Fall and winter

I’m pretty excited about fall and winter. Seems like there is a lot of fun every month. This is how it breaks down:

Sept: Weekend in Chicago, wedding and touristy fun. Can’t wait to see the girls dance at a wedding and do some fun things with the family. Also, camping with my best friend and her family. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen her!

Oct: Another camping trip – Brown County this time. Hopefully it will be beautiful fall weather at that time. It’s also our anniversary month.

Nov: Sister comes for a visit! Can not wait. Will be four days of get togethers and fun. Oh and lots of turkey eating this month as we may try to do Thanksgiving with both families.

Dec: Duh, Christmas. And don’t forget another little baby born this month. Eva will turn two on Dec. 22.

Ella’s first day of preschool

Preschool is nicely familiar this year. We know the drill. The car line, lunch bunch, line leader, all the preschool lingo.

Ella did a good job picking out her own outfit. And she seemed to have no fears.

After school she said the craft center was her favorite thing. I’m not surprised. And she made a friend named Lauren. Her name starts with an L, she told me. And a few days later she asked if we could go to the store to get her glasses, like several of her classmates. And she asked me who Barrack Obama is. She is really learning!

Everyone seemed so much younger this time last year. And last year the only thing Ella usually could tell me about preschool was the snack she ate.

Glad she’s such a big girl these days but I miss those chubby cheeks from just last year!

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At last, awesome weather

It has been beautiful outside ever since we got back from NY. I hope it lasts a while. Here are some pics from the last week of enjoying the nice days…

Extracurricular activities

I’m learning that extracurricular activities are a huge part of kids lives, at least where I live.

It seems like some kids are in camps, on teams, have practices in various things constantly.

I’m not saying that’s bad, I guess I’m just trying ot figure out what’s best for us. I want to find a good balance between keeping busy and having plenty of time for spontaneity and free time. It is a childhood afterall!

Ella was in soccer for the first part of the summer. Some of these activities seem to fly by though. This was one of those – just a four week course by our local Parks and Rec. When that ended she had a little time off then started gymnastics, which is only one day a week for an hour but about 8 weeks long. We are almost through with that. And now we’re thinking about dance class again. We did ballet through the Parks and Rec last year and Ella really liked that. So I am considering another dance class – but this time tap/hip hop but it would actually last all year long. Much more of a commitment. A lot more money too!

But I know now that she likes dance so I think she would stick with it. Plus a friend from school would be in the class which is a lot of fun for her and me.

But now she says she wants to keep up with gymnastics. I think that would be too much though. Dance, gymnastics and preschool 3 times a week! Not to mention I work 2 days a week, so we would have to pack most stuff in those other three days.

I would love for her to try tennis at some point too. Tennis is a sport you can easily continue in adulthood if you really like it. Now doesn’t seem like the right time though.

Anyway, just mulling it all over. I wonder how other parents decide. Do most parents try a little of everything until they find what their kid likes the best? How much is too much? Is one thing at a time a good pace?