June 6, 2013 - Riley's last day of preschool, Micaela's first haircut

 Riley's last day of 3-year-old preschool

 And her final ballet class

 Practicing high kicks

 Our little diva's favorite part of ballet? The mirrors

 Scarf dancing at the end of class

 Even little sister got into the scarf dancing

 Micaela's first haircut

 As usual, she was all smiles

 The stylist was thorough

 The mullet is gone

 Radishes from our garden

 Hmm, what's this? 

 "Wash! Wash!"

 I was distracted while getting our blueberry muffins onto the cooling rack so the little monkey climbed onto our tall chair and helped herself

 Outdoor mass at the Irish Festival

 Riley got a tatoo

 End-of-preschool party at the Children's Museum

 Final words of wisdom from Mrs. Patterson

 Then everyone climbed and jumped around

 Her amazing teachers, Mrs. Adler and Mrs. Patterson, will be her teachers again next year.

 Girls doing chores

 Lucky Seamus was covered with a blanket and given a musical glow worm for his nap

 Just like in the movie, sometimes Mickey's magical hat runs away

 So of course you have to catch it!

What an eventful week. Riley's last day of preschool was on Thursday, then on Tuesday we celebrated with a party at the Children's Museum. It was so nice to get her final report card and see how she has improved through the year. We're very proud to hear that she is patient, kind and helpful and always has a smile for her teachers and friends. The teachers gave us a picture they took on her first day of school and another from her last day of school and I can't believe how much our little girl has grown! She will be attending the same preschool next year 5 mornings a week with the same teachers and I'm thrilled they will continue to guide Riley. The final party with her friends and the parents we've gotten to know through the year was also a lot of fun. We've made some great friends and I'm looking forward to some playdates over the summer.

Micaela had her first haircut this week. She had quite the shaggy mullet and her new, evened out look is much nicer. She was all smiles through the cut and did a great job of staying still. Her brown hair has bleached into a very light blond shade but she definitely has her Daddy's skin tone. I'm very diligent about sunscreen with both girls and Riley is very pale but somehow Micaela is already getting tan. 

Sweet little Micaela has definitely hit a challenging stage. She CONSTANTLY finds trouble. One morning when I was trying to get us out the door she threw her jacket into Seamus's bowl of water. As I was cleaning that up she grabbed the toilet brush and "cleaned" the toilet, splashing water everywhere. As I cleaned that up she went into the other room and bit her sister (unfortunately she's just started biting and poor Riley is her favorite target) and threw her shoes down the basement steps (she's not supposed to open that door). Needless to say, sometimes we are late. I find it very difficult to discipline her because she's so stinkin' cute and just laughs and smiles when I tell her no. Its definitely necessary to protect her big sister, though. Micaela loves her sister and every morning "Riley!" is one of the first things she says. If Riley isn't awake Micaela wants to run into her room and wake her up. Maybe to play with her, maybe to start torturing her. If Riley says, "I'm going to potty," Micaela, no matter what room she is in, goes sprinting to the bathroom to block the toilet. When I make her move, she stands in front of the sink so Riley can't wash her hands. It drives Riley absolutely crazy. Micaela is quite the evil genius.