Kid's Yoga Class

A few weeks ago Astrid started taking an hour long kid's Yoga class every Sunday.

I've been practicing Yoga for a few years and Astrid likes to stretch with me "Let's do Yoga together mom!". And she'd do "downward dog" on her own. We had tried another kid's Yoga class (Family Yoga at the Y) where adults participated too, but there was very little Yoga being taught and more just running around and was a bit chaotic. We didn't go back. But this new class really teaches Yoga to the kids - the words as well as the poses, and it's for kid's only which is great.

Astrid at 4 1/2 is the youngest kid in the class but she holds her own - by listening to the instructor, following instructions and just soaking it all up like a sponge.

After last week's class she excitedly told me she learned "Namaste" today, and showed me how she did the "tree pose". So cute! And she learned a new mantra - "I am calm. I am at peace. I am focused."

She loves it and I'm happy she's being introduced to something she can do her entire life.

(We also signed her up for Karate classes on Saturdays. More to come on that. And she is continuing to take a Musical Theatre "Pop Star" class during the week.)

Birthday all year long

Astrid has been talking about & planing her birthday constantly since her last one in April. She talks about where it's going to be, creates her list of invitees, and all the details. At first she didn't understand why everyday couldn't be her birthday. I tried to explain to her it's because a birthday celebrates the one day you were born & everyone has just 1 birthday which is celebrated once each year.

I've never seen any kid so obsessed about having a birthday party. I can understand after the birthday party being excited and wanted to talk about it. Or when your birthday gets close to want to start planning. But she has been planning her next birthday the day after her birthday and it has continued throughout an entire year.

"What are we going to do for my next birthday mom? Who can we invite? What kind of birthday cake should I get?"

It's kind of sweet in that I know we've created a very special day for her that she loves & gets excited talking about all year long. And looks forward to all year long. All her friends can come, they play, have cake, decorations just for her party, and everyone sings happy birthday to her. I even come to the school with cupcakes so her class can sing happy birthday & celebrate with her. And sometimes when her actual birthday falls on weekday, U. & I take her out to a restaurant for dinner.

All of this constant birthday chatter has made me look forward to the day too esp. when the date gets closer, and keeps me on my toes thinking about all the details...place, theme, goodie bags, cake, balloons, games, food, face painting.

For Astrid's 1st birthday we had a traditional Korean 1st birthday at our house & Astrid, myself & my mom were dressed in Korean Hamboks (traditional Korean dresses).

Birthday #2 - We celebrated her birthday at home with the family. Astrid & I baked a bran muffin in birthday cupcake wrappers & she got to blow out her candle and eat her muffin. U. surprised Astrid by blowing up a bunch of balloons to fill up the upstairs room just for her.

Birthday #3 - We had her birthday party at Peekaboo Playland (indoor & outdoor playground) & the theme was the circus. So much fun playing in the bouncy house with slide, dress up & coordinator to setup & cleanup.

Birthday #4 - We had her birthday party at Amy's Playground (indoor playground) & the theme was Hello Kitty. The kids had a blast running around and playing & we had a face painter there who painted a Hello Kitty on Astrid's cheek. This time I dressed Astrid in Hello Kitty socks & tiara.

Birthday #5 - Coming up in April - at the new Peekaboo Playland location on Colorado Blvd. in Eagle Rock. www.peekabooplayland.com. Theme will be butterflies.

So now her birthday is coming up in a little over 2 months - and this year I've already made all the arrangements. Astrid wants to have it at Peekaboo Playland, and since they moved to their new location it'll be extra fun for her. Same setup, but new location with more things to do.

I decided that this year I would rather pay a little more and have Peekaboo Playland take care of the goodie bags for the children, print up invitation flyers for me (rather than having to hand write them out for all her classmates in preschool), provide the plates (real plates with lady bug, monkey, elephants on them that they wash afterwards - more green earth friendly), utensils, tablecloths, food, juice & balloons. And again this year we are going to have face painting. New this year will be musical chairs, limbo & parachute games. I paid for an extra hour (3 hours total) since Astrid is a little older now & the kids need more time to play.

The only thing I need to do is buy the cake (and buy drinks for the adults). We went to our local bakery in Eagle Rock (Ruby's bakery) and picked out a cake - One with a rainbow & butterflies. Very whimsical & kid appropriate (without Disney commercial junk). So the theme this year will be "butterflies". I even picked out some really cool, big mylar butterfly balloons from Balloon Emporium.

When I tried to place my cake order at the bakery & put down a deposit - the lady behind the counter looked at me and chuckled and said it was WAY too early.

My kid is rubbing off on me! But at least we're all set & pretty much all the details are taken care of and my kid will have another great birthday this year. The most important thing is that she's surrounded by her friends and family who love & adore her.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Today Astrid was telling me what she wanted to be when she grows up.

Astrid: "I want to be a Yoga teacher, a classroom teacher, and a mom."
Me: "What happened to wanting to be a Veterinarian?"
Astrid: "Oh yeah. That too."

Martin Luther King Day (from a 4 yr old's perspective)

Astrid: "Is today Martin Luther Day?"
Me: "Yes, it's Martin Luther King Day."
Astrid: "Is today his birthday?"
Me: "I don't think so. It's just a day to celebrate him & his life."
Astrid: "He says - No fighting, no hitting, we all need to get along with each other - right Mom?"
Me: "Yes, that's right. And everyone should be treated fairly & equally."

I could tell she's been learning of MLK in preschool. A pretty good way to explain his belief in non-violent protests by explaining it to preschoolers as "no fighting & no hitting", and civil rights as "getting along with each other".