my preschooler...

has quite the attitude as of late! she makes jack look like a saint at this age. i'm embarrassed to admit that i have been punched, poked in the eye, hit, yelled at and told that i wasn't wanted in this family anymore-nice!? of course, this is met with loads of tears, and when all is said and done remorse, but still i went and pulled out all of the parenting books again to better equip myself, only to find that nothing short of screaming (and then crying right along with her) seems to work, and even then it's a crap shoot! once the dust settles, i'm left wondering where my sweet little girl went. between her tone of voice, use of hands(which is new to me because jack never used his hands), and screaming i'm ready to ship her off to the island of misfit kids;)

on a happier note, daley had an amazing time on vacation (the above behavior didn't make the trip). she jumped right in the water, showing little to no fear this year! amazing what a difference a year makes. she remembered having fun and dancing at the salty dog last year, and that is all she wanted to do this year! she could not wait to go, and much to my surprise without hesitation got her face painted, played dress-up, hula-hooped and danced around. much like jack she woke up ready to go to the beach, and could stay there all day playing in the sand, taking walks & flying her kite.

see above title...i now have a pre-schooler! we went to her open house last week, and she started this past wednesday. i knew she was ready, but i didn't realize how ready when she walked in and never looked back! of course, i cried as i drove away, because i swear just yesterday she was placed in my arms...i'm sensing a pattern here;) apparently i need to learn to let them go a little bit...

i've got a whole bunch more, but here is a post-dance ice cream pic;