new haircut, starting ballet, first letters, and a book deal!

We're in the midst of a series of milestones over here. Lilly recently had her very first haircut, she's started reading and writing letters, she's learned her first ballet moves, and I've signed a contract with a publisher that will release my first book sometimes this fall.

Lilly's hair didn't really start growing until around when she turned two. But by the end of last fall, it had gotten really quite long, and a bit unruly. We've been holding on to those baby curls though. However Lilly's hairdresser assured us that her curls wouldn't go away from a little trim, and we're please to say they haven't.

Lilly has always loved music and dancing and recently she announced that she wants to be a ballerina (and a fisherman, she added). With no end in sight to her ballerina craze, we decided to make a commitment to ballet lessons. She got fitted for ballerina shoes, and we got her a leotard and ballet tights too. Ever day after school and lunch, I give her a short hour ballet lesson. It's been fun for me to refresh my ballet memory and it gives us something to do together other than just playing all afternoon (which is not always so rewarding for me).

We also spend a good chunk of time reading books each afternoon. And we practice writing. Obviously, I love writing, so it's been a real joy to share the wonder of letters with Lilly. She's always loved books; we've always read lots to her; and even on her own she will often enjoy looking at her books, many of which she knows by heart. But that she now can point out what certain letters are, and that she even knows how to write many of them, is just so amazing to me. I didn't learn how to write until I started elementary school at age 7. That didn't necessarily deprive me of anything in the long run, but Lilly is clearly enjoying exploring this new chapter in her life opening up. She loves making her own books (a new author in the family!), and she has a passion for mail, collecting and writing letters.

My writing and Lilly's writing (her name) in my notebook.

And to conclude on the topic of books and writing: I this week signed a contract with a publisher for my book, After Pornified: How Women Are Transforming Pornography & Why It Really Matters. The publisher is Zero Books, a UK-based publisher with a transcontinental focus: half of its authors are based in the US. I'm really excited to be joining their team of authors whose discourse is "intellectual without being academic, popular without being populist." Zero Books is the Culture, Society, and Politics imprint of John Hunt Publishing, which has several other special focus imprints in addition to their General Topics imprint O-Books.

I'm sure there are many other firsts I could mention. We took Lilly to see her first feature film in a movie theater (the new Muppets movie, which she loved for all its singing and dancing). Last weekend, Lilly went to her first unattended-by-her parents birthday party, providing Leighton and I with the opportunity for a little date. And yesterday, Lilly had her official Early Childhood Screening that is done by the public school system in town; I was very proud of how well she did.

And then there all the things Lilly's learning in school now, doing lots of good work.

Cooking class at school (every Thursday)

I joined Lilly's class before Christmas to teach the children a Norwegian Christmas carol, singing and dancing around some evergreen boughs, replacing the tree.

Å jul med dine glede -- Oh Yule with your joy

And in January, the children celebrated Chinese New Year, including by doing a Chinese New Year Lion Dance:



Please visit Montessori Children's House Community page to access their online photo album (regularly updated with more photos) where you can get more snapshots into Lilly's life and work at school.

Lilly started preschool!

first day of summer school

Earlier this summer after we returned from Norway, Lilly went to a few weeks of "summer school" at Montessori Children's House. She absolutely loved it. She was always excited about going to school each day and became very fond of the teacher. But as June ended, so did school for the summer; school was on vacation, or på ferie, as Lilly would say.

Luckily Lilly was scheduled for three weeks of summer day camp at River Bend Nature Center. So for the last weeks of July and at the beginning of August, Anne and Lilly would make the short trek just 25 minutes south of Northfield to Faribault. While Anne used the time to write, Lilly was introduced in a fun way to nature. Each day Lilly would come home with crafts and also reports about what she'd done. Again Lilly became very fond of her teacher; so much so that when I took her and her friend back to a Saturday event in August, she was a little disappointed that her teacher wasn't there.

Then came a week long music camp back at MCH! Lilly loves music and dance so we thought this would be a great experience for her. She was also reunited with her teacher from earlier in the summer as well as some of her new school friends. But after a week, school was på ferie again.

first day of preschool

Even though Lilly had already started preschool, practically speaking, mama and papa approached the first official day of preschool with much anticipation and all the emotions that typically come with such milestones. We all went to an introductory meeting where Lilly met her new teacher, toured the classroom, and picked her cubbyhole. She has made it clear that she is up to this journey outside the home. Every weekday morning when dropping her off at school, I unbuckle her seat belt and wait for one of the teachers to come get her from the car; hand in hand she leaves with the teacher for her daily adventure and doesn't look back. I feel proud. I feel like my daughter has introduced me to a exciting new world. Then I drive away and that wonder gradually fades as I start my work day.

We are two weeks in and Lilly still loves school. We were a bit worried how things would go since Lilly is not with the same teacher that she grew so fond of earlier this summer. But Lilly doesn't seem to mind. She's met new friends. She seems to be settling in to her own pace at school. And already tomorrow, Anne will attend the first parent meeting.