Gemma is a bee

Gemma is in the bee class at school. On the first day, they made special bee hats to wear!

September 1- Gemma's first day of school

September 1 was Gemma's first day of preschool for this year! She will be in a three year old classroom 2 days a week. She has several friends from last year and is very excited!

Sunday Girl Scout camping

I started writing about this in October. It's taken me until December to get back to it! I'm going to keep plugging away at it as I want the memories kept somewhere.

Sunday of our Girl Scout camping trip was a beautiful morning. I was grumpy as I didn't sleep much. I would guess most of the adults were in the grumpy camp with me.

Amelia? Amelia was a ray of sunshine. She had slept all night soundly and work up delighted.

She was thrilled to be able to sweep out the wagons before we left. She was delighted to have the opportunity to mop.

Somewhere in the shuffle, she found a foamy clown nose she found in our stuff (how did it get there? I have no idea). She thought this was hilarious and wore it for most of the morning. She ran around the campsite greeting her friends and giggling like crazy.

Evaluated

William and Amelia started gymnastics this spring. They both are beginners and have class at the same time. Amelia, in particular, has been very motivated and has worked very hard at learning new skills.

William is enjoying himself and he works hard at class, but Amelia has really taken to the sport and can be found handstanding, cartwheeling, and round offing all over the house. She probably does upwards of 100 cartwheels a day.

Thus, it didn't come as a great surprise that Amelia was promoted to a higher level in September. However, in order to move to the next level, Amelia needed to show mastery of her skills to the head coach during a process called an evaluation.

Amelia was delighted by this turn of events. The head coach didn't have time to evaluate Amelia the evening she was ready and it was scheduled for the following week.

She was bursting with pride and couldn't wait to tell her dad. She ran in the house and announced: "DADDY! COME QUICK! I'M GOING TO BE EXCAVATED!!!"
Sent from my iPhone

I'm three

Almost every day, starting the day after her birthday, Gemma asks if she is 4 yet. She is desperate to be 4.

Am I 4 today? she will ask.

Not yet we always reply.

Ohhhhh. Okay. is her usual reply in a dejected voice.

----------
At bedtime, we get pajamas on, brush teeth and read books with the kids.

Gemma always gets three books because her books are on the short side. We snuggle up in her bed and read 3 books together almost every night. It is a sweet way to end our night together. Lately, she has been petitioning for 4 books.

(We are snuggled up in her bed, we just completed book number three.)

Gemma: this one next.
Mama: nope! We are all done. Now is time for sleeping!
Gemma: I need 4 books today.
Mama: no, we already read three. Now it is time to sleep!
Gemma: I need 4 books. I will be 4 on my birthday, so I need 4 books.
Mama: ....:......
Gemma: here! I pick this one!
Mama: (I love reading and especially love this sweet time at the end of the day). Ok. Just one more.

This happened several times and I usually give in. Who can resist Gemma?

Then:
We just completed book #4.

Mama: now it is time for sleeping!
Gemma: after I turn 4, I will be 5. You should read me another book...
Mama: (how on earth does she come up with arguments like this one?)
No. Four books is enough for tonight!


Sent from my iPhone

Conversations

This one is a little in appropriate. But, it was so funny and shows just how much this little one (really, all 3, keep me on my toes). If a little potty speak bothers you, then feel free to skip.




Gemma was sitting in the bathroom going to the bathroom.

Gemma: mom? Is pee-pee a bad word?

Mom: it is okay to talk about pee when you are in the bathroom, but it isn't nice to use words like that when you aren't in the bathroom ( we are in the thick of an outbreak of potty humor which has resulted in an uptick in the number of conversations or "talks" about how certain bathroom related words should be used. Or not used.)

Gemma: but what if you are talking about pee-pee

(Mentally, I start to prepare a similar response to the previous statement)

Like the song M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I?

(Notice, if you spell the letters out, it has a pee-pee in it?)

Is that okay mom?

Mom: (silence, no response, jaw open).

Finally, I get it together to assure her that this use of the pee-pee is fine.

Sent from my iPhone

Conversations

Gemma and I were on our way home from preschool. She and I were alone is the car.

Gemma: mom! Mom! What do you want to be when you grow up?
Mom: (laughing to myself)
I think when I grow up, I want to be Gemma!
Gemma: (laughs) NO! You cannot be Gemma! I am already Gemma! You cannot be me!!

Mom: what do want to be when you grow up Gemma?

Gemma: I want to be a kitty. I love kitties.
(Short pause). Or anything else that has a tail. That is what I want to be.

Mom: that sounds great! ( how can you even begin to argue with that?)


-----------------------------

We were on our way home from preschool. It was just Gemma and myself in the car. We were waiting at a stoplight by our house. She was looking out the window when she let out a huge sigh.

Gemma: I remember when we would go to that park and play....a long time ago. We don't go there anymore (the last part in a very sad voice).

Needless to say, I had to turn the car around and take us back to the park.

--------------

On the way home from preschool, many of the middle school buses are leaving the bus yard to start their afternoon route. Gemma and I love to count the buses. It isn't unusual for us to see at least 30 buses.

Today we were counting the buses and we got to 28.

More buses come around the corner and Gemma yelled out:

29, 20-TEN!

Sent from my iPhone