Practice, Practice, Practice

Chris and I have been so impressed with Madelyn's eagerness to practice the piano. We haven't had to ask her once to do it, and many days she practices several times. We're not sure if it's because it's still kind of a "novelty," but she really seems to enjoy it, so we don't care why she's practicing, we're just glad she is! :)

Madelyn and I have both been sick this week. Really sick. As a matter of fact, this is the second week Madelyn has been out of school since we went back a couple weeks ago. It has been an awful, awful season for sickness. :(

Unfortunately, this time around, I caught it, too. But I do have to say now that Madelyn is a little older, she really does understand that she has to fend for herself sometimes. She was starting to be on the mend just as I got sick, but I decided to keep her home an extra day because I figured it might help her be that much stronger for Monday. And to be honest, I could barely get myself out of bed to get her to school.

So, I had to talk with her this morning and tell her that I needed some rest. I asked her if she could go color or watch cartoons, or whatever. She was more than happy to get me tucked in and even brought me some water and an apple. I love this child. I really do.

After I sent her out to the living room to do something quiet for a little while, all of a sudden I heard her playing the piano. She was practicing Mary Had a Little Lamb, and a couple of the other drills Miss Whitney had taught her as well. It really did warm my heart. She's such a good kid.

Once I heard her playing for a few minutes, I mustered up enough energy to go out to the living room to listen to her play. I managed to video a little tidbit of her playing, but she had been at it for a while, so she wasn't overly interested in the "showcase." Nonetheless, you'll get the idea...

Piano Lessons

Madelyn has been telling us for a while that she wanted to learn how to play the piano. We hadn't given into this request yet because she already had too many things on her plate for a four-year-old. However, when her singing class was cancelled due to low enrollment, we figured this was a good time to give piano lessons a try. Not to mention we found out that her singing teacher, Miss Whitney, taught piano lessons, and we really love her, so it all seemed to fall into place.

We opted to have Miss Whitney come to our house for the lessons. It was a bit more expensive to do it this way, but we decided the convenience was worth it. :)

Miss Whitney has such a wonderful knack for teaching music. She is patient and oh-so kind, and this is why we all love her, especially Madelyn. She could hardly wait for her first lesson!

And her first lesson was a success! Miss Whitney went over some of the basics, of which I cannot really describe because I never took piano lessons (and I'm a little bitter - haha). But she taught her the "finger numbers" so she could read the numbers to play. I enjoyed learning the finger numbers as well so I could help Madelyn a little more. Although I have a sneaky feeling it will really be Madelyn teaching me. ;)

The first song she is learning is Mary Had a Little Lamb. Miss Whitney gave her some things to practice for homework and was on her way after the 30-minute lesson. We are super excited to see her again next week!

Winter Break Play Date

Today we had a long-awaited play date with Jayla and Isabella (and Ivy joined us, too).

This was a nice ending to a great two weeks off from school and work. The girls had a wonderful time playing with some of Madelyn's new toys, but they especially loved playing with her makeup set.

We ordered pizza and relaxed for a bit; the adults caught up and the girls sang and danced.

We topped off the evening with a fun art project. We glued crayons to a canvas and then used a hair dryer (and later Chris's heat gun because it was faster) to melt the crayons. They turned out pretty cute!

Happy New Year!

The owner of the apartment in Prescott offered us the opportunity to stay through New Year's Day, but Chris got an unexpected invitation for golf on New Year's morning, and he didn't want to pass it up.

Given these new golf plans, we had several options for our New Year's Eve plans, and although we tried to make a couple of them work, the one that seemed to be the right one was hanging out, just the four of us, at home.

We improvised because we didn't really have a formal plan, and came up with the New Year's Eve Smorgasbord! We had cheese, sausage, and crackers; cheese fondue with apples, bread, carrots, and mushrooms; olive and tomato tapanade with marbled rye; and lastly, at Madelyn's request, was fruit dip with apples, grapes, and strawberries! Everyone got to pick their own specialty drink. Daddy chose a stout beer, Mommy chose a mimosa, and Madelyn chose a root beer! She thought it was really cool to drink her root beer from a wine glass. ;)

It was a perfectly relaxed and fun evening together, one where we could focus on each other and the blessings we continue to receive every day. Chris and I commented on how wonderful this last-minute plan worked out, and that we should perhaps make it a new yearly tradition!

Cheers, Everyone! May 2013 be filled with many blessings, including much time with family and friends, and more relaxation than you know what to do with!