Happy Birthday AND First Day of SCHOOL!

Leila's 9th Birthday landed on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL THIS YEAR!  WAHOO! 

I'm sure the mathematical genius inside of me could figure out how many times this will happen in her lifetime... but the mathematical genius inside of me seems to be on vacation.... so we know it won't happen but only a very few times.  And how fun for LEILA!

Look how tall she is compared to the door!  My Big Girl!  Staring 3rd Grade at 9 Years OLD!



Simply Beautiful!

Our annual tradition was followed:  Nathan and I went to get donuts for the family bright and early in the morning.  He was of course up at 6 AM!  We put a candle in Leila's pastry and served her in bed along with a song.  She was pretty anxious last night and had a hard time sleeping, but she didn't wake up grumpy.  Who could when greeted with sugar and song?

The kids are holding up their grade:  2nd and 3rd!  They are old Pro's at this school thing!

 

 



Another Tradition is walking to school.  We left a bit early this year.  We LOVE that Daddy can go into work a bit later and can join us every year.

 

Kathryn and I will miss the big kids.  We spent the morning playing with Haley, going and checking out Kathryn's new pre-school!(YES!  SHE GOT IN TO THE FREE SCHOOL WITH OUR NEIGHBOR!) And doing a bit more birthday shopping.  Its been a great day so far!  Can't wait to hear how the kids did at school!

More Birthday posting later.....  I'm sure....

Sept. 6th, 2011- 1st and 2nd Grade

Nathan did NOT want his picture taken.  He wasn't too excited about school, except he enjoyed his and my tradition of going and getting donuts and "Every Day A Donut Day!"  It was a gorgeous morning to start school. 

As is tradition, we walked down.  Nathan, still bent out of shape about the photo above, didn't want me to walk him to school.  He said:  I am in 1st grade now.  I don't need you to walk me to class, besides, I want to play outside on the playground.

Leila enjoyed her walk with her Daddy.  She was excited, but a little nervous.  In her hand is a picture she made for me that she kept with her all day for comfort.

At school, suddenly Nathan seemed glad we were with him.  But actually, both kids felt more comfortable than they have in previous years.

Nate got a little overwhelmed picking out his seat(He has a hard time making decisions).  But was happy once he settled in.

Leila sat right down with her friend Jordyn from Girl Scouts and was happy to start working.  Kathryn got a little sad to leave them.





Dad went off to work, and I CELEBRATED!

I have no idea how in the world I am going to entertain this little girl though.... but the "low-grade fighting" was a welcome subtraction from the house. At least until 3:00. ;O>

Last Day of Scool Celebration!

I am sure if you have been around the Conser home for the last year or so you have heard the discussion of the "Big Top Cupcake".  My kids saw the commercial and were relentless with their pleas to get us one!  A Big Top Cupcake is basically two cake pans, one in the shape of a cupcake bottom, and one in the shape of a cupcake top- you use one cake mix to bake one.

Fingers showing their new grade!

SO- my gift to the kids was a BTC Party!  I made them each their very own Big Top!  Nathan was thrilled- he told me he was going to smoosh his face into his!  That he did- check it out:

Leila's last week of school was good- except she was pretty sick.  She stayed home her last Friday and her last Monday.  Party in Reading(which is watching a movie-- how many movies do they watch that last week?) was on Tuesday so she refused my taking her temperature.  She went and had fun.  Wednesday night she was up in the middle of the night with ear pain.  I got her drops and got her back to sleep.  The next day, Thursday(last day), around 11:30 I get a call from her teacher.  Leila had been crying the past two hours, but was refusing to go to the office because she didn't want to leave school early.  So I dropped Kathryn off at my neighbors(thanks Erica!) and went down to talk to her.  She decided she didn't feel good enough to stay and it was OK if she went home, they had a little party(They watched a movie- the latest ice age).  So we got a frosty and she napped all afternoon.  Poor sweetheart.  She asked me if she would still get her very own Big Top since she came home from school early.  I said:  Absolutely!  You finished 1st grade, even if you came home early on the last day!

The Fun Run

    I volunteered at the kids school for the fun run and marked off the kids as they passed the lap mark.  The fun run is a fundraiser where 100% of the money raised goes to the kids-- spefically their field trips.  This past year the Parent Teacher Club invested in an electronic reader board and spent all the money on that and other unexpected costs, so our kids have $0 in the budget for having fun.  I was excited to help out- and boy was this fun- the first group was the 4th graders- they had plenty of markers so I cheered on the kids.  I knew a few of them from our bus stop.  The second group was the 5th graders.  Again, I knew a couple of them.  We volunteers finally figured out how to mark the big packs of kids and I had several kids who kept coming over to me each lap so we developed a bit of a relationship.  These kids had a blast and really gave it their all.  I hated running in school- so I was super impressed to see the kids doing it.  I had a 5th grader I wanted to adopt.  He ran 22 laps- around 5.5 miles!  Wow!  There was another boy whose goal was 18 laps.  He didn't want to stop for water because it would waste time- but I told him he needed to, and like a good boy, he listened.  (Gosh, what a MOM I have turned into!)

The after those two groups out came the kindergartners.  Any thoughts we volunteers had to make things run smoothly went out the window.  The kids ran in packs and were not capable of getting marked off other than a single file line.  It was pretty funny actually.

Nathan reminded me of a rubber band-- he would go super fast then then slow down to almost a stop, and the get super excited and take off again and slow down.  I also noticed the kinderkids would often just sit down when they felt  they were too tired.  Nathan would go over to them and ask them if they needed help- he would spend a minute on them, and then off he would go.  A few times I saw him go backwards, but the teachers seemed to keep him on track.  Kathryn really wanted to get down with him(I wore her in the eurgo-baby).  I let her down and Nathan held her hand and walked with her.  So very very cute. She was thrilled and he was proud.  What better combo?  Nathan's tally sheet said he ran 6 laps.  That is a mile and a half!  I am so impressed with him.

Leila's group was after lunch so I couldn't stick around. She ran 10 laps, which is 2 1/2 miles!  Way to go long-legged Leila!  Both my kids amaze me.

First Day of SCHOOL!

The kids were so excited for school!

Well... Leila was. Nathan wasn't so much.  I couldn't coax a smile out of him for anything.  He and I went and got donuts for breakfast for the family this morning, and that certainly helped.  I am thinking this might become a tradition- he is our early riser and we have plenty of time to go pick out a dozen donuts and be back before the others are up.  

Nathan thinks Kindergarten is boring.  In his words, the only good thing about kindergarten is they got to go outside and play.  Leila thinks 1st grade is just a little bit harder than kindergarten, but mostly the same.  She LOVES it, as we knew she would. 

We took our annual walk down to the school, with all the cars backed-up we are glad we are able to walk to school on first days(and any other day when it doesn't rain). 

It will be a fun year to see how they both settle in.  I can't beleive I had a 1st grader and and kindergartener!  Nathan is going half days thru next week, then he will be in full day kindergarten.  He was also accepted into the two-way immersion program, so expect my kiddos to be speaking some spanish to each other soon!

I love these kids-- LOVE THEM!

Last Day Of School 2010

Well, the shoes have holes in them.... the backpacks are a bit more grungy... there is no such thing as a nice, clean notebook or brand new sharpened pencil.... its the last day of school.

I am happy to have my kiddos back home. They have learned a lot this year. Not only the basics in reading and writing and arithmetic, but how to deal with kids who are not always friendly. How to deal with adults who may not understand that they are behaving their age, not their size. How to stick up for themselves and tell people the correct pronunciation of their name.

I am also thrilled I made it through kindergarten without teaching my kindergartner how to tie her shoe. haha. I wonder how old she will be before I break down and teach her... and him too... I am not worried since their shoes don't have laces.

Leila was very fortunate to have a teacher who kept a very watchful eye on her. Her teacher(who was just a tad taller than Leila) has a real passion for teaching and a sincere love of her students. Nate's teacher was very calm and thoughtful and felt kids learn best through play. What a great environment for both of them to learn and grow in.

Nathan's last day was last Friday. Today is Leila's. Next year we will have a 1st grader and a full day Kinder-boy. Kathryn will be so bored next year home alone with just me all day! But lets enjoy the summer first.

I am proud of my kids.

I can't believe how big they are getting and how smart they are. I love their personalities, their desire to learn, and the way they make me try just a little bit harder to be a little bit better.