Rapunzel

Today is the Princess Warrior Charity Ball. The Princess Warrior Foundation helps parents with kids in the NICU here in Kansas City. I heard about them when they walked in the St. Patrick's Day parade last year.

In the past they've had formal events as their fundraiser but this year they changed it to a family format with a Disney theme. I asked Allison what princess she'd like to dress as and she picked Rapunzel. I got the pattern and fabrics at JoAnn's for $35, and it was surprisingly simple. I love how it turned out (although I think it could use more netting in the underskirt to make it puff out even more). For Allison's hair extensions I bought the cheap hair found in the kids toy section of the dollar store and hot glued them onto wig clips I bought at Sally Beauty. Allison loves having the long hair and I've already caught her (several times) admiring herself in the mirror.

 

 

 

 

Dixie Day

Allison's school was cancelled today due to school conferences. I booked an early conference time so that Allison and I could do something after. The conference went really well and Allison's teachers had some great things to say about her. They had unique perspectives on ways she's changed and grown over the last year. Their biggest comments were on how much Allison has developed with her letters and letter sounds. I've been working with Allison on letters for several months now and at times (most times) it's been a frustrating experience but hearing that it's paying off was a huge reward for me.

Here is Allison's report:

After the conference, Allison and I went to the zoo for Dixie Day! Dixie, the giraffe, was born at the KC Zoo in February and today was her first day on exhibit. The zoo was packed with people! It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we spent 5 hours wandering through exhibits, riding the tram, train, boat, sky safari, feeding birds and goats, and finishing the day with Dippin Dots.

 

 

 

Early Signs

Nathan and Allison were playing in the yard tonight when they called me out to see their discovery. There was a baby bunny in the yard with a mom not far away. It makes me hopeful for Spring!

Snow Day

The never ending winter rages on! Today, while I was in the church nursery, I noticed that it had started snowing. By the time we drove home there was a coating on the ground, by 3pm Allison could make snowballs!

When Allison was done playing I gave her a dish to fill with snow. We drizzled Palmer's Maple Syrup on it and ate it as a pre-dinner snack.

 

 

  

Mom & Dad

Nathan is in the midst of a long work stretch and this past week I was lucky enough to have my parents come to Kansas City to visit. The drove so they were able to drive a truck full of treats including maple syrup, honey, and Canadian candies.

I didn't tell Allison they were coming. I picked Allison up from her classroom on Monday and as we were walking out my parents were there waiting for her. My Mom said "hello" but Allison just smiled and looked away until she suddenly realized who was talking to her.

We had a few really cold days while they were here, but their last full day, Thursday was the perfect weather. We sat in the front yard and chatted while Allison played with the new toys that Grandma and Grandpa got her for an early birthday gift.

 

 

It was a relaxing week and I'm so thankful to have the extra help with Allison.

Happy Easter

It was a rare East in Kansas City. It snowed! This cold winter just won't end!

Nathan had to work today so he missed out on the early morning activities. Allison ran into my room shouting for me to get up (at least that's what I think she said with her mouth full of chocolate). It was a quick hunt because we have such a tiny house but Allison got lots of chocolate and a few special surprises that she's been asking for for a couple of months.

Usually our Sunday morning are lazy and long because we have 3 1/2 hours between our wake up and church, but today Allison slept in (we had a late night at a friend's house for dinner), plus we had Easter fun, plus I was on my own, so we had a very rushed morning.

I was in charge of the Easter Egg Hunt but Allison has been my helper through the process. She helped me to pick the candy and stuff all 500 eggs. Allison does really well with assembly line tasks.

I snuck out of service today to hide the eggs on the church grounds so the hunt would be ready right after the service. There aren't many places to hide eggs so most of the eggs ended up spread over the grass. As I was putting the eggs on the ground, two older women passed by and one said to me, "You know, you're not doing a very good job of hiding those eggs." I told her that the hunt was for young kids and she responded, "Well, it's not a hunt when they can just walk out and see them." Miserable people are so weird. I just turned my back and went back to work. I managed to hide the eggs in under 15 minutes, which is good because by minute 15 my fingers were ready to break off.

 

 

Right after church the kids gathered on the church steps and the eggs were snatched up in under 5 minutes. The kids were freezing, the wind was whipping around, the snow was sticking to our hair but it will be a fun memory.