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I think Rachel might have a future in opera. Tonight she found some music, put it on the music stand and she and Gabi started singing. And oh my! How they sang!

Last night we went to a Louisville Bats game. Jeff got tickets from his work. I think we might have watched a total of maybe 1 inning worth of baseball. The rest of the time we spent watching the girls play. They have a couple of playgrounds there at Louisville Slugger Field, as well as a couple of other entertaining things for kids to do, like a carousel. Rachel rode it twice and Gabi rode it once. They both wanted to ride it more, but it wasn’t free, so we drew the line. Nevertheless, the girls had a great time.

We only lasted until the end of the 8th inning. It was getting late, and way past the girls’ bedtime. When we left we were down 2-0. When we got home we learned that we won the game 3-2. I guess we should have stayed for the last inning.

My philosophy is that when young people want to rebel a little and do crazy stuff with their look, the best bet is to focus on hair styles. Tattoos are permanent, and an eagle when you’re 18 looks like a pterodactyl when you’re 60. Weird piercings are, well, they’re weird. But hair? Hair grows back. Hair is a safe medium with which to experiment.

Rachel has taken my philosophy to heart. Tonight Jeff and I were fixing dinner. When we were done we called Rachel and Gabi to the table. Rachel came from upstairs, and proudly announced that she cut her hair all by herself. I am happy to say that I did not lose my temper. I did not get angry. I did tell her that I wasn’t too happy, and that she shouldn’t do it ever again. Anyway, Rachel is currently sporting a bald spot on the side of her head.

On Tuesday I was planning to go grocery shopping in the afternoon. I got the girls ready. (Their outfits of choice were as follows: Rachel was wearing her Cinderella dress, complete with glass (or rather plastic) slippers. Gabi was wearing a unicorn costume.) But then I couldn’t find my keys. I looked in all of the regular places, and couldn’t find them. So I decided to gather the girls around and say a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me find my keys. After our quick prayer I decided to check the car to see if I left them in there. So we all went outside to look. I checked the ignition, the passenger seat, between the seats – no keys. Gabi, whose ‘assigned’ seat is the right side of the back seat, went to her door as always. As I was getting out of the car, trying to think where to look next, Gabi came strolling around the back of the car, dressed in her all-white unicorn costume, with her very dark complexion, looking like a little magical unicorn/angel holding my keys in her hand. I guess I must have dropped them on the ground as I was getting Gabi out of her seat earlier in the morning.

So then I gathered the girls around me again, and this time we offered a prayer of thanks that we were able to find my keys, and that my girls were so helpful in the process.

I really wish I had a picture of the view of Gabi in her costume holding my keys. It was too precious.

We went to Costco today. Gabi was riding in the cart, and Rachel was walking. After a while Gabi wanted to get out and walk too. I said she could, but she had to stay close to me. It was going fine until I stopped to pick up something, and Rachel took off running. Gabi, who likes to do everything Rachel does, followed her. I called to them to stop, but they ignored me. I took off after them, but they were in the next aisle. When I got to the next aisle I saw Gabi at the other end, but Rachel was not in sight. So I went to the next aisle, and there she was, and Gabi was there by then too.

I caught up with them, and told them that as a consequence for not listening to me they both had to ride in the cart. Rachel especially was not too happy about that, but after a little while she accepted that it was just going to be that way. After a minute or two, Rachel turned to Gabi and said “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

I admit I didn’t realize that Rachel recognizes that Gabi follows her in just about everything. I was surprised that Rachel took all the responsibility. I thought it was sweet.

At bed time tonight, Gabi had something of a melt down. It started when Jeff took off her shoes, but I’m pretty sure it was because she was very tired. After a while she settled down, and was laying face-down on Rachel’s bed listening as I read bed-time stories. Rachel started talking to her gently, trying to help her feel better. She is really very sweet.

But not perfect. Here is her bedroom wall after quiet/nap time.

Every year the hospital where Gabi was born has a reunion and ice cream social for NICU graduates. It happened to be today, so we went. (Who can turn down free ice cream?)

It was very nice. They had a couple of inflatable bounce houses. One had a dinosaur theme, and the other had a caterpillar/butterfly theme. The caterpillar one had a tunnel, then a climb up a ladder and a slide. Rachel LOVED it. She loved it so much that when I asked her if she wanted ice cream, she declined telling me she was having so much fun. Gabi wanted to go into the caterpillar tunnel, but she was too scared. She made a move toward it a few times, but each time she changed her mind. Finally I took her in myself. She was not amused. Gabi did have a lot of fun in the other dinosaur bounce house. It was wide open.They also had cupcakes (which is finally what drew Rachel away from the caterpillar bounce house), games, popcorn and water bottles.

The girls came home filthy (covered in melted ice cream) and happy.

Yesterday was Rachel’s last swimming lesson. It was a good experience and she had a lot of fun. They gave her a report card. There were 3 grades. A meant that a skill was introduced (meaning she didn’t really do it well). The letter S meant that the skill was completed in a satisfactory way. A meant that the skill was completed in an outstanding way.

Personal Safety
Know pool and class rules –
Walk away from wall, turn & grab wall with assistance – S
Back float with float belt for 20 seconds – S
Recover from back float – S
Secure and take off an IDF (flotation device) – S

Personal Growth
Participate in activities for self-confidence –
Participate in discussion about core values (caring, honesty, respect & responsibility) –
Show enjoyment –

Stroke Development
Paddle on front for 10 yards with float belt –
Paddle on front 2 yards without float belt –
Paddle on back 10 yards with float belt – S
Paddle on back 2 yards without float belt – S
Paddle on side 10 yards with float belt –
Paddle on side 2 yards without float belt –

Rescue Skills
Know when to yell for help – S
Be able to go to an adult for assistance – S
Know how to dial emergency number (911) – S
Know first and last name –
Perform a reaching assist –

Water Sports & Games
Climb up and down pole in shallow water – S
Dribble ball 15-20 feet – S
Pass and catch ball with one or two hands – S

Swimmer’s Attitude
Confident –
Listens to instructions –
Follows direction –
Demonstrates caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility –

Instructor’s Comments: Rachel does well in her swimming when she tries to focus. Continue to practice skills.

Overall, she loves swimming. Listening and focusing are not her strongest skills, at least at this point. It could be because she’s 3. I wasn’t sure if taking swimming lessons was going to be worth it, but I think she really did learn some things. At the end of the last lesson all of the kids got to go down a water slide. Here she is right after she landed.
She wanted to go again, but after going to the top she changed her mind. She told me it was too dark in there.

Yesterday in the afternoon we went to the pool to beat the heat. I watched Rachel on her own float on her back and kick.

When I took Gabi to the pool for the first time this year she really loved the water. With a little life jacket and arm rings she can manage pretty well in the pool herself. In spite of the look on her face, she was really having fun. The only bad part is she really doesn’t like it when I put her arm rings on. Once they’re on, though, she’s fine with them.I expect that we’ll be going to the pool a lot this summer.

More to come later when Noelle gets a chance to edit this.

Yesterday was Rachel’s last day of pre-school. To celebrate they invited all of the kids and their families for a picnic. Jeff couldn’t go because of work, but Gabi and I went.
After eating lunch all the kids played on the playground for a while. We took some pictures, and a little after 12:00 we all went home. And thus ends school. Until fall.

We even got an informal and spontaneous class picture.

Rachel really loved school. When I told her that there was no more school she got a really concerned look on her face and said “why?” I explained that school will start again around her birthday. That made her very happy.