A Dance Through Roma and Paris

Ramona's dance recital was on Wylie's second birthday. Forest and I decided to divide and conquer for this event: I pulled Ramona out of school early (one one of her last days of third grade), took her to her mandatory dress rehearsal, and stayed to watch and take videos. Forest and Mika went to the performance a few days later while I stayed home with Paula and the birthday boy so he could take a much-needed nap. I think this worked out well--our two-year-old boy has no business attending a dance recital if it can be avoided. (One-year-old Wylie was challenging enough at Ramona's recital last year.) And I still got to watch my young dancer prance around on the stage.

Ramona's ballet class danced to a song called "A Day in Roma."

Her jazz class danced to "Paris Holds the Key to Your Heart" from the movie "Anastasia."

Photos I took from the rehearsal:

The official program (which lists the wrong song for Ramona's ballet class--oops):

Mika and Forest at the show

Bravo, Ramona!

Two-Year-Old Wylie

My baby is two. Here is how he spent his special day:

Eggs and fruit for breakfast

Some pictures with baby bunny

 A red balloon from the party store

 Getting ready for his little party

 Backyard dinner with the Palmers

 James and Wylie

Greatest Showman karaoke for the girls

Leftover cake with two candles

It was a party. After our friends went home, Wylie got to open presents.

He is really scrutinizing this Spiderman Duplo set in the photo below. Could it be that he remembers opening that same gift a year ago and wonders if I hid it from him and wrapped it again?

After all that, Wylie's favorite gift was decidedly a tiny flashlight that came with his Spiderman pop-up book. It has little buttons that make noises to go along with the book. But forget the book. This- Flashlight- Is- AMAZING.

Dear Wylie--my precious Little Love,
   You complete our family in the most perfect way. I can't imagine us without you. Your mischievous smile lights up the room, and you are quickly using your new speaking skills to make funny statements that help us forget our problems and just laugh. The comic relief you provide for our clan is absolutely priceless.
   Your curiosity when it comes to how things work is quite remarkable. The mechanics of how a door can open and close. How a switch makes a light bulb turn on and off. How fan blades spin in a circular motion. How the buttons on a remote control change the picture on the TV. You are completely enthralled by the process of getting an object to open, close, light up, spin, stop, or change.
   When it comes to fixing a broken object, you are almost obsessive. We can't have a burnt-out light bulb or a worn-down battery in the house without you repeatedly demanding that we do something about it. (You have been know to do the same at other people's houses, too). Also, something like a chirping smoke detector is such a big deal, you will talk about it for weeks.
   I love how you comfort your sisters when they are sad. You put your face right in theirs and offer a gentle kiss or a hug. Despite having an aptitude for destruction and disassembly, you really do have a tender and sweet disposition.
   At some point you adopted the stuffed rabbit and its baby as your own, and the cuddles you give them are a charming depiction of your capacity for love and affection. You make my heart melt again and again. I love you so much and always will.

-Mama

Almost Two-Year-Old Wylie

We got a visit from Grandma a couple of days before Wylie's second birthday. She had just been in Mexico, and brought him a straw cowboy hat as a souvenir. 

He wore it around the house for a while, added some black cowboy boots as a finishing touch, and then showed off his new style to the neighborhood when we went for a walk down the street.

When the sprinklers came on by the sidewalk, the kids decided to play in the water before going home.

Once she was clean and dry again, Paula showed off some reading skills to Grandma.

Perhaps feeling inspired by those sidewalk sprinklers, the next day, we picked up some lunch and went to a sprinkler park in Loveland so the kids could get wet again.

In the afternoon, the girls enjoyed playing with Lacey and Cagney, Grandma's dogs.

At some point that day, I put together Wylie's birthday cake so we could celebrate while Grandma was still in town. It was about the time the kids were really raving about "The Greatest Showman" movie, so I attempted a circus-themed cake. It looked a little bit like two elephants sinking their legs into the top of a circus tent, but I didn't have too much of a problem with that.

It was good enough for Wylie, so it was good enough for me!

After cake, Wylie got to open up some presents from Grandma a whole day early.

Thank you Grandma, for the gifts! And thank you for visiting us!