Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Kindergarten

Wow. I thought sending my first two off to kindergarten was hard. Sending the baby is WAY harder. It's harder in different ways. Not hard like the first, where I wondered if he'd behave, be kind, listen, etc.! Not hard like the second, where I wondered if she'd even enjoy it, make friends, come out of her shell, and even be interested in learning. With the baby, all of those fears are tucked waaaaaaay into the back of my mind. Front and center is the hard that makes my heart hurt. This little boy that I pushed in a stroller to his big brother's first bus stop, is now old enough to take that bus himself. Even though he's the tiniest of my three at this age, his maturity and readiness is certainly above and beyond where the other two were. He's been waiting to be like the big kids for awhile now, and today was his day. 

Yet, as a mom, that means a HUGE chapter of my life has closed. I don't have anymore babies or preschoolers. There won't be anymore looooooong days where I feel like I've accomplished nothing besides keeping tiny humans alive. Yes, the opening of this chapter for Joel holds so much excitement and I can't wait to see how he grows and changes throughout his schooling years. Yet, there is so much truth to the statement that the early years fly by. That one day we'll miss holding a child for the four thousandth time in a day. That we will miss the constant noise. We'll miss the sweet tears that we got the privilege to wipe away. All that being said, I'm learning to enjoy the moments as they come, because they fly by so fast. Seeing the joy in Joel's face as he got on that bus makes all the heartache I have felt well worth it. He's ready, whether I am or not!




What is your name? Joel

How old are you? Five

What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? sprite

What makes you happy? ???

What makes you sad? when people punch me

What is your favorite thing to do at home? playing Minecraft

Who is your best friend? Beau

Where is your favorite place to go? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? ???

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? read books

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He "bees" nice.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? ???

What is your favorite book? Biscuit Flies a Kite

What is your favorite movie? Trolls

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to wear? my "save the Earth, recycle my sister" shirt

Second Grade

Second grade is (and probably always will be) one of my favorite years of school. I had a blast when I was in second grade and I LOVED teaching it for several years. There's something so magical about kids at that age. They are still so young, innocent, and sweet....yet, they are sponges of knowledge and gain so much independence as students. Leah will, no doubt, love all that second grade has to offer. The only rough patch we've face going into this year is that her teacher is on medical leave for the first week of school. We're hoping she'll be back for the second week and ready to jump right into things right away.

What is your name? Leah

How old are you? Seven

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Teacher

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? sprite

What makes you happy? my babies and my bunny

What makes you sad? my brothers

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play with my babies and go in the pool

Who is your best friend? Bridget and Julia

Where is your favorite place to go? The Great Lakes and Florida

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? hug her

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? hug him

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He shares toys with me.

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He's nice to me.

What is your favorite book? The Book With No Pictures

What is your favorite movie? Star Wars

Where is your favorite place to eat? McDonalds

What is your favorite thing to wear? my favorite, special dress

Fourth Grade

School couldn't have come fast enough for this kid. Though he loves the freedom of summer, he is a child that desperately needs structure, routine, and endless social time! Caleb is moving on this year to a new building. Bentley has students in 4th through 6th grade, so things will be much different than they were at Tyler. He's super excited to be back at school with his best bud, Alec, who is in 5th grade. Some other things he's looking forward to are all of the after school clubs, walking/biking with his friends to school (with no adult...yikes), switching class for math, and being part of the GATE (gifted) program. We know he's going to rock 4th grade and we can't wait to watch him learn and grow this year!



What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? Nine....and a half

What do you want to be when you grow up? A Zookeeper

What is your favorite food? tacos

What is your favorite drink? Orange Crush

What makes you happy? playing sports

What makes you sad? when someone hurts me

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play electronics

Who is your best friend? Alec, Beau, and Jack

Where is your favorite place to go? the lake

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go on dates

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? play sports

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He likes to play with me.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? She likes to trade Pokemon with me.

What is your favorite book? Percy Jackson and the Olympians

What is your favorite movie? Max

Where is your favorite place to eat? Chicago Dough

What is your favorite thing to wear? Underarmour

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Final Lake Trip

We were lucky enough to spend some of our last weeks of summer down at the lake. Usually, we go for one week in August, but this year, we were able to sneak away for almost two weeks. The first week, it was just me, the kids, TiTi, and Grandpa & Grandma. At the end of the week, TiTi headed home to get ready for back-to-school time and Daddy came down. The whole trip was super relaxing and filled with lots of lazy days by the water. It was just the right way to end a fun-filled summer!