Camp Show

The big day, at last!  Julia has been eagerly anticipating today's "show" at camp, a performance of three songs by the campers for all parents and/or baby-sitters to watch.  Given that one of Julia's Gallop Time reveries is imagining herself performing on stage with her friends, this camp show was pretty much a dream come true for her.  She was so excited about it that she decided to act out "My Little Pony: Camp Show" with Madeleine this morning, lining up all the ponies and having them sing the variety of songs she has learned at camp.  And, of course, being the fashionista she is, Julia has had her whole outfit - shoes and hair accessories included - picked out all week long.  After coming downstairs, fully dressed, with a triumphantly proud smile on her face this morning, she asked me, "Mom, am I going to be SPARKLE GIRL at camp today!?" 
"I guess so!" I responded enthusiastically, causing her to get a dreamy, far-off look on her face, envisioning the big performance.  "Will you just be sitting there ACKMIRING me?" she asked solicitously.  I assured her that I would be ackmiring nobody else but her and that she would be the star of the show in my eyes.

Here are some pictures of Sparkle Girl at home:

"SPARKLE GIRL TO THE RESCUE!!!"

Madeleine was not quite so ambitious in her choice of attire, though her look was certainly the more daring one, seeing as she stubbornly refused to put on anything but her underwear after disrobing to poop on the potty:

"UNDERWEAR GIRL TO THE RESCUE!!!"

Thankfully, she had enough social consciousness to opt for actual clothes once it was actually time to leave the house, so she held her own, fashion-wise, in the audience:

Julia was truly a sparkling little gem up on stage, even providing me with a parallel to the "SPARKLE GIRL TO THE RESCUE!!!" picture, as the kids shouted "Hooray" during their second song, "If You're Happy and You Know It."

Bravo, Sparkle Girl!  I was *definitely* ackmiring her as I watched the performance. 

The camp show was not all Julia had to be proud of today.  Only halfway through the summer swim program, she successfully completed Level 1 and got bumped up to Level 2!:

What an exciting day!  I hope Julia is still basking in the post-concert glow after her long-awaited camp show.  I loved watching Sparkle Girl up on stage singing with her friends, although in my opinion, the show would have been EVEN BETTER if the kids had done a cover of The Goldens "Take Your No Ways," or perhaps Madeleine's "Strawberrah Shortceck, she got at, secrets, she got aaaat!"  Luckily, I have both composers here at home with me to sing their original tunes for me anytime I want!

Quotes Worth Posting

The girls bid me goodnight in their own signature ways last night (my apologies to those who already read these quotes on facebook):

JULIA: Mom, you're the light of my love and the love of my life, and I would never want any other mommy.
ME: Oh, well you're the light of MY life!  And I would never want any other family besides Daddy, you and Madeleine.  I'm so happy you're my daughter.
JULIA: (lovingly) And Mama, I think Courtney is a BEAUTIFUL name.

I think that's even sweeter than her thinking my pimples are beautiful.

MADELEINE: (eyes fluttering closed, then open again, eyeballs rolling back as eyelids flutter closed, then eyelids fluttering open again.)
ME: (snuggled up against her) Shhhh.  It's okay.  Go to sleep.
MADELEINE: (eyes suddenly snapping open) Mom! STOP DOING THAT!
ME: Stop doing what?
MADELEINE: Stop doing THAT THING!
ME: What thing?
MADELEINE: THAT THING!
ME: What thing am I doing?
MADELEINE: Stop DOING THAT!
ME: What am I doing?
MADELEINE: THAAAAAAT THING!
ME: I'm not doing anything.
MADELEINE: Stop chewing my HAIR!
ME: I'm not chewing your hair, honey.
MADELEINE: Someone's chewing my HAAAAIR!
ME: Nobody's chewing your hair honey.  Shhhh.
MADELEINE: No, I hear someone CHEWING MY HAIR!  (eyelids beginning to flutter, then droop closed.)
ME: (kissing her cheek) I love you.
MADELEINE: (completely still, totally conked.)

Her sign-off to her dad and sister was a little less hallucinatory, although not particularly loving either.  As Julia and Ethan came in to say goodnight, just as I was settling in for Madeleine's pre-sleep snuggles, we wound up in a four person pile on the bed, all giving Madeleine kisses on her cheeks.

MADELEINE: But WHY are there so many NOSES?

Whoops.  Sorry.  Okay, we'll back off.

Meanwhile, on to other blog-worthy quotes.  It seems we have finally turned the corner in terms of Madeleine's sheer and utter terror of Auntie Shannon's teacup chihuahua, Clara.  On every recent occasion, upon discussing Clara, Madeleine and I wind up having this exchange:

ME: But do you like Clara, Madeleine?
MADELEINE: Um... NO.

Yesterday, as Julia made pretend phone calls to her Aunties to tell them she misses them and wants them to come visit, Madeleine decided to pipe up with a comment about Clara peeing on our rug during Easter weekend, an incident about which Madeleine loves to perseverate.

MADELEINE: But... Auntie Shannon said "NO, NO PEE ON THE PAPER TOWEL!" to Clara.
ME: That's right, she did.  But Madeleine, do you like Clara?
MADELEINE: Um... YES.  But... NOT MUCH.  Not ALL of her.

Now I've gotta say, that shows progress.

Julia, meanwhile, has regressed a bit and is once again fearful of her old nemesis, the thunderstorm.  We had a slew of severe thunderstorms hit our area yesterday, beginning while Julia was at camp, and continuing into early evening.  While I cooked dinner, a tremendously loud clap of thunder shook the house, causing Julia to spontaneously burst into terrified tears.  As I sat trying to explain to her that we were safe in our house, and that furthermore, thunder is just a sound that's produced when hot and cold air currents collide, she whimpered, "But Mama, I thought thunder can, like, EXPLODE your house apart!"

Well, I guess I can't expect her to abandon ALL her fears overnight.  Hopefully, however, she won't revert to full-out refusal to leave the house any time there are the merest of gray clouds overhead.  Maybe I can teach her to like thunderstorms, but NOT MUCH.  Just not ALL of them.

Magnetic Dolls

Madeleine was graciously allowed access to all of Julia's magnetic dress-up dolls today, and she has hardly moved from her spot on the dining room floor, surrounded by various magnet outfits.  Just like her sister, Madeleine's pretend play with the dolls involves frequent, spontaneous bursts into song, some of which I managed to get on video:



I'm wondering if "deeters" could possibly be "tweezers"?!?

At the moment, two of the dolls, Princess Courtney and Emma, appear to be preparing for hibernation.

PRINCESS COURTNEY: Oh no!  We forBOT our underwear!  Oh, we got our underwear.  There it is.
EMMA: Oh, it's time to go to sleep.  Let's lay on our tummies!
MADELEINE: (singing): Oh, it's spring tahm, it's spring tahm, oh yeah, spring tahm!
PRINCESS COURTNEY: It's spring time, it's spring time!  Time to get up!
MADELEINE: Uh, Mom?  I think they're getting ready for the BALL.  (Singing) Dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun, one two three four five six seven, dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun, SHOOOOOW MEEEE, SHOW ME-HEE-HEE, SHOOOOOOW MEEEEE, SHOW ME-HEE-HEE.

I'm glad they're so excited to show each other their ball gowns, but I'm also hoping there will be a lot of good food at the ball, because I bet Princess Courtney and Emma are pretty hungry following their long winter nap.

While Julia seemed perfectly willing to share her magnetic dolls with her sister this morning, there was obviously something she didn't want Madeleine getting her hands on last night.  Since I was at band rehearsal, I missed out on whatever play they were doing before bed, but when I woke up this morning I found a note, in Julia's handwriting, on the living room floor:

I feel pretty sorry for that poor, solitary "K" on the second line.  I bet he's pretty lonely down there all by himself.  Too bad he doesn't have any deeters to help him if he's stuck in the sharp.

Julia's Musings

Since Session Two of swim lessons is underway, Julia is getting to know the new kids who are in her class this session.  One of the girls who joined this session is CLEARLY much older than the other kids in the Level 1 group; not only is she at least a foot taller than the other younger kids, but her developing chest suggests she's at a whole different stage of life than five-year-olds.  However, Julia did not seem to notice the dichotomy in the least, simply assuming classes are structured by age rather than ability.

ME: Julia, do you know why there's a girl in your swim class who's so much older than you?  Did she just never learn to swim?
JULIA: Uh, no Mama, I think she's just TALL.
ME: But she looks like she's a lot older than the other kids.
JULIA: Well, maybe she might be SIX... maybe you can be in Level 1 if you're five OR six.
ME: Oh, okay.  I just thought she looked older.
JULIA: Well, Mama, I think she's five like me but she's just TALL.

Luckily, the whole situation was clarified today; apparently during swim class, teacher and kids alike divulged their ages.  Julia announced to me as we piled into the car after her lesson: "So, Mama!  That tall girl in my swim lessons said she's ELEVEN!"  Yeah, that sounds more like it.

I think she must have had ages on the brain, because as we were getting ready to drive home, Julia suddenly announced to me, "Mom, do you know why I think it would be fun to be a teenager?  Because your skin is soft like when you're a little kid, but then when you get to be a grown-up you have, like, wrinkles and stuff."

While I am thrilled that she is treasuring her childhood rather than aching to be an adult too quickly, I am not sure how I feel about being an old, wrinkled grown-up in her eyes.

I wonder if she imagines herself to be a teenager when she rocks out singing her Goldens songs.  Here's her newest composition, "Day of the Dates":




I have literally had this in my head for the past 12 hours. DAAAAAY! Day of the Dates! What do ya think of an HONOR!

Balloons and more balloons

When Julia came into my bedroom this morning at 7:03, I asked her to kindly let me stay in bed until 7:15.  After some initial resistance, she grudgingly accepted the idea and took to coloring in order to entertain herself.  As I lay in bed, slowly waking up, I heard a peep from Madeleine's room and commented to Julia that her sister was awake.  Always a rule-follower, however, Julia was unwilling to budge.

ME: Julia, I hear Madeleine.  Should we go get her up?
JULIA: I know, Mama, but the clock says 7:14, so I have to wait... OH!  IT JUST TURNED TO 7:15!!!  Okay, let's go!

As we exited my bedroom, Julia handed me the picture she had been working on, presenting it as a gift.  Later on, when we were all downstairs and I was getting breakfast for the girls, Julia sidled up to me in search of praise for her picture.  "Mama, do you LOVE the picture I drew for you?  Wasn't that such a good idea that I decided to COLOR while I waited for it to be 7:15?  But, Mama, did you even KNOW I know how to color a HOT-AIR BALLOON?"

I'm assuming the item all the way to the right is the hot air balloon.  I'm not entirely sure what the blue and purple circles are, and I'm guessing the object on the left is either a brown sun or a spider... any alternative opinions, readers??

After breakfast, we headed off to the pediatric dentist for Julia's cleaning. Julia was praised effusively by the dental hygienist for being so cooperative and exhibiting such great behavior; however, despite being such a stellar patient, sitting quietly throughout the whole procedure, Julia still felt the compulsion to let her unique spirit out from time to time.

HYGIENIST: You were so great during your cleaning, Julia!  You held so still and made it so easy for me.
ME: Great job, Jules!
JULIA: (top volume) Great job, QUEE-QUAW!
HYGIENIST: What did you say?!?

Since even I had no idea who or what Quee-Quaw is supposed to be, I was not able to enlighten the dental hygienist.

The best part of dental visits comes at the end, at which time both kids get to choose the color of the ginormous balloon they each get to take home.  Madeleine had balloon on the brain from the moment we headed out our door for the dentist's office, and had her heart set on a purple one.  Julia, unsurprisingly, chose pink.  The kids were out of their mind with excitement over their balloons, and we even managed to get all three of us into the dentist office bathroom to try the potty, then get through the parking lots holding balloons AND each others' hands.  As the girls got into their car seats, I began buckling Madeleine, who still insisted on wrapping both arms around her giant balloon.

POP!

Inconsolable sobbing.

So.... out of the car we all went, back into the dentist office, humbly begged for a new purple balloon, and set off once again through the parking lot to the car.  This time, the purple balloon hung out up from with me so nobody could squeeze it into an early death again.  We have managed to make it home with all balloons intact, although with the rough and tumble way the girls are playing with them, I'm not sure how long things will stay that way...

Trip to VT

AKA: The Various Strange Places and Positions in Which Madeleine Conked Out:

Thanks to Madeleine's wild and crazy bedtime poses, Julia wound up forced to sleep with half her body hanging off the bed... 

Unfortunately, Madeleine literally missed the boat, as she conked out shortly after the ride began...

 

En route to visit Grammy in Montpelier, while holding onto her inflatable whale toy...


I'm not surprised she was so tired; both girls were hard at play from dawn to dusk while we were there, surrounded by so many fun and exciting opportunities (in other words, Kiddie Heaven!):

During our car ride home, Julia, inspired by the Spanish lyrics to one of the songs we were listening to, began asking questions about various foreign languages:

JULIA: Mom, what does "vengan a ver" mean?
ME: I don't know honey.  I don't speak Spanish.
JULIA: But Mama, how, if you don't speak a language, and you go to another country where they speak that language, how can you even know what language it is?
ME: Well, if you really have no idea what language it is, you can probably find someone who speaks English who can explain the language to you.  All across the world, it's very common for people who don't speak English to learn English in school.  So even if you were in a foreign country, you could likely find someone who can explain things to you in English.
JULIA: But Mama, how come people who speak Spanish can just hear something in Spanish and understand what it means ICKMEDIATELY?
ME: Well, it's just the same as when you hear something in English and you understand it immediately.
JULIA: Well, Mama, you know what I think is weird?  Most places that speak a language, the name of where they are SOUNDS like the name of the language.  But the only two that aren't like that are FRANCE and NEEDHAM.
ME: Well, what do you mean?
JULIA: Well, French doesn't sound like France, and English doesn't sound like Needham.

I then launched into a whole explanation of the fact that people in America speak English, but the people who originally formed the United States came from ENGLAND, where the official language is ENGLISH.

JULIA: But Mama, why did Needham feel like the king was mean and they needed to have a war with England?

Boy.  I know her home in Needham is pretty much the center of her universe, but I didn't realize she thinks of Needham as being single-handedly responsible for both the language of our entire country, let alone the whole war that even led to us having our own country in the first place.

Anyway, we are home at last, all in one piece, despite some MAJOR cranky-pants moments from the sleepyhead amongst us.  (For example: picture the sound of the whiniest, brattiest, most tantrum-y voice imaginable, then apply that tone to the following - otherwise benign - statement about music in the car: "MOM!  THIS SONG IS THE BOOOOOOXXXXXXERRRR!") 

At any rate, we thank you, Nana and Gramps, for a wonderful, fun-filled, perfectly summery weekend!

Madeleine's Random Musings

Madeleine and I just had this extremely logical conversation.  (For the record, neither Julia nor I have any idea what she's talking about, aside from the fact that "Clog the Toilet" is a game Julia and her friends played at preschool in which they would all slide down the slide in succession and stay put at the bottom of the slide instead of getting off.  As far as we both know, Madeleine has never witnessed this game nor has she played it...)

MADELEINE: Mommy, I didn't want to play clog the toilet, so I was just berry berry sad.  Cause I just didn't want to every night.  Mommy, I didn't want to play clog the toilet at Julia's new school cause there was lotta people there.  Because the teacher said, "You can't play clog the toilet, cause all the people are walking, cause they're buying stuff."  Cause I didn't want to play clog the toilet, that's why the teacher said it.  That you didn't want to play clog the toilet with Simi and Maeve.  Um, does Simi come to your new school, Julia?  Cause we didn't want to put our HEADS in the toilet, because that would be SO, SO YUCKY!  Yeah, that would be so, so FUNNIER!

ME: Well, who WAS playing clog the toilet?

MADELEINE: Um, I think Maeve.  But I didn't want to play clog the toilet because there was too many people WALKING.

ME: And what were you doing instead?

MADELEINE: I was playing on my OWN clog the toilet. I didn't want to play on JULIA'S clog the toilet because it's so big, because it was so HUGE, because I didn't want to play on HERS.  That was her own.  She said, "No, no, don't play on my own one.  This is MINE!"  I just played on my own clog the toilet.  I lost it!  And it was really, really, really, small!  And I just cried for Mommy.  Climbing up the big ladder, playing clog the toilet.  I asked for you.

ME: Madeleine, where were you when this happened?

MADELEINE: Cause I didn't want to play on her own.  Cause I just want to (getting distracted by her marker) Not working!  Julia, can you help me with this thing?  Cause it's not working.  (breaking into song) This is not worrrrking, ba da da da da..."

I guess that's the end of the clog the toilet discussions.