{Tea Party}

The day before L's birthday last month, she announced she wanted to change her party theme and have a Tea party instead. I wasn't up for the last minute switch, so I told her we'd go to Granny's one day and have a special Tea Party. She was totally satisfied. Whew!

So, last week we got dressed up in pretty dresses and headed over to Granny's. She had her attic prepared for a fabulous Teddy Bear Tea Party for four. It was so much fun!

{ the girls all ready to go}

{the girls wanted to bring their babies to the Tea Party}

{L sharing with her & K's babies} {Fabulous desserts}
Thanks Granny, for hosting such a wonderful Teddy Bear Tea Party for us!!

{The Fair}

We look forward to going to the State fair every year. The kids love all the rides & games. They never have enough energy to go look at the animals, which is okay with me because those barns always stink. I know some may say it's not a TRUE fair experience if you haven't seen all the animals up close. But there is just something about shoving a bunch of farm animals in an enclosed barn and then letting hundreds of spectators walk through on a warm sunny day....the smells are just not nice!
As you can see by these above two pictures, E was less than impressed with some of these "baby rides". He talked his dad into taking him on some other "big kid" rides while L and I stuck with what seemed to be the same two rides over and over.
So, since I had the camera...I didn't get many pics of E. Although it's not digitally documented, he was all smiles and had a great time too.

{L's Birthday}

Our little Livy turned 4. I can't believe how time flies. We had a great party with family on her birthday. It was also the first day of her new dance class, so she was on cloud 9. I was really excited for this birthday because we were able to give her this wagon that she has wanted for soooo long. Once she realized it was hers to keep and not just a cool thing to hold her presents during the party....she was beyond thrilled. She climbed inside with all her babies and said, "this is the BEST birthday EVER!!" It was a great moment I will always remember.

She wanted an "Abby Cadabby" birthday. Not sure why since she has never even heard of her. I think it was simply because she is pink and blue...her two most favorite colors.

Every time I asked L what she wanted for her birthday, her reply was, "more babies!". She did get a few and she LOVES them ALL. I am learning a little girl can NEVER have too many babies.L found an owl pillow in the Pottery Barn Kids catelog that she fell in love with. I showed it to my Mom & she made her one just like it. As you can see L loves this too!
I think E enjoys this wagon as much as L. This was the day after L's birthday and they played all day, taking turns pulling each other all through the yard and down the street. It's only a tad bit scary when L is pulling K. "Slow" is just not in L's vocabulary.
Top 10 Things I love about L:
1. she has a great sense of humor
2. she loves anything if it has sugar in it
3. she is very determined
4. she learns quickly from simply observing others
5. she's sassy
6. she has her own sense of style & currently all she wants to wear are tank tops (thank you Aunt Sunny for all the t-tops...it's nice to see a variety on her now and not the same two day after day)
7. she is Independent (notice the capital "I")
8. she is a little love-bug
9. she is thoughtful and kind
10. she is creative...right now that manifests in the way she can come up with the most amazing stories to get herself out of trouble.
I love you Livy!

{First Day of Preschool}

My L started preschool today and it is so exciting! As I've mentioned in other posts, I LOVE her preschool teacher and she has a fabulous curriculum. I was a little nervous L would be shy and hesitant about this new adventure. However, in the car ride to school she politely informed me that I did not need to come in or stay with her. In fact, she was a little upset I was coming to pick her up just two hours after I dropped her off. She really wants to be in all-day school like her brother.
so brave

picking out her name tag & a special sticker with her new teacher

toy of her choice....and the best part about preschool....playing!

I have to say this was really fun to see my little girl go into a new place with confidence, and pick out toys to play with without the influence of her older brother. At home she is usually coerced into playing "good guys- bad guys", "star wars", or "monster chases". It's fun to see her play with dolls. I think this is going to be a great year for L as she learns more independence and discovers so many new things.

{Little Man}

I noticed E has developed quite a few blonde hairs on the lower half of his legs so I made mention to him. He seemed shy or embarrassed for a second but then quickly responded, "I know, Mom...and look at this!" as he pointed to his upper lip. "I'm growing a mustache too!" I couldn't see it, but he believes it's there.

Then, when his dad got home today I over heard them talking in his room and E was telling him to check out his new mustache. Hilarious! I wonder if this has to do with all the "you're such a big boy now" talk, with starting First grade and all.

{First Day of First Grade}

Well, the first day of school has come and gone and I am happy to report both E and I survived just fine. Only one of us shed tears (yep, me...but I was able to wait until I got home and do it in private.)

Last night there was an open house at the school and we were able to meet his teacher and see his classroom. Let me just say his teacher is not someone I would hand pick for my child....not in a million years. She reminded me more of someone who belonged in the military, not a First grade classroom. Plus, as we looked at the names of the other students in his class, we didn't find any of his good friends. In fact, of the names we recognized were those of the trouble makers from his Kindergarten class. Things were just not going as I'd hoped for him. Of course, E didn't really have any expectations, so he was just fine. He's not hard to please, but his Mom is. So, I spent last night crying after E went to bed. I was not only sad about him being away from home for so long....but now my nightmare was confirmed....he'd be spending his time with a mean, old teacher!

So, our morning started out with E coming into my room fully dressed in his school clothes at 6:55 a.m. He was pretty excited to get going and didn't want to be late. I love this about him. The early awakening allowed us to have a nice breakfast together as a family and get ready without rushing. I was in no hurry at least.

Per E's request, we arrived at school about 20 minutes early. There were kids already lined up in their class lines outside and some of the teachers were there greeting their students with big smiles, but not E's. The class that lines up right next to E's' has many of his Kindergarten friends. I wondered if he secretly wanted to be with them. I know I wanted him to be with them. Then, their teacher (not E's) came out. She was so sweet to the kids, saying things like, "Hi sweetie. Are you excited for school?" in a nice, loving voice. She gave them all hugs and stopped to take pictures with them. I think I was actually starting to turn green with envy. Then E's teacher came out. She walked down the line and didn't say a word. She did crack a little smile, but it looked very strained to me. Then she said, "Okay, say goodbye and let's go!"

What? That's it? No "honey" no "sweetie"...no "I'm so excited you're all here with me today"? Nothing?! That was it. He was off to his first day.

Needless to say this was the longest day of my life.

After school, I drilled E about his first day over some homemade brownies. This was the first thing he said: "My teacher is nice, but she was mean to some kids who weren't listening". Immediately I thought, 'I knew it! I knew she wasn't nice. I need to switch teachers." But after listening to EVERYTHING he had to say about his first day, I think I am going to hold tight and not rush to make any changes. He seems to be just fine with the way things are. I am sure if I asked him if he wanted to be in the class with his good friends from last year & the sweet teacher, he'd love that. But I am not sure that's the best thing for him. I did have an opportunity to speak with one of his teachers from last year who I really like, and she said his current teacher is very organized, structured and she wouldn't hesitate to put one of her own children in her class. She also told me she has adopted four children of her own, so I guess she must have a heart and a few kind bones in her body :)

{Change}

School starts tomorrow and this new school year brings LOTS of change to our family. E will be in First grade, which will be his first time attending full-day school, & L will be starting Preschool.

I am experiencing some sad emotions surrounding this change for E and it is taking me by suprise. I fully expected to be excited and sleepless with thoughts of how much fun E will have this year making new friends, learning new things and learning more independence. Instead, I find myself filled with anxiety, and sleepless with the realization that he will spend more wakeful hours with his teacher and friends than with his family.

Then I start to question: "have I taught him well, and given him a strong foundation to withstand all that he will be faced with, without me by his side, in this upcoming year?"

How do you really KNOW the answer to this question?

I know J and I have to continue to teach & build upon that foundation, but is what he has so far good enough?

I also realize (for all of you who have been through this already, or not, and are laughing at me) that the things he may be faced with in First grade aren't THAT bad. I may be overreacting. I fully expect these feelings to completely go away after the first week of school...I hope. I think the hardest thing is the change of not having him under my protective wing, and giving that responsibility to someone I don't even know.

Now, L starting Preschool is surrounded with the complete opposite feelings for me. I am very excited for her & not worried at all about what kind of year she will have. She will be attending the same Preschool E did and I absolutely LOVE her teacher. Plus, it's a co-op so I am involved and will get to know her friends, most of whom I already know because they are the little sister's of E's Preschool friends. I am very excited to watch L learn and grow this year. I know she will have a blast.

I actually know E will have a blast, too. He is very social and will love making new friends. He is a little nervous about not knowing all the answers to the questions his teacher may ask him, but he is such a fast learner that I really don't think there will be any academic concerns.

So, it's just me. I need to take a deep breath....embrace the fact that my oldest child will be leaving the nest for 6 hours a day....and realize it's all okay. It actually may turn out to be kind of nice running errands with only two kids in tow.