Does this end?

The lack of communication between myself and my daughter?



Me: Hi Honey, how was school today?



J: Fine



Me: What did you do today?



J: I don't know (followed by shrug)



Me: Did you sing?



J: Yes.



Me: Can you teach me a song?



J: N0, not without my teacher.



I hear this doesn't change as she gets older. Great.



On a lighter note, I think I found my new exercise video.



And you thought Sweatin to the Oldies was bad....



Happy Labor Day!

First Day of School

Yesterday was Jaina's first day of school.

The only one who was not excited was Mom. See... Dad's excited (Yes, this IS his excited face)...

Jaina was excited (Not her most convincing excited fact :).....

Mom was anxious, and not at all excited....

It seems too soon. It seems I was just cradling her, watching diving on the Olympics, and wondering if I would ever sleep again. Oh wait, that was four years ago....

And it started to show. On Sunday, for some strange reason, I could NOT stop tearing up. I would look at her, and cry. Mike would try to console me, and I'd cry. I came up with every reason in the book (because I just KNOW that she is going to get lost wandering around the school, and then some creepy person will come snag her,) to determine why she shouldn't go.

Jaina would hug me, and say "It's okay, Mom, I won't let you down." I cried harder.

But, once I tucked Jaina into bed, that is when I had to pull myself together. If for no other reason, I had started to scare her. Suddenly, she felt she was too little to go to pre-school, what if kids were mean to her? What if she got left when the daycare bus took off? And what about that dreaded red light?

I had to stop myself right there. Erica, you have got to pull yourself together.

So preshool, here we come...

After walking to school with one of her best buddies, we realized that Mrs. P had already decorated her locker to celebrate Jaina's birthday! What fun!

And to add to it, we brought treats!

How could pre-school be so bad?

And once I saw the lines (Mike had consoled me by indicating that pre-schoolers NEVER go anywhere alone, and always in a line), I took a deep breath, kissed Jaina good bye, glanced one more time down the hall. And left. And then I went shopping.

So, all in all, it was a good day. :)

My baby is four......

I have exited Toddlerhood.....

Which means I will have to change the description on my blog. Bummer.

Jaina turned the big 0-4 this weekend. And she won't hesitate to tell you about a moment of it.

For months, all we have been talking about is when she turns four, she will get to play on the computer at Kid's Club, she will be able to go to school, and in general, will be a big girl.

So, of course, she partied like a rockstar.

On Saturday, she had her birthday party with the family. Grandma & Grandpa Willer, Grandma & Grandpa Groen, Auntie Sara, Uncle Justin, Baby Leo (who is turning into a little boy more all the time) Auntie Mindy, and Auntie Jodi were all there to celebrate the big event. (Unfortunately, in the world of medicine, someone always has to be on call. This weekend, it happened to be Auntie Alayna, or else she & Uncle Chris would have been there too.)

First..... Grandma Judy & I made the cake.....

Then.... Mommy got creative with some cupcakes......

And then, it was party time!

We did the cake first. (because, in NW Iowa, when it doubt about what to do, you eat. Although I don't think that is limited to NW Iowa. :))

We sang..........

And she blew out the candles...... and blew....... and blew........ :)

And then the presents. Jaina made a HAUL. Good thing I went through some old toys last week, because we needed to make some room.

She got a truck from Auntie Sara (for more on this story, click here)

Barbies and game from Aunties Mindy & Jodi......

And a dolly and cradle from Grandma & Grandpa Willer......

A CD player from Grandma & Grandpa Groen....

And games from Mom & Dad!

Whew! We should be set for a while.

Happy Birthday Baby, I can't wait to see what this year will bring....