Drama Queen

Macy has a couple of new sayings lately when things aren't going her way. She's become Miss Dramatic with things like, "my life is just ruined!" or "I don't know if there is anything that can make me happy!" Oh boy, I think I see trouble in our future. She has also been breaking down in despair when things don't go quite the way she envisions them, like when she draws pictures of cats. If the head isn't round enough, the whiskers are too long, or the ears aren't close to the same size...well, the entire picture is completely ruined! I try to help her see that part of making something creative is that it doesn't always turn out the way you plan. Sometimes I try to help correct what see sees as errors - see, Macy, if we make this line a little thicker or color this bit in or turn that circle into a cloud instead of the sun (which she always draws as a cat's face with a lion's mane)...how's that? Sometimes that seems to satisfy her, but other times the tears won't stop and the whole project is abandoned. She has no problem drawing cats with 10+ legs, eyelashes, or long hair, so it's not about the realism. I hope this is just a phase!

Kennedy is also very dramatic, but more in a theatrical way. She loves to act out plays or put on shows. She uses lots of range of voice and gestures, makes up songs and dance numbers, and is completely annoyed if people don't pay attention to her performances. During our girls' week, she wanted to be our dance teacher and choreograph a number for us to learn. Kennedy has no problem when Macy asks her to pretend to be daddy cat or grandpa cat or brother cat, but she prefers to be a girl when they play. Lately they have been playing lots of "Pirates!" with Kennedy as the captain and Macy as some sort of pirate cat. I tried to get her into a children's theater camp for the summer, but we just couldn't make it work with her dance class. 

Dance has been going really well, and she loves her two-hour intensive class, especially since her friend Amelia has joined it. Kennedy reports that jazz and lyrical are her favorite styles, ballet is getting much harder, and she's not so sure about hip hop. I think the whole concept of "attitude" as part of the dance style is confusing to her, and it doesn't sound like the teacher did much to explain other than saying to have it (she was a sub, and apparently that part of class has gotten better now that Miss Lisa is back.) Sometimes when she's being moody or sassy at home we say, "attitude, Kennedy" to her - like, adjust it now. I told her we can do Hip Hop Abs at home together to work on our moves.

Soccer is over for the season. The Burgundy Bombers turned out to be a great team. Kennedy and MaeMae were the only two girls, but they held their own. A boy from Macy's Blue class, Alex, was also on the team and it was fun to get to know his mom a bit better. Jake and Christiaan are getting the hang of this coaching thing, and really interact well with the kids. Kennedy played her best game ever, scoring two goals and really keeping after the ball, but unfortunately it was the one night that Jake skipped for his softball league.

Macy sure has made her summer easy by deciding not to do anything. No dance. No soccer. Just playing...and watching movies. That was pretty much her request, so we honored it.