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Fri, Jun 27, 2008 9:30 AM
Camp continues to go well. Katie and I have gotten our new morning routine down. And, as of yesterday, I think Steve has accepted that Katie is hardly "suffering" from her action-packed days outdoors.

Earlier this week, he kept saying he was feeling guilty over how tired Katie was in the evenings. He even left work early one day so he could pick her up ahead of schedule. (And when he got there, she was rubbing her eyes--making him feel worse.)

When I picked her up yesterday, I ended up going with Katie and one of her counselors into her group's building in search of two lost towels (we found them). It gave me a chance to get more "scoop"--and, ultimately, to allay Steve's concerns.

When I walked into the building, it was nice and cool, the lights were low, and some kids from Katie's group were wiggling around on a rug watching TV. I told the counselor that I didn't realize they brought the campers in for a rest. She replied that they usually don't, but that some of the kids were especially hot and tired, so they did.

"So Katie has the option of coming in and hanging out?" I asked.

The counselor gave me this funny look and said, "Uh, she was out on the play gym. She WANTED to stay outside."

"Oh," I said. "Well, my husband keeps asking me if maybe we should ask you guys to put her down for a nap every day." The counselor laughed and said, "Her? She doesn't want to nap, trust me. She wouldn't do it."

After hearing that story, I think Steve finally realized that while the idea of camp might be "too much" for him, the reality of camp isn't too much for Katie. It's just the opposite: She's right in her element, and loving every minute of it.

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Tue, Jun 24, 2008 2:00 PM
We'd begun to think it was impossible, but at last we've found a way to wear out Katie: Elbow Lane Day Camp.

Yesterday was the first day of full-scale camp, and she was worn out! She came home and asked to lie on the couch and watch a movie (huh?). By 7:45 p.m., she was sound asleep in her bed (huh?). At 8 this morning, she was still in her bed, and at 8:15 she was lying on any horizontal surface--including the sofa and the FLOOR--announcing, "I'm tirrrrrrred" (huh?).

Even so (and lucky for me), there were NO protests about going to camp. Once she inhaled her breakfast of milk and peanut-butter toast, she was all too happy to jump in the car and head back for another action-packed day. Speaking of "action," here's her schedule for today (and every Tuesday this summer):

Drop-off to 9:40--Free Play
9:40 to 10:21--Instructional Swimming
10:40 to 11:07--Junior Sports
11:10 to 11:37--Play Gym
11:40 to 12:07--Lunch
12:10 to 12:37--Pilo Polo (Does anyone know what this is? I don't!)
12:40 to 1:25--Swimming
1:45 to 2:12--Golf
2:15 to 2:42--C.C. (which I think means "Challenge Course"?)
2:45 to 3:12--Soccer
3:15 to Pick-up--Free Play

Comments:
Susan: Thanks for looking that up! It sounds like a fun game!

Katie H.: Goodness gracious! I got tired just reading that! And, a google search tells me..."In pilo polo (pronounced like pillow polo), players are loosely divided into two teams. Each player gets a short plastic mallet with a rubber end. Everyone tries to drive a large foam ball between two plastic cones on either side of the soccer field. There are no side boundaries."

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Wed, Jun 18, 2008 11:30 AM
For our anniversary in April, Danielle and Katie gave Steve and me each a framed photo of themselves. The new sister shots inspired me to make a slideshow of Dee-and-Katie photos. It's been finished for over two months, but I was never able to get it to upload. It looks like About My Baby has changed the video technology (hooray!), and so I was FINALLY able to post it. Enjoy...

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Tue, Jun 17, 2008 11:00 AM
Yesterday was the first day of camp. And while this week is technically a "mini-camp"--not the full-blown camp--it was still a source of stress and anxiety. (For me, that is.) For her part, Katie woke early and eagerly got herself dressed, ate breakfast, and helped apply her sunscreen. She even let me fix her hair without any fussing! By 7:30, she was CRYING to go to camp. (Our arrival time is 8, so I had to stall her a bit.)

When we arrived, I messed up the camp drop-off procedure. During the school year, I always park the car and we both go in to her classroom. I get to interact with her teachers and her friends (and often their parents, too). But during camp, I'm supposed to just pull up. A counselor is supposed to greet Katie and help her out of the car, and then I'm on my way. Yesterday I forgot about that part, parked the car out of habit, and went in with her (a Freudian slip, I think!). When I walked away, Katie didn't cry or carry on. She just waved "bye" and started playing with her pals.

Despite the painless drop-off, I spent much of yesterday feeling very distracted and nervous about how things were going. I was wondering if I had forgotten any important items (as it turns out, I had, but we made a Target run for the missing items last night). And I was thinking about whether or not Katie would like the new experience. Even though it's in the same place, the teachers (counselors) are different; it's a slightly different mix of kids; her old classroom looks totally different; and it's a very different daily routine. It's too much change! (For me, that is.)

Pick-up is different, too. Instead of going into her classroom, I just visit a central table with a single sign-out sheet. As each parent approaches, the director calls the child's name on a walkie-talkie, and then the kids are escorted to the front.

When Katie came walking out, she was in great spirits. In fact, she was bursting with pride: "I went UNDER!" she announced--referring to putting her head under water in the pool (she swam twice). She also showed me a picture she had made. Her only complaint: "We didn't get to play ba'ketball today."

This morning, she was up and at 'em early again. And this time, we followed the correct drop-off procedure. One of the college-age girls greeted us, and Katie acted like a teenager who was embarrassed to be seen with me in front of the "cool" older girls. I didn't even get a "goodbye." Sniff. These new drop-offs are tough, too! (For me, that is.)

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Mon, Jun 16, 2008 2:00 PM
Yesterday we returned from our best-ever trip to Florida (with Katie). It's so nice to see how much she enjoys returning there. She knows—and enjoys—the many rituals of our trips south. And that makes for a more pleasurable, though still not quite "relaxing," vacation for Steve and me.

For one thing, Katie has air travel down pat. In fact, I wish I could discreetly videotape her at the security line—where she conducts herself like a seasoned road warrior. She gets her own plastic bin, places her shoes and doll in one, and then unzips her carry-on suitcase so she can place her "'puter" (it's really a portable DVD player) in another. As she steps through the metal detector, she hands the TSA person her own boarding pass and then puts all her belongings back together. People watch her in awe. (We've come a long way from the times she SCREAMED at having to put her stroller and various toys on the belt!)

She also likes to help her dad "catch" our luggage at the baggage claim (her use of the word "catch" captures their intensity!), and she has a certain seat she likes to take on the Hertz shuttle bus. Once we get to our place, she loves to play with her special Florida toys and her pull-out Princess couch/bed. What she loves most of all: swimming in the pool. She got to swim three times, and as we were wrapping up our final session, she was already thinking ahead: "When we go home to Penndylbania, I can bwim in Maddie's pool?"

This trip, we also spent one day in Magic Kingdom (which was great) and another day at Universal Studios (which was so-so; things opened late or not at all). We also made our traditional visit to her favorite Florida restaurant: Rain Forest Cafe.

Check out the photos in the June album.

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Mon, Jun 2, 2008 1:20 PM
My family still uses some of the botched idioms my brother invented as a child--mostly "fibbing your leg" and "I changed up my mind." Katie has introduced some similar phrases into our household lexicon--namely "pay out" (that's what you do with the cashier at Wegmans or Target) and "Hab a good neitz day!" (which I suppose is less botched idiom, more cliché on steroids).

She's also been creatively applying what she hears us say. When asked to do a task she doesn't want to complete, she borrows a line from Steve: "I can't. My knee huwrts." And when I suggest she eat something she isn't fond of, she borrows from me (I'm doing Weight Watchers): "I can't. My diet." She delivers both excuses with this deeply regretful (ha!) yet firmly defiant shake of her head.

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