Merry Christmas

, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Flight of the Bumblebee

Christmas Story

Dear Molly,

I hope you have a wonderful christmas time.  I hope you have joy on christmas.  I love you.

Love,

Claudia

I Love Mommy

Santa

Claudia had a great time with Santa.

Snow White

Claudia and Molly had a great time going with Grandma to see the play Snow White.

Crazy Girls

109, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Thanksgiving

Laugh

First Tooth Lost!

Happy Thanksgiving

022, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

ShowMe

Snow

It snowed about 12-15 inches on October 29.  We still don't have power and could be out for a week or more.  House down to 49 degrees today.  And its Halloween!

Claudia and Molly spent the night at their cousins.  We love watching them play Dance, Dance Revolution.

My Rowing Trip

I went to Penselvanya and we went rowing.  And we had fin.  I went with my ansowSosana mommy and Daddy.  Thar was lots of lilepads. and thar is a rode be hind the lac and in front of the lac.  And I sole losove fish in a groop.  We went in a litle secrit pasnig way and only kiyaks and canows are only olawd in becase it is shallow.  The pepel cod not see us becase we war behind the trees.

Game Night

171, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia liked having lots of adults to play games with this past weekend.

The Beach

037, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia likes it when Uncle Mark and Aunt Joan visit. We went down to Long Beach to see them at their NY place. Claudia had lots of fun.

Daisy Scouts

054, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia started Daisy Scouts with several of her friends. Their first field trip was to March Farms for apple picking.

Lunch

We got lunch! Chicken nuggets was the official first lunch.  Claudia had a lunch buddy to help her through the line and everything went fine.

There is "no way" we are getting pizza since the line is way too long, so macaroni and cheese might be the next entree.

Mac and Cheese

Picture 009, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

We still like Mac and Cheese.

Claudia seems to be adjusting to first grade. She is pretty tired when she returns from school. We haven't gotten lunch yet.

Good run

Claudia came to practice at the Bridle Trail today and ran 3 miles in 40 minutes.  Pretty good for a 5 year old!  She runs really well.  Then she went to soccer where she scored a couple of goals.  Now she is resting for her cousin Lauren's birthday party.

First grade is going well so far (we think).  She almost has bought lunch or milk.  She can't quite get over her nervousness to get in line.  Soon....

Farm Girl

069, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

First Grade

121, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

So Big! Claudia started her first day in first grade with Mrs. Macharelli. We think we had a pretty good day. We might even order the school lunch tomorrow.

Woohoo

IMG_1253, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia rode the Wooden Warrior at Quassy. Its really, really fast. Trust me. A little scared, but she did it!

All the girls are off to Cape Cod. We have been without power for 5 days due to Hurricane Irene. School has been cancelled for four days and we thought it best to get them out of the no power house.

Boat

119_0575, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia had an extra treat when Aunt Susannah took her for her first canoe ride as a paddler. She did really well.

Fun

119_0538, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Kerry's House (not really)

IMG_1169, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

22 Miles

IMG_1140, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia biked 22 miles today! We are on Cape Cod visiting her Great Aunt Judy. She did so super good on this ride!

Letters

IMG_1102, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

I gave Claudia an email extension (it attaches to my mail) so she can practice writing and reading messages. Let me know if you want to be a pen pal.

Claudia and Taylor

Claudia and Taylor, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Still buddies.

Yankee Game

IMG_1053, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia went to her first Yankee game yesterday. She sat through a rain delay and had gotten there for batting practice so by the time the game had started she had been waiting four hours. Best kid ever.

And then the Yankees hit a home run in the first inning! Claudia got so excited.

Handstands

Claudia did a handstand in the pool yesterday.  Today (rain permitting) she is going to a Yankee game.  What a life!

Museum

Its really hot today.  We had a lot of fun going to New Haven and going to the Yale Art Museums.  Nice and cool and the girs were really good.  Lots of fun.

Dinner

IMG_0866, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

When we went to dinner at the Waybury Inn there was no power. They set up lots of candles. It was a nice dinner and the first time we went there. Claudia really liked that they had nachos.

First Boat Trip

IMG_0905 a video by brandtsch on Flickr.

Vermont

117_0415, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

XC

pictures 024, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

2/5 of the 2023 Pomperaug XC Team. I like Molly's eyes. Focus!

Riding Lily

pictures 102, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia loves taking care of the horses.  She rode twice and spent about an hour in the barn every day brushing and feeding.  Big confidence booster.

She also drove the Gator all around.  She's very proud of that.

Last Day of Kindergarten

IMG_0646, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Today is a half day and the last day of kindergarten. Very exciting. Such a big girl we have.

Gymnastics

Claudia loves gymnastics. She is really strong.

Little Peter

pictures 076 a video by brandtsch on Flickr.

Kindergarten play.

Mac and Cheese

Claudia had a fun time tonight cooking dinner.  She choose Macaroni and cheese and we made it from scratch.  She wanted spinach with it.  She did a great job.  It was very good!

Powerhouse Team

pictures 006, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten is coming to a close.  Claudia has her play this Wednesday.  She's a fish.

She hits the wiffle ball real well.  I don't feel too safe pitching.  She can smoke it.

Smiles

pictures 110, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia has been enjoying the visit from Mimi this week. She even took a train to NYC! She was so excited for Mimi to visit and see her at gymnastics and to get her off the bus.

Mothers Day

pictures 031, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Mothers Day brunch. I made a reservation for Mothers Day brunch which is normally in the big ballroom with a few hundred people.

Well, they took the reservation, but there was no Mothers Day brunch. However, they had a some other kind of brunch buffet so it all worked out in the end. We had the place to ourselves.

Claudia had a special treat today.  She got to go to Fun Factor with her teacher, Mrs. Beebe-Center and three of her classmates, Maggie, Katie & Madeleine!
She had a blast!  There were treats, games and lots of bouncing :)
She had beautiful weather for soccer this weekend too.  She seems to be really enjoying soccer this season and has made huge improvements.  The Pink Flowers seem to be getting better and better every game.  Her team may even be marching in the Memorial Day parade on Monday!

Claudia is pretty excited that Mimi is coming up next week. She also is excited that her two favorites made it to the final of American Idol. She has watched it each week.

Art Show

Art Show, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia made a snake.

Pretty Girl

pictures 050, a photo by brandtsch on Flickr.

Claudia had her piano recital today.  She got a little nervous, but once things got moving she did great. She got a trophy for youngest student.

Claudia has been pretty busy.

• She went on vacation to North Carolina and Pennsylvania.  Lots of driving.
• She is getting ready for her first piano recital on Sunday.
• She swims the length of the pool.
• She is hitting the wiffle ball real hard.
• She had a great time at Easter at her cousins house.

Claudia's pig is home! She made it all herself in kindergarten. She did such a good job.

Claudia is such a good girl.

Happy birthday molly by Brandt Schneider

Claudia sings for Molly. We did this with the iPad. She had a lot of fun.

Kasey and I went out last night.  Monique was baby sitting.  Came home 11:30 and Claudia was still up!  Didn't want to go to bed.  Very tired girl.

Claudia and Molly go to see Thomas the Train show tonight.  They also had a nice time with Aunt Tootie and Aunt KA on Thursday.  Busy girls.

Claudia is excited to build something in the workshop for Molly's birthday.  I think we are going to build a house for Molly's Toy Story Guys.

Claudia is starting to read pretty well.  We are finally seeing her read independently.  We knew she could do it for a long time, but she just wasn't willing to do it.  She was excited to read a card yesterday that she got in the mail.

Claudia had pajama day at school today. Her class filled up the marble jar and got a reward of wearing their pajamas and watching a movie.

Claudia is so rules orientated and this really thrilled her. She was so excited to do something different.

She is doing piano lessons (20-30 minutes every two weeks) and is doing pretty well. She is very quick and has learned all her notes and rhythm. She can read simple rhythms and melodies. I've been pretty impressed. I would love it if she sang more.

Claudia had a great time in Pennsylvania last weekend. She went tubing with the whole family. It was a big deal and she was challenged a bit. But in the end she was all smiles.

She is becoming a big girl fast. Growing tall, too. She has occasional reminders that she is still five. But its nice to see her grow.

She is loving watching American Idol.

New Project 2 Mobile

Today Claudia had her birthday party at the gymnastics place this is what she has to say:

i wet in to the jemnsts pas me and molly did forwrd rol and swin on the rop swin and jit

After last weeks storm. We have a lot more snow now.

With 40" of snow in the last 5 days - Claudia and Molly have been having a blast outside. We have made snow forts, gone sled riding, had snowball fights and made a ton of snow angels. We also went snowmobiling. Claudia really loves sledding down the big hill on the side of our driveway. She even went ice skating and can do it all by herself for a few seconds. She says winter is her favorite season, it's got Christmas, her birthday and snow!

Happy Birthday Claudia! It seems like just yesterday you were a little baby.

Claudia has had a very enjoyable Christmas season. Currently we are snowed in and she is enjoying playing with her toys with Aunt Susannah and Mimi. Claudia is surrounded by lots of generous people (you know who you are...) and will be opening boxes for a long time.

Claudia got ice skates, a drawing/craft table, lots and lots of toys. Tomorrow--birthday.

This has been a very busy week! The excitement for Christmas and Claudia's 5th birthday is in full swing. She says at least once a day - "Oh Mommy, I REALLY want Christmas to be today, I CAN'T wait" :))) I love seeing the sparkle in her eye. We got a beautiful Christmas tree and made some delicious cookies. We have been having a lot of fun with Christmas carols and making crafts. Santa will be here soon!

Claudia had fun playing Old Maid with Uncle Mark. They played lots of games. Uncle Mark seemed to almost always end up with the Old Maid.

Claudia did lots of drawing, taking care of horses, and hanging out with Mimi. She got to go to Uncle Tyler's restaurant and even got a tour of the kitchen. She thought that was "really cool!"

"i went to tylers restaurant" -- Claudia typed that.

Claudia has had a week without fever and seems to be fully recovered. Now Molly is sick...

We had her first parent conference and everything went well. She is hitting all her marks and is at least at grade level for everything which is good since she is the youngest in the class. School still wears her out. She is pretty grumpy after school and sometimes it takes until Sunday before the regular Claudia comes back.

Right now she is practicing piano with Kasey. She is doing really well, but she is too young to really work on it by herself. She can pretty much read the notes and rhythms. Miss Eileen is her teacher and she has a lesson every couple of weeks.

Still sick with fever. Threw up this morning for the first time ever. Hoping to head to doctors this morning.

Claudia has a fever. She rarely gets sick. She rarely complains when sick either. She just kind of curled up on the couch for awhile. No school for her tomorrow. We are heading to NYC for Radio City show on Thursday. Cross your fingers....

We had to take Claudia to the dentist. Something seems to be wrong with her teeth.

Claudia spent a good 2-3 hours raking leaves today with her Cousin Riley. They are a really good team and Claudia loves working with him. When she starts working on something she is very focussed and works hard.

She got a medal today for soccer (one more game) and has been playing very well. I love that she runs on and off the field all the time when the coach substitutes. Hustles at every play.