Busy Summer

This has been a busy summer for us. Kylie started piano lessons in early June. The teacher's name is Mr. Kling and he was the musical director at the school for over 20 years. He teaches piano in a studio over his garage, and he lives one mile from our house. He is a nice teacher and she enjoys going there every Wednesday. So far she has learned to play "Mary Had A Little Lamb", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and a few chords and scales.

Other news....Kylie can now ride her bike without training wheels! Back in June she came to us and said she wanted to learn because in the summer she can bring her bike to school for "Bike Day" and ride in the parking lot. We spent a few frustrating days trying to teach her to no avail. We were holding onto the bike while running and it was hard on our backs. We gave up for the rest of June. Finally on July 5th I decided to try another approach. I simply gave her an initial push and then let go, and she stayed up! She was so proud of herself that we ran inside to tell Daddy (who was also proud) and Sophie (who couldn't care less).

School starts early this year, August 18th. This will be Kylie's first year at this school, and her first time riding a school bus. How can she already be going into the first grade?? I still remember holding her at 8 months old in China. Her "Family Day" is coming up in a couple weeks. She gets to choose the restaurant. She's always picked Olive Garden but this year she is choosing Buca Di Beppo's. We buy her a present normally but this year she wants to get a manicure at the nail salon, so that's what she's getting.

Sophie is doing well and is as spunky as ever. She continues to frustrate me and make me laugh every day. Some of the funny things:

• At school one of her classmates walked up to her and said, "I'm taller than you" to which Sophie replied, "No, you just have a really big head!"
• Another classmate told her, "You're shorter than me" to which she replied, "But I'm smarter than you!"
• A couple of days ago she was rummaging in a box of doll clothes when she came upon a toy car. She picked the car out of the box and said, "What in the tarnation is this doing in here?" I asked her where she learned the word "tarnation" and she said she heard it in a commercial.

Although she can be very sweet and loving, she also knows how to manipulate. Lately when I discipline her she'll say, "I think you love Kylie more than you love me." Very smart.

This Saturday we're going to a Cincinnati Reds game. It will be Sophie's first game.