Apple Day with Allyson

The first graders at Nicole's school have been studying apples. I volunteered to help with Apple Day with the understanding that Allyson would be with me. My job was to help students in each class taste three different types of apple, write descriptive words and then chart which was their particular class favorite.

There are no pictures of the bowls of apples or of me cutting tons and tons of apples. That's because, while doing all of this, I was trying to keep Allyson from eating the entire project. She was welcome to taste with the kids but she kept grabbing apples from various bowls every time she could! Let's just say the fruit got her back a day or two later.

Anyway, we were there long enough to enjoy lunch and recess. Allyson has never experienced recess. It's not the same as just playing at the park because at the park she's just one of a hundred other kids playing on the equipment. Here, in first grade, Allyson is the only "little sister," "baby," or "real, live doll." She was the most popular kid in the world and couldn't have cared less. But being popular always creates drama. Whether you care or not. Even if you're only three. Popularity brings drama. And today was no different.

Notice the cute blonde haired girl? Her name is Kylie. She's adorable and one of Nicole's good friends. She was so excited to play with Allyson. 

Everything started off great. The girls played on the slides.

But it was immediately evident that everywhere Allyson went she was being chased by a crowd of first-grade little girls. They were all careful to let Nicole have first "dibs" but after that it was every girl for herself. One little girl, Hailey, has a particularly strong personality. (We learned this at a recent skating party where she had Nicole in tears but have since made up and are friends. Agh!) Anyway, today Hailey had her sights on Allyson and she wasn't about to let anyone get in the way ... especially Kylie!

Here's some video showing the whole mess unfolding. Hailey is the little girl in the blue shirt and jean skirt. Kylie is wearing a teal shirt and pink sweatshirt. They both have blonde ponytails.

The funniest part was when Allyson kept running around and Hailey, who is a little big for her age, says, "I don't like to do this but I'm going to have to run." It was hilarious. But it wasn't so funny when I found Kylie sitting on the ground crying because she just couldn't seem to get in front of Hailey. The girls and I were able to work it all out. Meanwhile, Allyson was completely oblivious to all of the attention.