Kindergarten is closed

Or,
I now have a 1st Grader.

This school year has FLOWN by! James has made such HUGE strides in school- both academically and behaviorally. At the beginning of the year, he was having a hard time using his words to express his feelings, whether positive or negative. Now, he can tell me what he is feeling and why! This is a big deal here!
Also, he has discovered art.  His art teacher told him he was her best art student in the Kindergarten level.
I'm not surprised. It runs in the family. But I'm proud of him! At the beginning of the school year, he was having a very difficult time following instructions. Now, he completes all his assignments on his own! It's amazing!!!
Of course, none of this could happen without his amazing teachers: Mrs. Jill Gable, Mrs. English, and Mrs. McNaught. They have been just wonderful and I love them so much!

 This is at the beginning of the year:

 And this is at the end:

On to first grade!!!
And piano lessons, and swim lessons and soccer and everything else.

Rapunzel Rapunzel, let down thy hair!

I have a friend who is treating her kids to the ultimate DisneyWorld vacation. (maybe I'm a little bit jealous...)
And she needed a dress for her little girl.
Well, I don't have one of those, and she (my friend) doesn't have the skill set to sew a costume dress, so I said I'd do it for her. I have to live vicariously through other mom's of little girls. Not that I don't love my boys- I DO! But sewing for a little girl is SO much fun. And it's pretty.
My friend's little girl wanted a Rapunzel dress, so here it is:

Here's what I learned how to use/do while making this dress:
Fray Check
Heat 'n' Bond
Elastic thread
Eyelets
Lace and trim
lots and lots of hemming
altering a pattern
Satins are a pain to sew with forever and ever, amen.
How to NOT use an iron
How to HIDE iron damage
How to make a little girl's dream dress come true.

I'm available for hire, now:)

Oliver and the Piano

A photo essay

How cute is that?!

as promised

This post is in celebration of the HUGE accomplishment of graduating with a Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA). And can I just say how cool it is that the pre-fix 'Mr.' is now 'Dr.'?!!
Dr. and Mrs. N. Drue Daily
Dr. Daily
Dr. Drue.
Anyway you say it, I'm so proud of Drue. His dissertation is being nominated for 'Dissertation of the Year', which is a University-wide honor. He has worked so hard -and so have I- to make this work. We have loved our time at the University of Nebraska and will forever be Huskers. Go Big Red!
Of course, the weekend wouldn't have been complete without Grammy, Papa and Jesse. They came all the way out from California and Utah- we couldn't have had a nicer time with them. Ice cream, teppanyaki (James was SO impressed with the "fire chef"), Fajitas, target, park, Omaha zoo, Temple, we did it all.
And we are DONE.

The Dr. is IN.

Someone has a birthday...

Someone turned 3 years old today.
Answers to: Oliver, Bear, Ollie, Cuteness, Baby Olive, Tiny, Ollr (thanks, Elijah:).
Blond hair, Brown eyes. Big Smile.
Shy around strangers.
Loves his mommy.
Crazy about Thomas the Tank Engine, Lightning McQueen, Legos, Train tracks, PUZZLES, and playing Ball.
Can ride a bike, almost.
Is a dog-lover. Seriously.
Draws monsters, and is good at coloring.
Loves to be read to, and snuggled with.
Favorite food? Pistachios.
Least favorite food? Pizza. (Really?! C'mon. Who does that?)
Wrestles with his older brother ALL THE TIME.
Wants to play the piano ALL THE TIME.
And also the drums.
Funny funny funny. Steals everyone's heart.

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We just love you to pieces.

The New Baby

Small story:
We wanted a new piano. We found a few on craigslist that were awful. Then I found this one and heard the hallelujah chorus with a descending shaft of light. One steal of a deal later, the Petrof is mine! I mean, ours. Ours.

Coming attraction: The Dr.

As soon as possible, we present for your reading pleasure, the Dr. Daily show.