Catching Up

We celebrated Avery's 6th birthday, Jack's first birthday, Easter, Mother's Day, my birthday, our 10th wedding anniversary (!) the last day of kindergarten, and Father's Day over a two-month time frame.

May had record rainfalls plus many tornado warnings. Avery was a little stressed. Eleanor was just happy to have a cookie.

happier with a helmet on

Avery won the Science Award this year!

Avery treated me to a spa day, but we quickly moved indoors due to mosquitoes.

Last formal day of school (kinder)

Last day of school.

Our 10th anniversary. Luke had someone recreate the top tier of our wedding cake (different flavor inside), plus bought me my wedding flowers. I cried. A lot.

Also, this blog feels forced now, and my time is short. It's great to have a record of our days, but I'm feeling the need to find something that requires less planning, less time at the computer, and something I can just jot down quickly. I love long stories, but I don't know that this is the space to share them anymore. I'm not sure how I'll document our family life in the future. Right now Instagram is doing a good job of capturing the snippets of daily life, and all of my favorite photos end up there these days. I know I'll want a more extensive record, but I think something more private is in order for that kind of journaling now that Avery is in school. The blog will hang around, since I want to capture all of this in a couple books. If anyone has other ideas on how to document life (that isn't paper scrapbooking), send them my way.

Kindergarten!

Avery started kindergarten last week, to which I am only just now writing about thanks to the illness that would never end. Apparently kindergarten also ushered in the world's worst cold to our family. Thank you, School. You're on my list.

Her school is charming and they get to wear the cutest uniforms, and you'll have to text me to ask where she's going because of Internet safety, y'all, but trust me, we love it, all one week plus one day that she made it. Yes, she missed almost the entire second week of kindergarten thanks to fever. She went on Friday, making it every adult's dream week (minus the cold), because then she hopped right into a fun weekend.

I'm also awesome at school. She wasn't late once. I cooked a hot breakfast every day. I was up before 6. Lunches were packed the night before. Notes were written. (My friend Erin told me how to do it all.) She even got a napkin every day. I rock at kindergarten. And with that, there goes all of my momentum and motivation, and we can coast the rest of the year, right? Her desk is the very last desk by the door, so I'm thinking she could just sneak in and no one would notice. Kidding. That stresses me out even thinking about it. Of course she'll be on time, and it's because Luke is doing drop-off on his way to work. The littles and I do school pick-up in the afternoons, and I'm learning the pick-up line is a true science. Being two minutes later than the day before can mean you're twenty cars further back than you wanted to be.

I did drop-off the first morning, though, and we all walked her into the gym where they have a morning assembly and line up with their classes. We then walked her to her classroom where we could get her settled in her new desk and stay to listen for storytime. Eleanor decided to join the class for that, and I had to bribe her off the rug with the promise of a snack. I wasn't sad at all until we were sitting in the car and I was telling her how excited I was for her - and then I had to catch myself, check those tears, so that she wouldn't feel like she had to be sad.

She hopped in the car just beaming that first day. She loved all of it. PE! (Not my kid.) Recess! Reading! No math yet, but she hoped they would do it soon!

Day two - she climbed in wearily and said, "It's a sleepy day. We had to have recess twice."

By Friday, she was sobbing into her oatmeal because she was so tired and didn't understand why she had to go back AGAIN. The days are so long, and I really wish Texas did half-day kindergarten.

Week two started with the Labor Day holiday, and then she spent the next three days home sick. At least she was bummed that she was missing school, so I guess the first week didn't scar her too badly.

celebrating the night before with frozen yogurt 

♥ Day

I will never throw these cards away. Good thing I took high school Spanish.

goofs

french toast with nutella

trying to show me her gift - she refused to pull it out and look at it

enjoying her special breakfast

set-up for heart day breakfast

For A's party at school - my mom's infamous sugar cookie recipe. 

I was *that* mom that sent the healthy valentine. 

My little baker, playing with the sugar cookie scraps. She likes to roll dough into teeny tiny balls.

Avery's valentine bag for her school party - yes, I "helped"

The School Report

Avery had her first day of Pre-K today. Insert all the cliches here about how fast time has flown by. Backing up a bit, we had meet the teacher last week along with parent orientation - two different days, two visits to the classroom, and just enough time to make Avery excited. Her teacher took her picture to put on the bulletin board in the classroom, and of course our daughter struck a pose.



She slept in this morning, of all mornings, but I planned ahead and was all ready to go so we wouldn't be rushing. Into the dress we picked out the night before, a fight over the shorts she had to wear under it and the shoes to go with it, into a ponytail because she wanted to be "pretty" and talked her out of wearing jewelry (that she would only lose later at school) because she wanted to be "even prettier". I don't think she gets this girly side from me. It must be from one of her aunts.

showing off her new backpack, courtesy of Nana

Drop-off consisted of Eleanor and I escorting her to the classroom, where she promptly ran in when the door opened, did a twirl of happiness, and sat down at a table (per Mrs. P's instruction), quickly finding some busywork to do. She didn't even give me a second glance as she yelled back, "I love you too!"

Only a couple tears were shed in the privacy of the car. I'm quite proud of myself.

Eleanor and I killed some time at Target and then back home for play and housework until pick-up time. I peeked in the door to see Avery and another girl chatting away happily, ready to go with her backpack on. She seemed happy to see me, but not overly relieved like it had been a rough day, so yay! I'm so thankful for a chatty daughter, because I got the full scoop on the way to the car and all the way back home.

She is now friends with all of the kids in her class! But she can't remember any of their names. They played with the toys. She used the potty once and she "didn't have an accident in [her] dress."

They read books, "a Max and Ruby book! And one I've never seen before about washing our hands! And then a book about a dog that goes to school. It was a very short book." They apparently had a very short lunch time (??) so she needed to finish lunch at home, but Avery likes to dawdle, so I'm wondering if perhaps she was talking too much and eating too little. The lunch report: she forgot to eat her banana bread (her special treat today), didn't have time for her sandwich, but ate some of her grapes and ALL of her baby carrots.

You guys. She ate ALL of her CARROTS. SIX of them!! Voluntarily! "Hey, maybe I like carrots now." I mostly put those in for looks, you know - the "healthy" lunch. Really thought I'd be seeing those again at the end of the day.

One boy didn't share with her, even when she asked him nicely if she could have a turn when he was finished, "but he wasn't finished, and then it was lunchtime!! (cry)" And the big downer of the day - she sobbed the rest of the way home because they didn't get to play on the playground. It was too hot, so they skipped, but she had been looking forward to it the most, I think. "I'm so disappointed!"

And now, she's napping. Must have worn her out.