Beach Day with Daddy

On Fridays, I go to work and Jeremy stays home with Jillian. If the weather is nice, Jeremy will take Jillian to Kukio to play. Fridays are a big beach day here and there are usually tons of kids for Jillian to play with. I am not much of a beach girl and when they include me, my limit is two hours and then I'm ready to go home. Jeremy and Jillian LOVE to stay all day long. On this day, they stayed over 4 hours - which is huge for us.



Jillian was sleeping by the time they got home. She slept in the car for an hour. When she woke up, Jeremy transferred her to the couch for two more hours of sleepy-time. She was so exhausted, she slept sitting up.

And then she laid down...for more sleeping. If you look closely, you can see the sand in her hair. It took us 2 showers to wash out all that sand - she must have been rolling in it. :) And I mean that literally - she gets out there on the beach and starts busting out her gymnastics moves. She does forward rolls almost everywhere we go.

Easter Egg Hunt at Home

Later in the afternoon, we did a little egg hunt at home.

Happy Easter!

This morning, after the service, our Church had an Easter egg hunt. They asked all the adults to spread out the 1000 eggs, while all the kids (about 20) waited to be released from Children's Church. Jeremy has a handful eggs he is about to "hide"...and I use that word loosely as you can see in the background. :)

Here comes Jillian...she is wearing the polka dot dress.

Jillian on the hunt.

She had to open each egg as she put it in her bucket. As you can imagine, moving that slowly, she didn't gather that many eggs. She stopped with about a dozen eggs and then moved on to help other children fill their buckets.

We are enjoying an Easter cupcake after the egg hunt. Yum! :)

I have a confession - I wasn't very nice this morning. The church likes to keep the plastic eggs to re-fill each year. When Jillian was done with the hunt, she went with Jeremy to get something to eat. I took her bucket to a table to empty all the eggs and another mom came over to do the same thing. Her daughter - who looked to be about the same age as Jillian - came up and grabbed half of what was in Jillian's bucket. Her mom said and did nothing. I shouldn't have minded - its just candy right? But, I did mind - the little girl didn't ask and she took several pieces - not just one. And it bugged me a little bit that her mother did nothing. So, I said to the little girl, loud enough for her mother to hear, "Hi! Where is your Easter bucket? Don't you have one too?" And I think I may have taken the candy back. She was starting to drop it - but I think I helped her out, it all happened so fast that I'm not completely sure. I am so embarrassed and I feel horrible - it was just candy for pete's sake! I should have let her have it. We are new to this church and it makes me sad that from now on, this family will remember me as the lady who was territorial over the Easter eggs. Jeremy overheard me and said I sounded really mean - but he was in a cranky mood this morning. He had to work all night last night - they have contractors doing some fun thing on the runway - and he wasn't really feeling up to going to church. All that to say, his perception of over-hearing the incident, may have been skewed by a sleepy fog.

Ugh. Being a mother is hard. And my competitive, mother-bear side, doesn't always serve me well. I should have just let the little girl have the candy.

An Egg-tastic Day

We colored eggs for the first time this year. I'm not sure why we haven't done this with Jillian yet - maybe she still seemed a little young last year. Anyway, she did great. I was so paranoid about spilling the dye and it pleased me immensely to watch Jillian be so careful.


Jillian had so much fun! I had pre-cooked 8 eggs for her....when she was done with the eight, she wanted to start dyeing the remaining raw eggs. I wonder if that would be an OK thing? I'm sure it would be fun if you mistook a raw egg for a cooked egg.

When I was a kid, we would color the eggs and then the next day my mom used the hard-boiled eggs for the Easter egg hunt. Oh yes, there was no candy-filled plastic eggs for us. We would get chocolate and candy in our Easter baskets, just not for the egg hunt. As I sit here writing this entry, I am listening to our daughter (who is still on her chocolate high) play, play, play in her room. She should be sleeping, she is never going to bed tonight! It may not be a bad thing to limit all that sugar.

Last week Jillian asked to do s'mores this weekend. While the eggs were drying, we fired up the grill and roasted a few marshmallows. Yum! Marshmallows over the grill take longer to roast and never get that yummy brown crispy outside. BUT, they still worked for us.

Reading Time

Jillian loves to read to Athena. Jillian brings her to her room and makes her lay down for some forced reading time. Athena is such a great sport sitting there so calmly - and if you know Athena, you know she doesn't do a whole lot of calm. However, Jillian has learned to bribe Athena with treats - and Athena is VERY food motivated. :)

Gymnastics Camp

Jillian has graduated from Tumble Bears to Kindergym in gymnastics...on Tuesday I brought my camera to the gym to snap a few pictures of her in her new class.

This week is spring break for Jillian's school...so Jillian is attending gymnastics camp. She is loving it! But, doing gymnastics for 8 hours is exhausting! By the time I arrived, hoping to snap a few pictures of her in action, she had climbed on top of this foam block for a nap. :) I brought her home and she slept for another hour and a half on the couch...and still went to bed on time.

Jillian and Athena

What a month it has been! Jeremy traveled like crazy through February and the beginning of March. It was like the old days again and made us appreciate our new "normal" of him not traveling quite so much anymore. While he was gone, Jillian or I or both were sick with something (cold, flu, fever, migraine) every single week. I'm sure my boss also appreciates that Jeremy is home now and can share in the fun of missing work to stay home with a sick kid.

For Valentine's Day we decided to have Athena shaved. It may be hard to see, but she was beautiful - soft and smooth and shiny. And no shedding...for the first two weeks anyway. :)

Jillian is using one of those doggy tooth wipes to clean Athena's teeth. Athena is such a good sport!

A while back the police visited Jillian's school. The children got to see a police car, hear the sirens and the PA system and even sit in the back seat. Ever since that fun-fun day, Jillian wants to call the police for everything. She told me she wanted to call the police and have them trade Athena for a kitty. That is her new thing...she wants a kitty. Too bad Athena eats cats. On Valentine's Day, Jillian opened her presents and wanted to eat all the candy by 9am. We were like, I don't think so! So she called the police to come and take us away (so she could eat all her V-Day candy without interference)...she stood at the open front door and yelled through the screen "POLICE! POLICE!" Oh yes, she really, really did. It cracked me up...and then I thought it may not sound too good to anyone passing by to hear a child yelling for the cops.

Shower Time

Athena and Jillian...my two girls. One night before the shower, Athena was hanging out in the bathroom with us and Jillian invited her to play in the shower. I thought their silliness was very cute. I don't think Athena knew what she was getting into - she doesn't like to be "trapped" anywhere.

Mama and Me

Jillian LOVES to help me bake cookies and cook dinners. She is a great helper in the kitchen!

Good Daddy

What a good Daddy! Here is a picture of Jeremy fixing the hair on one of Jillian's little ponies.

Gymnastics

Jillian loves her little gymnastics leotard - here she is being silly.

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day(s)

There were a few days during the Holiday break that we needed to find an alternate plan for Jillian. Jeremy took off a couple extra days from work and I received permission to bring Jillian to the office with me for 3 days. I packed so many toys, games, movies and activities, I thought we were moving in to stay! On the first day, Jillian wanted nothing to do with what I brought and kept busy with the stapler and scotch tape. Seriously.

She liked sitting at my desk. She got to know everyone in the office next door and would call their names to say "Hey" as they walked by. Thankfully, they all took to Jillian and stopped to chat with her.

I set up her school nap mat on the floor for a play area. Here she is working with stickers. Who knew stickers are so awesome?!

Meow Meow

Jillian has decided she is a kitty. She made herself a little kitty bed using a blanket and a laundry basket. When I was taking pictures of her being a kitty...I said "smile, look happy!" Jillian said that kitties don't smile. Where do kids come up with this stuff?

By the way, as I am preparing this post Jillian walked in, saw the picture and said "That's my new home!" :)

Fun In The Dryer

One night Jillian helped me with laundry. After we unloaded the dryer she just hopped in and started cracking up. I had to go get the camera.

I took a couple photos and Jillian said "one more mama". So I told her to make a funny face for the last photo. She said this is her "scared" face.

Happy Christmas 2008

I am finally organized with the few pictures from Christmas day. I can't believe how little pictures I took....I must have been too busy with all the cooking. Here is a shot of Jillian opening presents...even Athena helped. :)

Playing the piano. Jillian takes music lessons...pre-piano...and she is loving this little version.

We found this super cute baby doll set at Costco...gotta love Costco! The set came with a doll, stroller, bed and feeding chair. It is sooo cute! This gift was definitely a favorite. Jillian named the doll "Baby Lyssa". Hmmm, Allison...do you know what TV show inspired this doll's name?

My videographer. :) I may not have many pictures from this day...but I have an entire 2008 Withrow Family Christmas DVD.

Every year Costco gets these AMAZING poinsettias. They are huge! I love them sooooo much and just had to have one for home. BUT...fall and winter are ant season in Hawaii. When we put any kind of live plant in the house...its like ants on parade all over the place. And once they come in, it is a major battle getting them to leave...no matter how much we spray. Right now I am battling a colony living in an electrical outlet above our kitchen sink. Hawaiian ants are no joke.

So....the poinsettia lives outside on the lanai. Jillian and I are sitting outside looking at the pretty flowers. I've heard you can plant them and they will grow into trees....

A Santa Visit

The week before Christmas Santa came to Hawaii...he visited a little cafe in Waimea and we drove up to see him. Jillian was very excited until we arrived, I tried to pry her little arms from around me...but her death grip was just too strong. :) Santa said we should all sit on his lap and Jeremy was not terribly excited about this idea...but what could he say? Hee hee. :)

I have a friend who invites Santa to their home and has an annual party for her kids and their friends. After our day, I'm thinking...what a smart lady!

Jillian participated in her school's Christmas Program last Friday. The girls in her room were sheep, they sang and danced to "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It was very cute! In this picture, Jillian is the second from the end on the right.

Our little lamb in front of the Christmas trees.

Chores

When Jillian turned 3 this year, we decided it was time for her to have household chores. She has three jobs...she helps me feed Athena, she helps me with folding and putting away the laundry (especially her clothes) and she puts the soap in and starts the dishwasher.


Athena is eagerly watching Jillian prepare her dinner. Yum-O!

This week before school and work, Jillian was sleeping in and I did not not to wake her until the last possible moment. So, I tried to do everything I could do without her to get us ready...I made lunches, packed the car, and had her outfit ready. Then I decided to feed Athena on my own...I filled her bowl up with food and started getting her vitamins and pills ready (she takes 5 pills with each meal). Jillian heard the pill bottles from her sleep and came running into the kitchen...."I'll do the vitamins!" :)

Jillian is folding her clothes...great job! :)

Our Costco sells the Cascade packs in bulk...it makes Jillian's job easier to grab a packet and hit the "start" button.

We try to make her jobs as fun as possible. When I'm ready for her help I'll call, "Who wants to help me feed Athena, start the dishes, or fold clothes" And I try to sound super excited. If Jeremy happens to be home at the same time, he'll yell back "I do!" and run to try to do the job before Jillian. There is something about Daddy "wanting" to do the job that makes Jillian want to do it even more!

Wind Storm

Last week we had a massive wind storm. It blew our outdoor table across the lanai where the glass top shattered into a zillion tiny pieces. We spent hours picking tiny bits of glass out of the cinder gravel planter that runs along the edge of the lanai....using needle nose pliers....filling a wheelbarrow and a bucket. Jeremy used the shop-vac to vacuum the grass...the glass was in the yard and we didn't know how else to clean it up. Oh my heavens, if we ever get a table with a glass-top again (and right now the chances of that happening are almost nil), but if we do - we'll have it coated with the hurricane film. Thank God, Athena was OK. Jillian and I got home and Athena met us at the door with an apologetic look that seemed to say "I just dug up the whole yard and I am soooooo sorry. Please remember you love me!" I can't imagine how frightened she must have been. The glass covered every inch of our lanai, most of the cinder planter and even into the yard....we are grateful that somehow Athena's paws managed to escape injury.

On the bright side, Jillian has learned of something to blame when she does something ornery. "It was the wind" she has told me several times when asked "Did you do this?"

Countdown to Christmas

My original thought was to skip decorating for Christmas this year. It is very hard to get into the Christmas spirit when it is 80 degrees outside....it feels like summer! I thought, we'll get a nice poinsettia from Costco and that will be good enough. However, there are lots of houses in our neighborhood that go all out decorating for the holidays. Jillian watched all the lights and things go up and said "Mama, I want Christmas at our house too!" :) As you can imagine...the tree is now up in our home. Jeremy will be surprised when he returns tomorrow after spending a week in Honolulu. I was in scrooge mode before he left.

Since the tree was up, I wrapped a few of the things we had already bought for Jillian and put them under the tree. This temptation has been torture! Jillian REALLY wants to open them...she asks "Is it Christmas yet?" "Its dark out, does that mean its time for Christmas?" "Its morning-time now, is it time for Christmas?" "When Daddy comes home will it be Christmas?"

So, we hung up her fish bowl...that I found at the best school supply store that is now sadly going out of business. We put one fish in the bowl for every day until Christmas. Each morning (or evening - her choice) she may remove one fish. When she removes the last fish, it will be Christmas! Yeah! Here is a picture of her removing the first fish. Later, she brought me a second fish and said here mama, I'm ready for Christmas - let's take all the fish down!