Five Questions with Molly Paige

After Daddy tucked Molly in tonight, I got Molly Paiged...

"Mommy, I have 4 things to tell you about dinosaurs and one thing to tell you about me:

- The first thing about dinosaurs, were they ever pink in real life?
- The second thing about dinosaurs, did they have hair?
- The third thing, did they fight lots of times for real with the Wooly Mammoths?
- And the fourth thing about dinosaurs, did they live in houses?"

(Of course, I answered each of these... which prompted lots of "Whys?" But I tried to move on...)

"Oh, and the one thing about me... I really like the new pool Daddy got me."

Molly and Mommy Friday - with Special Guests!

Since Daddy has been gone, and since Uncle Jim fixed Molly's playtable (our former coffee table) into a worktable worthy of a Kindergartner and wanted to get it to us, Aunt Lois and Uncle Jim came for a visit Thursday evening.

We went out to dinner and had a fun time visiting. Then, Friday morning, Molly showed them her favorite new park.

After visiting all the animals, (and getting follwed around by some ducks) Molly informed us that she had "114 wiggles" that she needed to get out on the playground.

After a little more than an hour, (which included 14 trips down the slide, 20 visits to the swing, and 40 sprints around the place) she declared that all of the wiggles were gone. We had a great lunch at Culver's, then (as Molly and I headed up for nap) Aunt Lois and Uncle Jim headed home.


Thanks for a great visit -- and a special guest appearance during Molly and Mommy Day! (I don't want to even count how many are left...)

Move Over, Ross Geller

SUE returned to the St. Louis Science Center on Friday. So, like the SUE groupies we are, Molly and I went to welcome her back to town.

Molly remembered EVERYTHING about the exhibit -- including the video clip where it looks like the T. Rex eats the TV.

She loved "digging" for bones, then cleaning off real fossils.

Thanks, Beth, for the tour! I'm sure we'll be back :)

Best Invention EVER

And the Tete A Tot award for best combination of a board game and snack food goes to...

Scrabble Cheez-Its!

Triple word score!

Seriously? My favorite game and cracker all smooshed together in cheesy, educational goodness?

Molly's only request, dear Cheez-It makers: can you send us a box of only Ms, Os, Ls, and Ys?

Thanks.

It was a very good May...

It's amazing how quickly May went... and how much fun we had during those 31 days. In looking at my Shutterfly folders, during the month of May we racked up 478 photos. Wow - 478 photos in one month? That's almost 13 pictures each and every day for 31 days.

May started with the Prom... and ended with preschool graduation, ballet recital, and a fun weekend in the country. We saw both Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunt Lois and Uncle Jim too. We had our last ballet lesson at school - and our last "Ballet and Pancakes Friday." We started t-ball, spent quality time on a variety of park playgrounds, got your hair cut at a big girl salon, and got to see an elephant up close at Grant's Farm. Mommy went to Kindergarten Boot Camp and started to get herself ready for that big day, which is coming up too soon...

There are more blog entries coming on each of the big events. But in the meantime, here are just a few highlights of the big month that was...

Last Ballet and Pancakes Friday with Abby...

T-Ball Follies

Standing on the sidelines, I couldn't hear what happened... but I imagine this was the conversation:



"Hey, so, what do you want to do after t-ball today? We could have a sleepover... or go out for ice cream... or go to the park..."


Enter coach. "Hey, girls -- where should you be looking while you're out here in the outfield?"








Girls (simulaneously): "Over there."

Coach: "Then, why don't we try doing that."

Girls: "Oh... ok."

And scene...

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

The Kindergarten teachers at Molly's new school had a great idea -- to host a Kindergarten Boot Camp for parents at the end of May. The goal - to get us mentally and emotially ready for the big new adventure this fall.

It was a great idea and really well done. The teachers gave me some great ideas on things to work on between now and August to get Molly ready -- things like writing her name in upper and lower case... things to talk her through like the whole cafeteria process/experience... etc. I am really getting excited.

One of the things they gave us was the supplies list. And I L O V E school supplies. And I really love my Cricut machine.

So... take an old Rubbermaid tote:

Tape the supplies list on the inside...

Then spend a hour cutting away on my Cricut... and voila!

I figure that as we collect supplies for Kindergarten, we'll put them in the bin - then cart the bin to school on Kindergarten Orientation night.

Hopefully, this helps both of us get ready for Kindergarten...

Memory Like a T-Rex

Note: The following conversation took place last night. We originally saw SUE the T. Rex in Chicago in February (four months ago) and saw her again in St. Louis two months ago.

Scene: Molly's bathtime... in the bath tub. Molly coloring on the sides of the tub.

Molly: Mommy? Do you remember when we went to see SUE the T. Rex?

Me: Yes, Molly.

Molly: No, not the first time we went to see her... in Chicago... at the Field Museum. The second time we saw her. In St. Louis. With your friend there.

(Ed. note - I have a friend who works there who met us and showed us around.)

Me: Um, yes, Molly. I remember the second time we saw her. With my friend.

Molly: Do you remember how they had the coloring areas? Where you could color dinosaur pages?

Me: Yes...

Molly: And do you remember how they had the area where you could dig for dinosaur bones?

Me: Yes...

Molly: And how they had the movie? In the tent? The one with no sound? The one that was all about how you could go on vacation and dig for dinosaur fossils?

Me: Yes, Molly. I do remember that movie. You have a very good memory.

Molly: I'd like to go on vacation and dig for dinosaur bones one day - just like Sue Hendrickson.

Me: Sure, Molly. Maybe one day we can go on vacation and dig for dinosaur bones.

Molly (Worried sigh): But we don't have any palentologist clothes.

Me: Hmmm.... where could we find some palentologist clothes?

Molly: I bet we could find them at the palentologist store.

Me: I bet you're right.