Did I Mention My Baby Is In Pre-K This Year?



Dressed and ready to go!

 Yes, that's right...off she goes...growing up...making me feel proud and sad and old...

She cried (sobbed!) the entire first week, but rest assured she is doing great today, five months later. 


Door #18 at Autumn Lane





  

The Nutcracker 2010

RPO & Rochester City Ballet's Nutcracker 2011

We began taking Harper to see the RPO and Rochester City Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker when she was just two years old.  It is performed every year, Thanksgiving weekend, at the historic Eastman Theatre in downtown Rochester.  If you have not seen a performance yet, you really must go!  It is one of the few ballet's performed to a live orchestra. 

Harper loves going to the ballet.  She gets to wear a fancy dress and take a little purse with snacks.  We go to the last performance on the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving, and purchase seats that allow Harper to have an aisle to stand up in (if necessary) and also have an incredible view of the perfomance itself.  Each year she has gotten more and more mezmorized by the costumes and dancing.  And with each year, we enjoy watching her appreciate a cultural experience few adults have the opportunity to witness.

For me, her mom, I like that she gets excited by classical music and starts dancing whenever and WHERE ever she hears Tchaikovsky!

P.S.
This year was extra special because Harper got to meet (and receive an autograph from) Jessica Tretter, part of the company and Dew Drop in the 2010 performance of The Nutcracker.  Cool!!


Harper meets Jessica Tretter (Dew Drop 2010)



Beauty Is Often Painful





Before...excited and happy



 Unlike many parents of little girls, I made the concious dicision to allow Harper to choose when she would like her ears pierced.  She had expressed little interest until this year.  Several of the little girls in her pre-k class have their ears pierced, and low and behold...she decides it would be really nice to get hers done as well.  So, the Friday before Halloween we took her "trick or treating" at the local mall to kill some time and let her enjoy being dressed up.  We pass the Piercing Pagoda and it is decided that that particular evening was going to be the big day.  Sorry for the poor quality photos (they were taken by Chris' Crackberry) but you get the idea.

After.

Mexico!

Every year since we have been married, Chris and I have taken a vacation around the same time as our anniversary.  This year was no different.  We took Harper to Playa del Carmen Mexico and it was muy bien!  I think Harper's favorite part were the cats that lived at the resort.  She chased them trying to feed and pet them simultaneously!  My favorite part was the glorious sunshine...and as you can tell, I got my fair share of rays while there!  We taught her some simple spanish in the weeks preceding our trip, so she impressed many of the work staff with her language skills! 

And In The Last Five Weeks...

For those of you who have not heard, we are moving to Fulton, New York.  Chris got a new job as the Athletic Director.  We (Harper and I) are very excited for Daddy.  Although moving is not the most pleasant of activities, we look forward to the new adventures we will soon be embarking on!  If you know anyone who wants to buy this large home, have them contact me!

No More School...for this year...

Harper ended her school year last week.  She received a super cool certificate and got to have her class picnic at Camp North Point.  We sure are going to miss the proximity to the YMCA.  Here are a few pictures of her class picnic:

Help!

Anyone of you know how to fix the photo thing?  Drives me crazy because I cannot get them to line up!  How does one "collage" them?