Backyard Camping with Dad

Norah and Alice have wanted to go camping for quite awhile and we have kept putting it off because Freya is so little we thought it would be a bit more difficult than what we were up for. Lindsey went out of town this weekend for Lauren Merkley’s wedding so I figured it would be the perfect opportunity. I called around to several campgrounds around but because of the solid month of rain we’ve had all of the campgrounds were completely washed out and closed. We decided to camp right in our own backyard. In hindsight, camping in our backyard was plenty of work.

I did a decent amount of internet searching to make sure we have the most successful backyard trip ever. We got little camp chairs for the girls. I printed out songs to sing in the tent. The girls packed up their PJs and favorite books. We even made some entertainment so our digital-age children wouldn’t be bored. We took a trip to Home Depot with some plans for a cornhole game (we modified it to put some bigger holes). The girls were big helpers in finishing it off.

The girls did a lot of sanding and then I finished it off with the power sander.

One of the girls snapped this lovely shot. I’m sure when I’m old I’ll be so grateful to have this to look back on.

Next they painted it with the leftover paint from our siding that was also used to paint our porch swing. The gift that keeps on giving.

It was crazy hot so these girls had to drink up with some water from the hose. They ended up getting completely soaked after this and we went to the FOE Pool to cool off.

Alice fell asleep on the way home from the pool but luckily Norah helped me get the tent all setup.

And the camp chairs

Norah then enjoyed the fruits of her labors

I’m really glad she played this game too because it was a lot of work and only got about 15 minutes of play

We had hot dogs, watermelon and baked beans for dinner

 

S’mores for dessert which were only half-eaten. I guess the process was even more fun than the result.

We relaxed in our nice camp chairs for a little while

And then Norah wanted to go to bed. So we got in PJ’s, read some books, sang some songs and the girls went to bed. I snuck back inside to watch some TV because it was so hot outside that sleeping was out of the question.

The next morning we had pancakes for breakfast

Planned out our hike, strapped on our compasses and set off to finish our camping trip

Here’s our two hikers heading out. After our very short hike we called it a success. I broke camp and the girls zoned out on the couch. They are definitely getting a nap today. All in all, it was a big success. The girls were very well behaved and big helpers too.

Norah at 6

I was picking up Norah from school one afternoon with Freya and Alice in tow and Ms. Dominguez said “She is changing so fast!” and I said “Norah? I know!” and Ms. Dominguez said “Oh I meant your baby but yes Norah is changing too.” When Norah was a baby it seemed like every other week she had learned some new skill or reached a milestone. I remember one of the sorority girls saying “Norah is growing up right before our very eyes.” That is really how it feels having a baby and I still feel that way about Norah. Kids grow so fast they are like chia pets! Maybe I’ve said this every year – I’ll have to review old birthday posts to check – but this year has been very eventful for Norah:

• Right after turning 5 I started teaching Norah to read and now a year later she can read books by herself
• Norah learned to swim last July
• She became a big sister of two little sisters July 25th
• Norah started Kindergarten at Alex Sanger Elementary and was named student of the month in September
• She lost her first two baby teeth in December
• She was nominated for and tested into the gifted and talented program in January
• She learned to ride a bike in April
• She learned soooooo much Spanish by being friendly and eager to practice

On Norah’s actual birthday I was able to take cupcakes to her class. I think these are the only pictures I have of her in her classroom Tuesday Norah had a kindergarten graduation. Here is a link to a poor quality video of her walking across the stage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbPOGRCd-vU Her principal noted that these kids were the class of 2031 – because he expects them all to finish college in 2031. Each student was recognized for kindergarten success and her teacher recognized some students for specific subject areas. Norah was recognized for excelling in Spanish. Then at the end after I stopped filming she was singled out to receive the presidential award for academic academic achievement and received a certificate “signed” by President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. I am philosophically opposed to the idea of awards in kindergarten. I don’t believe children should be labeled and distinguished at this age. Norah is motivated to learn without awards and I’d love to keep her that way as long as possible. Yet here I am documenting these awards for her on the blog. I can’t deny that I felt very very proud of her and I notified grandparents promptly after the awards ceremony.

Norah has worked so hard this year and her success is her own. This was a stressful year for us as a family. We had a new baby and spent pretty much her entire school year thinking we may or may not be moving soon. Bryan travelled quite a bit in the fall attending conferences and was looking for jobs. We had a lot of distractions and it felt like we were spread thin as parents with a new baby, a moody threenager craving extra attention and a kindergartener with a LOT of homework. Norah amazed us this year with her maturity. She made daily compromises with Alice to keep the peace. She patiently waited for help on her homework when we were busy with dinner or the baby. When we felt that Alice needed to go to bed early, Norah would help by “pretending” to also go to bed and wait till Alice was asleep to get up again. With few exceptions, Norah woke up on her own every school day, dressed herself and reminded us to comb her hair. Sometimes Norah would wake up painfully early. If Bryan and I were exhausted from being up with the baby Norah would tip toe in our room and whisper “I’m just going to go color in the kitchen.” Many of these early morning works of art were gifts for her wonderful teacher. If there is anyone else to credit for Norah’s fantastic year, it is Ms. Dominguez, Norah’s strict but inspiring teacher. Bryan and I have both observed Ms. Dominguez in action and she is nothing short of an extraordinary teacher. Norah was so lucky to have her this year. Norah produced a prolific amount of art this year. She came home from school with a journal for every subject plus one just for writing and they were all filled with illustrations. Her “Diario de Escritura” was truly a diary with entries about playing with Alice, holidays, outings and birthday parties she attended. I was really blown away when I flipped through it. I think I will have to take it to kinkos to be scanned but in the mean time here are few pieces of art from her back pack:

Self Portrait on manila paper, cut out and glued onto an illustrated frame. Dallas Skyline: Note the inclusion of Reunion Tower, Pegasus on top of the Magnolia Hotel, and a very very large robin flying over the city Patterns

Mimi visits Dallas

Susan came to visit for Norah’s birthday. She was very helpful with party prep and we had a great time while she was here despite the constant rain. We visited the Perot museum and had lunch at Chicken Scratch before she left.

Norah’s Rainbow Art Party

Today we celebrated Norah’s 6th birthday with all the colors of the Rainbow. The set up Mimi made Norah a rainbow veggie platter Kelly Dolezal made her amazing cake We started the party with a craft – here is Frederick and Harper Mimi and FreyaMe with my birthday girl  We played bean bag toss – this is Bryan thinking “How did “can’t get no satisfaction” make it on the playlist?” We played pin the cloud on the rainbow. Brooke spun all the kids around It was a little crazy having 12 kids painting at the same time but I think they enjoyed it Danielle and FreyaNorah specifically requested to have party hats and blowers at her party. Front and center is Brooke, left side of the table front to back is: Oliver, Frederick, Nataly, Willa, Kathryn. Norah is back and center. Right side of the table front to back is: Alice, Nathan, Dania, Harper, Blake Notice the rainbow fruit skewersWe are crazy about this little girl. I’ll have to devote another post to how much I love her later.

Freya at 10 months

Freya will be 10 months in 4 days and I wanted to write this post ahead of Norah’s birthday festivities. Freya is a calm, happy baby. When she wakes up in the morning and when she wakes up from her naps she pulls herself up, walks along her crib to the side near her bedroom door and leans out to reach the door and opens it. This is usually the first sound Bryan and I hear in the morning – the creaking of her bedroom door opening followed by her happy chatter calling us to come get her.

Other random notes about this past month: Freya eats a fried egg most mornings for breakfast along with fruit and cheerios or puffs. She loves to eat! She claps her hands now and loves to clap with others. I moved the play kitchen out of the playroom and into the kitchen and Freya spends a lot of time opening and shutting the play kitchen cupboards and pulling out the play food. She knows that she is not allowed in the bathrooms and that just makes her want to be in there even more. Norah even said “I think her goal in life is to be in the bathroom.” If she hears us coming to get her she just crawls faster to the bathroom while giggling. Freya and I are taking a mommy and me yoga class at the Y and I love it! It’s one hour a week when I am completely focused on her. She mostly crawls around the room and plays with the toys the instructor has out for movers but I enjoy just being able to watch her without thinking about chores I need to do and Freya comes back to my yoga mat to check in with me and there are lots of interactive moments that involve things like counting toys and singing nursery rhymes. Freya is still turning heads everywhere we go and she still draws comments about her pretty red hair. Patient admirers are now rewarded with waves and bashful smiles.

Alice’s Preschool Carnival

On 25th we went to Spanish House’s annual spring carnival for the 3rd year in a row. Seeing Alice perform with her class was a striking reminder of how fast children grow up. Repeating milestones with her that we experienced with Norah is continual déjà vu and it really does seem like yesterday. It is wonderful to get to indulge in a 2nd helping of childhood.

I couldn’t get a good picture of her performing but here she is with her classmate Cooper And another classmate Taylor With Jasper – who is the younger brother of one of Norah’s old preschool classmates Felix And on another day with her kind teachers Yanet and Ofelia