Team Red and Blue Initiation

Go Team Red!

Today was a pretty bid deal...Team Red and Blue Initiation Day at Buckley.  This decides our family (and future family members) team colors F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  It took place in the gym.  First graders (the year students are assigned a color) arrived first and sat in the center.  Then Grades 2-8 arrived.  Team Blue sat to my right (I was facing the stage) and Team Red sat to my left.  Buckley's Athletic Director and Director of Diversity, Mr. Roney Eford, kicked off the event with an introduction of captains by grade.  Then it was time.  Two Team Red captains held up a red hoola hoop.  Two Team Blue captains held up a blue hoola hoop.  Then names were called by grade, ladies first.  After about 4-5 names, Lauren was called up, she walked through the hoop, received her red bracelet, took off her blue bead necklace (left her red one on of course) and joined Team Red.  The teams were then required to come up with a "festive" cheer.  The winner will be awarded 50 points.  I couldn't stay for that so I told Lauren I would pick her up at 2 and went back home.  What an incredible tradition dating back to 1938.

 

Pre-Initiation

Being initiated into Team Red

Post-initiation

Uncle June

I shared here that tonight was Parents' Night.  There was a communication failure (I take full responsibility) with my mom and it turned out that she had to leave for a church event at 7 p.m. and couldn't stay to watch the kids until ~8:30 p.m.  I almost resigned to the fact that Tae would have to stay home and we would have to miss the Pre-K curriculum review.  But before making that call, I asked my brother if he was able to watch the girls.  Luck was on my side and he said he could!

This is just one small, teeny tiny example of what an extraordinary uncle my brother is to Lauren and Elizabeth.  He has been coming over on average once every week for the past six years to spend time with his nieces.  As infants, my brother would hold them, try to make them laugh, tickle them and gave them puff snacks.  Now that they are 4 and 6, he takes them out to play by himself, climb "mountains" in our complex, takes Lauren to a movie, and basically does everything the girls ask him to do.  He will be the first to admit that he can't say no to them...and they know that!  They constantly ask for shoulder rides, airplane rides, to go outside, to play downstairs, to play Wii, etc.  My brother doesn't have a minute to sit down when he comes over.  They adore him.

I don't know an uncle who loves his nieces or nephews more than my brother loves the girls.  He is so wonderful with children (I think partly because he himself is still a child in many ways!).  In honor of my amazing brother, here are some of the best moments with the girls.  We love you Uncle June!
 

When Lauren was an only child. :-)

 

Ebi at five months.

 

My bro made a collage of the three of them at 6 months.

One of my fave pics of the three of them.

Lauren 3, Elizabeth 1.

Ebi adores Uncle June.

Celebrating my brother's 38th birthday. 

Christmas!

At the Queens Zoo.

Montauk, Summer of 2013.

Welcome to Parents' Night 2013

Parents' Night takes place every year during the 3rd week of school.  It is an opportunity to hear from Mrs. Elizabeth Lyons, Head of Lower School and Assistant Headmaster, about the various lower-school and early childhood education programs like reading, math, science and languages.  It is also a time when parents meet in their child's classrooms to better understand the specific class curriculum.  Tae and I divided and conquered tonight.  I took 1st grade and Tae, Pre-K.

This beautiful welcome letter from Lauren awaited my arrival.  Ms. Shackel shared with me, "I told Lauren she was doing my wedding invitations," referring to her exceptional handwriting.  I have to admit, I was pretty impressed myself. 

Lauren's welcome note to me for 1st Grade Parents' Night

Tae had a great experience during the Pre-K Parents' Night.  He was amazed at how seemingly intense and structured the Pre-K curriculum was.  I reminded him that it was the same for Lauren.  Plus Ebi has been going to school since she was 2-years-old and she is no stranger to classroom structure.  I would venture a guess that today's lesson was focused on the letter B.  During our bedtime snuggles, she was repeating B words like Baby, Boy, Big, Bubbles.

 

 

I captured Lauren and Elizabeth's daily schedule for posterity.  I couldn't be happier with the education and experiences they are receiving at Buckley.  

1st Grade daily schedule

Pre-K daily schedule

Invitation to inaugural Lean In Partners Event

I previously wrote about my perspective on Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In here.  Well, imagine my surprise when I received the following email (edited) from my Global VP, Lisa Utzschneider this morning:

I wanted to extend an invitation to you to attend a Lean In event...  Amazon is a corporate partner of the Lean In program and we are going to launch Lean In circles in the NY office this fall.  (I’ll be an executive sponsor)  Sheryl Sandberg will be hosting the first regional lean partner event on Sept. 23rd.... I want us to have Amazon representation at the Lean In event.  Could you attend on behalf of Amazon?  I think that it would be a great experience for you.  

Could I?  Of course!  I enthusiastically responded, "I would be honored to attend and represent AMZN."  There is a popular quote that's eluding me at the moment but it's something along the line of Success = Hard work + Luck + Opportunity.  Whatever the formula, I feel like I'm living it and look forward to carrying this momentum for as long as I possibly can.  For myself.  For Lauren and Elizabeth.  For my mother.  For all the women who have inspired me to be my best.  For all the women and men who have taken a chance on me.  For all my mentors past, present and future.  For all my mentees past, present and future. 

Happy 6th Birthday Lauren! (Late posting)

Happy 4th Birthday Elizabeth! (late posting)

Rainbow Loom

One of the hottest toys of this past summer was the Rainbow Loom.  It is taking a loom and tiny multi-colored rubberbands and "weaving" them into cool bracelets.  Lauren learned all about the Rainbow Loom at camp.  Her group leader Kassie told me that Lauren would be mesmerized at the older kids making their bracelets.  She and Elizabeth came home with bracelets someone from the group made them quite frequently. 

Rainbow Loom in a makeshift container I designed myself!

I bought Lauren the starter kit after camp so she would have something new and fun to do during our week out in Montauk.  Little did I know that it would turn into a full-blown obsession.  Lauren makes at least 10 bracelets everyday and gives them to me, Tae, my mom or Elizabeth.  She even brought her loom set to the hair salon recently and made bracelets for two hairdressers.  This fits Lauren's personality to a tee.  It requires patience, precision and perfection.

Lauren smiling ear-to-ear with her fully-stocked Rainbow Loom box.

Lauren at Kim Sun Young hair salon in Bayside, NY making bracelets for two hairdressers.

Summer of 2013

How is it September 4th?  How is it possible that my last post was nearly three months ago on June 9th?  Let me get over it and get started...

 

June 2013: Last day of school and the start of camp
Not surprisingly, the last day of Kindergarten for Lauren and Nursery for Elizabeth was very sad for me. Lauren was incredibly lucky to have an extraordinary K teacher named Bianca Lavey. Her love of children and teaching was so evident. Mrs. Lavey knew each child's strengths, weaknesses and individuality. She challenged, praised and worked with each child as if s/he was her/his own. We will remember her for the rest of our lives. Kindergarten highlights from my perspective were:

1. Writing.  Lauren started the year doing 1-2 sentence reading responses and ended the year writing several sentences spanning 2 pages at times.
2. Learning to READ!  She powered through the early reading levels and ended the year at Level J.  She continues to read with intonation, comprehension and pure joy.
3. Athleticism.  Her physical education teachers discovered her outstanding athletic ability - speed, coordination and competitive spirit.
4. Monkey bars!  Read previous post here.
5. Friendships.  Lauren developed a strong friendship in particular with Caroline Blatti (who sadly didn't return to 1st grade for some unknown reason) and Ava Chan.  Lauren's social development this past year has been so heartwarming to witness.

Elizabeth also had a fantastic teacher, Mrs. Lori Zwick, affectionately known by the children as Miss Lori. She created such a warm, loving and fun environment.  Miss Lori shared during one of the parent-teacher conferences that Elizabeth started the year quiet, shy and to herself.  But a few months in, her true colors shined and she became outgoing, funny and confident.  In fact, “funny” was a word used to describe Elizabeth on many occasions.  Elizabeth loved and bonded with Miss Lori.  At various points throughout the summer, Elizabeth said how much she missed Miss Lori.  I reassured Elizabeth that she would see her in school again.  Nursery highlights, again from my perspective were:

1. Friendships.  I couldn't believe how many children in Elizabeth's class asked me for playdates.  I honestly think at least one child asked every single time I did drop-off.  Elizabeth's closest friends were Gabriella Tomei and Gabrielle Silva.  I'm thrilled both of them are back for Pre-K.  Maelyn and Dylan also asked me frequently for playdates.  Too cute.
2. Participation.  I'm sure I have written this before...but my Elizabeth can be a tough cookie.  She has a strong will and is already very set in her ways.  It is not uncommon to hear Elizabeth say, "I don't want to do that."  So imagine my surprise when her teachers told me - and I witnessed myself - that Elizabeth actively participates in all activities.  Music, gym, painting, story-time, snack-time, recess-time.
3. Speaking her mind.  One of the things I love most about Elizabeth, is also what challenges me the most about Elizabeth...she will say what's on her mind.  Period. End of story.  She has no problem asking someone, "What's that?!?" or saying, "Eww, that's disgusting."  She will learn through her own development and some coaching from me to add a layer of tact before verbalizing her thoughts.  But as a nursery student, I was so product that Elizabeth spoke up whenever she felt it was necessary.  For example, she asked her teacher if she couldn't reach something.  She told  fellow classmate that it was her turn on the alligator seesaw.  Elizabeth stated with conviction which morning activity she wanted to do (often, it was coloring with markers or water-painting).
4. Letters and numbers.  Elizabeth can almost write her name.  In fairness, it's a long name!  She learned all the letters (all uppercase, some lowercase) and early numbers.  I know they drill down on each letter and number in Pre-K so I am looking forward to Elizabeth solidifying her knowledge of letters and numbers this year.

Last day of school June 2013.  Lauren's last day of Kindergarten, Elizabeth's last day of Nursery.

July – August 2013: Buckley Camp

Towards the tail-end of June, Lauren and Elizabeth started camp.  They attended the full 8 weeks.  Lauren was no longer in Junior Camp, and instead moved up to Intermediate Camp.  She was in the Beagles 2 Group with Miss Kassie as her Group Leader.  Similar to the school year, I received positive feedback from Kassie throughout the summer about what a great child Lauren is.  Kassie shared how Lauren was always ready for the day, actively participating, always trying her best and kind to her friends and counselors.  Elizabeth was in the Beavers 4b Group with Miss Kim as her Group Leader.  Both of them had an amazing summer but Lauren in particular had the time of her life.  I think it’s a combination of her natural personality coupled with her age.  Lauren was especially sad to say goodbye to her favorite counselor Brianna.

 

August 2013: Annual family vacation to Montauk

As we have been doing for the past four summers, we spent the week leading up to Labor Day at The Surf Club in Montauk.  There were some new eateries that popped up this summer which made dining out there heavenly!  Of course our tried-and-true foods/restaurants like Harvest, the fried chicken at Herbs Market and the oysters and South Edison and pizza/calzones at Sausages didn’t disappoint.  Our biggest decision of the day for an entire week was, “Should we go to the beach first?  Or pool?”  Now that’s a vacation.
 

From Lauren’s eyes, it was a lot more profound (unintentionally).  I think it was about 2-3 days into our vacation when she asked me, “Do you know why I love vacations so much?”  I asked, “Why?”  She responded, “Because I get to see you and daddy every day.  When we are not on vacation, I only see you on Saturdays and Sundays.”  Though that’s not entirely accurate (I work from home on Fridays and we usually get home right after they finish eating dinner), I understood what she meant.  She just loved the simplicity of spending all day and night with her family.
 

The weather wasn’t great this year.  Almost every morning was overcast.  There was rain one morning.  It was windy and chilly.  But it didn’t matter.  The girls recognize and look forward to our annual “Beach Vacation” and are already looking forward to next year.  On the last day, of course the girls were sad about leaving.  Lauren asked Tae, “Can we buy a house in Montauk?”  Tae replied, “Yes.”  J  Let’s see where life takes us.

 

September 2013: Back to school

I did zero back-to-school preparation.  Literally not one single thing.  I did not buy a single notebook, backpack, pencil or eraser.  I didn’t buy a single t-shirt, dress, a pair of pants, a pair of socks or underwear.  Lauren even wore the same uniform shoes she wore last year.  That’s two of the many things I love about Buckley.  Uniforms and all supplies are provided for by the school.  There is no need to stress about BTS.
 

I cannot believe I have a 1^st grader, especially since I still have some of my own memories of being in 1^st grade.  Mrs. Janzow was my teacher.  I cannot believe my baby is starting Pre-K.  We got to school right at the start time of 8:25 and as I walked Elizabeth to class, Lauren met the 1^st grade line coming down from Grace Commons.  She jumped on line and proceeded to make her way to the 1^st grade classrooms with her classmates.  I quickly gave her a hug and a kiss and whispered, “Have a great day.”  Then I unexpectedly felt a moment of sadness.  She didn’t embrace me back.  She was more focused on getting to her class.  Her backpack was filled with her summer writing journal, book log and math workbook.  Additionally, she had her one of her favorite books Ella Sarah Gets Dressed and some pictures as requested by her teacher Ms. Carin Shackel.  I think Lauren was just ready to get the 1^st grade party started. 
 

We made it to Elizabeth’s Pre-K class (same room as Lauren’s Pre-K classroom) and her teacher Ms. Heidi (Weintraub) greeted her.  Elizabeth waved to her friends in the class.  And then after just a slight hesitation, she walked in with Ms. Toomla (assistant teacher) and officially started her first day as a Pre-Kindergartener.
 

And so here we are again.  Another end-of-summer/start-of-a-new-school-year.  I am feeling pride, optimism and happiness.   

 

Sept 4, 2013.  Elizabeth's first day of Pre-K.  Lauren's first day of 1st grade.