the event of the year

How many no-more-thumbsucking parties have you been to?  Well, let me tell you--they are quite an event, at least in this household.  After an elaborate series of progressive bribes, beginning with candy at week 1 and toys at weeks 2 and 3, the four weeks of no-thumbsucking culminated in a party at Bouncing Off The Walls, complete with pizza and cookies for all 10 attendees.  Not a small deal at all.  Unfortunately for us, Sadie decided to stop sucking her thumb exactly a month before her birthday, resulting in TWO parties the same week.  Oh well---a bribe is a bribe.

backlog

When I downloaded pictures from the camera last night, there were 779 of them.  It took 2 hours to go through and remove all the blurry/dark/crummy ones, and I still have almost 400 left.  Needless to say, I'm not going to attempt to comment on them here.  Christmas, beer tasting, no-more-thumbsucking party, birthday, and Valentine's day---whew.  Here are some from Sadie's birthday party at the Pottery Lounge.

sledding

 

Ok, it's just a drainage ditch, but it's still pretty fun!

ballet class circa 2011

I can picture the main studio at Civic Ballet Company in every detail:  the barre along the third story windows overlooking Penn Avenue, the gray marmoleum flooring that showed years of scuffs from tap shoes, the 30-foot-long wall of mirrors in which we'd critique every tendu and plie.   But by far my most distinct memory is the whirr and scratch of a record going round as we waited for the next song to begin.  That's right--we danced to classical music on vinyl.  On a record player.  

Note now Sadie's RAD-trained teacher queuing up music with a remote.  To an Ipod.  Oh, how times have changed.  

I do, however, love everything else traditional about this studio, right down to the required level-specific matching leotards and annual theme performances.  This June's recital will be Peter and the Wolf at the Tower Theater, in which the pre-primary ballerinas will be frogs.  Ribbit!!

number four

We celebrated with a small group of girls-only at the Pottery Lounge this year. First time ever that the parents dropped off and left. All in all, a huge success!

petite nordiques

Here are pictures from one of Sadie and Sophie's many XC ski outings at Meissner last year.  A neighbor who we haven't seen in ages took them, and just gave them to us today.  My how they've grown!

girl with balloon

one of my favorite drawings yet...