Elia October 2019

We may need to rotate Elia’s blog to the beginning of the month or at least title it differently since Halloween is at the end of October and will show up in November’s blog. We are also so far behind in blogging that it doesn’t matter as much to try to write a blog every 15 days. In any case, Elia continues to define her personality and her self. She tries hard to be funny, and can largely laugh at herself if she is laughing already. If we tell her she is cute or funny though, she can give us a “doo-doo face.” She likes to tell you to “look at my booty,” or say “a’ight” for “all right.” She continues to have a facility for dancing and loves to sing to songs on the “radio.” Continue reading “Elia October 2019”

Curie September 2019

September means Curie’s birthday and we had her party at Scramble. Elia got her little cake again and sat next to Curie to blow out the candles. For her birthday Curie wanted the Clock Tower from Hogwarts (more than the main hall) because it was a big set and Curie is very proud of being able to build entire sets on her own, though this time she did want us to help if just to keep her company. Note, we did not finish the clock tower until October. The party was great, and as with each party since starting school we also invited new friends from school that Curie just met. It made for a bit of disjointed playing as there were friends from Bright Horizons, friends from school, and new friends as well. Continue reading “Curie September 2019”

Elia September 2019

So Elia starts kindergarten. We pause for a moment and recognize what a big change this is for her. When Curie went to kindergarten Elia cried when Curie got on the bus because she couldn’t get on the bus. Elia was nervous and Curie told Elia that she was nervous when she got on the bus the first time, something she never told us. But Elia was a trooper and had a great first day. Albert wrote in Facebook that on the drive to work that he was sad that Elia wasn’t in the car anymore and that he missed her. Both of us had tears in our eyes as the bus pulled away. Tears of pride and sadness as the girls grow up and continue to grow up.  Continue reading “Elia September 2019”

Curie August 2019

August is about Japan and back to school. We have written about Japan in our Vacation, Urban Hiking, Food Crawl section, and in Elia’s blog, but as we said in Elia’s blog we will try to write from each girl’s perspective as well. Curie looks like a kid now, with her missing teeth and gangly limbs, but she is still so much our little girl wanting to help and take care of everyone. She grew an inch this summer, making her taller but still shorter than most of her friends. She rediscovered cheese and eats a lot of pizza, so hopefully she is getting some calcium.

Continue reading “Curie August 2019”

Elia August 2019

So August for Elia stretches from July 16 to August 15, so though she starts kindergarten in August, it won’t be until her September blog that we’ll write about it. The summer went by so quickly. The days are largely about the different camps at Congo, followed by weekends that we try to make meaningful as much as we can. Elia has grown tremendously and has learned to go from camp to camp and learning with the change. She loved being in Great Adventures even more than being in specialty camps largely because she got to spend time with her pre-school friend Ezra. 

Continue reading “Elia August 2019”

Curie July 2019

So July for Curie is all about pony camp at Congressional, this year Erin got her in four times, so she had the chance to really get to ride. We even bought her and Elia cowboy boots so that she could ride with her own boots. Elia got to ride when she was in Great Adventures, so luckily she didn’t feel that she was left out or anything. Curie learned to take care of the horses, trot, and even jump. When it came time for the Camp Luau, every person at pony camp knew Curie and made it a point to interact with her.

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Elia July 2019

Elia’s catch phrase is “doo-doo face.” It comes from when she makes up words when she can’t think of words to say, but has evolved into whenever she wants to be funny and will tell you you have a doo-doo face or she has a doo-doo face. A doo-doo face is what you think it is, revulsion at a food you don’t like, frustrated face, angry face, a face of annoyance, or of disgust. It is a grimace and a contortion usually followed by a burst of laughter. You can say it to her when she is frustrated and it will make her laugh, Continue reading “Elia July 2019”

Curie June 2019

June means the end of school and the beginning of camp, and the end of second grade for Curie also means the end of preschool for Elia. The girls went back to the dentist and while Elia was okay Curie had more work to do including losing another tooth. When the day came, and she had her tooth extracted the same day Elia graduated from preschool, they ended up extracting two teeth. It was terrible, and while Curie bounced back the next day, she was miserable even as she was helping celebrate Elia’s graduation. Curie (and Albert) have a fear of the dentist and so the night before Curie went to the dentist, Albert spent some time teaching her box breathing to control her anxiety before going to the dentist. Afterward she told Albert (because Erin takes them to the dentist), that she did the breathing, and hopefully having something to concentrate on helped her that day. Continue reading “Curie June 2019”

Elia June 2019

Elia’s June was all about graduating from K-Prep at Bright Horizons. Erin’s parents came up for the event and we took pictures and video for Albert’s parents. Unlike Curie, who we kept in pre-school up until she went to kindergarten, Elia will be going to camp this summer with Curie. We have some misgivings since Ms. Chelsea is really doing a better job than Ms. Ariel did preparing the kids for kindergarten, and we worry whether or not the repeated changes will be too much for Elia. On the flip side, learning about the changes and adjusting to them is not a bad thing either. In the end she will be okay, but Albert remembers the days at camp feeling awkward and alone. We also discovered that Elia won’t be with Curie at camp as the kindergartners go to the little school rather than the big campus at Congo Camp (spoiler, it is July and this all works out). Continue reading “Elia June 2019”