Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Kindergarten!

Today was Lily's first day of kindergarten. She was thrilled to finally be going back to school and all her friends and could not wait to be one of the big kids upstairs. She started off the day with a nice breakfast with Sunflower and a phone chat with Nana and PopPop while she told them all about the big playground she would get to play on in the mornings now too.
Breakfast together
Breakfast with Nana and PopPop
She let me snap a few photos, insisting on one with Sunflower, before dragging us over to the car to get on the road. She remembered the long drive to and from school and did not want to be late and miss anything.
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Loaded up and ready to go
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Sisters

When we got to the school, Lily's new teacher, Mrs. L met us at the car. There is no drawn out goodbyes or wandering around the school, they know it is harder on the parents than the kids scoop them off before we can start to cry. Mrs. L did pause just long enough for me to get 1 picture. She actually had to stop Lily for me who was ready to take off without a second glance.

Her New Teacher

Sunflower wasn't too happy though, she continued to look around the backseat for her big sister until she finally fell asleep and throughout the day would look around like something was missing.

Lily bounded into the car at pickup time, ready to continue our tradition of the park after school. She was in a wonderful mood, excited about her friends, the turtles in their room, and the lessons they had on turtles and fish that day.

This is my new comparison picture, I have decided to take one in front of the fence at the beginning and end of each school year to see how much they have grown.

The beginning of the year

Friday, September 3, 2010

The Last Normal Day

Normal is about to take on a whole new meaning for me. For the last 4 years and 358 days, normal has meant having Lily by my side. Last year she started full day school, but it was only 3 days a week, so we still had normal days in between. I loved those weekdays with her home,  we had parks and entertainment places to ourselves, playdates with friends, and the freedom to travel on easy days.

Today was our last day of "normal". Tomorrow is the weekend, Monday is a holiday, and Tuesday Lily starts Kindergarten. She will no longer be home with me all week, or even the majority of it. I will drive her to school and drop her off for 6 of her waking hours 5 days a week. I'm in tears just thinking about it. For our last day of normal we left Sunflower with daddy so we could run to the store together to pick out fabric for new crumbcatchers, took some pictures, had some "tea", took a walk, went to the playground, and picked up dinner so I could just put Sunflower to bed and spend some extra time with Lily.

Next week my baby leaves me for school and turns 5 all in the same week. I know it's a cliche, but the time really has flown. Half the time I think I still imagine her as a 2 year old who needs mommy for everything, not this independent girl who can do so much for herself, be a big help to me, and has already started worrying about what her friends will think . Some days I feel like I am dealing with a teenager. One day she will ask me how I know everything, the next she will tell me that I am wrong about everything.

Right now I am just hoping to make it through the drive to school and drop off on Tuesday without tears, at least not until I am back in the car and out of view of the school. I will think about how to adjust to the new normal after that.

5 Months Old

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She loves:


Her Toes
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Spitting
My water glass

Sitting up
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Being outside

Going for walks in the stroller

Standing up
Helping

Being worn in the Baby Hawk
Watching her diapers dry on the clothesline

Reaching for everything
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Forster, Max, and Molly
Sleeping on her belly now that she can roll

Her big sister
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Yelling
My knuckles

Her knuckles
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Her pacifier at bedtime
Watching the world out the car window

Her fingers
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Waking up Daddy in the morning
Peek-A-Boo

Laughing
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Chewing on anything that gets near her mouth
Rolling over

Scooting around
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And did I mention her toes?
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