A Fifth Grader and a Second Grader

Summer left just as fast as it arrived and this year seems a little bit different. I, for one, didn't have reoccurring nightmares throughout the summer that it was the first day of school and my students had arrived and there were no desks, nor chairs, let alone planning done on my part. I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but it feels good. And it only took me 9 years to get here. I hope it's not a fleeting feeling of calmness. The Honduras trip was a good thing for me.

And the girls. They are getting so big. So independent. So helpful. Yes, I know this is just day 1, but I'm feeling appreciative of their proactive attitudes and their willingness to help more and more in the daily routine. They were excited last week to pick out their very own alarm from amazon and have loved getting up to that. Marcela made her famous breakfast burritos for all of us and Cecilia helped at dinner by helping with the salad and getting drinks for all of us after she saw that I sat down exhausted. Marcela even helped out by getting Armando to help her fill out the of the back-to-school paperwork with Armando while I made dinner. As Cecilia would say it was a Win-Win-Win-Win-Win. :)

Our 1st day of school photo ritual was adjusted a bit because Marcela, although willing to make breakfast for everyone, was not feeling too willing to pose for the camera. She was worried we'd be running late to school and just wanted to get out the door. Cecilia, on the other hand, would have loved to take a few more. Funny how they change. It has been the exact opposite in years past. I'll take what I can get. Sure love my girls. And watching them grow is hard and wonderful at the same time.

So, here's our little moment frozen in time. I'll blink and tomorrow they'll be taller. Our fifth and second graders:

She's Hit the Double Digits!

Marcela turned the big 1-0 on Friday. How it is possible that Armando and I are now parents of a TEN-YEAR-OLD? I don't know! If someone could tell me how to turn off the fast-forward function on this show of life, that would be awesome. In the meantime, I'll keep feeling grateful that somehow within me I have had the drive and passion to record and remember our girls and the moments that make this life what it is. At least we will have little snippets here and there to remember it all. We all love flipping through the pages that make these family albums.

This is a peak into Marcela's mind and heart at 10.

The little things:

What is your favorite color: Any shade of blue.

Favorite breakfast: Crepes.

Favorite lunch: Hamburgers.

Favorite dinner: Pozole.

Favorite restaurant: Gardner Village Bakery, King Buffet.

Favorite book right now: Smile.

Favorite movie: Harry Potter and Star Wars.

Favorite television show: Good Luck Charly & Live and Maddy.

Favorite singer(s): Shawn Mendes, Flo Rida, Sofia Carson, Serena Carpenter, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber.

Favorite song(s): Stitches (Mendes), My House, (Flo Rida),  Love is a Name (Sofia Carson), Sorry (Bieber), 22 (Taylor Swift).

Favorite things about 4th grade: I don't know why, but I like Greek Mythology. Whenever we have free time, we get to watch Greek Mythology movies. Zeus and Athena are my favorites. They're just awesome. Plus, in a play, I was Athena. I also love Social Studies. We have learned about the mountain men and Utah History. And I love recess, I love to play basketball!

Favorite sport: Basketball!

What got you interested in basketball: I just saw Hyrum playing one day and I thought he was lonely and I went to play with him and I shot a hoop and then I liked playing. So that's how I got into basketball.

Favorite family activity: Basketball (um, we haven't played that as a family!) I know, but it's basketball! (She just got a hoop and ball for her birthday so that will be something we do together soon!) I also love playing soccer as a family!

Favorite thing to do with Cecilia: Riding our scooters, playing Legos, and watching TV.

Favorite thing to do with Papi: Build stuff like Legos or anything that needs to be repaired like bicycle tires.

Favorite things to do with Mami: Cook, cook, and cook. I like to cook tortillas and anything she wants me to cook.

Marcela's specialty for the last month has become breakfast burritos. She started the week the final exams began to ensure we all had a solid breakfast and has been such a help to all of us in our morning routine with this skill. She is becoming momma's right hand girl!

Favorite thing to do in your spare time: TV, TV, and TV. (This doesn't surprise me because she never gets to watch cause we rarely have quiet days at home.)

What is your favorite thing to do outside: Ride my scooter!

Who are your best friends: Sarah, Lily, Hyrum, Nadia, Shannon, Brittany, Issac, and Yuri.

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? You know that one Mami! PARIS!!!!

The Bigger things:

What do you want to be when you grow up? A babysitter.

Marcela loving on her baby cousin, Finn. Marcela loves all babies and always begs for me to ask mothers anywhere we are if she can hold their babies. 

What makes you happy? My family.

What do you like to learn about? Mountain Men. Anything fun that is not math. What is interesting about mountain men? They live in the mountains basically. They're cool because they can just make traps and be successful.

What do you do really well? You're kidding me? You know what I do really well? I EAT really well. It's my talent.

Would you eat worms? Sure.

Your uncles might take you serious on that one! (Don't send it to Lance please!)

What is hard for you? Sally (name changed) and math and anything boring or dumb.

What makes you sad? Oh my gosh. These questions are so down deep! Hmmm...what makes me sad? Anything bad, like if someone kills someone, or anything violent.

What would you like to become better at? Handling peer pressure.

What do you want to accomplish before you are 11? I want to make and keep good friends.

Is there anything else you want to remember about you right now: Life is hard (laughing) which it's probably going to just get harder, so!

What make life easier for you when it gets hard? Love from my family and friends.

Dearest Marcelita, we love you too and life is hard and it does get harder as you grow and experience things, but you have hit it spot on that love from family and friends is what makes it all worth it and we will always be here for you--both when life is hard and when life is great!

Aunque sea un pedacito . . .

It always feels weird to celebrate a birthday the weekend before and then not do anything at all on the actual birthday. So on the morning of Ceci's birthday, we put up the birthday banner and sang to her and Armando brought home a big cupcake for her that night so that she could blow out some candles on her actual birthdate. 

One of the girls' favorite traditions is one where everyone sings in Spanish "Take a bite, take a bite!" ("Que lo muerda! Que lo muerda!") And of course if anyone is close, when the birthday person goes to take a bite, they push their face into the cake a little. In years past, this has brought tears when it was unexpected, but now they see it as a game. 

I smiled when I saw this succession of photos. 

And then Cecilia decided that in order to make things fair, Marcela needed a turn too!

I'm just glad everyone ended up smiling and there were no tears involved. Happy 7th Birthday to our spunky Koki! We love you!

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.

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!

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

Ceci's Kindergarten Graduation

Cecilia finished Kindergarten last May. She wanted to wear her hair curly for the special occasion. Luckily, Armando was able to sneak out of work for a bit and I was able to sneak away while my students were at recess for a minute to celebrate this accomplishment. 

Cecilia had a special friend in class that entered kindergarten later in the year due to health issues with Leukemia. He didn't speak English and she loved putting her Spanish to use and helping him out. He was her favorite friend in class. And she still talks about how she liked having him in class almost a year later.