Grape Stomping

We are always on the lookout for some fun on the weekend.  Today's event was grape stomping! It was a first for all of us and perhaps the only time we will squish grapes between our toes.  It was a nearby winery that was hosting a little fun in the tradition of long ago days.  And in case you wondered...these grapes and their juice were headed for the compost bin not wine bottles.

Timothy and Teresa were excited to jump in.  They started out with their rain boots on, but were quick to switch to bare feet and get the feel of the juicy grapes.  They had a lot of fun.  Troy and I both got into the action just a little to say that we did it, but clearly Timothy and Teresa enjoyed it the most.

The fun ended when Teresa of course fell down on her bottom and was sopping wet with grape juice!  I sort of knew this was coming.  Luckily I had some extra pants along.  And now her shirt will forever have the memory of this grape stomp with a large grape juice stain on the back!  And apparently when you stomp around in grape juice, after awhile you get itchy due to the histamines in the grapes.  Which of course happened to Teresa.  So she was soggy and itchy and it was nap time--not a good combination!

Before the grape stomping fun, Troy did a little wine tasting and we all enjoyed a pizza lunch.  And while the stomping was going on, a reporter from the local paper started chatting with Troy.  We may very well be mentioned in an article in the paper.  It was a great family activity!

Stories with Teresa!

Teresa has an amazing memory.  She can hear a book a few times and then repeat it word for word. She also reads by making up the text from information she has previously heard.  This video shows her reading a dolphin book. (Note: her stuffed "buddies" on the left is her audience. She set them there because she wanted to read her stories to them.)

I also recorded Teresa reading the entirety of "The Night Before Preschool."  She knows the book word for word.! It is a long video, so I could not get it to upload on to the blog. But this link will get you to the video: http://youtu.be/4n-KNWKWJRM . 

Starting Kindergarten

Yesterday we had orientation.  I forgot that we had a couple of pictures from that too.  This should have come before the first day post.  The orientation was mostly for parents, but Timothy did get to see his classroom and meet his teacher.

Timothy and his teacher

Outside his new school

Kindergarten!!!

Today Timothy had his first day of kindergarten.  We had to wake him up at 7:30, so he would be ready for the bus.  We had a special family breakfast and then a few pictures before heading to the bus stop.  Timothy of course asked if he could play with his friend Anna after breakfast before the bus.  Obviously it was a whole new routine for him!

Our handsome boy ready to head to school.  He had picked out his Iowa shirt to wear.  I had to wash it and sew a rip he got in the sleeve from this past weekend.  He loves his Hawkeye shirt that the Dykstras gave to him.  In fact, he suggested the whole family should wear Iowa shirts today...so we did!

Teresa really wanted in on the action.  She wanted a first day of school card, wanted to be in pictures, and would have loved to go to her school too!  But alas, her day is a few weeks out yet.

Then it was onto the bus stop.  There was quite a crowd of kids and parents.  Timothy mainly watched as all the other kids played around.  Even in the picture you can see the bit of distance he kept.  He was quiet, but still happy.  Timothy's assigned bus went sailing by, but luckily another bus came and took the kids.  It was very crowded and Timothy was the last one on.  I think my mommy heart broke as I saw my little boy on the bus and he didn't know where to sit and I couldn't help him.  It was then that I realized how this was a moment that I was letting him grow and do things on his own.  And he did!!  (But it still did not keep me from crying as he drove away.)

Troy actually drove ahead to school to make sure Timothy could find his room.  It was good Troy was there as the bus was late and Timothy's class had already gone inside.  I missed my boy all day long and looked at his schedule wondering what he was up to.  When he got off the bus in the afternoon, he was all smiles.  Much to our surprise he had quite a bit to share about his day.  It sounded like it was a very good day and he is ready for another one tomorrow!

We celebrated after dinner with a brownie ice cream cake.  This year is had a Hawk on it to go with our Iowa theme.  We told Timothy tonight that he is our Kindergarten star...and he sure is.  We were very proud of him today!

Who needs dolls?

 I had to snap a picture of this.  It is a good example of what Teresa likes to do!  Her is a lovely little doll house.  I had yet to dig out the dolls that go with it from the still packed toy boxes.  Not a problem for Teresa.  She just got a whole bunch of new sea creatures for her birthday.  So now the sea creatures live in the house!

Teresa does all sorts of pretend play.  She takes care of her sea creatures and her kitties.  She likes to make food and play with the kitchen.  She likes to be a kitty or pretend that it is night time and read stories.  She is quite imaginative, but her imagination just does not have room for any dolls!!

3rd Birthday!

Teresa turned 3 this past week.  This was the first year that she really understood what a birthday was and she was quite excited.  I think she was most excited about her cake.  She was ready to have it about 5 minutes after she woke up!  Instead we started with opening gifts.  She got a kitty book, whale book and cash register from us.

 

Both Grandmas had sent gifts so we did a little skype time with them so they could see Teresa open her gifts.  It was really neat to be able to share the moment with family even when they were far away.

Teresa got some great presents and she spent a lot of the day going fro one gift to the next...sea creatures and ice cream and books and the cash register.  She was a happy girl!

We met up with Troy at Ihop for a special birthday lunch.Pancakes are a favorite of Teresa's so it was a great lunch!

Sibling love at Ihop!

Teresa of course wanted some cake after lunch and wanted some cake for snack too.  It is amazing we made it through the day!  I made a cake with all of her favorite animals...kitties, puppies, whales, sharks, horses and fish.  A day before her birthday she tried to tell me she wanted a castle cake that Timothy showed her in a cookbook.  But in the end I think she liked her cake a lot.  It was chocolate cake with a m&m cookie layer on the bottom!

To help pass the afternoon, Timothy and Teresa did a little preview of the party games we would play. Toss the sea creatures, a variation of ring-around the rosie, and shark, shark fish.

At the party we only played two games as we had to be inside due to rain.  Two of the party 'guests' were not too interested in games anyway.  Only Teresa, Timothy and Timothy's friend Anna played.  But as the picture shows, Teresa was pretty excited at her party, so the games must have been okay!

And finally it was cake time!!  A very happy three year old got to blow and her candles...

...and enjoy the cake she had been waiting all day for.

Once cake time was over, Teresa was soon done with her party.  She wanted me to come play with her and not talk to other adults.  (We had invited some neighbors over and a college friend of mine.  There were a couple kids near her age, but she did not know them well, and they were pretty interested in her toys, not her!)  So after about an hour, she was asking to go to bed and read stories.  All in all, I think it was a good day for our growing up girl!