yep - another first day of school post...

I have been seeing so many of these pop up all over the blogging world. I wonder if the first day of school is as big of a milestone to the kids as it is to the parents? Is it us parents who make it a big deal for our kids? I remember my first days: The excitement, nervousness, new clothes, crisp air in the morning, nervousness, and always mom taking our pictures. It was a start of a new year. Like the brand new notebooks and backpacks, things started out clean and open to possibility. This tradition has continued in my own family.

Leila has started full-day, two-way-immersion Kindergarten. She is by far the tallest in her class- a good head above the others. She is almost as tall as her teacher- which is funny to see. I am excited for her to learn and grow this year. This week she goes for half days, and starts full day next week.

Nathan is also at Aloha Huber Park with the pre-K program there. I have been very nervous about this. I have been nervous about him being at this school because he will be going 5 days a week. I am not sure my boy is ready for 5 days of instruction. BUT, his first day was an hour long 'party' which my Dad and I attended with him. He did so well and was so comfortable I have no worries anymore.

I have been worried about Aloha Huber Park as it is a K-8 school. Seeing my little kindergirl and preschooler at school with 8th graders makes me nervous. So I have decided to walk them both into their classrooms vs. riding the bus to school. They feel more comfortable, and so do I.

They both ride the bus home. And love it. In fact, yesterday was their first day coming home and they both made it safe and sound. Next week of course Leila will be going all day, so they will both come home on their own, so this week is a good week to practice together.

What will I do with my two and half hours at home with just the baby? Anything I want! Definitely writing both on my personal projects, journals and blog. I have visions of a regular exercise program. I have started a new business venture and look forward to looking at my possibilities there. I have intentions of having a clean kitchen every day(thanks to my husband for helping me clean it up this weekend so all I have to do is keep it clean.). I have started up my lists and schedules to play around with. I look forward to grocery shopping with only ONE CHILD(WOOT!) and a contained one at that!

I Like Nonsense

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities.” ~ Dr. Suess

I changed my quote on my main page. I am known to not be able to come up with the right word. When I have a major headache, I sometimes can't come up with the word at all. Crazy brain right? I usually search for the right word. Sometimes I can come up with it. Sometimes I come up with something different. Like when I tell the kids they need to put some mustard on their pancakes. Or put socks on their shoes. What is normally the "whah whah wah wah" of mothers voice becomes a highly comedic experience and the kids laugh and laugh. I love the moment in their eyes when they realize I said something very nonsensical! I only wish my husband or complete strangers found it as entertaining. This problem I have is very concerning to me, especially lately when I look at some things my Dad is going thru with his memory issues(Don't worry, I am adding it to the list when I finally drag myself in in to the doctor). But I am learning to take it for what it is: nonsense. Why not laugh about it like my kids? Something isn't quite right- but don't stress out. Don't take myself too seriously. That certainly won't help. And isn't laughing a ton of fun? Especially laughing with my amazingly goofy kiddos. And if anything its helping their little brains learn the beauty of nonsense and fantasy.

Happy Birthday Angel Girl

Our Angel Girl Leila is 6!

Can you believe this beautiful little girl is my baby?

Happy Birthday Sweetheart- I love you more than you could know. Every year you grow, learn, and develop into a more beautiful, caring, amazing little girl that I could have ever hoped for.

Feeding Babies

I love feeding babies. It has to be one of my favorite jobs as a mother. My other favorite job is bathing babies. And another favorite is kissing boo-boos. I rarely share these jobs with others- I keep them for myself much to my mothers/husbands/friends/childrens/sisters dismay. I am the mom. I get to pick what I am selfish about. I let you hold my babies when they sleep, so I save a few jobs for myself. Kathryn has been enjoying the bounty of the earth thanks to Gerber. I still have grand intentions of making her food- but so far its been easy enough to go down the baby food isle and just grab a few flavors. And she loves every flavor so far. Not as excited about prunes as she is about green beans. With the addition of two bottom teeth last week she has been enjoying biter biscuits(Its soooo cute to see her teeth marks in the bottom of the cracker!). She has fun sitting with us at the table and shooting the breeze with the rest of us. We all crack up at her faces and mannerisms. We love to see her lick her chops and ask for more.

Two Weeks of Swim Lessons

I thought two weeks of swim lessons would be great for my kids- they would be able to advance and we would have stuff to do to keep us occupied the last few weeks of summer. I didn't think about ME having to get up EVERY SINGLE DAY to take them! I guess this is training for next week when school starts up.

We went to the Conestoga Swim Center vs. the Aloha Swim Center that is just a few blocks away. Conestoga has a kiddie pool and with my sons resistance to water I thought that big pool would be just too overwhelming for him. And I am glad I did that- the kids did good. Nathan advanced. Leila did not. But not by her own fault- she was too tall in the kiddie pool to work on everything, and kinda cheated by putting her feet down. Next time she needs to be in a school age class and in the big pool. Go figure.

By the way, both of my kids are very talented kickers. I think amazing was the word.

Oh- we ran into a life-guard Nazi- I disliked her for many reasons. I would be happy to tell you all about it.

My kids had great teachers- both very young. Nathan ran into a bit of trouble on one day when his beloved BOY teacher had a sub who was a GIRL. He screamed the entire time-- I was quite embarrassed. Luckily my friend Alesha was there with her kids and held Kathryn while I tried to deal with Nathan(At first he didn't want to swim. Then he did. The girl teacher after all owned a red "Herbie". Then the lifeguard Nazi came over to kick me out, then he got scared and didn't want to swim. But he really kind of did. Then he was just so conflicted the rest of the half hour that he screamed and cried and didn't know what to do with himself- Just one of the reasons that lifeguard has her nick-name).

Fun times....

Summer Swinging

Finally! Baby gets to play WITH brother and sister!

We Love you Baby K!

Six months Little Miss Kathryn has been in our home- but we've loved her for well over a year now- I loved the idea of her for many years before that.

Kathryn has almost doubled her birth weight, being 18 lbs, 9 oz. She is 28 inches tall/long. She is doing all the appropriate baby things for her age.

I love doctors appointments for baby/kid well-checks. Time to just talk and discuss my beautiful child(take your pick of which one) with my doctor and reflect on how amazing they are. Kathryn has been in to see the doctor so often lately I feel like setting up a standing appointment every two weeks. After her last appointment I set up an appointment with the urologist in Sept. In talking to my doctor I asked her if she wanted me to move the standard 6 month check up until after that so we could discuss. She said no. "Your child is more than the problem at hand." I like that. Kathryn loves her Mommy. She is very mommy-dependant. Not even Grandma or Aunties can seem to hold her for very long before she demands me. Leila and Nathan loved being held by others. They were very social and there were days I felt they would rather have someone else instead of me. I wondered what it would be like to have a more shy, more dependant child, maybe I even wanted my children to have those traits. Now I know. I am very thankful Daddy is a close second to Mommy. He is able to hold her more than anyone else can. I think its thanks to my asking him to change her diaper first thing in the morning before he goes off to work. Even though she wakes up to my face, its usually Daddy's smile and kisses that start her off while he cleaning her up. Soon, it will be Daddy tending her at night to get her off the midnight buffet.

Leila and Nathan amuse her to no end. Nathan walks into the room and Kathryn starts to giggle and her limbs start going crazy. Leila will sing and use her most entertaining voice with the baby(which I do not appreciate so much) and that completely cracks her up. I can tell she is excited because her entire body responds to the people in her close family. Voices excite her, faces impress her, songs and jokes completely amuse her. She is a happy baby, even though you might not be able to tell if her mom isn't holding her.

She is eating cereal and various fruits and veggies. Daddy is dieing to give her some chocolate, but I say no. She does not like a pacifier, even though I am STILL trying to force it on her. She will play with it, but it doesn't sooth her. She usually has a finger, two or three or five in her mouth. She likes to suck on my hair when I hold up on my shoulder. She LOVES drinking out of my glass, and does pretty good with it too. Many times I have seen in her eyes that she wishes she could get around to play with her brother and sister. I am sure she will be more motivated to catch up and play with them.

It won't be long little one... in fact, it will be all too soon. We love you Baby Kathryn with every heart we have.