Serafina's first field trip and the ice cream social

Today, Serafina wore her hand-me-down preschool shirt and went to school. Then the kids all walked to our neighborhood park. I came over a little before the pick-up time to see all the kids playing. Serafina apparently had her fingers stepped on and had just got done crying before I got there. She was still a little weepy and clinging while I was there. It was a classmate's birthday and the mom brought a bunch of sugary treats for snack time, which I'm sure didn't help.

Here she is running to me once I arrived.

On the swings with Ashley, of course.

The teachers had all the kids make these visors to wear.  Leo asked about his once Serafina brought hers home.  We had it for a good long while, but it eventually got torn up from being played with and I threw it away.

Tonight was the Ice Cream Social for the preschool.  Daddy had to bring the kids over since I went early to set up.  He did an excellent job of getting them there on time.

Here's what I set up.  Halloween ChicoBags, which we are selling as a fundraiser for the school.  I also had fliers about our upcoming garage sale.  I didn't sell as many bags as I wanted to...not even close.  

Here's Serafina getting served some ice cream from her teacher.

She picked all the toppings off.

Happy ice cream eaters.

The board president is out of town, so it was on me to make the announcements tonight.  Doesn't it look like entertainer (beloved performer Andy Z) is about to punch me in the back?

He didn't punch me.

My kids rocked out the whole time.

They also held hands.

And hugged.  

They spent the whole time in front dancing and getting sweaty.  I spent my time in the back unsuccessfully selling bags.  Oh well.

Tom did some texting.

Getting funky on the dance floor.

There were some alumni from last year there, so I made them get together for a picture.

(Left to right: Leo, Sophie, Paige and Matthew)

Preschool progress

I worked in the classroom today at Serafina's school. It was significantly better than last time.  No one vomited and Serafina was a good girl the whole time.  No crying.  It was great to see her thriving and participating in the class.  Here she is singing along during circle time.

She made a necklace during craft time and wasn't upset that I helped the other kids too.  

Ashley always sits next to her.  They don't seem to interact much or play together, but they like to be in close proximity.  Here they are during snack time.  In the back, the teacher is trying to console a kid who completely lost it because she didn't get to sit where she wanted.

Heading out to the playground is still like herding cats, but at least none of them dart off in random directions anymore.

I was really happy to see her doing so well.  She isn't talking much at school but she is singing along with all the songs and following directions well.  She's tall and holds her own in the class, but she still has such a baby face to me and it's strange to see her in this setting.

Leo is doing well in school as well.  His teacher keeps telling me what a wonderful helper he is in the classroom.  That's not so true at home.  He's been practicing his songs for chapel and today told me he's suppose to sing a song about Joe who got swallowed by a shark because he didn't listen to God.  I asked him if he was referring to Jonah and the whale.  He said, "yeah, I call him Joe for short and it was a whale shark."

Tap Tap Tappity Tap Tap

Serafina started another dance class today. It's a tap/ballet combo class for three - five year olds.  They start the class in tap shoes and half way through switch to their ballet slippers.

 She loooooves the tap shoes.

Ito visit

 My dad arrived last Wednesday night and it's been fun to have him around.  For the most part, he's just joined us in our usual activities - school pick-ups, running errands, viewing space shuttles.

The kids love having him here and spent a lot of time pestering him.

 On Saturday, Leo had soccer early as usual and my dad got up and out with us to see it.  Here's Leo taking a shot on goal during one of the drills.

 Here's my dad supervising.   He was impressed by Leo's speed; he was less impressed by some of the silly drills they had the kids do.

 After soccer, my tia Josefina and her husband Glen arrived.  They flew up from San Diego to see us and my dad, which they've done during every Ito visit since Serafina was born.  It's nice to spend time with them.  So nice, in fact, I didn't get around to taking any pictures expect for this one of Serafina cuddling with Josefina shortly after she arrived.

 Saturday afternoon, Leo and I headed to the miniature golf course for a birthday party.  It was very hot and slightly chaotic with lots of little people wielding clubs.

 Here's the birthday girl, Ella.  She was in Leo's class last year and is in his class this year.  I'm not sure if they hung out last year, but now they are very good buddies.  I love the look she gave me after her mom put that stupid thing on her head.

 After golfing and pizza and cupcakes, we headed into the arcade.  It was darker, dingier and noisier than I remember.  I'm pretty sure it was Leo's first arcade experience.  Here he is on a motorcycle game.

 This is a classic (and a Nana favorite, if I remember correctly).  He also played some pinball though he was barely tall enough to see where the ball was.  

 That night we headed to a nearby Chinese food restaurant.  It completely lacks ambiance, but the food is delicious.  I'm not sure why my dad is making that face.

 I had no reason for taking this picture other than I wanted evidence that Serafina wore this super cute dress.  It's a hand-me-down that's been hanging in her closet for a long time and I was thrilled she chose to wear it.

After having lunch with Josefina and Glen, we bid them farewell and Serafina took a nap.  After nap, we took a walk to the elementary school to enjoy the sunshine.  

Daddy showed up.  

My dad asked Leo if he could ride his bike.  Leo turned him down and told him "you're too old to ride a bike."  Yikes!  But not untrue. 

I'm taking my dad to the airport early tomorrow morning.  The kids said goodbye to him tonight and it was very sweet.  He's winning his battle with cancer and I really appreciate him making the effort to come so far to see us.

Memorable events

Today, the space shuttle Endeavor flew over our house while piggy-backing on a 747 and having a fighter jet escort.  There is only one word for it...awesome.  Tom was working from home and my dad is here for a visit, so we were all outside with Serafina to see it.  Leo's school got all the kids outside and looking at the sky, so he got to see it too.  Of course, he asked when he can see another space shuttle.  He definitely understands how cool it is, but he doesn't fully get that it's an incredibly rare experience.

Here are my pictures.  On it's way towards our house.

 Heading off in the direction of Leo's school with the escort jet.

If it wasn't enough to have such a cool experience this week, Tom had a very memorable week as well.    He attended Dreamforce (a large tech conference in San Francisco) most of the week.  Yesterday, he co-lead a talk about his company's experience utilizing the Salesforce system.  His session was so popular that once the pre-registration filled up, the organizers moved it to a different location to accommodate more people.  He presented in front of over 600 people and took questions from the audience.  

A co-worker took these pictures.   I would have loved to be there and see my hubby's presentation even though I wouldn't have really understood what the heck he was talking about.  I was full of pride from a distance and during the hour I knew he was in front of the audience, I had a knot in my stomach for him.  

Of course he did awesome.