Monday, August 20, 2012

Kindergarten Transition


L is finished with his 2nd full week of Kindergarten now.  He's confident enough to use the car rider drop-off line in the morning, and is still riding the bus home everyday.  The newness is starting to wear off a little, but he still springs out of bed in the morning ready to go.  He's had a few bumps along the way: a forgotten folder, a spilled food container, a wet backpack, a note from his teacher about not keeping his hands to himself, but he's otherwise doing very well.  He comes running off the bus everyday with a huge smile on his face and his arms outstretched ready for a hug.  I'm proud of him.

Stepping off the bus on his 2nd half-day

This is how he greets me every afternoon-- LOVE it!!

E has had a little bit harder time adjusting to her new role of big kid in the house.  She's had some potty training regression and she's struggling again with her attitude and her attention-craving (negative) behavior. After the first couple of days I was really ready to find a preschool or Mother's Day Out for her.  I just felt like I wasn't able to give her all of the attention she was demanding and that maybe it would be good for her to have a little time away from me a few days a week.  I still have not given up on the idea, but for now, we're just going to try to keep her busy.  We enrolled her in soccer, she'll start Tumble Tots in a few months, and I may try to get her into some private swim lessons (because she's still very fearful of the water).

She had her 1st soccer practice this week and she had a blast.  She listened carefully, followed all the instructions, and did pretty good kicking and throwing in the ball too.  I think it was exactly what she needed.

E's Soccer Team

Stretching

Ready to play!

Belly on the ball!

She does tiny kicks very well.

Throw-in Practice

She is growing up so fast!




Silly Girl!

E with her team

"I have to go home now?"

Her first game was this past Saturday.  She is one of the youngest and smallest on the team, but she did pretty good chasing after the ball.

Pony Tails: She never has her hair like this, but that's how she wanted it 

Big O!

Ready to play!

Her biggest fan, L

E with her team

"Go Monkeys!"

Passing the ball with a friend

Kicking the ball to a friend

Almost time to play...

"I'm here!"

E was one of the starters

Water break!


Yes, she's holding hands with another player


"Go Monkeys!"

The proud big brother

Chasing the ball!

Going under the parent tunnel!

The over-the-top soccer snacks!

Great game!


Back to Kindergarten-- it's been a real adjustment for all of us.  I really miss L.  When he went to preschool he was gone all day, but it was only two days a week, so I knew that we'd get to hang out the next day.  Now I kind of feel guilty when we go somewhere or do something without him.  We went to the park a few days ago and I kept looking around for him.

Swinging E

Swinging O

The captain

The little sailor, coming on board the ship

What are you looking at!?

Here I come!

My two little ones.

My little two kiddos

Joy!

We're (E, O, and I) still trying to come up with a good routine, but it's only the 3rd week of school and I'm sure we'll get it... eventually.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Summer's End: Other July Events


Knowing that my time with L every day was coming to a close, we tried to pack in as much as possible in the last few weeks of the summer.  We went to the Monkey's Treehouse, the Discovery Center, the pool, the park, and had lots of playtime at home too.

The Monkey's Treehouse

Train Table


O needed a teething ring or all the trains went into his mouth

My sweet girl-- And a doll

Hi Big Guy!

The girl always has a baby doll

Playing with her doll

My 3 little monkeys!

Cheese!

Climbing together-- All THREE kiddos!

Taking a break :)
Discovery Center:

Tik Tac Toe with Pop

Too Little for Tic Tac Toe

Tic Tac Toe


Water Play!

Splish-Splash!

Playing with boats

Without the teething ring he puts the blocks in his mouth

A little too small for this train table

Big bike!

Big bike!

Looking into an exhibit

Another Exhibit

Can you find L's name?  He's a sponsor!

E's favorite thing was the 2.5 story slide

The little ones in the baby area

Here comes a giggly girl




Pop and L doing some art

Playing house

Playing House with E's great-grandmother

L has really learned to swim this summer.  At the beginning of the summer he was swimming underwater just fine, but didn't know how to come up for air.  Now he's diving off the diving board and swimming all the way to the shallow end!! Pool Fun:


My brother doing a back flip

My brother doing a dive

L, practicing his jump

My husband

Diving in!

Ready to go!

Pull-ups

My boys

Poor O is in a "cage"

Little Cutie!

Peek-a-boo

At least he's happy!

Sun tanning

Too cool for the pool: E loves her princess float!
Other Random Summer Fun:

Playing in a tent

Watching YouTube videos

Being silly with the camera

Silliness with the camera

Having fun with the camera

O at The Well Coffeehouse

E, wearing her baby brother's (9 month old) shorts!

At O's 9 month doctor visit

Poor O had an ear infection

Consignment sale drop-off

My little ones

Big O is learning to walk

The kiddos

O

L, in O's new push-toy

Hehe.

More Play-time

Yes, I'm the BLUE car-- I seriously lost this badly!

Trying to escape

Laundry Day!

Some days you just have to rock your self to sleep

My Birthday at the Loveless Cafe

The big kids