Franklin Cider Mill

Today was Day 2 of Midvale for Marianna...I didn't know how it was going to go because in the morning all I heard was "mama...I want to stay home with you...I don't want to go to school.."
Uh-oh....
Well, drop off didn't go well for her...or me for that matter today. She cried (I later came to learn it was again only for a few minutes...) and I cried off and on the entire day. However, I don't know how the day goes until I pick her up. So consequently, I had a rough day imagining Marianna crying the entire day because she was "missing her mommy".
The good news is, the teachers said after reuniting with her with George the Monkey (stuffed animal), she was easily consoled and didn't want to leave when I came to pick her up. She was very anxious to show me the friends she was playing with (Paloma, Madeline and Soren) and was bouncing off the walls. She took another good nap there which thrills me because I never thought that would happen so soon.
So, again, she claims she can't wait to go back to school...so we will keep it going and (fingers crossed) it will continue to get easier every time at drop off!

As a special treat after school, we payed a visit to Franklin Cider Mill to feed the ducks and fill up on their fresh donuts, cider and apples. Marianna loved, loved, loved feeding the ducks and could have cared less about anything else.

Here we are on the way with our duck food (ducks like bagels....as does Marianna...)


She thought all the ducks at her feet was hysterical...

There was as much food to the ducks as there was to Marianna...

More pictures from the visit...there were so many pretty places to take pictures here!

She also loved throwing food off the bridge and watching the ducks down below in the water.

Practicing the fake smile...

Oh no...running out of bread!

When we got home, the other special treat was a new Wiggles video we picked up at the library...Marianna has just discovered the Wiggles and dances the entire time!

Marianna's First (Full Day) at Midvale

Today was the much anticipated first full day of school at Midvale!
Marianna was in a great mood all morning...helping to pick out her lunchbox and what she wanted to put in it, choosing what she wore (sparkly monkey shirt...shocker!) and her new hello kitty undies which you cannot see, but she was super excited about them. Today was her day!

Even if it is only pre-pre-school...you HAVE to take the token pictures outside your front door...so here we are...

In all our monkey glory...(monkey shirt, monkey bag and George the monkey for nap time)...

Here she kept saying "Hurry mama, we gotta go...can't be late..." Seriously!

(Outside the Brown Bear classroom...where she will spend 3 days/week from 9-3:30.) The first picture to me is hilarious...looks like she is already giving me attitude about the 100 pictures we have already taken this morning!

We were just about the first to arrive...so here we are waiting for the doors to open and ready to play with our 12 new friends!

The teachers told me she did a great job today! They said only a few "sad" moments, but she had a lot of fun and even took a 50 minute nap which I NEVER thought would happen! When I came to get her, I was greeted with the biggest smile and a "I am so happy you are here! I did a great job at school today!"

Marianna, you are awesome!

First Day of School

Today was Marianna first day of school at Midvale! It was only for an hour and pretty much getting to know her teachers and the classroom...however, she did not want to go and said she is "so excited" to go back tomorrow for her first full day!
She did such a great job playing with all the other kids and rarely came over to see DJ and I...her teachers are fantastic and I can tell she is going to have a lot of fun here!

Way to go Marianna!!

(more to follow tomorrow!)

Who Swims Like a Little Fish?

Marianna has been in swim classes at Goldfish since last October...I think they paid off because she absolutely loves being in the water! (Works out well for me because I love to be at the pool :) The summer has gone by too fast and today was our last day at the pool....I am devastated.

Today, I got a couple clips of Marianna swimming at Birmingham and (wow) has she come a long way since last year. She swims independently now and even has learned to take breaths! She loves to spin underwater and roll onto her back too. We even had one day where she went off the diving board all by herself about 15 times... (however not to be repeated since...go figure!).

So now begins our private lessons at Goldfish with our end goal of swim team next year at BCC... Fingers crossed!

Down By The Bay...

I was catching up on expense reports in the basement and Marianna was playing so nicely by herself...I just had to capture this video of her singing this song to her baby...

Her imagination is so great right now. I love the window that overlooks the playroom and catch her talking and singing songs to herself. Earlier, I walked in and saw she gathered every stuffed animal that she could find and lined them up in a row and was saying "chugga..chugga...choo-choo...ALL ABOARD!". Just melts my heart to see my baby girl growing up!

Down by the Bay Lyrics:

Down by the bay...Where the watermelons grow...Back to my home...I dare not go...For if I do...My mother will say..."Did you ever see a bear...Combing his hair...Down by the bay?...

"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a beeWith a sunburned kneeDown by the bay?"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a mooseKissing a gooseDown by the bay?"Down by the bayWhere the watermelons growBack to my homeI dare not goFor if I doMy mother will say"Did you ever see a whaleWith a polka dot tailDown by the bay?"

Last Days of Summer

I realized earlier today that compared to last summer, we hardly have any pictures of Marianna enjoying the summer as a 2 year old. So I broke out the camera tonight while DJ was grilling dinner and tried to capture a typical summer night at the Becharas house. Bubble Machine, running, picking flowers, etc...
In this picture, Marianna has mastered the fake smile, which we refer to as the happy face. "Say Cheese" is just a recipe for disaster!

I love the look on her face in the third shot...letting the bubbles just land on her face...a picture is worth a thousand words!

Finally, a smile!

Marianna's new thing lately is "watch how fast I can run to you Mommy..." and I just hold my breath, waiting for a trip and fall...

I taught Marianna how to dead head the flowers and it is favorite activity. Although you can see from the dead flower pot, we didn't get around to doing it all that much this summer.

Marianna's belly laugh is hysterical...sounds like something between a laugh and a cry but really loud! That is her belly laughing in the first picture...

After going through these pictures, I have decided we are not ready for fall!

William Robert Nicolas Riker

What a special and beautiful Sunday we shared with our friends today...our godson Will's baptism! He is so sweet and didn't make a peep the entire service! Matt and Sarah, we are so honored to be his godparents and we love him like he is our own. We love you guys!

The Riker Family...