The Big Recital

After nine months of weekly lessons, Taylor's year of ballet classes ended with the big recital on Saturday. I have to admit, ballet lessons were kind of painful for me. A bunch of moms crammed into a tiny waiting room in an old building that had crapola heating and cooling. We were banned from watching practices (not even through the windows), not to mention that practices were on Tuesdays, so I had to speed home from work to get her dressed and ready by 5. Then there were the two insanely long dress rehearsals this week and the two (yes, two) recitals that took up the entire day Saturday.



But when I saw my little girl up there dancing her heart out and smiling so bright, it was all worth it. Gah, I can't believe I just typed that.



Of course, I thought she did great. :) And, with the stage makeup and tight bun in place, I didn't see a little girl. I saw the beautiful young lady she is becoming. Wow.



Ready to go! She wasn't nervous at all. Smiled for three days straight. :)

My little ballerina princess.

Waiting with her friends.

It was a long day for the girls, but they all did great.

During the finale with all of the dancers. We weren't allowed to take pictures during the dances but I did get this at the end. I took a video of her dance at the dress rehearsal, but it's too long to put on here.

All of us.

Grandma and the kiddos.

This makes me smile. Michael was cute. Every time a dance ended he'd say, "TayTay next?" Every time he'd see her in costume he'd say, "TayTay CUTE!"

Daddy and his Worm.

Home after a change of clothes and ice cream. :)

I'm a proud mama.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Butterfly Show

I'm exhausted from three long days of rehearsals and two dance recitals for Taylor, but I wanted to get this blogged before I put up the ballet pictures. Yes, I'm anal about things being out of order like that. :) I'll get to the recital blog tomorrow.

My mom joined the Worm, Pear and I at the butterfly show at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati on Monday. There were hundreds of beautiful butterflies! The theme was "Butterfies of Asia" but I'm pretty sure I saw a few butterflies from my backyard, too. The kids are given fake flowers to encourage the butterflies to land on them. Both had several come their way!

Aren't they pretty?

I love when they get along. :)

She got one! Taylor wore pink to attract the butterflies and I think it worked. One even landed on her hair bow, but I wasn't quick enough to get a picture.

Michael with a new friend. He let them crawl all over his hands and arms! Taylor wanted NO part of that.

Since we were in the neighborhood (literally less than half a mile away), we stopped by my old street, the one I lived on right before I got married. I loved that place! It was a cool apartment with hardwood floors, arched doorways and real charm. The condos and houses on the tiny street are super nice and at the end of the street, there's a great view of the river. We used to watch the Labor Day fireworks from there.

Grandma and the kids at the overlook.

It was fun showing them where I used to live. Side note: check out how long Taylor's legs look.

Off to get some much needed/deserved sleep.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Class of 2023

Well, Taylor is officially a kindergartener now! Even though she's been through several graduations, I still teared up a little when she was singing. She's grown up so much in the last year and I'm so proud of her.

All prettied up and ready to go!

After receiving her diploma from her fave, Mrs. Washburn. (Her little cap was sliding down on her face all night!)

Taylor and Mrs. W at the reception. Such a great teacher!

Thursday was the end-of-the-year picnic at the park. The school rented three big inflatable bouncers (one with a huge slide) and the kids just had so much fun.

Taylor and one of her besties, Eryn.

Michael in one of the bounce houses.

On the big slide.

Taylor and her lifelong buddy, Noah.

The Pear ditched the inflatables and stuck with the old-school equipment.

The Worm and the Pear.

This picture is for Taylor - Mrs. Washburn on the big slide.

Taylor didn't want to leave her.

A few other pictures from the week:

The yard after I mulched. Mulching SUCKS, but I like how it looks. How much is that doggie in the window?

Pear showing his muscles.

Tay Tay.

I'm going to post about the weekend next. Two posts, one day. I. rock.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

We Are Family

We had a taste of Pittsburg here in rural Ohio this weekend. Mike's mom and his stepdad came to visit Friday night and his uncle and his family stopped by on Saturday and we joined them in Columbus for cousin Matt's AAU basketball game. It was great seeing everyone!

Rich, Marilyn, Taylor and Michael at breakfast.


The kids with their grandma.

The Pear enjoying a ring pop and Matt's game.

Matt takes a shot.

Matt showing Pear how to play a game. Matt and cousin Gracie were so sweet to the Worm and Pear!

Gracie, Pear, Worm.

The N****a family menfolk.

Group shot #1 - taken by me...

Group shot #2 - taken by Maureen.


Can't wait to see everyone again in July!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Growing Up and Happy Trails!

Today was Taylor's last day of school and tonight is the big graduation ceremony. Yes, she went through graduation last year before we decided on another year of preschool and actually even had a promotion ceremony when she was three. So, this is graduation Numero Tres; we've joked that she could probably direct it.

I took a picture of the kids this morning. Look how much they've grown since the first day of school back in September!

September:
Today:


I fear the day that Michael is taller than Taylor and we all know it's going to happen sooner than later!

I think I've mentioned on here before how much I like where we live in the spring/summer/fall. We're kind of off of the beaten path but still in a smaller city, so there's tons of outdoor stuff to do. We see wildlife all of the time, a real treat for this city girl. One of my favorite places is the bike trail. The trail is actually two smaller trails (about 2 1/2 miles each) with a connecting path that goes through the city. Our house is about a mile from the start of the trail, so when I bike the entire trail, I get in a good 9-10 miles.

I see all kinds of cool things on the trails - tons of cardinals, blue jays, etc., always deer in the adjacent meadows, creeks, bridges, rabbits, etc. The second half of the trail goes past farmland - sunflower fields, ponds, crops, cows and the like. Beautiful! The only bad part is the connecting trail that runs through a bad part of town. I joke that the 10-mile path takes me past farm animals, forest animals, a college, two parks, a crack house and a refuse dump. Variety is the spice of life! (Oh yes I did just quote Tony Horton.)

Here are some pictures of the "farmy" part of the trail. I walked it with the kids and Champy over the weekend!

The entrance to that part of the trail is a park. We never actually play at this park because, as I mentioned, it's kind of in a bad part of town (and I don't get creeped out easily). We were the only ones there and had fun!

Taylor likes to push Michael. I was dealing with Champ, who is ordinarily good, but a sniffing/pulling/marking machine on the bike trail where so many other dogs roam.

Lots of big, old trees.

Stopping for a break at the creek.

Big field, ready to produce some crops!

The Worm on one of the bridges.

Cool old barn. Reminds me of being at my grandma's house when I was a little girl.

Champ appreciates the shade.

He had fun!

Picking flowers.

Sorry kiddos, Champ gets to ride shotgun.

Time to get ready for graduation, Part III.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel