Sylvia had the great pleasure of taking a trip to Texas to visit Granny and Grandad all by herself over labor day weekend. Granny flew up to pick her up, and for most of a week, she enjoyed some solo time with her grandparents and Aunt Melanie.
As part of her visit, Sylv got to go to a real Texas boot and clothing store, and she got decked out!
There’s my girl, sporting her new duds.
Happy Sylv with her Aunt Mel.
There’s my girl riding Ginger. Giddy up!
Sylv got to bring home some new leotards…happy girl!
All ready to head back home…
Granny brought Sylvie back home too! Here they are at the airport!
Cowgirl Sylvie’s rounding up some orange critters at the airport.
It was so fun to watch Sylv come down the escalator after not seeing her for a week. That girl is fun to be around! Andrew was happy to have his sister back too.
Thanks Granny and Grandad for giving us a week-long break! It feels so good to know that Andrew and Sylvia get to spend time with you. It’s hugely enjoyed by all!
Sylvia started preschool at Monona Grove Nursery School this month. She is L.O.V.I.N.G. it!
She’s been tagging along as we took Andrew to preschool since she was six months old. For the last couple years, she’s been longing to be allowed to play in the big preschool rooms, and now, at long last, it’s her turn.
Sylvia is in Jodi and Sue’s classroom. She’s worn this Minnie Mouse costume every day.
Here she is playing with Sue.Sylvie goes to ballet and tap class on Tuesdays, to Donna’s house all day on Wednesdays, and then to preschool on Thursday and Friday mornings. It’s a nice schedule, and I’m loving the new structure our weeks contain.
Here’s a quick video of Sylvia on her way to preschool for her first day of Lunch Bunch. Such a cutie. She’s loving life these days:)
Sylvia had a solo visit to Texas with Granny and Grandad over Labor Day weekend. Boy, oh, boy did she have fun! While she was enjoying some one-on-one time with her grandparents, we decided to take Andrew on an overnight canoeing trip – something we don’t yet feel would be wise with Miss Sylv.
We packed up on Sunday and headed west from Madison. Bryan’s friends loaned us their canoe. We left the canoe at Tom’s place in Lone Rock, and then we shuttled the van downsteam to Blue River and left it at the Blue River bridge. We drove the other car back up to Tom’s, and put in to the lovely Wisconsin River in the mid-afternoon.
It’s so beautiful out there. So peaceful and gentle and serene. I ♥ the Wisconsin River!!
Andrew sat in the middle of the canoe on a milk crate, and he read Charlotte’s Web or helped paddle or snacked or chatted with us. A couple hours later, we found a nice sand bar and stopped for the night.
Andrew helped us gather up kindling for our fire, set up the tent, and get our food all ready.
He also ran races with himself up and down the sandbar to that clump of willows below.
The sunset was so beautiful!
Photo by Andrew:)
Here’s the three of us. Love.
Bryan got a good fire going, and he cooked up hamburgers.
This fire made some of the best marshmallow-roasting coals I’ve experienced in many-a-year. We sat up late together and watched the fire until it went out. Then we all snuggled in to the 2.5 person tent for a good night’s sleep. At least, Andrew and I slept well:)
The next day, we loaded up and headed back down the river. We played lots of “In my father’s grocery store” and “I’m going on a picnic and I’m going to bring…” games. We sang a little and snacked. Mid-morning, we stopped at this sandbar for a little running, cartwheeling, and snacking.
Is there a prettier landscape in all the world?
There’s the boys with the canoe!
Happy kid!
Andrew finished Charlotte’s Web in the mid-afternoon. We’d planned the trip to take us until about 1:30pm. And sure enough, at 1:30pm, we got to the Blue River bridge. But there wasn’t a parking area where we thought there should be. Confused, we decided to press on, hoping that there was a second (??) Blue River bridge just around the next corner. Three hours of heavy paddling later, we made it to the next boat landing in Boscobel. It turns out that there’s a big island in the middle of the Blue River bridge. We were only seeing one span, and what we thought was the shore was the island.
So we’d paddling an extra 12 miles or so to a place where our car was not. Fortunately, a nice retired police officer drove Bryan back to our van in Blue River while Andrew and I waited at the canoe. It ended up being a four-hour detour, but it all ended up just fine.
We got home around dark…tired and feeling good. Can’t wait for more adventures like these with my family!
<Click on the map below for a bigger view of the route we paddled.>
On Labor Day weekend, Andrew had his first sleep over. He and Alivia had been talking about it for ages, and at last it seemed like the right time.
It was fun to have our Alivia girl over for supper. Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows.
I love her look in this picture!
These kids have become expert pepper harvesters. I planted six pepper seedlings this spring, and they’ve produced well. Bryan’s made pepper jelly and hot pepper sauce, and the freezer is full of more to process!
I think they’ve only eaten one or two. They’re not too hot, but I think they have fun daring each other to test the spiciness!
The next morning, I had to get a picture of these two buddies.
I have no idea what they are doing in these photos.
So glad that we have friends like these just down the street. Andrew and Alivia have know each other their whole lives. Well, at least Andrew’s whole life. He’s a year younger.Petitions have been put in for sleepover #2. Since the first went so well, I think we’ll be happy to oblige, but I’ve indicated my preference for no more than one per month:) They are counting the days until October.
Hard to believe that we have sleep-over aged kids!
Andrew and Sylvia can be so sweet together. I just love those kiddos so much! Have I mentioned recently how cute they are together? Oh, they are:)
Andrew is such a kind and loving big brother.
Many days when Andrew is walking home from school, Sylvia will run down the street toward him, her arms spread wide. And Andrew then runs toward her, his arms spread wide. They meet half-way down the block in a big sibling embrace. Reminds me of the scene from the Muppet Movie where Kermit and Miss Piggy are running toward each other through a flower-strewn meadow. Makes my heart spark and pulse with happiness.
In and amidst the sibling squabbles, there’s so much love and fun between these two. Sometimes when they’re watching a movie and Andrew is feeling a bit worried, Sylvia bravely states, “Don’t worry, Andrew, I’ll protect you.” And of course, he does the same for her.
Sometimes the two of them get laughing about something (often a bare bootie or a “sweet potato” as we oft refer to them), and they roll on the floor together, cackling and laughing so hard they can’t breathe.
They play games where Andrew is the villain and Sylvia is the girl baby or Andrew is the pirate and Sylvia is the pirate baby. Or Andrew is a caped superhero and Sylvia is a tiny “born baby.” See a theme? gaa gaa
Sylv enjoys having time at home by herself. Franky, I think she relishes the solo time. However, nothing beats having a cool brother to come home at the end of the day to play with her.
I’m so glad these two have each other. Love you, kiddos!
On a beautiful evening in late August, we took the kids to Tenney Park. Our first stop was to New Orleans Take Out to get shrimp po’boys. We ate them on a picnic table and then took a walk out on the pier. That combo has been a Babler summer evening tradition for decades. And the warm light of the sunset was so beautiful on my boy as he froliced on the rocks.
Sun drenched, with blond hair and bronzed skin…it was a great summer!
Sylvia loves her dance classes. She’s always excited to go. Many costume changes ensue. On this, her last day of summer ballet class, she ended up going with non-dance clothes. Ahh well! That’s what happens when you change 6-7 times before 10am.
Sylvie’s dance instructor at the Y is Ari. She’s wonderful:)
Stretching out…
Love all the tutus!
On the last day of the session, parents come in to watch. It’s so fun to see how the different kids handle the audience.
Ari gives the kids some direction, and then it gives me a big smile to see how the kids apply those directions to their own movements.
Love the sweet expression on this little one:)
Sylv is thinking with her tongue here. Just like her mama.
And reach!
Awe…
They’re all so earnest! It’s adorable.
I love Sylv’s long limbs.
This one might be my favorite picture of the session. Graceful teacher, practicing student.
Big steps!
Gazelle-like leap over the beanbag.
Jumping!
Some free dance at the end. I love this sequence of Sylv coming around and then jumping.I was planning to have Sylvie take a dancing break this fall, but she wants to be signed up, so we’re doing tap (and maybe ballet again) at the YMCA-NE on Tuesdays. I think she’ll have fun!
The time has come (the walrus said) to talk of snacks and things…
Sylvia’s preschool is selling some great reusable snack bags as a school fundraiser. I first learned about Snack Taxi bags a few years ago at a play date. The kids had been racing around the playground for a while when my friend Laura pulled some cute grape-filled bags out of her purse and handed them to her hot kids. I hadn’t been so prepared, and thankfully, her kids were willing to share with mine. Laura said the bags were machine washable and worked great – the nylon interior is easily cleaned…so I went home and ordered a few of my own. Since then, I’ve been steadily increasing our stash. I love ‘em!
I can’t begin to count the number of times we use these bags when we leave the house with a bag of crackers or nuts or carrots or grapes. It feels good to not be throwing plastic baggies into the trash each day, and I think it sets a good standard for Andrew and Sylvia about not using disposable items – Reuse! Plus, all materials are lead, phthalate and BPA free, and SnackTaxi is a mom-run business.
The Dotzour family currently owns two sandwich-size bags, four snack-size bags, and a cute napkin. I think we need to double that amount since Andrew takes a lunch three days a week and Sylvie is taking a lunch to school a couple days a week, so our rinsed-out bags don’t have time to dry before they are needed again. Now, the question is…which patterns to buy (that organic fruit pattern is one)!
Monona Grove Nursery School receives 40% of the proceeds from these sales, so you can place a big order, knowing that nearly half of it is going to support the creative, fun, and nurturing work of Sylvie’s lovely school.
To order, click on this Snack Taxi link that will take you directory to the school’s fundraising page. You might also note “Monona Grove Nursery School fundraiser” in the comments box when you place your order just to confirm. Your order is shipped directly to you. The sale is open through September 30, so don’t delay. Thanks so much, and feel free to message me (adotzour@gmail.com) if you have any questions. Cheers!
Andrew and Olivia were at Monona Grove Nursery School together for two years. Here’s Olivia in 2008. What a curly-headed heart-breaker she was!
Here’s Olivia now in 2011. Love her energy!
Three kids on a hammock.
Hailey and Syliva will be in the same preschool class together this fall, and they’ve been in the same Toddler Time class at Monona Grove for the last couple years.
In practice, getting the kids to swimming lessons is often more complicated than it seems in my mind. I imagine warm days of flipflops and swim suits…parking my car at Jessica’s and walking down to the pool together amidst a gaggle of happy kids. Somehow, it seems that at least one kid is mad or hurt or doesn’t want to go or wants to be carried. In my mind, the green trees and flowers sway in the wind as our pool bags sway in our hands. We walk and catch up and breathe in the summer. In practice, this often means suppressing eye rolls as one or more child bemoans an injustice or dawdles far behind or has a scraped knee.
We’re often late, and it’s usually not as easy as I imagine, but still, going to swimming lessons is one of my very favorite parts of the whole year. I L.O.V.E. love it. And when I’m not soothing or threatening or cajoling or comforting or consequencing we’re all smiles.
Post-swim, the kids like some “toaster time” while wrapped in their towels. They’re both getting so comfortable in the water.
Thanks, Joe, for these pictures of my kids and me. I love ‘em.
On the way to the locker room, the kids are spreading out on the ground to bask.
Here’s a couple pictures of Andrew by Joe. Silly guy!
