The Lion King!

This past Sunday we trekked into DC with a friend of Simone's (and his mom) for dinner and special performance of the Lion King at the Kennedy Center.  There were no photos allowed in the show, but here are a few shots of the evening.

Waiting for our table at Firefly restaurant near Dupont Circle.  iPads help pass the time anywhere!

A couple of poses outside of the Kennedy Center at intermission.  

In this picture you can really see Simone's missing teeth!  She finally lost the top front tooth that's been loose for weeks and weeks, as well as a bottom one.  She's got two more wiggly ones in there now.  At this rate she'll be toothless by fall!

Father's Day Piano Recital

Daddy got a special treat this Father's Day-- Simone's first piano recital!  She was the first performer and was as cool as a cucumber.  She played both of her songs without any mistakes and calmly went back to her seat.  With any luck we'll have many many years of these to come!

Swim Update

Wish I could say we've been up to exciting events here in the Dotson household, but... not really.  The school year is just about over, and we've been eagerly trying to get our yard ready for summertime.  The past few weekends have been filled with planting, cutting, mulching, power washing -- we're almost there.  We've had a few glorious weekends in a row now, and-- I must say-- we DESERVE them after the long, long, cold winter.


Simone, on the other hand, has been keeping busy with birthday parties, playdates, piano practice and swimming classes.  She is making some good progress, so I thought I'd share a few clips of her aquatic skill...

Things should start to liven up in the coming weeks, and I'll be sure to post our adventures.

A Rough Week

Ok, so I suppose every parent already knows this, but not every week with a little kid is sunshine and roses.  And for us, this week is proving to be one of the tough ones.  First...

Simone broke her toe on the weekend running through the basement.  She slammed her foot on the leg of the ottoman and voila... broken toe.

Figuring they wouldn't be able to do much about a toe, we put off going to the doctor. But by Monday morning when she woke us at 4am to tell us how much it hurt, we figured a trip to urgent care was in order.

 So now she's all taped and booted up for two weeks.  Although she thought the special shoe was neat, she was particularly bummed out that she wasn't able to participate in field day at school.

And the fun didn't stop there.... Today was her orthodontist appointment.  We've been going back for regular consultations because she has a crossbite and they are just waiting for her molars to be in enough to put in an expander.  The doctor checked again today, and much to her dismay -- that's right, she can't wait for "braces"-- he still doesn't feel it's quite ready yet.  So back again in a few months.  She does, however, have FOUR wiggly teeth so Simone may be near toothless by summer.

Playing video games in the orthodontist waiting area.

And finally, we wound down the night with a disappointing discovery/confession that our devilish baby girl has been regularly tossing her packed lunch at school and buying cookies and doritos in the cafeteria instead!!!!  SIGH....  we definitely didn't see this one coming.  They say it doesn't get any easier -- I don't even want to think about that right now.  And it's only Tuesday!!! this week can't be over soon enough.

A Sunny Sunday Birthday Party

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM! Simone's cousin Sam just turned two, and we went up to Maryland for his birthday party today.  There were lots of kids, lots of treats, and a lot of sunshiny smiles!  Perfect weather to bounce outside in the moon bounce as well as ride bikes and--Simone's favorite part-- throw water balloons.

Climbing up the slide.

With her cousin Jack.

Best buddies.

Sam loves the Hulk and does the most darling growl when you ask him what Hulk says. lol!

Playing peek a boo with Uncle Tony.  He was cracking up!

A wonderful Sunday that lasted much later than we intended it to last on a school night.  So now back to the work week where there is definitely no cake, no boon bounce, and no water balloons -- boo!

Happy Easter!!!

Ahhhhhh.... what a welcome spring weekend after a LONG, LONG, LONG cold winter!  The past couple of months have been pretty blah waiting for spring to arrive.  We've gotten a bit of housework done inside, but haven't had much excitement beyond that, as you've probably noticed from lack of blog posts.  Simone has been getting more grown up week by week, and resumed her swimming lessons and started piano lessons over the past few months to try to chase away the winter doldrums. We're all anxious to start getting outside more and to begin the gardening and outdoor fun.

We spent Easter weekend at home with visits from Simone's cousins.  Simone spent all week making plans for an "Easter festival" for all the kids, and believe me, she executed on just about all of it.  Friday thru Sunday was non-stop Easter fun--coloring eggs, pottery, playgrounds, hiking, games, a sack race, an egg hunt, sweets -- you name it, we did it.  The kids had a fabulous time.  The grown ups are completely exhausted.  It is all I can do to just lounge on the sofa and post these few pictures. 

coloring the eggs

We brought our basket to church to be blessed on Saturday.

Nothing like looking into the sun for your photo--lol!  Jack and Sam joined all the girls on Saturday for some of the festivities. They've gotten so big!! and  terribly cute.

sack race!!! or shall i say the first of about two dozen of them...

some game time

at the playground

Easter morning before Mass

Before you know it the school year will be winding down and we'll be jumping into summer, but for now we'll savor the blossoms and warming temperatures even if it comes with pollen and yard work!

WINTERFEST

Last night was Simone's annual winter carnival at her school -- Winterfest 2014.  Everyone converged on the school for games, food, music, and an array of contests. 

The evening started out normally, a few snacks... lots of games...

A few rides on the giant inflatable slide....

Pretty normal until the end... and then a remarkable turn of events.  In the last half hour of the carnival Simone begun a major winning streak by winning the cakewalk game.  And it didn't stop there... Simone then went on to win 5 jars of goodies in the prize jar raffle.  It actually started to get awkward to hear her name every few draws.  But she made us so proud when she turned to her friends who hadn't won anything and gave away some of her jars.  Such a little sweetheart!

Here she is on the phone with grammy in the music room --she had to tell her about incredibly lucky night right away!