Let me hear you clap your hands!

 

Meghan survived her first season of Cheer.  I made it through without completely losing my mind.  Hooray!

Here is a partial video of last weekend’s Fun Comp.

 

Fun Comp from Dorene on Vimeo.

She still sleeps through almost anything

 

I found this video going through my archives.  It’s one of my favorites.

Heavy Sleeper from Dorene on Vimeo.

The Recital - 2010

 

Meghan had her dance recital this past weekend.  At least this time I knew what to expect.  I wish there was a way to do these things without wanting to fall asleep in the middle.   I suppose it is much better for the families of the older kids who have multiple performance throughout the 2+ hour show.  The little kids dance for maybe 3 minutes. 

While Meghan was not dancing we heard this from Sean:

“Is that Meghan?”

“Where is Meghan?”

“Is Meghan hiding?”

“I have to go potty!  Is there a potty in here, Mommy?”

Enter the iPhone and a pair of headphones to the rescue.  He was occupied for the remainder of the show.

Meghan did great.  I believe she was the only girl in the class who went through this last year.  She was up there directing those who had lost their way (or were crowding her).  It was all very cute.

No video was allows at the recital but I did record the rehearsal.

 

Last year’s pictures turned out so cute that I am hoping to get more done this year.   The few I did take were a bit….off.

 

But I managed to get at least one cute one.

 

The Performer

 

Both Meghan and Sean love to entertain us.  Dancing, singing, comedic performances, acrobatics, you name it.  So, of course I am going to post some of it here.  It would be a crime not to.

The Performer from Dorene on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday to the Three Year Old

 

Presents!!

Untitled from Dorene on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Sean!

Wiggle

I've been trying to catch Sean's wiggling on video.  He always stops and just stares at the camera.  I was finally able to catch a little wiggle the other day.


Wiggle from Dorene on Vimeo.

I'm gonna keep trying for the ultimate wiggle video.  Because, seriously, those moves belong on camera.

Wordless Wednesday – Ga Ga, Oh La La – Love it

The (Belated) Birthday Post

 

On October 1st, Meghan turned five.  5.  F.I.V.E. Five.

She was very much looking forward to her birthday.  Last year she was invited to many birthday parties for her friends.  They did crafts or gymnastics or lots of other things that were way more exciting than the parties with which she was familiar.  But, there was one location that stood out.  And, for almost a year now, she’s wanted her party to be at Pump It Up. 

This year was the first year she was going to have a “real” party.  With her friends.  And, although a bit pricey, I welcomed the idea of having 20 kids someplace other than our house.

She was very excited.  I wish I had pictures but although we were only responsible for remembering the kids, cupcakes and camera, I managed to forget the batteries.  I did, however, remember the flip and the 2 batteries required for that to operate.

Here is just a taste of the fun.

 

M 5th Birthday: Slide from Dorene on Vimeo.

Of course we sang Happy Birthday.

 

M 5th Birthday: Birthday Song from Dorene on Vimeo.

And there was cake were cupcakes.

I was not planning on making milk-free cupcakes because I figured I could just give Sean something different.  However, after learning that one of the other children also had a milk allergy I decided to look into it.

I found this bakery that makes cakes and cupcakes dairy free.

They looked great and were yummy. Meghan requested the butterflies.

 

Next up.  Thank you cards.

Happy Birthday Princess!

The Recital

Saturday was Meghan dance recital.  Here is what we learned:

1. Little girls are adorable in little dance costumes with tutus.
2. So is a little boy dancing in a little tuxedo.
3. Preschool dance routines are hilarious.
4. There is only so much dancing one should be required to watch in a day.
5. The school grossly underestimated how long the show would run.
6. If you lose someone in the caravan on the way there it is not easy to guide them back through Worcester.  Especially if the person doing the guiding really has no idea what the street names are.

Meghan was one of the first groups to perform.  She did great.  All of the girls kept gravitating to the middle of the stage so they can see their teacher.  Meghan kept getting a bit crowded by the girls next to her which threw her off a bit.  But it was really cute.  We were not allow to take video or use flash photography.  But I did record her rehearsal.

 

The Rehearsal from Dorene on Vimeo.

 

Overall it was a cute show.  However, it was really way too long.  Poor Sean had to sit through it all.  He made it most of the way through without causing a fuss.  He got so excited when Meghan was on stage.  He kept trying to stand on my lap and was yelling “Meme!  Mama, Meme!!”  (Yes, he calls Meghan Meme.)

We did take some pictures after the show.

The dance school already sent the dates (and costume bill) for next year’s recital.  At least now we know what to expect.

More Video Cuteness

Sorry, I cannot help myself.


Elephant from Dorene on Vimeo.

Childproofing FAIL

Childproofing FAIL from Dorene on Vimeo.

Christmas 2008

Popping in to let everyone know we were not buried by presents (yet). Hope everyone got what they wanted in their stockings.

Christmas here went pretty much as I expected it would. Meghan came out not at all excited about the presents that appeared under the tree and instead wanted to sit on her chair to wake up a bit. It took Sean forever to open his gifts because he had to stop and play with each one. Meghan is more interested in Sean's gifts than her own. And somehow I only managed to take a handful of pictures.

But Santa did bring us a Wii and Wii Fit. And I got an iPhone. So all is well.


Christmas 2008


XMas 2008 - 1 from Dorene on Vimeo.


XMas 2008 - 2 from Dorene on Vimeo.


XMas 2008 - 3 from Dorene on Vimeo.


We will have Christmas - Part Deux when my parents arrive on Friday.

Tuesdays are kicking my butt

But, getting a few videos of Meghan dancing makes them worth the chaos.



Happy Halloween Dance from Dorene on Vimeo.

I could name a few people who would disagree with the lyrics

Customer is Always Right from Dorene on Vimeo.

We interrupt this blog for a musical interlude

Meghan (sort of) learned a new song.


The Witches Song from Dorene on Vimeo.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled surfing.

A new first at age four

Thanks to our weekend outing, I am up to my eyeballs in apple based baking projects. So, instead of a long post, I am going to toss a bunch of videos at you.

Friday Meghan got her haircut for the first time. Yes, you read that right. Her first haircut. At age four.

Apparently her hair was in very good condition because the hairdresser questioned me over and over again about this being her first cut.
"Are you sure it is her first cut?"
"She never got it cut before?"
"Not even you at home?"

No. No. NO! My lord. What did she think? That I forgot her first haircut? Jeez.

Anyway. I don't have any before and after shots. She really only got the ends trimmed off. But I do have some videos posted for your viewing pleasure.


Meghan's First Haircut 10/3/08 from Dorene on Vimeo.

Meghan's First Haircut (More) 10/3/08 from Dorene on Vimeo.


Sean Haircut- 10/3/08 from Dorene on Vimeo.

Sean Haircut (more) - 10/3/08 from Dorene on Vimeo.



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I'd also like to welcome all the twitter moms who have stumbled upon this site. Feel free to stay awhile and look around. It's good to have you!

Meghan's Big Day

Today Meghan had a very busy day. After a summer of not doing much at all she had both dance class AND her first day of preschool today.

Dance class was first today. We went shopping yesterday for her dance outfit. She looked so adorable today.





I was a bit worried about how she would do considering how little she participated in soccer last year. At first she just stood there watching everyone. But the teacher was great. After about 10 minutes or so Meghan was dancing around with the other girls. She had a blast.

I was able to watch from the other room and take a few videos. I heard her telling a knock, knock joke to the class. She was following direction very well. Toward the end of the class she stopped dancing and told the teacher she was tired. She needed to rest.


Dance Class - 2 from Dorene on Vimeo.

(I'm sure that instructor has been using the pizza example for years. But, no, my daughter must make it peanut butter and jelly.)

More videos here and here.

After dance class we had to rush home, grab lunch and head out to preschool. She even had homework she had to do over the summer and bring to class today. Her assignment was to decorate a beetle however she wanted and put her name in it. Here is her work of art:

Today was a preview day. Just an hour long and I stayed with her. She had some listening issues (surprise, surprise) but overall she was good. I'm not sure how she will do tomorrow for her full day without me there with her. I'm sure she will be fine but she keeps asking why no one in her family is going to stay with her tomorrow. I'm sure she is just being her normal dramatic precious little self.

Work with me here people

Meghan was always my morning sleeper. She would sleep until close to 9AM sometimes if you let her. Sean was the early riser. You could expect him to wake up anytime after 5:45AM. I was okay with that. If he woke too early he would sometimes go down for a morning nap before Meghan even woke up for the day.

Now, they seem to have reversed roles. Sean is sleeping until about 8AM. Meghan is waking before Ryan leaves for work (which I will say is much better than Sean's 6-ish risings). If only they would get on the same schedule. Just for a day or two. I know it will never happen but a girl can dream.

In other news, we went to the kidney specialist yesterday. She was really nice and spent a lot of time with Sean. He was so good at his appointment. He even gave the doctor a hug. Needless to say everyone there loved him.

After reviewing his history, looking him over and taking another urine test she said she does not believe he has any kidney issues. Which is great news! Just to be sure and to complete his workup we have an ultrasound appointment tomorrow to make sure everything look the way it is supposed to in there. She asked if we had been to a specialist to review his metabolism. Um, nope. So maybe there is another appointment in our future?

The good news is that he is starting to gain some weight. He passed 20lbs for the first time (Woo Hoo!). And developmentally he appears to be right on track. And he is a cutie pie.


Don't step on her head from Dorene on Vimeo.

Thankfully, she is not a light sleeper.

Heavy Sleeper from Dorene on Vimeo.

We have a Miley Cyrus fan

And it is not the child you would expect.


Dancing to Miley from Dorene on Vimeo.