A week in the life of Lexie is a pretty busy week.
Let's start with last Friday - school picture day!
This first picture was the only time I could get her to smile with her mouth open.
This is a sweet look but as you can see - no teeth.
Even outside still no big toothy smile which is normal for her. I asked her on the way to school why she wouldn't smile big and she said that I told her not to smile like she did last year. That was when she was going through this stage of big, over the top almost a grimace smiles. That's what I get for bringing it up. I can't imagine what she did for the pictures at school. I can hardly wait for her to bring the big envelope home!
Lexie has been bugging me for a year to take piano lessons and a friend of mine Joanna teaches over 70 students from her home. Joanna agreed to take Lexie on even though she'll be her youngest student at 4. She has a couple of 5 & 6 year olds but most are older. So this was her third lesson.
Doesn't she look like she knows what she's doing? I don't have a piano so she plays on a little keyboard at home so she is very excited to sit at the piano for her lessons. It's tough on my work schedule since I pick her up at 3pm on Friday for a 3:30 lesson. But Lexie is really excited and actually practices almost every night. Besides I figure it's better than soccer where I'd have to take her to practices and games. I'm sure that will come soon enough.
The weekends I try really hard not to work or at least not to meet with clients and as a Realtor that is not easy. Sometimes I just can't help it but since I'm working more with investors and commercial properties it makes it a little easier. We call weekends Mommy & Lexie days and we both really look forward to them. Last weekend I received her Halloween costume in the mail (and no I'm not saying what she's going to be) and I had ordered this fairy costume as well since it was on sale for $7. Lexie is going through a Tinker Bell phase so this made her so happy.
The wings came off quickly but she danced in her fairy costume for a couple of hours while I got some housework done.
Then she had to change outfits because she wanted to dance like the girls in the video.
She take is all very seriously. Anyway, it was a quite weekend and we both enjoyed it very much because Monday was pumpkin patch day at her pre-school. I couldn't let my baby girl go on a big adventure without me so I volunteered to chaperon Lexie, her class of 24 and the other pre-school class of about 20 plus a few siblings along with a few other parents. Lexie was very excited to ride the giant bus (it was travel coach not a school bus) and away we went.
We went to a different farm than last year as those owners were in their 80s and decided they just couldn't handle 100+ 3-7 year olds (the kindergarten & elementary kids also came in another bus.) Who can blame them? This was a very nice farm but I don't think they got the memo that this young of kids would rather just run around and explore than to have a tour. So as soon as we got off the bus they tried to herd them all into the barn to sit down and listen to a story about how pumpkins grow.
Really....and this was more like reading from an encyclopedia than anything these kids would be interested in. But you've got to love Montessori kids because they did sit quietly while she read.
But as soon as she was done they were off like a shot. Lexie was at the front of the line to jump into a pile of hay....
Farmer Alica, our tour guide, was trying to let only 2 kids in at a time so it took the others forever to get their chance. Lexie and I were rebels and went to explore the farm on our own for a while. They had these cool heavy duty trikes set up in a racing pen.
We then visited with the lamas
But then the class caught up to us with Farmer Alica. Why she needed a bull horn when the kids were right there none of us could figure out. Maybe she was talking to the lama?
Then we saw the eggs at the chicken coop, a 32 year old pony and a couple of lambs.
Then it was off to climb the hay mountain,
we walked through the you pick em' gardens (I think Lexie was hunger so she was trying to eat it rather than smell it,)
then the corn maze. Sadly we still had Farmer Alica with us and she had to guide us to the first marker and told us we had to go back. We weren't in there 5 minutes and even the littlest kids knew how to turn around and walk back the same way they came.
And finally, what we all came for.....the pumpkin patch! Of course they were told they couldn't pick any pumpkin bigger than 6 inches (again remember your audience Farmer Alicia.)
Lexie took the search for the perfect pumpkin very seriously.
And her search paid off. The perfect pumpkin - even if it was a little bigger than regulation. The kids where finally allowed to do there own thing so of course they hit the hay maze...
And no worries. No one was lost in the maze.
The kids really did have fun and only the parents and teachers did any eye rolling. But even that was entertaining. So that was Lexie's Monday.
Tuesday Lexie came to my weekly office meeting to talk my co-workers into sponsoring her for the Mini-March for Cystic Fibrosis. Her pitch was "Would you please sponsor me for the Mini-March. I will march for the kids that can't march for themselves." She was a little shy at first but everyone has known her since she first came home so they of course dug into their pockets and she collected quit a bit. After school I picked her up and we had to stop at the store on the way home. She went to try to open the car door and when she couldn't open it she said "dammit." Excuse me?!! That was the first cuss word I've heard from her mouth and I know she didn't hear it from me. I asked her where she heard it but got so upset because she could tell I was not happy that she just wouldn't say. I'm sure one of the kids on the play ground said it. I guess that's what happens when she goes to school. I just thought I wouldn't be dealing with this until at least kindergarten.
On to Wed which is her dance class morning. She's back for her 4th year of class and yes she's only 4 years old. She was about 18 months when we took Mommy & Me dance class. I wouldn't count it except she actually did the recital by herself even though we only had about 4 months of class.
I can't believe how big she's getting!
Thursday she had yoga in the morning and a fireman came to talk to them in the afternoon. Did you know if there is a fire you should run away, then stop, stomp and roll? I think she missed a few points but I'm glad they are talking about it in school. And Mommy actually got a full day of work in.
Then today, Friday, she had the Mini-March at school. Here's my little marcher getting ready to do her part by practicing her marching.
They had all the kids at school march together so they could go through all three classes then out the hall down the ramp and up the steps back into the classes. Each time they did a lap they would get a mark on the paper pined to their back. Here she is ready to GO!!
I had to go work (I do that every once in a while) but came back to see how she was doing. Here she is with one of the big kid partners. She told me she liked walking with them because they were faster.
She would barely slow down to get her mark as she passed the check point.
Now she did stop at the all important snack & rest table.
But not for long. She was all about marching for the kids that needed her help.
And I'm proud to say when I picked her up for her piano lesson her teacher told me she did 186 laps!!! The most for her class and the second most for the school! That's my girl!!I see track meets in my future. I couldn't be more proud of her for trying so hard and understanding why she was doing it.
So that is a week in the life of Lexie.
I can hardly wait to see what next week will bring!
