Today she used several new and more complex words for the first time, including imagination, confused, usually, and amazing. She also loves the phrase "super duper" and can entertain herself easily for 20-30 minutes carrying on a monologue with her toys as willing participants.
She knows all the words to Brown Bear Brown Bear and LOVES practicing letters and numbers with Owen as we get him ready for his Kindergarten screening next month! She can count to 16. Delaney still prefers Caillou but watches anything for Thomas to Dora. She loves music and singing and will stand at Derek's mike stand pretending to perform while giving random strokes to the guitar nearby. We predict stardom. ;) She has also started Tiny Stars dance class this spring, trying out tap and ballet for 45 minutes on Saturday mornings in Miss CherylAnn's 2-3 year old class at Star Dance. She will move up to the 3-4's in July and most likely stay in that class for Fall, culminating in her first recital this December.
As for Owen he is still into rescue heroes (especially firefighters and all their gear) and also construction and trucks/work vehicles of any kind. He is always creating meters and systems using pulleys, ramps, conveyor belts of his own design, and loves to play at rappelling using elastic cords, bike helmets, toy axes, and the like. He pops out of bed every Saturday morning for an hour of Rescue Heroes at 7 AM and also enjoys Paw Patrol, Bob the Builder, and Chuggington. He went to his Kindergarten orientation at Wiley Canyon Elementary yesterday with daddy, and was so excited about it he couldn't stop laughing and jumping around before I left for school myself. He can write his name, knows lots of letters and counts to 29. We haven't worked too much on letter sounds or number identification (both skills on the screening) but I am not too worried about that. He definitely recognizes 0-5. It's so different being a K educator and now parent of an incoming K student. Bizarre.
Both kids have been at the Y in swimming lessons since January; Delaney immediately started giving her bath baby lessons in the tub and both kids beg to swim at our condo pool as often as possible. Delaney is a "Pike" and Owen moved up to the "Eels" after 4 months of hard work on his kicking and "ice cream scoops" (arm stroke), floating, confidence, and jumping in/going underwater in the Pikes with his sister. Both kids also go to a weekly gymnastics class at Hugo's (a generous Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa) and they really love it and look forward to it. On weekends Laney can be found "working out" with mom's 3 lb. handweights and running back and forth doing laps on the cul de sac. She says "When I'm 4 I'm going to be tough" She already is.
Owen is looking forward to turning five, a milestone when he will have to go in the men's room at the Y and not the ladies' locker room anymore, and also when he will start soccer. He is having a morning pool party celebration on June 14, with a soccer themed cake and decorations. He is hoping for a motorized police car. We will have to see about that. (Telling him there wouldn't be room in the garage to store it didn't really work; he came home and drew out plans of how to rearrange everything so there would be room for it.)
Anyway, we know we are going to blink and be taking them for prom outfits and graduation pictures, then packing them up for college, so we are trying to pause in the busyness of the day to day and really enjoy their innocence and freshness.
