Laina's First "school friend" Birthday Party!

Laina attended her first "school friend" birthday party this weekend at this enormous Bounce place! She had a great time and it was fun to see her playing with all her friends. She's really settling into her new school - - it took a little bit of time, but now she really seems happy there. And that makes me happy! Whew!

80's Day at School!

Last week they had 80's day at Laina's school. This was a bit of a challenge for me! First, I had a hard time remembering what the heck we wore in the 80's (yeah that made me feel old) and then once I figured it out, I had to actually find something we had in the house that would work. So, I went with neon pink, neon green, leggings, leg warmers and a good old side ponytail. I think she looked pretty cute!

Memorial Day Weekend '09

We had such a nice Memorial Day weekend. After working endless hours - nights and weekends - prepping for his trial last week, Joe took the whole weekend off and we had three glorious days together. We just had a fun time being together, being at home, having no set plans, and enjoying some sunshine. On Memorial Day we went to the parade, which was great. Laina loved it. Cooper thought seeing all the people was excellent but listening to the marching bands did not rank high on his list of "likes". Oh well!

Laina has been asking us to go to the beach so in the afternoon we decided to head there since Monday was the warmest day of the weekend. It was chilly right on the water but we were bundled up and had a great time. Laina loved digging in the sand. One of the many great things about being 5 minutes away from the beach is that I don't need to have a sandbox in my backyard! Despite the windy chilly temps, there were actually a lot of kids swimming in the water - yikes! Joe and Laina decided to dip their feet in the water. I decided not to join them!

Best of Buds

Laina adores Cooper. I couldn't be happier. She is so sweet with him. She wants to help do everything. If we go outside, she wants to come. We go for a walk, she wants to join. Time to put him in the crate, Laina wants to do it. Cooper needs toys, Laina provides. Cooper's toys are all over the house, Laina cleans them up. When Cooper first came home, she was timid around him. He was pretty busy and he moved a little too fast for her. I couldn't leave them alone together because it wouldn't go well. Now, they are just best of buds. It's nice because he occupies her ~ and she occupies him. Here's a cute series of photos taken one morning this week before leaving for school. It starts out all nice and composed --- but quickly de-rails!

We're Doomed!

Laina and I were driving home from gymnastics today. We live near the train station and the Downeaster (Amtrak) goes through our neighborhood many times a day. On the ride home from gymnastics we got stuck at the railroad crossing and were first in line. I said to Laina "here comes the train!" and she looked up to see the red lights flashing and the gates coming down. While she's very used to seeing the train many times a day, she's not as used to seeing the lights flash and the gates close and so with a very concerned voice she replied to me "WE'RE DOOMED"! I burst out laughing. Where do kids come up with these things? I'm sure she heard it on one of her shows but the fact that she used it "appropriately" in a sentence just cracks me up. I asked her, "where did you learn that?" and she said "I taught it to myself - my brain taught me". So funny.


This picture has nothing to do with the post but it cracks me up. Joe and I were outside grilling and taking Cooper out and we look up at our bedroom window to find this:
Laina had been sent to her room because she wasn't being a good listener. We decided to just have her stay up there and play until dinner was ready because it was just one of those days where we all needed a break. Well she must have been playing kitchen and then headed into our room to see us out in the backyard. She's wearing her apron and chef hat and smooshing her face against my bedroom window. What a nut.

Mama Bear

I put Laina to bed last night and after a while she called for me. I asked her what she needed and she told me "Mommy, I need to tell you this really bad news". So, I went upstairs to hear the "bad news". She told me that three boys at school told her that they didn't like her dress and that they said she couldn't play in the area of the classroom that they were playing. I asked her how she responded and she told me she told her teacher that they wouldn't let her play in that area and her teacher corrected the boys and Laina played there. I'm glad she didn't just walk away and that she asked her teacher for help. I asked her about the dress thing and I asked her if she liked her dress and she said "YES!" and so I told her that's all that mattered. I'm so tempted to waltz into school on Monday morning and confront the three little boys, but I won't. It's hard not to get all "mama bear" and want to protect your "cub" from any harm. School can be such a tough place some times and I hate that she has years of this junk ahead of her. The other part that just really bugs me is that when Laina woke up Friday morning she was lying in bed and she said "Mommy, its ok I wear my zoo dress today" and was so excited to wear it and then for the boys to say something mean about her clothes just makes me sad. Oh little cub. How I wish I could shelter you forever.

Ice Cream Treat!

After Laina's very successful photo shoot, we all headed out to Martel's for some very yummie ice cream! It was in the 70's today so we had to embrace the warmth and have ice cream!

Dance Recital Photos

Today, Laina had her pictures taken for her upcoming dance recital. She's been very much looking forward to wearing her beautiful purple dress. We had some work to do to get ready though...

Off to Jaime's for the "up~do"

Pretty french braids

Painting the fingers and toes...

Getting dressed and ready to head out

Finally, at the big photo shoot!

And now we wait a few weeks to see how the professional pictures come out! Laina's recital is held the first weekend in June so now May is dedicated to lots of rehearsals. Two in studio rehearsals and then a full dress rehearsal before the big show!!!

Mother's Day Breakfast at Pre-School

I was invited to, and attended a Mother's Day breakfast at Laina's Pre-School. It was so sweet. They served pancakes, french toast, fruit, muffins, juice and milk. I was also given a gift made by Laina - this beautiful tote bag that Laina decorated with her adorable little hand prints. I am very excited to use this bag and have actually been in need of an additional tote so this was the perfect gift!


One of Laina's teachers made up an interview about Mom and asked the kids all the questions and filled in the blanks. I love love love Laina's answers. My favorite is her first answer. "My Mom's name is" - - - and Laina replied "sometimes Daddy calls her Sandy". That is priceless to me.

To - Do - Go - See - Mekonis

What does it all mean, you ask? It means - - - my daughter actually read to me tonight. For the first time she actually sounded out words and read them to me from a book. We were reading a book called "Little One Little One What Do You See", which is a book that I had created for her so her name is strewn throughout the book. On the opening page it says that the book was made for "Laina Nicole Mekonis". So she read Laina because she knows that one. Then I helped her sound out Nicole and then on her own, she sounded out Mekonis. So from there I decided to give it a whirl with simpler words. We sound out words all the time, but tonight it was just different. You could literally see the gears churning and tell how hard her brain was working to process the sounds and put them together to make an actual word. It was incredible. You could just see it in her eyes, when it clicked and she got a word - she was bursting with pride - and so of course was I (followed promptly by tears welling up in my eyes). I have been so curious, for so long how children actually learn to read - - and tonight I witnessed it. It was truly awesome! Way to go Laina!

Going to Battle

Last year we were invaded by groundhogs. They burrowed under our mudroom making it their home. And, if that weren't bad enough, they paved the way for the skunks to move in. That was the real problem - waking up in the middle of the night last summer to the distinctive scent of one mad skunk - yuck! The problem is that there isn't much we could do about it last year because if we blocked of the holes, we were risking that we were barricading some animal beneath our mudroom - not pretty. So the fall and winter came and went and after the thaw, Joe went out armed with supplies to do battle with the groundhog. The whole thing has just become rather humorous around the house. He reminds me of Bill Murray in Caddy Shack (just a little less violent). Laina keeps saying to him, "Daddy, the groundhogs are NOT going to be happy with you"! and she tells him that the groundhogs are her friends. So for two weekends Joe has worked to build barricades on either side of the mudroom so that they do not come back this Spring. Through internet research he has learned that you have to dig your fence very deep because they will burrow so you have to make it hard for them. Laina has helped him do the digging, despite her new found love of the groundhog. For some reason I don't have even one picture of Joe digging his battle trenches, but I do have a couple of cute pictures of Laina decked out in her gardener's gear as Daddy's "first mate". I also bought her this adorable shovel and need to take a picture of her with that. From this past winter, with the snow - - - Laina loves to dig so she's been in her glory with this project! Here she is out front taking a break from the digging and stopping to smell the flowers.



And, for a look back - - - here's a picture of Laina from last May in front of the same bush in our front yard. My girl is growing up! *sigh*