Little Miss Poultry Days

A few months ago, we mentioned something to Vera about Little Miss Poultry Days.  She seemed interested but also unsure.  Nothing more was said for quite a while.  Then, one day, my mom stopped over and Vera randomly asked her if she'd make a dress for her to wear at the "question pageant" at Poultry Days.  My mom (and I) were caught slightly off guard!  Vera really wanted to do it.  So, I investigated a little further, and asked around for dress ideas.  I continued to drag my feet in registering her, mostly because I was super busy at school and didn't have any good ideas for a dress (or the time to put dress ideas together!)  But finally, one week before Poultry Days, I signed her up.  We took the last spot; Vera was contestant #30!

I went to work in putting a dress together, and decided I would have to make the dress because we had very limited time.  I bought the fabric on Friday, went camping all weekend, and started on the dress on Sunday evening.  I worked later in the evenings, while the kids napped, and during the day in the rare moment when all was calm.  The dress was finished by Tuesday, and I must say that I was pretty proud of the finished product.  I am a very, very amateur seamstress.  I watched a few YouTube videos and did a lot of thinking and planning before cutting and stitching.  I only had to text my mom once with a question!  

Vera was super excited about the event.  On the night of the pageant, Kristina was the check-in lady, and that helped Vera stay calm.  Mrs. Wynk's daughter, Bailey, was also a contestant, so Vera was pretty happy to see her and talk with her.  It was a long wait for Vera's turn, but she did well.  On stage, she also did a really good job.  They asked about her siblings, her favorite farm animal, and her favorite color.  She had some trouble answering the "why" part of her favorite color, but did great nonetheless!

Waiting patiently...

We kept emphasizing that the most important part of Little Miss Poultry Days was to have fun.  Vera didn't really mind that she didn't win.  She was absolutely thrilled to come home with some flowers and a trophy.  Such a good idea by the organizers to do so.  It really makes the girls feel special about participating.  Thanks to all of the family and friends who came to watch her in the scorching hot gym!

She's next!!  The best for last.  :)

Perhaps the highlight of the entire thing was riding on the float in the parade.  She was really pumped about the opportunity!

Last Day of Preschool

Vera's last day of preschool was Wednesday, May 25.  The end of the year really snuck up on me, and it didn't really register that it was her last day until it was here!  She had such a great year in preschool, and she was so lucky to have 2 terrific teachers that we will miss!  I will also miss my one-on-one time with Vera in the car 2 times per week.  Though it seemed like she did a lot of yacking, I know I will miss hearing her stories and reenacting her day at school from her car seat.  I'm sure I'll also miss her running ahead of me in the hallway and telling me that the white floor tiles are hot lava.  :)

I had to take a picture with her and her messages that she liked to write on my board.  I will definitely miss those!  Her handwriting improved so, so much as the year went by.  

Excited for the last day!

A very dear coworker of mine retired at the end of the school year after 34 years of teaching (whew!)  We had a little celebration for her in my room on the same day, so Vera joined the party.

Enjoy retirement, Dena!  You deserve it!

Eating cake at mom's desk!  Next stop, kindergarten!

A Day in the Life...

Vince is 23 months old!  I can't believe he's almost 2!!

It was a rough winter for the poor kid; he was sick an awful lot!  He was super grumpy, difficult to please, and had a poor appetite.  Now that he's over that hump, he's been really good.  Usually he wakes up happy in the mornings, though I must admit that we've had to work at that.  We have to be really excited and happy when we get him up, otherwise Mr. Grouchy shows up and makes getting out the door a challenge.

He love, love, loves to go outside and play.  His #1 favorite is pushing his lawnmower around the driveway.  There's plenty of miles on that mower already!!  The sandbox is his second favorite thing.  He will sit and play by himself for as long as we'll let him.  He digs and scoops and fills buckets.  And yes, fills his clothes, shoes and hair with sand too, but he's happy and having fun!

Can you tell he's saying cheese?  He likes to play with the rocks, scribble with sidewalk chalk, and play in the hut when we're on the back patio.

We went to the park for the first time this spring, and Vince loved it!  He was super busy running, climbing and going down the slide.  So fun to watch.

In the house, he's good at tearing things up.  Daily, he empties the drawer of water bottles and coffee thermoses.  In the basement, he enjoys ransacking our office.  I've had to empty a few of the drawers because we were tired of picking up paperclips, rubber bands, and permanent markers.  Recently, he's shown an interest in coloring.  He likes to sit and scribble with crayons.  He also helps himself to the drawer with crayons and coloring books.  I've had to scrub crayon off of walls and floors a few times already.

The Lazy Susan door is a frequent play place.  He opens the door, says buh bye, and hides inside for no more than 1 second.

He still isn't talking a whole lot, but it's coming.  I joke that he learns one new word per week.  He understands everything we say to him, and does a good job of using body language, but speaking is just not coming quickly.  Here's a list of words that he can say:
mom
dad
papa (doubles for papaw and hop hop)
sissy
more
out
please
juice
shoes
uh oh
ow (ouch!)
buh bye
hi
cheese
whoa
wow
shakes his head no
makes the sounds for puppy, chicken, cow, piggy

He likes to take a shower a whole lot more than a bath.  One evening, he was grumping around, so I put the dump truck in the shower with him so he could play (and because the dump truck had something sticky that needed to be cleaned off.)  The bed of the truck quickly filled with water, and Vince had a blast.  He was jabbering and splashing the whole time.  It was hilarious to see how excited he was.

He's really good at fighting back and getting what he wants.  He doesn't let Vera push him around much.

Adam had this go cart before we were married.  It's been in a lot of random places over the last several years.  We recently acquired it again.  (We need it like a hole in our head!)  Vince HAD to drive.  You can see Vera pouting and Vince doing all he can to get to the driver's seat.  

It should be a fun summer with this wild man!  He's definitely our wild card.  So good, so loving and fun and also so ornery, temperamental, and difficult!  :)