School, Dance & Play...

First Day of Preschool--No Tears! Kate began preschool nearly a month ago on August 25 (Photo 1: here she is with the Triceratops in the lobby of her school). She attends once a week for three hours. It's a nice break for mommy and Kate seems to enjoy it as well. Kate doesn't cry at all when I leave her. One of her buddies is in class with her, so it's nice to have a familiar face there. She has had a couple of minor incidents where she's gotten "hurt" on the playground. Nothing serious, but she has needed muchh comforting according to her teachers. By the time I pick her up at 11:30a, she is exhausted and I receive absolutely the biggest hugs I've ever received followed by several, "Mommy, I love yous..."

Dance Class: Kate began dance class in August with her pals Matilda, Samantha, Parker and Kylie. It's a Tiny Tot class without mommies. All of the mommies huddle to watch the tots through a tiny observation window. Kate enjoys this class more than I could have possibly imagined. While she hates her pony tails, she wears them for dance class. She despises tights, but wears them without complaint. But beyond how much she enjoys the class, I am astounded at how it has changed how she plays. Kate revels in movement, loves watching herself in the mirror, and dances her way through much of the day. She points her toes, bows and spins whenever the music moves her! It's such a joy to watch and I often catch her "practicing" her moves from class. Her class teaches primarily ballet and alternates between tap and tumbling every other week.

Photo captions: Above she is showing off her fantastic moves in her dance outfit. Below, she is showing off her moves while visiting Papa Ron & Nama Vicki on the golf course.

Imaginative Play: Whenever Kate is not dancing around, she's usually playing with her characters and Little People house. While that's nothing new, the way in which she plays has totally changed. For the past few weeks, she has been using her characters to reinact her television programs. For instance, it began in the pool with Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. She'd have them solve mysteries like they do on My Friends Tigger & Pooh. She has characters use a "map" like on Dora the Explorer and says "Mission Completion" like on Little Einsteins. You'd think she watches TV all day, but I am still a strict enforcer of just one program in the a.m. and one in the p.m.

Grocery Store: Kate takes her grocery cart through the house and then ends up at the cash register to "buy" things. I love setting up the food for her to "buy" and watching her decide which foods she'll purchase as she walks around putting food into her grocery cart.

Birthday Parties: Kate's obsession for all thing birthday occured sometime after Keith's birthday in August. Now she really loves playing with her Melissa & Doug wooden cake (thanks Auntie Dale!) and plastic cupcakes to throw birthday parties for her characters at least once and often several times a day. She even puts out her tiny cards throughout the house to "decorate."

The only down side of this "advanced" play is her desire to play with me (or daddy or whomever is around) much more. I suppose we should revel in her desire to spend time with us since I'm sure this phase will be short-lived and change before we know it.