What seems so obvious

Near our house there is a building being constructed. We pass by this property everyday on the way to school and Ellie usually has some comment.

Today she said, "people build houses"

I replied that yes you did and asked what else people build. Ellie replied, "like cars and buildings and airplanes and tables".

I asked if people build cats.

"No cats grow like people"

Trees? Ellie understood that those grew too.

I asked her why tables were built but cats and dogs and peacocks grew. What was the difference.

"Well animals make noises and have babies and the babies grow. Trees and flowers grow from seeds too"

It took a while but finally, Ellie got to the conclusion that animals and plants were alive and therefore weren't built by people. But things (tables, cars, toys, and houses) weren't alive and didn't grow up.

It seems so obvious to us, but I guess we all learned it sometime.






Rapunzel went to school for sharing. Ellie was first one to school at 7:00am this morning and got first pick of the computers.



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Boo-boo Monday

Kids get scratches and boo boos all the time. Nick and I both believe that boo boos are a fact of life and are part of being a kid. In fact, without a scratch or two it means a kid is living life without trying anything new or pushing boundaries or allowed to be a kid.

Well, Ellie had a great weekend. Unfortunately, it also meant she got a few boo boos. She did learn a few lessons though.

Like, rising a scooter backwards isn't the best idea, and you have to jump a little higher to get over the little knee wall in our backyard when running at full speed.

This morning she wanted to show off her boo boos.











She will heal just fine. We had an awesome weekend. I have three posts on my to do list for the Harrer Happenings blog...hopefully I get it done this week.



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April 2013 school shirt day

At least picking out clothes for school was easy today! It was school shirt day. Ellie decided to add her headband to match her shirt. I doubt it'll stay on too long, but she kept it in till we got to school.

Breakfast... Was not really eaten this morning. She asked for a bagel with Nutella, I made it for her and she refused to eat. She wanted nothing else. She took breakfast to school, I was hoping she would eat some more, but I doubt she did.






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The day she doesn't sleep in

The joy of having clients on the east coast still is the occasional early morning conference call. Nothing like a 6:00am scheduled call to get you up in the morning!

And of course today was the first day in weeks Ellie was up at 6:00 am on her own! Fortunately I explained that I had to do some work stuff at home in the morning and she was cool with that and ate and played and was well behaved.

For sharing she decided on Cinderella and her wedding cake figurines. At the last minute she left Cinderella in the car to keep her safe and just took the cake.



At school she joined the girls who were oohing and aahing over the Oriental Trading catalog.





Then they all decided to draw.






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Waiting for the doc

Last night Ellie complained of a sore throat. I look and she had one very red and swollen tonsil and a very low fever. She slept fine.

This morning the tonsil was still swollen and she was still complaining about a sore throat. So I made the decision to wait till 8:30am and call the doctor and see what they had to say prior to taking her to school. Of course they wanted to see her. So we had an appt at 9:30am. Ellie passed away the time reading to herself in her room.







At the appointment she had no temperature and tested negative for strep. To doctor concluded that her recent head cold resulted in her coughing and irritation of the tonsil and throat. She was cleared for school and all activities that she felt up to. Since Ellie was acting fine this meant a return to normal.

So Ellie and I went home where I quickly made her a lunch. I called school and told them she was negative for strep and cleared for school. Then we headed to school, 2 hours past start time.

When I got there I got a glimpse into the daily activities in the classroom. All the kids were quietly working on an activity. Kids were sitting at tables, by themselves, happily writing and doing math!

Ellie had great timing because her best friend had just finished an activity. The teacher deemed it okay for the two girls to work on building a maze together. Ellie started laying out the mats and grabbing pieces for the maze.






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Nutella faces

Again Ellie finished breakfast in the car on the way to school. Again Ellie had Nutella all over her mouth and face. Again, Ellie thought it was hilarious and made "Nutella faces" for me.










Today for sharing she took two Disney princess figurines. It's Sophia and her sister, princesses from a new cartoon. She received the figurines as a birthday present.



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Nutella mouth!

Ellie finished her Nutella covered English muffin in the car this morning. She needed a wipe down when we got to school. I don't think the photo really shows the mess around her mouth because she was laughing so hard!


She wanted to play on the computer with her friend this morning. But I think he was having a case of the Mondays...check out the body language!



Also, Ellie filled up another sticker chart this morning. She now is halfway to her goal of 100 stickers to get the fairy princess castle, or playmobil swimming pool, or other toy du jour from the playmobil catalog. Lately bedtime and nighttime has been rough. She is averaging like two stickers a week. So at this rate, maybe Santa will be bringing her special toy!

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Grandma and Grandpa Harrer are coming!

Ellie was best excited about today. First she has a birthday party at school (so I got a day off from making lunch!) and then grandma and grandpa Harrer are coming! She debated for a long time about what to wear as she wanted to wear something that was suitable for a birthday party but wasn't pink or purple because the birthday boy doesn't like those colors.

She also had a special breakfast of English muffins and Nutella. She LOVES Nutella (who doesnt?) after first enjoying a special treat on the plane to Disneyworld.







She had a funny face covered in Nutella. She insisted on seeing it and so I had to hold her up in the mirror before she let me wash her face. (Her PJ pants came off before we went to school).



Again, Susie and our friends and coworkers in Boston appear to be safe. I have been in touch with Susie this morning and she has said she is safe despite the chaos that is going on.

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Coloring etiquette

For sharing today Ellie wanted to take a coloring book. Having a feeling that this could go bad easily I asked Ellie if she would let friends color, what would happen if someone tore a page accidentally, and how she would feel if it came home different than it went to school. She told me it would be okay and she wouldn't get upset, so I let her take the coloring book to school.



In the car, Ellie explained to me rules she would have regarding the coloring book. They are summarized below:

1) friends can color one at a time
2) I choose the pages they can color
3) you can't touch my book because they might tear it (when I asked about coloring if you can't touch, it was explained that coloring and touching are two different things and you don't have to touch a page to color it)
4) Sadie gets to color first and can color two things if she wants (nothing like a 4 year old to play favorite with her best friend)

At school a friend asked if she could color with Ellie and Ellie agreed and picked a page where both of them could color at the same time (Sadie wasn't at school yet).







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Busy calendar

Ellie has a busy day today. She has a doctors appointment (to look at the tube in her ear) and she has swimming lessons. That is after a full day of school. Nick, being the awesome dad he is, is taking her both to her dr appt and swimming lessons as I am totally swamped with work.

At school she was happy to join the "coloring circle". A whole gaggle of girls were coloring and drawing and Ellie pulled up a blank piece of paper and a chair.





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Early morning...

Today I have to head down to El Centro, California. This is just north of the border, south of San Diego. Not wanting too long of a day I took Ellie to school early. I'm currently at a gas station just past Palm Springs...want a full tank of gas to go through the desert!



She took a book to school for show and tell. She said she wanted her teacher to read it to the class.

Nick and I are totally shocked and horrified by the events in Boston yesterday. Susie was out of town so she is safe. We have been in touch with friends and co-workers in Boston and they are safe and unharmed.

Not sure what Ellie knows. I had NPR on this morning in the car and they were obviously discussing the event. She didn't ask but had her thinking face look. I hope that she was focused on her show and tell and didn't absorb the radio discussions, but we will see what questions she asks later.

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Picked out her own outfit

I told her it was cold so she needed to wear pants. She decided on grey leggings, floral skirt, and a long sleeved floral top. She has swimming today hence the ponytail.




Yesterday we had a great trip to the zoo where all the animals were active including the baby chimpanzee and the baby orangutan. We saw all the gorillas and the giraffes weren't hiding in the corner. Ellie said she had a great time.

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At least it's Friday

Another early morning for Ellie and I. But Ellie woke up super early and three off my usual early morning timeline. She had time to eat breakfast, which made her happy to eat at home, and put her in a good mood.

Today at school a petting zoo is coming. Ellie is excited and a little nervous, as there may be some animals she will be afraid of. Supposedly a tortoise is coming and she is definitely pumped to see that.



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That's how I feel about early mornings too!

She's showing me her pancake breakfast for school.



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Illustrations

Inspired by Nicks drawings, Ellie made her own drawing showing a domestic scene. When she came home yesterday, she said she had made an "illustration". I was impressed by her new use of vocabulary words, but blown away by her drawing. She spent quite a bit of time and focus to finish it. It has a family (with a dad with spikes hair), table, high chair, mirror, light switch, sippy cup (for the baby), and many more things.



This morning i had to take her to school early. She asked for a pancake with syrup and so that what got taken to school. She picked her own outfit out and was excited to wear her grandma Pam purple sweater.




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I'm making stories!

Today is sharing day and Ellie was super excited to bring in more drawings by Nick which show families in domestic settings (dining room, kids play room, etc.). I asked her last night why she likes these illustrations so much and her response was, "I like thinking of stories of the families".

This morning she was up before me, and didn't let me hit snooze once...Grrrr. I got her dressed and set breakfast out and I went to get ready. When I caught up with her, she had all her illustrations spread out in the floor and was looking at all of them. When I asked what she was doing she said, "I'm telling stories".



She reminds me of me when I was a little girl. I'm so happy she has a vivid imagination and is way into pretend play!



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It's the little things!

Yesterday we all went to Trader Joes to pick up some essentials for the week. Ellie remembered from last time we were there that they had little shopping carts and where they kept them. She asked if she could use one, and since it was going to be a quick trip with not getting very much, as said yes. She was SUPER happy to have a cart and navigate through the store to pick up what we needed. She kept asking what was on the list and where it was located. She did a great job handling the cart and not getting in the way of others during the crazy Sunday afternoon rush.















Today we were back to normal. No grandma to get her dressed in the mornings. My mom reported she was fine, no battles over breakfast or getting dressed or anything. I'd like to know how she did it...because as usual, everything this morning seemed to be a bit of a battle.

She did have a rough night. Around 10pm I her a thud in her room and went in to find her standing there a little confused, I think she rolled out of bed. At 5am she started yelling for her dad because she had wet the bed. Bed and pajamas were dry, but her undies were a little wet so I think she woke up and stopped from having a full accident.

But, we finally made it out the door with her hair up for swimming lessons. Of course I forgot her nap blanket and lovie...



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Grandma Pam takes over morning duties this week

This week, I am down in San Diego working on a project. Instead of driving 2.5+ hours each way everyday, I had the opportunity to stay down in San Diego and my mom, Grandma Pam, agreed to hang out at our house this week and get Ellie to school.

So my mom has the fun duty of waking up Ellie, convince Ellie she can't wear a princess dress to school, getting her hair brushed (to the best of her ability), agrue with Ellie about wearing shoes, socks, and if the shoes are on tight enough, and making lunches...all before 8am each day! Pfew, that sounds like a full days work to me. On Friday she gets the fun task of putting Ellie's hair up for swim lessons! Woohoo!!

Ellie meanwhile has a new (and worthy) morning opponent, someone who has time to make cinnamom buns at night for breakfast the next day, someone who has mad skills enough to make fancy salads with chicken and stuff, and all the other fun that comes when Grandma Pam comes to stay.

Best of luck to my mom...but she's a bit more of a morning person than I am so I'm sure it'll be fine!

Back from vacation

We had a blast last week in Disney World, but now we are back to school and work and the daily grind.
Ellie was pretty happy to head o school to tell her teachers and friends all about her vacation and the fun she had.
She was also excited to see the dollhouse was still there.



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