Monday, June 30, 2008

Runaway Rodent

One day Genevieve went over to a friend's house after school. When I picked her up she was very subdued (usually she's screaming and giggling "no, I don't want to go"). She looked very worried as she said, "Mom, we need to talk about something."
We say our goodbyes, go out to the car, and get ready for the big talk. Then she burst out, "Mom, can I have a hamster?!! I really, really want one! PLEASE!"
Apparently Sydney had a hamster, and all of a sudden, Genevieve's life would not be complete another minute without one. John and I said we would have to think about it. So for the next three weeks we were deluged with requests for a hamster, both direct and subtle.
For example:
"I wish I were Sydney." Why? "She has a dog and a hamster and two kittens and a trampoline."
"You know Dad, I hear hamsters are a lot of fun to have around the house."
"Mom, can I have a cat for my birthday?" No, we already have a cat, and I don't think she'd be happy if we got another one. "You're right, a cat would be a lot of work and take a long time to learn the rules. So you can get me a hamster instead."
Anyway, we did end up getting a teddy bear hamster for Genevieve's birthday. She immediately named it Princess, and has been enjoying her new pet ever since.

She loves taking it out of its cage. I keep telling her that if it's ever out of her cage, she needs to keep her bedroom door closed. And that the cat needs to be kept away. Of course, she lost her in her room a couple of times and panicked, but she wasn't too hard to find. Until yesterday.

Yesterday she was playing in her room (with the door open). I was in my bedroom and could hear her chattering away to the hamster, playing some kind of game. Then I heard a lot of banging around, and a few minutes later she came into my room in tears. Apparently she had put the hamster in the doll crib, thinking she was safe there, but Princess immediately climbed out and ran away. So we started searching. Tore the room apart. Moved furniture, picked up a hundred stuffed animals, searched through her dresser drawers. No hamster. Since the door was open, it could be anywhere by now! Could she have gone downstairs? Could she have gone up the steps to my bedroom? My house is too freakin' cluttered!!! So we put out bait (carrots), closed the door and went away. The whole time Genevieve was beside herself, sobbing. "She's lost, she's gone." I'm sure she'll show up eventually. "I'm never going to see her again!" Yes you will. She didn't disappear into thin air. "Yes, she did!" She's got to be in the house somewhere. "It's all my fault! I can't be trusted" I kind of agree with you there, but I hope you learned a lesson. "You should punish me." I think you punished yourself.

When we came home several hours later, no carrots were missing. Bad sign. Finally she had to go to bed without finding her (still crying). But I told her to listen for munching and scratching noises in the night. Eventually John came home and helped search again. He found her under a ton of junk in the closet! Thank goodness! I tried to wake up Genevieve to tell her the good news, but she was out cold. This morning when she woke up she came running in to tell me that the carrots were gone (I had moved them into the cage, of course). She was so thrilled when I explained, that she jumped on John (who was sleeping) and gave him a big kiss. My happy kid is back. Let's not go through that again!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Another milestone


Last night Genevieve's best friend from school stayed overnight. It was the first non-family sleepover for both of them. They had such a good time. Anna was amazing--never a hint of homesickness. The two girls giggled and talked late into the night, as you would expect. They started out on the floor in sleeping bags and ended up sharing Genevieve's twin bed. Then they were up super early in the morning and picked up right where they left off. I overheard this conversation this morning: "I wish we could be sisters." "Then you would never have to leave." "And I could go on trips with you." "We could be twins!" "Yeah, that would be great!"

Wow, this is a whole new phase. We've definitely moved on. She's gone from mama's little girl to schoolgirl with her own life. I remember those days so well. I had a best friend too, and we used to sleep at each other's houses all the time. I hope this friendship lasts at least as long.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Cat's Waltz

Last Saturday was Genevieve's dance recital. Actually, the teacher insists it's a concert, not a recital, but I have no idea why. I always thought concert referred to music, not dance.

Last year they were frogs. This year it was cats. Here's Genevieve in her costume. (One nice thing about this studio is that we don't have to shell out a fortune for fancy costumes!)



This next picture makes my heart ache at how mature and grown up she's getting.


Genevieve has decided not to take any more dance classes, at least for a while. We started gymnastics this morning!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Kindergarten Wrap Graduation

Genevieve's kindergarten wraparound program at the YMCA had the most amazing graduation ceremony last week. Miss Karen is absolutely fantastic. She choreographed several numbers plus had the kids recite the 50 states in alphabetical order, gave out diplomas, ran a slide show, and more. Genevieve's dance recital a few days later was disappointing compared to the dances they did at graduation! They did a second performance this week, since one of the girls got injured just before the original and missed it. These videos are from the second showing because our camcorder battery was acting up the first time.


Check out the "hoe-down"... Genevieve got to be the announcer, and as you can see, she wasn't shy about it at all.



I'm having trouble uploading the YMCA dance. I'll try that in a separate post.



At the original ceremony the kids were more dressed up. Here's a photo from graduation day of Genevieve with her "boyfriend", Dylan. They looked ready for the prom.

And here she is with her awesome teachers, Miss Karen and Mr. Mike.

The kids also each got up and said "when I grow up, I want to be..." Genevieve said she wants to be a vet. That is the first I had heard that one from her, but it totally fits since she's such an animal lover. The boys said things like policeman, soldier, "swat team"... the girls mostly said things like artist, movie star, horseback rider. Sigh. One little boy managed the word "archeologist", and one little girl said "doctor". I cheered for them.

Perfect ending to the day: when we stepped outside after the ceremony, there was a rainbow!

It was all so precious. I can't believe kindergarten is over already!!