Arielle's Art

I am so happy we have this magnet board so I can display my favorite pieces of Arielle's artwork. My latest favorite is the "Tinkerbell" picture on the upper right side. It is hard to tell from the picture but the wings are very detailed and she wrote the name with outlined block letters. The second picture below that with her name written so nicely on lined paper is of her and a moose playing ball in a rain storm. So cute! The picture that is on yellow construction paper next to Tinkerbell is of the "Incredibles" family. She made this one several months ago when she first started getting into drawing. Notice Elastigirl's stretchy arms that go all over the paper! Just below that is her first "book" that she ever wrote. It's her version of "Are You My Mother" and it flows over to the back side. Right under her book is a beautiful drawing of a field of flowers that she made for me followed by a coloful picture of the "Train to Pre-K" that she made at school just before she started her new class. Just thought I'd share some happiness for the day!

~Momma to Bug~

The Very Hungry Caterpiller, as written and illustrated by Arielle

On the way home from picking the girls up yesterday Arielle told me she was going to make a book. She said, "It begans with a T and ends with an R." It's called "The Very Hungry Caterpiller." The second that we got home she sat right down at the kitchen table and began making it. First she cut out the pages from a notebook and asked if anyone had a stapler. Then she made a title page naming herself as the Author and Illustrator. She knew both of these words go on the title page of a book {I had to help her spell them} but she had to ask the meaning of the word Illustrator. She remembered how to spell the word Catepiller all by herself. I helped her along with spelling on a few of the words but she did a pretty good job guessing at some of them herself. My favorite part of the story is on page six....see if you can figure out why!

I hope you enjoyed my four year old's version of Eric Carle's book, "The Very Hungry Caterpiller"

~Momma to Bug~

Four

Yesterday, I walked past the easel that so nicely {annoyingly} sits in the middle of our kitchen dining area and I found this sentence written very nicely on it. It says "I am 4". Arielle has been writing letters since before she started Pre-K but over the past year she has really improved tremendously. Her teacher, Miss Sarah, does a really good job of teaching her to write the letters correctly on lined-paper as well as knowing when to use upper and lower case letters. There are a couple of letters and some numbers {J and obviously 4} that Arielle still writes backwords but I know that if she sits down and practices writing it over and over again she'll get it right the next time. It's just getting her to take the time to practice that is the hard part.

The thing that impresses me the most is that Arielle has recently learned to READ! It all started a few weeks after Averi was born when we were out to dinner and Arielle blurted out the word "Stromboli". Zak and I asked her why she said that and she pointed to the sign behind us. We both just looked at each other with our jaws on the floor because she had read that word all by herself. I think she must have tried sounding it out in her head for at least fifteen minutes because that is how long we had been there before she said it out loud. Anyway, we kept asking her to read words from then on and she hasn't stopped. We have been told by an elementary school teacher that she is reading at at least a second-grade level. The most amazing part about it is that her words flow well and you can tell that she actually understands the concept of the book. She doesn't have to ask for help with very many words either. We are very impressed with her newly acquired skill. It couldn't have been timed any better because she is now reading books to Averi which is so cute to see!

In spite of all of her knowledge of reading and writing, I have to remind myself that she is still so young. That is why I am happy that she wrote this sentence on the easel for me to see.

~Momma to Bug~

Her first A

My girl is Growing Up! Here is proof:

Today I asked her if she wanted to draw in her friend's birthday card so she ran to grab a pencil and sat down at the table in deep concentration. A minute later she was asking me how to write the rest of Annabelle's name and when I looked down at the card I saw a near perfect "A"!
I happily wrote her friend's name down on a piece of paper (in all caps) so Arielle could finish what she started. Then Arielle announced that she couldn't write the next letter-N (she hadn't even tried) so I guided her hand along. I only had to help her with the N's and the B but the rest was all her! I am so Proud of her...can't you tell!

Today's art projects

Arielle could not wait to come home so she could work on her arts and crafts projects. I let her have at it, glue and all! The best part about arts and crafts is that she can do them all by herself. Every time she picks up a marker or glues stuff down on paper I am just blown away by all the little details. I wish I could frame and hang every single project but I can't so I've decided to start taking pictures of some of them...it's the next best thing!

Wednesdays

We all look forward to Wednesdays at our house for one reason...it is Show & Tell day at Arielle's school! For the past few months Arielle has enjoyed getting to choose one toy, all by herself, that she can take in her classroom and share it with her friends. Each week she puts a lot of thought into which toy she is going to bring with her. Sometimes she can't decide before we leave the house so she tells me, "I'm just going to bring them both in the car so I can decide later." She must have heard me say that once because it sounds much too grown up for her but it just makes me smile. I have never had to argue with her about only bringing one toy, despite the fact that she tells me her friends, Kayla and Alexa bring two toys. She is very understanding about the rules of show and tell and it just makes her day to hear me say it's Wednesday!

Today for show and tell Arielle chose to bring her newest toy, a small butterfly fairy keychain that Daddy bought for her. What makes this toy special is that it came with a teeny-tiny comb that can be hooked on the keychain. When Arielle told me she wanted to bring the comb in school I told her she needed to keep it attached so she didn't lose it but I thought for sure we would never see it again. Much to my surprise the comb was still attached to it when I picked her up. She makes me so proud!

Bobs, Bubbles and Belly Flops!

What do all of these words have in common? These are just a few of the things that Arielle has learned at swim lessons this summer. When we got to her first class last month we were happily surprised to see that Mr. Aaron, her instructor from the Parent-Tot swim classes, was now her Level 1 instructor as well. Mr. Aaron worked a lot with us in the toddler class to make sure that Arielle was ready for the next level. I remember how much she and the other toddlers cried when Mr. Aaron would have their parents pass them off to him. It took Arielle a couple of classes to get comfortable with the idea of being in the water with a near stranger but eventually she did it.

The one thing she didn't ever get comfortable with in her early years was going underwater but that all changed this summer! Bobs, otherwise known as putting your head underwater, have become one of Arielle's favorite things to do while in the pool. The first day of swim lessons she wouldn't do them. Even on the morning before her second lesson she told us she wasn't ready to go underwater but when she got there she went for it and was very proud of herself! Now she does it all the time without hesitation...I am so amazed at her accomplishment! She has also perfected her bubble blowing in the water which she first learned in her toddler classes but it is a very favorite part of the Level 1 classes for all the kids.

At today's swim lessons the kids were jumping off the side of the pool where the instructor was waiting for them and instead of going leg's first, Arielle did a belly flop both times! It's so cute to see those little kids sitting on the top step of the pool waiting for Mr. Aaron to carry them away for their next lesson. At first I honestly didn't think that Arielle could sit still for that long or pay attention for that amount of time but I was wrong. She is the only one in the class that isn't doing something their not supposed to at any given moment.

Her improvement shows every day. Just this weekend Arielle was doing the dog paddle in our pool. We are so proud of Arielle and how much she has learned to LOVE the water!

What a mess!

Yesterday Arielle was playing downstairs while Zak and I were hanging the new pictures in her bedroom when we heard a lound crash! We instantly looked at each other and all the sudden we heard her say "What a mess!" She had accidentally dumped her tote full of toys out onto the carpet. I was so proud of her for turning a mess into a fun thing that we could all laugh at. In fact, Arielle was so thrilled by our hysterical reaction to her dumping the toys out that she proceeded to do it three more times just so she could proclaim "What a mess!" and make us laugh over and over again. Of course it got less and less funny each time she did it again but she didn't know that!

First Time at The Movies

Zak took Arielle to see her first movie today. Actually, it was the second time we took her but I have tried to forget about the first time because it was a disaster. We had taken her to see Shrek 3 since she loved to watch the first two Shrek movies at home so much. She sat very still and quiet through the previews and the first fifteen minutes of the movie but fell to pieces thereafter. We ended up leaving early and I have been fearful of taking her back to movies ever since. We decided that she was finally ready to go back since it was a year later and she had seen the previews for "Kung Fo Panda" and liked it. I opted not to go because if it was as bad as it was the first time both of us would be miserable. Fortunately Arielle behaved perfectly so they stayed for the whole movie. She was very proud of herself for only whispering and apparently she ate more popcorn than Zak did!

More Organizing

Arielle spent some more time organizing over the long weekend. This time she was putting her toys into buckets and trying to color coordinate them at the same time! It is amazing to me that she spends most of her time "playing" just organizing her stuff because according to my mother I did the same thing. I'd have to say that I am a big believer in "Nuture" versus "Nature". She has really taken a liking to little things...the smaller the better for her to play with. She even has containers for her small things and she does a pretty good job keeping track of it all. I love every minute of watching her cherish her most prized possessions even if it only lasts a day or two and she moves onto the next toy.

Weekend fun!

What a beautiful, sunny weekend we had here in Colorado! The weather was the best that it has been for quite some time...temps were in the mid-eighties and there were no rain clouds in sight. The weekend started out great and ended even better. When I got home on Friday after work, Arielle announced that we were going to dinner at Red Robins! She collected all of her goodies in a bag to take to the restaurant and put her shoes on before I could even blink. This was amazing because usually we have to convince her that it is fun going out to restaurants. She is such a home-body and enjoys being at home so much that getting her to leave the house can be quite a chore!

Saturday morning we took a bath early and got ready to go to some garage sales! Arielle loves this because there are always so many things to look at and take home. She scored big with new books, a princess toy and baby-doll diaper bag with accessories. She told me, "Look at all this cool stuff"! Shortly after we returned home from garage sales, we left again to go to Thorntonfest (a local festival). We even brought the dogs along for this event! Arielle didn't mind the crowds, the heat or the lines...she was just so happy that Mommy & Daddy bought her a new tiarra at the fair!

The next morning, Arielle woke up a lot earlier than ususal so I took her into the guest room for both of us to go back to sleep. She did not want to sleep though...she wanted to play with her new toys from the garage sales so this is what she did for the next couple of hours while Mommy dozed off and on. It was the first time I had actually seen her entertain herself for this long of a period. She was talking to her dolls and playing without a care in the world! We finally headed downstairs and decided to make breakfast. Arielle helped me make the scrambled eggs even though she was worried about making a mess when she broke the eggs broke open. She had remembered the last time she helped and missed the bowl! She even set the table for us and loved getting to decide where each person was going to sit. After breakfast we piled into the car yet AGAIN and headed to the rec center for some indoor swimming. We ran into one of Arielle's friends from school and they really enjoyed playing in the pool together. In fact, her friend cried when we carried her away to go in the Lazy River. She kept asking her friend if he would go down the butterfly slide with her. It was funny because her friend is noticeably shorter than her so she would bend down to look at him when she talked! She loooked like such a big girl in her new bikini that I splurged on! At first she wasn't very receptive to this new bathing suit because it did not have a princess on it but then she decided it was great because Mermaid wears a top like this one!

Overall it was a fantastic, fun-filled weekend that I wish had never ended! If only I had taken some pictures to share :-(

My little reader

Arielle has quite a knack for "reading" books. Tonight she recited the entire Barbie "Mermaidia" book almost word for word and this is not the first time that she has amazed us with her talent. First it started out with the short baby books that she would read along with us then one day before the age of two, she recited the Dr. Suess "ABC" book. A few months later she rattled off the Golden Books version of "Aladdin" which we promptly videotaped. We can't get over how well she has memorized her favorite books and how easy she makes it look.

Something Arielle said to me the other day has stuck in my mind. She was eating a chocolate chip quaker granola bar and was crumbling it into pieces. I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm just picking the chocolate chips along the way!" She was as happy as can be when she said it too. It reminded me that I should really stop to smell the roses along the way (so to speak). Chocolate, roses...if you think about it their not entirely different from one another! Such words of wisdom from my little Bug!

Three Books

I was so proud of Arielle tonight because she actually understood subtraction. While picking her three books out for bedtime she asked for a book that I had taken out of her room and moved downstairs (wouldn't you know it). While I ran downstairs to find it, Zak read her one of the other stories she picked out. When I came back upstairs after Zak had finished reading the first book, Arielle became confused and started to pick one more book out because there were only two sitting in front of her. Zak and I both reminded her that we had already read one so there were two left. She got it and didn't even argue with us or cry for another book! I couldn't believe how it was as if she totally understood us in math terms!

I loved listening to Arielle's stories about school today after I picked her up! She was full of stories about what they did today. Her best friend Cayla even spoke to me when I picked Arielle up. She told me, "Don't forget Arielle's Jasmine!" Today was show and tell so Cayla was reminding me to take Arielle's toy home. Another one of her friends, Alexa, who came to her birthday party saw me and got a very big smile on her face! It was so cute!

Time to brag some more...

So Zak and I have always thought that Arielle was smarter than the average bear but in the past few months she has proved this to us over and over again. I wish I would have written every comment that she made that made our jaws drop but that is just not possible. Now that I have a blog I am going to try to type them every time I hear one. Here are just a couple to get me started:

-Driving home from sitting on the Easter Bunny's lap, Arielle was examining the picture and finally blurted out, "This Easter Bunny isn't real...it's a person!" We didn't know what to say, so I finally said that the real Easter Bunny was too busy making baskets for every kid in the world so he had helpers dress like him for the pictures. I think she believed me!

-Arielle and I started to sing the ABC song together, each taking turns saying the next letter. At the end of the song (now I know my abc's...) she decided to sing the entire phrase by herself but what she sang amazed me. Instead of ending with "next time won't you sing with ME" she changed the me to US because we had both been singing the song. It was very uplifting and I was pleased to have witnessed it!

Princess don't suck their thumbs

Today, as Arielle carried blankey out to the car on our way to school she told me that "Princesses don't suck on their thumbs." Even with her own reassurance, she proceeded to hold her blankey and suck her thumb the entire drive. I have told her a time or two that sucking on her thumb all the time will ruin her teeth and cause them to rot (like the pumpkin rotted on our front step while we were on vacation). What else can I tell her to make her stop sucking her thumb? She only does it when she is holding her blankey (or thinking about holding it). We can't take away blankey just yet...none of us are ready to take that leap! I have decided that if Arielle is still attached to blankie when she starts kindergarten, I am going to cut a piece of it off and let her keep it in her pocket at school. I told her my plan and she said, "That is so nice!"
On a good note, for the past couple of weeks when I drop her off at school she does not cry to hold blankey anymore. I guess we're off to a good start after all...

Who's Afraid of the Big Purple Monkey?

A few weeks ago we took Arielle to her first school friend's birthday party at Chucky Cheese's Pizza. When Arielle saw the big purple Monkey playing in the band on stage (they are animated and actually move) she was very afraid. Today, Arielle suddenly remembered the monkey and kept telling me over and over again that big purple monkeys are pretend and they don't go to real peoples' houses. I saw her eyes start to tear up and she started to get a look of fear but it soon faded as she reassured herself that big purple monkeys aren't real. I'm so happy that she can recognize the difference between reality and imaginary at such a young age.