83 months

School continues to go great for J. They had their first quarter awards ceremony and J took home two awards, one for her Gator Baits and one for Leadership and demonstrating Self Control, I find that rather comical that my OCD child gets that award! She is doing well with her fluency folder and works hard on her spelling words each week, she tells me they don't get tested but I make her practice them every day until she gets them (and then a couple weeks later when she is writing things and asks me to spell a past spelling word I have to laugh!). They went on their first field trip to see Giggle, Giggle, Quack, Quack  at the Van Wezel, only one parent per class got to chaperone and I wasn't the lucky one. She was excited to tell me all about her first bus ride, who she sat with, the other class on her bus, that the bus had seat belts and how only the kindergarten and first graders can sit three to a seat since they are small, she might as well be a bus driver since she knows all the rules! She said the play was good, but the theater was cold and she was glad she had her zip-up tied around her waist (she is really into tying her jackets around her waist, must be the cool things to do). After the show they ate lunch on the grounds before they headed back to school. Her teacher put together a cute Halloween party for the kids, I went in and helped the kids make monster pudding cups, J wanted nothing to do with the pudding and just at the Oreo's, go figure!

Not sure what got into me this year about Halloween, I don't typically like it but for some reason I really got into it this year. J has had her heart set on being a rainbow fairy, problem is the only costume I could find was full of GLITTER, and I talked her out of it again this year. I told her I would buy her any other costume she wanted and she said no to everything! Then one night I had an epiphany and convinced her I could make her a rainbow fairy from her favorite princess movie Sleeping Beauty! At first she was skeptical but when I came home with yards of shiny satin fabric she was more receptive to the idea. She watched me lay it out, cut it, sew it together, and make the thoughts in my head come to life. When she saw the finished skirt she was excited at its twirl, the cape and hat gave me challenges but came together in the end. I think in the end she was happy and she didn't look as much as I hot mess as I thought she would, the shirt tied it all together. We had a family Halloween party in our community and while there wasn't a contest we were the best family costume! We all had fun and the kids played (and mom had to make some costume repairs afterwards) until their little hearts were content and their bellies full of sugar! We really live in a great family oriented community and it is nice not to have to leave the neighborhood at times! Halloween night we had pizza in the driveway with the neighbors and the girls did a little trick-or-treating before it got dark and the mosquitoes swarmed them. We had a fun couple of days, maybe I will get into it again next year.

Where do you play hookey with friends? Of course at the happiest place on earth! And that is what we did one Friday in November, J loved having her day with me and getting my undivided attention all to herself. All she talked about was getting to ride Thunder Mountain again but had to wait as it was our last FastPass of the day. We started the morning off with Buzz, that's usually how we start our day since it's the first ride in and one of J's favorites. She likes to see if I can find new high point targets, she is my secret keeper and doesn't tell daddy where we get our points from! We had a magical morning and rode the tea cups, Dumbo, Barnstormer and then danced to Christmas music in front of the castle. They were taping that day for the Disney Christmas special so there were lots of things set-up in the park and cameras everywhere, we'll have to watch and see if we can find ourselves! We had some lunch at Pinocchio's (pasta for J of course) and after lunch J said she had a headache, I thought maybe she hadn't drank enough and needed some water. We went and rode the Little Mermaid ride and as we rode J sunk more into my arms, I could tell she wasn't feeling well. She wanted to skip the Speedway and go on Small World instead so we did, she hardly sang along and by the end of the ride she was burning up. We made our first trip to Disney First Aid where they took her temperature and gave her some Tylenol for her fever (and some nurse Minnie stickers too). Our fun day came to a quick halt and we were home by 4pm. I guess someone needs a make-up day after the holidays, she was upset she didn't get to ride Thunder Mountain!

The girls got to spend a long weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while mommy and daddy went to Disney for our race. Of course they had to BBQ and swim in the pool, they went out to dinner at Kona Grill and walked the mall, I'm sure they bribed them for something, they can't say no to these little faces! J convinced Grandpa to take her to play putt putt, she had gotten a free round with one of the awards at school and was driving us crazy to take her! J had her last two soccer games this month, she only played in one of them as she missed one (and picture day) the day after she got sick at Disney. She did better than I thought she would this season and by the last game was hustling down the field, she wasn't as afraid of the ball as she was at the beginning but unless she got picked to throw the ball in she barely touched it during the game, no goals for her! Hopefully she will try again in the Spring, maybe we just have to bribe her with donuts after the game to get her to play! And maybe she will score if we tell her she can have two!

Our book worm is a book worm and is constantly reading books or trying too! You can tell that she is getting more comfortable with her reading abilities and is asking less and less what words are. We got through all the Junie B. books we had and then had to order the last two on Amazon as someone was impatient and wanted to know what happened. She re-reads them in her room at night and takes one in her backpack to read in the hallway at school since she insists on getting to school early! She is reading more signs from the car but at times says we are going to fast and she can't read them! She wants more books for her birthday and Christmas, I hope reading sticks for her and that she continues to enjoy it. Singing and dancing on the other hand are not her specialty, she could use some help in this area! I keep asking if she wants to take dance class and she says no! She'll just continue to be a goofball who can't dance or carry a tune (and who sings Jingle Bells or Rodolph all year long)!

The girls spent a day (and a night) with Grandma and Grandpa the Saturday after the last soccer game (and after they stuffed their face with giant donuts!). The weather was gorgeous and they took a trip to Sarasota Jungle Gardens, some place we hadn't made it to yet. They saw the flamingos, parrots, alligators and the swans which were J's favorite part. Of course a day with G&G is not complete without a trip to McDonalds and now Kona Grill should be added to that list, J loves the fried shrimp. The next day Grandpa heated up the pool and the girls swam their little hearts out and played on daddy's old skateboard. Their new thing is lounging on the chairs while they eat their food (and getting Grandpa to wait on them), they are very posh! We joined them for a BBQ that afternoon followed by their first s'mores experience, they each got one and then we ran out of gas!

Being six quickly came to an end for J. Nana came to celebrate Thanksgiving and her birthday with us. Instead of a surprise gift she chose a lunch and shopping date to pick out a special outfit and accessorize, then when they got home she told Nana she needed to wrap it and wouldn't show us what she got, she said we had to wait and see! They had a nice day, J misses Nana and her special time with her. We had a nice and quiet Thanksgiving at home with lots of yummy food. The girls enjoyed watching the Macy's Day Parade while we cooked and then spent the rest of the day coloring and playing with each other. Nana helped to put up the tree (and outside lights) the next day, J loves looking at the ornaments and helping to decorate the tree, now if I could get her to be my gopher outside!
 

We spent her last day as a six year old at the happiest place on earth and seeing her smile all day brought joy to my heart! There is nothing better than being in a magical place with those you love, especially when you score a great lunch view and get to watch the parade from your seat, even more magical! To another wonderful year my "J Money", may your seventh year be filled with luck, maybe you can pick the right lotto numbers for us!

Here are the pictures from the month.