamation Point

Clara lately has taken to signing her name with hearts and an exclamation point. If she's still signing checks like this as an adult, I won't be surprised at all. 

She's exasperating, lovable, and full of mischief and silliness, and while she's hard to parent now, more than one friend has pointed out that what makes her a challenging child today just means that she will someday be an awesome adult. As we chug along on the road to get there, we can't help but marvel at her independence, determination, stubbornness, and willingness to try anything, anytime.

This year she tackled her first dance recital, gamely hit baseballs and trotted around bases, spent hours crawling in the dirt looking for ladybugs, bravely dove into the swimming pool for her very first swim meet without a backward glance, plugged away at learning to read, and made friendships wherever she went, collecting girls in her posse at swim practice, on the baseball field, and at preschool. 

She's five, but often seems like she's fifteen, and it's hard to believe that she just finished preschool, and has many, many more adventures ahead. While she's been sent to timeout more this last year than anyone else in the house, she's the one we worry about the least -- our fierce middle child who is completely unafraid. Her exclamation point life will never be boring!

Rocking the 4th Percent

Our littlest monkey is definitely our most petite, and sometimes looks downright emaciated. I can count Molly's ribs despite the fact that I know her diet is rich in lots of whole milk, "silly-ami" (salami) and guaca-molly. Really, could she be eating more fattening foods? Luckily, her doctor seemed unfazed at her 3 year checkup this week, and decided that she's simply a small girl who will likely always be on the short -- and sassy -- end of the spectrum.

Her stats:

Height: 34 3/4 inches (4th percentile)

Weight: 27 pounds (13th percentile)

No trip to the doctor would be complete without trepidation over getting shots, and hiding behind a garbage can in the corner of the exam room.

 

Luckily, no shots were on the docket! Phew!

 

Molly and Her Dollys

In so many ways, Molly is a different kind of girl than her big sister. Clara at three was into pirates, superheroes, and being devious... Molly is majorly into the care and keeping of dolls. We can rarely leave for an errand or hop into the car for a school run without bringing along a little friend... or two or three.

She always enlists Clara to play with her, and ends up paying the price by being drafted to play Daddy, but she's always happy as long as she's tending to her little people. In her nursery now she has Polka Dot Baby, Blue-Eyed Baby, Icy, and Brown-Eyed Baby, in addition to lots of Disney Princess toddlers and babies.

I love that her interest in dolls -- and her tenderness with them -- is wearing off on her big sister! It gives me hope that one day our grandbabies will be fed, nurtured and cared for, instead of abandoned at the bottom of a toybox!

Caught on Camera

These boys can't get enough of baseball, especially when they get seats above the dugout at an A's game! A photographer for the A's -- who happens to be a St. Ignatius grad like Tim-- grabbed these shots of Joey, Tim, and father and son buddies Rudy and Isaiah. Go Oakland!

Small But Mighty

We have a new little gymnast in the family. She just joined a three year-old tumbling class that occurs at the exact same time as her sister's class (can you hear the angels singing, or is that just me?).  No need to get super excited, I'm not quite kid-free... Joey comes along for the ride now, and gets to observe both girls doing their thing in the gym. We usually bring his weekly homework, which is due the next day, but we still have time to giggle, point at, and beam at our little girls. The consummate big brother, he shines at the gym, giving them pep talks, praising them, and delivering high fives at the end. 

Maybe it's Joey, or maybe it's having her big sister around as well, but this is the first time that Molly has fully embraced a new activity from the get-go. She bounded right up to her new teacher without a moment of shyness or hesitation. She's the smallest in her class (by far), but is game and ready to conquer anything on that gym floor, even huge blocks that are almost as big as she is!

All About April... and May

Is it just us? Or are the wheels starting to fall off in every house across the country, as spring hits, the end of the school year approaches, bed times get later and later, and moms and dads get more and more tired?

We're suffering from an acute condition here called The Dark Time When Swim Season Collides with Baseball Season. While I love the smell of chlorine, and am happily stocking up on new swim towels, sunblock and goggles, there really should be some law protecting parents from the double whammy of carting kids and gear to the baseball field AND the pool in the same day.

We're making the best of our crazy schedule, though, with lots (and lots) of picnic lunches at the pool and picnic dinners at the ball field. These days, my stroller is being called into service more for toting coolers and toys to the ball field, than actually providing transportation for a small child. With Tim and Joey getting hot and dusty on the baseball diamond, we're cooling off at night with frozen yogurt or ice cream, or heading to the pool (once again) for late-night dips. And we're treasuring our down time at home, breaking out the sprinkler toys and the baby pool.

Without further ado, here's life in a nutshell right now:

 

Three Year-Old in the House!

We can hardly believe it, but this sweet tiny girl...

...has suddenly morphed into a brand-new three year-old!

She might be destined to spend many birthdays at the ball field. She took it in stride this year, and loved being the center of attention after her baseball boys won their first playoff game, and then serenaded her with "Happy Birthday" and shared in some baseball cupcakes.  Something tells me that this might be a fun tradition to carry on through her teen years ;)

Thanks to Grandma Cecchin for joining us for the game and the birthday fun. Molly can't wait for the real party this weekend with all her friends and family!

Splash Ball

Do we need yet another sport in this house? Definitely not, but we couldn't say no to the opportunity for Joey to get his first taste of water polo, coached by the father of one of his baseball teammates. The ultimate "aquajock," Coach Jeff talked us into letting Joey combine his baseball arm and his swim skills in the pool every Sunday evening. We haven't seen Joey this excited about a sport since Tim first put a bat in his hands!

Joey fired a ball into the net from halfway across the pool at his second practice, and Coach Jeff couldn't help telling us, "I told you so!"

Now if only I could stop referring to that headgear as a cute little bonnet...

Moraga Wall of Fame

You know you're big time in Moraga when you make it on The Wall of Photos next to the Slurpee machine at 7-Eleven! Congrats, Joey and Rylen!