Tete a Tot First: Big Girl Beauty Salon

We normally get Molly's haircut at the CUTEST kids' place in the world -- Cookie Cutters. It's great because it the kids sit in cars and watch videos while they get their hair cut. (And the woman who cuts Molly's hair is named Vicki and she even spells it right!) Oh - and it has a slide with Clifford on it in the INSIDE of the salon. (If Molly was awake and helping me write this right now, I'm sure she'd want that feature noted.)

Unfortunately, Cookie Cutters is not here... it's where Grandma and Papa live (three hours away). It's been a great special thing we always do during our visits to Papa and Grandma's... but then Molly's hair got CRAZY. And we need to have it cut more frequently than we can head over the river and through the woods.

So, now that Molly's hair grows like her mommy's (read: FAST), we had to find a closer solution. Luckily, Ellie's mom (as always) had a great suggestion. So we visited Miss Dana this weekend at an adorable boutique just down the street from Molly's school.

Here's the before:

Here's the during. (Molly especially loved the big clips in her hair... "Those are clip ponies," she informed me...)

And here's the after (note the fancy little braid):

Tete a Tot First: Graduation

Molly,

Tomorrow is the big day - preschool graduation. I remember the day you started at this school... you had just turned two. You picked out Baby Bear -- who was my Care Bear -- to take with you. You were so "cited."

That was just yesterday, right?

Love, Mommy

Tete a Tot First: Prom!

Last Friday night, we had a super-fun first: Molly's preschool hosted its annual "prom."

(Yes, Daddy freaked out when I first said the "p" word... but I quickly assured him that it was just a fun costume party to celebrate the pre-K classes. NO dates.)

And this year, the theme? A 1950's sock hop. Awesome.

Unfortunately, Daddy was out of town. But Molly and Mommy got all dolled up. Daddy even ordered beautiful corsages for his girls. Then we headed to a friend's house for some pre-prom photos...

... with a classic 1955 Chevy!

So after a few fun photos with the Pink Ladies, our cutie car hop, and our Danny Zuko stand-in, we headed off to the prom.

We had a FANTASTIC time. The school's owner and director went ALL out -- there was a diner with hot dogs, burgers, and root beer floats. And the dance room had hula hoops and lots of Elvis music. Molly rocked and rolled with her friends and teachers. It was so much fun - and it made me realize how much we'll miss her preschool this fall!

We ended the evening at the local ice cream shoppe. (The workers there thought we were from the local civic theater production of "Grease.")

Such a great evening with fun friends!

Tete a Tot First: The Lasts Begin

Today was the last watch day at ballet before the recital... the last watch day of ballet at your school... the last watch day of our Mommy and Molly ballet and pancake Fridays.



It's been so incredibly special, being able to be there... watching you as you do something that I always loved so much.

I'm going to miss our Mommy and Molly days -- but there are some of the most special memories I have.

Love you, ballerina.

Love, Mommy

Tete A Tot First: Eye Doctor

There's a new state here law that all kids entering Kindergarten need to have an eye exam before they start school. Good idea. So I took Molly to her appointment last Thursday morning, before we left for Indiana. (More on that later.)



Molly was a little nervous, but doing ok. She asked lots of questions in the days leading up to the appointment, including my favorite: "Do I get to keep my eyeballs after the eye doctor?"



"KEEP your eyeballs? What do you mean, sweetie?"



"Well, do they fall out?"



"No, sweetie - your eyeballs are not like teeth. They don't fall out and you get to keep them."



After we cleared up the "eyeballs don't fall out like teeth" issue, she was fine. She did keep asking if I'd go back with her... and I hadn't even thought about asking the nurse that when I made the appointment.



So we get there, and I fill out the paperwork while she's watching some Dog Nanny 911 show on Animal Planet... but the dog's name is Molly, so it's all good. Then the nurse calls, "Molly? Come on back with me. Let's go play some games."



And it took every ounce of willpower the rational half of my brain could muster to override what my mommy half was screaming: GET UP AND GO WITH THEM!!!!!!!



And I watched Molly take the nurse's hand and head back to the great unknown of her first eye doctor appointment like a big girl.



*mommy tears*



Thirty minutes later (or 3,000 in mommy minutes), I get called back. The nurse asks, "So, you're going to Indiana for a bonfire?"



"Yes, we're going to visit Molly's grandma and..."



"Ah yes," replied the nurse. "We've heard ALL about your trip."



The nurse opens the door and there's Molly and the doctor. She's reading the eye chart like a pro and talking the doctor's ear off. And she did such a good job that she got THREE stickers!



She got a great diagnosis to boot -- a little farsighted, which is good/fine at this age. And a little allergic conjunctivitis - a.k.a. gunk in the eye from the crap in the air.



On our way out, I told Molly what a GREAT job she did. And I got a big hug in return. Another first in the books.

Beauty and the Beast

More on the circus visit later... but photos of Molly and her elephant-riding extravaganza...

Here's Molly and Cindy.

Molly and Papa and Cindy...

Molly and Mommy ready to ride Betty.

Our Chicago Adventure - Part I

Early in January, Daddy found some cheap airfares to Chicago, where your Uncle Paul lives. "Might be a nice weekend trip for you girls while I'm out of town." Nice thought, but then I started thinking about flying by myself with you... dealing with security, airport delays, shuttle buses, etc. and got thought, "Yeah, I'll pass."

Later that week, Uncle Paul passed along a deal from Amtrak. Round trip, you and me - $60. Sold. Grandma and Grandpa could come over for the weekend, too, and it would be a nice little family gathering.

I really didn't think through the "Chicago in February" part... but other than that, we had a FANTASTIC time. And it was a trip filled with lots of firsts.

First #1 - Amtrak ride! The Amtrak was great. Nice and relaxing with no traffic to worry about. Ellie's Grandma Lil dropped us off, so we didn't have to worry about parking or anything. We walked in, checked our bag, and waited to board. The very nice lady behind the counter gave you a Pinocchio coloring page (why Pinocchio? I don't know... it's what they had on the counter) and some crayons.

We boarded and were seated on the top level, which you thought was amazing. You spent a lot of time just looking out the window, which was so sweet.

Next, the conductor announced that the dining car was open. Dining car! How cool! So we ate pizza on the train as we watched the countryside roll by...

You took a little nap after lunch and, before we knew it, we arrived at Union Station. Grandma and Grandpa met us there to help me with the luggage (and you!) and escort us to Uncle Paul's apartment. We made dinner and greeted Uncle Paul and Ellie as they arrived from Milwaukee... then Uncle's Paul's girlfriend Julie and her two girls.

Grandma and Grandpa headed off to their hotel as we settled in for bed, making plans for Saturday... Day one of our Chicago Adventure was a success - and the fun hadn't even started yet!

Tomorrow: the next part of our Chicago visit, including the trip to see Sue the T. Rex!

Molly -

It's hard to believe we're only one month into 2009. You had enough fun in January to fill three months! Let's recap:

- You had 2.75 sleepovers... Ellie slept at our house... you slept at Abby's house... then you almost slept at Ellie's house...twice. Almost. Maybe "third time's a charm" on that.

- On the same day that Ellie spent the night, we had Home Depot day (and built football bookends) AND went to Build-A-Bear. You girls played in the play area at the mall and had lunch at the food court. Seriously, could that day have been any better?

- Celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day... you actually learned who he is!

- Celebrated the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

- Went to see Mo Willems and his reading of Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.

- Snow day spent at Jake's house

- SNOW!!!

And behind the scenes, Mommy signed you up for Cinderella Ballet Camp for this summer, tee-ball for the spring, planned an Amtrak trip to Chicago for next month (complete with lunch at American Girl), and Daddy and I registered you for Kindergarten on Friday. (More on that later.)

Wow - I think we got our money's worth out of January! Can't wait to see what February (and the rest of the year) has in store for us.

Love you, peanut.
Mommy

2009 - A Year of Firsts

Molly -

Happy New Year! We had a wonderful Christmas vacation -- off almost 2-1/2 weeks! -- with lots of playdates, relaxing at home, and even your first sleepover at our house.

And that got me thinking, as I often do, about all the firsts that happened in 2008:

- Your first ballet recital

- Your first sleepover at a friend's house, even if it was accidental...

- You learned to sing the National Anthem

- Your first Presidental election

- Your first ear of corn on the cob

- Your first rock concerts

- Your first movies at the theater -- "Horton" and "Madagascar 2"

Then all the firsts that will happen this year:

- You just started whistling! So cool!

- Daddy and I register you for Kindergarten in two weeks... Kindergarten. Our first on that, for sure.

- You'll start Kindergarten. (Hand Mommy the Kleenex...)

- You'll turn five.

- You'll pick your third winner of "American Idol..."

- You'll learn so many things to make you even more self-sufficient: you've tackled zipping your coat by yourself. Now on to tying shoes and brushing your teeth. (Mommy still does that for you - but there's a l o n g story there.)

Daddy and I are so amazed at you - and what a big girl you are. Everyone told us when we were pregnant and right after you were born how quickly time would fly. It's not that we didn't believe them -- it's just that we didn't know how true that was. We blinked and you went from a baby to a little person. We're afraid to blink again -- because you'll be driving, heading off to college, striking out on your own...

Love you, peanut.

The Accidental Sleepover

You had another first last weekend - your first sleepover at a friend's house! Of course, it kind of happened accidentally...

Daddy and I lucked into some last minute tickets for the Bruce Springsteen concert. We're pretty casual Boss fans but thought this sounded like fun. And wow - what a concert!

Anyway... all of our standard babysitters were either going camping, headed to a baseball game, or out of town for a wedding. So I tried your friend Abby. Her mom was thrilled to have you over for an evening playdate and invited you to spend the night.

Me: "Molly, would you like to spend the night at Abby's house?"

Molly: "Yes."

Me: "Should we take your blow-up bed?"

Molly: "No, I want to slee in my own bed."

(and scene)

So after describing how sleeping in your own bed is not sleeping at Abby's house, Molly decided that she would much rather sleep at home. Knowing the concert was going to be over late, we packed our jammies and our two best elephant friends and headed to Abby's.

It all would have gone according to plan... had the Boss not started the show almost 90 minutes late! (I guess the 7:30 start time was more of a suggestion, not a rule.) So, we were leaving the concert at midnight. I called Abby's dad and he said Molly was great and the girls were both asleep. I told him to call us if Molly freaked out in the night, but otherwise we'd see them for breakfast in the morning.

At 9 a.m. the next morning, the phone rings. All is well. You only woke up once for a drink of water and some pats from Abby's mom.

You were a little clingy when we met at breakfast... but you were also so proud of your first big girl sleepover at your friends.

Big girl!

Another First: Corn on the Cob

Last night, you ate your first piece of corn on the cob.

We were having dinner on the deck... you were helping me set the table (sort of). I put our little corn on the cob dishes in front of Daddy's plate and my plate. "Mommy," you said in a kind of annoyed sort of way, "where's my corn plate?"

"Do you want corn on the cob? Really?" I asked. What's the right age to give a kid corn on the cob, I thought? Where's THAT in the lexicon of parenting advice?

"Yes, please," you replied as you promptly claimed my corn plate as your corn plate.

Ok, I thought. What the heck. She'll try two bites, then hand me the rest.

I was wrong. You ate it - every bite. Like a pro. Perfect corn-on-the-cob-eating form.

I don't know why this impressed me so much -- maybe it just seems like such a grown-up thing to do. It seems like yesterday when I was feeding you green bean puree... and now you're tackling corn on the cob.

(Side note: I'm not really sure why you're wearing your Steak 'n Shake hat. You've had it forever and haven't worn it in months... but you rediscovered it yesterday and it hasn't left your head since.)

So corn on the cob - a mini milestone... but one that I'll treasure.