A Kiss or a Tackle

Maya is a total snugglebug. She wakes up each morning eager for a hug and loves to lounge in our laps. She tries desperately to get Guillermo to snuggle, too, and occasionally tries to kiss him. He usually sneaks away. But, she is getting pretty rough these days; lots of hitting, periodic biting and lately she's been scratching. So this conversation that I overheard between Maya and Guillermo didn't completely surprise me, but it did make me giggle.

Guillermo: "I will kiss you if you do it," Guillermo taunted. I'm not sure what he wanted her to do.

Guillermo: "Maya, do you want a kiss?" Guillermo asked again.

Maya must have ignored him.

Guillermo: "How about a tackle? I'll tackle you," he asked again.

She ignores him some more.

Guillermo: "Do you want a kiss or a tackle," he asked one more time.

She finally relented.

"TACKLE!" she said and then another wrestling match ensued.

I'm still not sure if she did what he wanted her to do, or what exactly it was that he wanted her to do anyway.

Legos and Ballarinas

Guillermo, a Lego-club member

After waiting for months, Guillermo finally attended his first Lego Club meeting on Saturday. The club meets a few Saturdays a month, an hour before the Lego store opens. The kids were given a huge pile of bricks and the new Toy Story III characters and told to build a contraption. He said he built a rocket to help Woody and Buzz escape from the school. Right before the meeting ended, the kids were allowed to roam the store before it opened. Guillermo loved it, especially because a crowd of people were waiting outside to get inside.

While Will and Guillermo were in Raleigh at the Lego meeting, I took Maya to her first ballet lesson. She had a great time, and I have to admit, it was really cute. They danced to different stories, and Maya's favorite, by far, was the birthday party dance. The dancers pretended to open presents. They received a baby, which they rocked, a pony that they rode around the studio, and a beautiful princess dress that they danced in. We practiced that at home after class. Of course, Maya found reason to cry after the lesson. "It was too short," she sobbed. "It didn't last long enough."

Unfortunately, I don't have a photo of Maya at ballet class. But, this is pretty cute, too.

Ballerina, not Supergirl

Maya is trading in her superhero cape for ballet shoes when she grows up. During a conversation with Guillermo and Maya, I learned she no longer wants to be Super Girl when she is older. We were sitting at the kitchen table, talking about Maya's then-upcoming ballet lessons.

"Boys don't take ballet," Maya told Guillermo.

"Boys can and do take ballet, Maya," I interjected.

"Football players have to take ballet, right mommy?" Guillermo said.

"Why do you think football players have to take ballet?" I asked, trying to remember what book in which we may have read that.

"They have to take ballet to learn balance," he said.

"Oh, do you want to be a football player?" I asked.

"No, I want to be a ninja."

"Oh, I want to be a ballerina," Maya said dreamily.

"So, you finally realized that superheros are pretend," Guillermo asked her.

"Yes," Maya answered.

"Did you learn that when you turned 4?" he asked.

"No, I learned it before that," she answered matter-of-factly.

And then they moved on to something else.

Guillermo's last day

"He's good," Guillermo's classmates said of his four-square abilities.

Guillermo is now a first grader. Thursday was his last day of school. The kindergarten teachers had planned a picnic. It was hot, but the kids had a blast. Guillermo and some of his friends ended the afternoon with a few games of four-square. Listening to the kids discuss the rules told me everything I needed to know about why Guillermo negotiates rules of any game at length before we can get started. I didn't think those kids were ever going to get the game started as they came up with rules for what is allowed, not allowed and what requires a do-over.

Before the picnic, we gave the teachers a scrapbook as a thank you gift. Each child decorated a page for the book that I later had bound. It was sweet, low tech, but sweet.

Guillermo had a great first year of school. We loved both his teacher and the assistant. His teacher is now leaving the school, on her way to teach in Saudi Arabia so saying goodbye was a little more sad than I had expected. Guillermo loved her, too, but he wasn't nearly as sad about leaving for the day, for the summer. And just before he left, he pulled out the stash of Silly Bandz he had hidden in his pocket because the students aren't allowed to wear them and slipped them on his wrist. "Hey, Ms. G, look!" he shouted to her as he walked headed to the car.

Field Day!

Cooling off during a Field Day

Preparing for a big match

After two rain delays, Guillermo and the other kindergartners at his school finally got to participate in their first Field Day. Wow, was it hot and muggy. I was lucky enough to volunteer for the first part of the three-hour affair. My station was bocce ball. It was sort of a mess for the first few rotations, but by the time the third group came through I got smarter and handed over the game responsibilities to the two fifth grade helpers who traveled with each new group of kindergartners. I took on a new job of helper and it was great. I don't think bocce ball was anyone's favorite station (how can you beat the mist tent?) but they did have fun. And, in a book Guillermo made at the end of the day, he said that Field Day was his favorite day of school because his mother was able to come. :)

Last Day in the Fish Class

A Smurf in the making.

I'm really overdue with this post, but Maya has finished her first year of preschool. As you can see from that smile, she had a great time.

The last day of the year at her school is Splash Day. The teacher set up an inflatable water slide, a kiddie pool, sprinklers and painting stations and the kids have a great time. Maya wouldn't dare go down the slide, she's not very adventurous, but she had a great time painting her hands and arms and the windows. She was reluctant to get in the kiddie pool and I would have been, too. The kids were painting with shaving cream and spraying it on themselves. They washed off by taking a dip in the pool, leaving shaving cream floating on the top. I heard from the teachers that Maya eventually jumped in. On the way out of school, she was ecstatic. "Guess what we had for snack? Ice cream AND cupcakes!"

Happy Birthday Big Girl

Happy birthday, birthday girl.

Maya turned four on Saturday and boy was she proud. You see the smile above? She wore that for days before her birthday, telling everyone she saw, friends and strangers alike, that she was 3 and three-quarters years old. Now, she has a goofy, proud, giggly smile when she declares that she is 4.

Maya wanted a butterfly-themed birthday so we did it up. We gave the kids cardboard butterfly wings to decorate when they arrived at the party. Then, I read to them the "Hungry Little Caterpillar" and when it was over I had them crawl around the living room like they were caterpillars, find food to eat (from Maya's play kitchen) and then curl up in a cocoon (or as one kid said, raccoon). They burst out of their cocoons after we placed their butterfly wings on their backs. Then, we sent them outside to find baby butterflies we had hidden in the front yard. Back inside, they made butterfly necklaces, ate lunch (butterfly-shaped peanut butter sandwiches, etc.), cake, ice cream, then a pinata and the party was over. It was fun and chaotic, but Maya had a great time. Tonight, at bedtime, she asked if we could still say it was her birthday when she woke up on Monday. I wish it was.

Make a wish, butterfly.

A butterfly on the outside, a rainbow on the inside. (I am so pleased with how this turned out!)

Showing off the Silly Bandz that Guillermo gave her for her birthday.