Preschool

I'm going to interrupt our vacation pictures to celebrate another milestone.  Zoe's first day of preschool! 

It was a great first day.  I saw a few moms cried over this milestone, but I had no twinge of tears.  That's actually pretty rare for me.  Maybe it's because I know how ready Zoe is for this.  She knows her shapes, colors, letters, etc.  She's now wanting to read.  We got to McNary and she goes, "M, C, N, A, R, oh what's that letter?  What's that spell?"

I think preschool is exactly what she needs to keep her moving forward.  When I brought out a pair of jeans and a cute top, she told me she wanted to wear a dress to school!  We practiced putting on our own tights since she'll have to do that if she has to go potty.  Then she did no less than 5 poses for me outside the house before we left.

This one is my favorite.

As we walked in the school, she ran up to Ms. Lucy (her teacher) and gave her a hug.  We put her coat and backpack on her hook and found her name on the story rug.  She never looked back and never said good-bye.

When I picked her up, this was our conversation:

Me:  What did you do today?
Zoe:  I don't know.
Did you color?
Maybe.
Did you hear a story?
Yep.
Did you make new friends?
Not really because I don't know their names.
Did you play with play-doh?
Yep, red stuff.
Did you sing songs?
Yep, about Jesus created me.
Did you have fun?
Yep, my teacher said I have to go back tomorrow though.
You want to go back?
Mommy I have a rock in my shoe.  What are we doing for lunch?
Apparently it was just another day in the life of Zoe.  No big fanfare, no big milestone.  Just what you do on a Wednesday morning.

In all honesty, that's exactly how I would want it to go.  She does not take after me.  I wouldn't let go of my mom's leg and the teacher said I cried for 15 minutes straight. 

Not Zoe.  This is where she was meant to be.  I couldn't agree more.  I can't wait to see how God continues to mold and shape her this year in her non-monumental preschool experience.

The Falls, A Fall and Friends

After we spent time at the dam and saw fish bigger than a boat, we headed to Portland for some time with family.  That wasn't without a stop at one of the area's most famous water falls.  Multnomah!  It has become a family tradition the last couple years to visit.  This time we had daddy!

He graciously carried her up the mountain on his shoulders.  By the time we got to the bridge, I was still fresh and thought we needed to make funny faces.

She will so thank me later for all the goofy shots I make her take throughout her life.  Fortunately she's totally my child and just does it because.

Unlike years prior, okay year prior, this time we played around in the water.  It was ice cold and we couldn't feel out feet.

Fortunately the water was only to her ankles because exactly 10 seconds after this shot, she fell into the water and got soaked.  There were tears and as I tried to get her to to the top of the little embankment of pure asphalt, I left some of my toe and half of two toenails.  It was the injury that prevented me from walking barefoot on the beach.  I'm still a little sad about it.

Fortunately we had dinner with some friends of ours, Phil and Anna.  They have three munchkins around Zoe's age.  It was play time for her, fellowship for us and they had Band-Aids.  It was like a quadruple win!

Thank you Phil and Anna for the great fellowship, the wonderful dinner and the baby cuddles.  Next time we're coming for much longer!

The Dam Visit

Since N got the job, Zoe and I have wanted to see where he works.  I'm almost positive that Zoe thinks he works at the Arena where we pick him up every Thursday.  She has no concept that it's far away. 

That was until this weekend.  We decided to visit N on his turf.  We spent the night in the trailer with him and headed out to the dam early the next morning.  Apparently in the world of dams, this isn't called a dam.  It's called a project.  You can't make as many jokes about a "project." 

Zoe saw the letters on the side of the project and she started to spell it out.  I told her to pose in front of it and this is what I got.

Then I convinced N that I needed a picture with him and Zoe in front of the dam project. 

He showed us the power house and some big thing they're working on that apparently funnels water that makes power.  All I heard was big and turns and funnels.  I was too shocked by the size of this round turbine thing that wasn't in the hold where the water was. 

I was also slightly distracted because in the power house they have a drinking fountain that is exactly the size of a three year old.  She thought that was the coolest thing EVER!  She took no less than 1,000 shots of water off that fountain.  N and I got the privilege of watching every single one.

After I got my lesson on Dam 101 and Zoe's thirst was taken care of, we headed to the salmon viewing room.  Since we were on vacation, I had to take a picture of Zoe and N outside the room with their fish faces. 

Zoe didn't quite understand that this wasn't like Coco's tank.  These fish are swimming upstream.  They are doing the swim of their life.  She didn't care.  When they wouldn't come, she would pound her fist on the frame and say, "come. here. fish!"  Like they could hear here, they would come.

Sometimes little:

Sometimes huge!  These windows are 4 feet long by 3 feet high. 

It was the perfect start to our vacation.  Tomorrow, more of our road trip adventure.

Radioman

Years ago our church did Rich Warren's 40 Days of Purpose.  I had a minor role in all that.  There were weekly drama sketches associated with the lesson for each of the 6 weeks.  I played a woman named Ronda.  She was absolutely clueless about God's plan for her life, but sweetly innocent in all her shenanigans.  Ronda was a BIG hit with our congregation. 

As a result I was typecast at church.  People didn't know my real name.  They didn't know me outside of Ronda.  The best part of all this was that Ronda was actually as crazy as I am.  Which is probably why I played her so well.  Even though she lacked common sense, we shared a sense of the outrageous.  I loved playing Ronda.  It wasn't until this year that I actually retired Ronda.  They have asked her back for the last 7 years to do announcements or small sketches on things. 

One gentleman in our church especially loved Ronda.  His name was Ray Daves.  He would yell "RONDA" across the foyer and give me big hugs.  I think if I were to label it, I would call him Ronda's groupie.  At the time I had no idea that Ray had such an amazing past.  He never really talked much about it.  I think if you'd ask him, he'd introduce himself as Marian's husband.  He has one of the best laughs and a great sense of humor.

The more I learn about Ray, the more I want to be around him.  He had a book written about his time in World War II called Radioman.  Now he is being honored by having the control tower of our airport named after him.  It still has to pass through the House before it's official, but I don't really see why it wouldn't.  He's an extraodinary man who is the first to tell you his family is his first accomplishment.

Even though Ronda is the part of me that Ray always identified with, it's Kelly who is in awe of his character. 

The Second String

Lately Zoe is all about daddy.  Because he's not home during the week, it usually involves comments like, "we should call daddy and tell him!"  That comment follows things like she ate most of her dinner or her favorite Caillou episode is on or she's only wearing one sock.

It doesn't have to be something big or important, she wants to share all of her moments with him.

On the way to preschool orientation this morning she said, "mommy are you strong?"  I replied, "I don't know, am I?"

She smiled and said "NO!  Daddy is strong.  I'm strong too.  Only me and daddy are strong."

I take no offense to being the weak one in the house.  I will always step back when Zoe and daddy have something that bonds them.

We Are Ready

Tomorrow is our preschool orientation.  The child and one parent go for an hour, do a couple crafts, meet the teacher and get familiar with the room.  To say that I'm excited wouldn't be accurate.  I'm elated that Zoe is ready to start this next stage of her life. 

I've read many things my friends have written over the years about missing the baby stage or not being ready for the next stage.  Maybe it is because I know this is my only chance to soak up every moment in Zoe's life or maybe some other reason, but I never mourn the passing of one chapter or the start of the next.

I loved the baby stage.  All the cuddles and the naps.  The naps were my favorite part!  I loved seeing how much she grew each month.  By the time the toddler stage came, I was so ready for it.  I loved that she could communicate with me and started to show her sweet personality.  I loved that I didn't have to carry her everywhere and she could eat what we ate.  No more mixing formula or making sure we had some.

Now that we are out of the toddler stage and into the pre-school stage, I'm beyond ready.  Zoe now tells me her stories.  We do pretend play all the time.  I actually think this is my favorite stage so far.  She likes to play practical jokes and to tell jokes.  She loves to sing and dance.  She wants me to read to her and to tell her stories.  I love hearing what's going through her mind.  It's rarely what I think it is and usually incredibly funny.

With preschool a week away, I'm excited to see what this next stage will bring.  I know it will include a whole new group of friends, new adventures, some tears and much laughter.  Even though I loved the baby Zoe, over the last three years I've become completely smitten with this Zoe.  She's the kid I always prayed she would be.  While there may be tears at the first day of preschool, they will be tears of joy at just how far she's come. 

We Are Now a Family of Six

For the last 10 days Zoe has been on a ruthless campaign to get a puppy.  She knows she wants a black puppy, she just doesn't know where to get one.  Every night, after we've failed to get a black puppy, she says, "mommy, we totally forgot to get a puppy today.  Maybe tomorrow?"  Usually I say something like, "so you want a black puppy still?  What would you name him?"  I have to change the subject before I crush all her hopes and dreams.

Now, when we're driving places, she's totally checking out stores to see if "that one sells puppies!"  I have to find routes that avoid pet stores.  I may have even lied saying, "they don't sell puppies, just leashes and puppy food." 

All the while N is just beaming with pride.  I saw my future flash before my eyes.  These two are going to "run to the store to get milk" and come home with a puppy or three. 

While out running errands we happened to go to a store that has a fish department.  It's Zoe's very favorite place in the whole store to go.  I made the foolish mistake of telling N and Zoe that I'd be right back while they looked at fish.  I came back to see them staring at the beta fish and then batting their big eyes at me.  They know my kryptonite.  We got a beta.  Zoe carried him through the store like he was precious gold. 

When we got home, N was totally in his element.  They washed the tank and put it together.  Then they washed the rocks.

Then Zoe washed the red plant that she thought her new fish would LOVE.

As she was helping daddy, we asked what she wanted to name her new fish.  It came as no surprise she wanted to name him Coco.  About a year ago she saw a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode that has a monkey named Coco on it.  Ever since then, everything is Coco.  Her bear is Coco.  Her stuffed puppy is Coco.  If she gets a black puppy, she'll be Coco.  It comes to reason that her fish will also be named Coco.

She helped daddy dump Coco into his new home.

It was that face right there that made my future of cleaning the tank and taking care of Coco totally worth it.

Now this is where I find Zoe all the time.  Next to Coco, talking to him, asking him if everything is good and giving me a play-by-play of Coco's every move. 

We are pleased to introduce Coco.  He will be loved to pieces by a little girl who has finally stopped asking about her black puppy.  Welcome to the family Coco.  You have saved me another 10 days of dodging the ball.  I never knew I could love a fish so much!