Week of the Young Child

Well, Simone certainly had a special week -- her school celebrated Week of the Young Child.  They had a theme each day, and to top it off, Thursday was Bring Your Child to Work Day.  So Simone got to visit mommy and daddy's offices.  Let's walk through the week...

Monday was favorite hat day.  So on Sunday night we combed through Simone's box of hats - furry hats, beach hats, straw hats, even a chef's hat.  But alas, Simone chose... her pink beret.  And we topped it off with a spring scarf to add just a little ou la la.  Here's our bebe at the afterschool art exhibit posing in front of her class's pictures.  She drew the picture just under the red "Expressive art" sign (above her head).  It's hard to tell with the glare but she drew a sheep, two kids eating ice cream, and flowers.

Tuesday was color day, and Simone's class wore the color RED.  Here she is in her red dress and red shoes.

Wednesday was WHACKY WEDNESDAY, with emphasis on whacky.  Simone wore her clothes inside out and mismatched down to her socks and shoes.  Her hair also screamed silly with a dozen mismatched hair ribbons.

Thursday, arguably the most exciting day, was Bring Your Child to Work Day in the morning.  Followed by Spirit Day at school in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of Thursday, but it was Simone's favorite.  She had coffee and donuts in the morning, visited our offices and colleagues, decorated cookies and chef's hats in the cafeteria, and then had a BBQ lunch before going back to school where they had "Olympic Games" for Spirit Day.  Fun and ... exhausting.

And finally, Friday--Pajama Day, when she got to wear some very special pajamas to school.  Simone picked pink froggy ballerina pjs.  After school, she wanted very badly to go have dinner in a restaurant in her pajamas.  But mommy and daddy are beat, so we came home with take out instead, to rest and post her week here on the blog!

While Daddy Was Away...

So, last week Tony was traveling for work, which meant mommy did daily drop off and pick up at daycare.  Each morning Simone and I took our morning tea (decaf of course) in "to go" cups for the commute.  I just about died when I saw this in my rearview mirror on the first morning of our week.  A total glimpse of teenage Simone.

Don't worry, I wasn't driving  and photographing at the same time.  I took these shots with my phone when we stopped at a red light.

 After work another night, however, Simone went straight back to little girl when she darted right to the play area at the mall.  It's amazing to remember her toddling and stumbling around this play area, and now she climbs and runs like it's barely a challenge.

Easter Weekend

We launched our Easter weekend when I picked Simone up from school early on Good Friday. She was asleep when I arrived so I carried her out to the car where she awoke suddenly and cried, "Mommy, no, I didn't want you to come early today -- I'm gonna miss the Passover party!" ...and therein lies the downside of multiculturalism. lol!

Here Simone is at church on Saturday when we went to bless our Easter basket. I'm not quite sure what's going on with her hair, it didn't look that crazy when we left the house.

The day was so beautiful we couldn't resist a family shot in the courtyard, however, we were facing the sun. So we're all a little squinty-faced.

Taking a step back... Grammy and Pop surprised Simone by arriving shortly after we got home on Friday. She wasted no time recruiting them to decorate Easter eggs with her. It was very serious business.

Daddy and baby girl on Easter morning.

As is custom, we had brunch at Patowmack Farm, and this year the owner--who has watched Simone grow each year-- surprised her with a table full of goodies. So sweet.
Our first course was delivered in a festive basket.
And, as usual, a gorgeous view of the river and foliage nearly bloomed on a gorgeous Easter Sunday.
Simone naturally had to pick the two dandelions right away when she spotted them from our table.
A very fine Easter weekend indeed. I sadly forgot to get a shot of Simone's basket from the Easter bunny, but as I type this very post I'm negotiating with her about how much candy she gets to eat from it each day!