Cecilia's Toothless Grin

In December, Cecilia was eating an apple as an after-school snack and suddenly came running to me saying, "Mommy, I just broke something!" She reached in her mouth to feel her tooth and, to our surprise, her front tooth was finally loose! She's been waiting for years (ever since Marcela started losing teeth) to get a loose tooth and would always "wiggle" them and say they were loose, but this time she felt the difference. She was giddy with excitement.

She is quite the tough one and has a good tolerance for pain and loved wiggling and twisting and making it budge and bleed a little more every day.

She also likes to make silly faces with her loose teeth.

When Marcela had loose teeth, she'd keep her distance from Armando who would always tease her that he would pull it out for her. Cecilia, on the other hand, was begging Armando to pull hers and he actually had to tell her no because he didn't feel like it was loose enough yet.

Over the last couple of months, Cecilia has been working hard on wiggling her teeth and is now sporting the cutest toothless grin.

Snowshoeing with my Valentine

A few years ago, Armando and I tried out snow-shoeing and we really liked it. We've been wanting to go again and finally made it to celebrate Valentine's day this year.

 We've done this hike a few times--with friends, with the girls, and just the two of us and I have never made it to see the actual donut...most times I had the kids as an excuse why I couldn't climb the rocks to see inside, but the truth is I'm just a chicken. If it weren't such a popular hike and we lived somewhere (like Wyoming) where you can hike to these wonderful places and be THE ONLY people there, I would most likely climb up to see it knowing I could take my time. But it's always so crowded that I feel too much pressure to move quicker than a comfortable pace.

This time though, I was so excited that all of the rocks were covered in snow and I just climbed the snowy hillside and was able to crawl across and climb in to see this geological wonder. It was so awesome!

Cecilia's Bowling Birthday Party

At the end of a long week of Parent Teacher Conferences and sandwiched between two weekends of Friday evening and all day Saturday seminars I was attending for work, we celebrated Cecilia's 7th birthday and since I was in the middle of 2 crazy work-weeks, we decided to go simple and outsource everything from the candles to the entertainment. I came very close to having almost completely forgotten to get a cake. (Oops!) Thanks, Fat Cats, for doing the work for us. We all had a great time bowling, eating yummy pizza, and playing games!

Chores and the Pay Off

Over the last few weeks, I've been grabbing the camera to document the girls doing their chores and as I sat down to post this, realized that I only documented Cecilia doing hers because I help her out along the way and so that's how I'm spending my Saturday mornings, doing chores along side her. I'll have to get some more pictures of Marcela next Saturday doing her jobs.

Cecilia has become quite the expert at sweeping the kitchen.

And washing the bathroom mirrors.

And...having a little fun as she does it!

And the pay off? Just the other day we were grocery shopping and when she laid eye on these pants she said she HAD to have them and was so overjoyed that I said the decision was up to her as long as she had the money...she was screaming with joy when we got in the car. She's one who knows what she likes. And she's happy with these fancy pants! And it feels good not to say no and to see her reasoning about how many weeks worth of savings it took to buy one pair of pants that she really wanted. 

Learning the Value of a Dollar

I don't exactly recall the exact moment we decided that it was time to get serious about allowance and chores at our house, but I remember during our end-of-year tithing settlement the last couple of years, the bishop would ask the girls what they understood about paying tithing and they had a general idea, but it got me thinking that we weren't really giving them the opportunity to learn first-hand about money and it's value. And also about the law of tithing. They never had any income and anytime someone would give them money, we would just have them put it in their piggy bank and never touch it (thinking perhaps in the back of our minds that they were learning to save). 

I did some reading about allowance and chores and after lots of talking with Armando, we came up with some allowance related chores that the girls do daily and weekly to help around the house so that they could have a little pocket change instead of always begging us for things (and us usually saying no because in our mind the things they were asking for did not have value for us). But we realized that that wasn't teaching them anything and that they needed to learn on their own what was worth spending money on and what wasn't. 

So the preparing of the system began: I wanted everything to be a surprise and for it all to be ready to go before we talked about it with them, so while they were in Wyoming with family after Christmas, I worked to put it together. When they came home, they asked about the tape on the refrigerator and wondered why I asked them to make me 20+ pearler bead flower magnets (I told them they were for my class at school), but when finally put it all up on the refrigerator and explained the plan to them, it all made sense and they were very excited.  

We began first by opening their piggy bank and counting out all of their change that they had saved through the years. We taught them how to calculate to figure out how much they should pay in tithing and encouraged them to put most of their saved coins into their savings jars...

Speaking of jars...I spent days fighting the Christmas shopping crowds in search of the perfect wooden box in which to place three glass jars so that we could help them learn about separating their money to pay tithing, put away for savings, and prioritize their living/spending money. My mom helped me make some vinyl to put their names on them and label the jars. And thanks to Armando's attention to detail, the lettering got put on perfectly straight. 

We've been working at the chore/allowance system for six weeks now and it has been a lot of work for me. It's not perfect, but it's gradually getting easier. Our hope is that by giving the girls a way to earn the money, they will learn that it takes work to earn it and that they'll need to have a plan for their money or it will easily walk right out of their pockets. 

Christmas 2015

We spent Christmas in Wyoming last December. The highlights included: an improvised nativity reenactment by the grandkids, family dinner with the extended family (We tried to pull of the annual cook-off, but I don't recall that there was ever any judging...we'll just say that Cecilia's Grinch Punch was the winner as she was sure she'd take the title), Brady's Mission Report, and of course watching the kids excitement as they opened presents Christmas morning.

About my Little Sister

An interview with Marcela about her little sister, Cecilia, as she was turning 7 years old:

What do you admire about your sister? That she is always funny. I love how she mumbles all of the songs that she sings. And I love that she is creative. 

If you could spend a day just playing with Cecilia, what would you guys do? All day long? Wow, um, probably make things out of pearler beads. We'd just spend our time doing that and then ironing the designs. And when we got bored of pearler beads, we'd probably shake it out--you know, go outside and exercise, play on the trampoline or something like that. 

If you could buy anything for Cecilia for her birthday, what would you buy for her? Well, I would buy her a little gerbil because the other day we were looking at them and I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said, "A gerbil!" Maybe if we didn't have the frogs, I'd get her that. I'd also get her those toy cars that kids can drive--those big ones at Wal-mart. 

What is difficult for you about Cecilia? She never gets blamed for anything when it was actually her fault.

What do you think Cecilia will be when she grows up? An artist...maybe she'll teach an art class or something like that.

Cecilia's 7th Birthday Interview

An interview of the one and only Cecilia Marie by her mother on the occasion of her 7th Birthday.

*Photos in this post were taken at a birthday party for a friend in our neighborhood. 

How old are you?
Six.
How old are you turning next week?
Seven.

How do you feel about that?
I don't know (she mouths this without any audible sound and look on her face that says...why are you asking me such questions!?!).

What are your nicknames?
Koki, Ceci, Chechi, Pekwe (Paykway), Kwekwe (Kwekway), and sometimes people who speak English call me Ceecee cause they don't know it's pronounced Ceci (Say-si).

What is your favorite color?

Why?

I’m just wondering.

Why?

I really just want to know.

Well, my 2^nd favorite color is blue. And my favorite color is gold. But why?

I just want remember what your favorite color was when you turned 7.

Whatever.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Daddy lets me eat cake.
Oh, really!? Is that your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
Yes.

What is your favorite lunch?
When Annie takes us to lunch.
Where does she take you?
I don't know.
What kind of food is it?
I don't know. 

Favorite dinner?
Um, hmmm. Astroganoff. And I want you to make it this week!

Favorite snack?

Tortilla chips with cheese (she points to the counter where she has just finished her snack).

If you had to eat just one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

[Eyes wide open in astonishment of the thought.] I don't know!

If you could eat at any restaurant today, what would it be?

Don't know.....oh wait, I KNOW! What's it called again where you can get all your food. [Marcela pipes in:] Chuck-a-rama. Yeah! Cause it has icees.

What do you like to help mom cook?
Vegetables! What kind -- like carrots and things like that. 

What is your favorite thing to play?
That's hard. Ooooh, oooooh, I like to play Mommy--When I'm the mom and Kensi is the baby. 

If you could have an entire day to do anything you wanted to do all day long, what would you spend your time doing? Okay, um [putting her index fingers on her temples and massaging them to think.]Pearler beads.

What is your favorite thing about first grade? Oh, I know! That my teacher thinks I'm the best kid in my class.

Why does she think you're the best kid in the class? Because I'm nice to other people. 

What do you love about Mrs. Carlston?
That she is nice. 

How do you like being in Dual Immersion?
I like that when we have subs, we get to do art.

What else do you like about being in Dual Immersion?
That I have good friends. 

What is hard for you about being in Dual Immersion?

That some words I can't understand and that (Chris*) doesn't listen to me. (Chris*) does this in class: [blows spit bubbles.] I tell him to cut it out and he doesn't listen. *Name changed.

What is your favorite book to read all by yourself?
Hmmm. Barbie Life and the dream house. 

What is your favorite book for mom to read to you?

Skippy John Jones

What do you love to learn about or to do?
I like to learn more Spanish. I like to play the cloud game.
What about art work? Mmmmmm! With enthusiasm. And I like to go bowling. The only bowling place I've been to is to fat cats. 

What do you like to do with Papi?
I like when he tickles me!

What do yo like to do with Mami?
Read books.

What do you like to do with Marcela?

Pearler Beads, watch movies, and play church on Sundays.

What is your favorite outfit?

I like the short sleeved shirts with pleats on the sleeves.

Who are your best friends?

Marcela, Rosaline, and Brianna from my class, Sofia, David, Daphne, and Melanie.

What is your favorite movie?

Um, Star Wars and Harry Potter

What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas and Halloween and Valentine's Day.
If you had to choose one of them, which would it be?
That's really hard. Well, on Christmas you open presents and on Halloween you get candy and on Valentine's Day, you get cards. I don't know which one to pick.
What if they were to get rid of all of the holidays except one and you had to choose which one?
I'd choose Christmas because it's Jesus's day.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a babysitter.

What does a babysitter do?

Take care of kids, when they need to go to the bathroom, you let them go and when they're little you have to change their diaper and it's gross too.

And you want to do that?
Uh...you're rude. Yes, I do. 

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Yellowstone! Because there's lots of red, white, and blue things there.
Do you mean Jackson Hole? I don't know. 

If you could meet anyone famous, who would it be?

Oooo, that one's hard....mmmm...Shawn Mendes and Taylor Swift

What makes you sad?

When I'm not doing something good...like not following directions.

What makes you happy? 
Tickles. When people tickle me, I try to hold still and I can do it!

What is really hard for you? 
When people follow me on recess and they won't leave me alone and then I don't have time to play with my friends.

What do you love about yourself?

That I'm nice. That I'm not ugly. That I'm funny. That I'm a good friend.

**************

We, your family, love so many things about you too, dear Cecilia. We love your unbridled laughter with your toothless grin, your sense of humor, your amazing creativity, and your strong-willed character. We hope this year is your best yet. Lots of hugs and loves for you! XOXOXO

My Ski Trip

Marcela took a field trip with the entire 4th grade to Park City Ski Resort a couple of weeks ago. Read below to see what she had to say about it!

My experience skiing was amazing! One of the things I loved is my instructor. I was so thankful that I didn't have the instructor that my friend, Leora, had because when she fell he would yell at you and pull you up by the hood. Another thing I loved is that you can do french fries to go really fast and then pizza to slow down. I was doing that and I kept falling because I couldn't have balance. In fact one time I ran into the fence because I didn't stop in time. This experience is one of my favorite experiences and I hope that YOU can go skiing one day and enjoy it as much as I did.

**After original post: One of the 4th grade teachers sent pictures of Marcela taking ski lessons. Thanks, Ms. Ford!

Thanks to Ski Utah for this fun opportunity!

Field Day June 2015

 Last June, on one of the final days of school, Marcela's class (my class) was watching a movie and having field day in the afternoon, so I decided to let Cecilia come along and enjoy the fun with her sister and friends. They had a blast going through all of the field day games and getting wet.

 Running through the sprinkler after playing water tug-of-war.

 Double Twister painted on the grass.

 Wet sponge relay.

 Gigantic soccer supposed to be played in crab-walking position.