First Day of School!

 

As much as I prefer to have my kids home with me, and these days of letting them go little by little to Pre-school, then Kindergarten, then first grade...tugs so much at my heart.  I do love the excitement of first day of school.  I am not putting off this post and am writing it as the day goes on so that I will remember all the details.  Especially since we have a Kindergartener this year!

Kaitlin literally bounced into my room this morning as I was getting ready in the bathroom.  Bounce, bounce, bounce, in the door ~ SO excited.  Which makes the day so much easier and fun.

As I was getting Kaitlin ready she started to say that she felt nervous and shy and I said, "Kitti, there is a little girl in your class that loves Princesses and Unicorns and you are going to have so much fun with her."  (Isn't there one in every Kindergarten class?) She said, "What's her name?"  I said, "I don't know, you'll have to tell me when you get home."

Dan went to work late so that he could be part of the morning.  He also surprised the kids with making a doughnut run for breakfast.   (You're welcome, teachers.)  The kids were SO excited.

 

The kids got ready and we did our traditional first day of school photos on the front porch, and they were really cooperative!











We headed to school where lots of families were gathering.  We did our first day of school photo with the Fox....

 

Fox Rocks!

And then walked Kitti inside.

 

The boys said goodbyes (you can see them to the left in the photo ~ they had already made it down the hall) and were off to the playground to meet their friends.

It was fun to run into Ben and Ella and give them first day hugs and best wishes.  They are small group friends who just were moved to our school.  Ben is in class with Andrew and was looking way cool in his hat.



The Kindergarteners went to the Library to hear a story and learn what they do on the first day of school.  And look who ended up sitting next to Kailtin?



A princess backpack girl!  :)

After stories the kids went outside to learn where to line up before school and the parents were allowed to go to the classroom and wait for the children.  Kaitlin got in line next to the spanish girl that volunteered with her mom when Andrew was in kindergarten (Kaitlin called her, her "Spanish Best Friend".  She speaks very little English, if at all.  Kaitlin walked up and said, "Hola!"  And then proceeded to chat away telling her, "You're going to learn a lot of English this year.  English is a language....."  While the little girl just looked around the room.  :)

 

The kids made the "Fox" sign as they were walking out into the hall.  They do this in Kindergarten (I'm guessing to keep their hands occupied) and it's a sign for them to walk quietly.  Kitti has watched Andrew do this and so she was all ready to go with her little Fox hands.



On a side note, Kaitlin recently grew a lot ~ look how tall she is next to her peers!

When they returned and were lined up outside the room I heard the teacher said, "That was a really good job walking quietly.  Wrap your arms around yourself and give yourself a big hug!"

I love Kindergarten.

We waited in the room, and the Bug returned, all smiles.



We helped them hang up their backpacks, get their planners (Kitti was not happy that it looked like a boy planner, "I don't like it.") and found their seats. (I noticed the princess backpack girl, who was also wearing a bow headband and a dress with a tulle underskirt came to check the seat next to kitti hoping she was seated there.  I think a friendship has already begun).  

Mrs. Sawyer seated the Spanish girl next to Kaitlin to help with her transition and it was so funny when she sat down, Kitti immediately started in again.  "Hi, Spanish Best Friend (yes, she really said that) Are you riding the bus home?  Because if you are, you can sit next to me on the bus...."  The poor thing doesn't need to learn English as Kitti will talk enough for the both of them!



It was time to go, so I said goodbye....

 

And took one last photo.

 

Kaitlin looked at me at one point and said, "Mama, are you crying?"  I think my eyes were glistening all morning as it's just a really big milestone.  And as I sit here and record these sweet memories, my heart aches and the house is so quiet.  The kids have fantastic teachers, they are at an excellent school, I am so thankful for all of it.  I just know there's no going back...that precious time in our life is over.  I loved it so much and can't help to be sad to see it end.  We will have a great year.  I will embrace this next stage and I'm sure I will love it (I already do) ~ but this morning, just for today, while Kaitlin is at Kindergarten, I'm having my "Mom" moment. But when the kids arrive home, they will be greeted with big hugs, a happy smile and apple cupcakes, ready to celebrate! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I was happy when Kitti's bus pulled up.  (It stops right in front of our house.  Talk about convenient!) The doors opened and we met her new bus driver who was really nice.    I was grateful she made sure that each of the children had parents waiting for them before they let them off.

 

Kitti came happily bounding off the bus.

I gave her probably 10 hugs as I made lunch.

She had a great day and was really happy.

And the princess unicorn girl I told her about?

It turns out, her name is Sydney.

She was the princess backpack girl and sat next to Kitti on the bus on the way home.

We had an afternoon snuggle on the sofa and very soon it was time to get the boys.  They are "Walkers" this year.  After begging to walk home, I finally agreed.  However, when 3:30 rolls around, my plan is to start walking up toward the school myself and meet them half way.  So Kaitlin and I set out.  There was a lot of happy skipping.

 

 The boys appeared and were surprised to see us.  Not in the "Yay!  Mama is here!" kind of way that used to happen.  But more in the, "we were doing this really cool thing and now it's not so cool anymore because you showed up" sort of way.

Sigh.

I was greeted with..."I thought we were walking."

"You are walking...I'm just walking with you part of the way."

Andrew happily held my hand and we chatted about their days as we walked home.  We're still not exactly sure how Andrew's day went.  Other than he liked his teacher.  I'm not entirely sure he made good choices as his response varied from "yes" to "I don't know, you'll have to ask my teacher."  Oh well.  Matthew had a great day and reported that his teacher is funny.  Which means Matthew will love her.




See?  No running to hug Mama.

That's ok.  I can take it.

This is exactly why it's hard to see Kaitlin go off to school...I know what happens next.



We made it home and even though I wasn't cool for walking up to meet them.  I did make them happy with our 1st day of school apple cupcakes. 







Kitti finished off her first day of school with her first day of soccer practice which she was equally excited about!



Especially since she's playing with her BFF.

 

I think it's going to be a good year.  We have great teachers.  And I have to say, it was really nice just having one calendar of the same school events for all the kids.  I've made it through the pile of "First Day Folder' paper work.  Filled out forms, written checks, and they are tucked back in backpacks.  Lunches are packed and we're ready for round two.  And so it begins....

Last Day of Summer

I love this picture of Kitti.  I took it tonight.  I love her sun kissed skin, wispy hair, the ease of her expression...it looks like summer to me.

Tomorrow she starts Kindergarten.

Our last child is entering school...a definite milestone.

We have had a lovely summer.  With the exception of the passing of Sue, it was the best summer we've had since having children.  I felt like the kids are at such great ages.  It was just fun.  I can tote them around and do fun things with ease.  (Well, with all the ease you can expect with 3 kids in tow).  They are great to be around and I have loved the last few months.  We've had lots of adventures and  I've been able to catch up & reconnect with friends that I haven't had time to chat with in a long time.   I look back at the photos on my iphone and in my computer and I just smile and wish I could jump back into them.  The cherry on my sundae is all of the sunshine we've had.  It has truly been a beautiful summer.  We've had years where shorts and tank tops were hardly worn.  Not this year ~ it has been fantastic.

The only schedule for the children this summer was 2 weeks of swim lessons.  Other than that we just did some trips and spent time with friends/family.  It was perfect.

And I can't help but to feel so blessed.  My life isn't perfect or without concerns.  But in more ways than not, I just love our life.  I have a feeling I'll look back at this stage with great fondness as it's really one of my favorite times in my life.  Everything from the ages of the kids to our community, church, school, friends...I feel like God took the dream in my heart, improved upon it and then gave it back for me to live out.



But as of tomorrow we trade the glorious white space in our calendar for school schedules, baseball and soccer practices, church youth group, bible study....  I'm anxious to see how our schedule will feel this year with all the kids being at the same school.  Each year is different and has its own rhythm that develops over time.  Last year was my most difficult yet, and because of that I've been fighting a feeling of dread as the days of summer wind down.  Not that last year was awful ~ it wasn't.  It was just very tiring.

I've managed to let it go and will just take each day as it comes as we really don't know what it will hold.  We just don't know yet what Andrew's needs will be.  I just pray that school gets easier for him.  I think the summer has been a break that he and I were both really in need of after the intensity of last year.  Without the demands of needing to conform to school, we cut his medicine in half and enjoyed a relaxed summer.  He did great.  We're still trying to figure out a good mix of medicine/dosing for him....he's proven to respond differently than the typical ADHD kid to most of the meds and so it has taken a lot longer to figure out and we've had to try different things.  That process begins again with the start of school.

 

So tomorrow commences a new year.   I am so proud of each of the kids.  I love all of them like crazy and look forward to seeing how they grow and change this year.  I sat with the boys tonight and prayed for them, their teacher, their year to come.  Dan did the same with Kaitlin.

 

So while I'm so sad to see this wonderful summer come to an end.  Despite how tired I look in the photo above (yikes!  The bags under my eyes!  I didn't get a lot of sleep this last week ~ it was a busy one, full of fun and getting ready for Disneyland/school) I do feel refreshed and restored.  I'll greet tomorrow with optimism and hope that it will be a year of positive growth for all the kids.

Noah Turns 8!

 

We celebrated Noah's 8th birthday with a party at the park!

The boys have reached the age where it is just a good idea to NOT have a party at home.  Boys this age are FULL of energy!  So this was the perfect venue.  And fun just to have a relaxed afternoon celebrating Noah and his special day.



I made Noah's birthday cake for him.



The kids had fun playing at the park and then we had cake and Noah opened his gifts!



This was our gift to Noah.  Love Andrew's sweet smile ~ he was happy for his cousin.





These two LOVE one another.  Michelle always says, "Andrew is Noah's favorite person."  They have a special relationship.



And Dan loves to give Isaiah a hard time. 



Dan played ball with the big kids.



It was great just to sit around and enjoy the sunshine!



Love this of Isaiah chatting with his Dad.

 

Handsome boy!



Someone thought she needed a second treat!



Family photo and all of our crazy kids!

August Wrap up!

And here is the wrap up from our August! 



This little one has become quite a reader.  We were waiting for Matthew to get a haircut and I brought books along for the kids. Since I am actually writing this in January, I can report this little guy loves to bury his nose in a book.  It surprises me and delights me to no end.  Andrew is my one child who always surprises me and keeps me guessing as he changes and grows ~ he keeps things interesting!  :)





We  picked wild blackberries along side the road one night and then came home and ate them over vanilla bean ice cream.

 

I did a little baking with them as well.

 

Yum.



We had a delightful visit with some sweet friends.  Here is Kitti with Miss Clara.



The boys adored miss Maggie, as you can see by the expression on their faces.



What's not to adore?




And of course Kaitlin couldn't help but to include Clara in her imagination.

 

We got ready for fall soccer!



We celebrated August birthdays with friends we wished we got to see more...



Reagen is a wonderful mom and a great parenting resource.  I love our visits.



We went to Alderwood Park with some of our favorite people.



We had never been there before and the kids loved it!



I think paddle boats were the hightlight.  A ton of fun and a lot of laughs!



I continued to work on Andrew's writing through summer.
This paper looks exceptional.  As I'm writing this in January, I can report that it is still a major struggle. It frustrates the both of us to no end.



And we sadly started getting prepared for school.  Not an inexpensive venture with 3 school aged!



August turned into September which brought the end of summer, the beginning of school and a memorable (and wonderful!) trip to Disneyland!!

I did lots of labeling.



We took our box of bills and change that we save and saved (and saved!) as a family to the bank for our Disneyland trip!  This was so great for the kids.  They willingly contributed and they really understood the expense of the trip and the length of time it takes to save for something so special.
Every time our jar was filled we'd sort and count and put it into baggies.  They loved it!

And when it was nearly time to go, I enjoyed a relaxing morning with Shannon....



And got a Disney - colored pedicure!