Bree's First Haircut

On March 20, 2009 Bree got her hair cut for the very first time! It had been in her eyes for awhile. Dan advised against cutting it because he thought she looked cute the way she was - her "wild look" he called it. But I caved. I could tell it was bugging her being in her eyes, so on the way home on Friday we stopped at Kiddie Kutters.

Nervously, I carried her in and told the gal that this was our first time. We tried to get her to sit in the chair but she would not release her grip on me, so we tried a little car but that wasn't looking like fun, either. I began to despair, wondering if we'd have to give it up and go home, until she spied the lollipop. Thank heaven for lollipops! Bree had never enjoyed one before, so we used it to bribe her to sit down. She still refused to wear the cute little smock covered in dragonflies, but at this point she was sitting and that was enough for me. We started snipping away. Did she sit still? Of course not! Bree was squirming all over, and slid down out of the chair after crunching away the lollipop. Luckily at that point we were pretty much done. I think our stylist wanted to do more to make it precise, but we were ready to go and explore the toys and playsets. I am so thankful that the stylist saved some of her hair for me in a little bag, I would have been a bad mom and completely forgotten to do that!

Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Endearing. Hopeful. This is the story of 12-year old Addie, a girl who faces tough odds yet weaves optimism and resiliency throughout her life in a small trailer with a bipolar mom. Addie is a character who sticks with you. Her voice makes her feel like a friend. This is a great book for young girls - it deals with coming-of-age but does not contain material that may be too mature. I enjoyed the author's writing style, simple and a wonderful example of what it means to show not tell. The character were well developed and felt like real people. It all wraps up a bit too neatly in the end, but perhaps refreshingly so.


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I Just Want My Kids to Be Happy! Why You Shouldn't Say It, Why You Shouldn't Think It, What You Should Embrace Instead by Aaron Cooper

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Good information! This was an easy read, which is good for me since I don't tend to read a lot of non-fiction. I liked the message the authors shared about lasting happiness and being content in life overall. I would recommend it to anyone with kids!


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Saying Good-bye

My Grandpa Olson was the most wonderful grandpa a girl could have.
He is dearly missed.

With Bree when she was about one month old.

Younger days. They say his hair was red, but I never got to see that.

Welcome Violet Mei

Almost three years after my cousin Brad and his wife Julie started the process of adopting from China, they have been blessed with a happy baby girl. We met Violet Mei at a shower on Saturday, and it was a wonderful occasion! She was so easy going and just adorable. Welcome to the family Violet!

Li'l Kickers

Soccer wrapped up this week. Bree's last class was Wednesday night. A new session will start soon, but I think we may take a little break and then try something different. Possibly gymnastics? We did enjoy the "soccer" sessions. The kids are really cute. Bree was in the Bunnies class, designed for children ages 18-24 months. They get to wear the jerseys and run around the indoor field participating in group activities. It's mostly about following directions, but we also worked on preliminary skills such as kicking. Her favorite parts of the class were the bubbles and the parachute. (Click here to see a recent post with pictures of parachute time.) Coach Aaron was so good with the little ones, he made all the difference in getting her to enjoy herself and participate! He did recommend she repeat the Bunnies level. Something about needing more work following directions.... :)



A few weeks ago I received an e-mail notice that we would be having picture day, both individual shots and team photos. I thought surely that would only have been for the older kiddos, but to my surprise the photographer was ready to try to capture the bunnies as well! Bree watched a little girl sit down on the backdrop and smile for the camera. While she watched I was whispering to her some encouraging phrases, not really expecting her to do it, but when the girl got up Bree ran over there and plopped down in her spot! I think we may have cut in line, but I pleaded with the photographer to start snapping some shots before Bree got bored, and she did. I love the picture! Then there was the team photo... How do you get 8 toddlers to sit with the coach and smile at a camera, with no parents in the shot? Easy - you don't! The photographer came back another day to try again for the shot. Apparently this was the only one that let you see all of the kids' faces. Too funny!

a reminder to persevere

This video has made the rounds at work this week and I appreciated the reminder to refrain from always jumping in to rescue or save our students. There is so much to be learned through struggle, and when something is hard there is value in that. My goal is to remember to give my students (and Bree) the gift of frustration. If I always rescue them then they will expect things in life to be easy, and will not have developed skills for perservering.

You should watch - because the video is darn cute!

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Well-written, beautiful, and somber. This is the story of a china rabbit who learns the true meaning of love. I read this book out loud to my class and truly enjoyed the masterful way that Kate DiCamillo crafts a story. Her word choice and sentence fluency found its way into my writing lesson plans to illustrate some of the possibilities waiting to be found in words.

Would I read it aloud again? Perhaps with older students. My class LOVED this story but it was sad, extremely sad in places. I fought back tears while reading and had to let it sit for awhile before reviewing it because it dealt with some tough material. (Losing people you love.) Initially, I thought I would not recommend it nor read it again because it was just too strong. However, the more I considered this, the more I realized that to not recommend this book would be to make the same mistake that Edward made, and that is to refuse to experience something wonderful just because it can also be hard. So I do recommend it - I do! The lessons learned by Edward apply to us all. Just consider keeping a box of tissues close by.


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