Weeki Wachee!

You guys may not have known this, but mermaids are real. I didn't think they were either, until today, when I saw them with my own two eyes.

We took a special trip, just me and Daddy and Mami, to a magical place a couple hours south of here called Weeki Wachee. I had been so excited about going that my parents thought I was going to give myself a coronary, so the long drive down was difficult for me. But finally we made it, and even in their parking lot there were mermaids!

The first thing we did, the main attraction, was wait to see the mermaids swimming in the springs. I was sooooo excited!

And the show was awesome! The pictures didn't come out too well but I wanted you to see that there were real live mermaids swimming underwater putting on a show for us!

Singing too!

That was just about the best thing ever. I even told Mami it was better than Disney. ("Well, Disney was good, but they didn't have, like, mermaids. You know?")

The other attraction is a nice boat ride down the river from the springs. We had to wait a while on the dock.

Daddy and I used the time to hang out and talk.

He pretended he was going to throw me in the water! And I fell for it every single time.

Oh Daddy, you're so silly!

Then we took the boat ride and saw all kinds of neat stuff, fish and turtles and cool birds. The guide explained it all to us as we went.

It was nice and all. But can I remind you that I SAW MERMAIDS TODAY!??!?

(Aren't you jealous?)

Afternoon storm

One of my favorite things about summertime in Gainesville is the intense afternoon rainstorms that we get so often. When the thunder and lightning passes and we're left with those great drenching rains, I love to go outside and play! (Normally Mami and Daddy don't condone this, but it was right before bathtime so it was ok.)



The other good thing is that we don't have to water our tree when it rains! :)

Happy Birthday America! - a musical tribute

OK, a day late, but Happy 4th of July, everyone!

And just for good measure, while I was in a singing mood, we sang some John Denver too, although it's not as patriotic of course.


I'm quite the performer, aren't I?
(PS - The cameraman was being attacked by one of my younger adoring fans during that second video, which explains that unsteadiness of the shot. We beg your pardon.)

A trip to the beach!

For the holiday weekend we took a short trip to Crescent Beach, near St. Augustine. I was so excited for days beforehand that I could barely stand it, and on the car drive over yesterday I was downright giddy!

Lela and I had to sport our shades because the sun was so bright, but she had a hard time putting hers on.

Not me, I'm ready to be a super star!

The beach was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't get enough of it - the sand, the water, the waves, everything.

There was a pool at our hotel tool, and I got to practice my swimming and diving and jumping.

It was an amazing trip, and hopefully we'll go again soon. Mami and Daddy love the beach too, so we're going to try to figure out a way to make it happen more often. They also like how tired Lela and I both got, it makes us sleep well!

(How on earth can I just fold myself in half like this? It makes Mami's neck hurt just looking at it!)

Greening the shopping experience

In an apparent effort to reduce carbon emissions, Publix seems to have eliminated their cars for us to ride in!

This means that Lela and I had to ride in a normal cart. She got to sit up front where there's a seat belt, and I had to sit in the back. The further in to our shopping trip we got, the more crowded it got back there!

It wasn't that bad, I thought it was kinda funny to hide underneath the food!

And by the way, Publix hasn't gotten rid of the cars. We were just at the store right near campus which, apparently, doesn't see many under-18 patrons, and therefore they just don't have them there.

What have I been talking about lately?

In the last month or so, these are the words that I've used in my blog (bigger words are more popular):

(Do you like it? You can make one too from http://www.wordle.net)

Amazing Butterflies!

We went to the museum this afternoon because they're having a special butterfly exhibit, in addition to the outdoor butterfly rainforest, of course. It's really cool, it's a big maze that teaches you all about the life of a caterpillar/butterfly.

You start off as just a little caterpillar, see?

As a baby, you have to learn how to move, inching forward piece by piece. Good thing Lela and I are so good at working together!

Then we learned about leaves, climbing, and eating. (I thought this part helped me resemble a fairy... Fairy, butterfly, same idea!)

But not all leaves are good! There are some plants that try to eat you if you're a caterpillar - they have these creepy leg-like things on them. I did NOT like this part!

Then, once you're all full of leaves, you build yourself a cocoon and hang out there for a while.

Then you're a butterfly! (There were no pictures of that part of the maze, we kind of got lost and confused for a little bit...)

As a butterfly, you have to be very careful of spiders. We climbed up a spider web just to see what it would be like, even though as a butterfly you should never do this.

I got all the way to the top!

And then the spider came home - can you see her face? Eeeek!

Ha ha, Mami's funny...

Apparently butterflies dance to attract their prince charmings. This I can handle!

I don't know what this was all about but it spun around and was fun.

However, the very best part of the exhibit was getting to fly like a butterfly! With the help of a nice butterfly-helper-man, of course.

That was so much fun I did it again:

What a great - and educational - way to spend a VERY hot afternoon, don't you think?

Some close-ups

For some reason Mami thought I looked particularly cute at dinner tonight so she took some pictures. Now she'll subject you to them too.

He's got the whole ... what?

Just a little dinnertime serenade. . .

So long, thumb!

For several weeks now, Mami and Daddy have been trying to convince me to stop sucking my thumb. For the post part, I ignored them. But then one day, pretty much on my own, I just up and decided that I wouldn't suck it anymore.

(I'm very strong willed. If you tell me the sky is blue I will swear it's fuschia. But if you tell me you don't care what color it is, I'll describe it in minute perfect detail...)

Sooo, anyway, for about two and a half weeks now, I simply have not sucked my thumb during the day at all. The only time I do it is during nap time or bed time, and even then just for a couple minutes. Mami and Daddy are very proud of me and Mami took me on a special treat today to celebrate what a big, thumbless girl I am - I got a real manicure and pedicure!

I was a little confused at first, what with the bathtub for my feet and all, but I adjusted pretty quickly. My pedicurist was extremely nice and gentle.

We washed my feet and then scrubbed them. (As if I have any callouses at my tender age!)

It tickled!

Then I got a calf massage. I tried to lie back and relax but it tickled a little too!

And then... we painted. I got to pick my own colors!

We painted my hands too. I picked a different color for them.

And here's the final product:

OK, here's a close-up. Fingers = bright purple, toes = turquoise!

I'm very proud of myself, and it was so much fun!

"Mami got the tenure!"

Yesterday was a big day for two reasons. One, it's almost Mami's birthday, and two, she got some exciting news at work:

(I make it sound like a disease, "the tenure,"... But it really is a good thing!)

Lela and I were clearly very proud of her.

I did some jumping to show her just how much!

But we celebrated with an extra special treat: CAKE!

Don't be fooled, it's not just me and Lela that like cake, Mami's a fan of Publix buttercream icing herself:

We lit the candles and sang to Mami, and Daddy tried very hard not to burn himself with the sparkles. (The things he does for Mami... quite touching, really.)

Check out these looks of pure rapture on our faces as we watch the cake make its way in:

Mami opened our presents too, and will open the others on her real birthday. She seems happiest with the bow.

It was a nice little party!

Swimming progress

I've been making great progress in my swimming lessons. Tomorrow is the last day but Mami came with the camera today to document my work (since Lela is having her surgery tomorrow, I'm going to my lesson with Grandma).

Don't worry, no matter how good I get I will always start the day with a little Ariel pose.

(This is the one I mean: !)
Then I dip my hair in the water and get ready for fun.

One of the first things we work on every day is blowing bubbles. Check me out!

We've also learned to float on our backs, and I can almost do it now without sticking my legs straight up in the air.

In my down time while Ms. Amanda is helping the other girls, I like to practice putting my head under water. My friend Jayla looks at me funny when I do this.

I went so far under once that Ms. Amanda got a little worried and had to check to make sure I was doing this on purpose.

Note that Mami wasn't worried, she kept filming. Brave fearless blogger, she is.

But I was fine, I came right up smiling!

OK, a little wet and bedraggled sometimes, but happy!

My favorite part is by far the jumping in, still. And look how good I'm getting!:

But also, look how good I've gotten at kicking:
And even almost swimming!

I'm really hoping Mami will sign me up for some more lessons so I can keep learning!

Sign me up for the triathlon!

As you know, I've been learning how to swim this week.
I'm doing great, Mami and I spent the afternoon at the pool today and I jumped from the side into the water without holding on to anyone. Over and over. And over. And I'm almost able to kick my way back up to the surface.


In the mean time, when Mami came to pick me up at Grandma's yesterday I had a brand new trick to show her - I had learned to ride my tricycle! The Big Wheels isn't quite as easy, but we practiced with it at home this morning. And of course we got a video for you blog fans.



I of course have been a master of running for quite some time now. So triathlon, here I come!

My first trip to the dentist!

It's been quite a week for me. I went to swimming lessons again this morning and then after that Mami and I went to the dentist. I'd never been before. 
At first, I had a hard time sitting in the special chair, I kept sliding down!

But then I figured it out. I was very brave and kept saying 'ahh', even when I didn't need to.

They got me all ready with this bib thing and sunglasses because they were using a bright light. And then they tilted me backwards and the nice lady counted my teeth. 

(20, in case you're wondering.)

Then she brushed them. She let me choose what flavor toothpaste I wanted. I chose orange.

And then when I was all shiny and clean, the dentist himself came in to look at me teeth. He counted them again (I guess he didn't trust Ms. Tina), and poked at each one of them to make sure it was ok.

Check out these pearly whites!

I did great. Mami was very proud of me! Then I played by myself in the little playroom they have there while Mami got her teeth cleaned. She was even prouder of that!

We get to go back in 6 months, at which point they said they might brave x-rays, but we'll see about that... those lead aprons probably weigh more than I do! :)

Swimming lessons

We've decided this summer that I'm going to learn to swim. 

If you think about it, it really is ridiculous that I don't know yet. I mean, we live in Florida where it's like 400 degrees every day, and on top of that my Mami LOVES swimming. Yea, she does laps several times a week, yet she's never taken me with her... hrmph.

So, we signed me up for two weeks of daily classes at the public pool near our house. I was super excited and woke up at a ridiculously early hour this morning to run in to Mami and Daddy's room to remind them that swimming lessons started today. Because of my eagerness, we arrived at the pool a bit early and had to kill some time. Luckily, the lifeguard (behind me in this picture) knew the whole Little Mermaid story, called me Ariel, and had a lovely conversation with me about being mermaids and living in grottos and such.

Then we all got to sit on the side of the pool and we met Ms. Amanda, our teacher. So far so good.
Next, came a short adventure out and back, holding on to her. Just to get us used to the water and stuff. I was definitely a little scared at first, but after about 2 seconds I LOVED it. I had a hard time waiting until it was my turn to go again (and there were only 4 kids in the class!). 

Ms. Amanda taught us how to kick next. My friend Jane (or so I thought at first, but it's actually something like Jayla or Jaylene, not too sure...), next to me, and I had a great time seeing who could splash the most. So much so that my Mami and her Daddy were a little worried we'd propel ourselves right off the edge of the pool!

Ms. Amanda came over to see how we were doing. We got high fives for our progress.

Then, to put those kicks to good use: a kicking sally out and back!

I did great!

But the best part by far was what happened at the end of each of those little trips: we got to 'talk to the fishies'! That means, by the way, that you put your head under the water and blow bubbles!

I know, you're thinking that I would be way too scared to do this, but I wasn't! 
It freaked me out a little the first time...

...but from that point on, I went ALL the way under each time! (AND,  I was the only one of us who didn't actually breathe IN under water.)

No problems there! It was a blast!

I can't wait to go back tomorrow, I hope we learn something new and exciting and mermaid-like! 

Doing a mitzvah

We learn all about "doing mitzvahs" in school. And although it may be a little confusing, I decided to perform a mitzvah by helping out at church. Our friend Kathy needed some help with the donations for our sister parish in Cuba, and I immediately volunteered to help.

Of course, the fact that they were in a red wagon may have made me a little more willing to help, but don't let that undermine your generous image of me.

I wheeled them all the way in to where they needed to go. And that was one heavy wagon!

Wasn't that a good thing to do? I was pretty proud of myself!

Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Movin' On Up

I'm fairly certain we've used this title for a post before, but if we did it was probably about a year ago and I'm sure you didn't remember it, did you? At any rate, it's appropriate, as today was the Moving Up ceremony at my school.
Grandma and Granddaddy (and of course Daddy and Mami) came to see it.


Every class had a performance or two. This was our first song. I think it's the days of the week in Hebrew, although we're not sure what the yawning thing is. Can anyone offer any help?


And this is our second song, about Shabbot (I think!).


And then I got my certificate saying that I'm moving up from the three's (Sagol) class to the PRE-K class next year, can you believe it? (Mami missed where they said my name. Again, second year in a row. Sigh. And we got my friend Adam too, just for fun!)


I was very proud of my certificate!


The best part of the day, though, was of course Ms. Jenifer. She's been my teacher for three whole years, and she won't be at my school anymore in the fall. We know we'll still see her, but I'm sure going to miss having her as my teacher.

Happy Anniversary Mami and Daddy!

Mami and Daddy celebrated being married for five years on May 29th! (I'm four years and three months old... Hmmm, anyone know math?)
Mami and I helped give Daddy a special present. First, there was a card, which had a little mystery poem and a big long string attached to it. Daddy had to follow the string.

It went all over the house, and I followed him to make sure he did it right.

It went out to the back  yard, where along the way it was tied to a new shovel. Hmmm...

Then it went all the way around the front yard too.

... Where he found a tree! (Gifts for the 5th anniversary are wood... get it?)

It's a Murcott tangerine tree!

Mami and I then got to work with the shovel. 

 

And finally we have a planted tree in our yard! Woo hoo!

In about two years we should have yummy sweet tangerines!

Max's birthday party

My friend Max turned 5 years old yesterday and he invited me to his birthday party at Sun Country today. I love Sun Country, so I was very excited. 

We started off in this great big room full of bounce houses and other neat blow up things.

There was a big huge slide that I could not get enough of.

Wheeee!

There was a smaller bounce house without a roof, a bounce yard, I guess.

I had fun in there mostly because every time I got to the edge to try to get out Mami pushed me back in!

Just to get even, I made her roll around on the mats with me. :)

Then we all went in to the big gym and did an obstacle course of climbing, rolling, jumping and tumbling.

We played a brief game of duck duck goose. I was never goosed, which is good because I've never played that before and I'm not sure I would have done the right thing!

Then we played with a parachute.

But guess how we ended the afternoon... Yep, with CAKE! 

Happy birthday, Max!