lake of the ozarks

We got away for a quick family vacation last weekend. It's the off season at Lake of the Ozarks so we were able to stay for next to nothing and have some down time together. As quickly as the time passed, we were able to really enjoy each other and the beautiful fall weather.

The biggest news of the trip was that Ella caught a fish all by herself! Mind you, this came right before she brushed her face with the hook which ended up catching in her hair. And then she threw the pole in the water on accident and Bryan injured himself trying to retrieve it (another story to be told at a later date when Bryan can laugh about it.)

The fish! So glad she hooked him and not herself!

There was a pumpkin festival going on not far from where we were staying but the kids didn't want to leave the condo. I found it rather sweet actually. It seems like Ella is so in need of real bonding time with her family, that she would much rather spend the moments lounging around doing "normal activities" rather than play in a bounce house or whatever...Fine by me. That is so much easier! Simon was the same way...every time we left the condo (like, to go buy a first aid kit a Walgreens...again, another story) he would ask, "Are we going back to our vatation now?" meaning, back to the condo?

So, aside from all around RELAXING, we visited the little playground on the rental property which consisted of a slide, monkey bars and a teeter totter. Ella mastered the monkey bars so the kids were quite content to visit this small, unimpressive playground multiple times. Next to the playground was a pecan tree that was dropping hundreds of nuts. We gathered up two bagfuls in hopes of cracking them open and enjoying them in some oatmeal or something (well, that was my hope. Nobody else really likes oatmeal.) But even after I bought a nut cracker, the cracking didn't really produce an "uncrushed" nut. Oh well. We had fun collecting them all.

In order to convince our kids to go on a long walk, we turned it into a treasure hunt. The kids loved that idea and were very successful at finding all the things I listed off, like:

1. a red leaf
2. something white
3. a purple flower
4. an acorn
5. something orange

I will definitely use this game again when trying to manipulate my children to exercise.

The loot

 As we packed to leave, we discovered a turtle outside our door. The kids were mesmerized and tried to feed it lettuce. Ella wrote a story/list of observations to show her teacher. Under a rather lovely drawing of the turtle were these sentences:
I saw a turtle on my vacation. It had red spots all over it. I gave the turtle some lettuce. But it wouldn't eat it.
Ella is in school even when she's not in school!

Other happenings were:

1. Making s'mores with marshmallows we roasted in the fireplace. (Oh how I wish we had a working fireplace at home!)
2. Playing lots of Miss Pac Man
3. Reading on the front deck
4. Simon falling out of bed
5. Attending Christ's Church (one of our sister churches) and reconnecting with our friends there. What a great group of folks!

Reading in the crisp morning air. Bryan-The Bible, Ella-Curious George, Simon-Harold and the Purple Crayon

Every time we visit Lake of the Ozarks, Bryan gets the itch to buy a used boat. He almost has me convinced! Almost.

toofer

The last couple of weeks have had some tooth excitement! First, Josie has had some seriously rough nights of sleep which means I've had very little to speak of. Turns out, she was sprouting a tooth! I have yet to catch a glimpse of it with the camera since she is weird about opening her mouth for me unless I'm filling it with a big spoonful of food. But I certainly feel the rough little sprout when she chews on my finger!

And then tonight, Ella lost her first tooth! We had gone over to Memaw's to visit since Daddy and Papa are away. After carving pumpkins, we sat down to dinner. Ella accidentally bit down on her fork and it was enough force to seriously nudge her already loose tooth out of joint. I was so relieved to be at Memaw's because she is very well accustomed to the removal of teeth. Having had six children all go through the process, she knew the correct procedure and stepped right in to assist. Ella sat very bravely as Memaw gripped the tooth with a paper towel and gave it a firm pull. Out it came and Ella was thrilled! All night she kept saying dreamily, "I can't believe I lost my first tooth!" We went out for ice cream to celebrate and skyped with Daddy so he could get a good look for himself. Now, we need to decide if we are going to promote the tooth fairy around here...

we got schooled

We played "school" tonight after baths. At first, it was just me and the girls while Simon bathed and the game started out as "Mom, sister and baby". Ella was the mom, I was the sister and Josie was the baby, obviously. But then Ella morphed the game into school. She was still the mom though so we were homeschooled. But there was a principal (played by Josie) so I guess it was some kind of crossover between the two. I sat on the floor with my "backpack" (an H&M bag with a pouch of pencils, small notebook, storybook and erasers) while Ella sat in a chair with a quilt on her legs. She instructed me to get out my notebook and write the sentences she gave me. It was so fun to pretend to be like Ella for a moment. I kept raising my hand to ask for spelling help which she tired of quickly and said, "Let's just pretend you're in the first grade so you know everything, ok?" 

When Simon and Dad entered, the game morphed further. Simon wanted to be the dad who came to pick me up in the car, so he was awarded that role. Daddy played another student in my class. Ella decided we all needed make believe names. I was Susie, Daddy was Freddy, Ella was Miss Isabella and Simon was Johnny. Josie was still the principal.

Again, I kept raising my hand; this time it was mostly to tattle on Freddy. "Miss Isabella?!" I said, "Freddy keeps touching meeee!" She put down her book and got up from her chair. "I guess I need to write down the rules and go over them with you." She said in a stern voice, looking at "Freddy" with a sideways glare and clenching to hold back a smile. She posted rules on the wall that said: 1. No touching, 2. No yelling, 3. No looking at other people's papers.

Then it was time for a test. The test was to draw a picture of our house. "Freddy" was lying down in the bed and seemed to doze off. When it was time to turn in our test to see what grade we got, I got a 4 (which is an A in Ella's real school). "Freddy" didn't draw anything on his paper. He got a 1 (which is a D). As we wrapped up our game, Ella handed back "Freddy's" homework. On it she had written next to his sub par score, "Next time, do what we do."

Then we all loaded up in Johnny's car (two miniature chairs, a step stool and a bouncy seat to act as Josie's car seat) and Johnny (dad) buckled us in. As we "drove" home, he told me, "When we get home I am putting you straight to bed and I'm going to change over the laundry."

It was a very educational evening. :)

apples, bikes and a couple of gorgeous girls

We made our annual trip to Eckert's Farm last week to pick apples. I look forward to this event every year for multiple reasons: 1) the kids have a blast, 2) it's one of the first signs of autumn for us, 3) the apples are AMAZING and 4) I always make it an opportunity to take lots of photos of the kids.

Simon and Ella in the tunnel

Looking Back: The tunnel photo from two years ago. They change so fast!

The new rocket ships were a big hit

Looking Back: No rockets last year. Last season was all about the airplanes.

 

More news: Ella still loves wearing all her bike gear. But it's not motivation enough to learn to ride without training wheels. She's still too jittery about it and won't let Bryan let her go. It didn't seem to make it any more tempting when I told her how my dad taught me how to ride a bike by taking me to the top of a hill and letting go without warning. I learned quickly. Maybe we're just too warm and fuzzy?

The gear: all looks and no action!

And here is one extra sweet little squish. Man is she adorable. Her personality is so enjoyable, her smile is warm and friendly and she's started sprouting a silly little tooth! Now if she'd only start sleeping a little more at night I might officially change her name to "Angel Baby".

Gorgeous Girl #1

 

 

The original Gorgeous Girl. She just gets prettier every day I think.

And this one is just for good measure. She is such a little lady. She's getting prettier all the time and it's a little scary. What happens when those little boys she tells me she chases on the playground (I shudder at these stories) decide she doesn't have cooties? I'm praying she thinks they're dumb dumbs by then. :)

And that's a wrap for now...

poor ella

Ella developed a bad cough over the weekend. Saturday night she came into our room and asked if she could sleep with us. I felt so sad to tell her no but Josie is often in our bed at different points throughout the night and I didn't want her to get sick. So I sent Ella back to her bed and instructed her to prop up her pillows so her head was a bit more elevated so maybe she would have less drainage issues. Such a champ she is. She went right back to bed. A few minutes later, I hear her call out with alarm, "MOOOMMM!!" I bolted out of bed and found her sitting up in the top bunk. She said, "I threw up in my bed." Poor little thing. Sleeping on the top bunk makes it hard to get to the toilet in time for a puke. (As a side note, our older two are pros at puking. They don't cry. They don't moan. They just head to the toilet, lay their arms and heads over the bowl, and let 'er rip. I'm a proud Momma.) Anyway, it was the description that followed that got me. She said, "I was coughing and coughing and then all of a sudden, I like, exploded." After I stripped her bed, got her freshened up and back in the (bottom) bunk, she said, "I hope I don't explode again Mom." Poor Ella. She did make it through without another explosion.

simon's sense of humor

Simon has changed so much over the last several months and since he and I have had a lot more time together lately, I've really gotten to see more of his uniqueness. He's a real sweetie pie and loves to love on me and cuddle at bedtime. These are the most rich moments when I can just lie back and listen to him gab about whatever he's thinking about and I find myself giggling and encouraging him to continue. Last night we were lying there and he pointed to the one inch, circular dent in the plaster wall next to his bed. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Remember this Mommy?" He knew he was pushing my buttons since I felt so guilty about how that dent got there. (Find out how right here.) I stuck my bottom lip out to signify my sadness about the dent and he smiled brightly trying to cheer me. He said, "Don't worry Mommy! I tould hit my head on the wall and make another cirtcle and we tould have two eyes and a nose and make a smiley face out of it!" Oh my. I had a good laugh at his optimistic solution to my grief!

Another entertaining moment was after his nap today. Bryan and I decided we'd like to walk to Ella's school to pick her up rather than driving since the weather was beautiful and we needed to get a little exercise. As Bryan got Simon ready, this was the conversation that ensued:

B: Hey Simo, we're going to walk to Ella's school today to pick her up.
S: Why? Don't we have a tar anymore?
B: Yes, our car is fine. But we want to take a walk just to get some exercise.
S: (Each word dramatically enunciated) What-in-the-WORLD?

So I guess that means Simon isn't used to us actually wanting to exercise.

In other news, Simon is finally really enjoying preschool. We just went on his first field trip to a little pumpkin farm where we had a hay ride, played on the playground, had snacks with his friends, and got to take home a couple of little pumpkins which he hand picked. He had such a great time and especially loved the different slides on the playground and running through a few short, dark tunnels with his light up Toy Story tennis shoes.

Here he is humoring me with a pumpkin pose

The playground had some super fun stuff to climb on!

~Peekaboo!~

I just had to throw this one is because, man, does he look like such a big boy!

Simon, I just enjoy you. Flat out like you. And I love you more than I have words for. You make your Mamma happy!

what happens when a little boy sneaks the camera

As I flipped through the photos of Simon's first day of preschool on my camera, I discovered there was a library of shots that I had not taken. Some had a very abstract quality. For instance this:

And this:

Others were intriguing because of their vantage point and cropping, like this:

and this:

Who could this mysterious artist be? Oh wait...I think I might have found a clue:

I know of only one little boy with feet like that....

simon's first day of preschool

Simon's first official day of preschool was today! I was worried when both kids had to be woken from their dreams early this morning. Both wanted to linger in their beds. And Simon persisted that he didn't want to go to school. I refused to be shaken though and insisted that the day would be full of fun and playing and new friends and he sluggishly got on board.

He wanted to wear his new overalls, but I was worried about him getting tangled up during bathroom breaks (a mom must think through all possible scenarios sometimes, you know.) So he obliged me and put on the alternate outfit which I had picked out for him. He looked like such a big boy!

And I couldn't resist the shot of the shoes:

His excitement grew as we got closer to "his" school and he proceeded straight to his class. What a big day this was!

That's my boy!

When we got to his classroom, he looked around apprehensively and seemed to study everyone. But he didn't waste too much time being shy. He went right over to the crowded table, found a spot, and began assembling a train.

He barely looked up to see if I was still around! I was amazed. What a guy. I knew he was going to have no trouble with this at all. And so I made my exit.

I watched the clock to make sure I didn't miss my cue to leave the house in time to be one of the first moms in line to pick him up. As I approached the building, I was pleased to see I had gotten there early enough that there were hardly any cars lined up, vying for parking spaces. Then my phone rang.

Preschool: "Mrs. Mowrey?"
Me: "Yes?"
Preschool: "This is Therese from Union Preschool."
Me: "Yes?"
Preschool: "We still have Simon."
  I thought to myself, "Hmmm......what does she mean exactly?"
Me: "Ok...school's out at 11:45, right? I'm just pulling up."
Preschool: "No, Mrs. Mowrey. 11:15."
Me: Dying just a little inside, "Oh my gosh! I'll be right there!"

It was the first day of preschool. And I was a half and hour late picking up my son. All the other children were long gone. And I used up my son's teacher's lunch hour in my tardiness. Can I just tell you how horrified I was? Horrified. Mortified. Aghast. Agape. You know....I felt....BAD.

But then Simon was all smiles when I met him on the stairs. And as we loaded up in the car, I asked him, "What was your favorite part of being at school today, buddy?" And he answered, "Playing the piano with Mrs. Visintine after all the other kids left." I must buy that teacher some flowers!

not so golden slumbers

Arrrghh! Josie is so darn bent on MOVING ALL THE TIME she will not calm down and just sleep. What used to be easy...she acted tired and fell right to sleep, has become a fight. Now, she buries her face in my arm and rubs her eyes and then her little head pops up again. And I can no longer leave her in her crib to fall asleep because she stands up and then doesn't know how to get down safely. Or she finds a way to hang a limb through the slats and gets mad. I'm ready for her to settle down a little bit now, thank you very much.

discovering simon

Now that it's just Simon, Josie and me most days while Ella plugs away at school, I'm getting to know more about my little man outside the "Ella and Simon" dynamic. It startled me that I've been at a loss sometimes how to engage him, entertain him and all around make life fun. What I have found that whenever he acts bored, riding the tricycle is always appealing.

Simon, 2 years old | Ella, 4 years old

We got him this tricycle off craigslist when he was two. At that point, he loved it, but it was really hard for him to ride. His legs just reached the pedals but weren't long enough to get any momentum going. Now, he tools around on this thing like a pro. Up and down the sidewalk and back again he goes. Then he takes a rest and expresses what hard work he's doing, sweating a great deal, and then takes off again. Sometimes he rings the little bell too. Who doesn't love a little bell on a bike?

Ahhh...a boy and his trike.

Other easy entertainment includes watering the flowers, sometimes getting drenched in the process and petting/annoying the neighborhood kitty cat who seems to have adopted us. I'm excited though, to really figure out what makes this little guy tick, what interests him and what he's really gifted at. He's smart, I know, and I'll be starting some workbooks with him like I did with Ella, just to spend some productive time together. It's a joy to have this time to focus on my boy for awhile. He's one of a kind.

in a hurry

I told you so! Josie started cruising today. She's been pulling up and standing for about a month or so now and she is so determined! She's blowing my mind. While Ella was at school today, it was just Josie and me since Bryan took Simon on an overnight camping adventure. Various times throughout the day I would hear Josie snicker to herself, so pleased that she is barreling ahead and accomplishing new feats. It's a funny laugh, a quiet little hissing sound with a scrunched up face. She is just so thrilled to be up moving!

The crazy thing about her mobility is that she is still so little, she gets herself in positions that she isn't quite mature enough to maneuver out of so she panics a bit. I hear her whine or fuss in the other room and come to find her perched against the stairs, holding the banister, getting tired and not knowing how to get down. Silly girl. Baby gates will have to be dusted off soon!

fun chore

The kitchen floor was disgusting. I was tired, but I knew it had to be done. Fortunately, the kids think mopping is the most fun chore ever, so, between the three of us, it was no sweat! After I swept, one scrubbed, one mopped and then we used our feet with rags to mop up the puddles. It was fun! The only trouble was them fighting over who got to use the mop. I hope that argument continues...

going on 8 months + high chair makeover

Josie is changing so rapidly! Not only did she start crawling before she turned seven months, she hasn't reached eight months yet and she's decided it's fun to pull up on the furniture. *Gasp!* Her little body doesn't look like it's supposed to do that yet, but, dang is she strong! We had to move her crib mattress to the low position because she keeps standing up in there and hanging out like a little jail bird. She hasn't started cruising yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if she got that one on under her belt before her eight month birthday!

Here she is hanging at a the coffee table:

Sorry it's blurry! I rushed to snap the shot before she sat back down.

We've also noticed that she likes to watch tv. The other two kids didn't really seem interested in tv until they were around two. But she's definitely taking notice. Not good. Here she is losing interest in me and watching baseball or something:

Gotta love those luscious thighs!

See the owl onesie she's wearing? I adore it! It was a handmade gift by my good friend Betsy who had a little boy (Shepherd) a few weeks after Josie was born. I was so touched she made time to stitch me up a one of a kind beauty when she has her own kids to look after. That's just like her though.

Here is the other little project Betsy came through on:

What was supposed to be her helping me recover our old high chair turned into her completely doing the project for me! What a friend, right!? This high chair isn't very impressive, but it's functional and I didn't want to shell out any money for a new one. The old vinyl was so ugly, ragged, and dated (not in a good way.) I got some vintage oil cloth on Etsy for much less than I could get a new chair, even used. And now it has more life than your run-of-the-mill high chair. Thanks Betsy!!

the new bunkbed

Josie's crib is in my former office which is right off of our bedroom. Long term, our plan is for the girls to share a room once Josie sleeps through the night...probably after she weans. We decided to buy a bunk bed for when the little one transitions out of the crib and we found one we really liked at IKEA. Even though Josie most likely won't be sleeping in a big bed for another couple of years, we went ahead and bought the bunk bed while we were in Atlanta since we don't happen upon IKEA very often (boo hoo.)

The bunk bed has become the most popular place in the house. For the first week, poor Simon made teary requests to sleep on the bottom bunk. (Possibly related to the issue in my former post.) As a compromise, we've designated "school nights" as nights in your own bed, and "family nights" as nights where Simon can share the bunk bed.

Here it is. Simple. What I like most is that the top bunk isn't very high.

The canopy is like being under the stars. Very cozy. We also got a flower lamp for the wall. It casts a lovely glow at night.

During our Joplin trip, I found some vintage pillow cases, brand new in the package. I love the pattern and color. I switched out Ella's linens to all white so bottom and top match and the pillow cases add just the pop of color the bed needs.

Jungle themed vintage pillow cases

I'm so satisfied with the bed purchase since it was very affordable, is well made and sturdy, and the right height to keep my knees from shaking with little ones climbing up and down. And the canopy adds a sense of whimsy and imagination but also keeps kids from jumping on the top bunk (tricky, aren't I?) I do think we will go ahead and get one for Simon around his birthday/Christmas and use it as a loft bed. His room is about half the size of the girls' room and he could use the extra space to play. He's asking for a Superman room and it's on my to do list since I've never spent time making his room special for him. Now...to find the time!

it's just us...finding a happy medium

Well, we're doing our best to get used to a new rhythm of life now that Ella is in school full time. I must admit, it is a harder adjustment than I thought it would be. Things have just felt a little uncomfortable, like the ins and outs of our days just don't fit right. We miss her (I know I do) but it is still a sweet time with the younger two.

Yup. It's just us...

We've been trying to figure out a new rhythm for Simon as well since things have changed so much around here. Ella's day is so long, we're getting her to bed a bit earlier than what we've been used to, and with Simon still taking naps, (sometimes he can sleep three or four hours if we let him!) he just isn't ready to fall asleep when Ella is. For simplicity's sake, we'd like our kids to go to bed at the same time! In hopes of achieving this, for the last three weeks, we've ditched Simon's nap to make sure he's as tired as the one who is in school all day long. He loves getting to skip rest time and have "quiet time in his room" playing with toys, but we've noticed a real change in his temperament and we've faced many more discipline issues and emotional tantrums than we're used to with him. We've discovered, there really is no happy medium. We tried it, and it failed. After weighing the pros and cons, I re-instituted nap time, explaining to Simon that he's growing so much, his body needs rest. (Seriously! I think it's true!) He was slightly bummed, but here he is moments after I left his room today:

Think he might still require a nap? I had to wake him up over two hours later to go pick Ella up from school. I'm happy to report, we had zero tantrums today and he's back to his old congenial polite self. Long live the naps!

the top ten

This is what I'm loving right now:

1. Kissing the back of Josie's neck. It's so soft.
2. Kissing underneath Josie's chin. It's so squishy!
3. Simon's big boy haircut.
4. Being first in line to pick Ella up at school.
5. Hearing Simon "read" The Little Pony Engine. He knows it by heart and I love how he recites it!
6. Making special notes for Ella's lunch every day. She has come to expect it now and loves when I cover the notes with drawings.
7. Ella's new bunkbed. It has a canopy on the top bunk with the night sky on it. Simon wants to sleep in the bottom bunk so badly that we've designated non-school nights "family nights" where he can sleep in Ella's room.
8. Seeing how Ella has already learned a lot in only one week of kindergarten. Her writing has already improved greatly!
9. Standing in awe of Josie and her determination to get mobile. She's not only crawling, rolling, and sitting like a pro, she's pulling up and standing in her crib and against the couch! She's only just turned seven months for pete's sake!
10. The sound of Ella's giggle. She loves to giggle. And I wish I had it recorded. It makes my heart warm.

+11. (just for grins) Morning cups of coffee. I can't seem to get enough. I'll get this new rhythm of school life worked out soon. Till then, there's just not enough coffee.

birthday party #2

Ella really lucked out this year. Our trip to Atlanta was a bit of a last minute decision and we hadn't anticipated celebrating Ella's birthday out of town. I had already promised her a "storybook" birthday party that we've been talking about for several months since she's been enamored with writing her own stories. So, not wanting to go back on my word, last weekend, we had a girly little "storybook birthday."

The invitation that I never found time to mail out. In the end, I turned it into a less-than-stellar evite.

She invited a few of her buddies and they all came dressed to the nines. The don't seem to need an excuse to get gussied up.

We had a spread of delicious and less than nutritious finger foods:

On a side note, in my busyness, I avoided making the cake batter from scratch and ran to the store to pick up some chocolate cake mix. After reading the labels, I couldn't find a single one without partially hydrogenated yuckieness, and, even though I was serving junky food, I just couldn't bear making a cake with that stuff in it. So I grabbed the healthiest option I could find and it happened to be Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free cake mix. YIKES! I threw the batter together at home and the kids wanted to lick the mixers. I obliged and Simon put his down after the first lick. He questioned, "Why does this chocolate taste weird?" Indeed. I was nervous about serving the gluten free goodies, but in the final hour, I didn't have much choice! Fortunately, I made some chocolate cream cheese frosting and that seemed to cover up any mysterious flavor that might have slipped by a discerning palette!

Our storybook party included a craft time where each girl/mommy team got to create their own book with matching bookmark.

Our supplies. Note to self: itty bitty beads are not a great idea with three drooly babies present.

The girls enjoyed choosing pretty papers, stickers and fancy lettering.

Here are a couple of finished books:

Ella had loved the time with her friends, especially after that rough first week of school. I heard lots of little girls crying when their mommies said it was time to leave, so I guess they had a good time too! (Crying is good, right?) Ella has already decided she wants to have a "rock star birthday" next year, whatever that means. I don't know if I can keep up with this pace though! She might just get another gluten free cupcake.

kindergarten

It's official...Ella is a big kindergartner! Yay/boo hoo. All summer, the idea of her being away all day (9-4pm) has lurked in the back of my mind and I've reminded myself to make the most of our moments together. (Not always great at that...I must confess.) I never considered myself the type of mom who would cry when their child went off to school. Frankly, I just felt excited for her because that's the angle she's been taking. I mean, check her out!

She's got the uniform, all her pencils neatly sharpened and in a case, a brand new backpack full of all kinds of gear. And she's feeling full of anticipation about lots of playing and learning and general merriment. And new shoes!

And then, reality.

Do you see that look? That's the look of, "Where do I go? What happens next? Who will be my friend? Where's the safe spot to hang out?" Seriously. She's all composed in this picture, and in this picture:

but after I left the classroom, she melted in a flurry of tears. Her teacher told me she had to "fan her face." I totally didn't expect that one people. I thought she might be nervous and a little apprehensive, but not weeping.

So, she got through the first day with a couple of teary moments. That was good. Then at bedtime, she tells me she doesn't want to go back to school and she cries. Really cries. And my heart breaks. Because I can totally remember the feeling of anxiety she's feeling at undertaking such a big change with lots of unknowns and newness. And I want to rescue her, but there's nothing I can really do to keep her from growing up.

Day two was much worse. I promised to walk her to class again, but that I wouldn't stay because there weren't any other parents taking their children. When she was seated at her desk and the tears began to flow, her teacher, Mrs. Morton, whispered to me to "Just go." I whispered to Ella some words of love and encouragement and then headed for the door. It felt so strange to leave her crying. I haven't ever done that before. It felt so horrible to climb the steps outside her classroom and hear her call out, "MOOOMMMM!!" as she saw me leaving. I felt rather hollow and haunted by that. But I kept it together.

Day three, was the day I finally shed some tears. We had lots of conversations since school had started where I assured her that it would get easier and even fun the more she got used to it. I promised a special surprise if she could make it the whole day without crying. That seemed to intrigue her. But then when I took her to the playground where all the classes line up in the morning to proceed to class, it overwhelmed her again. (This change is significant since her class last year was only seven kids and this year it's twenty. Plus, the recess time is multiple classes together, all the way up to fifth grade.) I could see her lip start to quiver and her eyes well up. She was trying SO HARD to keep it under wraps, but it just refused to be squelched. I hugged her and she said, "Can I still get my surprise?"

That morning, I came home and cried. She is such a sensitive girl and I want to do right by her. I just hated to see her hurting and overwhelmed. Turns out, she has actually been missing me more than struggling to adapt to the social change. She told me that she wished her teacher was, "more like mom." To quote more accurately, she said, "I wish she was like Mom and we could hang out in the kitchen. If she was like Mom, I wouldn't miss you so much. But she doesn't have a kitchen at school!" And then she broke down. I'm so moved by how she communicates her feelings.

Anyway, to wrap this whole experience up, today was Monday, day one of week two. We got up early and played before school. After finishing up breakfast, we were getting her backpack together to leave. She looked at me as if something had dawned on her. Then she said, "You know what, Mom? I don't think I'm going to cry today!" And she didn't. Something just clicked.

It's all downhill from here. Phew.

end of summer

These last three weeks before school have been insanely busy. After getting home from our visit to Mimi's, we only had a few days to unpack, do laundry, then repack for a trip to Atlanta. I found myself savoring every moment with the kids while Ella was still underfoot all day, knowing that her start to kindergarten would mean a whole new chapter in our lives where I don't have a little buddy for every task I undertake. *sniff*

One afternoon, in the midst of laundry, the kids requested a tea party for their lunchtime. Why not? You only live once, right? So I brought them a fancy tray of tidbits that they shared in Ella's room.

Our trip to Atlanta coincided with Ella's sixth birthday. Seems we celebrated it every night of the week, starting with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. We hadn't taken our kids there before (except Ella when she was under a year so she doesn't remember.) They went absolutely gaga for the place and we had lots of fun. The pizza was nasty, but they didn't care because they had soda and cotton candy. The best part was when the guy dressed up as Chuck came over to the table in his big mouse suit. My little sister Keely is creeped out by the guy in the suit and has been known to hide under the table when he is present. Simon assured her that Chuck E. was nice and "happy."

Carousel ride at Chuck E. Cheese

On Ella's actual birthday, my step mom, Cimi, went to an awful lot of trouble to decorate and make the morning special. My dad and brother, Ty, went out the night before (actually 2 a.m. the day OF) to get lots of cool balloons. Anyway, she felt quite special when she came downstairs and saw all the fuss made over her.

After breakfast and opening of presents, we got ready and headed out to the Atlanta Aquarium. What an experience that was! It was incredible. The kids loved petting the stingrays, playing on the indoor pirate ship and slides and seeing all kinds of crazy water life like sharks up close and personal.

Keely and Ella

My favorite part was the tunnel surrounded by all kinds of amazing creatures!

Josie's favorite part of the whole experience was this:

 

These banks of screens surrounded the whole main atrium. The colors shifted and changed and she was mesmerized. She also rather enjoyed this:

A vibrating, spinny ball of light thanks to Grampy

When we got back home, we had steak and all kinds of trimmings and topped it all off with birthday cake. I can't believe my little Ella is SIX!

Then, it was time to pack up and head back home...a very sad ending to a wonderful visit. Keely was so sweet with the kids and entertained them non stop the whole time we were there. I was impressed with her patience and generosity. She had activities for them to do and had put all kinds of planning into making things fun for them, including creating a "box of mystery" where each day they got to choose a prize out of a decorated box while wearing a blindfold. Keep in mind she's nine years old. How amazing is she? Needless to say, there were tears on the first leg of the journey back...goodbye is never easy.

Keely and Josie

Can you believe she's only 9? She's amazing.