Each Daughter Had A Milestone This Week

This has been an eventful week for all three of my daughters. Lorelai had a birthday, turning seven years old. Celeste started her second year of preschool (and her last before "real" school--kindergarten!). And Aurora bought some panties to begin her potty training! Yeah, it's been a busy week for Mama too. :)

Lorelai decided to celebrate her birthday by going out for pizza and games at Peter Piper Pizza's in Tucson. She enjoyed her pizza...

...her present (a Batman doll from her buddy Hyrum. What a tomboy my beautiful girl is!)...

...and her rides on the indoor roller coaster. There wasn't much money left to do anything else but the roller coaster, but no matter; Lorelai had a great time with her friends.

On Sunday the 12th (Lorelai's actual birthday), she opened the rest of her gifts...

She especially loved her new unicorn stuffed animal, and her new Disney Princess doll (this one was Merida, the heroine of the new movie Brave). She also got a new bike helmet, some new tee shirts, and new piano books. We are going to try starting piano lessons again this fall; I am excited, and I think Lorelai is excited as well! I just hope I can encourage her to practice regularly.

With money she received from other relatives, Lorelai also got a couple of new "science" toys, including a baking-soda rocket and this neato tornado simulator:

So, a good birthday overall. I can't believe she will be getting baptized in just one year! I hope we can all be prepared for that.

Just two days after Lorelai's birthday, Celeste reached out her new backpack and lunch sack, and dressed extra-pretty for her big day. As you can see, she was pretty darned excited.

It's true that Celeste attended preschool last year; in fact, I helped teach that preschool. But I decided I wanted a year off (at least) from teaching, so we decided to go the "paid" route this year. We signed Celeste up for Smart Scholars Preschool; it's a home-based school run by a woman who just moved to Rancho Sahuarita this summer. I heard about her through the LDS grapevine (she attends church at the neighboring ward, but her house is actually walking distance from our own). Besides being close, her prices were also quite reasonable, so it was a wonderful fit for us!

Ms. Nichole, Celeste's new teacher, has an elementary-education degree, and seems in general to really know her stuff. Besides her credentials, she is also very nice, blond, and beautiful, so Celeste is totally in love with her already and wants to go over to "Miz Micole's" house every day. She has designed her whole front room to look like a preschool and it looks wonderful.

It is very neat to see Celeste so excited for school. Even though preschoolers don't have any official homework, the preschool has sent home a small folder with a few tracing/letter activities. Every day after school when Lorelai starts her homework, Celeste pulls out her homework folder and does her "homework" right alongside Lorelai. I think it's adorable, and it makes me regret (a tiny bit) that she wasn't quite old enough for kindergarten this year; it's clear to me that she's ready for that step. However, the selfish part of me is also glad Celeste will be home one more year; I am starting to dread her growing up, going to school, and becoming "responsible." I will miss her adorable questions and her unquenchable charm. So, just two mornings a week is an acceptable amount apart from Celeste for me right now!

Aurora was not to be left out of the big happenings this week, either. Yesterday, we went to the store and bought my youngest that special gift reserved for the "mature" toddler...colored undies! She was very excited and was constantly "checking" the underpants, running her hands all over them in awe at how different they felt than diapers! (Too much information?) However, since this was only (after all) her first day of potty training, she had several "spills" and many changes of undies. We also bought her a new toilet seat, and she is eager to try it out. We are still working on timing, though, but I am sure it will come with time.

Unfortunately, Aurora was running a fever all day today, so I decided to put the potty training on hold until she was feeling more comfortable. Even then, she came complaining to me every time she "went" in her diapers (even if it was only a trickle), and insisting that I change her, no matter how "empty" the diaper felt. Apparently, the panties have spoiled her already on having a dry bottom! I'll take that as a good sign.

It remains to be seen whether the next week will feature as many milestones in my girls' lives as this one has. I somehow doubt it will; however, that doesn't mean the week will be any less eventful in other ways!